ABF UPack® Reviews
The trailer leaked slightly in the front corner. We saw it was wet inside, so we put waterproof goods there. Seattle end was well organized and efficient. LA end needs help with organization. The LA end did not come at the time specified. Numerous calls needed to even schedule a delivery. We got there in the end.
I think they're very good although I had some property which ended up being damaged. This may or not been cause by the trailer going over potholes, bumps, railroad tracks, ect.; however, the damages may have been the direct result of poor and reckless loading practices by the loaders of the company I hired to load the trailer.
My experience with ABF Upack was difficult. Not a horror story like you sometimes hear about, but there was a lot of room for improvement. Loading - there were some coordination issues regarding the trailer availability which caused about a 15 minute delay in loading. The bulkhead was damaged making it very difficult to install. Cross country - no issues that I'm aware of and the unit arrived in Fort Worth relatively timely. Request for delivery - since ABF wasn't open on the weekend, there was a built-in delay since we learned we had been approved for our rental home on Friday evening. Once I called Monday, I was told it couldn't be scheduled until Tuesday. When I called back on Tuesday they said it wasn't scheduled because I had a balance due. This balance due was due to the change from a terminal delivery to a door delivery, so the charge was reasonable but the delay irritated me because they could have told me that on Monday and I'd have happily paid it. They did "make up for things" by getting it delivered to me at 4:30pm Tuesday and the movers I selected on Hire a Helper saved my bacon by being able to do a same-day unloading. The damaged bulkhead was loose upon delivery though the driver said it wasn't loose when he loaded the ramp (he was believable to me). Condition of the trailer - only upon unloading did I find how filthy the trailer was and our bed box spring is permanently dirty now. Would I use them again? Maybe - but I'd be a lot pushier about the pain points I experienced here. Since a trusted friend had recommended them, my experience was doubly disappointing.
The container arrived at the loading end very dirty. The floor was covered with blue slimy liquid and absorbent gravel that had been thrown on it to try and remedy it. Two of us spent 2 hours mopping and chiselling it out before we could load. The dispatcher for ABF threatened to cancel the delivery when we complained which compounded the stress of the situation. UPack did reimburse us $100 for our trouble but we would have preferred to have had a clean trailer upon delivery. Other than that the move was fine and it arrived earlier than expected with no other problems.
A little expensive but very convenient and cheaper than PODS. We way underestimated how much space we'd need and it was so easy and not too too expensive to use twice as much space. The customer service was really good, the drivers were very professional (and skilled when the delivery had to back up a long driveway with a semi...), and overall it was easy to get things packed, picked up, delivered, and then picked up for the last time. I will say it took like 5 business days which is kinda long, but overall very pleased. The silver shavings (or whatever) on the inside of the truck did get on EVERYTHING so if I did it again I would drape everything in blankets.
Originally the price was the best of all the other movers I checked with. I did not have professional people load my spot on the truck, so I ended up using more space than I wanted to. We did not load to the ceiling, went out more than up. Our fault, not theirs. Arrived a day or two early and was brought to my storage unit. The origination driver who dropped it off in Las Vegas did no explaining of anything. The driver who dropped it off at my destination in Palmetto Fl was wonderful. Very helpful patient guy. His name was Brian. Overall I am pleased with the service and would probably use it again.
The informational videos provided by UPack were dated and no longer applied to the equipment they provided, but they also provided additional equipment that I was not expecting. The dispatchers and drivers were very friendly and took time to explain to us how everything worked and our next steps in the process.
We typically drive a rented moving truck ourselves but this time went with a freight truck for the sake of ease. We will most likely never do this again. Many of our belongings were broken and although most of this was due to the movers who loaded the truck, we also believe the truck itself caused damage due to not having the proper shocks like the smaller trucks. It is a hassle to drive a rental truck yourself, but it seems to be a better option for having your belongings arrive safely.
All the people I worked with at U-Pack were friendly and helpful. They more than met my needs and requirements for this move. The only issue we had was with the partition wall. The slip joints were very hard to move and one of the bars was bent. We had to use a large hammer to get it locked in place. To remove the wall, we had to partly disassemble it. Otherwise I would use them again but, would check the equipment a little better next time. That is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5.
Price was great. Company was responsive and helpful when it turned out we couldn't drop the trailer at our new location (had to go to depot instead). Trailer got dropped off and picked up on time. Got to our new city days ahead of schedule. Only hiccup was that we had scheduled movers to get the stuff from the depot on a Saturday - which UPack told us was fine - but when the depot called to let us know our stuff had arrived, they said they were only open Mon-Fri. We were able to reschedule the movers and the pickup went fine. Despite that, I would recommend UPack again.
The company picked up the trailer on Friday the 14th of September even though we were supposed to give them more of a 24 hour notice. The only comment I have is the trailer sat in Kansas City, Mo from Sunday night, the 16th and did not get delivered until Wednesday the 19th, which I thought was a bit frustrating. We did get it unloaded on time, but am happy with the company and would use them again.