The Real Cost of Running a Removal Business — Why the Lowest Bid Isn't Always the Best One

Competitive marketplaces are great for consumers. More bids means more choice, and more choice usually means better prices. But there's a limit — and when prices are pushed too low, corners get cut. Understanding what it genuinely costs to run a legitimate removal business helps you make smarter decisions when comparing quotes.

What does it actually cost to run a removal van?

Let's take a typical self-employed man-with-a-van operator running a Luton van as a full-time business. Here are the unavoidable fixed and variable costs they face:

Vehicle costs

• Van finance or depreciation: A decent used Luton van capable of professional removal work costs £15,000–£35,000. Spread over 5 years, that's £3,000–£7,000 per year before a penny is spent on running it.
• Road tax: £300–£700/year for a commercial vehicle over 3.5 tonnes.
• MOT and servicing: A high-mileage working van needs regular servicing. Budget £1,000–£2,000/year for maintenance and tyres.
• Fuel: A Luton van gets roughly 25–35mpg. At current diesel prices, a driver doing 30,000 business miles per year could easily spend £6,000–£9,000 on fuel alone.

Insurance

• Commercial vehicle insurance: Far more expensive than a standard car policy. A young or newly self-employed driver might pay £2,000–£4,000/year. An experienced driver with a good no-claims record may pay £1,200–£2,000.
• Goods in Transit insurance: The cover that protects your belongings in the event of damage or theft. A policy with meaningful cover (£10,000–£50,000 per load) costs £500–£1,500/year depending on the type of work and claim history.
• Public liability insurance: Covers damage to property at the collection or delivery address. Typically £200–£600/year.

Running the business

• Accountant: Self-employed people need accurate accounts and tax returns. A basic accountant costs £500–£1,000/year.
• Platform and marketing costs: Website, listing fees, lead generation — even modest spend here adds £500–£2,000/year.
• Phone, admin, and equipment: Trolleys, straps, blankets, moving equipment, phone plan — add another £500–£1,000/year.

What does that add up to?

A conservative estimate for a legitimate, insured, sole-trader removal driver puts their annual fixed and variable costs (excluding their own income) at somewhere between £15,000 and £28,000 per year. That's before they've paid themselves anything.

If they work 48 weeks a year and average 4 billable jobs per week, that's around 192 jobs. To cover costs alone, they need to earn roughly £78–£145 per job before drawing any income.

Add a modest self-employed salary of £28,000–£35,000, and they need average job revenue of £220–£325 per job just to break even and pay themselves a reasonable wage. That's the floor — not a generous one.

Where it goes wrong: the race to the bottom

In any competitive bidding market, there's pressure to undercut the next person. A driver who quotes £180 gets beaten by someone quoting £150, who gets beaten by someone quoting £120. Eventually, prices reach a level where legitimate costs simply can't be covered.

At that point, something gives way. It might be:

• Insurance: Dropping Goods in Transit cover or operating with a personal rather than commercial vehicle policy — meaning your belongings have no protection.
• Maintenance: Skipping services, running on worn tyres, ignoring faults — which creates safety risks.
• Tax compliance: Operating cash-in-hand without declaring income, which disadvantages legitimate operators who pay their taxes.
• The job itself: Rushing, cutting corners, or taking on more than they can handle to stack more jobs in a day.

What this means when you're comparing quotes

A quote that seems significantly lower than everything else should prompt a question: how are they making this work? Sometimes the answer is fine — they're having a quiet week, you're on their route, or they're building their reviews and pricing low deliberately. But sometimes the answer is that something legitimate is missing.

Before accepting a bid, it's worth checking:

• Do they have Goods in Transit insurance? What's the cover limit?
• Do they have reviews from real customers describing real jobs?
• Are they operating as a business (even a sole trader) rather than purely cash-in-hand?

Fair pricing is better for everyone

A driver who earns a fair rate does better work, maintains their vehicle properly, carries full insurance, and builds a sustainable business. That's better for you as a customer — your belongings are protected, your driver isn't exhausted and rushing, and if something does go wrong there's a proper process to resolve it.

On We Got The Move, we encourage customers to consider the full picture when comparing bids — not just the price. Reviews, equipment, responsiveness, and professionalism all matter. The goal is a marketplace where good drivers are rewarded for good work, not just the ones willing to race to the bottom.

Post your job free, receive honest bids, and choose the right driver — not just the cheapest one.