In This Guide

Coping

It's a dirty job

Move countdown

On the day

Plan your move

Removal services

Storage services

   1. Introduction

   2. Choosing a storage service

   3. Storing goods

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Storage services

Introduction

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There are basically three different types of Storage Company:

Your property is placed in secure timber or steel boxes. The size of these containers can vary from three to ten feet high and anything up to 40 feet in length.

These are often owned and managed by the removals company - hence the common grouping of removals and storage. The advantage of this is that it minimises the number of people who handle your property and therefore can be relatively low in cost. There are also a large number of independent storage companies. Using one of these could mean that you end up with three companies handling your property - the removals people who put everything into storage, the storage company and the removals team who bring it to your home.

The cost of this type of storage may be incorporated into a single quote if the service is being provided by your removals company. If not then you will be charged according to the amount of container space you will require. You will also have to pay a handling charge for putting your things into storage and for taking them out.

You may or may not have access to the storage facility whilst your possessions are there; it depends on the individual set-up of the operation. If you are going to require access, make sure that the handlers are aware of which items you are likely to need, so that they can make them as reachable as possible.

These are simply secure warehouses in which you rent a bare room. You can store almost anything you like for as long as you like, though you may be subject to a minimum 'stay' of one month. You should be able to arrange for your removals company to put everything into this type of storage if you prefer.

The main advantage is that you usually enjoy full and exclusive access to your possessions. The times at which you will be able to gain entry to the premises can vary though - you can find self-storage centres that open only during standard business hours or ones that have round the clock access.

You usually have to provide your own padlock for your lock-up, which ensures that only you can gain entry to the room where your possessions are stored. In addition to this there is usually closed circuit television, a security guard and a door that can only be opened with a code.

You will be charged per square foot of space that you rent out, and there may well be a one-month minimum lease. This is usually payable monthly in advance.

These are not really relevant to us here, but as we like to be so thorough, we thought we'd give them a mention. A business storage service can be used for the housing of paper or electronic data that is not actively required by the company who owns it, but which it does not wish to discard. The storage company will almost certainly offer some form of fast retrieval system to allow rapid access to the information.

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