Anthony Robinson, Managing Director said “We take client relations very seriously – we have a “win-win” ethos whenever we do business, consistently putting the needs of our customers before our own operational needs. To have been recognised by the leading industry body for our quality of service is absolutely fantastic. Our people and their client-focused approach is Robinsons’ greatest asset and this recognition is for the entire company who all contribute to ensure we deliver the very best service to our customers.”

Here are some friendly tips to help you pack:

- Make a priority packing list

- Take some time to sift through your belongings and have a clear-out. You can make up a box for charity and if you’ve time, hold a car boot sale or log onto an online auction, then put the proceeds of your sold goods towards some re-decorating or a new carpet.

- Calculate how many boxes you will need and get these well in advance. Find boxes in a variety of sizes. Think about what else will be useful, such as strong tape, bubble wrap, and self-seal bags for keeping nuts and bolts together. Save old newspapers for lining boxes.

- Don’t completely fill large boxes, as they will be too heavy to move.

- Use sturdy packing boxes, particularly for heavier items, or your belongings may end up strewn all over the pavement. Boxes made from corrugated cardboard are stronger than regular ones. You can usually find these at supermarkets, off-licences or large retail stores, but make sure that they are clean.

- Check that your contents insurance will cover damage and breakages during the move.

- Put all hazardous materials, such as paint, bleach and aerosols, into a separate box and keep them away from the rest of your stuff.

In a swanky gala dinner held at the Institute of Directors in London, the relocation industry’s finest were out in force for the third annual Re:locate Awards to recognise individuals, teams, policy and innovation, with a choice of categories for HR and service providers.

The high-calibre shortlist reflected the wide range of organisations and individuals involved in relocation, from HR staff to specialist support providers of various kinds, including relocation management companies, consultants, removals experts, home-search specialists, serviced accommodation providers and a furniture rentals company; all of which contribute knowledge and expertise to the relocation process.

The judging panel, consisting of distinguished figures from business, academia and the CIPD, evaluated all nominees on the basis of five key points:  Innovation and Achievement, Teamwork and Customer Relations, Leadership, Effective Use of Resources, and Environmental Contribution to Business.

With a belief that they have a service offer to be truly proud of, Robinsons were able to put forward a winning proposal to land this prestigious prize in the only UK awards ceremony to celebrate achievement in this niche area of expertise.

The judges hailed Robinsons International Removals for a “first-class” entry statement, well supported by a range of excellent client testimonials, succinct examples of processes, and laudable transparency in passing savings on to clients. They loved its WOW (War on Waste) campaign and carbon footprint calculator, and its forward-looking approach, internally and externally.

Stepping up to receive the award on behalf of Robinsons were Sales Director Rhonda Olsen and Relocations Manager Alistair Murray.

Rhonda said: “To have won such a prestigious award is absolutely fantastic and I dedicate it to the entire company who all contribute to ensure we deliver the very best service to our customers.

The summer issue of Re:locate, to be published in June, will feature full details of all the winners including individual case studies.

The UK’s regional office spaces have seen a slight increase in rent since the start of the year, with businesses opting to move into low-cost office space at the expense of a more central location. Several large business developments in London have been delayed of cancelled, leaving the city centre with a limited amount of space and businesses with ever-growing office needs.

Removals firms have been busy moving businesses back into larger offices, as many opted to downsize during the recession. While the UK’s economy is officially on the rise, many businesses are slightly cautious about moving into expensive central city office space just yet.

For regional building owners, the shift in rentals is a good thing. Despite modest improvements in price, most building operators and property firms are quite pleased with the healthier rental market. Whether the trend continues is anyone’s guess – analysts believe the central London rental prices will drop in the coming months, while others are concerned about potential increases.

However, there are a few things that should be understood before a move is attempted:

- Moving is hard; no matter how it is done, it’s a back-breaking job that will take more time than you wish to spend on such a task.

- The more people you invite to help means the more people you will have to help move when the time comes.

- Always feed the people who help you. This will give then strength and they deserve it.

- Beer seems like a good idea in order to get people to help; but be warned, the amount of beer being drank is directly proportional to the number of items that will get broken.

- If you have children send them away or tell them to avoid you. You will yell at them before the day is over. Just accept this fact and take the appropriate actions.

- It’s OK not to unpack anything that first night. However, do set up the bed; no matter how late it is or how tired you are you will be glad you did this come the morning.

- Use a removals firm, and don’t be cheap about this. One trip is much better than many little trips.

- Take this opportunity to not only pack your children’s rooms, but to also throw out unused toys. This will save you time in packing and when asked by your child for the head to his Power Ranger figure, you can say without guilt that it must have been lost in the move.

- Have a garage sale before you move (see the heading on Moving Sales further on in this entry); it will give you some extra spending cash and what you sell you will not have to move.

- Tell yourself – a move is a good thing. Things will only improve from this point on. Keep telling yourself these things. This may be your only salvation during a period that is sure to be back-breaking physically, draining emotionally, and difficult mentally.

Simon Fennemore, owner of aptly named Ash Removals, said he had been bombarded by calls from a mix of serious, misguided individuals and out-right jokers demanding to know when the ash will be sorted out so they can go on holiday.

Mr Fennemore said both he and business partner Adam Dracott have had lots of people stopping their branded removal lorries and telling them: “You’re not doing a very good job are you – I’m meant to be in Menorca on holiday with the missus.”

He said: “A lot of it is quite light-hearted, and we just say, ‘yep, really sorry to hear your plight’.

“Yesterday, a group of cyclists passed by my lorry, and one of them said they were meant to be on a cycling holiday in Spain but had to go to Richmond Park instead.”

Although Mr Fennemore said that most of it was good-natured banter, they had also received calls from angry people who had clearly misunderstood the name of the business.

“Some of them genuinely seem to think we are some kind of high-altitude vacuum cleaner,” said the baffled removals man.

“Although it was initially quite jovial, in the last few days it’s getting to the point where the shock factor has settled and people are getting quite irate and want us to do something about it.

“Some of them seem to want to get rid of the frustration. One woman who called up was completely furious at the fact that she might not be able to go on holiday.

“Even though I kept explaining to her that we were a furniture removal company, she was ignoring the substance of what I was saying and said that she was due to fly out on Sunday and what were we going to do about it?”

He added: “I have to just stay level-headed. But it’s certainly a strange set of circumstances to find ourselves in.”

Mr Fennemore and Mr Dracott, who both grew up in Guildford, decided to call their company Ash Removals after the previous owner, Ashley, who they bought it from last year.

Despite the hassle from jokers and irate callers alike, Mr Fennemore said the volcanic ash drama had been good for business.

“People who have been searching for ash information have stumbled across our company,” he said.

A number of removals firms have seen increased business, as many UK families move from low-end properties to permanent homes, aiming to make up for cost-saving actions taken during the recession. While the property market is still cursed with faults and a large degree of risk, Britain’s residents are growing increasingly more confident in their financial abilities and are considering moving house at greater levels.

The desire for larger homes trumps other moving-related reasons. In second place was divorce, while career-related home removals were in third place with over a quarter of participants interested. As telecommuting and home-based work agreements become more popular in the UK – both as a lifestyle option and a cost-cutting strategy for businesses – larger homes are growing more desirable.

However, many UK residents are still unable to afford new property, despite the recent economic recovery. The effects of the credit crunch are still very visible, and with many of Britain’s ex-high earners struggling to cope with bad debt, the declaration of ‘mass home moving’ might be best reserved for the future.

“I never used to believe those surveys which ranked moving house in the Top 10 most stressful experiences in life. But following our move from North London to Surrey last week, I now know this to be true.

Stressful? There should be a Government Health Warning on moving house. Throughout that long, exhausting day I’m convinced my blood pressure hit danger levels on a number of occasions.

Watching the removal lorry slowly reverse into our car was certainly one of them. Only minutes earlier I’d taken the baby out of his car seat. We were parked a good 30 feet away, yet all three removal men swore they couldn’t see our family estate car in their rearview mirrors. It was a small dent in the bumper; a larger one to my confidence.

Then there was the £40 parking ticket slapped on the windscreen in the 30 seconds it took me to pick up my son from nursery. It was the equivalent of a goodbye card from those diligent employees of Islington Council.

While all this was going on, I was speaking to at least seven different operators at a call centre in the hope that one might possess the talent to set up an account on our new landline phone. They did not.

By the time we arrived at our new house (an hour stuck in rush-hour London traffic, another hour to get there) it was getting dark. Without a working landline phone I kept my mobile close at hand… until, that is, our over-tired toddler posted it down the toilet while I was running his bath. I suppose I can’t blame that one on house-moving: that’s just parenthood for you.

The next morning started with promise. We woke in our new home; the sun was shining, the birds tweeting. What could possibly go wrong today?

Within half an hour, a full mug of coffee slid off what we thought was a flat surface and all over the only carpet in the house that didn’t need replacing.

Then we locked ourselves out of the house. The previous owner had forgotten to drop the rather important Yale key with the agents on completion. We only realised this after we had slammed the front door.

How my husband managed to wriggle through the tiny downstairs window with the dodgy catch, I have no idea. I hadn’t seen such a contortionist since the Chinese State Circus came to town. He dropped six feet down onto the carpet, landing headfirst, and hasn’t been quite the same since.

Perhaps removal firms should provide an “after care” counselling service to help repair the shattered nerves of homeowners? Or a welcome pack containing spare keys, carpet cleaner, plasters, bandages, scotch and Valium?

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In fact, a recent survey has shown that one in 50 of us have become so frustrated at the lack of mobile phone coverage that we have seriously considered moving house.

Quick and easy to install, Vodafone Sure Signal plugs straight into any home or office broadband line with a download speed of at least 1 MB per second and works with all 3G handsets.

Up to 32 people can be registered to use a Vodafone Sure Signal and four people can use it at any one time – meaning those sick of ‘no signal’ may put their drastic plans of home removals on hold for now.

Guy Laurence, Vodafone UK CEO said: “Customers tell us it is life changing. If they live or work in a basement for example, the only way they may be able to get consistent mobile coverage could be with a Vodafone Sure Signal.

Optimistic sellers listing their properties in the New Year have been demanding 0.4% more than those who advertised in December.

According to Rightmove, the average asking price for UK properties fresh on the market is now £222,261, compared with £221,463 last month.

The property website said that an increasing number of buyers fighting for a very small number of properties has allowed sellers to jack up their asking prices as those looking for home removals strive to find a bargain.

‘The rise in asking prices is an early indicator that new sellers in 2010 have the confidence to try for a higher price,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s commercial director.

‘We are now seeing the lowest number of properties on the market this century.

‘Buyers have little choice in popular areas, and while this continues sellers have a window of opportunity to obtain a higher price and a speedier sale.’