Questions
Everything we get asked
Split by where you are, because the questions genuinely differ. Up the hill people ask whether a van can get there. Down the hill they ask whose permission they need.
Up the hill
Can a removal van get up to the Village?
It can get to the Village. Whether it can get to your door is a separate question, and on several of the lanes the honest answer is no.
Where a large vehicle cannot turn or cannot stand, we run a shuttle: a smaller van between the property and a larger one parked somewhere legal. It is a normal way of working up here and it should be priced into the quote from the start, not added on the day.
We are in a conservation area. Does that restrict you?
It does not stop a removal. It does mean nothing gets fixed to or drilled into the building, stonework and railings are not used to brace anything, and equipment is set down with a great deal more care than usual.
If anything about your property genuinely needs a hoist or external lifting gear, that is a separate conversation with permissions attached, and it needs starting well before the move.
Do you handle antiques and period furniture?
Yes, and up the hill it is most of the load rather than an exception, so higher-grade wrapping is standard on those items rather than an upgrade.
What we will tell you plainly is when something genuinely should not be moved by a general removals crew — certain clocks, some pianos, and anything structurally poor enough that handling it at all is a risk. There are specialists for those and we would rather point you at one.
Down the hill
Do we need a parking bay suspension?
Around the town centre, usually yes. Merton operates controlled parking across most of it and a suspension has to be applied for in advance — it is not something that can be sorted out on the morning.
We will tell you at the survey whether you need one and what it involves. Without it the van stands wherever it legally can, and that can be a long way from your door.
Our block wants proof of insurance before you come.
That is common and it is fine. Managing agents frequently want a copy of our public liability and goods-in-transit cover, and sometimes a lift booking as well.
Give us the agent’s details when you book and we will deal with it directly rather than leaving it with you.
Will the sofa go up a converted terrace?
The doorway is almost never the problem. The turn on the half-landing is, and that is a measurement rather than a guess.
We measure it at the survey and tell you before the day if something will not go, so there is time to decide what happens instead. Finding out with the sofa wedged on the stairs helps nobody.
SW19 and around
Which areas do you cover?
The whole of Wimbledon — the Village, the Ridgway and Common edge, the town centre, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and the Southfields side — plus Raynes Park, Merton Park, Colliers Wood and Morden.
The delivery end can be anywhere in the country. A great many moves out of SW19 are going a long way rather than round the corner.
Does the tennis actually affect a removal?
On the Park and Southfields side, genuinely yes. The roads around the park carry temporary restrictions and controls during the Championships, and a standing position that works the rest of the year may not exist while they are on.
It affects the town centre much less. We check your date against that period at the enquiry stage either way, because moving a date is easier than moving a road closure.
Why do you organise the site by where on the hill we are?
Because it predicts the job better than anything else does. Two identical three-bedroom houses, one in the Village and one off the Broadway, are completely different days — one is an access problem and the other is a permissions problem.
Asking which end of the hill you are on gets us to a useful quote faster than asking how many bedrooms you have.
Practical
Do you do single items and part-loads?
Yes, and they are quoted as what they are rather than as a small house move. A wardrobe up to the Village and a houseful out of a mansion block are not the same job and should not be priced as though they were.
Do you pack?
A full pack, a part pack of the fragile and awkward things only, or materials dropped off so you can do it yourself. Up the hill the part pack is usually the sensible one because the awkward things are the valuable ones.
What will you not carry?
Cash, jewellery, deeds and passports; controlled drugs; firearms and ammunition; fuels, gas bottles, fireworks and other hazardous goods; perishable food; plants that may carry pests; and living animals.
How much notice do you need?
Less than people expect for most jobs. The exceptions are anything needing a bay suspension or a managing agent’s permission, both of which have to be arranged well ahead, and dates during the Championships on the park side.
We hold provisional dates at no cost while a chain settles.
Get a quote
Tell us which end of the hill you are on
The Village, the Ridgway and Common edge, the Town, or the Park and Southfields side. That answer tells us what the constraint is, and the constraint is what the quote is really about.