How much do removals cost in the UK?

A removal costs more the bigger the home, the further the move and the harder the access. A flat with little furniture is a fraction of the cost of a four-bedroom house with a loft and a garage, and a move across town costs less than one across the country.

The only reliable price is one given after someone has seen what is moving. That is why MoveMate surveys first, free of charge, and then gives a fixed price: the figure you agree is the figure you pay.

Five things do most of the work. The volume of belongings decides how many people and how big a van, or how many loads. The distance decides the driving time. The access at each end, meaning stairs, lifts, long carries and how close the van can park, decides how long loading and unloading take. Any packing you want done is added. And the date matters, because the end of the month and Fridays are the busiest and dearest times to move.

Number of bedrooms is only a shortcut for volume. Two homes with the same number of bedrooms can differ by a van load, depending on furniture, books, the loft and the shed.

As a general rule the price rises with each bedroom, but not in a straight line: the first extra bedroom adds a bed, a wardrobe and some boxes, while a fourth or fifth adds a lot more, often including a second van or a longer day for a larger crew.

Treat any range, ours or anyone else's, as a guide to the scale of the bill and not as a price. Your own figure comes from the survey.

A local move is mostly loading and unloading, so the time on site decides the price. On a long-distance move the driving becomes a large part of it, and the price rises with the miles. Either way the crew has to get there and the van has to get back.

For a long move, ask whether the firm charges for the return journey and whether the van can pick up a load on the way back. Both change what you are asked to pay, and they are the reason quotes for the same route differ so much.

Packing is the biggest one. If you want the crew to pack your things and supply the boxes, paper and tape, it is added to the price and takes extra time on the day or before it. If you pack yourself, you save that cost, but pack properly: badly packed boxes slow the loading and put things at risk.

Other things that are usually extra are a parking suspension or permit, storage if your dates do not line up, and awkward items such as a piano, a safe or a large aquarium. Ask for each to be listed, with its price or the fact that it is included, so that nothing is added afterwards.

Many removal firms charge by the hour, with a minimum, and the final bill depends on how the day goes. A lift that is out of order, a sofa that will not turn on the stairs or a long wait for keys all run up the clock, and you pay for them.

A fixed price puts that risk on the firm. MoveMate prices a house move after a free survey and the figure is fixed before the day, quoted including VAT. If you are also dealing with a completion date and a chain, knowing the total in advance is worth a good deal.

Give the full postcodes for both addresses, the size of the home, the date you want to move and how much needs packing. Say what the access is like at each end: floors, lift, a steep drive, a narrow road, a long walk from where the van can stop.

Mention the awkward items early, such as a piano, a large wardrobe that has to be dismantled, or anything going into the loft or a garage. They are the things that change a price most, and they are easy to allow for when you know about them in advance.

Then ask for the survey. It costs nothing, and it is how we turn a rough idea into a fixed price.

Sort before you pack. Everything you give away, sell or take to the tip is something you do not pay to move, and a clear-out is usually the quickest saving available.

Pack early and label every box by room. A crew that can load straight away, and unload straight into the right room, finishes sooner. Move on a weekday and away from the end of the month if you have the choice, because demand is lower.

Take down shelves and curtain rails, empty drawers of anything fragile and defrost the freezer the day before. These small jobs take a few minutes each and save the crew time.

If you could fit everything in one or two van loads, a man and van is likely to be the cheaper choice, and ours is a fixed price once we know the job. A whole house is a removal: a bigger crew, a bigger van and a plan for the day.

Our guide to van sizes shows what fits in each van and how many rooms it covers, which is a quick way to see which side of the line your move falls.