Choosing a regional removalist

A move from Albury to Wodonga is an interstate move. It is also six kilometres. That sentence explains most of the confusion people have when they start ringing removalists on the border, because the word interstate triggers different pricing, different insurance wording and sometimes a different truck.

Interstate and intrastate, and why the label matters

Intrastate means the move stays inside one state. Wagga Wagga to Albury is intrastate. Bendigo to Shepparton is intrastate. Most removalists price these by the hour with a crew and a truck.

Interstate means the move crosses a state border, no matter how short the trip. Albury to Wodonga, Moama to Echuca and Mulwala to Yarrawonga are all interstate. Long distance interstate moves are usually priced on volume in cubic metres, sometimes with backloading, and the transit insurance wording is often different.

For short border hops, most local operators will quote hourly anyway. If a business quotes you a long distance interstate rate to cross the causeway, get another quote.

How removalists price

Hourly. Two movers and a truck in regional New South Wales and Victoria sit in an indicative range of $120 to $190 an hour including GST, with three movers higher. Expect a minimum of three or four hours, and check whether the clock starts at the depot or at your front door.

Fixed or binding quote. The removalist inspects the house, in person or by video walkthrough, and commits to a price for the inventory they have seen. This is the better structure for anything long distance.

Volume based. Long distance moves priced per cubic metre, sometimes shared with other loads. Cheaper, slower, and the delivery window is a range of days rather than a time.

Indicative totals help calibrate. A three bedroom house moving within a regional town commonly lands between $900 and $2,200. Albury to Melbourne or Wagga Wagga to Sydney for the same house commonly lands between $2,200 and $5,000 depending on volume, access and timing.

What a binding quote actually binds

A binding quote is only binding on the inventory and the access described in it. Add a shed full of tools on the day, or fail to mention the piano, and the price changes legitimately.

A binding quote should name the inventory, the access at both ends, the date, the crew size, the truck size, what is included in the hourly rate or fixed price, and every additional charge that can apply.

The usual extras are stairs, a long carry from the truck to the door, a shuttle vehicle when a semi cannot reach the property, a heavy item fee for pianos, safes and pool tables, packing materials, dismantling and reassembly, and waiting time. Ask for that list up front. A removalist who will not put the extras in writing is quoting a number that is not real.

Rural access is the biggest single cause of a blown out quote in this part of the country. A wet dirt driveway, a low gateway, an unbridged creek crossing or a house 400 metres from the nearest hard stand all mean a shuttle or a longer carry. Tell them before the day.

Insurance, and the words that matter

This is where most disputes start. There are three separate things and people assume they are one.

1. Public liability. Covers damage to property and injury to people. Every legitimate operator carries it. It does not cover your furniture.
2. Carrier's liability or goods in transit. Covers the load in limited circumstances, often only where the vehicle is involved in a collision, overturns, catches fire or is stolen. A scratched sideboard carried down a hallway is usually not covered.
3. Full accidental damage or transit insurance. Broader cover, usually an optional extra bought as a percentage of the declared value of your goods.

Read the exclusions. Owner packed cartons are commonly excluded from cover for breakage, which is exactly why the removalist offers to pack your glassware. Items of unusual value normally need to be declared and listed separately. Cover often stops if goods go into storage under a different arrangement.

Ask for the certificate of currency and the policy summary before you book, and check the excess. An excess of $500 on a policy protecting a $6,000 inventory changes the value of the cover considerably.

Checks before you book

1. Look up the ABN and confirm the trading entity matches the quote. Our guide to starting a business in regional NSW or VIC explains what an ABN record shows.
2. Ask whether they are a member of an industry body such as the Australian Furniture Removers Association, which sets a code of conduct and a dispute process.
3. Confirm the crew are employees or contractors of that business, not a labour hire crew unknown to them.
4. Get the cancellation and rescheduling terms in writing, including what happens if you settle late.
5. Confirm the payment terms. Payment before unload is common practice for interstate work and is worth knowing in advance rather than at the kerb.
6. Confirm the deposit, and never pay a large deposit in cash to an operator you cannot verify.

Timing in the country

Regional demand is seasonal in a way city demand is not. School holidays, the end of the financial year, harvest, and the fortnight around Christmas book out the good crews early. Settlement dates that land on a Friday are the hardest to fill, because everyone wants the same day.

Book four to six weeks ahead where you can. If your settlement date is not certain, ask what the reschedule policy is before you pay a deposit, because in regional towns there is often only one crew available and moving your date can mean moving to the back of the queue.

Finally, check the truck size against the driveway and the street. In older parts of Albury, Bendigo and Wagga Wagga, a semi trailer simply cannot get in, and finding that out on the morning costs you a shuttle fee.

Start with the listings for removalists, or the local pages for Albury and Wodonga.