Who To Tell When Moving House: Who Should Be Informed?
Moving home is not just about packing your belongings and booking a van. There’s a lot to do that you probably haven’t thought of, like notifying your energy supplier or signing up with a new dentist. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our complete moving home checklist.
There’s a lot to consider when moving to a new address, and contrary to what some may believe, it’s not just about packing your belongings and choosing a home moving service. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of admin to do when it comes to notifying companies and service providers that you're moving house.
You'll find that there are a lot of moving house checklists online, listing a few essentials in terms of who to notify that you are moving (as well as a few slightly more random ones - your pet insurance provider and car insurance provider, for example), but we’ve put together the ultimate list. This is the only moving house checklist you could possibly need - besides this one of course:
Ensuring that everyone is notified of your new property address is vitally important if you're to have a swift, hassle free moving house process, and in this blog we'll touch on why. as well as all the different providers you can make a note to contact before the big day arrives.
Why notify people of your change of address?
Whether you're updating your parents on your new contact details or letting the local authority know you're moving in, a change of address checklist like this one can help you keep everything smooth sailing. But why is it important to ensure everyone knows you're moving house? Well, firstly, you want to stop your utility providers from billing to the wrong address. This will save you hours of hassle in the long run, even if right now it seems like a drag. Keeping everyone up to date will also mean you can get on the relevant electoral roll and have your say. You'll also be able to keep tabs on postal subscriptions through royal mail, and make sure credit card providers aren't delivering your personal finance details to your new property owners. In short, there are countless benefits to keeping the relevant people informed - and it's better to do it now than much later down the line.
Utilities and services
This might be the boring part, but we aren't going to sugar coat it. As much as it pains you, you are going to have to let all your utilities suppliers and services know about your change of address. Think of it this way: if you have any bills, utility companies who have your address details need to be notified. These include:
Your electricity supplier
Your gas / energy provider
Your local council for the purpose of council tax
Your water and sewerage companies
Your mobile phone and landline providers
Your broadband supplier
Your TV provider, or home media services like Sky TV and Virgin
TV Licensing
Your post office – you can set up a Royal Mail redirection for the first few months after moving
A new address might not seem like such a big deal to you, but for your local authority, your phone company and these other services, your contact details have to be accurate for proper billing.
Finance
Anything that involves money, from banks and loan companies to your employer, will require a notification of your change of address. These companies include:
Any banks, credit card, or savings companies you have accounts with
Building societies
Your student loan / tuition fees provider
Your electoral register so that you can vote
The company you work for
HMRC for tax and National Insurance purposes
Your home insurance provider
Your car insurance provider
Any mobile insurance providers
Your breakdown recovery provider
Investment funds
Loan providers
Any financial service providers where you have private pensions or annuities
It's a hefty list, but it's an important one. Your old address is useless if companies are chasing you for payments, and the last thing you need is for any insurance costs to increase thanks to late payments. Actually, the very last thing you'll want to do is open yourself up to potential fraud and identity theft by sending important finance information to your old address.
Medical
There are two layers to this part of the new address checklist. Firstly, you’ll need to notify any of your existing health providers of the change of your address. A second thing you’ll need to consider, particularly if you’re moving to a new area, is to register with any new health providers you may need to visit, especially in the case of an emergency. You should notify:
Your local GP
Your dentist
Your optician
Your vet
Your Pharmacist (prescription delivery)
Your health insurance, including your dental insurance
Your hospital if you are having any ongoing treatments
Medical professionals might be smart, but they can't provide their healthcare services if your personal details aren't reliable. Your new address needs to be on their books for them to contact you about medication changes, send prescriptions and make sure you're attending appointments.
A few more things to consider
The most important companies and people you need to notify of your home move are the ones mentioned above, but there are some others you may want to consider letting know to help make your life easier:
The DVLA for your driving licence and car registration
Loyalty card providers such as Tesco
Any subscriptions you may have such as magazines, subscription boxes, or regular deliveries
Your library
Your school, college, or university
Any charities you support
Pet microchip databases
Your cleaner and gardener
Your milk delivery service
Online retailers like Amazon and eBay
Sports clubs or gym memberships
Any family members you still wish to contact...
To be on the safe side, it’s best to let all the above people and providers know as early as a month before you move to your new address. This is because admin changes can take time, and you're better off sorting it before the other home move hassle comes into play. It’s always best to be prepared.
Just for you, we’ve put all these providers and companies into one handy checklist that you can download and keep as you check each item off the list. Your change of address process is about to get a whole lot easier.
Helping you with new address admin
According to our research, it can take up to eight hours to notify all of the above companies, councils, and service providers, not to mention switching utilities suppliers and ensuring your national insurance is up to date. Hmmm…what could you do if you had eight free hours?
For all we know, sorting out your council tax might be your idea of fun - but what do you say we take some of the hassle away from your change of address? At Just Move In, our Move Specialists can contact many of the providers and companies listed above on your behalf, and have your home utilities switched to new suppliers at the best possible prices.
We understand that moving to a new address can be difficult, and with years of experience supporting movers to get things like change of address admin done quickly (and sustainably), we're well placed to provide the support you need.
If this sounds good, then what are you waiting for? Just Move In has got you sorted. Find out more about the premium Home Setup Service our specialists provide right here on our website.