A man and a van quote worth trusting is one you get before anyone rings you. Send us a few photos of what's moving, and for small jobs you get a price straight back, then pay by secure link when you book. Moving a whole house instead? Here's how much it costs to move house in Norfolk.
That's the short answer. The longer one is about why most man and van quotes go wrong, what one should actually tell you, and what man and van work typically costs in Norfolk.
What usually happens when you ask for a quote
You fill in a form. Within the hour, three or four numbers you've never seen are ringing you. Each one asks the same questions. Each one gives you a different figure, often an hourly rate with a minimum, plus a guess at how long it'll take.
Then the day comes, the job runs over, and the price you were "quoted" turns out to have been an estimate.
None of that is a quote. It's a conversation about a quote.
What a proper man and van quote looks like
Here's how it works with us instead:
- Photos first, phone calls never required. You send pictures of what's going. For small jobs, that's enough for an instant price.
- One fixed price. Jobs are priced as a fixed figure, not by the hour. The price comes from the firm doing the work, with nothing added on top by us. We're paid a fee by the firm on completed work only.
- Your number goes to one firm. Only after you approve it, and it's never sold or shared.
- You pay by secure card link. Small jobs are paid in full on booking through a secure link. No card details read out over the phone, and no deposit-then-balance faff.
- A person answers. If you'd rather talk it through, ring 01603 267 440. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm.
The point is simple. You should know the price before you've had to hand your number to anyone.
No job is too small to quote
There's no minimum job size. A single armchair across Norwich is a proper job, and it gets the same care as a full house.
That matters because a lot of man and van searches are for one thing: a sofa off Marketplace, a wardrobe from a relative, a washing machine to a new flat. Plenty of firms don't want that work, or price it as if it were half a day. If that's you, our furniture collection and delivery service is built for it.
One Norwich customer put it simply: "Used this company to move my sofa across Norwich, quick replies and well priced."
What does a man with a van cost in Norfolk?
Real figures help more than "prices from". Here's what man and van work typically costs through the vetted Norfolk firms we use. These are typical prices, not a guaranteed quote. The firm's fixed price for your job is the price.
Small jobs, priced instantly from photos:
- Single item collection and delivery: usually £60 to £70
- A sofa: typically £40 to £50
- A wardrobe: typically £60 to £70, depending on size
- A washing machine: typically £50 to £60
House moves:
- A straightforward one-bed with one man and van: from £180
- One man and van helping with a house move for half a day (3 to 4 hours): around £210
- A two-bed move with two men for a full day: around £480
- A three-bed with a normal amount of stuff, done in a day: also around £480
- A bigger three-bed needing two vans and three men: around £900
How that compares
Typical Norfolk prices from published guides put a three-bed removal at around £900 to £1,500. The same guides list Norwich man and van hourly rates at around £40 to £50 an hour for one person and £60 to £80 an hour for two, usually with a two-hour minimum.
Those are published averages, not our prices. We're showing them so you can see the gap. One customer told us they "got a whole house move for hundreds less than any other company". That's their words, not ours, but it's the point of how we work.
Why fixed beats hourly in Norfolk
An hourly rate sounds fair until you look at a map. Norfolk is big and mostly rural. A crew based on the wrong side of the county loses an hour before lifting anything. Between June and September, coastal traffic can turn a 40-minute run into 90 minutes.
On an hourly rate, you pay for all of that. On a fixed price, the clock isn't your problem.
What changes a man and van price
Even fixed prices start from somewhere. These are the things that move the number:
- How much is going. Volume is the big one. A van-load is not a box-load.
- Access. Stairs and long carries can add to the price with some firms. Victorian terrace stairs in Norwich often won't turn a sofa, and it's better to know that from a photo than on the landing.
- Distance and awkward locations. Some firms charge extra for these. We tend to use firms that don't.
- Parking. Much of NR2 is residents' permit parking. Parking is the firm's job to sort, but if you know of permit rules at either end, tell us up front.
- The road itself. On single-track village lanes with passing places, the size of van is a question before the price is.
- Timing. Weekend, Friday or busy-period charges aren't usual, but they depend on the firm. Completion-day Fridays book up first, so earlier in the week is often easier to get.
The more of this your photos and notes cover, the firmer the price. For awkward items, a short video helps even more.
Always a crew with the van
"Man and van" means a van with someone driving it and lifting with you. That's what we arrange, every time.
We don't do self-drive van hire. We don't rent you a van and wish you luck on the A47. If you're weighing up hiring a van and doing it yourself, count your own day, the lifting, the fuel and the insurance excess before you decide it's cheaper. More on whether van hire or a man and van is cheaper.
Why the firm matters as much as the price
A cheap quote from a cowboy isn't cheap. So every firm we send a job to is checked first by Billy, who used to run his own removals firm:
- Insurance verified with the insurer, not taken from a certificate on a website
- Paperwork and reviews checked
- Vans looked at where warranted
Every completed job is rated, and firms that slip lose the work. If something goes wrong on the day, you ring us, not a call centre. And if we can't do your move well, we'll tell you straight. An honest no beats a hopeful yes.
We cover Norfolk properly rather than the whole country badly. One end of the move needs to be in Norfolk. The other can be anywhere in the UK.
Questions people ask
What does "man with a van" mean?
It means a van that comes with a driver who also does the lifting, sometimes with a second pair of hands. You're not hiring the van on its own. Most man and van work is smaller moves: single items, flats, part-loads and smaller houses. Our man and van service covers all of those.
How much does a man with a van cost in the UK?
In Norfolk, a man with a van usually costs £60 to £70 for a single item, and from £180 for a straightforward one-bed move, through the firms we use. Published Norwich hourly rates run at around £40 to £50 an hour for one person, usually with a two-hour minimum. We price jobs as one fixed figure instead.
Is it cheaper to hire a van or a man with a van?
Self-drive often looks cheaper on paper. Then you add your own time, the lifting, fuel and the insurance excess if something gets scraped. For small jobs, get an instant man and van price from photos and compare like for like.
What day costs least for removals?
Day-of-week surcharges aren't usual with the firms we use, though it depends on the firm. The bigger issue is availability. Completion-day Fridays book first, and in Norwich, late September and June fill up fast with student moves. Booking midweek and early gives you the best choice.
Can it be done quickly?
Yes, it can often be done quickly when a nearby firm is free and the price comes from photos, which cuts out most of the waiting. One customer said: "Needed someone to help with a moving crisis and they were able to be there with a van in 45 minutes from the first phonecall!! Excellent rates, and an excellent service."
We won't promise that every time. Same-day work depends on who's free and close by. But if it can be done, we'll find out quickly, and if it can't be done well, we'll say so.
Get your man and van quote
Send us photos of what's moving and where it's going. Small jobs get an instant price, and bigger moves get one fixed price from one vetted firm. If you're in the city, our Norwich man and van page has the local detail. For a full house, see house removals, or let us arrange the whole thing for you.
Get your quote, or ring us on 01603 267 440. A person answers.