Where these numbers come from

A company sets its own prices in advance and publishes them as a numbered version. A quote is then assembled from that list, so the total can be broken down into lines you could have read beforehand. When a company changes its prices the old version stays on the record, because a quote given last month has to remain explainable.

A fee whose name suggests it is unavoidable, anything reading as disposal, levy, environmental, fuel, surcharge or admin, cannot be published as optional. Either it is mandatory and goes in the total, or it does not go on the list.

An estimate needs at least three published price lists for the area before we will show a range. Below that we say we do not have enough to go on. A range built from one company is that company’s prices with a confidence interval drawn around it.

• Call-out or dispatchCharged just for arriving, sometimes whether or not you go ahead.
• Minimum loadYou pay for a quarter of a truck even if you have a single chair.
• Heavy or bulky itemPianos, safes, hot tubs, and sometimes anything over a weight limit.
• Stairs, lifts and distanceCharged per flight, or where the truck cannot park close.
• Disposal or environmental levyThe tip fee passed on, which is legitimate but should be quoted up front.
• Mattress or appliance surchargeSpecific items that cost the hauler more to dispose of.
• CancellationWhat it costs you to change your mind, and how much notice you need to give.

This list is not hypothetical. It is drawn from what people complain about after the crew has left, which is the wrong time to find out.

After a job the customer says what they actually paid. Comparing that with the quote is the only honest measure of whether a company’s pricing means anything, and it is shown on their profile once there are enough jobs for it to be fair. Below five it is not shown at all, because one awkward job is not a pattern.