PODS® Reviews
Nowhere in PODS paperwork do they tell you that the pickup and delivery dates you schedule with them - even if you do it weeks or months in advance, as they recommend - are ESTIMATED WINDOWS only. We got a call the night before our PODS were scheduled to arrive, after a 2000 mile move, when we already had a crew booked, to tell us they would be delayed for a week. A week!! Not a day or a two. A whole week. The explanation was that they didn't have the euipment or drivers necessary and that they needed 9-11 business days for transit, also not something we were told, neither verbally nor in writing, in the other many phone calls when we booked service and signed contracts. So we had to scramble to cancel the labor crew, and purchase all kinds of things we didn't anticipate in order to camp in an empty house. PODS failure to deliver as contracted messed up many carefully laid plans and work schedules, which were arranged far in advance to accommodate the move dates. But when you challenge PODS (and anyone thinking of hiring them should look at the Better Business Bureau site, and see the long list of complaints about this and their canned responses written in legalese, something I should have done before using their service) they basically pull out their 'clause 27,' which is 'Force Majeure,' typically reserved for things like 'acts of God,' natural disasters, etc. Except that it's really only a matter of their poor management and misleading information. They also issue new documentation about your 'requested change of delivery' to make it look like you requested changes that they make to your delivery schedule without your knowledge and consent beforehand. I would have preferred just knowing up front that the delivery was a window and why it needed to be flexible, not to be told that -because they couldn't manage their logistics - it was essentially an 'act of God' that absolves them from responsibility. I would not recommend anyone using PODS and I'm surprised there hasn't been a class action suit given the number of customer complaints on the BBB site. It cost me over 10,000 dollars to move, and I really should have opted for a full-service company with greater accountability, because in the end the cost in terms of stress and anxiety (not to mention chronic back problems exacerbated by sleeping on the floor) is not calculable.
after the initial foul up with what time the post would arrive it went smoothly. The first person we talked to on the phone about the confusion could really not cared about the situation and put us on hold for 23 minutes, never came back. the second person who answered the phone did a wonderful job getting it straight.
Use PODS to move from Orlando to Chicago - that segment went fairly smooth, except they initially didn't honor the discount I was promised for storage in Chicago area (finally did, but only after several calls to customer service/complaint resolution). When I wanted the PODS moved to Michigan, they quoted a price that was HIGHER than the much longer move from Florida. Ended up using a rental truck for a fraction of what PODS wanted to charge us. Also, it was apparent that the PODS experienced a very rough ride enroute (or at the warehouse). You have to pack REALLY carefully if you want to avoid damage.
