1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184 
The removals sector has the most public face of any in the road transport industry.
Page 54
Page 55
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Louise Cole examines the pros and cons of helping people move house.
The huge demand for housing in the UK over the past three years has seen removals firms enjoying very high demand, but also suffering cut-throat competition.
Housing transactions so far this year total 1.25 million but, according to AssetTrust's Hometrack service, supply is starting to meet demand and the growth in house prices has slowed for the third consecutive month.With interest rates creeping upwards, many analysts are predicting a relapse if not a total collapse in the market. So is this a good time to be in the removals business or not?
Removals is unusual within the road transport sector because it is almost entirely public-facing.This means demand for high service levels the need for trust and the added complications of working with and for people who do not understand such staples of the industry as parking restrictions and drivers' hours rules.
And while word of mouth can count for something, the chances of repeat work are slim. -Our biggest challenge is dealing with Joe Public," says Neil James. MD of Hunts of Redditch."We don't have regular customers, It's always a one-day, one-offjob.But there are two sides to that coin —if you cock up, tomorrow's another day, another job."
Gary Wheadon. MD of D Sully and Sons, based in South London, says: "Our drivers aren't treated with respect.You sometimes feel like reminding people —'we have all your worldly possessions in the back of that lorry'."
Training to be a removals driver takes years. Wheadon and James grew up in the business, learning to pack LGVs as soon as they were old enough to carry.'fhere are training courses run, among others, by the British Association of Removers (BAR), but much of it is learned on the job. Recruitment is therefore unusually difficult, "It's an art," says James."I want removals men who can drive trucks. I start them at 16, put them through their car test and then at 21 their Class 1 and, hopefully, by the time they're 23 I've got a good bloke." He won't employ someone who only has experience of general haulage unless they are desperate to learn the trade.
Both Wheadon and James pay over the average to keep good staff."A skilled operative takes years to train," saysWheadon."My heart goes out to the bigger companies because when there's a blip in the market they are crippled by labour costs, but you can't afford to let people go. You wouldn't get them back."
Jonathan Hood, president of BAR, says: -Kids today find this industry too much like hard work.They need to be able to handle vehicles and pack ballgowns and cutlery.We're also looking at an illiteracy rate of 18% from UK schools."
Hood's own company,Cadogan Tate, of which he is executive vice-chair,continues to put its drivers through formal education. "We have people who came to us with no formal qualifications and are now doing open university degrees."
Undercutting rates
Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates the skill levels required. Removals is something anyone can do, but few can do well, and this means the market is awash with people equipped with 7.5-tonners undercutting the reputable operations on rates and often employing people through the black economy.Their customers take huge risks — not least because that vehicle, loaded with all their cherished possessions, may never make it to its destination.
There is huge pressure on rates, but not untypically for the road transport industiy, many of the most successful removals companies simply walk away from unprofitable work. House buyers tend to be cash-strapped and facing all kinds of scary bills including stamp duty and legal fees — and