A Singapore woman was surprised by an additional S$1,280 charge while moving home after her movers said a condominium’s access restrictions required them to transport her belongings a long distance to their lorry.
The 39-year-old woman, surnamed Lei, had expected to pay about S$228 for her move from Serangoon to Kovan. Her original quote was S$198, with another S$30 for dismantling furniture.
However, on the day of the move on September 1, she was told that the moving lorry could not enter the condominium and had to be parked outside. The movers then imposed a “long pushing distance” charge.
Lei said she was told the fee was S$80 for every 60 metres. Her belongings had to be moved about 180 metres at her old home and another 300 metres at her new residence.
Because the furniture and other items could not all fit on one trolley, the movers had to make multiple trips. The additional charge eventually came to S$1,280, bringing her total bill to S$1,706.
Lei said she was only informed of the extra charge after her belongings had already been loaded onto the lorry. She questioned why the fee had not been disclosed earlier but said her enquiries were not addressed.
The moving company, Movexpress, said its lorries are generally not permitted to enter condominiums and that customers are normally asked to provide photographs of the site so the company can assess the moving conditions.
The company’s operations manager, surnamed Long, said its terms and conditions state that quoted prices do not cover additional services, including long pushing distances and complicated furniture dismantling.
Long also said the customer had initially indicated that she was moving five or six boxes along with several large pieces of furniture. On the day of the move, however, movers found more than 20 boxes, requiring additional trips.
According to the company, two additional workers had to be assigned to the job. What was initially expected to take about two hours eventually took around five hours, causing the company to outsource another scheduled job.
The company said long-distance pushing fees are not fixed because the difficulty of moving items varies between condominiums. Factors such as access, distance and the amount of work required can affect the final charge.
The dispute highlights the importance of confirming whether additional moving fees may apply before a relocation, particularly when condominium access restrictions prevent lorries from reaching a building directly.
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