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F Smith & Son Reviews: What Customers Say

What Can Customer Reviews Really Tell You About a Removal Company?

F Smith & Son Reviews- What Customers Say

Choosing a removals company is very different from choosing an everyday service.

You are trusting a team of people with the contents of your home. They may be handling furniture you have owned for decades, fragile possessions that cannot easily be replaced, children’s belongings, family keepsakes and everything you need to start life in your new property.

There is also the practical pressure of moving day itself. Completion times can change. Keys can be delayed. Access may be more difficult than expected. Furniture that fitted perfectly into one house may suddenly refuse to go through the doorway of another.

This is why genuine removals company reviews can be so useful.

Rather than looking only at whether somebody gives a removal company five stars, it is worth reading what customers actually say about their experience.

At F Smith & Son, we have been helping people move since 1930. You can read more about the company’s background on our History page. But longevity on its own is not enough. What matters to somebody moving today is the standard of service they receive today.

That is why we regularly look at the feedback customers leave independently on platforms such as Checkatrade and Which? Trusted Traders.

And when you read through those reviews, several themes appear again and again.

Contents

The Numbers Are Encouraging, But They Are Only the Starting Point

As of August 2026, F Smith & Son has a 9.95/10 rating on Checkatrade from 226 customer reviews.

Our Which? Trusted Traders profile has a 4.9 out of 5 rating from more than 150 reviews, with 98% of customers saying they would recommend the company.

We are naturally proud of those figures.

However, the numbers are not the most interesting part.

What really matters is why customers have rated the service highly.

When you begin looking through individual experiences, you start to see what customers actually value during a house removal.

One of the Strongest Recommendations Is a Customer Who Comes Back

One of the most recent Checkatrade reviews came from a customer in the CR0 Croydon postcode area.

They had used F Smith & Son before.

Not last year. Not two or three years previously.

Their first move with the company had been 14 years earlier, when they moved from Brixton.

More than a decade later, they chose F Smith & Son again.

Their latest review describes the team as friendly and respectful of both the property and the customer’s possessions, before summing them up as “experts at what they do”.

For us, that kind of review carries particular weight.

A customer using a company once and being happy is important. A customer remembering that experience 14 years later and choosing the same company for another major life event says something more.

It demonstrates the value of consistency.

Customers can also read further feedback on our own Testimonials page, alongside independently hosted reviews on Checkatrade and Which? Trusted Traders.

Professionalism Is About More Than Arriving With a Removal Van

Many people do not use a professional removal company regularly.

For some customers, it may be the first time they have moved for 10, 15 or even 20 years. Others may never previously have used professional movers.

That means the removal crew often arrives at a time when the customer is dealing with solicitors, estate agents, mortgage companies, utility providers, schools, family members and dozens of last-minute jobs.

A good removals team therefore needs more than physical strength.

Professionalism includes arriving when expected, understanding what needs to happen, communicating clearly, treating people respectfully and knowing how to respond when the unexpected occurs.

Recent reviews repeatedly mention F Smith & Son crews being polite, professional, efficient, friendly and reassuring.

One Which? customer moving from Croydon to Nottinghamshire described how the team worked quickly while still being considerate with their possessions and made sure belongings were put into the correct rooms at the destination.

Another customer described a same-day house move where a three-person crew arrived promptly and made what could have been a stressful experience considerably easier.

Those details matter because they describe the actual moving experience rather than simply providing a score.

If you are preparing for the day itself, our Moving Day Guide explains what customers can do before and during the move to help everything run more smoothly.

Care for Your Belongings Should Be Expected, Not an Added Extra

Speed matters during a move, particularly when access to the new property depends on completion.

But speed should never come at the expense of care.

Furniture needs to be protected appropriately. Boxes should be handled correctly. Fragile belongings require additional attention. Items may need to be dismantled and reassembled. Floors, doors and other surfaces sometimes need protecting while large furniture is moved through a property.

A June 2026 Which? review gives a particularly good example.

The customer needed a much-loved mid-century wardrobe moved from Manchester to South London. It could not easily be removed from the original property and ultimately had to be dismantled. Because the customer was working abroad, the wardrobe then needed to go into storage for three months before final delivery.

At the destination, access caused another problem, so the team dismantled the wardrobe again, took it upstairs and rebuilt it inside the property.

The customer praised the care, organisation and assistance provided throughout the process.

It is precisely the type of move that demonstrates why experience matters.

Not every removal is simply a case of carrying boxes from one front door to another.

For customers who prefer to prepare their own belongings, our Guide to Packing Boxes and Useful Moving Tips explains how to pack safely and organise boxes before moving day.

Good Communication Starts Before Moving Day

Some of the most important work on a house removal happens before a lorry arrives.

The quotation needs to reflect what is actually being moved. Access needs to be considered. Customers need to understand what is included. Packing arrangements need to be agreed. Special items need identifying.

Then there is the moving date itself.

Anybody who has bought or sold a property in England knows that a proposed moving date is not always a confirmed moving date.

Chains break.

Exchange gets delayed.

Solicitors wait for information.

Completion dates move.

Sometimes confirmation arrives with very little notice.

This is why communication appears so frequently in good removals company reviews.

One recent Checkatrade customer moving from Croydon to Bexhill explained that delays in the legal process meant they could only provide a couple of days’ notice of their confirmed completion date. F Smith & Son was still able to accommodate the move during a busy period.

Another Which? customer moving from Bromley to Poole did not exchange contracts until the day before the move. Their review specifically highlighted the help they received while dealing with that uncertainty.

Moving companies cannot control the conveyancing process.

What they can control is how they communicate with customers when plans change.

Our guide to what can delay a house move in the UK looks at the most common causes of delays and how to plan around them.

Moving Dates Change. Flexibility Matters.

This deserves its own mention because it is one of the realities of removals that is difficult to appreciate until you are in the middle of a property transaction.

A removal company can plan vehicles, crew numbers, packing teams and schedules carefully, only for a customer’s exchange or completion date to move.

Recent customer feedback repeatedly mentions flexibility when dates changed.

A customer moving to Somerset praised the support received from the office when their moving date changed.

Another reviewer said they had to reschedule their move numerous times during a difficult selling process and valued the supportive response they received each time.

That does not mean every removals company can guarantee availability regardless of how much a date moves. Removal schedules have limits, particularly during busy periods.

But good communication and sensible planning can make an uncertain situation much easier to manage.

If circumstances mean you have very little time to prepare, our guide to managing a short-notice house move covers practical steps that can help.

What Do Customers Say About Professional Packing?

Packing can completely change the experience of moving house.

Some people prefer to pack everything themselves. Others want help only with fragile items such as glassware, china, mirrors and pictures. For larger properties, busy families or customers working right up until moving day, a complete professional packing service can remove a substantial amount of work.

Several recent F Smith & Son reviews specifically discuss packing rather than simply the removal itself.

A Which? reviewer who used F Smith & Son to pack and move their home said the team worked quickly while still taking good care of their belongings, allowing the family to settle into the new property sooner.

Another Surrey customer who moved in January 2026 said they had chosen the professional packing service and felt it was well worth having.

There is also a particularly relevant review from a family moving a four-bedroom home from Clapham to West Wickham after living there for 17 years.

F Smith & Son packed the property the day before completion and carried out the removal the following day. The customer reported that everything reached the new home safely despite a delay in receiving the keys.

Professional packing is not necessary for every move.

But for customers who choose it, the purpose should be simple: reduce workload while protecting belongings properly.

If you are packing yourself, our article What to Pack First When Moving House gives a practical room-by-room starting point.

When Packing, Removals and Storage Need to Work Together

Sometimes a move cannot take place neatly from Property A to Property B on the same day.

A chain may break.

A new property may not be ready.

Someone may be moving into temporary accommodation.

Renovation work may still be taking place.

In these situations, storage becomes part of the moving plan.

A recent Checkatrade customer moving from London to South Wales used F Smith & Son for packing, removals and storage after their property chain broke.

Their belongings had to be packed, moved into storage and then delivered once the onward move could take place.

The customer described the overall service as making a stressful period much easier.

Another Which? customer used packing, removal, storage and final delivery as part of the same move and described the experience as the “best experience” they had had with a removals company.

This is an important distinction when considering storage during a house move.

Storage does not physically move your belongings.

Its role is to safeguard them between different stages of the move when they cannot yet go directly to the final property.

F Smith & Son also operates containerised storage from Croydon, giving customers another option when belongings need to be held securely between properties.

The People Carrying Out the Move Make the Biggest Difference

Removal vehicles matter.

Packing materials matter.

Planning matters.

Storage facilities matter.

But ultimately, much of the customer’s experience comes down to the people who walk through the front door on moving day.

This is another striking feature of the reviews.

Customers regularly mention members of the removal team by name.

They remember people who reassured them when they were worried, solved an access problem, carefully moved a difficult piece of furniture or simply remained friendly after a long and physically demanding day.

That human side of removals is easy to underestimate.

Moving house can be exciting, but it can also be tiring, uncertain and emotional.

Experienced removal crews understand that they are not merely transporting furniture.

They are working inside somebody’s home during one of the biggest changes that person or family may make for years.

That experience is also why local knowledge can matter. Our article on the importance of using a local removals company in London explains how familiarity with access, traffic, parking and local moving conditions can help.

Why We Prefer Independent Reviews to Simply Telling You How Good We Are

Every removals company can write positive things about itself on its own website.

Independent reviews provide something different.

Customers can read F Smith & Son’s current feedback directly on Checkatrade and Which? Trusted Traders.

That independence matters.

It is also why we believe customers choosing a removal company should read several reviews rather than relying on one particularly good testimonial.

Look for patterns.

A pattern across dozens or hundreds of reviews tells you far more than a single five-star comment.

Reviews Should Be Relevant to the Service You Are Buying

There is another principle we think matters.

A domestic house-move review should not automatically be presented as evidence of the quality of a commercial office relocation.

Likewise, somebody praising a basic removal does not tell you much about the company’s packing service unless they actually used it.

When researching a removals company, look for feedback that relates to the service you need.

If you are considering professional packing, read packing reviews.

If your belongings may need to go into store between properties, look for customers who used removal and storage services together.

If you have difficult access or an unusual piece of furniture, look for examples where the removal team had to solve similar practical problems.

Relevant evidence is more useful than a large collection of unrelated five-star ratings.

What Should You Look for When Reading Removals Company Reviews?

The best reviews usually tell you much more than whether somebody was “happy”.

Look for evidence of:

Pay attention to how crews behaved inside customers’ homes and whether belongings arrived safely.

For moves involving packing or storage, make sure you can find reviews from people who genuinely used those services.

And look at the overall history rather than focusing entirely on the newest review.

A removals company with substantial feedback accumulated over many years provides a much broader picture than a business with a perfect rating from only a handful of customers.

For more practical moving guidance, visit the F Smith & Son Advice Hub, which brings together guides on packing, planning and moving day preparation.

More Than 90 Years of Experience Still Has to Be Earned One Move at a Time

F Smith & Son has been operating in South London since 1930.

That history provides valuable experience, but experience should also be supported by recognised professional standards.

F Smith & Son is a member of the British Association of Removers (BAR) and holds the BS EN 12522 quality standard for furniture removals.

Those credentials matter because they provide another level of reassurance beyond a company’s own marketing.

They do not, however, replace the responsibility to provide a professional service every time another customer moves.

A reputation built over decades can only be maintained one removal at a time.

That is why the recent reviews are so valuable to us.

Whether somebody is moving a few streets across Croydon, from South London to another part of the country, using professional packing, putting belongings into storage or dealing with a difficult completion date, the fundamentals remain the same.

F Smith & Son also continues to participate in the wider removals industry. In 2026, the company joined other industry businesses at the Getting Britain Moving rally in Westminster, supporting discussions around moving standards and the role professional removers play within the UK housing market.

Planning a House Move?

If you are preparing to move, take time to compare removal companies properly rather than choosing solely on price.

F Smith & Son provides house removals, professional packing and storage services from its Croydon base for customers moving locally and throughout the UK.

You can also explore the Moving Advice Hub for practical guidance on preparing for moving day, packing and planning your move.

And, of course, do not simply take our word for the quality of the service.

Read the independent Checkatrade reviews and Which? Trusted Traders reviews for yourself.

When you are ready to discuss your move, contact F Smith & Son for advice or a quotation.