Price is driven by volume first, weight second
Almost every man-and-van clearance in the country is priced on how much space your waste takes up in the van, measured in cubic yards. A cubic yard is roughly a washing machine, or five to eight bin bags. That is the number that moves the price most.
Weight is the second factor, and it is the one people underestimate. A van has a legal payload, and soil, rubble, tiles and plasterboard reach it long before the van looks full. That is why a load that is half the size of another can cost the same: the limit was the weight, not the space.
Access is the third. A ground-floor garage opening onto a driveway is a different job from a second-floor flat with no lift and a shared stairwell, even if the pile is identical. Any firm that quotes without asking about access is either going to add a charge on the day or has built the risk into the price you were just given.
What a quote should include before you accept it
The figure is only comparable if you know what is inside it. Ask about all five of these, and be wary of anyone who will not put the answers in writing:
- Labour — is the loading included, or are you expected to carry it out to the kerb first?
- Disposal fees — the tip charges by weight, and some quotes add it afterwards as a separate line
- VAT — a price that looks 20% better than everyone else's sometimes just has not mentioned it yet
- Items priced separately — fridges, freezers and upholstered furniture carry extra disposal costs that are real and unavoidable
- What happens if there is more than expected — a fixed price should mean fixed, or the overage rule should be stated up front
Rough sizes, so you can picture it
People are not expected to know what a cubic yard looks like, so these are the comparisons that actually help:
- One or two cubic yards — a small bedroom cleared, or a modest garage tidy-up
- Four to six cubic yards — a full garage, a loft clearance, or a flat's worth of unwanted furniture
- Eight to twelve cubic yards — most of the contents of a two or three bedroom house
- Fourteen cubic yards and up — a full property clearance, and usually more than one trip
Above about fourteen cubic yards you are generally paying for a second journey rather than a bigger van, because a 3.5 tonne tipper is already at its weight limit. A quote that scales smoothly past that point is worth questioning.
Probate and end-of-tenancy clearances
A probate clearance is the same job with more care attached. Allow time to go through things properly — paperwork, photographs and jewellery turn up in places nobody expects, and a clearance done at speed is how they get lost. A good firm will set anything that looks personal aside rather than making the decision for you.
End-of-tenancy work is usually the opposite problem: a deadline, and a landlord or agent who wants the place empty by a particular hour. Those are worth booking with more notice than you think you need.
Getting a real number
Our own prices are on the site and change as costs do, so rather than printing a figure here that goes stale, the quote tool gives you the current one. Pick a load size, or send a couple of photos if you would rather we sized it, and you will have a fixed price without anyone visiting or calling you.