Removals companies and their customers try to prepare for every eventuality that may occur on the day of their move, but there can be situations that don’t become apparent until they are upon us.
The most common amongst these events is the delay in gaining access to the delivery address.
Waiting for Access
Sometimes, removals customers (particularly those that exchange on the day of their move) can be frustrated by delays due to not having the keys for their new premises. This can mean that the vehicle containing all their household goods can not be unloaded and the crew has had their work stopped.
Removals contracts are based on the assumption that the work will not be interrupted or stalled by events beyond the removers control. Therefore, the customer may be charged waiting time at an hourly rate based on the size of the crew. Most removers now provide a waiting time waiver for a fixed fee. See Movers Extra Services.
Waiting time may also be the result of the previous occupant having not finished moving out of the premises. This is often, (but not exclusively) because they decided to hire a van and do the move themselves, without fully understanding the scale of the job.
On rare occasions, the delay can extend into the evening and make it unviable to complete the work that day. Though many movers would rather work into the night to complete a job, there are rules and regulations around working time (The Working Time Regulations 1998) and often some safety issues, that prevent them from doing so.
Where this is the case, the remover may offer to take your goods into storage and deliver the next day or on a new agreed date.
Temporarily Unsuitable Access
Though rare, it can sometimes be such that the delivery premises are not sufficiently safe for unloading of the customers goods. This can be because it is a new-build property or restoration with work still ongoing, or access is dangerous due to building site hazards.
Continuing to work in such circumstance may be in breach of Health & Safety regulations and/or negate insurances. Therefore, the remover may offer a temporary storage solution as mentioned above.
Oversize Items
Some large items, though they were easily moved out of the collection premises, may be too large to be delivered to the delivery address. It may be (for example) that they fit through the doorway, but the turn into the next room is too narrow. It would be the customer’s responsibility to employ a specialist to remove a window, door frame or other obstruction to allow access, but the move may be stopped or postponed while the crew waits. Again, storage is an option.
A removals quote is always subject to terms and conditions which are supplied and accepted before the work can start. The terms & conditions are fairly standard across all removals companies, with slight variations, because they have emerged from decades of input from insurance providers, professional movers and consumer protection authorities. Their purpose is to make it clear to all parties what their responsibilities are with regard to the contract.
