Damage During a House Move | What Happens and How to Claim

Report It in Writing, Quickly

The single most important thing is the deadline. The British Association of Removers' Code of Practice requires members to draw your attention to the limits of liability and the time limit for making claims in their terms, and those limits are short. One published removals contract requires you to notify any loss or damage within 7 days of delivery, unless the firm agrees to extend it.

So check the furniture as it comes off the van, photograph anything damaged where it stands, keep the damaged item rather than throwing it away, and send the firm a written message the same day. On our own moves we ask for the same: tell us as soon as you notice it and keep the item, so we can make the claim under our cover.

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  Photograph the damage before anything is moved or repaired.

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  Keep the damaged item and any packaging it came in.

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  Report it in writing on the day, even if you are not sure of the cost yet.

What the Firm Is Responsible For

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a trader must perform a service with reasonable care and skill, and a contract term cannot exclude that duty. The Act also says a trader can never exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence, and that agreeing to or knowing about such a term does not mean you accepted the risk.

Limits on how much a firm pays for damaged goods are a different matter. They are common, they are not automatically void, and whether a particular limit is fair depends on the contract. The practical answer is to read the liability clause before you book, not after something breaks.

Per-Item Limits and Declared Values

Most removal contracts limit what they pay unless you declare a value. In one published contract, if no value is declared the firm's liability is limited to a maximum of £50 per item, and an item is defined as any one article, suite, pair, set, complete case, package, carton or other container.

That definition matters. Under it, a packed carton of china is one item, worth £50 however many plates are inside, and a three piece suite is one item too. If you own anything worth more than the per-item limit, declare its value when you book and ask what it costs to cover it properly. If you are packing fragile things yourself, that is also when to ask whether owner-packed boxes are covered at all; our packing service is one way round the question.

Your Own Home Insurance

Some contents policies include cover while you move, but the detail matters. Direct Line's home insurance policy, for example, pays for loss of or damage to contents while they are being moved from your home to another home, where the cause is one listed in its core cover or accidental damage sections, and covers contents in temporary storage for up to 72 hours.

The same policy will not pay for damage to china, glass, earthenware or other fragile items, or bikes, during the move. Every insurer is different, so read the moving home section of your own policy before the day, and if fragile items are excluded, decide whether to declare them to the removal firm or move them yourself.

When the Trade Body Cannot Help

BAR members offer independent dispute resolution, but it is not the route for a damage claim. BAR's own consumer guide, published in August 2026, says otherwise: its ombudsman will not consider a claim for compensation for damage to goods during the move, damage due to alleged poor packing, or a dispute about the adequacy of an insurance cover limit such as £40 per box.

Those are insurance matters and go through the firm's insurer. The ombudsman does handle other complaints about members, and those have to be referred within 12 months of the move. Our guide to a man and van against a removals company covers what BAR membership does and does not add.

Small Claims as the Last Step

If the firm will not pay and there is no insurance route, the county court small claims track is the last step. On GOV.UK's current fees, issuing a claim costs £35 for claims up to £300, rising to £455 for claims between £5,000.01 and £10,000.

If your claim is £10,000 or less and the firm disputes it, you will be told you must attend mediation, which is free and takes up to an hour by phone. You have six years from the move to bring a claim for breach of contract, but the sooner you act the easier the evidence is to find.