Common questions, plainly answered.

Yes — common pattern from Brixton and Stockwell. We need a named receiving contact with a mobile number, a copy of their ID, and your written authorisation. The receiving family member signs for the load. We brief them in plain language on what to check before they sign.

They are named individually on the inventory rather than aggregated into "general household". Labelling is more careful. Fragile and irreplaceable items get cased rather than blanket-wrapped. We discuss them at the survey so nothing is treated as a box of generic items.

Sometimes yes, often no — and where the answer is no we plan a smaller transfer vehicle for the final leg as part of the original quote. We do a remote access check on the destination side at the survey stage. Common scenario across rural Portugal, Galicia, Provence, Tuscany, and the Italian regions.

They are a significant part of many Brixton moves. Treat them as we treat anything irreplaceable: named on the inventory, photographed at the survey, cased properly. The customs paperwork is straightforward — household effects, not commercial goods.

Each significant piece is named on the customs list with a serial number and declared value. Music and creative equipment is one of the customs-attentive categories — declared values and proof of personal ownership matter. We walk through it at the survey.

It affects the access plan and the crew size more than the price. A second-floor walk-up Victorian conversion needs a different crew to a ground-floor new-build with a service lift. We assess that at the survey and the quote reflects it honestly.

Well ahead of the move date — particularly for summer-window moves to Iberia, where the season is busy. We can usually plan a move on shorter notice, but the more lead time you give us, the more we can optimise the routing and the crew.

Yes. Standard international-removals cover is included with the basic quote; an additional itemised cover is available for high-value items (instruments, art, family heirlooms). We walk you through what each level covers in plain language at the survey.

A customs broker on the destination side files the import paperwork on your behalf. For Portugal that includes the certificado de bagagem for second-home and returning-resident moves; for Spain it includes the residency-status classification; for France and Italy it is the equivalent EU-import declarations. We coordinate it.

No. Our broker on the destination side handles the local-language paperwork. The customer-facing communication from us to you is in English throughout. We will check at the survey whether you want us to brief a family member in the destination-side language directly — many of our customers do, particularly for Portugal and Spain.

It does not change the move itself — household effects are household effects. It does mean we sometimes split a load: items going abroad, items staying with the relatives. We label and route them separately at the pack stage.

Get in touch as soon as you know. We try to absorb timing changes where we can. Long-distance bookings have crew, vehicle, and ferry-slot dependencies that sometimes lock in well ahead, so the earlier we know, the more we can flex.

Yes. We offer short-term storage on the UK side for moves where the destination property is not yet ready. It is common for Iberian moves where the receiving family is still preparing the property.

Promptly — usually within a working day or two of receiving your details. The first reply is normally a short note acknowledging the move and asking for the additional information we need to put together a written quote.