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A room

A room, not a home

You own boxes, clothes, a bike and maybe a mattress. That is a van, not a removals contract.

Flat-shares, student rooms, lodgings, and anywhere else the furniture belongs to the landlord. What you actually own fills a quarter of a van, and a removals firm would not know how to price it without pretending it was a flat.

One or two peoplePart loadsEnd of tenancyStorage runs too

What a room move involves

One or two people One where it is boxes and there is help at the far end. Two if there is a mattress.
Part of a van Priced as what it is rather than as a flat move.
Two addresses Or three, if something is going to storage and something to a friend.
Trolley and straps Included, and worth it on a staircase full of other people's post.
Boxes up front Loaded first and unloaded last, because they stack and nothing else does.
Bikes handled properly Strapped upright rather than laid on a derailleur.

What you actually own

Less than you think, and it fits in less van than you fear.

In a furnished share, the bed, the wardrobe, the desk and the sofa are the landlord's. What is yours is clothes, kitchen things, books, a bike, a monitor, a chair you bought yourself, and possibly a mattress you replaced because the original one was unspeakable.

That is a part load. Pricing it as a one-bedroom flat move is how people end up paying for a service they do not need.

End of tenancy

Everything has to be out, and the inspection is not our problem or yours to improvise.

Tenancy ends are the one genuinely time-pressured version of this job, because a check-out appointment exists and the room has to be empty for it. We work to that, and the useful thing you can do is have the boxes packed before we arrive rather than while we wait.

Anything being left behind for the landlord, or taken to a charity, needs to be separated and labelled before the day. We will move it where it is going — but not to disposal, because we hold no waste carrier licence.

Two destinations at once

Common on this job, and it needs saying up front.

Half to a new room, half to a parent's house or a storage unit, and a bike to a friend. It is entirely ordinary and it changes the route, so it belongs in the booking rather than being mentioned as the van is being loaded.

Label the boxes by destination, not by contents. It is the single most useful thing you can do for a split load.

  • Label boxes by where they are going, not what is in them.
  • Keep the first-night things separate and carry them yourself.
  • Strip the bed and bag the bedding rather than boxing it.
  • Empty drawers of anything loose — desks travel badly otherwise.
  • Tell us about the bike. It takes more space than people expect.

Student terms

Term ends are busy for everyone, so book early rather than well.

Every student in the city moves in roughly the same fortnight, twice a year, and availability is the constraint rather than the work. There is no trick to it beyond asking early.

If you are storing over a summer, work out where before you book the van — a unit that is full when you arrive is a very frustrating afternoon.

A room, not a home

Questions about a room, not a home

Do I need two people for a room?
Only if there is a mattress, a desk that does not come apart, or a long carry at either end. Boxes and bags with help waiting is a one-person job.
Can you go to two addresses?
Yes. Say so when you book and label the boxes by destination rather than by contents.
Will you help me pack?
We will carry boxes you have packed. Packing itself is a separate trade and on a room-sized load it is usually something you are better off doing yourself.
What about the stuff I am throwing out?
We will take it to a charity that has accepted it, a buyer or a relative. We cannot take it to disposal — that needs a licensed waste carrier and we are not one.

Tell us what it is and where it is

If it is not a van job we will say so, and say what to book instead.

Both addresses, what the item is, what floor each end is on, and a photograph of the biggest thing. That is enough for a straight answer and a written price.

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