Fears that one in three removers could fail

A recent report on the removals industry which predicted that some firms are facing imminent failure is attracting closer attention following the announcement, last week, that 1,300 jobs at Pickfords are at risk.

The report on the state of the removals sector, by market and industry analysts Plimsoll*, showed that at the end of 2007, 30 per cent of removers were in danger of financial collapse. With the growing problems of the credit squeeze, a slowing economy and doubts about the housing market, the report predicts that a number of removers will fail during 2008.

“People moving this year need to be cautious,” recommends Philip Pertoldi, group managing director of Abels Moving Services. “The usual recommendation would be for people to select the larger, longer established firms, but the Pickfords announcement suggests that even these types of firms are not immune to the current property market problems.

“Although there is little UK consumers can do if their remover fails, those moving overseas can get some protection through the International Movers Mutual Insurance, assuming the remover is a member and meets various criteria.”

The International Movers Mutual Insurance Company Limited (IMMI) is similar in concept to the ABTA protection for consumers in the travel industry. IMMI is a separate legal entity which was set up by movers to provide a financial guarantee for customers who paid monies in advance for their overseas removal. This offers protection to private individuals should their remover being a current member of the Overseas Group of The British Association of Removers (BAR) fail. The customer will receive either their money back, or up to 125% of the original contract price to have their move completed by another member firm.

Philip Pertoldi added “Companies offering IMMI are basically providing customers with a free of charge guarantee that should the remover suffer financial failure, ceasing to trade, then a reputable company will step in to help resolve the issue. To be able to do this, firms have to undergo a rigorous annual audit. IMMI gave Abels a financial ‘A’ grade status at the last audit, indicating that we have the highest level of financial stability.

“Although the harbingers of doom still predict that the property market is going to decline this year, and even some home builders are announcing falls in sales, Abels has yet to see any fall in the level of enquiries it is receiving.”

*The Plimsoll Analysis is an in-depth and up to date market report on the whole of the UK industry. Each industry report contains over 50 pages of market analysis as well as analysing each company individually so you can see at a glance the changing trends in the market (www.plimsoll.co.uk).