Let’s face it, there’s SO much to do when you’re moving house – sorting, packing, tip runs, organising and labelling to name just a few tasks!
One thing that some people forget about until the last minute is changing your addresses and redirecting your post – an important step can end up giving you a headache if you leave it too late.
Redirecting your post
Royal Mail offers a redirection service to ensure that your mail moves with you, ensuring that you don’t miss any important documents and preventing your personal details from falling into the wrong hands.
You are able to redirect your mail for either 3, 6 or 12 months – bear in mind, each of these comes with a fee to pay. Prices start at £33.99 for a 3 month redirection, with an additional cost if there’s an extra person.
Moving abroad tends to be significantly more costly, with fees starting at £120.99 for 3 months of redirected post. 12 months of redirection when moving overseas will set you back £249.99 for one person, and £27.00 for an additional applicant.
To set it up, you’ll simply need your names and dates of birth, along with both your old and new addresses.
Don’t want the extra expense? Then the best thing to do is to use our handy list below and inform all of the important companies that you’re moving, and when.
Who do I need to tell?
The best advice we can give here at Ballards is to make a checklist of absolutely every address you’ll need to change ahead of your move. This way, when the time comes, it’s a relatively quick and stress-free process.
You may also risk receiving a fine from certain organisations if you fail to change your address, for example car insurance and your driving licence.
As well as Royal Mail, some of the most important people to inform are:
- Children’s schools & nurseries
- Changing your voting address
- The local council (both new and old)
- Your doctor – you may need to change, depending on your new location
- Any types of insurance – such as car, house, pet etc
- Your employer
- Your bank
- TV Licence
- DVLA – order a new driving licence and change your V5 address
- Any domestic providers such as gardeners or window cleaners
- Closest friends and family
- Medical organisations such as the dentist
You will also need to let some organisations know that you’re leaving, so you don’t end up being charged for things when you’re no longer there. This includes gas and electricity, home insurance, council tax and water companies.
Don’t forget to change your ‘billing address’ when ordering things online once you’ve moved; as once your address is changed with your bank, they may not authorise a purchase registered to your old house.
Of course, you can always give your new address and your number to the person moving into your old home so they can forward on any post or let you know if any has arrived. The problem with this is that it depends on goodwill and they may not be happy to do it indefinitely or especially quickly.
If you’re looking for any advice or support on moving house, then please contact us – one of our friendly team members will be more than happy to help.