It’s easy to make lists about all the things you need to pack when you’re about to move to a new house, but what about the things you forget about? As experts in the furniture removals industry, we see the most common things people overlook and fail to do around their moving dates.
To avoid making the same mistakes here is a list of the “what not to do” so your moving experience can be the best it can be.
Don’t forget to change the utility and phone service information
Disconnecting and reconnection the utility and phone services may seem like common sense, but every day you leave it it’s adding to your bill unnecessarily. You’ve already got enough costs to relocate, so there is no need to cost yourself more with overlapping bills. It’s only a quick call and your energy and gas provider, as well as your phone and WI-FI provider, will be able to close the bill and reconnect at your new address. If you don’t require a reconnection at your new residence, you can simply finalise the bill in your name.
Mail redirection is a good idea
You may have all the best intentions to go back and collect mail after you vacate, or even have some helpful neighbours who might collect for you, but in most cases, you’ll get busy or they will, and you might miss essential bills. Many government departments like ASICS or the Roads and Traffic Authority won’t allow you to use your moving situation as an excuse for getting out of fines or late fees. Australia Post has an easy to set up mail redirection service where you can pay as little as $33 or $19.80 a month for personal accounts.
Redirecting your mail for even one month will give you a bit of breathing space once you’ve moved in to change the address on your essential bills. You may even be eligible for a free service if you’re in charge of a deceased estate, a victim of domestic violence or a natural disaster in Australia.
Don’t forget to update the electoral roll
Don’t wait until it’s time to vote to change your details on the electoral role or you could be missing out on important information and may be penalised with fines if you forget and you’re not recorded with your new address. To do this visit the Australian Electoral Commission.
Don’t forget to update the taxation office
If you have a company, it’s important to update ASIC with the new information as they have harsh late fee penalties. Similarly, with the Australian tax office and any Centrelink and Medicare information needs to be also updated with new addresses or you could be in trouble with the taxman later through the year.
Don’t forget your car
Ensure that you get in touch with the relevant motor vehicle department and update your address details, so your car registration is accurate as well as your driver’s licence details. In addition, this will also help to ensure that registration renewal papers are sent to the correct address when it comes to that time of the year.
Don’t forget your insurance
You’ll need to review all your insurance information for several reasons. If you’ve bought and sold, your new home may need to be insured for more or less depending on your home’s size and age, which could be saving you on your repayments if you’re downsizing. Secondly, you don’t want to be billed for insurance you’re not using and check on your contents insurance. In the case you have more or less contents than when you started your policy as your policy could change. It’s easy to acquire more furniture or inherit expensive items that may need to be re-thought in your content’s insurance over the years.
Moving can seem daunting, but at The Removals Group, we have your best interests at heart to help you with every aspect of the moving stage. Call us today to enquire about all of your moving and packing services.
