No matter where you are going, moving abroad is a mammoth task that takes plenty of preparation and consideration. Even if you can’t wait to get to your new location, you may feel unsure about where to begin when it comes to transporting your belongings. To help with this challenge, it may be worth hiring an experienced, professional remover. They can take a huge amount of stress out of your transit, and help with much more than the physical move itself. Here, the OverseasGuidesCompany.com – which has over a decade’s worth of experience in helping people move – gives some top tips for working with a removal company:
- When you are assessing removal companies, it’s important that you ensure that all possible choices are a member of an accredited body, such as the British Association of Removers (BAR).
- Once you have made your decision, make sure you discuss all your options with the removal company at the very beginning and work out exactly what services you will require. As well as the packing and transportation of your household goods, you may need storage facilities in either country. Make sure you offer as much detail as possible about the location of your new property, and how it can be accessed, especially if this is not straightforward – for example, if you are moving to a rural property with no obvious address or signage. You will also have to discuss any traffic and parking restrictions at your current residence and the new property.
- Before you sign on the dotted line, read all small print and terms and conditions thoroughly. You need to review any insurance policies and assess what happens if any issues, such as extreme weather, arise. Talk through any doubts and questions with your company before you put pen to paper.
- Make sure you know if your removal company will be sending your belongings as a ‘part load’. This means that if you do not have a full container worth of possessions they are packed along with the possessions of another client – removal companies often operate this kind of load for efficiency and cost effectiveness.
- It is a good idea to pay for your removal company to pack your goods, as they can ensure that these meet the requirements of customs in your new country. Make sure that before they do, though, you are ruthless in sorting out exactly what you need to take with you. Do you really want to pay to move clutter from one country to the other, or for items that you can easily replace in the new country?
- Your removal company will visit your home in the months before your move to survey your belongings and put together a quote, and at this point you can discuss exactly what you want to take with you. They will also be able to advise you about electrical goods and whether these can used safely in your new country with different power provisions.
Words by Overseas Guides Company.com, publishers of buying guides in over 15 countries, 0207 898 0549.
