Home-movers fear ‘bad-luck Friday

Published 13th Jun 2008

Superstitious Brits have been hit by a bad case of ‘Paraskevidekatriaphobia’…

While Friday is usually the busiest day for moving home, today is predicted to be eerily quiet as home movers put off moving to avoid the bad luck associated with Friday 13th. Moveme.com, the home move specialist has recorded a significant drop in the number of people scheduled to move home this coming Friday 13th compared to any other Friday in June.

Keith McNeilly, co-founder of Moveme, said: “Despite the popularity of Fridays for moving home fewer people are planning to move home this Friday. On a day already fraught with anxiety few movers want the extra stress of worrying that their move will go wrong because of superstitious worries.

“In fact, we have had reports from a number of users who have instructed their lawyers to avoid completing on the sale of their home on Friday the 13th. However, good organisation and planning should avoid anything going wrong on move day, no matter what date it is.”

Old wives tale?
It isn’t just home movers who are worried about Friday the 13th it is estimated that 67 million people suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia (a fear of Friday the thirteenth) and that around £400 - £500 million in business will be lost owing to people refusing to travel or go to work on this day.*

Harry Taylor, managing director of Clockwork Removals, says: “June is traditionally the busiest month of the year for removals. Friday is also the most popular day for moving, with many home movers taking a long weekend to settle into their new abode. But, this Friday – the 13th – is bucking the trend.

“We’ve seen an anomalous 14% fall in bookings compared with the same day last year. Instead, the number of people looking to move last weekend was significantly higher this year. It’s clear the people of Britain are a superstitious bunch. Old wives’ tales or not, the safest way to avoid broken vases and other moving mishaps is to get the professionals to take care of your big move.”

The superstition surrounding the number 13 is such that many hotels don’t have room number 13 and in Paris there are few houses with the number 13. In fact a recent survey showed that 22% of people wouldn’t buy a house which was numbered 13.

Source: ' Move Channel Ltd '

View All Latest Articles