"How much does a removal cost?" is the question we get asked most, and the honest answer is: it depends on five things, not one flat rate per mile. Here's what actually drives the price, so a quote makes sense when you get one rather than feeling like a number pulled from nowhere.
The five things that set the price
Distance matters far less than people assume for local Surrey moves, crew time and the volume of your belongings do most of the work. In rough order of how much they affect the final number:
- •Volume, how much you're actually moving, which is why a decluttered flat can cost less than a cluttered one, even at the same square footage
- •Access, stairs, lift size, parking distance from the door, and whether a large lorry can actually get down your road
- •Packing, whether you're packing yourself, want fragile items packed for you, or want a full pack-and-unpack service
- •Crew size and vehicle, a two-person man-and-van job costs less than a full three-person crew with a large box lorry
- •Timing, weekends and month-ends (when a lot of tenancies turn over) are busier and priced accordingly
Rough ranges, so you have a starting point
These are genuinely rough, and a proper quote will always beat a guess, but as a starting point for Surrey moves: a one-bedroom flat with a man-and-van service typically sits at the lower end, a three-bedroom family house with a full crew and some packing help sits in the middle, and a large detached home with a full pack-and-unpack service sits at the top. The single biggest lever you control is how much you declutter before the survey, less volume is the most reliable way to bring a quote down.
Why free quotes vary between companies
If you get three quotes and they're wildly different, it's usually because they're not quoting the same thing. A cheaper quote might assume you're doing all your own packing, or that the van can park directly outside, or that it's a two-person job when your inventory really needs three. Ask what's included, packing materials, disassembly of large furniture, insurance level, before comparing numbers side by side.
Our own quotes are built from either an in-person survey or a short video walkaround (the same one we ask for on WhatsApp-style quotes), specifically so the number you're given is the number you pay, not a starting offer that grows once the crew sees the actual job.