I actually took time off work. My brothers in law also took five days off their holiday allowances. If they had had to be paid, or if I had paid myself for hours worked then story would have been different. Then we come to >=invisible<= costs. The bruised fingers, aching backs, dropped items of furniture, flaring of tempers, boredom of driving at 50 mph on a motorway!!! True I saved money but at what cost!! And it could have been FAR worse, for as I discovered later, my home contents insurance policy did not cover goods in transit to France. One accident and I would have lost everything. Further, I have a sneaking suspicion that vehicle may have been a >=tad<= overweight. Had I been stopped entire load could have been seized! Never again!

One of questions we continually get asked concerns packing. The easiest and cheapest way is to pack yourselves, especially if you have time. BUT (there is always a but!) be aware that goods that you pack yourself may not qualify for >=full<= accidental insurance cover that some companies offer. This stands to reason as no insurer could be sure that a) The items were in good condition prior to packing and b) That they were correctly packed. If you do pack yourselves then your insurer will normally only cover >=Total Loss<=, which in reality is probably enough cover, but as always think carefully about what level of cover and service you actually need.

As for actual packing most companies offer a packing service for European loads. This service can extend to cover >=packing<= of all of your small items, but you can negotiate to have only some of goods packed and most companies will provide all materials you need for this, albeit at a small charge. Of note is that in general terms items of furniture that are packed for European moves are >=blanket<= wrapped on vehicle. This is adequate for non container moves. However, if you are moving >=overseas<= and your goods are to be placed in a container then a >=Full export<= pack is highly recommended. Here furniture etc is all >=bubble wrapped<= and extra protection afforded to delicate items. The reason for this being that containers on ships do move about and damage to contents is not uncommon!

Finally, if packing yourself, please do not overload boxes! All too often a box is picked up and contents promptly fall through bottom. However one of companies recently reported to us that upon arrival at a clients house every room was neatly stacked with boxes. The clients appeared to be very well organised and all boxes were numbered and all sealed. The removal men lifted a box each and everything in boxes simply slipped out bottom of boxes. The client had made up boxes, sealed tops and totally forgotten to seal bottoms of every single box!

So is there a REAL difference in service offered by expensive companies and cheaper ones? Well there is one story going around which reads like this:

'With cheaper companies, they throw all stuff in back of a van and when it gets to other end its all matchwood. With more expensive companies they wait until you are not looking and...' Here I would ask you to consider what is, in reality, happening. Your furniture is being carried out of a house, placed in a vehicle and is eventually unloaded and placed in new house. Rocket science it is not!!!

Lets face it what everyone wants is a reliable, efficient, friendly service. A company that will turn up when they say, not break all your china, be courteous, and deliver your worldly possessions at time agreed and in one piece. Surprisingly smaller, cheaper family run firms provide just this type of service, and after all, when it comes down to it, will your washing machine feel any happier in an expensive removal van?

The problem is 'How to choose your removal Company'. To some extent, that depends on your budget and what you desire. Some companies offer complete dismantling services, cleaning services, pet transfer services and more still. These services you will pay for! If though, you just want to move house and do not want a gold plated delivery van outside your front door, options are almost limitless! Or rather they can be! So before you even start to look for a company, decide what level of service you actually need. Once that is done your search can begin.

Magazine and newspaper adverts and yellow pages are all good starting points. If you are computer literate any good search engine such as Google, will provide you with lists of companies that work within Europe. Once this has been done you can begin your whittling down process. Price will obviously help here, as will attitude of person who takes your call! Personal recommendations are best, but failing that there are a number of Internet forums where you can ask others on line for their moving experiences. These forums can be very illuminating with frank comments on various companies abounding!

Research is key here. I have yet to find a single company that states 'we will be late and break your goods!' All claim an excellent service and truth of matter is that 90% of removal companies DO provide an excellent service. The only question is how much should I pay? But nothing is ever simple and all too often what looked initially like a good deal turns sour l