Transparent removals pricing from Mark Ratcliffe Moving — typical figures by home size, by distance, and by service add-ons. Fixed-price quotes after a free survey. No hidden mileage clauses.
Most removal companies will not put prices on their website — partly because every move is different, but mostly because they prefer to start the conversation with you not knowing what to expect. We do it differently. The figures below are real guide prices we quote against every day. They assume a standard Sussex move with reasonable access, all materials included, and full goods-in-transit insurance. For your actual job we quote a single fixed price after a free survey, and the price you’re quoted is the price you pay.
Move within a 30-mile radius of our Lower Dicker depot, including all materials and our pad-wrap method as standard:
| Property | Typical price | Crew and duration |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1-bed flat | £380–£620 | Half-day, two crew |
| 2-bed home (flat or terraced) | £580–£880 | Full day, two crew |
| 3-bed semi | £820–£1,280 | Full day, three crew |
| 4-bed detached | £1,150–£1,750 | 1–2 days, three or four crew |
| 5+ bed country home | from £1,800 | Surveyed and custom-quoted |
Variables that move the price within the range above: access (a third-floor flat with no lift is 20% more than a ground-floor townhouse), antiques/fragile content (more time and material), and time of year (the last week of the month and the school-holiday weeks have a small surcharge).
For moves more than 30 miles from Eastbourne, mileage and overnight crew costs come into play. Indicative one-way Sussex-to-elsewhere prices for a 3-bed home:
| Route | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Sussex ↔ Kent / Surrey | £980–£1,420 |
| Sussex ↔ London | £1,150–£1,650 |
| Sussex ↔ Bristol / Bath | £1,450–£2,100 |
| Sussex ↔ Cornwall / Devon | £1,650–£2,400 |
| Sussex ↔ Manchester / Liverpool | £1,750–£2,400 |
| Sussex ↔ Edinburgh / Glasgow | £2,200–£3,200 |
| Service | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Materials only — self-pack kit | £120–£220 |
| Fragile-only packing | £220–£340 |
| Unpacking service, same day as delivery | £380–£540 |
| Full packing service, 1–2 day pack | £480–£720 |
| Service | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Piano move — upright, within Sussex | £180–£320 |
| Custom timber crate — medium | £220–£360 per crate |
| Baby grand move — within Sussex | £320–£520 |
| Full grand move — within Sussex | £500–£900 |
| Antiques handling surcharge | +15–30% on a same-volume quote |
| White-glove premium | +25–40% on a standard premium quote |
Steel strong rooms, climate-stable, accessible by appointment. Full storage page.
| Room size | Typically holds | Per week | Per 4 weeks | Collection or delivery, each way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 sq ft | One room, boxes | £18 | £72 | £240 |
| 50 sq ft | Studio or 1-bed flat | £27 | £108 | £390 |
| 75 sq ft | 2-bed flat | £36 | £144 | £550 |
| 100 sq ft | 2-bed house | £45 | £180 | £720 |
| 150 sq ft | 3-bed house | £63 | £252 | £990 |
| 200 sq ft | 4-bed house | £80 | £320 | £1,290 |
| 250 sq ft or more | 5-bed house or business stock | from £95 | from £380 | Quoted on survey |
All storage prices include VAT and £5,000 of cover. First 4 weeks half price when we collect for you. Kent is the same weekly rate with different collection charges; London has its own rate card — see what storage costs.
International prices are highly variable depending on volume, destination port, customs clearance and any specialist packing. Indicative full-house prices through our BAR Overseas Group:
There is no VAT on any of the international prices below. International removals are zero-rated for UK VAT, unlike the domestic moves priced further up this page, where VAT is added at booking. Import duty or VAT charged by the destination country, if your goods do not qualify for transfer-of-residence relief, is separate and payable there rather than to us.
European routes are quoted by volume, so the figures below show a typical three-bedroom household of about 45 m³ on a shared load. Long-haul routes are quoted by container. Both are shown separately because the basis genuinely differs.
| Destination | Shared-load rate | Three-bed household, from | Full breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | £92 per m³ | £4,140 | Belgium guide |
| France — north & Paris | £95 per m³ | £4,275 | France guide |
| Netherlands | £95 per m³ | £4,275 | Netherlands guide |
| Luxembourg | £105 per m³ | £4,725 | Luxembourg guide |
| Spain | £120 per m³ | £5,400 | Spain guide |
| Italy | £125 per m³ | £5,625 | Italy guide |
| Switzerland | £145 per m³ | £6,525 | Switzerland guide |
Smaller loads are cheaper in proportion: a one-bedroom flat of about 18 m³ to Belgium is roughly £1,660, to France about £1,710. Minimums apply — 3 m³ on most routes, 4 m³ to Switzerland, Spain and Italy. Above roughly 55 m³ a dedicated vehicle usually beats the shared-load rate, and we will say so rather than let you overpay. The full European rate card has every route, the supplementary tariff and what is included.
| Destination | What the price covers | From | Full breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Sole-use 20ft to a Bangkok residence, customs clearance included | £3,790 | Thailand guide |
| South Africa | Sole-use 20ft to Cape Town or Durban | £5,200–£7,800 | South Africa guide |
| UAE | Sole-use 20ft to Jebel Ali | £5,500–£8,000 | UAE guide |
| USA & Canada | Sole-use 20ft to New York or Baltimore | £5,800–£8,800 | USA & Canada guide |
| Australia & New Zealand | Sole-use 20ft to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Brisbane | £6,500–£9,500 | Australia & New Zealand guide |
Thailand is also priced for part-loads from £290 for two tea cartons (8 cu ft) delivered to a Bangkok residence, standard customs clearance included — see the Thailand rate card for the full table. Shared-container groupage on the other long-haul routes is quoted per cubic metre; ask and we will price it.
These assume full export packing, customs clearance, destination delivery and unpacking. Custom timber crating for art or antiques is quoted separately.
Always included: Pad-wrap of furniture, all wrapping materials, BAR-trained uniformed crew, full goods-in-transit insurance to £40/kg, fuel, mileage within the agreed route, lorry congestion charges (we plan around peak London hours), parking suspensions in Sussex zones we know.
Always quoted separately (so you can decide): Packing of contents (different to pad-wrap of furniture — that’s included), unpacking service, custom crating, all-risks transit insurance, overnight storage between collection and delivery, dismantling/reassembly of bespoke furniture, hoist/crane work for tight access.
Never charged on the day: No “the move took longer than expected” surcharges. No “you had more stuff than the survey said” charges. Our survey is binding — if we got it wrong, we eat the difference.
If you’re comparing two or three quotes, the figures will usually look different. That’s normal — different removers use different depots, different crew structures, different vehicle types. What matters is whether the variation makes sense. A few sense-check rules. First, the volume figure (cubic feet) should be roughly the same across quotes for the same job; if one quote says 600 cu ft and another says 900, one of them surveyed differently. Second, the per-cu-ft rate after subtracting the call-out fee should land in £0.75–£1.50 territory for Sussex moves; outside that band, ask why. Third, anything described as “subject to confirmation”, “volumetric charge” or “additional crew if needed” is a warning sign — proper quotes are fixed-price.
Even with a fixed price, some optional services price separately and you should know what they are. Full packing usually adds 30–50% to a removal day-rate. Unpacking at the new property adds another 50–100%. Interim storage is daily-rate based on container size. Piano moves are flat-fee per piano on top. Custom timber crates price per item built. Last-minute date-changes inside 48 hours of move day usually carry a deposit-retention charge. Everything else — access, parking-permits, fuel, crew tea breaks — should be included.
This sounds like the obvious thing a removal company would say, but it’s also genuinely true. Low quotes often come from removers running a casual crew model — day-rate workers, no training, no uniform, no permanent payroll. The job gets done, but with higher damage rates and less professional handling. Whether that matters to you depends on what you’re moving. For a single-room flat clear-out, probably not much. For a 4-bed family home with antiques, the difference is worth the price gap. Read the reviews of each remover you’re considering and weigh accordingly.
Once we’ve done a survey and issued a written quote, the price is fixed. The only thing that ever changes is if you add work that wasn’t in the original scope (e.g. “can you also move the contents of the loft?” — we’ll quote the addition there and then). The price you’re quoted before move day is the price you pay.
No. All surveys are free and no-obligation. We’ll come to your home, walk through every room, and email you a written quote within 48 hours. For some smaller moves (single rooms, student moves) we can quote from photos and a phone call.
For local moves typically 25% on confirmation, balance on move day. For international moves and large country-house jobs we agree a staged payment schedule. All deposits are protected under the BAR Advance Payment Guarantee.
Yes — we accept all major cards over the phone or by secure online link. Bank transfer also fine. We don’t accept cash on the day for moves above £500.
No. Every cost is in the quote. No fuel surcharges, no mileage extras, no stair fees, no “the crew worked late” charges. Everything is in the headline price.
Reschedules more than 14 days out: no charge. 7–14 days: 25% admin fee. Less than 7 days: 50%. Cancellations: see our Terms & Conditions. We’re flexible in practice — talk to us before you assume the worst.
From the blog
Why paying for a professional packing service is often worth it. Save time, reduce stress, and protect your belongings.
Read article →
Get a clear breakdown of house moving costs in Sussex for 2026, including local moves, full packing, and storage options.
Read article →
Van hire vs removal company costed line by line: hire, fuel, excess, materials, helpers, your time, the second trip and uninsured damage.
Read article →Call us today for a free, no-obligation quote — or use our online form. Whether it's a one-room move or a full international relocation, we've handled it before.
Storage is priced differently from a removal, and the headline figure is rarely the whole bill. We have set out how storage costs are actually built up — volume, duration, handling and access — so you can size a room before you enquire.