The 5 Best Student Removals Companies in the UK

Written by Ashleigh Williams Reviewed by Dave Sayce

21st Jul 2022 (Last updated on 14th Mar 2024) 14 minute read

The 5 Best Student Removals Companies in the UK

Here are our top 5 best student movers based on their superb 5-star reviews:

1. Bolt Removals

Bolt Removals are a Cardiff-based team who joined our network in November 2014. They have since achieved a superb 5-star rating, providing outstanding removal services across the city.

They provide a range of services, including student house moves and storage. No matter what the requirements, they treat every move with total care and attention, helping students reach their new homes with ease.

"The company was very efficient, the removal men were very approachable and helpful. they disassembled and reassembled. The whole removal process was as stress-free as possible..." - Nadia Nebot, Cardiff

2. King Removals

With fully-trained staff and years of experience in the industry, King Removals joined our network in August 2019. They will help you through every step of the moving process whilst ensuring a 5-star service at competitive prices.

They provide help with student moves as well as the option of utilising their student storage. Every unit is closely monitored with 24-hour security, ensuring everything is completely secure inside.

"Absolutely AMAZING movers....really helpful, considerate, professional and went out of the way to be helpful as I am disabled. Will definitely recommend them to everyone I know and remember to use them again." - Zainab Mirza, Harrow

3. Mooving On London

A Compare My Move partner since May 2019, Mooving On London has collected many 5-star reviews from our users, providing expert advice and efficient removal services.

As well as student moves, Mooving On London also offers customers the use of their secure student storage facilities. With a trustworthy team, they strive to consistently offer stress-free and enjoyable moves to every customer they work with.

"We cannot praise this company enough. Fantastic service from start to finish. All members of the team worked incredibly hard and we were so happy we chose them to move us.

They were friendly, helpful and couldn't do enough for us. Price was extremely competitive too - fixed fee with insurance included. We highly recommend them." - Sarah, London North West

4. Britannia Bradshaw Birmingham

The team at Britannia Bradshaw Birmingham are highly trained with many years of experience in the industry. They offer a first-class student removal service and have been a proud Compare My Move partner since February 2019.

Not only can they pack your belongings for you, but the company also offers student storage where they will store your goods in large wooden containers in a warehouse that's fully alarmed with CCTV coverage.

"Britannia took the time to create a moving plan that met our needs and was accurate with the estimation of the size and timescale of the moving day...The removal personnel were professional, hard-working and polite..." - Katherine Woolley, Birmingham

5. The House Removal Company

Based in Nottingham, The House Removal Company offers student removals and self-storage solutions. They recently joined our network in September 2022 and have already achieved a 5-star rating.

In addition to their removals and storage service, the company also offers a variety of add-ons such as a full packing service and a fragile packing service to protect your items.

"A+ great customer service, great communication. Friendly and reliable. I had a move but also dissembled and assembled a wardrobe on the same day.

Helped with connecting washing machine in. Definitely recommend to use. Will definitely use again..." - Rebecca Field, Nottingham

How Much Do Student Movers Cost?

Student movers work in a similar way to a regular removal company. As you will have a smaller amount of items, the van required and the move will be smaller.

The removals company will assist you every step of the way during your move to university. Here are the steps to follow if you want to hire this service:

1. Choose a reliable and trustworthy company - This can be done with the help of our removals comparison service.
2. Provide the company with details of your move - You'll want to include the dates, times, and the number of items you have.
3. Compare quotes - You will then receive a quote from the company detailing the costs of the move. You can choose the appropriate company based on these quotes.
4. Arrange additional services - When choosing a removal company, you can arrange any additional services you may need, such as self-storage and packing.

If the company is packing your items for you, they will arrive 1 or 2 days before your moving date. If not, they will arrive on your moving day to transport your items.

How to Choose a Student Removal Company For You

Here are some average costs for hiring a removals service for 1 bedroom, based on our research:

Some moving companies provide a quote with a set price, whilst others will charge at an hourly rate. The cost of student moves varies depending on several factors. These include:

• Distance of the move
• The removals company used
• The number of items you have
• The amount of time the move takes
• Any additional services used (such as self-storage and packing)

While not all companies offer specific student removals, the majority offer small or part-load removals. This can be used in the same way. Many companies will offer free student moving quotes.

If you’re looking to compare student moving services in the UK, simply fill out our form. We can place you in contact with up to 6 partners who offer this service at a competitive price.

Hiring a Van

You can look into hiring a van, but you will have to move the items yourself. This can be a less convenient option given you don’t have expert movers on hand to help.

If you’re looking to hire a van from Cardiff to Bristol, this will cost around £124.30 for a day. This is based on a Ford Transit 350 ELWB Jumbo van hire. This is an average price taken from a Hertz quote.

The Benefits of Using Student Movers

Hiring student movers to assist you with your University move has many benefits. Not only will they relieve the stress of moving day, but they can be relied upon to move your goods safely and quickly. Whether you're moving within the same city, nationally or internationally, they are beneficial to use.

If you're a student, here are the main benefits of using a student removals company:

Packing Services

As a student, there are so many things to focus on at the end of the University year. From revising for exams or writing a dissertation, the last thing on a student's mind will be packing to move home. If you don't have enough time to pack your belongings, many student movers offer packing services.

This comes at an extra cost but will save you time as you come to the end of your university tenancies. It also reduces the risk of damage as the student movers will use high-quality packing materials and will wrap fragile items carefully.

If you want to pack your belongings yourself, student movers often provide the packaging materials needed. They are not too expensive and this is easier than acquiring the boxes and materials yourself. This helps to ensure your fragile goods are protected during transit as they will be professionally packaged.

Insurance and Flexibility

When moving to and from university, your moving dates may change depending on your schedule. The beauty of using student movers is that they are flexible and will work around the dates you need to move. You can arrange a day and time that's most convenient for you.

If you choose to move everything on your own, your goods are at more risk of damage, especially if you don't have the time or materials to safely package everything correctly.

By law, student movers have to be insured. They will have Public Liability and Goods in Transit insurance which will provide you with peace of mind. This is a big benefit of removal services.

The vans used will protect your goods in comparison to placing them in your car or packing a van yourself. The additional security is certainly worth it.

Collection and Transport of Belongings

Student movers will collect your belongings from your home or university residence and will provide a door-to-door service. This takes away the need for you to manually load a car or van and have to unload when you get to your destination. This service is particularly useful when moving because the student movers will do all the heavy lifting for you.

A lot of student accommodation will involve flights of stairs. Not all university accommodations will have lifts or be easily accessible, which can make moving more difficult. Student movers help to ease this. They are fully trained to carry the boxes and are efficient throughout the process.

They will select the correct size moving van based on the number of goods you have. This saves you time as you won't need to carry out multiple trips when moving. This is common for those using their own car as transportation.

Long-Distance Moves Around the UK

A lot of students choose to relocate to different cities and parts of the country when selecting a university. It's a great way to begin your adult life and experience new places. Given that some students move hours away from their homes, this can make transporting their goods logistically challenging. This is especially true for those wanting to take a lot of items with them and students without access to a car.

Many student movers offer long-distance services and can transfer your goods anywhere across the UK. Even if you live in London and are studying in Manchester or Edinburgh, this will be possible. They will be able to provide you with a quote based on the distance travelled and the number of goods you have.

International Student Movers

Some moving companies offer a full international removals service for uni students. This is beneficial for international students and those planning to study abroad. Logistically, moving abroad has many extra steps, and it's not as easy to relocate your goods. This is why hiring the help of a student movers service would be useful.

Self-Storage

One of the most difficult parts of uni moves is often linked to the waiting times between tenancies. While they may overlap, in some instances you may need to wait a few days or weeks before moving into a new property. As a uni student, this can be difficult, especially if your uni is far away from your home. In this instance, a self-storage facility is a useful option for a short period.

Student movers often offer self-storage at an extra charge. It provides a safe and secure location to store your goods for a set amount of time. The vast majority of self-storage companies are based in convenient locations. They aim to use a facility close to where you’re based.

Tips for Students Moving House

Here are our top tips for moving into halls or a student house:

1. Prepare in advance

Once you've received your exam results and have secured your place at your chosen university, you'll want to begin preparing for your move. This allows you enough time to ensure you have everything packed.

It gives you enough time to contact and organise your student movers. Our moving house packing tips provides useful information about preparing to move. Apps like Google Keep and Packing Pro are helpful when it comes to organising your belongings.

2. Don't overpack

Student houses and halls are limited in space. It would help if you only packed the essentials and some home comforts you need. This will help to keep removals costs to a minimum if you're working on a budget.

3. Use the information available to you from your uni

Checking the university website will inform you of what you can and can’t bring. This is useful for the packing process as it prevents anything from being confiscated upon arrival.

4. Group items together

Grouping similar items together can help when unpacking in your university home. For example, storing books, clothes and important documents together allows you to organise items easily.

5. Label boxes

Labelling boxes can speed up the process and allows you to access specific items when needed. This allows you to place boxes easily in the correct area of your university house or hall.

6. Create an inventory

You can refer to the inventory at the end of the university year to ensure you’ve packed all your belongings and don't leave anything behind.

7. Save space for extra items

You’ll likely leave with more items than you arrived at your student halls with. This is why it’s important to ensure you have enough room to bring everything home with you.

8. Add some home comforts

You'll want to pack a few home comforts to help you settle into your new university home and into this new stage of your life. This will help with any feelings of homesickness later down the line.

How We Selected These Companies

We reviewed our removal partners, that offer student removal services. We included large and small companies from across the UK. Allowing you to make an informed decision on the best for you.

Our team reviewed over 60 removal companies offering student removals, taking into account location, reviews, services and price, to bring you this list.

All the partners were scored against their independent review score. We encourage real customers to write reviews on their experience with our removal partners. Each review is based on the following: customer service, value for money, and moving day.

These scores determined the ranking of each removal company in this list.

We scour the country to find the best companies offering student removals to partner with. Our partners are trustworthy as they undergo our strict verification process. This ensures they provide a high-quality service. You can have peace of mind when your goods are being transported to and from student accommodation.

We considered many factors to determine the 5 best student removals companies in the UK. These companies have passed our strict verification process. To pass verification, removal companies must show proof of:

• Professional Company Checks: we make sure that the company is legitimate before proceeding. We run a variety of professional company checks to ensure that they are a trustworthy and reliable business.
• Insurance and Safety: all our removal partners must be fully covered with Goods in Transit and Public Liability insurance. This means your goods are covered during transit.
• Online Presence: all partners must have a website or Facebook page that provides basic information. The page must be up-to-date with contact and location details.
  
• Positive Company Reviews: we only partner with the best removal companies across the country. This means that we look at the reviews the company has received to ensure that they are trustworthy.
  
• Qualifications and Certifications: we consider the qualifications and certifications of the company. For example, our conveyancing partners must be regulated by either the SRA, CLC, LSNI, LSS, or CILEX.
• Code of Practice: once accepted, our partners must agree to operate by our code of practice. This is a set of rules to ensure that they offer the best service. It includes contacting the customer within 48 hours and ensuring that the staff is fully trained and qualified.

Once a partner is accepted onto our network, we will monitor them to ensure they are meeting our high standards.

We Work With Universities All Over The UK

Compare My Move has helped many students with their university moves. Our professional network of student movers can assist you in finding the best company.

Every company we work with is licensed and insured, providing you with peace of mind that your goods will be safe and secure during the journey.

Whether you're a student moving to Manchester or you're looking for services in London, we can help. Our comparison service can connect you with up to 6 different student movers who all offer competitive prices.