Definition of "all-inclusive” varied among moving service providers: consumer council

Home removal companies are more commonly charged “all-inclusive” pricing nowadays, but the definition varies among service providers with a nearly 1.3-fold price difference, said the consumer watchdog.

Between May and June this year, the Council sent questionnaires to 126 companies providing local home removal services, enquiring about their terms and conditions, including quotation and charging methods, minimum charges, surcharges, and arrangements in case of inclement weather, etc.

In the end, of the only 20 companies that responded, it was found that they mainly charged the customers in three ways - per item, per vehicle, and an all-inclusive package.

However, it was found that only 12 out of 16 companies that offered the all-inclusive package, had a flat rate that included a designated quantity of items, dismantling and reassembly, manpower and time required to complete the task, and so on.

A simulated scenario by the council found that the price of “all-inclusive” packages could vary by over 1.3 times among companies. 

As for quotation methods, 16 of the companies offered a quotation either after on-site inspection by their staff or by the consumer’s submission of a completed form with uploaded photos and videos of the items to be removed.

The Consumer Council found that, compared to the survey conducted five years ago, there is more variety in the quotation methods offered to consumers.

The consumer council also found that among the six moving companies, there was a six- to seven-fold difference in per item charges, along with a disparity of more than two-fold from the four companies that provided per vehicle services.

Consumers were urged to pay special attention to these details and carefully estimate the final cost when making price comparisons.

The watchdog also urged that moving companies need to safeguard their privacy and environment protection measures, as removal companies have the responsibility to take practicable measures to preserve and protect relevant consumer information from leaking and should delete the information as soon as it is no longer required.