What you actually get when you book a man and van
A man and van booking is the simplest service in the removals trade: a driver, a vehicle, and labour, charged by the hour. It exists for the gap between what you can manage in a car and what needs a full removals crew.
In practice a booking gets you:
- A van sized to the job, with blankets and straps
- One person, or two if you book them, to carry and load
- Loading, transport and unloading, including stairs
- Basic dismantling in many cases, though this varies and should be agreed in advance
What it does not normally include, unless you ask and pay for it: packing your belongings into boxes, supplying materials, wrapping furniture in detail, or reassembly at the other end. Those are removals services. The difference is not a matter of company size, it is a matter of what you booked.
How the hourly rate works
Almost every man and van service is priced by the hour with a minimum charge, usually one or two hours. Understanding what starts and stops the clock is what stops the final bill surprising you.
When the clock starts. Some firms charge from arrival at your address, others from the moment the van leaves their base. Ask which. On a cross-London job the difference is significant.
Crew size. One person or two. A second pair of hands costs more per hour but frequently costs less overall, because a solo driver carrying a sofa down two flights takes more than twice as long as two people carrying it together.
Stairs and carry distance. Second floor with no lift, or a fifty-metre walk from the only legal parking spot, both add real time. Say so when you book, so the estimate is honest.
Waiting time. If the crew arrives and you are still filling boxes, you are paying for that. Being genuinely ready is the cheapest thing you can do.
Charges passed on. Congestion Charge and ULEZ where they apply, parking, and occasionally a bay suspension. Ask whether these are included or added.
Which van size you need
Sizing is where most bookings go wrong, and an undersized van means a second trip charged at the same hourly rate.
- Small van. A few boxes, a single item of furniture, a mattress, a marketplace collection. Not a flat.
- Transit or long-wheelbase van. A studio or a small one-bedroom flat with modest furniture, or a room of belongings going into storage.
- Luton with a tail lift. A one-bedroom flat comfortably, or a two-bedroom with less furniture. The tail lift matters for anything heavy, since lifting a washing machine into a high van bed by hand is how backs and doorframes get damaged.
If you are not sure, describe the contents rather than the property. "Two bedrooms" tells a firm very little; "double bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, sofa, dining table and six chairs, twenty boxes" tells them everything.
Making the hour count
You are buying time, so the preparation is where the savings are.
- Be packed before they arrive. Everything in sealed, labelled boxes, nothing loose. Loose items are slow to load and easy to damage.
- Stack boxes by the door, ground floor if possible, in one place rather than scattered through the house.
- Dismantle what you can the night before, keeping screws and fittings in a labelled bag taped to the item.
- Strip beds and empty drawers unless you have agreed otherwise. Full drawers make furniture too heavy to carry safely.
- Sort the parking at both ends, and tell the driver exactly where to aim for.
- Clear the route: hallways, landings, anything on the stairs.
- Be there. Decisions get made constantly on a move, and a crew waiting for an answer is a crew being paid to wait.
When a man and van is the wrong choice
It is a good service badly matched to some jobs.
A whole house does not suit hourly billing. The job runs long, one van means multiple trips, and the total often exceeds what a fixed-price removals crew would have charged with packing included.
Anything needing proper packing is also wrong for it. A rushed job with no materials is how things break, and self-packed items are frequently excluded from insurance.
So are pianos, safes, antiques and artwork, which need specialist handling. And any move where a delay has consequences, such as a completion-day chain, since you want a firm that has surveyed the job and committed to a price and a plan.
The test we use: if you would be genuinely upset by something arriving damaged, book removals rather than a van and an hour rate.
Getting an accurate quote
Give the firm the inventory, the addresses with postcodes, the floor numbers, whether there is a lift, the parking situation at both ends, and your preferred date and time. Then ask three questions:
- Does the clock start on arrival or from your base?
- What is the minimum charge and how do you bill after it?
- What insurance covers my belongings, and what is excluded?
Any competent operator answers all three without hesitation. On insurance specifically, ask about both hire and reward cover on the vehicle and Goods in Transit cover on your belongings, which our guide to the term "white van man" explains in more detail. It is also worth knowing how a loaded van behaves on the road, which we cover in vans and cyclists.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a man and van cost in the UK? It is charged by the hour with a minimum, usually one or two hours, and the rate depends on crew size and van size. Ask whether the clock starts on arrival or from the depot, and whether Congestion Charge, ULEZ and parking are included.
How long does a man and van booking take? A studio flat with good access might take two to three hours. Stairs, distance from the parking to the door, and how well packed you are all extend it considerably.
What size van do I need to move a one-bedroom flat? Usually a Luton with a tail lift, or a long-wheelbase van if the furniture is minimal. Describe your actual contents rather than the number of bedrooms, since two flats of the same size can differ enormously.
Do I need to help with the loading? Not usually, but confirm it. Some cheaper quotes assume the customer carries alongside the driver, which is a materially different service.
Should I use a man and van to move a house? Generally no. Hourly billing on a long job with multiple trips often costs more than a fixed-price removals service, and it comes without packing, a survey or the same insurance cover.
What is the difference between man and van and removals? Scale, pricing and inclusions. Man and van is one or two people charged hourly for smaller loads. Removals covers whole properties, is priced on volume and access after a survey, and includes packing, dismantling and fuller insurance.
How we can help
RMV Storage & Removals runs both ends of this across London: man and van work for smaller jobs, and full house and office removals where they are the better fit, along with packing services and materials and container storage delivered to your door. You can see every area we cover, including the locations with a dedicated man and van service.
Not sure which you need? Get in touch and we will tell you honestly, or work through the moving house checklist first. If you are still deciding where to move to, our guide to choosing a location is the place to start.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published January 2015. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.