Guide
Why do tree surgeon quotes differ so much in King’s Lynn?
Two quotes for the same tree can be hundreds of pounds apart, and neither has to be wrong. Here is what usually causes the gap and what to check before you compare them.
Independent enquiry service, not a tree surgery firm. Your enquiry goes to an established local tree surgery firm, who quotes and does the work direct.
If you want the figures themselves, the prices page has guide ranges for each job. This guide is about the other question: you have two or three quotes in your hand and they do not match. The firm that rings you prices the actual tree, so the usual reason for a gap is that the quotes are pricing slightly different jobs.
Prices checked: October 2026.
Why two quotes can be hundreds apart
Most tree quotes are built from the time the job will take, how many people it needs, and what happens to the wood afterwards. So the same tree can price very differently when one firm is counting a climber and a groundworker for a day and another is counting a man and a ladder for the morning. Neither has to be wrong. They may simply be pricing different jobs.
The usual causes of a gap:
- One quote includes taking the wood away. The other leaves a pile of logs and chippings on your lawn.
- One includes the stump. The other does not mention it.
- One was given by phone from a postcode. The other from standing under the tree.
- One firm has insurance and the paperwork to show it. Insurance is a real cost, and a very cheap quote sometimes reflects its absence.
The access question
Ask any tree surgeon what drives price and you will hear the same word. A tree on a wide drive in South Wootton is a different job from the same tree behind a Gaywood terrace with a side passage. If the truck cannot get close, every branch gets carried, and the quote follows. If you can tell the firm up front how wide the gate is and what is under the tree, the quote lands closer to the final bill.
Things people forget to ask
Whether VAT is in the price. Whether the firm checks for a Tree Preservation Order. Who tidies up, and how thoroughly. What happens if it rains and the job slips a day. Most of these take thirty seconds on the phone and save an argument later.
A note on door-knockers
Someone turning up unannounced to say your tree looks dangerous, and could they do it today, is a pattern worth being wary of. Get a written price, take a day, and ring a firm you have chosen yourself.
If the tree might be protected, read the guide to TPOs and conservation areas before you agree anything.