Sounds to me like the OP has a lot to take on board… and we’ve all come up with a wide variety of ideas…
When hiring/travelling etc…as always… get quotes and ensure they are like-for-like… and after that, it is up to individual choice.
So glad we are settled… phew… last time I said “no way will we ever move”… we were up and gone within 6 months… so you will note… I am carefully NOT saying that 
Personally, I can’t stand the pre-paid tank of fuel option.
When I’m trying to return a vehicle on time I just can’t be bother to be faffing around about trying to put in just a dribble of fuel so that I can return it super empty. You never know how accurate the gauge is so it’s impossible to do accurately.
I personally much less hassle to take it full and return it full and without the stress of worrying whether I’ve used all the fuel that I bought in advance.
On another sub-topic, yes watch out for the pre-authorisation of a large deposit against your card. We hired a van to take to Ikea and the deposit taken by the van company combined the low monthly spend limit from the bank(regardless of bank balance) meant that we couldn’t use our French Bank Card. Using a GBP bank card incurred about £80 of forex costs that I had to chase down in UK to eventually get refunded.
Thank you all very much for your tips/suggestions/advice.
I will take this discussion document and peruse it with my wife and hopefully we will find something that works and is not TOO expensive.
The last thing I want is for people to come to blows over my query!
Thanks again.
Chris
Here on the forum… you will see that we act just like any normal family … (normal ?? 
)… sometimes we all get along and sometimes we bicker…
But, no matter, there is a wealth of experiences, both good and bad… and we share them willingly … 
A glass of something delicious is a good idea for the newcomer as he/she peruses the threads…
David, please do not respond to any of my posts. I was brought up in a different way to you and I despise rudeness. I have mentioned it to admin.
If you go on to the anyvan.com website (no doubt other such sites are available) you can describe your load, location and destination, and see what bids you get from movers keen to do the job. I got a low price and good service from someone near Wiveliscombe whose name I have forgotten, who does regular runs to and from France.
Disagreeing with a statement and rudeness are two completely different things. I’m sorry that I disagree with your assertive statements at times but I do that because I believe that you are wrong. That is not being rude.
Here, here. Why is someone writing anonymously anyway?
It’s OK Maureen… a long story… coming to an end any moment now…
He has left and his account has been anonymised.
Hi Petra,
I would love to have the name and number as we are moving our stuff from the uk to Brittany in October
Cheers Paul
I know this won’t be for you now Chris but I thought I’d throw this idea out anyway.
My friend bought a converted 20 foot container in the UK (he has a bit of land in France) filled it to gunwales with furniture and building materials, had it delivered to France and now has the benefit of decent lockable storage. Some thread readers might want to check out Containers Direct.
Hello Paul
With pleasure!
CRM Logistics Ltd
Tel No: 01622237979
Ask for Matt Smith or Katie Town. You can mention my name if you wish.
Kind regards
Petra
Many thanks Petra, much appreciated.
Hi, we live near Avignon. Where exactly are you.
Sorry I’m joining this thread late. Just wanted to recommend a bloke we’ve used twice recently. He went to our house in Wales, collected the furniture, kept it in store, then brought it over to France (Auvergne). On both occasions he was cheaper than we paid for similar removals 10 years ago! He’s happy to do small stuff, part loads or full van load, and is especially good if you don’t have to stick to a specific delivery date. He is AW Transport and we recommend him. https://www.facebook.com/AWTransport2/ or call Adam on +44 7983 221145. Happy for you to mention my name if you decide to give him a call.
We will be in central Brittany, near Rostrenen.
Hi Chris,
Have a look at AnyVan . We moved to The Tarn 5 weeks ago using this company. You estimate the stuff you need to move and submit, then you get quotes to collect and deliver. We had 2 big vans (Polish drivers, great guys) who collected on Saturday lunchtime and delivered to us Monday morning, giving us chance to settle in. Cost around £1900 , but you have only one trip to do yourself. You have the option of going with the cheapest, or not. we didn’t, and were completely happy with it all. Brought plants and all sorts - we could have brought more. Hope this is of use.
Regards
Steve
Please can you put your full, real name… this is a friendly forum and we all do that… many thanks…
Hi Petra,
Jumping on the same ‘bandwagon’ I hope to require similar later this year and will enquire with them also. Thanks for the post 
Dave