Terms and conditions

These terms govern work carried out by Watford Removals — removals, packing, storage and associated transport quoted from Watford, Hertfordshire.

1. Quotes

A quote is given in writing after a survey, in person or by video. Indications given before a survey are not quotes and bind neither of us.

A written quote is valid for thirty days from its date unless it says otherwise, and is based on the volume, access and scope recorded at survey. If the actual work differs materially — significantly more to move, an access restriction that was not mentioned, an extra address — the price may be adjusted, and we will tell you before the work proceeds rather than afterwards.

Quotes assume a vehicle can park lawfully within a reasonable carrying distance at both ends. Where a permit, a bay suspension or a lift booking is required, arranging it is your responsibility unless the quote says we are doing it.

2. Booking and payment

A booking is confirmed when you accept the quote in writing and pay any deposit stated on it. Dates are held only once a booking is confirmed.

Unless your quote says otherwise, the balance is due before work begins on the day, and storage charges are payable in advance for each storage period. Where an account is agreed for commercial work, invoices are payable within fourteen days of the invoice date. We may charge interest on overdue sums at the statutory rate for late commercial payment.

3. Cancellation and changes

Cancel or postpone in writing as early as you can. A deposit is refundable in full where you cancel more than fourteen days before the booked date. Inside that period it may be retained in whole or in part to reflect the crew and vehicle time committed to your date. Cancellation on the day, or refusal of access on arrival, may be charged in full.

Dates moving inside a chain is ordinary and we will always try to re-plan rather than charge. Tell us the moment you know.

4. What we will not carry or store

We will not accept anything flammable, explosive, corrosive or otherwise hazardous, including fuel, gas cylinders, paint, solvents and fireworks; perishable goods; plants or anything living; firearms, ammunition or anything unlawful to possess.

Cash, jewellery, deeds, passports and irreplaceable documents are better kept with you. Where such items are included without being declared and agreed in writing, we do not accept liability for them.

We do not carry out waste clearance or disposal and do not hold a waste carrier licence.

5. Packing and preparation

Where we pack, we are responsible for how it is packed. Where you pack, you are responsible for the contents of those cartons and whether they are fit for the journey — and, for storage, whether they are fit to sit sealed for an extended period.

Appliances must be disconnected, drained and safe before collection unless we have agreed in writing to handle that. Goods must be dry going into storage. Anything with a fuel tank, a battery or a residue should be raised with us beforehand.

6. Access, and what the crew may decline

You are responsible for telling us about access at both ends: floors, lifts, stairs, narrow streets, weight or height restrictions, and anywhere a full-size vehicle cannot reach or turn. Around Watford this matters in the town centre and on the older terrace streets in particular.

Our crew may decline any operation they reasonably consider unsafe, or that risks damaging the property or the goods — a piece that will not go up a staircase, an item too heavy for the crew present, a surface that will not take the weight. Where that happens we explain it at the time and offer the alternative if one exists.

7. Cover and liability

Goods-in-transit and public liability cover are in place. The limits, including any per-item limit, are stated on your quote. If you own something worth more than the per-item limit, tell us at survey so the right cover is arranged before the day; undeclared items are covered only to the standard limit.

We are not liable for loss or damage arising from goods packed by you where the packing was the cause; inherent defect or normal wear; anything we were not told about that made the operation unsafe or impossible to do properly; or events outside our reasonable control.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Consumer statutory rights are unaffected.

8. Storage

Goods placed into storage are inventoried at collection and held under a separate storage agreement setting out the period, the charges and the notice arrangements. Access is by appointment with reasonable notice.

Goods are released only to you or to somebody you have authorised in writing, on proof of identity, and only when the account is clear.

Where storage charges remain unpaid we have a lien over the goods and, after written notice to your last known address allowing not less than thirty days for the account to be settled, may sell them to recover what is owed, returning any surplus after costs. Keep your contact details up to date with us — this is why.

9. International moves

On a move out of the UK you are responsible for the accuracy of the inventory and of any residency, address or tax documentation supplied for customs. You are signing those declarations; we prepare and lodge the export paperwork on the basis of what you tell us.

Duties, taxes, inspection charges and storage levied by authorities at either end are payable by you. Delays caused by customs, inspection, port operations, weather or border conditions are outside our control and are not grounds for a claim against us.

10. Claims

Note any loss or damage on the paperwork at the time of delivery or redelivery, while the crew is present, and confirm it to us in writing within seven days. Keep the packaging and the item until the claim has been assessed — it is frequently what establishes where and how the damage occurred. Claims notified outside that window are harder to substantiate and may be declined.

11. Sub-contracting

Work is carried out by our own crew in our own vehicles. Where part of a job genuinely needs a specialist — a piano, a safe, a hoist, or an overseas delivery leg — we tell you at quote stage. We do not sell your job on to an unrelated firm without telling you.

12. Complaints

Tell us first, at hello@watford-removals.uk, and give us the chance to put it right. Most things are settled by a conversation and a visit.

13. Law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. See also our privacy policy.