What Happens If Something Is Damaged During Your Move

Damage to your belongings is one of the two things people worry about most before booking a removalist - and fair enough. You're handing over furniture, family photos, and things that matter to people you've just met. So here is exactly what happens if something does get damaged on a job with us, no vague reassurances, just the actual process.

Step 1: We document it with photos

The moment damage is noticed, on the day or shortly after, we take photos. This isn't about covering ourselves - it's about having a clear, honest record of what happened so there's no guessing or disagreement later. If you notice something after we've left, send us photos too. The clearer the picture, the faster we can sort it.

Step 2: We get a professional quote

Rather than guessing what something is worth or what it costs to fix, we get a proper quote from a professional - a repairer, a furniture specialist, whoever is the right trade for the item. This gives everyone a real number to work from instead of a back and forth argument about value.

Step 3: We pay it directly, or it goes through QBE

Once we know the actual cost, the path depends on how expensive it is. For smaller, more affordable amounts, we pay for it ourselves on the spot - it's faster for you and it's simply the right thing to do for a scuff or a minor knock. For bigger, more expensive damage, we put it through our goods in transit insurance with QBE. Either way, you get a straight answer on who's paying and how, rather than being passed off to a claims department.

Why we don't send everything through insurance

Most damage on a move is minor - a scratch, a small mark, a knock that needs a touch-up. Lodging a formal insurance claim for something like that means paperwork and waiting on both sides for an amount that's often genuinely small. We'd rather just pay it and move on. QBE cover is there for when it's the right tool for the job - a genuinely expensive item where insurance is what protects you properly. You can read more about how that goods in transit insurance actually works if you want the full breakdown.

What helps things go smoothly

A few things make this process faster on both sides. Pointing out any existing damage before we load anything means there's no confusion later about what happened during the move versus what was already there. An accurate inventory helps too, particularly for anything packed by you rather than us. None of this is about catching anyone out - it's just the same record-keeping that protects you, whoever you end up moving with.

In 2,500+ moves, we've never had an unresolved issue. That's not because nothing ever gets bumped or marked - things happen when you're moving heavy furniture through doorways and down stairs. It's because when something does happen, we deal with it directly and quickly, the same way we'd want it handled if it were our own things.