Our Accreditations and Memberships
Anyone can call themselves a removals company. The difference is who stands behind the work when it matters. Bearded Bros has been moving households across Sussex since 2013, and over that time we have joined the industry bodies that hold removers to a real standard, audit how we operate and give our customers somewhere independent to turn if anything ever goes wrong. This page brings those accreditations together in one place, with a short explanation of what each one means for your move.
Most Brighton removal firms hold one or two industry memberships. Eight is genuinely unusual. Each one on this page involves an independent audit, a published code of conduct, or a consumer protection mechanism. Together they mean that if something goes wrong at any stage, from the quote to the day of the move to storage, there is a named, independent body you can go to. That is not something a firm with a single badge can offer.
We cover all East Sussex and West Sussex area and we can move you anywhere in the UK.

British Association of Removers (BAR)
Bearded Bros is a full member of the British Association of Removers, BAR membership number B006. BAR is the trade association for professional removal firms in the UK, and membership is not a badge you can simply buy. Members pass an external audit every year and commit to a Code of Practice that covers quotations, deposits, insurance and how complaints are handled. In practice it means you are dealing with a vetted, monitored firm rather than a van and a website.
Membership also brings three consumer protections that sit underneath it, set out below. To understand why this matters when you are choosing a mover, read why choose a BAR-accredited removals company.
How to verify: Head to bar.co.uk and use the Check a Mover tab. Search "Bearded Bros" by company name to confirm our current membership.

Trading Standards approved Code of Practice (CTSI)
The BAR Code of Practice is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute under its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme, and CTSI monitors members to make sure they keep to it. That is the same standards framework you would recognise from other Trading Standards approved trades, applied to the way we quote, take payment and carry out your move. For a closer look at what the code actually requires, read what does Trading Standards approved actually mean.
How to verify: The CTSI publishes its Approved Code Scheme finder at tradingstandards.uk. The BAR Code of Practice is listed there.

BAR Advance Payment Guarantee
If you pay a deposit or advance payment to a BAR member and that firm ceases trading before your move, the Advance Payment Guarantee steps in, either arranging for another BAR member to carry out the move or refunding the money you paid in advance. Our cover applies to inland UK domestic moves. It is the kind of protection you rarely think about until it is the only thing standing between you and a lost deposit. See what the BAR Advance Payment Guarantee covers for the full detail.
How to verify: The scheme is explained on the BAR website. Cover applies automatically to moves booked with any full BAR member.

Brighton & Hove Living Wage employer
Bearded Bros is an accredited Living Wage employer through the Brighton & Hove Living Wage campaign. That means every member of the crew working on your move is paid at or above the real Living Wage rate, set independently each year on the actual cost of living, not just the government minimum. Several of our team have stayed five or more years, and that settled experience is what protects your furniture on the day.
How to verify: Bearded Bros' listing is published in the Brighton & Hove Living Wage employer directory.

Move Assured
Move Assured is an accreditation scheme for removal companies that checks and monitors its approved members, including insurance and standards of service. It is a second, independent layer of vetting on top of our BAR membership, run separately from BAR itself and open to genuine customer reviews on each member's profile. Read what is Move Assured and why does it matter for more on how it works.
How to verify: You can search for approved members on the Move Assured website.

Checkatrade
Bearded Bros is listed on Checkatrade as a verified trade. Checkatrade vets each business on its trading history, insurance and qualifications before approving a listing, so it is not simply a directory anyone can join. Customers then leave feedback on real, completed jobs, and the profile keeps the full review history rather than only the best ones. That gives you a second, independent place to see how recent Bearded Bros moves have actually gone, alongside the Google reviews further down this page, before you decide to book.
How to verify: Our profile is live at checkatrade.com.

FHIO
BAR members give customers access to independent dispute resolution through the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman (FHIO), a government-approved, not-for-profit ombudsman. In the rare event a complaint cannot be resolved with us directly, you have a free, impartial route to a decision rather than a dead end. Read the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman explained for how the process works.
How to verify: BAR membership qualifies customers for FHIO's dispute resolution once a complaint has been through our own process first. Details are on FHIO's website.

Self Storage Association UK (SSA UK)
We run self-storage and crated storage from our Brighton and Newhaven sites, and we are members of the Self Storage Association UK, the trade body representing self-storage operators across the country. Membership means our storage facilities are held to an independently audited standard covering security, condition and operating practice, not just a lock-up with a padlock. Read more about our storage options or learn more about the Self Storage Association UK.
How to verify: SSA UK publishes its member directory at ssauk.com.

Accreditation articles
We are building a series of short articles explaining each accreditation in detail, what it covers, how it works, and what to look for when checking a removal firm genuinely holds it. Explore the guides below.
What our customers are saying...
FAQs
Not automatically. Accreditations like BAR membership require a firm to hold adequate insurance, and BAR members must carry goods in transit insurance. However, the type, level and terms of cover vary between firms. Before you book, ask specifically what your goods are covered for, up to what value, and under what conditions. We are happy to answer those questions directly.
If something is damaged, the first step is to notify us in writing as soon as you discover it. As a BAR member we follow a complaints process that is set out in the BAR Code of Practice. If we cannot resolve the complaint between us, you can take it to the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman for a free, independent decision. The FHIO's decision is binding on us.
Each accreditation section above includes a direct link to the relevant directory or member list. BAR members can be checked using the mover search tool on bar.co.uk. Checkatrade profiles are publicly visible. Move Assured lists approved members on its site. If a firm tells you it holds a membership but you cannot find it in the scheme's own directory, treat that as a red flag.
You are not legally required to use one. But accreditations exist precisely because the removals market has no mandatory licensing. A firm with no independent oversight has made no external commitment about how it quotes, how it handles your goods, or what happens if something goes wrong. An accredited firm has. For most people, the deposit they pay and the contents of their home represent a significant amount of money. Independent oversight is a straightforward way to reduce the risk.

