1-800-PACK-RAT® Reviews
Only moved part of the contents of our home. The company stayed in touch with us before the move, confirming date/time and again verifying the arrival time the day before the delivery at the "front end." They originally indicated the container would be picked up after lunch on the scheduled day; they arrived at 9am. I pointed out the confirmed time to the driver, and he left and came back at the appointed time. On the "back end" they showed up right on time. An excellent job all around.
This was a very slick process. The two containers arrived as expected the day before the movers. The movers arrived on time and everything was loaded in the time allowed. The containers were picked up the next day. The PackRat driver, Oscar was outstanding. Having never used this process, I was nervous. He answered all my questions and put me at ease. This process was easy and I would definitely do this again. I like that my property will not be unloaded until it arrives at my next destination and I unlock the container with my key!
This review would've been excellent – excellent communication excellent service excellent price - except for two things. The first was that the pod was Weighed, it came in over 8000 pounds. and at first the driver was not going to take it. Then he told us that it would cost $1000 to go over 8000 pounds. Our question is: how would the user possibly know how much the pod weighed? We didn't have a piano or any extra heavy stuff. We did have a lot of books. It should have been a more upfront notice. The driver noted that that was the 3rd pick up that week which had been over. He called the company and they gave us 15 minutes to unpack 800 pounds worth of stuff. This made us unhappy as The loaders had spent a good half hour making sure that everything was securely fastened. The driver was very nice and assisted us but nonetheless a box of wine fell and was broken. In our haste. Second is that The agent who spoke to us on the phone apparently ordered an expedited service and added that to our bill but it was not reflected in our invoice. So we were charged more on the credi card. however a quick call to billing got that situation taken care of and I applaud 1800packrat for their politeness in the procedure.
The drivers that deliver the container were courteous and professional. The customer service experience breaks down at the Pack Rat corporate offices. You need to be very clear in what you are asking them and listen carefully to their answers as I felt the delivery time window was misrepresented to me. As a result I paid for two hours of Labor and had them sitting on their duffs waiting for the opportunity to work.
They were prompt in delivering two 16' containers....their communication was exceptional. The only improvement I would suggest is to have the containers swept out and mopped before delivery. Both containers were equally dirty and dusty upon arrival. I swept and mopped each container before loading and packing my property for shipment. Since my property was/is going to be sitting in these containers for a minimum of a year while we sell and build our next home, I wanted to feel confident that my belongings are in a safe and clean environment. Other than that, the process was new to me, but for sure would recommend PACK RAT containers again and again to family and friends.
Used PackRat for a long distance move from northern VA to NC. Because of closing schedules, we had a 3 week gap between loading in VA and unloading in NC, so the included 1 month of storage was perfect. Two containers delivered on time (at both ends). They were very large and easy to load. Be sure to pack the containers tight and use tie-downs to keep your things secure for travel. The drivers in both DC and NC were very friendly, and they were helpful in getting the containers optimally oriented in the driveway. We chose PackRat because of the large container size and relatively low cost vs. competitors. Would definitely use again.
Dismissive of the size of the load thereby allowing an overload situation by over 4000 lbs. This "oops" basically doubled the cost of the move and quadrupled the stress in the final 24 hrs to closing the sale of my home. Do not use PackRat if anywhere near a full load. A single 26 ft truck would have been my better option at half my final cost to a cross country move. According to the first driver that attempted the pickup, this is not unusual regardless what corporate may say.