When moving home you may come across one of these. The whole reason for their existence is because the completion day process is so outdated.
When you buy a new property you could well find there is a delay in the money being transferred through the chain especially if you are some way along. This can be very frustrating as you have waited so long for your new property and after weeks of legal work there is still a delay in releasing keys on the day!
This whole scenario is one that has dogged the removals industry for years and caused stress and expense for many people for many years, but why does it happen?
Once Exchange of contracts has taken place the move is certain and a completion day is fixed, at this time you can confirm the day with your remover. Hopefully prior to that you have provisionally booked this date as you may find that your chosen remover is booked. At that point all the contracts are in order, all the lending has been agreed the searches and surveys complete so it is just a simple task of sending the money through the chain so everyone can move in. Sounds simple? It should be but for some reason there is usually a delay in the money being released from the first time buyer and further delays from solicitor to solicitor. With today’s technology and instant bank transfers this should all be done in a matter of minutes!! Unless anyone can explain to me the logical reason for this I am going to put it down to the interest the banks & solicitors gain from having large sums on deposit for short lengths of time. There can be no other reason for it, as all the donkey work has been done weeks before.
This is where the waiting time charges waiver can be very useful as you pay an upfront fee (usually between £30-£75) and it will cover you against waiting time charges your remover may charge you. We typically charge £20 per staff member per hour or part thereof after 1pm. So for example if we are all ready to unload outside your new house before 2pm and have 3 crew members present and you finally arrive with the keys at 3.30pm you would be liable for an additional £120 + VAT. (4.20pm would be £180 + VAT) If you have taken out the waiver this would be covered.
We always clearly put our charges on our quotes and offer a waiver, however, some removers are not so open so it’s a good idea to find out the companies policy for waiting time and preferably get it in writing if it isn’t clearly stated in the terms and conditions.
I hope that has explained what a waiting time charges waiver is and why you may need it. Please remember it is only applicable if you are buying a house and not renting or moving into storage.