As From 18th of May 2020, We are now open
Info posted from Shutdown to reopening
Last week we operated a restricted service to Mallorca from the UK, this was for effects collected in the UK prior to our suspension of services in March
Travelling down through France we did have a run in with the Gendarmes, the interpretation of rules, what is “essential” goods and what was not, the fact was that we were “Transiting France” not delivering there, my understanding is that in France there is a 100% lockdown on Removals
Our truck arrived here in Mallorca on Wednesday the 22nd, he did a Trailer swap, straight back on the same boat with a full load of goods, again these items collected prior to the Spanish lock down
So what can we do here in Spain, we can deliver to your address only if it is not of a shared access, i.e. its not an Apartment block, certain interpretations are that the whole block has to agree to any “non essential” trades persons entering. We are holding a lot of Jobs at our own Mallorca Depot as a lot of clients are not here, nor are the Police issuing parking permits, so certain areas we just cant get to.
All crew must wear PPE face masks and gloves, yes two can be in the same cab, it makes the Job very difficult and impossible to operate without breaching the two metre separation recommendation
Limited Collections in Mallorca are going ahead, only where it is allowed
With regards to the UK, under the Guidelines of the Government and our Trade Association the “BAR” we are not collecting nor delivering until a time where we are advised it is mutually agreeable to do so, this is for your and our crews saftey . Yes our 0044 1843 585055 number, sales@webbsremovals.com is being monitored , any query, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help and advise
Just to let you all know that Goods can be collected or delivered into our UK Depot, first you need to email sales@webbsremovals.com to explain what you dropping in, or collecting, remember the Depot is CT7 ONE, you then need to speak to Adrian our storeman , whom will by appointment open up for you, Adrian is on 0044 7974 788453
Yes we have a freight trailer coming down this week, ETA Saturday the 2nd, I’m on 0034 619 247 823 and available pretty much any reasonable time for your query
With so much sad news in the world right this really cheered me up, “What a Character” just wish I had been invited as well !
Mayor in Spain’s Mallorca fined €3,000 after attending alcohol-fuelled party during COVID-19 lockdown
A Message to the Membership of “BAR”
Here is a Statement from Ian Studd, The Professional British Removal Association, also at at
www.bar.co.uk
Dear Member
At the Government’s daily briefing this evening, the First Secretary of State announced that the current restrictions are to remain in place for the time being, and that the Cobra meeting will convene towards the end of next week to consider extending the restrictions further. I can confirm therefore that the Board and I are steadfast in our recommendation that anything other than the most essential of essential moves should continue to be suspended until further notice. I am still working hard at trying to get Government to mandate what should be considered as essential and that all other activity must be halted until the current restrictions are formally lifted. I will update of course as or when I have anything to report back on my correspondence with HMG.
To confirm why the BAR has adopted the stance that it has in recommending that our Members should suspend all operational activity, please refer to the below extract from correspondence that has been sent to numerous government ministers and departments, as well as to other representative bodies that are aligned to our industry;
New emergency legislation in the UK says no one in the country is allowed to leave their home “without reasonable excuse”. Several new activities which are permitted have been added to a list outlined by the Prime Minister on Monday. They include moving house, fulfilling legal obligations, accessing critical public services and to escape injury, illness or the risk of harm. There is no limit in the legislation on the number of times each day a person may leave their premises. Police now have powers to “direct” and “remove” people to their homes and use “reasonable force” to do so, if they’re not complying with the new laws.
This is simply madness. It may be that the interpretation is that it is permissible for an individual to be outside of his/her/their home because of moving house, but that doesn’t put removals companies into the permissible category for continuing to be at work. The British association of Removers strongly believes that the reasons why our industry needs to shut down are as follows; Government/ Chief Medical Officer/Public Health England all continue to emphasise what the PM said on Mon 23rd March; ‘From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home. The critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households and businesses’.
He/CMO/PHE have continued to stress the need for the necessary level of social distancing to be maintained at all times, for those at work as well as those at home to ensure that we do not accelerate the transmission of the virus and therefore risk overwhelming the NHS On that basis, our position is that it is unsafe for our crews to continue delivering move services to our clients as; It is impossible for removals crews to maintain that social distance as they go about their business Crew of 2 or more people riding together in the confined space of the vehicle cab for (potentially) considerable amounts of time Carrying heavier items which require 2 members of staff to complete, during which time they will be very close to each other Manoeuvring those same items in very confined spaces where crew members can be almost face to face The van blankets used to protect the items being moved whilst in transit, whilst laundered regularly are certainly not laundered after each individual move and so there is risk that transmission could be inadvertently aided from one household to another The time required for a move to be completed means that the crew and the customer will be exposed to that heightened risk for many hours or even days That same crew will complete potentially 5 different moves over the course of the working week, that is 5 different households that they will have been exposed to and the household members in return exposed to the crew. The risk of passing on any bug or virus is therefore much magnified Collectively BAR Members would normally complete between 5,000 and 6,000 transactions every week and so the risk of involuntary transmission is simply enormous The BAR continues to petition for Government to formally suspend/pause/cancel all moves in the UK since immediately after that initial broadcast A memo went out that same evening (23rd March) to all BAR Members recommending that they only complete moves in progress and then suspend all operational activity until the PM lifts the current lock down and we have maintained that position from then on The absolute priority is to comply with the very necessary need to focus on protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff, customers and their respective families.
A further development is that the Chairperson of the Conveyancing Association (Paul Smee) and the Law Society President (Simon Davis) have recently confirmed that conveyancers and solicitors have reached agreement on the wording of an additional term that can be appended to house buying and selling contracts to allow completion dates to be varied for the duration of this period of lock down as a consequence of the COVID 19 pandemic.
There is, in our view, no more pressing priority than paying absolute heed to the government’s instructions and cancelling all but the most essential move transactions and even then, only fulfilling those very exceptional transactions once a full risk assessment has been completed and agreed by both the mover and the consumer, the necessary* PPE procured and provided to all crew members and any associated costs agreed before commencing the move.
*necessary PPE should be in accordance with the latest guidelines issued by Public Health England, The Government’s guidance and advice and the Health & Safety Executive. If that PPE is unavailable, then it is our belief that the move should not be operated.
I will again reiterate that the recommendation that we made on 23rd March to suspend all operational activity has not changed, and we therefore strongly encourage all Members to continue follow that recommendation. To quote the Government’s clear instruction; Stay home; Protect the NHS; Save lives.
I hope that clarifies our position but please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.
Ian Studd
Director General
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Now have a look at this,
BBC News @kevinpeachy 8th of April
Bit Hypocritical, when Solicitors are threatening Removal Companies with legal action for not undertaking removals !
“Update ,8,4,20 ” News, Personal Views,
Controversy and “The Right Thing to do !
As in the thread it explains our present stance regarding our Services, to and from Mallorca Depot and the other Balearic Islands from our UK Depot
To Clarify, “Removals” is where more than one operative has to due to the nature of the job work in close proximity to another, the recommended 2 metre separation rule cannot be adhered to, See Removals issued two weeks ago at, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak
At the time of writing “Removals” to, from or within Spain are not allowed, this is heavily enforced by the Police and Army, now despite what some may hear and read on the Media, websites Those caught will be heavily fined. Have a look at the excellent Police Site N332 on FB, it’s also in the link further down.
What that has recently happened is that those whom in Spain are Self Employed and pay the Spanish Autonomos Tax, have been allowed to resume working, for example the well-known description, “Man and Van” can carry out door step, collections and delivery’s
Yesterday the compulsory use of “Masks” was lifted due to the simple fact that there are very few available to the general public, the Health Service has quite correctly seconded the lot !
From what I have seen is drivers using scarfs, homemade masks and always plastic gloves!
Clear fact is that a massive proportion of those working in Spain are on this very expensive, “Autonomos” scheme, I’m not going into politics, but “Health” is far more important at this time.
Although I hate to repeat rumour or speculation there is a possibility of the “Present Rules” being relaxed as from Monday the 13th, to explain, the rules in place are up to the 9th of April. Spain is due its Easter Holiday from the 9th to the 12th The 14th possibly being back to work,
We await those details and will report back as soon as clarified
Again in the thread below I have explained that both the Mallorca Depot as well as our Kent Depot are here to receive phone calls, emails to answer your questions and concerns, to remind you, Gareth Webb 01843 585055 sales@webbsremovals.com for UK, me here in Mallorca call me on my direct, rather than the Company mobile, I’m here Bill Webb on 0034 619 247 823, call pretty much any sensible time !
Our UK and Mallorca crews are retained on Salary, our vehicle fleet of over 25 vehicles in total are receiving maintenance and safety checks by our in house technician “JK” in the UK and myself here in Mallorca, back to getting my hands dirty I know !
“Webbs” operate probably the most varied fleet in the Removal and Transport, sector on our “Balearic Service, they are all owned outright ! , which is somewhat a relief in this present time !
As soon as we are given the green light from first the Government of Spain, UK, our Crews, their families and of course our clientele, we will be ready to roll. But not until
Now for those of you who may have read previous News or Blogs from me you will know I may have something “Controversial” to say!
The “Removal Industry” in the UK has many Movers from all four corners
We have a Sector of Movers in the UK whom unlike those in Spain are not regulated, this means that some may have no Accreditations whatsoever, primarily this is in the small van sector, same as me back in 1985 when I first started,
Then you have the small and medium size Movers whom are primarily regulated, accountable, offices, accreditations, members of Removal Groups,
There are many Removals Groups, Associations, Partnerships within the UK Industry, the British Association of Removals is without doubt, the Association to be a member of, they in turn are affiliated to the RHA, the Road Haulage Association, again a well-known Established group that has the respect of the British Government
In March The “BAR” suggested to the membership that in light of the COVID 19 pandemic that “Removal Company’s” should complete work already in physical progress and then stop, the Suggested two metre separation rule between operatives as recommended by the UK government in the link given was just not possible, the risk to both clients, operatives, their family was just not acceptable,
The “BAR” cannot instruct its members to stop working, that can only come from the British Government, All “Removal Company’s” across the board are available for NHS and similar essential user work, with the correct PPE, Goes without saying !
So right now, in the UK there is a Split of Movers whom are abiding by professional guidelines and those whom are clearly not and hiding under some guise of doing the public a service, this has rightfully caused a lot of bad feeling within the Industry,
The Fact is that there are some Movers now actively “Undermining” chasing “Non Essential” business other Movers have in the opinion of The BAR, a huge proportion of the UK Removal industry and myself through common sense have temporarily delayed, are these just the small hand to mouth “Movers” as I once were in the 80S, certainly not !
Especially with some of the “Senior” Movers whom should know better, what part of Stay at Home do they not comprehend.
There are those that proudly boast that they are carrying out a Full Removal Service to new enquiries, throughout this Pandemic, maybe Hire Vehicles, Un sign written Vehicles, even Vehicles with another company name on them
Got to ask the question Why, What do you think ?
They wont be remembered!
And For Webbs, we are the Only Mover in the Balearics to be both a member of the British Association of Removals as well as the Spanish Movers group. FEDEM , we are proud to abide by their professional guidelines at alas, obvious financial loss to those whom continue
The Original Post, 24th March
In view of the Spanish and UK Prime Ministers instructions we have decided in view of our Clients and Crews Health and Safety to suspend services until further notice.
Both the UK and Mallorca Depots are no longer carrying out Collections or Deliverys. yes we are available by phone, email and Facetime as required,
Goods already loaded at Kent, Calvia Depots, none of these goods can be classed as “Foodstuffs, Essential or Medical Supplies” hence our Vehicle crossing both the French and Spanish Border will be refused,
The Rules are changing on a Daily Basis
Just to clarify, yesterday we received deliveries here at our Mallorca Depot by various carriers, this being DHL and Rhenus Logistics, this was a “driver only kerbside delivery” this is clearly not suitable for Removals whereby two, three men are required to carry goods in and out of a residence. the law states that for health reasons workers must be two metres apart which makes our job impossible
We have been asked if we can collect “goods, effects” and hold in Storage until it’s clear to be transported, sorry No. however,
For those whom wish to drop goods of at either Depot, for Mallorca its Bill Webb 0034 619 247 823 . at our St Nicholas at Wade Depot its Adrian on
Yard 0044 1843 842118
Mobile Adrian 0044 7974 788453
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Any Goods delivered into us will not depart either Depot until it is safe and practical to do so
May I wish everyone good health and look forward to resuming services as soon as possible.
Regards Gareth, Dawn and Bill Webb
Update as from Monday the 30th of March
The UK Office remains closed however emails are being monitored, the Kent Storage Depot has an operative there subject to appointment as explained above
The Mallorca Depot is closed with a total lockdown as instructed by the Spanish Government this will be reviewed by them on the 9th of April, clearly no collections or deliverys can now be made, nor anything delivered into or out of the depot, again email and phones are being monitored.
As Soon as I have more information, updates, I will get back to you, Take Care and stay safe, Gareth, Dawn and Bill Webb
