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Pricing, explainedRates and how we price
No competitor we looked at explains this, which is odd, because a shipper who understands what makes a job expensive can usually make it cheaper. That is a far better conversation than haggling over a quote.
Why there is no price list
We could publish a per mile figure. It would be close to useless. The same 200 mile delivery might be a small van on a planned next day route or a Luton with a tail lift pulled off other work at an hour of notice with an hour of waiting at each end, and those are not the same product at the same price.
What we can do is tell you exactly which factors move the number, so you can see where your own job sits and which of them you have control over. Several of them you do.
The eight things that set a rate
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Distance, both legs
You pay for the loaded journey and, on a dedicated job, for getting the vehicle to your collection point in the first place. That second leg is invisible on most quotes and is often the larger surprise, which is why where our nearest van sits matters as much as the delivery distance.
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Vehicle size
A small van costs meaningfully less than a Luton with a tail lift, and an artic costs several times either. Booking a bigger vehicle than the load needs is the single most common way shippers overpay. Tell us the weight and dimensions and we will spec it down if we can.
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Urgency and notice
Notice is the biggest lever available to you. Same day means pulling a vehicle off other work at short notice; next day means fitting your job into a planned route. The freight is identical, the price is not, and most same day bookings we see could have been made a few hours earlier.
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Date flexibility
If your delivery can move by a day or two we can match it to a vehicle already running that corridor. That is a backload, and the saving is substantial on long trunk routes because the alternative was running the leg empty.
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Waiting and access
Time the vehicle spends waiting is time it cannot earn. Long loading queues, sites without a forklift, restricted delivery windows and inductions all add cost. Telling us about them up front is cheaper than us discovering them on arrival.
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Volume and regularity
A repeating movement lets us plan a vehicle, a driver and a return leg around it, so contracted and scheduled work prices well below the same journey booked ad hoc each week. Several drops in one region on one route beats several separate deliveries every time.
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Out of hours
Nights, weekends and bank holidays cost more because drivers are paid more. On long distance work against a hard deadline you may also need two drivers in one vehicle, which roughly doubles the labour on that leg but is the only legal way to keep moving.
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Value and special handling
High value consignments may need cover above standard limits. Temperature controlled, hazardous and abnormal loads need specific equipment and qualifications. All of that is priced honestly rather than absorbed and then recovered through a vague surcharge.
Seven ways to pay less for the same movement
None of these involve us cutting corners. They are all about buying the right product for the job, and most shippers are not.
- Book earlier. Same day is a premium for short notice, not for the freight itself.
- Widen the date window and ask whether a backload fits.
- Combine drops in one region onto a single multi drop route.
- Turn any journey you repeat weekly into a scheduled contract.
- Give accurate weights and dimensions so we can spec a smaller vehicle.
- Warn us about access restrictions and waiting time before we quote.
- Ask us whether a parcel network would genuinely be cheaper for your item.
Pricing questions
Why will you not publish a price list?
Because a per mile figure would be misleading on most jobs. The same 200 mile delivery can differ substantially in price depending on vehicle size, notice, waiting time, access and whether a return leg exists. Publishing a headline rate that applies to almost nothing would make our quoting look dishonest, which is the opposite of the point.
Do you add a fuel surcharge?
No. The rate we quote is the rate we invoice. Fuel is already inside the price. If the job itself changes, for example the load has grown or a site turns the vehicle away, we agree the difference with you before the cost is incurred rather than presenting it afterwards.
Is a dedicated van always more expensive than a network?
Per consignment, usually yes, and for standard boxes inside standard weight bands a network is often the right answer. It reverses as soon as the item is urgent, long, heavy, fragile or valuable, because one failed network delivery costs more than the difference on several dedicated ones.
How do you charge for waiting time?
It is agreed in the quote wherever we know it is likely, with a free allowance and a clear rate after that. Waiting is real cost, and burying it produces invoice disputes, which nobody enjoys.
Can I get a fixed rate for a regular route?
Yes, and it is the cheapest way to buy transport you use repeatedly. A standing rate on an agreed route removes exposure to spot market movements for you and lets us plan resource properly, which is why it prices below ad hoc.
Do you offer credit accounts?
For regular commercial customers, yes, subject to the usual checks. New customers and one off jobs are normally payment on booking or on completion, which we will confirm when we quote.
Get a fixed rate
Send the detail and we will price it properly, including telling you if a cheaper option would do the job.
- One fixed price covering vehicle, driver, fuel and insurance
- No fuel surcharge added after the fact
- An honest view on whether a cheaper option suits you better
- No minimum volume and no contract required
Urgent? Call 07546 614442