Check who you are contracting with, who you are paying, who will turn up and what is in writing before you pay a deposit.
In this guide
Before paying a deposit, check who you are contracting with, who you are paying, who will actually carry out the move and what the written booking says. Reviews are useful evidence only when combined with identity, address, cover wording, written scope and complaint checks. This guide sets out the checks, the red flags and a shorter list for urgent bookings.
Due-diligence checklist
- Confirm legal/trading name, physical address, phone and company details.
- Ask whether work is performed by employees, subcontractors or another mover.
- Obtain a written inventory, access assumptions, price basis and terms.
- Read liability, exclusions, cancellation, delay and complaint clauses.
- Check membership claims directly with the named trade body.
- Look for review patterns across more than one platform.
- Confirm payment recipient matches the contracting business.
Five checks in detail
Each check answers a different question. None of them proves a firm is good; together they make problems much easier to spot before money changes hands.
| Check | What to ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Contracting identity | The full legal name on the quote and terms. For a limited company, the company number, which you can look up free on the Companies House register. | The name on the contract is the business your booking is with. A trading name or a phone number alone does not tell you who that is. |
| Payment recipient | Bank details on an invoice in the contracting business's name. Confirm any change of details by phone, using a number you already hold. | If the payee name does not match the business on the contract, stop and ask before paying. |
| Claimed memberships | Confirmation from the organisation itself, not the badge on the mover's website. | Badges can be copied. Only the organisation can say whether the firm is a current member. |
| Cover wording | The liability terms and any insurance wording in writing: limits, exclusions, excess and how owner-packed boxes are treated. | “Fully insured” does not tell you what is covered or for how much. |
| Written booking scope | Inventory, access at both addresses, dates, packing, dismantling, storage, price basis, deposit and cancellation terms. | What is not written down is hard to rely on if the day goes wrong. |
Membership claims and listings
Check membership claims with the organisation itself. The British Association of Removers (BAR) says you can check whether a mover is a member on its own website or by phone, and that the BAR logo on a member's website should work as a live link. BAR is a trade association: membership means meeting BAR's own membership criteria and code of practice. It is not a statutory licence to trade. See what the BAR badge checks.
The licence that does apply to many removal firms is about vehicles, not service quality. In Great Britain, a business carrying goods in a vehicle with a gross plated weight over 3,500 kg needs a goods vehicle operator's licence; Northern Ireland has its own rules. See operator's licence rules for removal firms.
A listing is not an endorsement. A removal firm appearing on Compare House Movers, or being put in touch with you after a quote request, has not been endorsed or had its standards checked by us. Run the same checks on every firm, however you found it.
Red flags
Be cautious when a mover refuses a survey for a complex move, will not identify the business, gives only a cash price in messages, demands a large urgent transfer to a personal account, changes company names, cannot explain liability or uses copied membership badges.
A deposit is not automatically suspicious. The concern is amount, timing, payment destination, refund/cancellation terms and lack of a credible contract.
Who will arrive?
Booking websites and lead services may pass work to another business. Ask for the operating mover’s name, vehicle arrangement and responsibility for loss or damage. Recheck if this changes.
Urgent booking checklist
When a move is days away, pressure to pay quickly is exactly when checks get skipped. If you are booking at short notice, or replacing a firm that has not turned up, keep to this shorter list:
- Get the contracting business's full name, address and phone number in writing, and look up a limited company on the Companies House register.
- Send a written inventory (room by room, plus loft, garage and shed) and the access at both addresses, and get the price and what it includes in writing.
- Ask who will turn up: the firm's own crew, or another business.
- Pay only to an account in the contracting business's name, and confirm the bank details by phone on a number you found independently.
- Ask what happens to your deposit if the firm cancels or cannot attend, and get the answer in writing.
- Check any membership claim with the organisation before paying, not after.
- Keep every message, quote and receipt in one place.
For the fuller process, see how to check a firm quickly for a last-minute move and what to do if the removal company has not turned up.
FAQs
How can I check who will carry out the move?
Ask the contracting company in writing whether it subcontracts and request the operating business details before payment.
What should concern me about a deposit request?
Pressure, personal accounts, unclear refund terms, mismatched names and an amount disproportionate to the stated booking commitment.
Does BAR membership mean a removal firm is licensed?
No. BAR is a trade association with its own membership criteria and code of practice. Membership is not a statutory licence. Check current membership with BAR directly.
Does appearing on Compare House Movers mean a firm has been checked?
No. A listing or an introduction through this site is not an endorsement. Use the checklist above for every firm.
Sources
- British Association of Removers, “Moving House in the UK”
- GOV.UK, “Get information about a company”
- GOV.UK, “Being a goods vehicle operator”
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