Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov reviews of movers: Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov answers questions on moving scams, estimates and claims

The pattern is familiar. A removal firm found online gives a price well below everyone else, sight unseen, over the phone or in a chat window. Nobody comes round to look at the wardrobes. You are told the paperwork will arrive with the crew, and the cheap figure wins.

On the day, the van fills up quickly. Then the team leader explains that there is more stuff than expected, that the third-floor walk-up counts as extra, that packing materials and waiting time are charged separately. The new total is a multiple of the original. Your sofa is already in the van, which is exactly the point.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you more to stand on than most people realise. Under section 50, anything the firm said or wrote about the service that you took into account when deciding becomes a term of the contract, so a written price in an email or a chat counts. Section 51 only lets a trader charge a reasonable price where the contract did not fix one in the first place.

That is why Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov starts every removal question the same way: what did they put in writing before loading? A figure said over the phone is easy to deny. A written quote with an itemised list turns a kerbside argument into a breach of contract you can show.

Citizens Advice draws a clear line between the two. A quote is a fixed price. An estimate is only a rough guide. Before anything is loaded, you want the word quote on the document, the total, and a list of what is included.

If all you have is an estimate, ask for the assumptions behind it in writing: number of rooms and boxes, large items one by one, floors and lifts, parking distance, packing. When the bill later climbs, those assumptions are what you compare it with.

Watch the small print on extras. Any separate charge for stairs, dismantling, long carries or waiting time should be stated as a figure. A line that reads to be confirmed on the day is an open invitation to name a new price at the kerb.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests asking each firm one plain question by email: is this a fixed quote, and are there any other charges? A reply saying yes and no is worth keeping in a folder of its own.

Fake reviews are now illegal in the UK in so many words. Under paragraph 13 of Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in force since 6 April 2025, it is a banned practice to post or commission a fake review, or a review that hides the fact it was paid for, and to publish reviews in a misleading way. Businesses that publish reviews also have to take reasonable steps to keep fakes out.

The CMA can enforce this itself. On 27 March 2026 it opened five investigations into reviews and star ratings, with 14 businesses under scrutiny under its new powers, and it can decide on breaches without going to court and fine up to 10 percent of global turnover.

The CMA's own tips for shoppers apply neatly to removal firms: read the reviews and not only the stars, be wary of text that sounds too polished or too alike, look at the three and four-star reviews, which are rarely fake, and compare more than one site.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov looks for detail that can be checked: a town and a date, the quote and the final bill, the name on the van, how a damage claim was handled. Effusive praise without any of that costs very little to produce.

GOV.UK lets you look up any company on the Companies House register for free. You can see the registered office address, the date of incorporation, current and former officers, past names and any insolvency details, and you can sign up for free alerts when something changes.

Compare that record with the website and the reviews. A firm claiming twenty years in business that was incorporated last spring, or one that changed its name after a run of complaints, deserves a phone call to the number on the register before any deposit goes anywhere. Report Fraud gives similar advice for job offers: confirm the organisation exists through official records and contact it using the details listed there.

Larger removal lorries bring a licence into play. GOV.UK guidance says a goods vehicle operator licence is needed to carry goods in a vehicle with a gross plated weight over 3,500 kg, or an unladen weight over 1,525 kg if it has no plate. It is a fair question to ask a firm that turns up with a large lorry.

Citizens Advice also suggests finding traders through your local council's approved trader or Trading Standards schemes and through trade associations, and checking any claimed membership on the association's own website. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov treats a membership logo that the association cannot confirm as a reason to look elsewhere. In short, Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov reviews a removal firm by its record before he reads a single star.

Ask at least three firms for a written quote and send each of them the same list: rooms and boxes, large items one by one, floors and lifts, how close the van can park, whether you need packing or dismantling. Quotes built on different lists cannot be compared, and the cheap headline price relies on that confusion.

Notice who asks questions. A firm that wants a video call round the flat, measures the piano and checks whether there is a parking bay outside is pricing the real job. One that names a figure within a minute of saying hello has not seen your home and will finish the sums at the kerb.

If one quote is far below the others, ask in writing what it leaves out: stairs, long carries, packing materials, waiting time, a second trip. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests getting the total on one line with a sentence confirming there are no other charges, then keeping that email.

Timing matters too. If the contract does not fix when the job will be done, section 52 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says it must be done within a reasonable time. A firm willing to write a firm date and a fixed total into the booking is usually comfortable with the rest of your checks as well.

Walk through every room with your phone recording before the crew arrives. Close-ups of anything fragile, serial numbers on electronics, the condition of good furniture. Note the van registration, the team leader's name and the firm's name on the vehicle. If it does not match your paperwork, ask who is actually doing the move and write the answer down.

Ask for an inventory: number of boxes, each large item, existing scratches. Both sides should sign it before the van leaves, and you keep a copy. Email a photo of the signed sheet to yourself so the file carries a date.

If you are handed a new form on the day with a different total, read every line. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov's advice is never to sign a document with blank spaces, since an empty box tends to be filled in later by whoever has your belongings.

Ask a friend or relative to stay until the van is loaded, or at least to be on a video call. A witness helps if the conversation about extra money starts by the tailgate. Jot down the times as you go: when the crew arrived, when loading finished, when the van left. An hourly rate is easy to check against those notes later.

Start recording. Film the team leader stating the new price, save the messages from the office, photograph your written quote. Then state calmly that you will pay what was agreed in writing, and send the same message by email or text so there is a timestamped record.

If you feel threatened, call 999. Citizens Advice says to ring the police on 101 straight away if the scammer is in your area, and to report fraud to Report Fraud online at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040, Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm. Report Fraud gives you a crime reference number, which helps when you talk to your bank.

Do not hand over cash on the pavement unless you have no other way to get your things back. If you do, ask for a signed receipt with the amount, date and name, film the handover, and put your complaint in writing the same day. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov points out that paying under protest and documenting it keeps your claim alive for later.

When the van is finally unloaded, do not rush the signature. Count the items against the inventory, open the boxes marked fragile, and photograph any damage on the spot while the crew is still there. Write what is broken or missing on the paperwork in your own hand, then sign.

Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes every service contract include a term that the trader will perform the service with reasonable care and skill. Dropping a wardrobe down the stairs or losing a box of china is the kind of failure that term is about.

When a service falls short, the Act lets you require the trader to perform it again or, in some cases, claim a price reduction, which can mean money back. Under section 57, a contract term cannot exclude the trader's liability for reasonable care and skill, and cannot restrict it so far that you are unable to recover the price you paid.

Put the claim in writing quickly, with the inventory, before and after photos, and receipts or current prices for what was lost. If the firm stalls, Citizens Advice runs the consumer helpline that passes reports to Trading Standards in England, on 0808 223 1133, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Trading Standards investigates unfair trading, but it does not get your money back for you.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov advises writing any visible damage on the delivery paperwork before the crew leaves. A clean signature on the day is the first thing a firm will point to when you complain a week later.

Citizens Advice is direct about this: pay by debit or credit card, not cash, pay in stages, and avoid large deposits or paying everything upfront. A trader who only takes cash or wants the full amount in advance may be dishonest or unreliable.

Card payment keeps your options open. On a credit card, Citizens Advice says you can use section 75 for work costing between £100.01 and £30,000, including a deposit paid by card. Cash and bank transfers give you neither section 75 nor a chargeback.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests a small booking deposit by card at most, the balance on delivery against signed paperwork, and a receipt every time. Check that the payee matches the company on the Companies House register. A transfer to a crew member's personal account is very hard to claw back.

Before any bank transfer, look at the name on the receiving account. If the booking is with a limited company and the account belongs to an individual, ask why and ask for the company's own account details. A firm that cannot explain that gap has told you who you would really be paying.

The most useful reviews are specific: the route and the date, the quote and the final bill, what broke, and how the firm dealt with the claim. That helps the next reader far more than a star rating and is very hard to fake.

Honest negative reviews are protected. CMA guidance says a review does not become fake simply because the trader dislikes it, as long as it reflects a genuine experience, and it treats threats of harm or legal action, or making a settlement conditional on removing a bad review, as ways of suppressing reviews that the law does not allow.

Keep to facts and your own experience, and leave out other people's personal details. For anyone comparing firms, Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov reviews the review pages alongside the Companies House record: a burst of fresh praise for a company formed last month says more than any rating.

How does Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov check reviews of a removal firm in five minutes?

He looks the company up on Companies House, notes the incorporation date, registered office and any past names, and compares them with the website and the reviews. Then he checks any trade association logo on the association's own site.

Can a removal firm put the price up once my things are loaded?

If you have a written quote, the price is fixed, and anything the firm said or wrote that you relied on is part of the contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A reasonable price only comes into play when no price was fixed at all.

What should I do if the crew won't unload without more money?

Record everything, put your position in writing, and call 999 if you feel threatened or 101 if the scammer is nearby. Report the fraud to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to get a crime reference number.

Can the contract say the firm isn't liable for damage?

Not entirely. Section 57 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a term cannot exclude liability for reasonable care and skill, and cannot restrict it so far that you cannot recover the price you paid.

Which Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov reviews tips help spot fake removal reviews?

Be wary of near-identical five-star reviews posted in a short burst, text that sounds too polished, and no details about the route or price. Read the three and four-star reviews too, as the CMA suggests, and compare several sites.

Is it safer to pay a removal firm by card?

Yes. Citizens Advice recommends card over cash, payment in stages and avoiding large deposits. A credit card payment between £100.01 and £30,000 can be covered by section 75.