The Housing Market Is Still Growing

The housing market is showing no sign of slowing down, as we at The Small Move Company are having our best December on record.

The average UK home has increased in value by £10,329 over the past year according to figures from property search engine Zoopla. The city that has experienced the greatest increase in value over the past year is Newcastle. Semi-Detached houses in England overall have seen the biggest increase in value.

Source R & S

UK Housing Market In Recovery Mode

The housing market has continued to recover over the summer. Rightmove confirms that buyer demand for residential properties is now increasing and is expected to keep increasing when the Help to Buy Scheme starts helping purchasers with the mortgage guarantee scheme, starting in January 2014.

Flats are most in demand by first time buyers and buy to let investors, with supply failing to keep up with an increase in demand and hitting their highest ever price level.

Source R & S Magazine

Minimum Wage Rates Go Up

Minimum Wage rates have gone up for all.

The new rates came into effect on October 1st, 2013. The new rates are:


Adult Rate - increase of 12p to £6.31/hour.
18-20 year olds - increase of 5p to £5.03/hour.
16-17 year olds - increase of 4p to £3.72/hour.
Apprentice rates - increase of 3p to £2.68/hour.

Source R & S Magazine

Roadside Fines To Rise

The Government has announced a significant increase in fixed penalty levels for a wide range of motoring offences.

Fixed penalty levels for most motoring offences - including not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone whilst at the wheel, will rise to ÂŁ100. Careless driving will be a fixed penalty of ÂŁ100 and 3 points on your licence.

More serious examples will still go to court and commercial goods drivers are at least 50% higher than they were.

Sources: Rightmove and R & S magazine

74% Don't Change Locks After Move

For most people, moving home is one of the most stressful things you can experience. With so much to organise and remember, it's easy to overlook important jobs.

A recent survey conducted by KeyTek Locksmiths found that 74% of homeowners do not change their locks after moving home, potentially leaving themselves vulnerable to break ins by other key holders.
People in the South of England were the most likely to change their locks within 2 weeks of moving in (35% said yes, compared to 20% of people in the North & Scotland).

People between 35-54 were the most likely, to get the locks changed with the over 55's the least likely to.

Many home insurance policies will not pay out if an intruder lets themselves in with a key, so whilst you might trust the former owners, there's no telling how many sets of keys have been given to relatives or forgotten over the years.

Please protect your families and your home and change the locks.

Sources: Rightmove & KeyTek Locksmiths

For more information on any of our services, simply give us a call on 01179 827852 or fill out our Quote Form

UK Storage

The Small Move Company have been using UK Storage for all of our storage requirements in Birstol for a couple of years now, and have always receives fantastic customer service from Keith & his team along with very competitive rates.

UK Storage are extremely flexible and always go out fo their way to look after us and our customers.

An all round great company to deal with.

New Employee!

The Small Move Company would like to welcome our new employee Steven Parnell to our team. Steve comes from a customer service background, which was important to ensure that our employees continue to provide great service at all times.

Steve also has plenty of driving experience which now enables us carry out more removals to meet our customer demand.

Interview Day...

The Small Move Company will be holding interviews on Wednesday 19th June 2013. We are looking for a removal operative / driver to join our team.

We would prefer someone with removal experience but it is not essential as full training will be given.

You must hold a full UK driving licence with 3 points or less.

Please forward an up to date C.V if you wish to apply.

Our Fleet Is Expanding

Due to such high demand in our half and full day rates, The Small Move Company is delighted to announce that we have added an extra 3.5 tonne Luton Van to our fleet.

The vehicle is currently being fitted with all of the required racking and we are hopeful that it should be out on its first removal this Friday.

We are also excited to announce that we are currently seeking to employ a couple of extra full time staff members to join our experienced removal teams.

We will be interviewing over the current weeks ready for an extremely busy summer.
Exciting times ahead!

If you are interested in applying for a position within The Small Move Company, simply forward an up to date C.V to info@thesmallmovecompany.com

For more information on any of our services, simply give us a call on 01179 827852 or fill out our Quote Form

More Fantastic Reviews!

More Fantastic Reviews from the people that matter, YOU our customers!

The Small Move Company are very proud of the outstanding customer service that we provide and aim to leave every customer happy on completion of our moves. We take pride in offering a first class service from the very first contact right through to completion of the removal.

Don't just take our word for it, read what our customers say!

These are a selection of the feedback we have received during the past few months:

"Hi Emma, I just wanted to thank you and the others in your company who worked on our recent house move - on the day the two guys who did our move were excellent, I have never had such a stress free move. We will definitely be recommending you to anyone moving in Bristol in the future. Thanks and Best wishes." Ruth H


"Hi Emma I just wanted to pass on my thanks for the very efficient and stress-free move that we had on Saturday. Your team did a fantastic job (coupled with your great organisational skills!). With many thanks once again for a brilliant job" - Sarah


"Can we take this opportunity to say that we have been very pleased with the service received on the two occasions when we have used you. Lee packed for us the first time, and then Tom, Craig and Ed have helped on the moving days themselves. They were all polite and hardworking and were very pleased with them all." Thanks, Lorna


"Hi Small Move Co - I just wanted to say how great the guys were in helping us move on Saturday. Tom and Ed were fantastic faced as they were with many many stairs. They just kept on going... awesome.
Thank you so much - we couldn't have done it without you!" John R.


"Dear Calvin,

I am writing to say a belated HUGE THANK YOU to the team who did our move (Craig, Tom and Tom I think?).

I really cannot thank them enough for the wonderful job they did of moving all our things so quickly and safely to Exeter.

What could have been a very stressful day was made painless for us as they were so efficient and easy to be around.

We are really grateful and will not hesitate to recommend The Small Move Company for the best price and a great service."

Kind Regards,
K Grist


For more information on any of our services, simply give us a call on 01179 827852 or fill out our Quote Form

Best April Yet!

The Small Move Company is pleased to announce that we are having our best April since we started back in 2005.

March was a little quieter than last year, probably due to Easter weekend being slightly earlier this year but the knock on is that April has been very busy.

We are also very pleased that we are experiencing a high volume of repeat customers and recommendation's, a sure sign that we are providing a great service from start to finish.

For more information on any of our services, simply give us a call on 01179 827852 or visit us online today

New Vehicle

The Small Move Company are looking to add a new vehicle to our fleet as

our beloved Mercedes Sprinter, which we've had for 4 years has gone to van

heaven due to someone forgetting to brake behind us!! The van did us proud

and ended on 303k and was the most reliable van we've ever had.

We've decided to use this opportunity to replace it with a larger vehicle

further increasing our total capacity.

Find out more & get a quote on our website today!

Rightmove Survey Part 2

Rightmove carried out a recent survey of 376 active movers and their attitudes towards removal companies.
 
The Remover Wish List
Rightmove asked their customers "What are the top 5 most important things you would look for in a Removal Company?"
The most important things looked for:

• Professionalism of staff - 74.7%
• Insurance for my possessions - 60.4%
• Good reviews from previous customers - 59.6%
• Speedy response to enquiries - 55.1%
• Friendliness of staff - 44.7%
• Good instincts about the firm - 34.6%
• Long trading history - 26.1%
• Quality of vehicles - 23.7%
• Trade body membership - 23.7%
• A small/independent firm - 18.6%
• Closeness of depot to my property - 13.6%
• Something else - 11.7%
• Storage facilities - 10.4%
• Quality of presentation materials - 6.1%

They were also asked what would make them choose between two similarly priced, available firms. The results were:

• Professionalism of staff, friendliness of staff, speedy responses, insurance cover and good reviews being the most important.

 
Source R & S Magazine

Severn Bridge Toll Rise

On 1st January 2013, the Severn Bridge toll has risen from £6 to £6.20 for cars, from £12.10 to £12.40 for vans and from £18.10 to £18.60 for lorries and coaches heading into Wales.

Insurance Certificates To Be Scrapped?

The consultation which ends in the middle of January has been asking the views of the industry and motorists about the benefits of moving towards a purely online system.

Under current law, insurance companies must issue a paper or electronic certificate when agreeing a policy. Many organisations already use information stored on the Motor Insurer's Database as evidence of valid insurance including the police and vehicle rental companies.

Having a fully online system would mean that motorists won't have to keep certificates as the details will be accessible online. Vehicle owners would no longer legally have to return their certificates to insurance companies in order to cancel their policy.

Source R & S magazine.

Read more news & information at www.thesmallmovecompany-bristol.com