1-800-PACK-RAT® Reviews
The people at Pack Rat were very helpful since I had a lot of questions having never used a container before. The container arrived and the driver took extra care to place it just so in my driveway. It was clean and contained the moving blankets I requested. Pick up was scheduled for after I left the state but a neighbor told me it went smoothly. I chose Pack Rat for the price and the fact my container would be stored in a temperature controlled warehouse.
I have been very impressed with all the people I have come in contact with at Pack Rat. They were all extremely friendly, and helpful and patient even though, I was very stressed out. They answered all my questions and were very helpful in helping me to figure out the number of containers I needed. The containers were delivered and picked up on time. They were a pleasure to work with.
Company was unable to get the state i was moving from correct, even after several phone calls. I was called at 5:15 AM by the driver delivering the container because the state was still listed as MA, not NH. Also, the container is to be delivered in 10 days, but the company insists it will take 2 weeks because one Monday is a holiday. Really?
I had a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment to move, so I ordered one 1-800-PACK-RAT container. It was a tight fit, but everything managed to get in (including a queen-size bed and mattress, two dressers, two nightstands, a dining room table, six chairs, a desk, a chest of drawers, a sofa bed, and several other ancillary pieces of furniture). I was working on a tight timeline (drop-off and pick-up on back-to-back days). The delivery driver called me several times on the morning of delivery to keep me apprised of his ETA so I could be present but not miss too much work. I instructed him as to where and how to place the container, but when I came home later, I noted he had placed the container with the door facing the opposite direction of what I wanted. I never did find out if there was a reason for that, or he just wasn't listening. I paid extra to guarantee an afternoon pick-up the following day, because my moving help was scheduled for 10 am until 12 pm. Unfortunately, my movers were not the best, so it took them until 3:30 to finish packing the container. The pick-up crew called me several times during the day so I could keep them apprised of progress. They came to my location last, so as to give us extra time (and still ended up having to wait for about 20 minutes for my movers to finish loading). All in all, 1-800-PACK-RAT has been easy to deal with. But I did have to call them and ask them to email me a receipt for the moving charges (how is that not SOP?). I have always found their customer service to be helpful, and reasonably easy to reach by phone. I was considering them and PODS at the outset, but I preferred the customer service at PackRat. I would use them again.
Using a Packrat container definitely took a lot of the stress out of my move, by not having to worry about a truck + getting my car there. The size of the containers themselves are much larger than the competition's for the same price. It's easy to get the unit dropped off and picked up. I didn't give a 5 star rating though because of a few small reasons: their mobile website is awful. I couldn't pull up my contract or an invoice. When you're moving and your computer is packed, this is important. That brings me to my 2nd reason: I had to call to get copies of those and calling is such a hassle. They put you on hold for forever. The feature to have them call you back is nice, but it'd be nicer to speak with a customer service representative. Lastly, I was verbally told during my initial quote one price and he emphasized that "that was the final number, there wouldn't be any additional hidden charges no matter what." So I had that cost approved by my company and was then hit with surcharges. They were nice enough about helping me with those, but it took multiple phone calls and time, which would have been much more difficult and time consuming had I not been spending the day driving cost country. See previous hesitations above.
I am using this company in two stages. They have dropped the first container off, it has been loaded and Pack Rat will pick it up in a couple of days. What I can say right now, is that they have been great over the phone; the delivery driver was excellent with that container. We have alleys and fences and he was able to maneuver that 16FT container diagonally in our driveway so there would be no long carry, and then advised us to ask for him when we called in for the container to be picked up for storage. So far, I'm pleased as I can be. We will have two large containers or three; not sure right now. This is a very large move.
This company was so helpful with my move. They reviewed the contents of my house and made a suggestion on how many large pods i would need. They suggested i contact Hire a Helper to find packers and people to unpack the pods once at my destination.. They kept me updated on all things having to do with my move. They always updated me on times and dates. They answered all my questions and showed me a lot or respect. They made suggestions to make my move easier. They kept my belongings secure and safely locked with a lock that i had the key too. They let me tour the storage facility. I am glad i used Pack Rat Container move company. My God daughter used them and they packed her pod in Texas and delivered it to her new home in Hawaii. It is a very nice company to work with.
I will not use 800 pack rat again. We were told a 16 ft. container would hold our 2 bedroom, LR, DR and kitchen as well as our garage items. Even though I told the lady we hade oversized furniture she assured me it would fit. Well when all was said and done we had to rent a storage unit to hold what did not fit onto the pod. You can call U Haul and they rent containers too.....I will use U Haul next time.
It was a hassle getting a good date for them to deliver. There was absolutely no flexibility on their part. Be sure to get everything that has to be negotiated up front before signing up. The company is not customer friendly. Not made clear, for example, was that the 10 days advance notice for delivery doesn't include Saturdays even though they will deliver on that day. I'm not sure that I would use this company again.