Route Removals

[NAME EDIT] appeared to represent a professional and experienced removal company, but we found this could not have been further from the truth.
She ordered a truck that was no where near large enough. This resulted in our belongings being scattered outside and in the stairwell of the apartment block on moving day, causing inconvenience to our neighbours who at times could not even pass to get to their homes. The second truck did not turn up until around 3pm. We were meant to have vacated the property by 2pm.
The removal men spent the whole day arguing and could not work as a team. One of them had never done a move before and he was the better one of the two! They dropped my fridge down the central stairwell causing major damage. No compensation has been received despite documentation stating our belongings were insured during the move and an inventory list accurately completed. During the initial assessment we were informed a clothes rail would be used, however our clothes were first of all laid on the floor of the truck and then hung against the dirty walls of the second truck. I had to phone [NAME EDIT] repeatedly before a clothes rail was found a put to use.
I have moved house many times in my life including moving country twice and have never experienced such a stressful day as this.

Service cost: £960

[NAME EDIT] came around and made an inventory of everything we had and also advised us on what to pack ourselves and what would be packed by the movers.. We had opted for the full packing service.. One day packing and one day moving. Was in constant contact with the removal company before the actual move date.. The day before the move, [NAME EDIT] and [NAME EDIT] came with packing stuff and I was more than happy to leave them packing up the house whilst I went out to run errands on moving.. They moved some of the larger items like sofas and dining tables on the packing day so there was more space to organise the smaller things.. Everything was packed into boxes according to room.. On the day of the move I left them to fill up the van whilst I was able to sort the house out.. They unpacked everything into the correct rooms, put the furniture back together and left everything neat and tidy. There was only one broken thing in the whole move which was a pleasant surprise. For a reasonable fee they also disposed of a number of large items that I no longer needed from the new house.. I had read some of the negative review and was a bit apprehensive but in the end it all went well.. All the moving boxes and clothes rail were provided and they are picking up the used boxes this week to dispose of them.

Service cost: £1000

We hired this company on the 13th of November for a house move between Bromley to Orpington .

Avi & Jay are the people I was in touch with Jay being the person who did the Inventory Visit.

In order to be fair I would like to write the positives of the company first (won’t take long ) This was pointed out to me by Avi in one of our many heated telephone conversations through the afternoon that reviewers are biased in their comments and never highlight the great & the good of a company .

The pro IS - delivery of box’s & bubble wrap about 10 days before the move with them being the first company to return our call and doing the inventory ( which unfortunately led to issues later ) .The end.

The cons ARE
1/ delayed start - agreed verbally over the telephone with Jay the previous day for a 9:00 clock start . The time on the agreement was 10:00 but arrived 11:15. This was disputed later .
2/Wreckless handling of the goods - our sofa bed was supposed to be dismantled instead it was broken . They had the guile to argue afterwards that we had been informed that the sofa arm had to come “off “. They did not apologise for the broken arm . We declined their offer to reassemble it as it would not be useable anyway but they then wanted confirmation from us later on that we wouldn’t chase them for repairs for insurance purposes. We were so fed up & did not look forward to dealing with them further ,we just let it go .
3/ on arrival at the property the drivers told us (as seems to be the running theme in their dealings from previous reviewers) that we had included “additional” furniture that was not part of the inventory and to pay upfront 120£ over the 300£ that was agreed in order to release our items.
We refused to pay up & there was a stand-off for almost 2 hours with their van on our driveway . All this while multiple angry telephone conversations with Avi & Jay ensued.
We were told they would start charging us for holding up their van with our goods for which we replied they could take our stuff but we would involve the police .
In the end they relented and our things were released with us not having to pay the additional sum but the original sum of 300£.
4/ Jay & Avi need to work on their customer service skills - it was like speaking to 2 different people after we decided to use their company
5/ Jay NEEDS to show us a copy of the inventory or take pictures if needs be of the furniture & either discuss it with us then and there or , send it to us along with the agreement to avoid confusion & consternation later on .
I suspect from the previous reviews & our experience that it is by design, a tactic that the inventory list is purposely omitted in order to demand more as it then is his words against ours .

Hopefully Route Removals heed the customer reviews & make the necessary changes but till then I would not like anyone to experience the hellish day we did .

Service cost: £300

[NAME EDIT] was the sale rep that gave us a quote and promised us good quality service. We paid for a full packing service with furniture to be dismantled and reassemble. Pre-move they did not fully pack up the flat as we asked, on the day of the move did not have tools to dismantle the furniture (we had to go out and buy tools), turned up late (which meant we were late in leaving - picked up keys at 1pm but didn't finish packing until 3.30pm) and had a few items, such as mirror/pictures still not properly wrapped up. [NAME EDIT] on the phone, wouldn’t listen to our complaint, drove off with our things, made up that we put their employees in danger by blocking their van (how did they drive off if we did) and wouldn’t return them even when we paid - which we were so unhappy to do. Would never recommend this company at all.

Service cost: £900

Before the move, these guys seemed professional and accommodative. However on the day of the move, they became increasingly rude and brash as the day progressed. One of the characters [NAME EDIT] was particularly aggressive and began to intimidate my wife, who felt threatened by his behaviour. At the end he created a noisy ruckus outside the house and bashed his removal van against the side of the house, resulting in permanent damage to the plastering of the house.

They rushed off the property without giving us a chance to review their work, and it was only after they left did we realise they had damaged an expensive piece of furniture. And neither did they reassemble the king-size bed or dining table properly (as the legs are shaky), nor properly site the washing machine. At the end, we were left with having to sort out the mess they created- despite having paid them a fortune.

Despite having pointed out the damaged plastering on the house caused by their removal van, there was no apology and no offer to repair the damage they created.

The purpose of this review is to warn all prospective movers about this rogue group of clowns who claim to be removers- AVOID ROUTE REMOVALS AT ALL COST! They came across as being most unprofessional, aggressive and rude. And [NAME EDIT] in particular is a dangerous character to be avoided at all costs- he needs to urgently attend anger management class and learn how to speak to women; he lacks any concept about customer relations.

Service cost: £600

I just want you all to know how grateful I am for you guys. I had been cancelled by another moving company due to the fact they were overbooked. I then rang around frantically and came across Route Removals who came out the very next day and gave me a quote. He was very thorough and told me exactly what to expect and how everything would be packed and taken care. On the moving day the two gentleman expeditiously moved all of my items into my apartment and when our sofa did not fit into the lift, located the nearest stairs and offered another service.The team worked well together and provided speed and efficiency.

Service cost: £740

How this company are still trading is beyond me!!.
The van arrived and was clearly too small the driver agreed. We were moving from England to Wales, so had a long drive ahead, we had to get everything out of the house and leave it on the pavement with the removal men while they waited for the second van, by the time they reached the new house it was gone midnight. Things were smashed and when I contacted Jay the manager he told me he should have charge me another £500 for the second van and to go to B&Q and buy new ones!!

Do not use this company of you want a smooth move.

Service cost: £950

Brilliant service and brilliant price! I was sceptical based on the reviews but they turned up on time, worked so hard in the cold/snow and did an amazing job. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. I had bought a few extra items after they provided a quote, this was no issue as they still moved them with a small charge which was very fair. I came to Route Removals at short notice and they still managed to book me in on the day requested.They couldn’t of provided a better service. Moving has usually been so stressful but they took this stress away. I highly recommend them and would use them again. Extremely efficient, helpful and professional and nothing was too much trouble. Such a shame that only people review companies when they have a complaint, far too much negativity. Thanks again, Mary.

Service cost: £750