1-800-PACK-RAT® Reviews
What a good option for those of us that cannot afford to hire a crew to move across the country. We did the 16ft Packrat & managed to fit a 3BR home into it with the help of HireAHelper. They also worked with us & stored our belongings locally until we could afford to send it across the country. Staff at the customer service line and driver, too, we were very satisfied & would certainly recommend tPACKRAT to anyone.
First off: Note that everything arrived in fine condition. But then again I did the packing! Also the original pickup was exactly within my very tight parameters. BUT: I paid from RI to Miami, FL. When I ended up buying in Bradenton, FL (much closer to RI than Miami.) I had to pay ANOTHER $1036 to bring the container to where they had stored it for 5 months (@250/month) near MIAMI. Therefore with them ALWAYS store near your origin so they can't rip you off for another COMPLETE move. Don't let them fool you on the extra time to deliver to your final destination after the move: They took the full 10 days to move from Miami to Bradenton, an in-state a mere 243 mile move!
We have a tricky driveway but Justin from PACK-RAT was able to maneuver the container so that the bay door was perfectly lined up with our garage and garage door. The container arrived at the time they promised and was picked-up at the time it was promised....so far, the experience with PACK-RAT has been excellent. We shall see how it goes on the other end!
1-800-Pack-Rat is a really effective, easy and logical way to move your household. All of the people we cam in contact with were easy to work with and they all really know their stuff. Our long distance coordinator, Ginger Ablonsky took every opportunity to go above and beyond for us for which she should get a raise!! There was one mishap in the move, a community mailbox was bumped and it had to be replaced. 1-800-Pack-Rat has stepped right up and will pay the HOA for replacing the mailbox. I would very happily (and have already done) recommend this company to friends, family and even folks I don't know!
1-800-PACK-RAT has been the best. The pod was delivered and picked up as scheduled at both ends. The pod was in storage for 8 months. All billing for both the move and storage were accurate. I had some extenuating circumstances related to my move and everyone at 1-800-PACK-RAT was courteous and went above and beyond to help me. Kudos to 1-800-Pack-Rat.
We used 1-800-PACK-RAT for a long distance move. Overall, we were satisfied, but the first drop off and pick up (in our home state) were a mess. Our previous home was in a neighborhood with street parking, hills, and narrow streets. I communicated all of this information when making the original order. However, it seemed to be difficult for the drivers for pick up and drop off. The first driver was able to drop off the container, but stated that the hill was difficult and advised us to leave extra space for the pick up. The information was helpful, but also difficult as the whole neighborhood uses the street parking. The driver who arrived for the pick up (round one) was not able to collect the container due to inadequate space, according to him. I called customer service at that time and complained because the amount of space was two car's lengths, which is what we were informed to leave. We scheduled a future pick up. In the meantime, I was traveling by car to the new destination, and planning to fly back for final repairs to the home, surrendering of keys, etc. Unrelated to PACK RAT, I was in a collision during the drive and my vehicle was totaled. This meant that all of the items in my vehicle now needed to go in the container that was supposed to still be in front of my home since the original driver was unable to collect it. Fast forward to my arrival home, and I learned that a driver had been in the area so the container had actually been picked up earlier than scheduled (second scheduled date). This was definitely meant to be a courtesy of PACK RAT since I had difficulties with the original driver, but due to the new circumstances, I was actually happy to still have the container...except then it wasn't there. I scheduled a visit to the storage facility, and was able to put the items in at that time, but it was definitely a frustrating course of events. Once the container was sent to my new state, everything was a breeze. We stored it for nearly three months, and visited one time to collect some items from it. Delivery to our new home was easy, and the driver was awesome for both drop off and pick up. I was very worried about space since the drivers in our home state (Missouri) had so much trouble, but the NC drivers were super chill and didn't have any trouble. The driver who dropped off the container even took time to talk with me about the best position to ensure it would be able to come out easily without requiring me to be there for pick up the next day. Our items were secured since we used packing straps and blankets as advised by PACK RAT. There was some moisture in the container near the door, but our items were safe and nothing smelled mildewy. No items were broken during the move. A spice rack fell from its original position, but that was probably related to the fact that I hastily threw it in at the last moment.
I hired Pack-Rat at the very last moment, since a regular moving company tried to take advance of me by asking double the quote I had received. I called Pack-Rat at 3:30pm asking if they could come and pick up my goods the very next morning at 8am and THEY DID I also had immediately helpers to load everything into the container. What a relieve having them, not only is a quote you receive from them a final quote with no variations, you know exactly how much it will cost you from beginning to the end - this was an 1100 mile move and everything arrived on time and intact. It is actually amazing just how much a container is able to hold of your household goods. I have been very pleased.
My brother used them when he moved from CT. to FL. and recommended them to me. I used them when I moved from RI. to FL. and they were great. Much cheaper than a commercial moving company. And the container is always in the vertical position when it is loaded onto the truck and when it is unloaded so the contents don't get tilted back and have everything sliding back against each other. If I had to move again (why would I want to move from FL back to New England and the cold and snow) I would use them again.
For the type of move I did, Pack Rat was the best option for my family and I. The container size, logistic planning, and price were exactly what we needed. One great thing was we were assigned a moving counselor who was our point of contact for the entire move. Scheduling the drop off was a breeze. The drivers who delivered the containers were very professional and worked with us in drop off, placement, and pick up of the containers. We used two 16' containers. It was a tight fit, but enough for our belongings. We'd definitely use Pack Rat again for our moves.
Use of shipping containers was a great option option for us as we were building a house and not sure of a closing date. We stored our household goods for three months with Pack Rat and 8 months with PODS. All goods were delivered exactly the way we packed them. We used one PODS 16 foot container and three Pack Rat 16 foot containers. Pack Rat was easier to do business with than PODS option, less expensive, and had a better solution for the load/unload process. Pack Rat also included 20 furniture pads per container and a lock for our long distance move at no charge. PODS does not provide any pads or a lock. Suggest you shop both companies plus others offering container shipping to make sure you get the latest good deal. I preferred Pack Rat over PODS.
The container leaked a little bit at the doors and ruined 2 mattresses. The customer service representatives were always friendly and courteous whenever I called to check the status of the pod's delivery. The driver for the delivery was very professional and expert at maneuvering in a tight parking lot!
