What Removal Companies Won't Move
Reviewed by the Frank's Van and Man Manchester team • Last reviewed 7 October 2026
Removal firms refuse anything flammable or pressurised, such as gas bottles, petrol, paint and aerosols, and most published terms also leave cash, jewellery, important documents, plants, perishable food and animals to you. The hazardous list has a legal reason: the exemption that lets you carry fuel in your own car does not cover someone moving goods for another person. Sort those items before the day, and tell the crew about anything unusual when you book.
Fuel, Gas and Anything That Burns
Government guidance on carrying dangerous goods by road has an exemption for private individuals: goods packaged for retail sale and intended for their personal or domestic use or their leisure or sporting activities. Where those goods are flammable liquids in refillable containers, the total must not exceed 60 litres per container and 240 litres per vehicle.
That exemption is for you carrying your own things. The guidance is explicit that the separate exemption for carrying goods to a place of work applies only to a worker carrying them for immediate use by that worker, and would not apply to a driver delivering goods for use by someone else. A crew moving your mower fuel and patio heater gas is carrying goods for someone else, which is why removal firms refuse them.
Gas bottles, full or empty, including camping and barbecue gas.
Petrol, diesel and the fuel left in a mower or strimmer.
Paint, paint thinners, oils and garden or cleaning chemicals.
Aerosols and anything else marked flammable or under pressure.
Drain the mower, use up or return the gas, and either move the rest in your own car within the private limits or dispose of it before the day.
Things Most Firms Leave to You
Published removal terms are strikingly similar on what they exclude. Alongside the hazardous list they usually leave out money, jewellery, deeds and important documents, and collections such as stamps or coins; plants; perishable and frozen food; and live animals. Several also list firearms.
None of that means the item cannot travel. It means it travels with you. The packing service page sets out the bag that should go in your car rather than the van: passports, keys, medication and chargers. Pets and plants go the same way, and a freezer should be run down and defrosted the day before rather than moved full.
Jobs Removers Do Not Normally Do
The British Association of Removers' Code of Practice, re-approved in September 2026, requires members to point out the services a customer might expect but which would not normally be provided. Its list is disconnecting and reconnecting kitchen and household appliances, taking down and rehanging curtains, clearing out cellars, lofts and attics, dismantling and rebuilding bedroom and kitchen furniture, children's climbing frames, greenhouses, garden sheds and planters, and looking after plants.
Some of those are things we do as a matter of course on a man and van job. We take apart and rebuild beds, wardrobes and desks so they fit through the door, and we clear lofts and garages as part of a move or on their own. Gas and plumbing work is different: a gas cooker needs a Gas Safe engineer, and a washing machine should be disconnected and drained before the van arrives.
Where the Refused Items Go in Greater Manchester
Recycle for Greater Manchester says gas bottles must never go in a household bin because they may explode if crushed. Take them to a recycling centre, or have them refilled or returned to the supplier. Liquid paint must not be poured down the drain: brush a small amount onto scrap paper or cardboard to dry, or mix a larger amount with dry soil, sand or sawdust until it hardens, after which it can go in the household bin.
Usable paint can be donated at the 10 Renew paint donation points at recycling centres across Greater Manchester, or through Community RePaint, which has locations in Bolton, Rochdale, Moss Side and Wythenshawe. Empty paint cans go to your nearest household waste recycling centre. If you are taking a carload rather than a van, no permit is needed; a van, including a hire van, needs a free permit applied for in advance.
Tell the Crew Before the Day
The BAR code requires members to give a fixed price written quotation with a clear description of the work. That only works if the description is right, and the most common surprise on moving day is an item nobody mentioned: a piano in the back room, a shed full of tools, or a garage shelf of paint tins.
List anything heavy, awkward, valuable or hazardous when you ask for a price. The crew can then plan for it, refuse it in good time so you can make other arrangements, or tell you how it should be prepared, rather than leaving it on the pavement on the day.
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