About Us
Hello! I am Daniel and I just like to give you a little bit of background to tell you how I came to form my Property Clearance business. Then I will go on to tell you a bit more about what we do and how we do it. And why!
Back in 1998, my parents had the unfortunate task of having to have my Grandma’s house cleared and sold.
They found a clearance company from the Yellow Pages and a man came along in a lorry and took most of the furniture and other things of any value and charged quite a lot.
When they had a look around the house afterwards there was still a lot of stuff there: all the carpets, curtains, small items of furniture and general bric-a-brac. Nothing of any value – the first clearance man had taken all that - but they then had to find another clearance company and get them to remove the rest. More expense.
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Going back to the house after the second clearance, they then found that it had indeed been fully cleared but emptying the house of all its contents had left behind the dust and fluff of ages that’s normally concealed by furniture and carpets, so my parents then had to employ a cleaning company to finish the job! Finally, house was ready for sale, but it had taken a couple of weeks, cost a bomb and caused a lot of stress and worry.
I could see, all those years ago, that there was a need for a business which would take full responsibility for doing the whole job properly in one go. To do exactly what the customer wanted and remove all the doubt, uncertainty, and unnecessary cost.
There is another aspect, too, that we never considered at the time, but which is now a major worry: what happens to all the unwanted stuff that has been taken away? Fly tipping these days is a major and growing problem, and the householder is jointly liable with the clearing agency if rubbish is dumped somewhere illegally, and the fines can be massive.
We are licenced by the Environment Agency to transport waste and dispose of it responsibly, and we urge you to check that the company you use is similarly registered, for your own protection.
We are very efficient and environmentally friendly in all aspects of our waste disposal. Rubbish which is largely metal, or wood is separated out for recycling; any items of possible value are sold via various outlets and the remainder is disposed of as non-recyclable waste at licensed waste transfer stations on a cost-per-tonne basis with full documentation as required by law for traceability.
I visit the property with the customer to walk around and ascertain exactly what is required and I then give them a firm, guaranteed quotation for the work. No payment is required until the customer is satisfied that the work has been done to their complete satisfaction. They are then billed, after which payment in full is expected within seven days. If the customer is not happy with any aspect of the work, we will return - at no charge - to put it right.
Much of our business comes from personal recommendations. We used to post our many testimonials on our web site, but we later thought that potential customers might think these could have been cherry-picked so that bad and indifferent reviews were edited out (they were not - we did not have any!) so we now use Lancashire Safe Trader to show all our feedback, independently.
One more thing: our original name was Daniel Elliott House Clearance Services, but I changed that later to Property Clearance to reflect the fact that we covered much more than just houses: we regularly do flats, attics, cellars, garages, sheds, shops, warehouses, offices, and other commercial premises - the list goes on!
To sum up, then! I will visit you at the property to be cleared so that we can have a walk round and you can tell me exactly what you want doing. If you are unable to be present (perhaps because you live far away) I can, instead, collect a key from someone you nominate (often an estate agent or neighbour) and have a look round on my own. I will then telephone you later to discuss what is to be done now that I am familiar with it.
I hope this little story has given you some insight into what happens when a house is cleared. It often follows a bereavement, so it can be a very difficult time. We very much understand that and always carry out the work with respect and dignity. Confidentiality is another of our strong points; your personal circumstances and details are safe with us; we never disclose any details of a clearance we have carried out and, if sensitive or valuable papers or items are thought or known to be present, we can safely retain them for you or destroy them securely.
Finally, if you take nothing else from this piece, do not be deceived by the increasing army of unlicensed and unscrupulous house clearance cowboys. There is a reason why they are so cheap! Everything may end up in a field a few miles away, where agents from the Council or the Environment Agency will later be combing through it looking for clues as to where it has come from. If they catch the vehicle on CCTV and the driver is prosecuted, expect a knock on your own door soon after. The fines can be very heavy; it is just not worth taking the risk!