Packing service for your move

A full packing service means the removal crew packs everything: kitchen, books, clothes, ornaments, the garage. You leave out what you are taking in the car and the team does the rest, usually the day before loading. It is the choice for people short of time, moving a large household or relocating for work.

A fragile-only pack is common: the crew wraps china, glass, pictures, mirrors, lamps and electronics, and you pack books, clothes and linen. It costs less and deals with the items most likely to break.

Some firms also offer unpacking at the new address: cartons emptied, contents placed in cupboards and the packing materials taken away. Even a partial unpack of the kitchen and beds on the first evening makes a difference.

Removal firms use strong double-wall cartons in a few standard sizes, small ones for books and large ones for light items. Wardrobe cartons with a hanging rail let clothes travel on hangers. Glasses and china are wrapped individually in paper and packed on edge, not flat, which reduces breakage. Mirrors and pictures go in dedicated cartons or crates, and mattresses and sofas in fitted covers.

If you pack yourself, ask the firm for its cartons rather than collecting used supermarket boxes of every size. Uniform cartons stack safely in the van; mixed ones crush each other.

This is the reason many people pay for packing. Removal contracts often limit cover for items packed by the owner, sometimes to damage caused by an obvious external blow to the box. China the crew wrapped and boxed is usually covered more fully. Read the firm's terms before deciding, and ask the question directly: if a plate in a box I packed arrives broken, is it covered?

The packing team normally numbers and lists each carton on an inventory. Check the inventory at delivery and note missing or damaged cartons on it before signing. Most firms set a time limit for reporting damage, so unpack valuable items early rather than months later.

Firms refuse to carry anything that could catch fire, leak or explode in a closed vehicle: petrol, paraffin, gas bottles, paint, solvents, aerosols in quantity, fireworks, and garden chemicals. Get rid of these before moving day or take them yourself if it is safe and legal. Perishable food and freezer contents are also your responsibility.

Valuables are the other exception. Jewellery, cash, passports, deeds, laptops with work data and sentimental items should stay with you. Many removal contracts exclude them from cover altogether.

• which rooms and items the team packs, and whether it unpacks
• the day the packing takes place and how many packers attend
• materials included, and the charge for extra cartons
• specialist crates for artwork, mirrors, marble or glass tops
• the carton inventory and how damage has to be reported
• how the insurance treats firm-packed and owner-packed cartons
• collection of empty cartons and paper after the move

Decide what is not coming before the packers arrive. A good team packs quickly and thoroughly, which includes the broken toaster and the bin bag in the corner if nobody says otherwise. Put things you are keeping back, such as the car box, documents and medication, in one room and tell the team leader it is off limits.

Empty and clean the fridge, drain the lawnmower and take down curtains if they are coming with you. Tell the team if you want things packed together that belong in different rooms, such as a desk and its contents going to a spare room.

Tell us the size of the home, the level of packing you want and your moving date. We verify your phone number and email, then show the request without your personal details to removal firms in your area. One firm buys it, and it alone receives it; we email you that firm's name, address and phone number first. The request is free for you. Whether the firm packs well is not something Offrano checks, so ask how it trains its packers and read its terms on owner-packed items.