U Pack

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1. An Absolute Nightmare.

   They did not supply the same type moving trailer depicted in their video. It was dirty and didn't have any place to tie ropes (as their video instructed). The "bulkhead" wall was just a broken, splintered piece of particle board with no way of securing it. Their trailer became damaged at some point and had 2 big holes in the roof. By the time our belongings had been stored in it for a month, we had thousands in damages (ruined, molding items). They agreed to pay only $160 for all of our ruined, expensive stuff. It's been almost a month now and we still haven't gotten their crappy little check. What a nightmare! They're rude, unprofessional and they take no responsibility for their negligence. I wouldn't trust them to move garbage! If you value your belongings at all, don't even consider this company, they're very shady.

2. ABF Upack Nighmare.

   ABF UPack has failed to provide basic services outlined in our contract to a military family during a cross country move. Yucca Valley Ca to Columbia Maryland each step of the process has been a colossal failure on ABF Upacks Part. Timeline: 3/22/14 Matthew Choiniere  Books move, explaining military regulations,  confirming that the trailer will be weighed empty in 29 Palms base approved stations prior to drop off.  Brittney Hunter from main office confirms they are familiar and will be able to do move as specified U-Pack Reference Number HHC1650814-D 6/23/14 Matthew call Fontana Office Laura is out 6/24/14 Matthew calls Fontana Office Laura is out 6/25/14 Laura from Fontana California office calls and confirms move dates and reserved footage (20 ft estimate) 6/26/14 2pm Lauren Choiniere confirms that trailer will be weighed at either 29 Palms Marine Base or Monument storage in 29 Palms California 6/27/14  9 am Lauren Choiniere  Calls Laura at the Fontana office the Moring of the trailer delivery  confirms that trailer will be weighed at either 29 Palms Marine Base or Monument storage in 29 Palms California is told to expect delivery from 10am-2pm. 12:45 Craig a driver from Fontana office arrives, he has not had the truck weighed at all. States he doesn’t know where any certified scales are.  The ticked of letting clearly states at the top where he needed to have trailer weighed.  Craig complains that a weight ticket is not necessary and we are making more work for him. 1:00pm Lauren Choiniere Speaks with Laura in Fontana office, Craig is sent to the scales to have trailer weighed.  Scales are 30 miles away. 3:00 pm  Craig returns to Yucca Valley Address.  He opens the trailer it has broken glass and debris inside.  He says he does not have time to clean the trailer as he is now late to pick up a trailer in 29 Palms. He produces paperwork demanding that Lauren Choiniere sign it quickly so he can get back on the road. Lauren demands a copy of the weight ticket, he argues with her for 10 minutes before handing a wrinkled shoved in pocket copy over to her. Lauren reads over the paperwork, it states that he need to sweep the trailer, show her how to set up the ramp and bulk head and how to close and lock trailer for pick up. He tells her that the bulk head can kill a person if put up incorrectly and that her husband should be able to figure it out on his own. Craig preformed none of these tasks . Lauren notated on paperwork what was not preformed. 6/28/14 C&C Moving of Riverside Ca packs house hold goods into trailer securing each tier with rope to prevent shifting. Bulkhead is installed at 18ft. Pictures taken of bulkhead and all paperwork. This is notated in bill of letting , as are weighing instruction in bright red ink. Trailer is locked. 6/30/14 9am Lauren Calls Laura in Fontana office to confirm that Loaded trailer will be weighed in 29 palms and is told to expect the trailer to be picked up from 2-4 4pm Lauren Calls Laura from Fontana office reminded her that the approved scales close at 4:30. The driver is not yet to Yucca Valley Property. Laura Sates they will send new driver out next day. 4:30 Driver calls Matthew Choiniere says he has picked up the trailer. Matthew states he needs to get it weighed at certified scale. 4:35 Lauren Speaks with Laura in the Fontana Office and is transferred to her manger Jason. Jason Assures that shipment will be weighed that night. 7/8/13 Jennifer Baltimore office Calls Matthew. Matthew asks about California weight ticket.  Jennifer looks and the trailer has no history of being weighed with a loaded weight.  Jennifer arranges the shipment to go to a certified scale in Maryland.  Jennifer also states that she does not know the linier feet in our shipmen as it was not measured by the driver in California and measures herself  20ft. Lauren calls Laura in the Fontana office asking what happened, is told that Jason was supposed to have handled it and has no idea why the trailer was not weighed  or measured in CA, Laura assures Lauren that things will be passed up the chain and taken care of. Matthew pays ABF a total of $5238 to have the trailer delivered. 7/9/14  Matthew Speaks with Jennifer, Jennifer wrote down 7/8/14 as the delivery date mistakenly and now cannot guarantee a delivery date of 7/9/1 3:15pm Eli the driver comes ,Trailer is dropped off without a ramp the bulk head has been moved and is falling down in pieces. Please see photos.  Eli arranges for new ramp to be dropped off on the morning of  7/10/14 7/10/14 11:45 am the ramp has not been delivered. Leaving us to pay for moving company time to drive to the home and the 4 hour minimum charge of $560  the crew could not unload since the ramp was missing. Matthew calls Baltimore office, is assured that the ramp will be delivered in the afternoon. 4:00 pm the ramp is not yet delivered Lauren Calls Baltimore office We ask the total is refunded $376 as we have photographic proof that the liner footage was 18ft and not 20ft.   We a additionally ask that the cost of paying to movers $560 reimbursed to us since they could not unload the trailer without a ramp. We also additionally ask that since the trailer was not delivered to us in 4-6 business days as outlined that we are reimbursed $500 for our hotel stays.

3. Best move ever.

   I was dubious after reading some of the reviews of U-Haul, but this was the easiest smoothest move I have ever had. The trailer arrived clean and the drivers were well trained professionals having no problem placing the trailer exactly where I needed it. I found out I needed 2 more feet than predicted but loved being able to adjust than leave something behind.   HINT If I had had more straps and a ladder I believe that extra footage would have not been needed, because my friends packing did not fill all the way to the top (9 feet is high!).

4. Would recommend to anyone moving!!

   I cannot rave enough about ABF. From beginning to end they were great to work with. I had to reschedule multiple times and they were so efficient in handling everything. I would recommend speaking with Erica Davis. She made me feel like we were long time friends. She explained everything in such great detail and made me feel so comfortable about the move. Once the truck was delievered to Utah I was unable to keep it there overnight so they made a special trip to come back and pick it up just a few hours later. Tom delievered the truck to Ohio and he was so friendly and helpful. He went out of his way and moved the truck a few times until we got it in the perfect spot. Then once I got my paperwork I noticed the footage was a little more than what it was supposed to be so I called and spoke to a gentlemen and he changed the footage and refunded my card right away no questions asked. Moving across the country is not a fun experience but using ABF they made it so much easier than I could have ever anticipated.  Thanks again!

5. Wonderful Service All-around.

   We had previously used PODS to move from OH to VA in 2013.  When we learned we would be relocating to the Williamsport, PA area in June of 2014, we again sought out PODS but learned that PODS did not service our new area.  The PODS representative, however, recommended that I try calling their competitor, U-PACK.  My husband and I had been completely satifsfied with PODS so we were both a bit let down to hear that news and leery of trying a new company, U-PACK.  We need not have been!  Our experience from start to end with U-PACK could not have been more pleasant or efficient and the cost was cheaper.  We had used one PODS unit (2100 sq ft house) in which we had to utilize every bit of space from top to bottom.  This time, we opted to utilize a full ABF 28' trailer (rather than several relo cubes) and by doing so, did not have to load "high" which we believe helped to prevent items from shifting and being damaged.  (Of Note:  you can reserve to use less of an AB trailer but should you want or need to utilize more space during the loading process, the cost per feet to do so is very reasonable.)  Naturally, one must be careful in properly tying down items with ropes and bungee cords and we have learned to keep and use old blankets, comforters, and mattress pads to protect furniture during our moves.  Each U-Pack customer service representative we came into contact with was exceedingly courteous, knowledgeable and helpful to include the ABF trailer drivers themselves. Our trailers were delivered and picked up on time.  In fact, our trailer was picked up in the Williamsburg, VA area on a Thursday and was already in PA on Friday (we actually think we passed it en route)!  Since U-PACK does not deliver over the weekend, we did have to wait until Monday morning for the truck to be delivered to our new location but it gave us enough time to clean and prepare the new home for our househould belongings.  I would highly recommend using U-PACK and we will utilize them over PODS whenever given the chance for our next major move (and we know there will be one again within the next few years).   I would also recommend taking the time to read all of the literature U-PACK sends regarding packing either the relo cubes and/or the ABF trailer as well as suggesting one reviews how to uninstall and install the bulk heads and loading ramps if using the trailer (videos all easily located on YouTube).  Happy Moving!

6. Terrible.

   I really regret doing business with ABF. They pushed back our delivery 3 times, while they promised ontime delivery. Therefore, I had to reschedule my movers and pay fine for that. It was the last week of June, which is the busiest time for moving and all of movers are completely booked. Then their truck broke. Huge attitude problme whenever I called.  Please, Please pay a little bit more and DO NOT hire them. .

7. It never arrived!

   Booked my Relocube months in advance. even received a letter confirming that the delivery was to occur on Friday 4-8pm as I have requested. Working 12 hour shifts monday to saturday. I only have sunday to move my stuff into the cube. Whent Friday came, the ReloCube has not arrived and I had to call their service center to find out that the ReloCube was not arriving! Their ONLY driver was apparently injured. Its a valid reason assuming its true, but I would have appreciated them calling me and telling me that it was not arriving as opposed to allowing to wait for nothing. There was no appology from their staff. The only appology I got was when I cancelled my order. I had to spend more money as now I needed to move ASAP. I would not recommend this company to my worse enemy.

8. Damages Items and Wrongly Bills.

   I would highly advise against using this company for moving if you value accuracy in the amount you are billed or if you value your items not being destroyed in the process of moving at no fault of your own. It is no joke that my family was in tears when we opened the trailer and saw many of the items we owned destroyed. I had multiple problems with Upack. First, I was charged for the wrong amount for my trailer usage. This cost was significantly more than was justified given the space I used (an extra $792). Luckily, I caught this huge error, but I was out of money on my credit card until they reversed this extra charge. Customer service was helpful in resolving this and I was refunded this extra amount, however I should not have to spend part of my time moving attempting to resolve billing discrepancies with U-pack. Second, my items were significantly damaged during the move solely due to the negligence of U-pack. Strangely, a large metal bar that I did not own ended up behind the bulkhead and on top of my furniture. According to one ABF employee, this was from another shipment in the same trailer. This metal bar resulted in a $500 desk being totally destroyed and many other items becoming severely damaged. Again, customer service was helpful and I received an insurance compensation that was only 0.10 per pound (I received less than $30 for a $500 desk). Of course, this was not sufficient to cover my items cost. It was very distressful to have items you just paid to shipped totally destroyed due to U-pack's incompetence with no fault of my own.Overall, I spent over $3038 to move my items across the country and was left with pieces of furniture and hours on the phone trying to fix things with U-pack.

9. Rude customer service.

   I decided to hire Upack for a long distance move.  When I called to set up the trailer delivery I needed it just a few days later.  The salesman assured me they would have the trailer dropped at my location on the day I needed between 8am and 10am.  I confirmed the date and times with him TWICE before ending our call.  Well, day of the move and no delivery as promised.  When I called to inquire where my trailer was the person on the phone said that the reservation I made was for the following week!  I assured him it was not as I needed to be at my destination at that day already and that there had been a mistake.  I even had the name of the person I made the reservation with and was actually speaking to him again.  Of course, he denied ever speaking to me.  The thing that angered me the most was the fact that he kept repeating that it was MY mistake.  No apology. No "let me see what happened". Nothing.  Complete rudeness. No accountability with this company. Any chance of me using or recommending this company to anyone is now gone.  Needless to say, it cost me a lot of money to change my plans last minute.  I am very upset with the way Upack handled this mix up.  Very unprofessional!!

10. Hire a real moving company!!

      We decided to use ABF/U-Pack to save a few hundred dollars on our move. We used them and the moving company they recommended (to load their truck for us) thinking we were making a wise choice. It all seemed like a great idea, but it was a huge HUGE mistake!
    First of all, ABF is a cargo company, NOT a moving company. They can call themselves “U-Pack” or whatever, but they showed up to our house with a filthy truck trailer that looked as if it had been recently used to haul dirty engine blocks to the scrap yard. I was shocked!
    The next day the movers were scheduled to come. When they got there, it was two guys in a pickup truck. My first question to them was, “Have you worked with ABF before?” I was assured that they had and they got to work.. without having brought moving blankets, or even cord to secure our load. Again, I was shocked!
    I have lived in Arkansas, Indiana, Pennsylvania (several times), North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama. I have owned four houses, and have lived in three apartment complexes. This was the first time I haven't just moved our family myself. I am getting older and didn't have any help. I should have moved us one more time!
    To make a long story short, everything we didn't have boxed up and extremely over-padded was damaged. One box was crushed almost to half of its former size. It was so bad that my PC had the heat sync knocked off of the CPU, even though it was shipped in its original box! My friend who builds PCs for a living (and had built this one himself) told me he had never even heard of a PC being internally damage during a move. Fortunately, it has a clear lighted case and I noticed the damage before I burned out my CPU.
    Anyway, the first person I was put in contact with assured me everything would be taken car of. I was sent a claim from, and began emailing a Ms. Graham on the whole process I had to go through to get my heavily damaged belongings repaired. We emailed back and fourth several times and I started the process of getting the parts ordered for my couch to be repaired. 
    I was told I had to send in their claim form. I was told once the claim form was filled out someone would most likely be out and assess the damage to our belongings. I began to sense a stall.
    So, I decided if I was going to be forced to follow a process just to get my couch repaired, I'd include everything that was damaged. I sent the form in and it was sent back to me with a notation that I had to have a price estimate. More stall? I put $875 (which was very low) just so the ever elusive U-Pack adjuster would finally show up and get a more accurate adjustment of the damage.
    After MONTHS of trying to get them to come out and assess the damage to MOST of our furniture, I finally got an email telling me that their contract releases them from any damage responsibility because we packed the truck. When I explained that they did the packing I was told that it was still not their fault and that I should contact their recommended “movers.”
    This is clearly NOT what they presented to my wife when she arranged for our belongings and valuables to be transported by ABF. This is also clearly not what I was lead to believe for months while I was going back and forth with ABF and their useless “claim form” process.
    The moral to this story is.. If you want to hire movers, hire a real moving company that will insure your property.. and skip thinking you are going to save a few hundred dollars with ABF and U-Pack.
    What you may just get is very damaged belongings, eventual denial of any fault by ABF (no matter the condition), an months of them pretending that they care and that they are going to make things right.. only to have “Oh, there is this little loophole in your contract.. and you get nothing.”
    I have filed a complaint with the BBB.

11. They Steal Your Belongings Avoid Them.

    AVOID ABF U-pack.
    AVOID ABF U-pack.
    AVOID ABF U-pack.
    They steal your belongings, and they do not accept responsibility. We rented a U-Pack from Ottawa, Canada to Milwaukee, WI. When we received our box, our TV was missing. We contacted them they said you have no proof, we do not accept your complaint. It was obvious, they themselves steal people's belongings by opening the lock that you put on your U-Pack. That's why they ask you to put your own lock, so they get rid of the liability. 
    SHAME ON YOU ABF.

12. Did NOT deliver to location as promised!!

    We were relocating to a home we had never seen in person. On the day of delivery they sat told us "sorry we can't make it to your house." Well how is that our problem? Well we got a trailer and the driver helped unload the cube. There were multiple things damaged. We carefully packed the cube; it happened durning shipment of course. This is the first and last experience with company. They didn't even try to make it right with us. No partial refund or anything. They promised a service and it was not delivered. Doesn't seem right to me.

13. Very happy.

    They offered me the best quote, but I was hesitant because I thought "well there may be a reason for it being so cheap" but read reviews online and I called them. In the initial called they explained everything, the process, the shipping options, what to do upon delivery, in sum everything. They gave me a quote but didn't push to make the sales, which I was surprised. I hung up and called again a few days later and decided to go with them. 
    The cube came they day we set up for it and when we were done loading it, we call and immediately they picked it up. They say it will take up to 11 days to deliver it to PR from Buffalo. In my case it took them 10 days. I wasn't actually expecting the cube already when they called that it was ready for delivery. We ask if it can be delivered another day and they did. 
    On the delivery date, they told us they delivery truck will be at the public stroage facilities from 9:30 to 10:00am. Howevery they delivery guy called us 9:55am that he was on his way. He actually arrived at 10:10. Not bad considering how bad traffic is in the San Juan area. 
    Everything inside was in good conditions, but very dusty, actually like a black dust. At  first we thought things we will be destroyed since they bring the cube in a Flat Bed truck. The cube was downloaded to the ground in an angle. We thought that everything inside was going to be shifted towards the cube's door. But thanks to the fact everything was very well strapped and very tight, nothing broke. You have to make sure to pack the cube tight, to strap and bubble-wrap everything, since they don't have insurance for things that break inside during the move. And things that can't get dirty, like matresses, make sure to get covers for them. 
    What I like the most how easy they made the whole process, basically was. Call, set up the cubes delivery date. Upload. Then they call and setup the arrival time, download, call again to pick up the cube. That's it. .

14. Will not use again.

    I did a lot of research before I booked ABF U-Pack and, for the most part, saw good reviews. I'd like to clear some things up for someone who may end up in the same situation I came from.
    First, I live in a 1 bedroom apartment. My biggest furniture is my bed's headboard and my couch. When I booked the ReloCube, I advised of the 1 bedroom apt, it recommended 1 cube. Let me warn you, if you are coming from a 1 bedroom apartment, with average furniture, say a couple medium bookcases, tv stand, couch, bed and headboard, dining room table, several boxes, you may want to opt for 2 cubes. (Or go with a different option altogether.) Now, believing my things would fit in 1 cube may have been disillusional on my part, but I only had other reviews and what the company advised me of. I had to leave a couple small pieces of furniture and still take 2 car loads of things for my move.
    Second, they estimated a time of delivery between 12-4 on Monday. They arrived at 5:30pm. An hour and a half late from the quoted delivery time. The most frustrating part is that I had to keep calling the distribution center to find out when they'd be there, when it should've been them calling me and letting me know. I can understand being late, just let me know. The other unfortunate part is that I had friends and family waiting to help me move, so they waited several hours with me before it got there. The delivery driver didn't seem to know that he had to deliver my cube until last minute because I had told him how I had called earlier to confirm and he stated he had been several hours from the location at that point. Very shady the way they handled it. But, I was already in too deep.
    On the website, it quotes you 2 business day transit times. I had them pick it up on a Tuesday (I called early that morning), and I figured it would arrive to my destination by Thursday, latest Friday. I call the distribution center on Thursday at noon to confirm it's in transit to my city, and it's in a completely different city. Lisa, the customer service rep was extremely nice and as helpful as she could be, but ultimately called me early Friday morning to let me know it wouldn't arrive until over the weekend to them and I would receive it on Monday. No estimated time.
    At this point you can imagine my frustration because I arrived in the city late thursday night, with friends and family in tow (from 3 states over, mind you, that were leaving Sunday night) to help me unload the ReloCube. Lisa recommended I called customer service due to the issue but ultimately suggested that it's only an estimated time of arrival. I received it on Monday. I again, had to call to get an ETA. The driver who dropped off my ReloCube was excellent! I can't remember his name, but he was the best thing about my experience with the company. Ultimately, if you choose to go through the company, make sure to book extra ReloCubes (I don't think they charge you if you book an extra one but don't end up using it. Definitely may want to really check on that though!) and if you have friends, family or movers that are unloading the ReloCube with you, pay the extra for the guarantee. Because they were late, I had to book local movers at the last minute and cost more out of pocket. Hope this review helps!!

15. Horrible Experience with U-Pack.

    I highly recommend never using this company!!  They lie by ommission.  I would never have contracted with this company if they had disclosed their business practices up front, which is no doubt why they omit to disclose.  For absolutely no reason they forward-date the pickup date by one day.  They do not disclose up front that they do not count buisness days on their estimated 3-5 day delivery.  They do not disclose up front that they will travel from your pick up site to a hub where they load commerical products into the remainder of your trailer and wait there as long as they want before delivering the commercial products and then getting to your delivery site. They do not disclose up front that there are extremely heavy bulkhead doors that cannot be closed or opened by one person. The result for me was an 11 day delivery that was supposed to be 3-5 and they offered a $50 refund!! And, they charged me for the entire delivery before I got it.
    And, they care absolutely nothing about the customer who has had delays in delivery. There have no customer loyalty, no interest in acting professionally about their poor performance and poor communications.  In my opinion they are a fraudulent company, only a fraud would hold back all that information until the customer is committed.