The Removals Checklist Every Horsham Home-Mover Should Use
A removals checklist for anyone choosing a mover: what to check, the questions to ask, what a good quote shows, the warning signs and your rights when you book.
Before you book a removal company, check that it’s a real business, that it surveys your home before giving a fixed written quote, what its cover includes, what independent reviews say, and what happens if your completion is delayed.
The quick answer
The firm: A real business, a street address, and a company you can look up
The price: Fixed and in writing, itemised, after a survey of your home
Reviews: On independent sites, read the 3 and 4-star ones too
Your rights: Reasonable care and skill, the law says so for every service
Moving in or around Horsham? See parking suspensions in Horsham. Looking for a week-by-week moving checklist instead? Our house move timeline covers it.
The Checklist: What to Check Before You Book
Check these eight things with every firm on your shortlist, and get at least three quotes, ideally from firms that visit your home rather than pricing it over the phone.
The checklist
- A real business you can checkA street address, not just a PO box, and if it’s a limited company, a free Companies House record.
- A survey before the priceThe removal company sees your home, in person or by video, before giving a price.
- A fixed, itemised written quoteIn writing, broken down so you can compare it with the others.
- Know what the cover includesAny limit per box or item, and the time limit for a claim.
- Reviews on independent sitesNot only the ones on the firm’s own website.
- Deposit and payment termsThe deposit, when the balance is due and how you can pay, in writing.
- A plan if completion slipsWhat happens if you can’t get into the new house on the day.
- Access and parking plannedAt both ends, and who arranges any bay suspension.
Sources: Which?, Citizens Advice and Companies House.
Want a quote to hold up against this list? Book a free survey and you’ll have our fixed, itemised price, usually within a day.
When to Book a Removal Company
Book a removal company as soon as you have a likely completion date. In our experience summer and month-ends fill first, because that’s when completion dates cluster.
If your dates are still moving, book the survey anyway: the quote holds while the chain settles, and the date is confirmed once the deposit is paid. Our house move timeline covers the rest of the run-up.
How to Check a Removal Company Is Genuine
Look for a real street address, not just a PO box, and search the firm on Companies House if it’s a limited company. The search is free and shows the registered office.
Three checks that a firm is real
- A street addressOne you could visit, not just a PO box.
- A Companies House recordFor a limited company or LLP: free to search, and it shows the registered office.
- Memberships that check outIf it claims one, confirm it on the scheme’s own website.
Sources: Companies House and Citizens Advice.
Sole traders aren’t on Companies House, so for them a street address and written terms matter even more. No postal address, nothing confirmed in writing, or pressure to pay quickly are all signs Citizens Advice says something might be a scam.
Red Flags When Choosing a Removal Company
Walk away from a firm that won’t put anything in writing, prices a whole house over the phone without a survey, has no real address, or pushes you to pay quickly. Our guide to vetting a mover goes further.
Four warning signs
- Nothing in writingNo written confirmation of what’s been agreed.
- A price by phoneA whole house priced over the phone, with no survey.
- No real addressNo postal address, or only a PO box.
- Pressure to payBeing pushed to pay quickly.
Sources: Citizens Advice and Which?.
How to Read Removal Company Reviews
Read reviews on independent sites as well as the firm’s own, and read the middling ones. Fake reviews have been a banned practice under consumer law since April 2025 (Competition and Markets Authority).
Which reviews to read
The chart is an illustration, not real data.
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Three and four-star reviews are unlikely to be fake, so they’re particularly useful.
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Check several sites; a consistent picture across them is more reliable than one glowing page.
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Be wary of slick reviews that all sound alike.
Source: the CMA.
What a Good Removals Quote Includes
A good removals quote is fixed, in writing and itemised: the date and addresses, the crew and vehicle, any packing, access and parking, what cover is included, and the total.
What a good removals quote shows
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The moving date, and both addresses.
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The crew and the vehicle.
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Packing and materials, if you’ve asked for them.
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Access and parking at each end.
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What cover is included.
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A fixed total, not an estimate that can grow on the day.
Sources: Which? (an itemised breakdown) and our pricing page.
Comparing three quotes
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Quote A: priced without a survey, not itemised, not fixed and silent on parking. Avoid it, whatever the total.
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Quote B: surveyed and fixed, but not itemised and silent on parking. Ask for the breakdown before you decide.
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Quote C: surveyed, itemised, fixed, and clear on cover and parking. That’s the one to compare on price.
Based on Which?’s advice to get at least three quotes, ideally after a visit, with an itemised breakdown.
Ask every removal company for an itemised breakdown so you can compare quotes like for like. What a firm puts in writing about its service becomes part of the contract if you rely on it (Consumer Rights Act 2015). If a firm can’t visit in person, list everything you’re moving as accurately as you can, including the loft and the garage (Which?); a video survey lets the firm see the real job.
Questions to Ask a Removal Company
Ask what happens if your completion is delayed, what the cover includes, what isn’t in the price, and who arranges parking.
- What if completion runs late?Can you keep our things on the lorry, or put them into storage?
- What does your cover include?Is there a limit per box unless we declare the value? Are boxes we pack covered? How long do we have to claim?
- What isn’t in the price?Is there anything that could be added on the day?
- Who arranges parking?And when is any bay suspension booked?
- When is the balance due?And how can we pay it?
- Who will do the move?Your own crew? And who is our point of contact?
Source: Which? for delays, cover, costs and parking; the payment and crew questions are our own. For more, see our questions to ask a removal firm.
Deposits, Payment and Your Rights
Before you pay a removal deposit, read the firm’s cancellation terms: there’s no 14-day cooling-off for a move booked for a set date, and a firm can generally keep only enough to cover its actual losses. Every removal must also be carried out with reasonable care and skill (Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49).
Four things to know before you pay
- NO 14 DAYSNo 14-day cooling-off for a dated moveThe cancellation rules exclude transport of goods booked for a specific date, so read the firm’s own cancellation terms before you pay a deposit.
- LOSSES ONLYA deposit if you cancelA business is generally only entitled to keep enough to cover its actual losses.
- SECTION 75Paying by credit cardFor anything over £100 and up to £30,000, Section 75 lets you claim against the card company, even if only the deposit went on the card.
- IN WRITINGIf something is damagedPhotograph it and tell the firm in writing straight away, within any claim deadline in its terms. You can ask for a poor service to be put right for up to six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; where it’s possible the firm must first be given the chance to do it again, and if it can’t be put right, you can ask for a price reduction.
Sources: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28, Which? (deposits), Citizens Advice and Which? (Section 75), and Citizens Advice on complaints and evidence of damage.
Trading Standards can act against a business, but they won’t get you a refund; you report to them through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
Parking Suspensions in Horsham
In Horsham town centre, a removal lorry may need a parking bay suspended. Horsham District Council suspends bays in the Horsham and Billingshurst parking zones for removals, booked at least five working days ahead.
A removal lorry in a Horsham street
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A standard suspension is two spaces, about 10 metres.
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Suspension signs go up about a week before, and it must be booked at least five working days ahead.
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On yellow lines, a lorry can usually load and unload without a suspension, as long as the loading is continuous and it isn’t causing an obstruction.
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Where a suspension is needed, we book it and tell you the council’s charge before you decide.
Source: Horsham District Council (booking a suspension).
Our Horsham removals page goes street by street through the town centre, the period houses and the new estates.
How to Plan a Smooth Moving Day
Once you’ve booked, a smooth day comes down to an essentials box, a final walk-through and a lorry unloaded room by room.
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Pack an essentials box (chargers, kettle, snacks, medication and a change of clothes) and keep it with you rather than on the lorry.
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Once the house is clear, walk through it with the crew so nothing is left behind.
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At the new home, each labelled box goes to its room and the furniture goes where you want it.
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For the weeks before, our house move timeline sets out what to do when.
Source: our house removals page.
How We Work
Every Wolves Removals move starts with a free survey, in person or by video, and a fixed written quote, itemised and usually with you within a day.
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The survey can be a quick video call on your phone; bigger houses and tricky access get a visit.
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One named coordinator sees the job through, from the survey to moving day.
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A deposit confirms the date; the balance timing is set out in the same written quote.
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If completion slips by hours we hold the load on the lorry; by days, it goes into our store at Ashington.
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We’re fully insured, and a LAPADA Approved Service Provider for antiques and fine art.
From our own moves
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Completion slipped by weeks: on a move from Yapton to Perthshire, the new cottage hadn’t completed when the old house had to be cleared. The load went into our store for a little over two weeks, then north on a date that worked. Read the Yapton to Perthshire move story.
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Waiting for keys: on completion day the keys aren’t released until the money has moved, and the crew can be left waiting with a full lorry. A key wait waiver, added when you book, means you’re not charged for that wait. How a key wait waiver works on a real move.
You can read our reviews at source, or see how a move is priced on our pricing page.
Comparing removal firms?
Book a free survey and you’ll have our fixed, itemised quote to compare.
Jack Wolfe
Director, Wolves Removals · Ashington, West Sussex
Jack runs Wolves Removals, which has moved families and businesses across West and East Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent since 2016 from its Ashington base. The firm is fully insured, Checkatrade-verified and a LAPADA Approved Service Provider for antiques and fine art. More about us, or read our reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check that it’s a real business with a street address, that it surveys your home before quoting, that the quote is fixed, written and itemised, what its cover includes, what independent reviews say, the deposit and payment terms, what happens if completion is delayed, and who arranges parking.
At least three, ideally from firms that visit your home or survey it by video rather than pricing it over the phone. Ask each for an itemised breakdown so you can compare like for like.
Usually not as of right. The 14-day cooling-off rules don’t cover transport of goods booked for a specific date, so check the firm’s own cancellation terms before you pay a deposit. If you do cancel, a business is generally only entitled to keep enough to cover its actual losses.
Yes, if you can. For anything over £100 and up to £30,000, Section 75 lets you claim against the card company if things go wrong, even when only the deposit went on the card.
Photograph the damage straight away and tell the firm in writing, within any claim deadline in its terms. The law says the service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill; where the service can be done again, the firm must first be given the chance to put it right, and in England, Wales and Northern Ireland you have up to six years to ask.
Often not. Which? warns that a removal firm’s insurance won’t cover items you’ve packed yourself, so check the terms, and ask your own contents insurer what’s covered during the move.
Only where the lorry has to stand in a marked bay. Horsham District Council needs at least five working days’ notice. On yellow lines a lorry can usually load and unload while loading is continuous and it isn’t causing an obstruction. Our Horsham removals page has the street-by-street detail.
