Every booking includes standard cover on each piece, with the current amount per piece shown at booking and on our cover page. It protects against loss or damage while your goods are in our care. What it cannot do is make up for a thin box or an unwrapped glass, because what goes inside each piece, and how it is protected, is packed by you. The honest summary of this whole page: the cover is real, and good packing means you never think about it again.
What the included cover is
Cover applies per piece, is included in the price, and needs no opt-in, no form and no extra step. It runs from the moment the driver takes a piece from you to the moment it is handed over at the far end, which includes the London van, our Oxfordshire hub and the regional van.
Per piece is the key phrase. It is not a pot shared across the booking, and it is not a valuation of each individual item inside a box.
What it protects
Two things: a piece that is lost, and a piece damaged by handling or transit while with us. Every piece is labelled with your booking reference and counted at each stage, on collection, into the hub, onto the regional van and at delivery, so a missing piece shows up fast and the trail shows where. Crush damage, a dropped case or a torn bag caused by our handling are squarely what the cover is for.
What it does not cover
- Damage to the contents of a badly packed piece. We transport sealed pieces and cannot see inside them, so a mug that was loose in a box of books was broken by the packing, not the journey.
- Fragile items that travelled with no protection at all.
- Prohibited items. Anything from the prohibited items list voids cover for the piece carrying it, and a leaking or dangerous item can damage other people's goods too.
- Pieces over the 30 kg limit, which exist outside the deal because they make safe handling impossible.
- Value beyond the per-piece amount. The cover is sized for ordinary belongings, not for a single item worth many times it.
As with any carrier, cash, passports, jewellery and anything irreplaceable should travel with you, not on the van. No cover amount brings back your grandmother's ring.
Where the responsibility line sits
The split is clean. We are responsible for handling sealed pieces carefully and getting every one of them to the right door. You are responsible for what is inside and how it is cushioned. A box is opaque to us, so the only person who can protect a wine glass is the person who packs it. Everything below follows from that.
Packing boxes that survive
- Use double-walled boxes. Supermarket singles collapse under stacking.
- Keep every box under 30 kg, and use small boxes for dense things like books and tools.
- Fill every void. A box should close flat and hold a person's weight without flexing, because pieces are stacked in transit. Scrunched paper, towels and jumpers are free void fill.
- Tape properly: along every seam, with an H pattern on top and bottom.
- Wrap each breakable separately, and pack plates on their edge rather than flat. A stack of flat plates concentrates shock on the bottom one.
- Put heavy items at the bottom, soft at the top, and never pack liquids in the same box as electronics.
- Use original boxes for electronics where you still have them.
- Write your booking reference on at least two sides.
Bags, cases, bikes and furniture
Bags and suitcases should be zipped fully shut with nothing dangling. Pack a case the way you would for a flight, on the assumption it will be lifted, stacked and carried by its handle. A padlock is fine.
For a bike, take the pedals off if you can, turn the bars, drop the saddle and cushion the rear derailleur with cardboard, since it is the part that bends first. Strip lights, pumps and bottles off the frame.
For furniture, tape drawers and doors shut, remove loose shelves, and wrap corners, which take every knock. On Assisted, furniture and bikes bring a two-person crew, but wrapping is still the packer's job.
High value and sentimental items
If a single item matters more than the per-piece cover amount, make a deliberate choice: carry it yourself, or arrange separate insurance for the journey. If you are unsure how something should travel, email [email protected] before the cutoff and ask. A two-line answer in advance beats any claim after the fact.
If you do need to claim
Count your pieces as they come off the van and check them against your booking. Point out any visible damage to the driver while they are there, then email [email protected] with your booking reference, photos of the damage and, ideally, your photos of the piece before it was sealed. Report things as soon as you reasonably can, since fresh claims are quick claims. The formal process and timescales sit on our terms page.
A photo of each open box before you tape it costs ten seconds per box. It is the single best claims tool you can own, and if you have packed to the standard above, the odds are you will never need it.