House moves fall through and completion dates slip. What you can get back, and what you can’t, depends mainly on the terms you agreed and whether any fee is fair.
In this guide
A removal booking reserves a crew, a van and a day nobody else can have. That is why cancelling or moving the date rarely comes free. The fee still has to be fair, though, and in most cases your position depends on the written terms rather than a 14-day cooling-off right.
The short answer for the UK: a removal booked for a specific date is unlikely to carry the statutory 14-day cancellation right, even if you booked online or by phone, because the Consumer Contracts Regulations exclude transport of goods for a specific date. What you can recover then depends on the cancellation terms you agreed, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says unfair terms are not binding on consumers. Both pieces of law apply in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Why removal firms charge to cancel
A crew and van blocked out for your move date that cannot easily be rebooked at short notice is a genuine cost to a removal firm. Citizens Advice describes how a business can “charge a cancellation fee” or “hold some or all of your deposit to compensate for their financial loss”, for example where it set aside time it cannot fill. That is different from a fee set as a penalty. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists, as examples of terms that may be unfair, a term requiring a consumer who decides not to go ahead to pay “a disproportionately high sum in compensation or for services which have not been supplied”. So a fee that is far out of proportion to the firm’s likely loss is open to challenge, even if it is in the contract.
Does the 14-day cooling-off right apply?
For many services arranged online, by phone, or away from the trader’s premises, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give a 14-day cancellation period that, for services, ends 14 days after the day the contract is made. Citizens Advice confirms you do not get this period if you arranged the service at the business’s own premises.
Removals are a special case. The regulations say the cancellation rules do not apply to “transport of goods” (along with accommodation, vehicle rental, catering and leisure services) “if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance”. Citizens Advice lists “transport of goods (including courier services)” among the services you cannot cancel this way. A house move booked for a fixed date is likely to fall within that exclusion, so do not assume you can cancel for a full refund just because you booked within the last 14 days.
A firm may still offer its own cooling-off or refund terms. If it does, get them in writing. If you are unsure whether your booking is covered, ask the firm to confirm its position in writing and check with Citizens Advice, which publishes separate versions of its advice for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
When the contract terms decide
Where no cooling-off right applies, cancellation comes down to the contract you agreed and what loss the firm can show. Practical steps:
- Re-read the written terms you were sent when you booked: not just the quote, but the booking confirmation or contract.
- Ask whether rescheduling to a new date carries a smaller fee than a full cancellation. Many firms treat these differently, and a move that has slipped a week because of a chain delay is not the same loss as a booking cancelled altogether.
- If a fee feels out of proportion to the notice you gave, negotiate directly first, and put your reasons in writing.
- If your mover is a British Association of Removers (BAR) member and negotiation does not resolve it, BAR says it offers a free and independent dispute resolution service; see our guide to what BAR accreditation checks.
Rescheduling: what to get in writing
When a completion date moves, a reschedule is often the cheaper route, but it can create confusion about the money already paid. Ask the firm to confirm:
- the new date, and whether it is confirmed or provisional;
- whether your deposit carries over in full to the new date;
- any rescheduling fee, and whether the price for the move itself has changed;
- what happens if the new date also moves.
If the firm asks for more money to move the date, ask what the charge is for. Our guide to movers asking for more money covers how to deal with charges that were not in the original quote.
If the mover cancels on you, or stops trading
Cancellation risk runs both ways. BAR says that where its members take money in advance of the move, that advance payment is protected by its Advanced Payment Guarantee if the member is unable to carry out the move because of financial difficulties. A firm outside a scheme like this may offer no equivalent protection, which is one more reason to check accreditation with the organisation at the booking stage. If the firm simply fails to arrive on the day, see what to do if your removal company has not turned up.
Questions to ask before you book, so cancellation terms never surprise you
| Ask | Why |
|---|---|
| What is the cancellation fee at each notice period (for example, 4 weeks, 2 weeks, 48 hours)? | Many firms scale the fee by how close to the date you cancel; get the actual tiers, not “a fee applies” |
| Is rescheduling treated differently from cancelling? | Completion dates move often; a cheaper reschedule option can save real money |
| Is my deposit refundable, and under what conditions? | Some deposits are non-refundable regardless of notice; confirm before paying it |
| What happens if you cancel on me? | Confirms what protection, if any, applies if the firm is the one that lets you down |
Comparing several firms? Put their cancellation terms side by side as part of the quote; see how to compare removal quotes.
FAQs
Can I get a full refund if my house sale falls through?
Not automatically. A collapsed chain is a common reason for cancelling, but it does not override the firm’s cancellation terms, and the statutory cooling-off right is unlikely to apply to a dated removal booking. Ask about rescheduling to a later date instead of cancelling outright; it may be cheaper and keeps your crew booked for when the sale does complete.
Is a deposit ever fully non-refundable?
It depends on the terms you agreed when booking. Some firms treat a deposit as securing the date and keep it in full on cancellation regardless of notice; others refund some or all of it if you cancel with enough notice. A term that lets a firm keep a sum out of proportion to its loss may be open to challenge as unfair, so confirm the terms in writing before you pay.
What counts as “reasonable notice” for cancelling a removal booking?
There is no fixed legal number of days specific to removals. What matters is whether the fee charged reflects the loss the firm is likely to suffer for that amount of notice. A fee that is the same whether you cancel three months or three days out is harder to justify as reflecting real loss.
Sources
- Citizens Advice, “Cancelling a service you’ve arranged” (England; separate versions exist for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- legislation.gov.uk, “The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulations 27, 28 and 30”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 62 and Schedule 2”
- British Association of Removers, “Why use a BAR Member for your move”
Related guides
Removal deposits and final payments
Completion delayed on moving day
Choosing a removal company
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