We are unable to control the solicitors and agents who on many occasions do not hand over the keys until late in the afternoon or sometimes much later. Unfortunately handing over the keys at that time is of no use to a removals company during the winter months as it goes dark at around 4 pm or a little earlier. This puts our lads in a difficult position as they are unable to see due to having no light to work with and the risk factor is too high in some cases, which means they have no option but to stop work until the following day or until sufficient lighting has been arranged to create a safe working environment.

All our jobs are based on the legal allowed driving time for our LGV & HGV drivers which must include the driving hours to get back to our operating center.

We do not charge key waiting time up to a reasonable hour but we do charge £70.00 or £80.00 per hour overtime rates dependent on the manpower and the vehicles involved after 5.00 pm  to cover the company and staff costs when they work outside of the legal framework of the working time directives.

There is no charge if we have to work outside of the allocated time if it is due to any fault of our own as long as the keys arrive at a reasonable time.  The optimum time for collecting the keys should be around 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm but this is not a fixed contracted time and it is dependent on what the other person is using to do their removal. If they use a company then most times it will be fine but as we have seen on many contracts recently the persons moving out decides to do it themselves with a van and a mate which most times it will be anything but fine. 

For example: - If the keys arrive at 3.30 to 5.00 pm you know there is a chance we are going to be outside of our allocated working hours so a charge of £70.00 or £80.00 per hour after 5.00 pm covers overtime costs to the company. This charge is incurred by the client and it is up to the client to chase their refund from the solicitor or the person in the chain who is at fault for putting you in this position. This claim information is covered in the removals section under the heading completion and contract law. We only implement this charge once we know the drivers and porters are going to be working outside of the allocated working hours through no fault of our own. This mainly is due to the contract completion or handing over of the keys late which causes long delays as the removals operators are unable to load or unload.

The overtime charge covers the overtime costs for working outside of the allocated hours through no fault of our own. There are some cases where it is impossible for the lads to carry on working due to the high risk of injury in that location and the lack of lighting on drives, pathways and gardens. If this is the case we will work directly with the client to resolve the situation and at the worst the client would have to cover the cost of the van and staff needed to finish the unloading the following day.

You need to confirm with your solicitor who is responsible for putting you in that position and take action to claim back your costs due to late completion and the unacceptable time the keys were handed over to client. 

There are other situations where removals may go over into overtime which are covered in the terms and conditions but the main one outside of the key and property exchange is the access to the property.

If the property you are moving into is more than 20 meters to the house or is not accessible under normal conditions or there are lots of stairs without a lift then overtime will be added or an extra person will be required to assist with the removal service. This option is due to a number of things which we have to cope with because we are unable to get close to the property with the vehicles to unload and the client has not informed us of the problems at the new property.

Obstructions which stop the vans from approaching the property causing the porters to cover longer distances or cross or climb a multitude of steps will cause extra time on the job which is not part of the original quotation. Any problems at the new property must be stated at the time of the quotation or extra charges will be levied on the day of the removal.

To carry out the removal correctly we need the correct information at the time of the quotation.