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Frequently Asked Questions

That depends. The following major factors determine the costs of a move:

  • The total volume of the household goods and personal effects that you need to move,
  • The required services (i.e. furniture dismantling and assembly, packing services, transport of a piano or a safe or other special, bulgy or precious items, installation of lights or large appliances, dowelling),
  • The required packaging materials,
  • The conditions at origin and destination (carrying distance, situation of access),
  • The distance between the points of departure and of destination,
  • the means of transport (truck, overseas container, shuttle transporter, aircraft)

For smaller removals, you can provide us with information by telephone, e-mail or fill out the move questionnaire on our website, or send us pictures and information via MOVERSCAN, or we can organise a virtual survey via ONSITE VIEWER.

In case of a larger removal and more complicated local conditions, our move consultants will be happy to visit you free of charge and without obligation in order to clarify all details. After an inspection you will receive a fixed price offer based on the results of the inspection.

You don't want to pay too much, but you don't want to get into trouble, either. A rather large number of furniture removers may be found on the internet. Before you move, you want to know which company you can entrust your household goods and personal effects to. In this respect, removal auctions work like a lottery: you know if you have drawn a rivet only when you actually move. One thing is certain, however: The savings of over 70% promised at some auctions are unrealistic, even with the greatest possible savings in personnel, material and transport costs, but even less massive savings have an effect on the move itself. A cheaper move is not just the same move for less money. It's another move, perhaps more economical, but certainly riskier.

Before you spend a lot of time to get offers and arrange viewing appointments, you should try to make a preselection among removal companies on the basis of some easily verifiable criteria:

  • Ask friends, neighbors and colleagues about their moving experience,
  • Look for companies close to the loading or unloading location.
  • An appealing, informative website is an indication that a company values a reputable image.
  • Be sceptical if a moving company offers comprehensive service while being obscure regarding its own location.
  • When contacting a moving company, ask whether they will employ their own teams and trucks. Some removalists focus on sales and hire packers as needed. Their training is usually inadequate.
  • Take a look at association memberships and certifications. Certification by AMÖ, the German Association of Removal Agents, certifies that the company is managed in accordance with the quality criteria of the association. DIN EN ISO certification refers to systematic quality-oriented management. Your move will also benefit from this quality orientation: through good planning and qualified personnel, proper equipment and appropriate packing material.

If you apply these criteria, there won't be too many moving companies left. You can be confident that each of them will make a serious offer. You don't need to ask more than three to get a realistic overview of the price range for your move. Make your own positive feeling after contact with a move consultant a criterion: Beside the price, trust is an important condition for a smooth removal. Take into consideration that you'll let total strangers deconstruct your personal environment, pack, transport and reassemble this environment. Many worksteps will be necessary, and they have to interlock. It relieves much strain to have a contact person who personally takes care of difficult situations, and to welcome people at your residence whom you would dare to meet in confidence on a street at night.

Before the packers take over, you'll need to do a number of things. It is best to start six weeks before the moving date. Take the first step: Contact us...

MTL can support you in your preparations in a number of ways. Ask your relocation consultant about our checklist for relocation preparation.

MTL can help you prepare for your move with extra service agreements, such as:

Cancellations and registrations
Transfer of disposed, but usable goods to social institutions
Disposal of bulky goods
Final cleaning
Renovation after moving out and before moving in
Intermediate storage of removal goods

If you have agreed with us that you will pack and dismantle furniture yourself, this should be finished with on the day of the move. If you don't succeed, please inform us two days in advance. Then we will schedule additional personnel and agree on the costs.

If you are packing yourself: use the packing boxes of the professionals with double-walled corrugated cardboard. Pack the boxes correctly. Heavy things must be positioned at the bottom of a box, nothing should clatter when you shake the packed box. Moving boxes are very stable, but the filling should not exceed 30-35 kg per box. Put books upright. Mark the boxes by room. Use plenty of packing paper and fill cavities with pillows or other suitable materials.

The moving price is determined by volume. If you decide to take more than fixed in the offer, additional costs may apply. Please contact your relocation consultant beforehand.

If you have agreed that we will only take part of the furniture and items in your home with us, please clearly indicate what you do NOT want to take with you, for example by means of coloured stickers.

For the day of your move, please bear the following in mind: Organize childcare, collect keys for the elevator extension from the property management, have cash, proof of payment, keys, etc. ready for the move, keep identification papers separate, take jewellery and valuables with you.

On the day of the move, the team leader of the packer team will first walk you through the apartment to determine the workflow and document any previous damage.

If everything has been well prepared: leave the field to the packers. You don't have to do anything anymore. Time to relax and say goodbye to your old neighborhood.

Assembly, packing and loading are heavy physical tasks and require concentration. The packers will be happy if you provide them with water or soft drinks and a snack. You are not obliged to do so, however. Please only tip the packer team if you are satisfied. You determine the amount yourself. Total value should not exceed € 25.00 per packer.

We value feedback! Please report any concerns to us. After the move is completed,. please let us know if you are satisfied with our work performance.

Yes. MTL operates regular, climate-controlled furniture storage at its warehouses in Friedberg (Hessen) and in Berlin Marienfelde. Your removal goods are packaged and stored in sealed storage boxes inside the warehouse. Ask us about our services and conditions and your advantages! We have more to offer than a self-storage facility!

As an experienced, well networked service provider, we have a lot to offer:

  • Carton delivery before the move,
  • drawing up inventory lists,
  • transport of artwork and musical instruments,
  • kitchen assembly,
  • hanging of lights,
  • connection of washing machines and other large appliances,
  • disposal of bulky goods and recyclables,
  • final cleaning and renovation after moving out,
  • transport of a safe,
  • special discretion and security,
  • special support during the move,
  • de-registrations and registrations
  • and and and ...

Ask our move consultant for special service. We know our way around in many areas, are happy to advise you, take care of things or find a reliable specialist for special requirements.

Even when applying utmost care - damages may happen. With our trained specialists, this is rarely the case. Our damage rate is less than 5%, i.e. 95 % of all removals are carried out without any damage, the rest are usually minor, repairable damages. This is a very good value in the moving industry. We are doing a lot to reduce this rate even further. When moving out and moving in, our team leader first inspects the removal goods and the buildings and records any existing damage in a pre-damage report. Damages occurring during the move process are documented separately.

The liability of removal forwarders is regulated in the German Commercial Code §§ 425, 426, 429, 433, 434, 438 and 451. The liability is limited to the current value of the (usually used) removal goods, other financial losses are also limited by law. Details can be found here . Liability is also described in our General Terms and Conditions ; these General Terms and Conditions correspond exactly to those of the Association of Furniture Removal Agents, the AMÖ.

Because of the limitations of liability, it makes sense to buy your own transport insurance. Here, the replacement value of the removal goods is insured, and the insurer takes care of liability issues. We work together with a large German insurance company specializing in securing logistical processes. Ask our move consultants .

Moving costs real money. Therefore it can be useful to get several offers for the move. Sometimes a company has a better solution for a specific problem, or a relocation consultant will respond particularly well to your special wishes. Offers cannot easily be compared by price alone.
 
When requesting offers you should consider the following:
 
Consider in advance which companies are suitable for you. Read our note: How can I recognize a good removal company? (-> Link) Ask two or three of the companies selected independently of each other for an offer. Further offers do not necessarily give you a better overview, but they do cause costs for the companies. It is better if you talk to your trusted move consultant again once you have received two other quotes.
 
Create a comparable basis for the offers, i.e. determine for yourself what should be moved, whether you need furniture installations, whether you pack and unpack your boxes yourself. Clarify with the move consultant all circumstances that are cost-relevant: How many stairs are to be climbed? Where can the removal van stop? Are there any other special circumstances, wishes and requirements?
Only offers based on the same facts can be compared. The offers should explicitly take these facts into account. Pay attention to the extent to which these are fixed-price offers.
 
Beware of cheap offers!
Removal companies can offer particularly low rates if they work with unskilled workers. You'll incur damage in the form of damaged furniture and stairwells, and trouble with uncommunicative packers in addition. A company can easily offer low prices if they are not guaranteed. Then the bill is much higher afterwards. In short: with extremely favourable offers, stress, annoyance and damage are included in the service, but not included in the offer.
 
Whether MTL has made the cheapest offer therefore depends on which other companies you have asked for an offer at the same conditions. We are an experienced and reliable company and always offer a very good price/performance ratio. We ask every client for a final performance evaluation, over 98% of our customers are very satisfied! You will see: You can look forward to your move with us, relaxed!

Relocation costs depend on the total volume, the services required or desired, the packaging material required, the distance and the conditions at the place of origin and destination. This is where you can start from:
 
- Reduce the amount of goods to be moved. Concentrate on everything that is valuable, almost new and compact. Do you really need what's dusting in the basement and in the attic at your new address? A move is a good opportunity for thorough clearing out! But it's not worth being too strict: the smaller the move, the lower the savings on removal costs. The reason for this are those removal costs that do not depend on volume: the route remains the same. If in doubt, ask your relocation consultant.
 
- Pack cartons yourself. Saves money, but costs a lot of time. Attention: Insurance companies do not reimburse damage caused by poor packing. So let the packer team pack fragile items. If you pack yourself, make sure that you can lift the packed cartons yourself. For heavy items (e.g. books), use smaller cartons; for larger cartons, mix heavy items with light items. Unpacking cartons at destination helps you to decide for yourself where you want to stow your items at the place of collection.
 
- Disassemble and assemble furniture? Rather not recommended, because the probability of damage is greatly increased. These damages are not insured.
 
- Help with loading on the day of the move? Not a good idea. The crew is a well-trained team whose rules you do not know, so you do not really save time. If something falls out of your hands or you injure yourself or others, no insurance will cover it.
 
- You can save on taxes! Ask your tax consultant: Relocation costs are tax-deductible. Prerequisite: You pay by bank transfer (§ 35a Abs. 2 EStG).
 
Using an irregular crew for your move can be really dangerous and expensive:
  • It's difficult do defend yourself against additional cash claims raised before unloading,
  • Moonlighting workers may not be held liable for damages,
  • Defect remedies are not enforceable by law,
  • If the company pays its packers less than minimum wage, you are liable for the difference,
  • If the company does not have a road haulage permit, the removal  van can be stopped by police on the way and prevented from continuing the transport, your time and cost plans will be muddled up.

Yes, from our headquarters in Friedberg (Hessen), a few kilometers north of Frankfurt, or from our office for international removals and overseas removals in Berlin, we can organize removals within Europe and, thanks to our extensive network of partners, to destinations anywhere in the world. We regularly carry out removals between Germany, England and Ireland, between Germany, Belgium and France, between Germany and Turkey, to the USA, Canada, Australia, Thailand, the Gulf States and Central and South America.

We are also well positioned regionally and carry out removals throughout the Rhein-Main region, in the Wetterau, Vogelsberg, and Taunus districts and in Wiesbaden, Mainz and Offenbach, Hanau and in the Odenwald.

Depending on whether you move to a member state of the European Community, within the continent, or overseas, this will have different consequences for you with regard to customs duties and taxes, but also with regard to packaging methods and means of transport and finally with regard to the documentation and insurance of the removal goods.

Removals within the member states of the European Community are just like removals in Germany. There are no border controls and no customs duties. The removal invoice must contain VAT like any other invoice.

Removals to countries outside the borders of the European Community (including Switzerland!) are subject to customs and tax regulations for exports and imports. An inventory list and copies of passports and other documents must be presented to the customs offices. We take care of that for you. The removal costs incurred for removals beyond the borders of the European Economic Union are exempt from VAT.

The further you move, the more complex the packaging. For removals within continental Europe, a packaging standard applies that protects the removal goods during reloading and transport-related interim storage. Even more complex is the packaging for overseas removals. At sea, the removal goods must be protected against strong ship movements. Most customs offices abroad no longer accept self-packed goods and order an expensive inspection. You should definitely leave such packaging to us!

Small removals abroad are considerably cheaper if they are transported as byloads. However, this can take longer than a direct transport. You must therefore be flexible in terms of time.

For a removal company, it's the basis of everyday business, for customers often a mystery: While everything is still in its place, how can the quantity to be transported during a removal be determined without each piece of furniture being measured individually and the cartons being packed? How does the moving company know in advance how many boxes and other packaging materials are required for the move? You yourself can easily imagine a cubic meter if you think of two washing machines standing next to each other: the total volume visualized in this way counts as one cubic meter in the removal industry.
 
Serious companies work with standardized furniture lists. Each item on the list is provided with a volume identification number. A dining table, for example, is listed with 8 volume units, a chair with 2, a single bed with 10, a washing machine with 5 volume units. These units are based on empirical values on which the German removal companies have agreed, and serve as a basis for cooperation among furniture removers at home and abroad; comparable units are used in the global moving industry. The units take account of the fact that packaging material is used and that space is inevitably required when loading removal trucks (furniture is bulky).
 
Move consultants use those standardized lists with volume units or an electronic device calibrated to those units for their survey. They are trained to take size deviations of listed objects into account and to assign a unit number to objects that are not on the list. They are also trained to assess by view the amount of cardboard required, as well as the assembly effort and the walking distances. They note which items are particularly important to you, know what special packaging is recommended for art and antiques, whether the use of an external elevator makes sense and where a no stopping zone should be set up.

Our responsibility towards our clients includes acting responsibly on our premises, towards our employees and towards the environment.

We are a training company where practically oriented young people are given a chance to learn a profession.

Our company lives German-Turkish-American-Eastern European-Middle Eastern interculturalism (that really works!). Our employees receive fair pay.

We dispose of discarded bulky goods in the recycling yard, recycle packaging materials and ensure economical fuel consumption. On request, we can arrange forwarding of superfluous but usable household effects to the Friedberg "Umsonstladen" (for-free-shop). We donate to several schools and sports clubs and to the "Tafel" in Friedberg.