City-Removals and Storage

I needed to move the contents of my 2-bed flat in Central London to a similarly sized flat in Beaconsfield, just outside the M25. This was the first time I had ever needed to use a removals company, so didn't really know what to expect, either in terms of price or service. I used a website which sent my details to a number of different removals companies and got quotes back which ranged from £300 to £1300! However, I did a bit of customer research on the companies which quoted, and they were mostly either 'do not use this company', or 'very expensive for what they did'. So I started again, and looked on Removal Reviews for the highest-rated companies. I chose City-Removals and Storage, as they seemed to be highly regarded and I got the sense they were sensibly priced. I requested a quote on their website, and 2 days later their estimator Nicola Antoine came over to do a survey. She was friendly and very professional, and provided me with a quote for the removal itself, with optional pricing for packing, and for packing materials. I chose to do the packing myself and had lots of boxes from previous house-moves, so I only needed to pay City-Removals and Storage £560 for the removal itself, with no VAT to be added. This was a bit more expensive than they would charge for a normal 2-bed flat because I was moving from a 4th floor flat with narrow stairs so they recommended 3 men rather than the normal 2. This seemed a very fair price for the effort involved. So the booking was made, and I paid £70 deposit by bank transfer. They made the arrangements with Westminster Council to suspend the single-yellow line outside my flat, at no additional cost. On removal day, the 3 guys turned up at precisely 8am as booked. They were professionally-presented, wearing company uniforms and in a company van. They proceeded to carry everything down the stairs and into the van, and were very courteous and friendly during the whole process. They put my sofas into big fabric bags, which made handling them much easier - all very impressive. The load-out took just over 2 hours. They then drove directly to the new place, and I met them there. They carried all the items into the new flat, placing furniture and boxes according to where I wanted them - and again were very friendly and helpful, suggesting the best locations for things in the rooms where I wasn't quite certain. The load-in took a little over an hour, so altogether they completed the entire job in 4 hours 40 minutes including the journey. I have to say I was very impressed with the whole job. There was absolutely no damage at all, to furniture or walls. They were careful to avoid getting muddy footprints on the carpets. They even brought their own bottles of water so I didn't need to provide them with tea! I would definitely recommend this company.

Service cost: £560

I used City Removals to move the contents of a studio flat in Central London to a 3-bed property in Zone 2.  They were also responsible for packing and unpacking.  The movers were polite and professional throughout.  They pointed out smaller/valuable items that we might want to take ourselves to avoid the risk of loss or damage.  They worked quickly and without complaint although the destination property was on the third floor without a lift.  Arranging the delivery was also simple, with staff in the office happy to follow up with the Council on parking dispensations.

Service cost: £505

We used City Removals as the reviews were so good and the representative who came was very thorough. We moved from a 4 bed house to a 4 bed house. They arrived with two small vans and called for another van. They started at 8am and finished completing the move from our property at 7pm. They then went to the new property and didn't finish unloading till 2am in the morning. Allowing no time to build all the furniture. I don't write reviews usually but I don't want anyone to use them and be left in our situation. I am still upset by the whole experience. I think City Removals are fine for flat moving and small jobs but I would NEVER recommend them for a big move. We agreed on£100 compensation which I thought was more than fair given how much stress we endured. After much chasing they paid £80 and refused to stick to the agreement. That was the nail in the coffin because it showed how little they cared about us. Please don't ignore this review if you have a big move!  .

Service cost: £1200

We chose this company after a work colleague recommended them, and I am very pleased to say that everything went extremely well. We moved from a 4 bedroom house in KT area just a few streets away.
We also had a free property survey before the move and the representative who came over to do the assessment was very polite and professional. After this, in the same day we received the quote on our e-mail. The price, although not the cheapest, we thought was reasonable for the amount of stuff we had.
We also choose their packing service as with 3 children it was almost impossible to do it on our own. We had the whole house packed in about 7 hours by 3 of their staff, which we thought was incredible. Everything was packed properly, all the boxes were marked and they took very good care of all our artwork and fragile items in the house.
The next day we started early at 07:00 AM and they came right on time. After offering them a cup of tea they started emptying the house. I was happy to see that as explained by the representative from the property survey they used all sorts of furniture covers to protect our stuff. Also every single one of them was extremely polite and hardworking, going out of their way to ensure we were happy with the service.
They finished at around 09:00PM at our new house. They placed all items where we wanted and also reassembled our beds and wardrobes. We had many things stacked in the garage as we will be moving again in 6 months’ time.
No damages occurred whatsoever during the whole process.
Based on our experience with this company I would have no hesitation in recommending their services to anyone.
Also I posted this review as I was kindly asked by the company to provide feedback about their services at the end of the job
Thanks.

Service cost: £1260

[Sorry for the lack of paragraphs here, the text editor doesn't allow line breaks] Removal type: Small flat removal into storage (private) >>> Total cost of removal: £230 >>> Total storage cost: £125 (5 weeks) >>>>>>>>>> IN SUMMARY: - Competitive removal rates - My items were treated well - NO damage - Professional service - Excellent communication - Be aware that storage is provided by Big Yellow - If you have a padlock, make sure CRS use it rather than buying a new one >>>>> Like many, I picked City Removals & Storage (CRS) because of the strong reviews on here and because their rates were very competitive. >>>>> I think I contacted more than 10 companies based in London, and CRS were the second cheapest. I picked them over the cheapest because of their Removal Reviews rating. >>>>> Though my review will mention some negatives, I would ultimately recommend the company. >>>>>>>>>> REMOVAL: I arranged a fixed price removal of £230. I was offered a rate of £65 per hour, but chose the fixed rate to negate any traffic delays. My move was originally to be from Stoke Newington to Woolwich on a Tuesday morning. At the last minute, due to issues with my new place, I had to change from a flat to flat removal, to a removal to storage. >>>>> I must credit CRS for their flexibility and communication in the week leading up to my removal. They were at pains to accomodate my change of plans and quickly emailed revised invoices. >>>>> Throughout my time using the company I found them very accessible via email and telephone. The woman who handles telephone inquiries is polite and helpful. >>>>>  The van and two guys arrived an hour late on removal day. I was called by the van driver ahead of ETA and advised of the delay. I'm inclined to believe their reason for the delay, as the removal was scheduled for 9 am. >>>>> The guys were well presented, curteous and thorough. I had packed well, so the job was relatively easy for them. I would commend them for the care they took in taking my furniture out of the house and for the way they loaded the van. When I offered to help load the van, they wouldn't let me lift a finger. I guess these are two things a customer is entitled to expect, but it's worth noting nonetheless. >>>>>>>>>>> STORAGE: CRS' website insinuates it has its own facilities. In actual fact, they use the Big Yellow facility in Dagenham/Barking (http://www.bigyellow.co.uk/store/Dagenham-self-storage) -presumably because it's near their office. >>>>> CRS asserted they told me they used Big Yellow storage in a phone call while we worked out last minute plans. I don't believe they did, but can't say so with certainty. >>>>> I was charged £25 a week for storage and a flat fee of £15 for a padlock for my storage locker at Big Yellow. I knew about the £25 a week fee (from their quotation) but the £15 was a surprise when I received the invoice. >>>>> I asked that instead of paying the full price for the padlock they charge me £5 and keep the padlock for themselves. They kindly agreed (though this deal was mutually terminated when I ended up collecting my stuff myself - then I paid the full £15). >>>>> Inclidentally, on the day I collected my stuff I saw the padlock for sale at the Big Yellow reception. I asked how much it was and they said £13. I will leave you to decide whether the £2 CRS charged me extra was fair or not. >>>>> I don't know how much Big Yellow charge per week for their storage, but no doubt it'll be less than what I paid CRS for it. >>>>> I would note however, that because CRS has a relationship with Big Yellow, at no point did I have to complete any paperwork for the storage. This was the case when they put my stuff into storage, and when I arranged with CRS to pick up the stuff myself. .

Service cost: £230

We used this company for our move from a 3 bed 4th floor flat with no lift in Ealing to a 3 bed house just down the road.Before the move we had 5 different estimators that came and surveyed our house.We than received all the quotes on my e-mail. City removals were somewhere in the mid-price range. We had cheaper but also more expensive prices. Choosing someone was really hard as all the companies seemed to be professional movers with good reviews. After much talking with my wife we decided to use this company as Nicola we think was the most professional and polite from everyone.After we have finally settled down I can say that the service we received was nothing short of perfect.The staff were incredibly polite and hardworking, but also top professionals as they dismantled and then reassembled everything with ease. Their care was also extraordinary throughout the whole move. Also to anyone that is even thinking of packing their belongings themselves….do not do it.I think the best money we have spent was on their packing service.2 men came the day before the move and In about 6 hours they packed everything in boxes. We think this was extraordinary given the amount of staff we had. Also after unpacking my wife has about 20 bin bags full of tissue and bubble wrap, so they did not cut any corners when they packed our stuff.On the move day we had a 4 men crew, I remember all the names(Nick 1 and Nick 2 Adrian and Silvio).They were all extremely hard working, motivated and very careful with everything they touched.The loading took a bit more than expected (around 6 hours) but this only because of the sometimes exaggerated care they take with everything. No complaints here whatsoever.Once at our new house they placed everything in the relevant rooms, rebuild all the furniture and placed all the boxes where we wanted.We were extremely happy with the service we received and we think that although a bit more expensive than other quotes we have received it was money very well spent.

Service cost: £1230

I have moved 6 times in my life and I have the worse memories; this has been the smoothest moving of my life. The team was on time, polite, careful, considerate. I have no broken items at all.  I paid extra £220 because I could not get the van closer than a 100 metres to the flat, but I was advised before booking. I found the packing cost really reasonable (£350), considering the quality of the packaging (every fragile item was wrapped twice), and they had special packaging for the TV and electronics.    Worth every penny.  I highly recommend it to anyone.

Service cost: £1100

I choose to move my big two bed flat with a lot of furniture 25 miles with City Removals. The chaps arrived early were extremely polite and pleasant and didn't stop until both Vans were loaded ready to go. I asked them to pick up an extra item on route to my new place a fridge freezer which they happily did for a very reasonable small additional fee.  At the other end they put everything where we asked them to and even moved a big bookcase from room to room as we decided we didn't like where we had originally asked for it to go. They dismantled and reassembled the bed with ease, The actual move was the least stressful part of moving. If I ever moved again or if friends need to These guys are at the top of the list. They were also very helpful and flexible about booking in moving date as I was in  chain .   Thanks again guys, sorry its taken me so long to write you a good review.

Service cost: £580