U-Pack Moving Reviews (164 total - 150 good/5 neutral)

[farrah7031]

Bingo and Bingo.

Also, it provides a layer of deniability of who's at fault if anything happens. Best to go direct to the company.

[sgoradia]

[Editor's note by Diane: this is ABF review #130. Note that even with the cost of loading and unloading help, with ABF he saved a lot of money over the cost of a full-service mover. He probably would have ended up paying less than Moovers' initial GNTE quote, since he had only 3600 pounds (8 linear feet) vs. the initially estimated 5400 pounds (12 linear feet), but as he says, he avoided the cost of shuttles and transferring of the goods. His total cost with Moovers would probably have been about $4000 and with ABF U-Pack it was about $2700. This is about the difference that we normally see reported on MovingScam.com - ABF is usually around 40% less than the cost of a full-service mover.]

Recommended: yes
Date: 11/07
Move: CA to VA
Cost: $2221 for 8 feet in a trailer, door-to-door

ABF U-PACK : Good review for ABF U-Pack.

I researched for my moving services from CA to VA and decided to go with Movingscam.com referred service providers like ABF U-pack and Golden Key express.

ABF U-pack was great service to begin with except for little hassle you might have to deal with movers since you have to plan for good movers for your loading help since they make all the difference with how efficiently , carefully and thoughtfully they load your belonging for a LONG ride and for unloading, you can always hire folks from home depot.
Above all you still have to plan in advance so that they are all worked out in sequences which fortunately worked well for me since ABF was very prompt in response and scheduling. They delivered on time and I had to arrange for the parking slot for them in advance since I had decided to go with TRAILER service for my 2 bedroom apt.

Had initially estimated for 12 feet , but thanks to my movers who loaded all my stuff in just 8 feet and actually earned for themselves for their services. Saved me 600$.

Cost : 2221$ from CA TO VA on Trailer with 8 feets usage and
+ 450$ in total for movers help loading in CA and unloading in VA
I later figured that my total weight was 3600 Pounds.
Not sure if I saved with my moving service but am happy with the
- condition of my belonging (almost no damage)
- never transferred from truck to truck
- nor it was touched by anyone during the move process except by the movers i hired at origin and destination so no lost items.

Experience with MOOVERS Inc.
------------------------------------
I had also requested quote form MOOVERS Inc and was quoted "NOT TO Exceed " quote of 4800$ and decided was TOO high to pay for the things i have to move (rather sell it ). With this quote, because my origin and destination were an apt complex, they suggested only option to use shuttles which would cost me 400$ each (including 60% discounts) and not to mentioned my belongings been transferred 3 times from truck to truck during the move (which was very scary and all the reasons for damage and lost belongings).

So decided to OPT OUT their service.

[Diane]

Re-posting a review (#131) by "Jeepnnj" of a ReloCube move. Note that he/she secured the load by threading ordinary rope through the holes in the e-track - no special straps or hooks were needed.

Recommended: yes
Date: 4/07
Move: NJ to CA
Cost: $1700 for one ReloCube, terminal to terminal

12/13/07 - I used an ABF relocube back in April. Since I moved both from and to congested city areas I had to bring my stuff to their hub. I rented uhaul vans both times to bring my belongings from my apt to their location. In both Northern NJ and LA California they weren't too far from me (less than a 30 min drive). I loaded everything myself and the guys at ABF in both locations were super nice, friendly and helpful. I locked my relocube in Jersey (close to Giants stadium) and opened it again in California (San Fernando valley by the 5 freeway) with everything exactly as I packed it, I secured all my boxes and paintings pretty well inside the cube and they were all in perfect shape same as when I loaded them. I am very happy with their service . . .

I had about 10 heavy boxes that took basically the entire floor of the cube. My paintings were strapped to the side walls on top of the boxes. I used regular nylon rope that I bought at Home Depot. The inside of the cube has lots of vertical railings with narrow holes, which made it easy to thread rope that wasn't too thick. You could use e-track as well and use the holes for the e-track hooks, but rope may be cheaper and it worked for me. I guess the best bet if you are planning on using this method would be to stop by one of ABF's hubs and take a look at the relocube before buying ropes or strapping stuff. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 066#101066

[PDXtoDEN]

[Editor's note by Diane: this is ABF review #132.]

Recommended: yes
Date: 11/07 [?]
Move: Portland, OR to Denver
Cost: About $2100 for the whole 28' trailer, door to door

Just wanted to add my two cents. After reading the reviews on this web site, I decided to use U-Pack to move from Portland, OR to Denver, CO. The cost was around $2100 for a 28' trailer. I was moving a 4 bedroom house and probably could have done it in 22' - but it was nice to have the extra room. For the last 6 feet of the trailer, I used bungy cords to tie down a bbq grill, gardening tools, bikes, patio furntirue, etc.

I had an exceptionally good experience with ABF. One of the biggest reasons we chose them was the flexibility of 3 bus days to load and 3 to unload. I was a little concerned about the trailer roof leaking as some of the reviews here had mentioned. But, we got a brand new trailer. And, due to the monsoon storms in the NW, it sat in portland (outside, presumedely) in the rain for a week. When it arrived everything was bone dry. I put a tarp down on the floor as ABF recommended. When I pulled it up, I could see that some water had come through the bottom of the trailer, near the front. So, I was really glad to have followed their advice. I ran out of time loading and did not put a tarp over my stuff. However, everything arrived in perfect shape.

Every time I called ABF, I spoke with an extremely friendly, knowledgable person. The drivers were also friendly and helpful. They helped me install and remove the bulkhead.

The trailer was slightly delayed due to weather, but arrived in the estimated time. The price did not exceed their estimate.

The key to a successful move is good packing. Get everything packed before the truck arrives. Then, when loading pack all the boxes in as tight as possible and use rope and/or bungy cords to secure everything. I bought some straps from Home Depot for $15 that really helped tighten everything down. And, black rubber bungy cords are great for securing things like a bbq grill to the wall.

I am extremely happy with ABF and would recdommend them. In a previous move (SLC to PDX) I used a U-Haul, but really felt unsafe driving it. With the cost of gas, I think it would have been about the same - so why not let someone else drive? Anyways...sorry for the rambling review. Wanted to get it all in.

Last but not least - THANK YOU movingscam.com. I came across your website in Money mag (or Kiplingers) just before we moved. Great site! Thank you.

[Diane]

I notice that ABF U-Pack has developed a moving blog at http://blog.upack.com/ People might want to look at it for answers to moving-related questions and to see how U-Pack compares to other companies.

[Diane]

[Editor's note by Diane: re-posting a series of posts by "jage" about a move using 5 ReloCubes from Tucson to Denver in 1/08. This is ABF review #133.

I questioned ABF about the $150 fee for delivering more than 4 ReloCubes that the customer mentions at the end of his posts. My contact there said this fee is charged only if more than 4 ReloCubes are delivered and the customer doesn't use them. The reason for the charge is that ABF's standard equipment can handle only 4 ReloCubes at a time. If more than 4 are delivered, a second trip is needed to deliver the cubes and also to pick them up (empty), and there is a $150 charge each way for this, i.e. $300. However, no fee is charged if - like this person - the customer in fact uses the extra cube or cubes beyond 4.

Bottom line:- just to clarify, this customer was not charged $150 for the delivery of more than 4 ReloCubes. In fact, his shipment of approximately 10,000 pounds was moved 850 miles from Tucson to Denver for only $1985 (see below).]

Recommended: NO ; one ReloCube was misplaced in Denver and delivered 4 days after the others and the customer was dissatisfied with the settlement amount ($100)
Date: 12/07-1/08
Move: Tucson to Denver
Cost: $2085 for 5 ReloCubes, door to door (minus $100 refund for delayed delivery = $1985)

1/7/08 8:55 am - We ordered 6 ReloCubes in Tucson hoping to use 4. We wound up using 5, and until the driver showed up to deliver them no one said a word about how bad of an idea using more than two is.

I'm planning on writing a full review about my ABF experience end to end, but since one has been lost the experience is starting to stretch out into eternity, and I'm starting to get pissed off.

Here's what happened. Four full cubes got picked up at our Tucson address on Wednesday 12/26 at about 9 am. At 11 am the driver picked up a fifth full cube and an empty.

We hit the road and about an hour outside of Denver contacted ABF. Friday 12/28 Carolyn informed me that all five were ready for delivery on Monday the 31st. Since there was a holiday we decided to take delivery on Thursday the 3rd of January. She also mentioned that the cube drop must be free of ice, and they would prefer free of snow.

I offered to let them drop off a cube or two on Wednesday if it benefited their schedule, but after checking Carolyn said they would prefer to deliver all five on Thursday. Unlike the drop off of the empty cubes, no time frame was given.

Wednesday the 2nd I spent 9½ hours chipping the ice and snow out of the driveway in anticipation of the cubes showing up bright and early. Our location is Northglenn which I'm told is quite close to the hub.

After pacing all morning [on the 3rd] wondering when the cubes would get here, I finally decided to call ABF. It was 11:50 am and Carolyn said, "You don't have an appointment," and she also admitted that they didn't yet have one of our cubes.

We went over the numbers to determine the missing cube and then I was assured the remaining cubes would be delivered "before dark" despite the system malfunction. I was a little surprised that Carolyn didn't remember our conversation as everyone at ABF is always surprised I have 5 cubes.

Instead of getting the promised call back from ABF about the delivery, at 4:24 pm ABF called. I was told at this time the driver would be at my place in one hour.

They called again at 6:17 pm. I was told at this time that "The driver got held up" and he was on his way to the yard. He would be at the yard in an hour to pick up our cubes and then deliver them.

At 8pm [on the 3rd] the ABF truck came and delivered three cubes from the original 4 that were picked up and the "5th" cube. Since they neither load nor unload in any particular order that I could see, and since at least a few transfers had surely been made this isn't surprising that the one was one of the "middle" cubes.

Since then I've had four conversations with ABF regarding the missing cube. At every turn I've been assured it is not lost, although they've given up on saying "We think it's at Baltimore" or "It's probably at Dayton".

ABF has known they didn't have the cube since Monday 12/31. My last call was 9am Mountain today, Monday 1/7. Again, MY call. I have yet to single call FROM ABF regarding the missing cube.

Worst of all they don't know where my cube is. Ostensibly they've been looking for it for a week. Since it's later on the East Coast those locations have even had a couple extra hours. No yard or location has located it and only now has it been escalated to "the people at UPack".

Apparently they have "detectives" and this happens occasionally. I was given the number for UPack and informed it might be difficult to get ahold of someone, but they would certainly locate my cube.

In the meantime I've put off hiring movers to unload my other cubes until the last minute (this afternoon) and we've been living without our refrigerator, both couches, washer & dryer, printers (for our jobs) and a laundry list of other small things that went into that cube. Unfortunately there was no "good" cube to have been lost, but this particular one hits pretty high on the inconvenience chart.

The worst is that some beautiful rainbow pillows my aunt made for our wedding were in there. I'll cry if those are lost.

I've been assured that there will be compensation for both the late delivery and the "it's-not-lost" cube, but that until the cube is located the process can't be started. I have no idea what kind of process or what type of remuneration will be available, but I'm leaving in two days for California which will leave my wife to deal with the missing cube and the second round of movers we will need to hire to unload it.

I can't tell you how distressed this all makes me. The advice on this site has been great so any support or recommendations would be welcome.

........

........

1/7/08 10:33 am - The question of storage of one or more cubes was up in the air at the time I was asking questions, (eg. 3 cubes to a house, the rest to a storage facility) but we managed to rent a house which has space we can use as storage.

So in the end there were a few major reasons (I plan to go into all this in my review, along with "why this was a not-great idea"):
1. I only read one account of advice saying "don't use so many cubes" and that was somewhat anecdotal.
2. In all my research I couldn't come up with any good reason not to.
3. The idea of my heavy garage items in the same space with my wife's furniture was unappealing.
4. With a trailer everything has to get loaded front to back, which means moving guys getting paid the whole time (in my case). Our goal was to pay moving guys to load all the heavy items we could not handle and then finish all the cubes ourselves. With a cube I can actually help, with a trailer I could probably barely get in and out to supervise (because of the ramp vs. the lip).

We wound up paying two people from eMove for 8 hours and having to finish all 5 cubes (well finish 4 and refinish the one they finished ourselves) and that is where the rub came. For cubes you have to finish each and every one, with a trailer you keep loading until the end and finish once.

On the unload it worked much better as my wife and I have managed to unload 80% or more of the four cubes we have on our own, leaving only the furniture and heavy items for the movers.

I was upfront with both movers about this, and they were both OK with the process, however the pain in the rear it was to finish each cube quickly became apparent on loading and took my wife an I several days to complete.

Had I know it would take 8+ hours to start the cubes and many more for my wife and I to finish them a trailer and a fully paid load and unload would have made more sense.

And guess what? Carolyn just called and said the missing cube was ready for delivery and would be here in about 3 hours [on the 7th]. There was no explanation as to where it's been or what happened that it was gone one minute and waiting for a truck the next. Tut tut. We'll see.

1/11/08 - Put in a call today to UPack to see what kind of refund they are going to award for all of our trouble with this move. I don't know what all has been documented in their systems, but I seriously doubt it conveys all the stress and headache that we went through. I mean, come on, they lost our cube for an entire week!

1/16/08 - Well ABF made us a gigantic concession for all the trouble. $100. They're claiming that the 4 cubes were delivered within reason and since the 5th "missing cube" was actually sitting in Denver the whole time that's the best they can do. That doesn't even cover the cost of delivering over 4 cubes ($150).

The amount of "savings" was not nearly worth the trouble. Apparently they have little concept of how inconvenient all of this was, so I'm changing my answer to the previous question about using a full service mover.

I'm also not going to bother to write that review. Anyone who wants to use ABF can just figure it out on their own as far as I'm concerned.

Consider my rating negative.

Thanks MovingScam for all your help and everyone's advice! -

http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15393

[Diane]

[Editor's note by Diane: I am re-posting this review (#134) from Epinions. It was posted on 1/12/08 by "tigrrrtoo" at http://www10.epinions.com/content_414359785092 The BBB report on Express Movers is at http://alaskaoregonwesternwashington.bb ... m=22069607 and its owner is listed there as Toni Powell. I spoke with her on the phone and got some further details about her company that I have posted on the Superlist under Washington State since MovingScam is always looking for reputable companies that can do loading and unloading of container shipments.]

Topic title: OPINION OF ABF, BY A LOCAL MOVING COMPANY OWNER

Pros: Timely, ethical, cost-effective, secure.

Cons: A bit more work than using a van line.

Full Review

I own Express Movers, a Seattle company that does only local moves. My crews often load or unload for U-Pack customers. When my own customers need to move cross country I recommend ABF. One bonus is that the customer can lock up their belongings and keep all the keys for security. (I recommend keeping one key on your person and mailing one to your new address) I also like that ABF allows plenty of time to load their containers. In our experience they have always arrived on time. Best of all, 100% of the customer feedback about ABF has been extremely positive.

Reputation is everything for our small business in this highly competitive field, so I choose to whom I will refer with caution, knowing that their quality (or lack of) will reflect on me. I am confident in referring to ABF.

To confirm the legitimacy of this review, or for help with load/unload on the Seattle end of your move, please feel free to contact Express Movers at 206-276-4599.

[skrimpy]

[Editor's note by Diane:- I'm grateful that this person posted such an incredibly detailed report (ABF review #135). Her before and after photos show clearly that with careful packing and loading, shifting is very minimal. (It also helped that she didn't load all the way to the roof.)]

Recommended: Yes!
Date: 1/08
Move: Effingham, SC to Traverse City, MI; about 1000 miles
Cost: $921 for 10 linear feet in trailer.

I was incredibly pleased with my experience with U-Pack, as was my fiancé. I was originally looking into a Penske van and was dreading the move. He would have had to drive the truck while I followed in the van with the kids. I've never driven on snow before (and going to Michigan in January we were going to encounter snow). We were also going to have to pay for all the gas for our 1000 mile drive.

I was really pleased to learn about ABF and even more pleased when I read all the reviews here at Moving Scam (I'm writing a detailed review b/c I appreciated those most!). I got an ABF quote from their website and was very, very pleased with the price. My fiancé said if I felt like it was a good deal, go for it, so I called and booked the truck.

ABF employees were courteous and helpful from the get-go. They answered all my questions and set up my reservations, noting the discount code I had for $50 off (from the USPS change of address packet). I also double checked to be sure there would be ramps included at both ends, and there were (for no additional charge).

I took a lot of care with packing my belongings. I spent around $150 on packing materials. I bought two dish packs from Lowes for my grandmother's china. I bought two small rolls of bubble wrap for my breakable trinkets (don't have many, I am NOT a packrat!). I bought one big roll of shrink wrap from Lowes and two 4-packs of 10 foot ratchet straps (I think they were around $14 per pack). The day before the truck was to arrive we went to Uhaul and rented 1 dozen blankets for a 1 way move; I think they were about $10. We also rented two furniture dollies for that end, as my fiancée had furniture dollies already here at our new home.

I got all my boxes free by frequenting the local liquor store, lol! My mom suggested the idea and it was a great one; their boxes were sturdy and mostly uniform in size. Also small enough to pack with heavy things. I had a lot of books and canned goods to transport.

Our truck arrived right on time on our packing morning. The driver was courteous in helping us get it parked in the yard and was ok with my landlord being there to oversee things. The inside of our truck was clean and had tracks along the sides to put our ratchet strap hooks into.

The first thing I did was measure 10 feet from the front of the truck and put down a line of red tape. Then I laid a tarp down for us to start loading. I had my fiancé, my brother, and to some extent my landlord helping on this end.

The first thing we loaded was my grandfather's upright piano. This is what I was most nervous about going on a freight truck. I want to share how we did it. My piano came through in excellent condition. No damage at all. Just needed tuning

First we padded the piano with two furniture blankets and shrink-wrapped those on. We also padded the piano bench with one blanket and shrink-wrapped that. Then they lifted one end of the piano up and I slid a dolly under. Same with the other end of the piano. They ratchet strapped the dollies to the piano with 3 or 4 straps width-wise and one very long strap we borrowed from my landlord length wise.

They rolled the piano through the house and onto the porch. They'd set the ABF ramp up off the porch and rolled the piano very slowly down that. They let the piano rest on the ground while they moved the ramp to the truck and with care and effort pushed it slowly up the ramp. I couldn't watch that part so I don't know exactly how they did it

We put my son's twin sized mattress right up against the truck bulkhead and rolled the piano in front of that. They used one of the 10ft ratchet straps to ratchet it tight against the mattress after removing it from the furniture dollies. Once placed in this way the piano was immobilized. Here are two screenshots to show you the piano:

This first has a toddler bed mattress in front of it which didn't end up staying that position.



The second is an up close shot of the piano bench under the piano:



One more thing they did to help the piano was lay the music holder down (before we padded it, so you can't see it in the pic). They put boxes around it and laid the "bunky board" from my son's bunkbed over the boxes, leaving a small open space around the music holder. My fiancé did this because he was worried it might snap off. His idea worked and it was fine when the truck arrived

We took two days to load my 2 bedroom house and took up exactly 10 linear feet. I didn't take all of my furniture so I'm not sure how a completely furnished 2 bedroom house would have fit in 10 linear feet. I did take this furniture: the upright piano, my full sized cedar chest (hope chest), my washer, dryer, and range oven, my small lazyboy recliner/rocker, my son's bunkbed, a toddler bed, a dresser, a chest of drawers, and a swing set!

I bagged all of the clothing we weren't taking in our van and used it along with linens and bedding to add padding to our load. We packed as tightly as we could; really my fiancé did a great job deciding how to pack. Here's a picture of the truck loaded when we finished. This picture was taken at night after we finished loading (we took two days to load):

<--- BEFORE MOVE

We left the next morning. I put my two computers, our clothing, and some toys for the kids in the van with us; everything else was on the ABF truck. Our drive was very pleasant riding in the van and we were very glad to not be driving a rental truck through the heavy snow we encountered in Ohio. We took two days to drive 1000 miles.

When we arrived at our new home I hooked up the computers and tracked our truck. Upon tracking I noticed it had been recorded as 11 linear feet. That was a Friday night so Monday morning I called ABF's customer service center. I was extremely, extremely impressed with the service. She was courteous and very helpful, assuring me the truck could be remeasured. Then Tuesday morning I noticed it had been changed to 10 feet online. An hour or so later my customer service rep called me back to let me know she'd requested the remeasure and that it had been changed!! She was so helpful. At that point the charge had already hit our credit card, and it only took a couple of days for the refund for the 1 linear foot to process through. I was so pleased.

Our truck arrived in the MI terminal on Tuesday and they called me mid-afternoon to schedule delivery. They agreed to deliver Friday afternoon without any extra charge for the couple of extra days (this meant my fiancé only had to take a half day off work.)

The driver on the MI end was so nice and helpful. He got the truck parked on the street and even adjusted it so the ramp came down just in front of where our front walk began. Note: since it's illegal to park on the street overnight I called the local police dept to let them know our moving truck would be there. They were fine with this and fortunately we didn't even have to pay a permit charge

Upon opening the truck we saw this:

<--- AFTER MOVE

Virtually the same with very, very little shifting!! I've unpacked our boxes and there was absolutely no breakage. The boxes you see in the bottom right hand corner are my grandmother's china packed in the dish packs. I highly recommend these and the two were worth the $20 I payed.

I cannot say enough how pleased I was to see this when we opened the truck!! Well, and after we took our bulkhead down Our bulkhead was the newer kind, and a cinch to install and take down.

To unload we took two days. The first afternoon my fiancé and I unloaded most of the boxes ourselves. The second day a friend and his two teenage sons helped us unload all the furniture. Everything went smoothly. They did the same thing with the piano to get it down as they did to get it up; the one difference was setting a ratchet strap across the body of the truck and using a belay/pulley type method around the strap to gradually bring the piano down off the truck. Again they used the truck ramp on our front porch to bring the piano up into the house. I didn't take a picture of the belay/pulley though I wish now that I had.

All in all I was so extremely pleased with our ABF move. I will recommend their service highly to anyone. The price was superb and the ability to drive 1000 miles together in our own van at a good pace with our kids was priceless. Thank you ABF!

One sidenote: we returned the furniture blankets to the local Uhaul here with no problems so that worked out well

I'll leave with one parting shot - our van the day we unpacked the truck. It was snowing the entire time, but not nearly as bad as everyone kept telling us it would be

[Diane]

[Editor's note by Diane: I am re-posting a review (#136) posted by "MDAggie" of a move from Houston to Maryland.]

Recommended: yes
Date: 2/08
Move: Houston, TX to Baltimore area
Cost: Unknown for 5 feet in a trailer, terminal to terminal

2/22/08 - I’d first like to thank all of you who have posted in the past. Without your experiences, I wouldn’t have one to share.

About six years ago, I spent more than $4K (Allied) relocating to Houston from Maryland. Everything was fine, just expensive. I was dreading the costs and decided to sell most of my belongings this time around. While selling some of my furniture, a buyer recommended I check into U-Pack. She had a huge move from CA to TX the previous year and said U-Pack saved her thousands. After receiving outrageous quotes with the major moving companies, I decided to check into ABF/U-Pack and discovered this site. I wasn’t moving my entire house, but enough to be a headache and too much to drive it alone.

I contacted A1-Best Movers out of Houston who specialize in U-Pack packing. Since I didn’t have much (5 linear feet), I opted to have the movers come to my house, load me up and pack me at the U-Pack terminal. The owner gave me a list of items to purchase to ensure my goods would travel well. I packed four large, plastic storage containers with heavy items so they could be rolled. Someone had mentioned on a post they were easier to roll and kept belongs dry in the event moisture was in the trailer. Aside from that, I had mostly small/medium boxes, a bike and bedroom suite. The furniture posed my biggest concern because it was high-end and a recent investment. The owner of A1 told me to stock up on furniture pads, shrink wrap, and purchase extra boxes so they could crate it to the best of their ability. I also bought ratchets to secure the load. I purchased 6 linear feet (because I figured I had underestimated) but the movers were able to fit it in 5. The bulkhead was broken but the guys at ABF brought a replacement and installed it for me. I took before pictures, just so I could see how much movement occurred during transit. The trailer left on Tuesday and was constantly updated online. . . .

The following Sunday, I decided to track the ABF trailer and wouldn’t you know, it was already in Elkridge, MD! It wasn’t scheduled to arrive until Tuesday. I quickly started looking up labor assistance and rented a Budget truck. Minero Movers (also recommended on this site) quickly responded to my email request. I was quoted $45/hr + $25 one time travel fee (two-hour minimum) for two guys. I arrived at ABF on Monday and Minero Movers was already there – ready to work! Unfortunately, ABF had no one who could move my trailer (although I was scheduled for a morning pickup) so I wasted 45 minutes.

Upon removal of the bulkhead, I quickly saw how much the load moved during transit. One of the ratchets came loose and boxes tumbled. Although the furniture was in the center, I could still see there could be possible damage from the fallen items. We quickly transported the goods into the rental truck and went to the storage unit and repacked. The guys at Minero were hard working and quick to point out damage they weren’t responsible for. For the most part, the protected edges of the legs weren’t so protected after all. Most of the damage is on the legs, which can be repaired or isn’t really noticeable. I’d recommend putting socks on legs of furniture, wrapping them in hand towels, THEN crating them for extra protection. I still can’t believe we were able to unload the trailer, load the truck, drive to storage and pack the big items with the remaining time. I’ll be sure to use them when I moved into my permanent home. They traveled all the way from northern Virginia to Elkridge, MD (close to Baltimore) for two hours of work. That says a lot in my opinion. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15643

[willis]

[Editor's note by Diane: this is ABF review #137. I added the boldface to the poster's statement about Penske and U-Haul.]

Recommended: Yes
Date: 2/08-3/08
Move: Nashville, TN to Lubbock, TX
Cost: $900 for 8 feet in a trailer, door to terminal

First, my apologies for not including before and after photos of our stuff. I completely spaced on doing it, but should be something you do anyway. I'll be as detailed as possible on the move.

At first, we were looking at doing U-Haul... but the costs for even a 10' truck with car towing, fuel costs, time given, and hassles of driving across the prairies during winter with two people and a cat in the cab towing a car for 1300 miles for about $1400 just wasn't very appealing. Then, my fiancee and I started to research options and decided to go with ABF U-Pack after reading several good reviews on this site as well as elsewhere on the internet, and we were not disappointed.

First, we went with door-to-terminal service as we were planning on putting things in storage in Lubbock after arrival due to living arrangements we had lined up, and it would be cheaper to use a rental truck on the other end than door-to-door it to a storage facility we hadn't even chosen yet. We were also very flexible with delivery and pick-up, and had a $50 coupon from the USPS change of address bundle. The phone operators were very helpful and easy to work with, and we went through three estimates before nailing everything down. Everything was top-notch, and the people were easy to deal with.

We used the trailer option instead of the cubes due to the sheer size of our living-room furniture (the couch alone is 3'x8'x3.5'). Normally I'm pretty good eyeballing needed room, but I was off by about two feet of trailer space needed. We asked for six, and wound up needing eight. Fortunately, as it was a trailer, it worked out well.

We called the Nashville terminal to arrange delivery, and all went smooth. Delivery of the truck was Tuesday the 26th, and there were no problems. The trailer was very clean and quite new. Driver was friendly and helpful, and even lined up the trailer in our driveway in such a way as to allow the ramp to land on the top of our back stoop, giving us a nearly flat shot from the kitchen into the truck.

As both myself and my cousin had both worked inventory and warehouse jobs in the past, we knew what to expect with loading the trailer and how to secure the load. Furniture took up the left half of the area, boxes on the right. We stacked heavy and sturdy boxes at the bottom and towards the front, and light ones at the top and back, filling the trailer about eight foot high from front to back to the eight foot mark and securing with freight straps interwoven with large, flat, sturdy objects like ladders, bicycles, and wrought iron head and foot boards from the bed before putting up the bulkheads. I should also point out that we did a full inventory and manifest of all the boxes loaded on with numbered stickers indicating the count. Final count was 128 pieces.

We were given three days to load the trailer before pickup on the 29th, and we took our time to make sure it was packed well. Although we weren't present for the pick-up of the trailer as we were already on the road West in the car, everything went smooth on pick-up. We tracked the trailer over the weekend and didn't see any problems, and footage measured matched what we had used.

Monday afternoon, the Lubbock ABF called to confirm with us a pick-up time of our stuff later in the week, confirmed the price, and made sure everything was good with us. The trailer was available for unloading any time between Wednesday and Friday. We had scheduled an in-town U-Haul for Friday 03/07, and confirmed with them we'd be out then with money in tow.

While in Lubbock, we had troubles with U-Haul and discovered Penske was cheaper to deal with and several magnitudes more professional than the folks at U-Haul, so we switched truck rentals and unloaded at the ABF hub as planned.

There was some shifting as expected during transit, but nothing unusual or damaging. A few boxes had crushed a bit, but that was mostly our fault for using some boxes from a women's clothing and dainties store for packing some softer items like sheets and pillows, and fortunately nothing inside was fragile.

Unloading went smoothly, and everything that went on came off as well. (Tip: Take the extra time to detail box contents, label, number, and create a manifest. It pays off in the end as it helps keep track of everything, and makes it easier to locate stuff if you wind up putting most of your stuff in storage.) Everything was in good shape, furniture was no worse for the wear, and there was no noticeable freight grime.

The people at the terminal were friendly, helpful, and loaned us equipment for use to unload. Payment went smoothly and was for the exact amount quoted and expected for eight feet of space.

Overall, it was a very good experience. We were given three days to load, three days to unload, they drove it for us, and it was significantly cheaper and easier than a U-Haul. I've moved several times in my life, and this was hands down one of the least stressful cross-country moves I've ever done. One of the cheapest, too. I'd highly recommend using ABF U-Pack to anybody else making a cross-country move, with the following things in mind:

-Use sturdy boxes.
-Pack the boxes themselves smartly.
-Load the boxes intelligently. Leave the heavy and stout stuff low and towards the front.
-Use freight straps to secure your load.
-Use furniture pads and shrink wrap to protect your furniture.
-Inventory and manifest everything.
-Remember that this is freight, and it will shift.
-REMEMBER THAT THIS IS FREIGHT! If something doesn't survive shipping, you likely packed and loaded it wrong. If you're unwilling to take this responsibility or are not confident in your skills to do it right, ABF is not an option for you.

Honestly though, these suggestions are mostly just common sense anyway, but it doesn't hurt to echo them.

Best of luck to anyone moving. Seriously consider U-Pack if you are, and if you're renting a truck, check out Penske instead of U-Haul.

Thanks for such a useful site.

Regards,
Willis

[viperfixer89]

This is ABF review #138.

Recommended: YES!!! Completely Impressed
Date: 3/08-3/08
Move: Boise, ID to Atlanta, GA
Cost: $2350 for two ReloCubes, door to private storage facility

ABF U-Pack Relocubes ROCK!

It's like a big FedEx or something. You carefully box your worldly possessions up, just like you'd do if you were mailing them. Carefully (and strategically) arrange them in the Relocube, and they ship if off. You can even track your shipment, if you groove on that sort of thing. It's SO easy.

I do recommend using a tarp to cover the inside of the front of the cube. Why, I don't know, because I really didn't need it. It just seemed like a good idea. (I didn't need my seat belt when I drove across the country, either, but that seemed like a good idea, too, so just go with it, OK? It's late, and I don't want to argue right now...)

Fast, reliable, cheap, and GREAT customer service. I didn't know there were still companies out there like that today.

Incidentally, a big thanks to this site; I'd never heard of ABF until I read these very forums.

Oh, Jage? Yeah, it sucks they delayed that cube. I'd have been peeved, too. Still, 5 cubes for $2085 from Tucson to Denver? Come on, you know how much the competition would have charged. I'm glad that your stuff did finally make it. I read your review before I went with ABF, and decided to "roll the dice". I'm glad I did.

Edit: The Relocubes were directed to be delivered to a private storage facility (not an ABF terminal). Ensure the storage place you choose is cool with you having the Relocubes taking up some parking spaces. Mine was familiar with Relocubes, so they were fine with it.

[Diane]

[Editor's note by Diane: I am re-posting this review (#139) from Epinions. It was posted on 5/12/08 by "mp2618" at http://www.epinions.com/content_429786828420 . This is funny, because the review praises a "Kay Lynn" who seemed "exceptionally knowledgeable of the services offered." That was actually Kay Lynn Clay, who holds a very high position as Manager of Business Development for ABF U-Pack. She explained to me that Mondays are very busy so everyone pitches in to answer the phones that day.]

Recommended: yes
Date: 5/08
Move: CT to TN
Cost: $1238 for an unknown number of feet in a trailer, terminal to door

Topic title: WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE WE HAD MOVING OUR DAUGHTER FROM CONNECTICUT TO TENNESSEE

Pros: Great team of employees, a pleasure to do business with, will definitely recommend to others

Cons: None that I can think of.

The Bottom Line: A pleasure to do business with, very knowledgeable and friendly employees, reasonable prices, met all my expectations.

Full Review

To whom it may concern, I would like to say what a wonderful experience we had moving our daughter from Connecticut to Tennessee.

After getting prices from U-Haul and PODS and thinking how expensive it was going to be, I happened to see your add on TV and called U-Pack. For comparison, U-haul wanted almost $1,400 to rent a seventeen foot van, in addition we had to drive the van to Tennessee, about fifteen hours and pay for the fuel at close to $4.00 per gallon and at ten miles to the gallon it would have cost an additional $400 for fuel. PODS estimate was $2,400 and needed at least five work days to be delivered, which put in question if it would arrive in time, May 9,2008.

To start when I called U-Pack I talked to a person by the name of Kay Lynn, who was exceptionally knowledgeable of the services offered and very pleasant when discussing different options, who within minutes of our discussion sent me an email with an estimate. After discussing this with my daughter I had some additional questions and when I called back talked to Stephanie who was also exceptionally knowledgeable and pleasant. As with Kay Lynn, Stephanie sent me an email within minutes of our conversation with all the contact information I needed.

I then proceeded to take a ride to the ABF terminal in Connecticut to see the trailer and to make sure I knew where the terminal was located since we had to bring my daughters furnishings to the terminal. There I met Rocky who was very accommodating, showing me a trailer and where it would be located when we arrived. On Friday, May 2 we loaded the trailer and were told it would be at the ABF terminal in Nashville within three days. It in fact arrived on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. On Wednesday, May 7, I called the ABF terminal in Nashville and scheduled to have the trailer delivered to my daughters apartment on Friday, May 9, between 8 and 10:00 am. Friday morning I received a call at 8:00 am from ABF indicating they would be at my daughters place with in an hour and confirmed the delivery location.

Within forty minutes the trailer was delivered by Steve who parked the trailer exactly where I suggested and proceeded to show me how to set up the ramp and made sure the bulk head that I installed was still in place. Finally around 2:00 pm on May 9, I called to have the trailer picked up since it could not be left at the apartment complex overnight, within an hour a gentleman came to pick up the trailer. This gentleman who's name I did not get, asked if everything was done to my satisfaction, did I have any problems, etc.

My reason for mentioning this is that in my personal experience and not knowing a lot about ABF, this seems to be a company that has empowered their employees, has provided training and the tools needed to excel in their job, and has provided them a work environment that they are proud to be part of the ABF team.

Thank you again for a very pleasant experience in moving our daughter, although we will miss her terribly, I feel by selecting U-Pack it made the stress of the move less painful.


Michael & Gail Pappas
200 Jamestown Drive
Guilford, Connecticut 06437

[Diane]

Re-posting a very brief review (#140) - "Durham_Bound" posted recently that he had an uneventful move with ABF:

7/16/08 - I've learned so much from this site. It helped me organize a more-or-less snag-free move to Chicago a few years ago using ABF and local movers. (I did terminal to terminal.) - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16845

[LindaLeeCR]

[Editor's note by Diane: this is ABF review #141.]

Recommended: yes
Date: 7/08
Move: Nashville to Tulsa, OK
Cost: Unknown for an unknown number of feet in a trailer, door to door

I found Diane's posting helpful for my ABF U Pack move from Nashville to Tulsa. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The quote was dead on, the trailer showed up exactly as requested, the drivers on both ends were friendly and helpful, the trailer was squeaky clean, the bulkhead and ramp worked precisely according to the posted directions, ...

everything went perfectly except that the local help I hired (not related to ABF in any way) didn't use the packing blankets I so carefully collected and I had some "rub" damage to a few pieces of furniture from them bouncing against each other for 600 miles.

I would absolutely recommend ABF U-Pack for anyone who wants to let someone else do the driving.

[hamhock313]

[Editor's note by Diane: this is ABF review #142.]

Recommended: yes
Date: 10/07 (posting delayed)
Move: Detroit to Los Angeles
Cost: Unknown for an unknown number of feet in a trailer, door to door

I wanted to leave my feedback on ABF. We moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, last October. After much research I came across this WONDERFUL site. Thank you everyone for all of your honest feedback. It really helped me make up my mind on who to use for our across country move.

I received a qoute for $1700. (I believe it has been a while ) And this was for a trailer and I don't remember how many feet. Since I read this forum before hand I had a great idea on what questions to ask and how to properly pack.

Since we were loading everything ourselves, we made sure that all furniture was carefully wrapped in blankets and positioned correctly so it did not move very much.

I do have to agree with other comments to make sure that you purchase a big tarp to place on the floor before placing your things in the trailer. We purchased a huge one and used duck tape to tape it up the walls even. This was very important, even though when we got the trailer it was pretty clean. When it arrived they must have carried something that was dirty in there because the tarp was quite dirty. But it did help protect our things very good.

Also be sure that you are smart when packing everything. I have seen other posts on this site where people state that their furniture was very damaged. If furniture is not proprely wrapped in blankets and tied or placed where it won't move there could be substantial damage. We even purchased the big cling plastic wrap to completely wrap our couch and other objects, like kitchen chairs that were to ackward to wrap in blankets. This worked like a charm.

So after we got one row packed. We would secure it with rope through the slots that are in the trailer walls. We did this for each row we packed. Making sure that nothing was loose or able to move. We also packed all of our cushions in big garbage bags and wedged them in places to secure things. (Trust me it gets dusty in there so you will want to make sure they are all in garbage bag.)

To make the most of the space, we stacked up everything to the top of the trailer. Once everything was packed we( well my boyfriend) put up the end cap. Now I do have to agree with other posters on this. The endcap was extremely diffucult to put up. It was almost broke or bent in places. If it was for my boyfriend being strong we wouldn't have been able to get it up. There is NO Way that I would have been able to do it by myself.

ABF was very flexible with the pick up. All of our things were in a storage unit, which had some strong rules on how long the trailer could be left etc... and ABF was VERY accomadating with me.

We recieved our delivery right on time and everything was in great condition. I kn now this was because of our care in packing everything.

I would definetly use U-Pack again and recommend to everyone. You will not be disappointed. BUT you have to make sure that you are properly prepared with the right supplies before filling up the trailer and that you pack everything very carefully and throughly.

Good luck with your move!!!!!