FAQS

If you want a property cleared properly and professionally then you need to phone Abacus. To demonstrate just how efficient we are, take a look at these photos. However, don’t take our word for it, read these genuine letters sent in by our customers. We have a very good reputation to maintain.

We are members of the UK House Clearance Association.org which means we operate according to a strict code of conduct.

We will not turn up late
We will not let you down
We will recycle as much as we possibly can

We clear everything including deceased estates, properties for sale, offices, factories, churches, schools, and much more. Each property is cleared from top to bottom: clothes, blankets, bric-a-brac, sheds, garages, carpets, and even the food from the cupboards.

We don’t stop until you are satisfied – we have even removed disused cars, boats and caravans. We perform full house clearances as well as clearing garages, vermin infected properties, lofts, flats and commercial properties.

The only items that we do not clear are asbestos, explosives, large quantities of paint, oils or chemicals. Generally, we can take a small amount of domestic chemicals and oils. Please make sure to list any items you are not sure about on your booking form or check through with our office staff who will be able to advise you prior to your booking. 

Mattresses, fridges, freezers, tins of paint, gas bottles, car tyres and fire extinguishers have additional charges as we are charged additional costs at the recycling centres to dispose of these items. 

Notice! When clearing verminous or cluttered properties, we do not simply go into the property and dispose of everything unless instructed to by our customers. We ask our customers to complete specific questions for clearance so we have a clear understanding of what is to be removed and what is to remain before a clearance takes place.  We encourage our customers to identify important items that they want to keep so they can rest assured that their wishes are considered and treasured items are kept safe. 

We tend to clear the smallest room in the house first as this acts as a storage area for items that our customers generally ask us to look out for or items we feel have monetary or sentimental value, such as photographs, important legal paperwork, jewellery & the like. 

Our clearance service is designed to be simple and stress-free for our customers. To get started, we just need a few key details from you. Firstly, we will need to know the location of your property, including the full address and any specific access details that may be relevant. This will allow us to plan for any potential obstacles or challenges that may arise during the clearance process.

We will also need an idea of the size of your property and the amount of items to be cleared. This will help us to estimate the amount of time and resources required to complete the job efficiently and effectively.

If you have any particularly large or unusual items that need to be removed, such as a piano, car or motorbike, please let us know in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

With these simple details, we can quickly and easily arrange for our team to arrive at your door within one or two days to begin the clearance process.

Yes, we have full public liability insurance in place up to 10 million pounds giving you peace of mind.

Yes, we are fully registered with the Environment Agency.

License Number: CBDU419679

When you call us, we will arrange to come and clear the property at the time that is most convenient for you. We will arrive at the given time and clear everything that you tell us to clear. Usually, a standard property can be cleared within 2 to 3 hours, however we do advise to allow additional time for the clearance, especially if we are requested to look for items to keep such as paperwork as this can take more time.

We will quote you a price over the phone, once you have told us the size of the property and given us a rough idea of what there is to be cleared, we charge by the van load and will consult with you throughout the day, our vans hold up to 1.5 tonnes and we can normally clear a 3 bed house of all standard items in one load.
Phone us for a free quote on FREEPHONE 0800 046 5555

The service we provide is very good value for money when you consider that to clear a standard, 3-bedroom property, you would probably need to hire 3-4 skips at a cost of between £160 and £200 each. You would then have to fill them yourself as well as organizing skip delivery times and permits. At Abacus, we turn up in our Luton van with our staff, and clear everything within a couple of hours!

No, we are strictly a clearance company, if you have any items that you wish to sell we would advise that you pre arrange this before we arrive, however, we are always flexible and happy to help take items to a local auction house on the day for you if required.

Yes, a lot of our customers send us a few photographs of the property to be cleared. This helps us to better understand how many van loads we will needed to complete the clearance, and roughly how long it will take. Whish will give you a better indication of the overall cost on the day.
You can e-mail your photographs to [email protected]

No time for photographs? Then call us, and we will ask you a few questions about the property, then provide you with a quote for completing the clearance.

YES! We average a 90% recycling rate and try to recycle as much as we possibly can! Every clearance is different so it is not always possible to reuse all of the contents from each particular property. A lot of clearance companies send all of their waste to landfill as it is easier & quicker to offload their vans, at Abacus we only use licensed recycling sites that separate and recycle items.

We use licensed recycling centres. Waste transfer notes can be provided upon request. We aim to save items from the landfill to help keep our planet green, where possible, including donating suitable items to charities and the public so unwanted items are given second lives.

We cannot guarantee charities will accept donations though. We’re finding a lot of charities don’t want any of the older style brown furniture because they can’t sell it. They also have strict rules around what upholstered items they will accept because of Fire Safety Regulations.

Wherever possible we donate any in date/suitable dry food to food banks, suitable clothes and textiles to charities/ clothes banks or animal shelters sometimes with duvets and blankets that charities won’t accept. It is not always feasible to use the ‘closest’ charity shops to the property in hand as some only have specific times they accept you to arrive with large quantities of donations, some only take bric-a-brac and books for example and sometimes they don’t always have enough people to come and pick through what they want to take so we often take a lot to bigger depots and other local causes we have come across along our many routes.

Because it’s taking longer for our teams to take suitable items to various charities, they tend to remove the not donatable – more recyclable items first so ensure we can clear the properties as efficiently as possible for our customers then leave the donatable items for the last load(s) so this doesn’t impact us completing your job.

We cover the whole of the UK.

We work 7 days a week, and our operating times are from 9.00am until 5.00pm. We do not mind working on Saturdays and Sundays, however, this is governed by the size of the clearance as most waste recycling stations close on a Saturday around 10-12 and do not re open until Monday mornings, therefore making it difficult sometimes to carry out more than one load, in extreme circumstances we can work “out of business hours.”

Yes, we offer a comprehensive cleaning service for an additional fee. Check out our cleaning services section for more details.

No, we do not need you to be at the property whilst we clear it. You can leave the keys with a neighbour or simply post the keys to us (by recorded mail) and we will post them back once the clearance is complete. If your solicitor, estate agent or neighbour is taking care of matters for you, then we can pick the keys up from them and return them when the job is finished. We can communicate by email or phone and supply you with before and after photographs upon completion of the work for your peace of mind.

Remember, we know how stressful it can be to deal with a property clearance, especially a deceased estate. That’s why we’re here to help and be as flexible as possible in order to accommodate your needs. If you feel you need to oversee the work, then we can work weekends if you are unable to book time away from work.

Yes (If a standard installation), gas cookers can be disconnected if installed with a ‘flexi hose’ however, if the gas cooker is fitted with an old welded joint you will need a gas safe engineer to disconnect this prior to the clearance day. We cannot disconnect any hard wired into the mains electrical appliances, however all our staff are experienced in disconnecting standard installed appliances such as washing machines and stair lifts.

If the paperwork is unwanted we ensure it is disposed of in a way that it does not fall into the wrong hands – this keeps you or your relative safe from identity theft.

We hand it over to you. We have done many, many house clearances where we have found money, jewellery or personal items. We found & handed back a large amount of cash & jewellery on this house clearance. You can read here what the customers said about our honesty.

Yes, of course you can. Many of our customers have just left us alone to get on with the job, especially when the clearance is of a deceased estate, which is understandably upsetting. With this in mind, we are always willing to work independently.

We can do the job within 2-3 days notice. If it is more convenient for you however, we are always happy to schedule it for a later date of your choosing.

Yes! We cannot guarantee every property will be cleared on the same day or in 1 x load of course but we can guarantee our teams will complete the clearance! This may mean we have to do a second load on the day to get the house cleared, the cost of a second load on the day is half of the original quote. If the house is extremely cluttered then we may need to come back on another day, if this is the case the same quote again will apply.

We use every bit of space and weight in the van without exceeding the load size we are legally allowed to carry. Our aim is to get each clearance done as efficiently and effectively as possible for our customers!

We will not leave you with items in the property like other house clearance companies, unless you instruct us to leave items & we will not ask for payment until the property is fully cleared.

When the clearance is completed our office staff will send you an invoice which is payable by credit or debit card. We accept all major credit cards. There is a 2% surcharge on credit cards. You can also pay by cheque made payable to ‘Abacus Property Clearance Limited’ or you can pay by bank transfer, all our bank details are provided on your invoice which you will be given on the day.

All prices subject to VAT

Final Note ! Unfortunately, disposing of items legally is expensive! The days of cheap house clearance are over unless you hire an unlicensed, unaccountable, uninsured fly tipping cash in hand cowboy. We are members of the UK House Clearance Association and follow their strict code of conduct, please read here.