Ease the pain of moving

Michelle Collins
April 15, 2007 12:00am

THE experience of shifting house can become a huge burden on your bank balance, unless you shop around before the removalist van pulls up.
The Office of Fair Trading received 122 complaints about removalists in the 15 months to the end of March this year.
The most common gripe was of damage to personal goods. Other sticking points concerned lost items, delays and overcharging.
Queensland Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech told The Sunday Mail the key was to plan carefully, obtain written quotes, ensure any contract was comprehensive, and that you understood the contract before signing on the dotted line.

OBTAINING A QUOTE
Some removalists quote on the basis of the time it takes to move the goods. Others moving quote on the quantity or weight of goods to be moved.
Quotes obtained over the phone or on the web put the responsibility on the customer to accurately estimate the volume of goods. If you understate what has to be moved, the final bill will reflect the additional effort to move the lot.
Graham McMillan, proprietor of Removal Brokers Queensland at Rochedale on Brisbane's southside, said no one could ever agree on the best tactic.
"If the client is prepared to have input into the operation of the removal – by that I mean bringing items to the removal vehicle at the pick-up point and removing items from the removal vehicle at delivery point – then the 'hourly rate' scenario may be the preferred option, as the more input will mean less time taken to complete the removal," Mr McMillan said.
Working as a go-between, Mr McMillan takes the time and hassle out of calling around for quotes.
"As a broker, my service to my clients is free. I receive a commission from the removalist.
"Part of my service as a broker is to establish the levels and the quality the client is seeking in their removal service or auto transport.
"This, in effect, saves them money and saves them time, in that they do not have to plough through the literally hundreds of removalists listed in the phone book or the web to establish the moving service they are looking for."
Jeanette and Brett Wilson have moved four times over the past three years.
"We were living on the Sunshine Coast and moved to the Gold Coast in June 2004, then moved again around Christmas that year, then Christmas 2005 we moved to Bracken Ridge, then this last move to Tingalpa (in Brisbane)," Mrs Wilson said.
On their last move, they opted to hire a truck and do the hard work themselves to cut costs.
"We went with a hire truck from Europcar, which we drove ourselves," she said.
"We did a bit of searching on the internet and in the phone book and then rang up a couple of different companies to compare prices.
"We hired a three-tonne truck and moved one full load, then another load which was probably about three-quarters full."
The cost, including a top-up of fuel, was about $200.
Mrs Wilson reckons the adage "many hands make light work" is crucial to achieving savings.
"Get as many people as possible to help out if you are moving on your own – especially if you have a lot of heavy stuff like fridges to move," she said.

PAYMENT
Some removalists also ask for the full amount up-front before the move.
"The Office of Fair Trading recommends you only pay for the move when it is complete, and you are satisfied the job has been done in accordance with the contract you signed," Mrs Keech said.
The Australian Furniture Removalists Association said that payment arrangements were a matter that needed to be negotiated before the moving van turned up.

INSURANCE
According to the AFRA, the removalist company can arrange a cover note with an insurer for household goods being moved from one house to another, including periods of storage.
Many house and contents policies specifically do not cover goods "in transit" or when stored, so check with your current policy provider beforehand.
Transit insurance offered by the removalist is often the most economical way to cover your goods between Point A and Point B.
You can usually opt for either full cover – encompassing such elements as accidental breakage, scratching, chipping, denting and theft – or restricted cover, which offers a limited policy such as if the van carting the load is involved in a collision.
You can also specify a policy offering full replacement cost or agreed market value.

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