What You Need To Do When You Are Moving House

  • Moving can be one of life’s most stressful experiences. Whether you have just bought your first home, are taking a step up on the property ladder, or simply moving into new rental accommodation, there are a number of different things to contend with. By now, you will likely have arranged any mortgage that you may need, and may also have begun to sort out our your belongings and do all the dreaded packing. But have you remembered everything else you have to do? Here are some of the things that you need to do before you move house:

Get Your Mail Redirected

  • You can set up a redirect with Royal Mail in advance of your moving day. Getting your mail re-directed to your new address will help to protect your personal information from identity theft. You can set up a mail direct for as long as you want, though setting one up for 6-12 months is usually sufficient. There is a small charge but this charge is worth it to stop your mail from falling into the wrong hands.

Inform All the Companies You Deal with of Your Change of Address

Of course, the best way to make sure that your mail does not continue to go to your old address is to make sure that you inform all the companies that you deal with of your change of address. When doing this, it is important to be methodical, and to work your way through a checklist to make sure you have not forgotten anything or left anyone out. It can help to divide the people and companies you have contact with into categories. Categories could usually include:

  1. Personal (Friends & family, and your employer)
  2. Financial
  3. Utilities
  4. Government
  5. Car & Motoring
  6. Health
  7. Entertainment
  8. Other

Financial:

  •  When it comes to the financial category, remember that you may need to tell:

  1. Banks (That you deal with for your:
  2. Current accounts
  3. Savings accounts/ISAs
  4. Credit cards
  5. Pension
  6. Home insurance
  7. Life insurance
  8. Car insurance
  9. Travel insurance
  10. Pet insurance
  11. Any other insurance
  12. Hire purchase providers
  13. Student loans company
  14. Loyalty card providers
  15. Share register
  16. Premium bonds

Utilities

You will also need to inform all the companies who provide you will utilities to your phone. (You may also wish to take this opportunity to check on Money Pug’s website and consider switching to find a better deal for one or all of these different services:

  1. Electricity & gas
  2. Metered water supplier
  3. Landline phone
  4. TV license
  5. Digital TV
  6. Broadband
  7. Mobile phone

Government

You will also need to make sure that government departments and offices all have the change of address information. Be sure to consider:

  1. HMRC/ Inland Revenue
  2. Electoral Register
  3. Local Council
  4. Child benefit (or other benefits)

Car & Motoring

If you have a vehicle, you will need to make sure you think about:

  1. The DVLA
  2. Vehicle registration
  3. Car finance (if applicable)
  4. Breakdown cover

Health

Make sure you inform all the medical professionals you deal with about your change of address, including:

  1. Your GP
  2. Your dentist
  3. Any therapists you are seeing
  4. Optician
  5. Vet (if you have pets)

Entertainment:

Items within this category are easy to forget about in the chaos of a move. Make sure you inform:

  1. Anyone who delivers a newspaper.
  2. Magazine subscriptions
  3. Gyms/ sports clubs
  4. Film/TV rental
  5. Organisations/clubs of which you are a member.

Other:

There are a few other companies and people that have to be informed of your change of address that do not fall within one of the above categories. These may include:

  1. Companies who provide pet micro-chipping services
  2. Your local library
  3. Your solicitor
  4. Schools
  5. Colleges/ Universities
  6. Trade unions/ professional bodies
  7. Milkman (you may need to cancel or change delivery, depending on how far you are moving)
  8. Cleaner/ window cleaner
  9. Gardener
  10. Charities that you support

Try your best to make sure that you have let everyone know about your move, cancelled what needs to be cancelled and switched what needs to be switched before your moving date.

Make Sure Your New Home is Insured

Another important thing on your to do list is making sure that your new home is insured. If you are buying your new home, buildings insurance is usually required as a condition of your mortgage. If you already had buildings insurance on your old home, now could be a good time to consider looking around and considering a switch to a different company. Money Pug can help you find the best deals on home insurance.

Of course, home insurance does not just involve buildings insurance. Whether you are renting or buying, you should also consider getting contents insurance. It is a great idea to arrange this before you move, so everything is covered right from the beginning of your residency.

Arrange Movers, Babysitting & other Services for Moving Day

It is best to arrange movers, babysitters and any other services (or favours from friends or family) that you may need as far in advance of your moving date as possible. Think about what exactly you will need and consider shopping around to see whether you can get a better deal from other removals companies (if you require this). If you do not have friends or family members who can watch the kids for you on moving day, hiring a childcare or babysitter could help moving go a lot more smoothly. Think about how pets will handle the big day too, and how you will manage a dog or cat during the upheaval.

Finish the Food in Your Fridge and Freezer

In the few days before the move, try to use up the food you have in your fridge and freezer. This will help to reduce the amount of waste before you get your appliances up and running in your new home. If you can’t use it all up, consider asking a friend, family member or neighbour whether you can put the food in their fridge until you are ready to take it to your new home, or simply gifting the food to them.

Give Final Meter Readings to the Energy Company & Consider a Switch

One of the chores to do before you leave your home is taking final meter readings. You should inform your energy supplier of these readings as well as informing them of your change of address. You don’t want to risk being charged for electricity of gas that have have not used. Moving could also be a good time to consider shopping around and looking for the best deal, and contemplating a switch. You may be able to get a cheaper or greener deal.

Shares14LinkedInPin

Compare through MoneyPug today! and SAVE Money

Facebook Twitter Instagram Google