Communicate special requests to your moving company in Pretoria before the quotation is finalised. Explain exactly what needs attention, provide photographs and measurements where useful, and ask for written confirmation of the agreed service, timing and price.
Special requests can include fragile antiques, heavy safes, furniture dismantling, restricted estate access, multiple delivery addresses or particular packing requirements. These details affect the vehicle, handling arrangements and time needed for your move.
At Active Transport, our advice is simple: do not assume an unusual requirement is obvious. Tell your moving coordinator what you need, then check that the final moving plan reflects the agreement.
Why Special Requests Need to Be Discussed Early
A moving quotation is prepared around the information supplied. If that information changes, the resources required may change too.
A piano described as ordinary furniture, an undisclosed flight of stairs or a delivery address with strict truck restrictions can create problems that cannot be solved immediately.
Early communication gives the coordinator time to assess the request, explain any limitations and price the work properly. It also helps distinguish an agreed service from something the customer hopes the crew can accommodate on arrival.
What Counts as a Special Request?
- Moving unusually heavy, oversized or delicate items.
- Professional packing or specialised wrapping.
- Dismantling and reassembling furniture.
- Working within estate or building access hours.
- Using stairs, lifts or long carrying routes.
- Arranging a shuttle vehicle where the main truck cannot enter.
- Collecting or delivering goods at more than one address.
- Moving plants that require assessment or permits.
- Placing furniture in specified rooms.
- Meeting accessibility needs or particular communication requirements.
Not every request can be accommodated on every booking. Ask what is possible before relying on it.
Read our latest blog post: Can Moving Companies Move Everything or Are There Restrictions?
Start With a Complete Inventory
Active Transport’s standard inventory helps us plan the vehicle and crew for your belongings. Use it to identify the items being moved, then add clear notes about anything requiring special attention.
Include garage contents, patio furniture and storage-area items alongside the main household furniture.
If you buy another appliance or discover more boxes after submitting the list, update your coordinator. Do not assume an additional item can be included without affecting the plan or price.
Replace Vague Descriptions With Useful Details
“Heavy cupboard” gives a coordinator less information than “solid oak wardrobe, approximately two metres tall, with removable doors and a narrow staircase at collection”.
Where available, provide:
- Height, width and depth.
- Actual weight, or a clearly identified estimate.
- Material and construction.
- Fragile parts or existing damage.
- Whether the item can be dismantled.
- The assistance you want the mover to provide.
For equipment and appliances, a photograph of the model label may help. If you do not know an item’s weight, say so rather than presenting a guess as a confirmed measurement.
Put Special Requests in Writing
A phone conversation can help explain a complicated requirement, but follow it with a written summary. Email allows you to attach photographs, describe access conditions and keep the agreed details together.
Reference your booking or quotation number and ask your coordinator to confirm receipt and acceptance. A request being received is different from the service being approved.
Explain the Item, the Constraint and the Requested Service
A useful description answers three questions: what needs moving, what makes it difficult and what help do you need?
For example: “Our upright piano is on the ground floor. There are three steps between the entrance and driveway. Please assess the handling requirements and include suitable protection and labour in the quotation.”
This gives the coordinator a practical starting point. The mover can then ask for measurements, photographs or an assessment before confirming the arrangements.
Send Photographs of the Access Route
Photographs of the item alone may not show the main difficulty. Include the route it must travel through.
- Doorways and narrow passages.
- Staircases, corners and landings.
- Lift entrances and cabins.
- Steep driveways or uneven paths.
- Estate entrances and low arches.
- The proposed truck parking position.
A video walkthrough can help show how these spaces connect. Keep the written inventory and measurements as part of the final planning record.
How to Explain Common Special Requests
Fragile Antiques and Valuable Furniture
Identify the item’s material, fragile components and any handling concerns. Explain whether parts are loose, whether a finish is easily marked and whether the item can be dismantled safely.
For example: “Antique cabinet with glass doors and delicate decorative trim. Please assess appropriate packing and advise whether a valuation is required for insurance.”
Ask the mover to recommend suitable protection rather than assuming a particular wrapping method will be enough. Confirm the packing service and insurance conditions separately.
Furniture Dismantling and Reassembly
List the furniture requiring work and state whether you need dismantling at collection, reassembly at delivery or both.
For example: “Double bed frame and six-seater dining table require dismantling at collection and reassembly at delivery. Please confirm whether your team can provide this service and include the cost.”
Send photographs of fittings or assembly instructions where available. Fitted furniture, complicated mechanisms and damaged joints may require a specialist.
Estate Access and Strict Moving Hours
“Please arrive early” is not a complete description of an estate restriction. Provide the exact permitted hours and the written rules.
Explain whether those hours apply to entry, loading, unloading or departure. Also confirm registration requirements, vehicle limits and any access booking.
For example: “The estate permits moving between 10:00 and 14:00. Security requires vehicle registration details in advance. Attached are the vehicle weight and height restrictions.”
Ask whether the mover can work within the window and what arrangements are required. A preferred arrival time should not be treated as guaranteed unless it has been expressly agreed.
Shuttle Vehicles and Long Carrying Distances
If a large truck cannot reach your entrance, explain where it can park and measure the route to the door.
Include obstacles such as stairs, steep paths or narrow corners. Ask whether a smaller shuttle vehicle or another handling arrangement is needed.
Confirm the applicable carrying-distance conditions for your booking. Different access situations need assessment, so do not rely on one general distance threshold.
Multiple Stops and Room Placement
Provide every collection and delivery address, with an inventory for each stop. Explain any required order and time restrictions.
If you want furniture placed in particular rooms, send a simple written room list and label boxes accordingly. Confirm what placement assistance is included, especially for upstairs rooms or items needing assembly.
A Hypothetical Example: A Safe, a Piano and Restricted Estate Access
Consider a customer moving a 350 kg safe and an upright piano from an estate with a 3,500 kg vehicle GVM limit and a moving window from 10:00 to 14:00.
Instead of mentioning these details when the truck arrives, the customer sends photographs, measurements, access rules and the requested services during the quotation stage.
How the Information Changes Planning
The coordinator can assess whether specialist handling is required, determine whether an access-compatible shuttle vehicle is suitable and review the time needed.
The vehicle’s actual gross vehicle mass must comply with the estate’s rule. A vehicle advertised by payload, such as a “three-tonne truck”, is not automatically below a 3,500 kg GVM limit.
The safe also needs assessment beyond its weight. The route, floor surfaces, steps and available handling methods matter. Its contents, particularly firearms or ammunition, require separate lawful arrangements.
Any specialist service, shuttle transport and additional labour can then be discussed before the quotation is accepted.
What Early Communication Achieves
It helps the customer understand the scope and cost before moving day. It also allows the mover to identify requirements that cannot be met within the proposed schedule.
Early disclosure does not guarantee a delay-free move or make additional services free. It makes those requirements easier to assess and agree in advance.
How to Confirm Your Request Has Been Accepted
Before paying or accepting the final quotation, check that your special requests are recorded in the relevant booking documents.
Depending on the company’s process, this may be the quotation, updated inventory, written moving plan or booking confirmation.
Check the Agreed Service
- The relevant items are identified.
- Required packing or handling is described.
- Dismantling and reassembly responsibilities are clear.
- Access restrictions have been acknowledged.
- Specialist or shuttle arrangements are confirmed where needed.
- Any services the mover cannot provide are identified.
You do not need to prescribe every tool or crew number yourself. Ask the mover to confirm that the planned resources are suitable for the agreed work.
Check Timing and Costs
Confirm the arrival arrangements, operational window and any dependency on security clearance or lift access.
Ask which additional services have been included in the total and how further changes will be priced. If something is unclear, request a revised quotation or written clarification.
Confirm the Crew Has the Relevant Instructions
Before loading begins, briefly review the important requests with the crew supervisor. Point out fragile items, agreed dismantling work and access constraints.
Ask whether the team has received the latest instructions. If something appears to be missing, contact the coordinator before the affected work starts.
What If a Request Changes After Booking?
Contact your moving coordinator as soon as you know about the change. Explain what changed and provide updated photographs, inventory details or estate rules.
Ask whether the change affects availability, equipment, timing or price. Keep the written acknowledgement with your booking documents.
Last-minute requests may be possible, but additional resources are not always available immediately.
How to Handle an Unexpected Moving Day Issue
Speak to the crew supervisor and contact the booking office or designated coordinator. Explain the problem before asking the team to proceed.
For any proposed extra work, confirm:
- What additional service is required.
- Whether it can be carried out safely.
- The cost and who is authorised to approve it.
- The effect on the remaining schedule.
- How the agreement will be recorded and paid.
Use the company’s confirmed approval and payment procedure. Avoid undocumented side arrangements that leave the service or charge unclear.
What to Prioritise When the Original Plan Cannot Work
Safety and Property Protection
Do not pressure the crew to force furniture through a narrow opening or attempt an unsafe lift. Stop and assess the alternatives.
A deadline does not make an unsuitable handling method safer.
The Remaining Move
Ask whether other items can be moved safely while the problem is assessed. This depends on access, loading order and the agreed schedule.
Keep decisions coordinated rather than allowing several people to give conflicting instructions.
A Safe Alternative for the Problem Item
The solution may involve dismantling, specialist handling, a separate collection or temporary storage.
Confirm where the item can safely remain, who is responsible for it and whether permission is needed. Do not assume it can be left in a garage, communal area or at the old property after handover.
Our Most Useful Advice: Be Specific, Then Get Confirmation
The strongest special request explains the item, the difficulty and the service you want. Photographs and measurements make that explanation easier to assess.
Then close the loop. Check that the request has been accepted, priced and included in the moving plan. This is more useful than relying on a verbal promise that someone will “sort it out on the day”.
Discuss Your Special Requests With Active Transport
Contact Active Transport before your quotation is finalised if you have fragile furniture, heavy items, packing requirements or restricted property access.
Send your inventory, photographs, measurements and any estate rules so we can assess the requirements and discuss suitable arrangements.
Call 082 820 6839 to discuss your household or office move.