During my move the removal men seriously damaged a leather sofa suite (all three pieces) and they also scratched several pieces of wooden furniture as they lugged it up 4 flights of stairs.

I've just received the insurance claim form (Baloise) and it asks me to provide an estimate for the repair of the damaged goods. I am not sure where to start. Shall I try and find a leather upholsterer and a carpenter and ask them to quote for the repair, and if so, is their any minimum requirement in terms of the kind of tradesperson who can provide an insurance estimate and do I need more than one estimate?

Thanks in advance

Take some photos, goto an estabilished repair shop or ask a furniture shop for referral.

Then ask them for repair costs or cost to replace.
Take these 2 numbers and photos and go back to the transport company.

Normally the transport company has insurance and they will pay up (the lower of the 2)

HAT

sorry for you damage, had exactly the same situation! our problem was that we couldnt find a place to take the pictures to so we send the photos to the insurance company and asked them to send one of their approved furniture experts to come and do an assessment.
they did, and we've been paid out.
hope that helps...
SD

Similar happened to me when I moved from UK to Basel a couple of years ago. Pickfords (the useless twunts) insisted that they needn't remove the bed bit from very heavy,large sofa bed to get it out the front door. Consequently they ripped the leather on either side along with sh*t load of other damage which I didn't know anything about until furniture was unpacked 3 months later. When the fell-mi-laddy came around to assess all the damage, I made it quite clear that they could try to make 'good' the other damages but the leather sofa had to be fully reimbursed as I would not accept a repair. It caused loads of bother and paperwork and I waited, waited, waited but 'cos I dug my heels they completely reimbursed me in full for everything (took 3 months). Its a right pain in the ar*e when the 'professional' movers mess it up so I hope you strike a hard bargain and get whats fair.

This is the only similar thread I could find, so giving it a bump to see if someone can help me.

We want to claim against our moving company (UMzug 4) for damages and breakages etc. They are refusing to acknowledge our claim and will not send form or anything for us to claim.

They say we only had 30 days to claim but the Swiss law (Schweizerischem Obligationenrecht (Frachtvertrag))for moving companies and claims against them clearly states that we have 1 year to lodge a claim.

What do we do now, they refuse to answer our emails or speak us at all.

Any help appreciated!
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Try to call your house insurance and ask them to help. I know that part of the selling point when I did my insurance package with AXA Winterthur was not just what is insured but that they were willing to do the admin and legwork. This means that they could reimburse you first and then go after the moving company to get their money back.

Take lots of photos with time stamp, keep all written correspondences and record dates and name of the persons that you spoke to via phone and notes on what was discussed and agreed (follow up with email is always good as well).

Good luck, sorry that your stuff got damaged...another good reason why moving is a pain.