The same applies with container services, in that collection and delivery will be made with a very large truck, such as a 30ft to 40ft articulated vehicle, therefore access needs to be good with this removal option.

Shipping times can vary when shipping abroad by container. In general we have weekly services from the UK to all worldwide destinations, therefore, once loaded, the container will usually ship from the UK within a week. Once the container has shipped the transit times can vary greatly from country to country. To give you some idea the transit time to the Baltic States is around a week, the shipping time to Athens is around 10 days, Cyprus is around 13 days and you are looking for more like 25 days to Dubai and 45 to 50 days if you want shipping to Australia. We ship from all major ports, such as Liverpool, Immingham Southampton, Felixstowe and Tilbury, but also have some great shipping services out of the smaller ports such as Grangemouth and Cardiff.

EXPRESS REMOVALS –With the key points covered surrounding part load removals and container shipping, that leaves us with the dedicated van options. We have transit vans, luton vans and 7.5tonners delivering throughout Europe daily. Therefore, we are proud to say that we can collect from any European country with just a couple of days notice, offering designated, direct, express delivery, from and to your chosen destination.

Dedicated van services are charged per mile, so we just need the van size, the loading town and delivery town and we can work out a dedicated van rate for you. This can vary slightly when additional ferries are required, when a van to the Greek Islands, for example is wanted, but all rates includes driver wages, fuel, ferry from Dover to Calais and tolls! Sole use van options can be much cheaper when traveling shorter distances, such as London to Paris, or Brussels or Birmingham, for example, as these are charged per mile, rather than per cubic metre. The luton vans have internal dimensions of around 18 cubic metres (Around 4.2 x 2.1 x 2.1metres high) and take 1000kilos, but it is probably cheaper to have your own van when going on shorter trips to North France, Belgium and Holland, than eleceting for 18CBM as a part load on a truck. When you start moving more extreme distances, then the part load option, where you get charged per cubic foot, can then be a cheaper option. Therefore, when you move to Southern Spain, such as Malaga, it would probably cost less for a part load groupage service, than having your own van, yet both services have their advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of opting for a dedicated van for your move is that you get a van to yourself, so you can be sure that the only goods in the van are yours. The goods will travel from door to door and will not be handled on route. The express van service means you get the same driver and van from house to house, knowing that your goods are secure from door to door, with the driver staying with the vehicle at all times.

If you opt for a van for your delivery you can get a next day delivery on most destinations, within about 700 miles, 48 hour delivery on trips that are more than about 700 miles and a 3 day delivery may be required on runs to the likes of Northern Sweden, Southern Italy and Eastern Europe. The above estimated running times are about right for van deliveries. If you decide to go for a full house move, on a dedicated basis, the running time may be longer as larger wagons, such as 7.5 tonners and 18 tonners have restricted driving hours.

Whilst the above rates and running times are based on a man and van basis, with driver assist both ends, we can offer additional porters to do all loading and unloading, along with extra drivers to speed up the running time. We can still offer a full packing service, with the sole use van option, but that is just added tot he cost per mile.

Whether you are moving from Europe to England or England to any European destination, we can have the collection and delivery done within these time scales. Due to the fact that we are European specialists, we are confident in being able to collect from you anywhere in Europe, on any day that you want and at an agreed time.

You can see that the main advantages of a dedicated service is that you have far more control over collection days and the speed of delivery can also be a massive advantage, especially when you have your children’s toys are all tied up in the load, or your business equipment! However, the direct van option is also a very good choice for families who have bad access, at the collection and delivery points. We have done many collections from Swiss ski resorts, when a van with snow chains is the only way to gain access to the collection property. We have found ourselves delivering to steep mountain locations in the South of France, when only a small van could have any chance of getting to the house, but have also found that big cities, such as London and Madrid, have some very restricted streets, with access and or parking being impossible for anything larger than a transit van!

CUSTOMS CLEARANCE – Since Brexit the movement of personal effects to and from the UK has become slightly more complex, however we have you covered. With a dedicated customs clearance team on hand for all of your customs queries you can be assured of free customs clearance advice when moving to and from any European Country and with some basic documents from you, we will quote and include all customs clearance admin fees. We have agents secured in all of the EU countries and in many instances just need copy passport, packing list and proof of residence for both ends. Some countries do require a bit more documentation for clearance, but in most instances clients moving personal effects abroad can do so, tax free, if they have owned and used the goods for month than 6 months. Either way, we will ensure you get the very best tax efficient customs clearance advise for your chosen country.

If your goods are all used household effects, in the vast majority of cases you will not be subject to duty or taxes, in the country you are moving to. This will be subject to the length of time that you have owned and used the goods, however in some countries, such as Albania for example, you will be subject to taxation, even on used goods! Each country has different rules, therefore it is wise to check with us on what will be applied on an individual basis.

When importing effects in to the UK you can apply for “transfer of residence” tax relief, which is for the “importation of personal effects, from outside of the UK”. To do this you complete a TOR1 and send to customs. Customs will consider your case and in most instances send you a TOR approval letter, with a URN “unique reference number”. This number enables us to import used goods in to the UK, with you not having to pay UK duty or taxes. This is subject to the goods being owned and used for more than 6 months and you living abroad for more than 12 months. We can deal with inherited goods, moving to or from a 2nd home or even if you just want to export or import new goods. We will chat over your specific circumstances and ensure you get the benefit of our expert knowledge free of charge.

Should you have any unanswered questions or queries of any description, or just want a chat or some advise, please do not hesitate to call or email for an immediate reply.

INSURANCE – On all quotations we offer basis free insurance within your quotation. Should you required enhanced insurance we will take a list of the goods’ value and offer a quotation on an ad-hoc basis, which will be optional.

WAREHOUSING –Should you need your personal belongings to be collected and then take to store, whilst you find a new home, then we can accommodate you. We have warehousing throughout the UK and can collect your goods, take to store and then delivery at a later date. We can offer long term or short term storage in the UK, but if you prefer we can also offer storage throughout the UK. Sometimes you may need you personal effects to be stored locally to where you are finally moving to, so you can access your goods in the short term. For example, we have a client moving to the Estepona area that we have moved from the UK to our Malaga depot. 30% of the goods have been delivered to the clients’ rented property, for them to use in the short term, but when they have found there own home we will collect the goods from them and then deliver the full consignment. We have many ways of solving your storage problems, therefore let us know how you want the move to take place and we will tailor your service to your exact requirements.

BOOKING YOUR MOVE –Once we have established a volume of goods, the vehicle required to complete the move and the kind of service that you require, you will be sent a full written quotation. This will outline the move size, the cost of the move and how to book. We would require a small deposit to complete the booking and then we would come to an agreement on the collection date.

ABOUT EUROPE –Europe is the second smallest continent in the world, with 4 million square miles and a population of 700 million people.

Europeans are high in generosity and the ten most generous countries in terms of charities are all European.

Much of Europe has been shaped by World War’s 1 and 2. The First World War caused the complete alteration or dissolution of four empires the German, Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian. World War 2 meanwhile resulted in the death of 2.5 percent of the world’s population.

It is believed that Europe is named originally after ‘Europa’ who was a Phoenician Princess from Greek Mythology.

The smallest country in Europe is The Vatican – city actually only 110 acres in total and with a population of just more than 800. Whilst the largest country in Europe is Russia (though Russia is only partially European) with an area of 17,098,242km2. These are also the smallest and largest countries in the world. One of the most interesting facts about Europe then is that it includes the smallest and largest countries in the world.

More information about European locations and moving to Europe