What a removal company can’t sign away
Red: the law overrules the line.
General information about removal companies, drawn from government sources. It is not legal or insurance advice.
What a removal quote and terms should say
The parts below are the items official consumer bodies list for a removal quote and contract. The NSW Government names four of them in its list of what a removal contract should contain; the Northern Territory’s Consumer Affairs lists what a written quote should include; the Queensland Office of Fair Trading lists what to ask about the costs and what a contract should settle; Consumer Protection WA adds the proposal and the clause on responsibility for damage or loss. Each part links to the guide that opens on it.
The company must not make false or misleading claims about its services: its advertising has to be truthful, accurate and easy to understand, and if the removalist is licensed, the licence number should be on it. The Act makes misleading conduct in trade or commerce unlawful.
Access Canberra says it is your right to know the company’s details before you sign a contract: its full name, its physical address, its registered business name and its ABN. The NSW Government says to shop around and compare a few removal services first.
The Northern Territory’s Consumer Affairs says the inventory is a full list of the goods, including the number of boxes and their contents, signed by both parties, and that you keep a signed copy. The NSW Government says the contract should contain a household inventory of the goods being moved.
A quote can bind both sides. In the Northern Territory, Consumer Affairs says a quote normally binds both sides once it is part of a contract, and the price it sets then holds: the only ways to pay more are special circumstances written into the quote or a variation you agreed to.
The Queensland Office of Fair Trading says to ask what is or is not included in the price, whether the cost is based on the time it takes or the quantity of goods, and where the company counts the journey as starting and ending. The NSW Government says to ask for a written quote and make sure it is itemised, so the company can account for every charge. Consumer Protection WA says a proposal should set out an hourly rate or a fixed price.
It is against the law for a business to take payment for products or services when it knows it will not be able to supply them. Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses must not accept payment for products or services if they do not intend to supply the product or service, or if they intend to supply different products or services from those promised.
The Queensland Office of Fair Trading says upfront payments can be risky and to try to find a removalist who does not ask for one. Access Canberra says to pay when the job is complete and to ask for an itemised invoice.
The NSW Government says removalists are not required by law to provide insurance for your property during a move, and most companies insure only their vehicle. Transit cover insures your goods while they are being packed and moved by removalists, and the NSW Government recommends getting your own insurance for the move. The Queensland Office of Fair Trading says the contract should settle whether insurance will cover any loss or damage.
The service must be rendered with due care and skill: that guarantee is in the Act (s 60), and it applies to a consumer’s household move. A contract term is void to the degree it sets out to exclude, restrict or change the guarantees, the use of any right they give, or any liability for breaching them (s 64). The services guarantees do not apply to transport or storage of goods for a business, but that exclusion does not apply where the consignee of the goods is not carrying on a business in relation to them (s 63).
Consumer Protection WA says a removalist’s contract should not say that the company takes no responsibility for damage or loss, and that consumers can report such a clause to the agency.
Damage on deliveryThe guarantees reach goods in storage on a household move. The Act says this Subdivision does not apply to services that are supplied under a contract for or in relation to the transportation or storage of goods for the purposes of a business, trade, profession or occupation carried on by the person for whom the goods are transported or stored, or under a contract of insurance. To avoid doubt, the exclusion does not apply if the consignee of the goods is not carrying on or engaged in a business, trade, profession or occupation in relation to the goods (s 63).
The NSW Government says transit cover insures your goods while they are being packed and moved by removalists, and this includes any storage. If your goods need to be stored, you can extend your transit insurance to cover the storage period: this is a separate premium.
Where a complaint goes
Eight bodies, one for each state and territory, each with its own complaint page; the ACCC takes reports about conduct but does not resolve individual disputes.
Read in red
Red marks a note where the law overrules the line beside it. Here they are in full, in the Act’s own words.
The Act’s guarantee for services: “If a person supplies, in trade or commerce, services to a consumer, there is a guarantee that the services will be rendered with due care and skill” (s 60). The guarantees are for consumers’ household moves: the services guarantees do not apply to services supplied under a contract for or in relation to the transportation or storage of goods for the purposes of a business, trade, profession or occupation carried on by the person for whom the goods are transported or stored, or under a contract of insurance. That exclusion does not apply if the consignee of the goods is not carrying on or engaged in a business, trade, profession or occupation in relation to the goods (s 63).
The Act, s 64: “A term of a contract (including a term that is not set out in the contract but is incorporated in the contract by another term of the contract) is void to the extent that the term purports to exclude, restrict or modify, or has the effect of excluding, restricting or modifying: (a) the application of all or any of the provisions of this Division; or (b) the exercise of a right conferred by such a provision; or (c) any liability of a person for a failure to comply with a guarantee that applies under this Division to a supply of goods or services.”
The exclusion is for business goods. A household’s goods in storage are inside the guarantees: the Act says, to avoid doubt, the transport or storage exclusion does not apply if the consignee of the goods is not carrying on or engaged in a business, trade, profession or occupation in relation to the goods (s 63).
The guides
-
Part 1: The complete details of the service
How do I compare removal companies before I book one?
What to compare before you book, and the same check read across three states’ consumer bodies.
-
Parts 2 and 3: A household inventory of the goods being moved, The price, and what it is based on
What should a removal company’s quote include?
The items an official list says a quote should state, laid out line by line to hold a real quote against.
-
Part 4: How payment is made, and what is paid upfront
Can I get my deposit back if I cancel a removal company?
What the law says about payment up front, and what happens to the money when the booking ends.
-
Parts 5 and 7: Whether insurance will cover loss or damage, Any extra costs for storage if the move is delayed
Who pays if a removal company breaks or loses my things in transit?
The company’s insurance, your own cover, and cover in storage, compared stage by stage.
-
Part 6: Responsibility for damage or loss
Can a removal company’s contract limit what it pays for damage?
The guarantee of due care and skill, and the contract clause the Act makes void.
-
Part 6: Responsibility for damage or loss
My furniture arrived damaged. What can I ask the removal company for?
One dropped table worked through the ACCC’s major and minor problems, step by step.
-
After the agreement
How do I complain about a removal company in my state?
The eight state and territory bodies, one row each, with its own complaint page.
Where a complaint goes
| State or territory | Consumer body | What it handles | Complaint page |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | NSW Fair Trading | Make a complaint or enquiry about a product or service, or report product safety concerns. | Fair Trading complaints and enquiries |
| Victoria | Consumer Affairs Victoria | May offer assistance through its voluntary dispute services when you have tried to resolve a problem yourself and it remains unresolved. It says it cannot make anyone speak to it and cannot enforce an outcome: only a court or tribunal has that power. | Resolve your problem |
| Queensland | Office of Fair Trading Queensland | It can help when you have a problem with a business, and takes complaints about a Queensland business through its online complaint form. | Make a consumer complaint |
| Western Australia | Consumer Protection WA | Where you and the trader cannot settle on a solution, it may be able to step in. Some examples it gives of being unable to help include a problem that is not under its laws, such as insurance, home loans, phone contracts or credit cards. If you need help lodging a complaint, call 1300 30 40 54. | How to make a consumer complaint |
| South Australia | Consumer and Business Services (CBS) | Use this form for: complaints and enquiries about businesses, tradespeople and scammers. CBS also provides consumer advice in a range of situations. | Consumer complaints and advice |
| Tasmania | Consumer Affairs Tasmania | It helps to resolve complaints when you cannot fix the situation with the trader. It says it cannot always help, and that it cannot make a business compensate consumers or fix a problem. | What to do when you have a complaint |
| Australian Capital Territory | Access Canberra | It can help if you have an issue with a product or service you bought. You can complain if you live in the ACT, regardless of where the business is in Australia. It cannot make a business pay you compensation or fix a problem: that takes a court or tribunal. | Get help with a consumer issue |
| Northern Territory | NT Consumer Affairs | Its Fair Trading officers can sometimes help settle a problem with a business through conciliation, and Consumer Affairs is the first point of contact. Phone 1800 019 319 with a consumer issue about a removalist. | Complaints and disputes |
A consumer body takes complaints about a business and may conciliate, and two say plainly that they cannot make a business pay: in Tasmania, Consumer Affairs says it cannot force a business to pay consumers compensation or to fix a problem, and Access Canberra says only a court or tribunal can order a business to compensate you or rectify a problem.