1. Especially in London, there are quite a lot of vans in circulation advertising van and man service. Anyone can buy a second hand van, advertise on Gum Tree or create a simple website and promote themselves through search engines like Google or Yahoo. The question is: does this person have experience in handling your furniture? Will your furniture be protected in transit any against scratchers with fabric blankets? Is there any insurance in place, if worst case scenario happens?
2. If requested, do not make advance payment in full, unless it is repeat business , or you are emigrating, therefore there will be no correspondence address in the UK. Deposit is ok, as some companies may require it in order to book your Man and Van London service.
3. If going for a fixed job rate rather than an hourly rate, gather 2-3 quotes from different Man and Van Companies. In doing so, you can compare if you getting value for money. If you choose to go for an hourly rate, choose a few companies and compare which of the Man and Van London services offer best value for money in terms of price, van type/size, insurance, experience, previous work-references.
4. When choosing a service through the internet, look for a Man and Van London service with genuine pictures, sign written vans (no Photo Shop creations), landline telephone number and correspondence address (no PO Box), company registration number if they claim their are Man and Van Company ( LTD or LLP). For example, the danger for customers of seeing only mobile phone and no correspondence address on their website is that, if anything goes wrong during the job, there is little chance tracking them down. The Pay As You Go mobile phone numbers can be easily replaced.

Be aware of Companies or one man bands using colourful pictures copied from other Man and Van sites (sometimes from US removals companies) to boost their image. Also, be aware of new van pictures taken from Van Manufactures’ official home page. The reality is, the van on the website looks sparklingly new, but you may be in for a surprise when a rusty old van with oil leaks turns up at the job and you have no chance to cancel.

1. If you use a one man band operation for the first time and you don’t trust it 100%, then you should travel together with the driver. At the end of the day, those are your precious belongings accumulated over the years. The last thing you need is to risk loosing it all. You hear the stories about vans being stolen with full house content during the transit from one house to another or driver being very punctual at pick up address but not turning up at all with your belongings at your new address.
2. About insurance. Before you book, check with a Man and Van London Service if they have relative insurances. In order to provide Furniture or Household Removals, three types of insurances are required by Law.
   1. Commercial vehicle insurance, type – Carry goods for hire and reward (neither of those: Social, Domestic & Pleasure (inc. Commuting) or Haulage)
   2. Goods in Transit. The differences between these types of insurances are the sums insured. Man and Van Companies most likely offer between 10,000 pounds and 35,000 pounds worth of goods in transit insurance. This type of insurance protects your goods when they are on a van and if anything happens when they are transported.
   3. Public Liability. This type of insurance covers you for damages occurred in your house in terms of furniture or any of your valuable possessions being broken or damaged. It also protects your property for any damages occurred during the removal. For example, the corner of a wardrobe accidently hits a wall and makes a hole in a plasterboard.

Your Household insurance usually covers you during the house move. Check with your insurance Company if that is the case.

1. Look for references on their website, as it tend to reflect many of the London’s Man and Van previous jobs. Only references with positive feedback end up on a website. Also, any relative or friend can write them. So, do not judge their service purely based on references.
2. On the other hand, a one man band operation without the proper insurance in place could perform a brilliant job as well. The quality of the job could be the same as that of a fully trained furniture remover. At the end of the day it is down to the individual doing the job, their care and attention to detail.

By now you know what to look for when choosing Man and Van London service.