At Mark Ratcliffe Moving we offer a complete moving and storage service. Having worked in the industry for more than 30 years, you can put your trust in us to look after your move.
Choosing the right removals firm to move your furniture and possessions is extremely important. You need to know you have secured good value for money, but also be confident that the team arriving on the morning of your move will understand your requirements properly and have both the training and correct equipment to ensure a successful and straightforward move. Having worked in the UK domestic removals and storage market for over 30 years, Mark Ratcliffe Moving can satisfy all of these requirements. Working with customers throughout East Grinstead, across the South East and nationally, quality has always been at the heart of everything we do. We have a well respected reputation within the industry and our removal firm are one of just a handful with a dedicated staff training centre. All of our staff are trained to the highest industry standards in packing fragile and non-fragile personal effects, wrapping and moving household furniture for home and overseas moving, as well as customer services and vehicle loading. You are guaranteed the highest standards, competitive prices and a genuine commitment from everyone involved in your move when choosing Mark Ratcliffe Moving.
Unlike other removal companies, we offer a complete moving service, taking care of every aspect of your move from start to finish. From moving single items like 3 piece suites across East Grinstead, to moving entire 4 bed households up to Scotland, we are well equipped with the latest equipment, knowledgeable staff and necessary skill to handle your move with ease.
Following your initial enquiry, Mark Ratcliffe will visit your home (at a time convenient for you) to carry out a site survey. During this time we can discuss all aspects of your forthcoming move including any packing requirements or insurance cover for your valuable possessions. A fixed quotation can be provided for moving, storage and packing, we also offer a house clearance service that we can provide further details on. On your moving day a fully trained and uniformed crew will arrive and lay down floor covers to protect your carpets, cover exposed doors and banisters etc. If required, they will also pack and move your belongings with the utmost care and transport them safely to your new home in East Grinstead or further afield.
As part of our complete moving service, we offer a full packing service which includes a full packing option and fragile item packing. If you decide to carry out your own packing, we can provide flat pack moving boxes, plain paper, bubble wrap, tape etc. All products are minimal in cost and they can be collected from our shop located in Eastbourne, 7 days a week.
Our secure self storage rooms are available to rent for customers who prefer to deposit / remove their own goods to / from store. The self storage rooms are available in various sizes with our most popular size being 77 sqft which equates to 850 cubic feet / 24 cubic metres. We rent this size room at £30 plus vat (per week) and with our storage rooms being much higher than local competitors and prices being over 50% less, you receive great value for money. Please feel free to call in at any time to view our rooms and to see first-hand that your possessions will be stored in a secure, damp free and clean environment. There is also great access for loading / unloading and you are the only key holder.
Whether you are moving within East Grinstead or further afield in the UK, or even abroad, Mark Ratcliffe Moving is ready to help. We can satisfy all of your wider moving needs including secure storage, house clearance and export packing. Our friendly team would be delighted to give you a quote without any obligation. Please call Sharon Harris on 01323 848 008 to talk through your moving requirements. Our opening hours are Mon - Sat 08.30 - 17.00 or we can arrange an appointment for any other time including Sundays. A 24/7 Service for our Self Store Customers is also available.
East Grinstead sits in the West Sussex commuter belt and our work here covers the full property range. Victorian and Edwardian terraces close to the centre, 1930s and post-war semis on the inter-war estates, substantial detached homes on the larger plots, and a growing minority of new-build properties on the recent developments — the new-builds tend to have bigger inventories because the rooms are larger and people fill them.
For any move bigger than a one-bedroom flat we recommend a free in-home or video survey rather than a phone quote. It takes 30 to 45 minutes, walks every room, and produces a written, itemised quote inside two working days. The single biggest reason phone quotes mislead is the loft — almost every customer underestimates what’s in theirs by roughly double. The walk-through finds it before move day, not after.
Our daily routes out of the Lower Dicker depot put East Grinstead within standard half-day or full-day reach, depending on inventory size and the destination address. A typical East Grinstead pickup with a Sussex or Surrey delivery completes in a single day, including pad-wrapping at the load and unwrapping at the unload. The lorry leaves Lower Dicker in time to be on your driveway ten minutes before the stated load time — we don’t make customers wait around at 6am for a 7am scheduled start.
For chain-day moves out of East Grinstead the timings matter and we plan the schedule from the keys-release time backwards. For longer-distance UK moves — to the Midlands, the West Country, the north — we generally split the day across two crews if the inventory exceeds a single lorry. Anything heading overseas from East Grinstead routes through our customs-controlled holding bay at the depot, where the container is loaded after a final inventory check.
The East Grinstead quote process runs in five practical steps. First, a phone or web enquiry — tell us the address and the rough move date and we’ll suggest a survey slot. Second, the survey itself: either in-home (30 to 45 minutes) or over a video call. Both produce the same paperwork. Third, the written quote, emailed within 48 hours, itemised by line — pad-wrap, transport, packing materials, insurance, any specialist handling — so you can see what every cost line covers.
Fourth, the deposit and date hold: typically 20-25% on confirmation, fully protected under the British Association of Removers’ Advance Payment Guarantee. Fifth, the move itself — uniformed crew, our own lorry, no agency labour, blankets washed between jobs, and a written inventory at handover. None of this is unusual but it’s worth saying because a meaningful minority of removal firms across West Sussex cut corners on at least one of those steps.
Most East Grinstead moves use one of three packing options. Full pack — our crews pack everything in the house the day before move day, using removal-grade cartons and tissue. Fragile-only pack — we handle the kitchen, the display cabinets, the framed art, the mirrors, the lamps, and the customer packs the easy stuff (books, clothing, linen, garage). Self-pack with materials supplied — we drop off cartons, tape, bubble and tissue, and you do it yourself with our written room-by-room guide.
Where the dates don’t line up (the sale completes a fortnight before the purchase, the chain slips, or the new property isn’t ready), we hold the load at our A22 depot in steel strong-rooms with 24-hour CCTV. Short-term storage between contracts is charged by the week; longer-term storage is invoiced monthly. For East Grinstead customers needing self-access self-storage, the ground floor of the depot is fitted for that — individual digital-entry doors and 24/7 access via a key fob.
After the move, we come back to collect empty cartons free of charge if you’re within standard delivery range. We also offer an unpack service for customers who prefer the new home set up by us — particularly common for older customers and white-glove relocations.
For end-of-month dates in the May–September peak, six to ten weeks ahead. Mid-week, mid-month dates can sometimes be booked two to three weeks ahead. The earlier you book, the more choice of slot and crew you’ll have.
Yes — typically 20–25% of the quoted price on booking, with the balance payable on the day of completion. All deposits are protected under the British Association of Removers’ Advance Payment Guarantee.
Crew time, our own lorry, fuel, pad-wrap (industry-grade blankets washed between jobs), basic transit insurance and labour. Packing materials, fragile-only or full packing service, and any specialist handling (piano, antiques, art, marble) are quoted separately so you see the price of each.
Yes — full British Association of Removers members and audited annually, including the BS 8564 international removal standard. Our membership number and current audit dates are on the BAR site.
Sometimes — depends on the date and the inventory size. Smaller jobs can often be slotted in within a week. Larger 3- and 4-bed moves usually need at least two weeks’ notice so we can crew correctly.
Yes — FIDI-network shipments to over 200 countries. International moves route through our customs-controlled holding bay at the A22 depot, where the container is loaded after a final inventory check. We don’t sub-contract international work to third-party brokers.