Cut cost of moving house in France
Moving house is expensive – and just one million people out of the three million who move each year use a professional removals company.
Some firms have introduced a new concept to attract cash-strapped customers.
Clients do as much as they wish, including costing the move and asking friends and family to do a lot of the physical work, then pay for the van, a driver, expertise and as much extra manpower as they need.
Two main companies provide this service: Déméclic and Des bras en plus.
Jean-Charles Seegmuller, director of Déméclic, said: “My family has been running a removals company for five generations and we wanted to find a way of attracting those clients who don’t use our services. Déméclic is an addition to our classic package.”
He says clients can save up to 70% doing the packing and lifting. An average price for a traditional move is €1,500 to €2,000, but with Déméclic it will cost only around €600.
He estimates a client on his own will pay out between €200 and €300, with the cost of van hire.
So why pay the extra to have professional help at all?
He said: “We include insurance in the price, so that if you have any breakages or scratches you will be covered.
“You don’t have to get up early to fetch the van and take it back at the end of a long day. If a piece of furniture is too big to take downstairs, we have the equipment to take it out of an upstairs window. We will always have the solution to a problem.”
Des bras en plus operates all over France and works in a similar way to Déméclic.
Other options include demenagerseul.com, where you can hire the material you need, such as boxes, van, and even extra manpower.
