Split between us · 3
You packed it, we carried it
The commonest arrangement in the trade and the least explained. Cover responds to loss or damage arising from our handling. It does not respond to damage attributable to the packing itself. Here is exactly where that line falls.
This is not a quirk of our terms. It is the standard position at every legitimate removals firm in the country.
Which side of the line things sit
Why the line exists at all
Because nobody can insure work they did not do and cannot inspect. A sealed carton is opaque: we do not know whether the glasses inside were wrapped, whether the space was filled, or whether the whole thing weighs more than it should.
So cover attaches to what we did — lifting, stacking, carrying, driving — and stops at what we could not see. That is the position at every legitimate removals firm in the country and any firm claiming otherwise is describing a policy they do not have.
How to end up on the right side of it
Four rules and they are not difficult. Fill every carton to the top so it does not crush under the one above. Keep each one light enough to lift properly. Wrap fragile contents individually rather than trusting the box. And leave no voids, because contents that move inside a box break inside a box.
Do those four and a self-packed carton behaves very much like a professionally packed one. Skip them and the carton is the weak point in a chain that is otherwise fine.
The arrangement we recommend most
Split it. We pack the fragile things — glass, china, pictures, lamps, anything unusual or irreplaceable — and you pack the books, the clothes and the contents of the kitchen cupboards.
It costs a fraction of full packing and it puts professional packing precisely where the risk sits. It is the most-booked option here and the one we suggest before anybody asks.
And when we will say no
Where a carton is plainly unfit to travel — overloaded to the point of being unsafe, open at the base, or so overfilled the lid will not close — we will say so and ask to repack it.
It is not officiousness. A carton that fails on a staircase is a risk to the crew before it is a risk to the contents.
Nothing on this page is insurance advice. Ask us for the policy summary, and read your own terms rather than relying on a website.
You packed it, we carried it
Questions about you packed it, we carried it
01 So self-packed cartons are not covered at all?
They are covered for loss or damage arising from our handling — dropped, crushed by the load, lost. They are not covered for damage attributable to the packing itself.
02 Is that just your terms?
No, it is the standard position across the trade. A firm telling you self-packed contents are fully covered regardless is describing a policy it almost certainly does not hold.
03 How do I pack so it is covered?
Fill to the top, keep it light enough to lift properly, wrap fragile contents individually, and leave no voids. Those four make a self-packed carton behave much like a professionally packed one.
04 Can you pack just the fragile things?
It is the arrangement we recommend most. It costs a fraction of full packing and puts the professional packing exactly where the risk is.
05 Will you refuse to carry a carton?
Where it is plainly unfit to travel, yes — unsafe weight, an open base, a lid that will not close. A carton that fails on a staircase is a risk to the crew first.
06 What if I am not sure about a particular item?
Ask at the survey and we will tell you. It is a free answer and it is a great deal cheaper than finding out from a claim.
Ask us for it in writing
Both addresses, roughly what is going, and whether you are packing any of it yourself. Ask for the policy summary in the same message and we will send it without being awkward about it.