Moving Experience: Carrie’s Move with 1-800-Pack-Rat

In late 2022, Carrie and her wife were itching for a new adventure. Their friends and family largely lived on the East Coast, so the couple — plus their elderly cat and dogs — made the ambitious 2,345-mile move.

After consulting numerous moveBuddha posts, Carrie ultimately decided on 1-800-Pack-Rat. She loved the fact that they could store her stuff while she looked for the perfect new home in Philly. 1-800-Pack-Rat picked up Carrie’s belongings in January 2023 and Carrie picked them up in July 2023.

But that isn’t to say it was an easy move. Carrie relocated during peak season for 1-800-Pack-Rat, which led to communication and delivery issues.

In exchange for a $500 stipend, Carrie signed up for the moveBuddha Better Moves Project to detail her experience with 1-800-Pack-Rat.

In this post, we’ll look at how Carrie selected 1-800-Pack-Rat and what she recommends for anyone planning a move with a container company.

Move day takeaways for 1-800-Pack-Rat customers

• Communication: While customer service was responsive at every step of the way, reps gave Carrie conflicting information that delayed her move
• Pricing accuracy and transparency: Miscommunications led to 1-800-Pack-Rat charging Carrie additional fees, which they later refunded. Carrie also paid an additional $1,000 during the delivery process when she hired another truck for delivery
• Professionalism: 1-800-Pack-Rat was friendly every step of the way, in spite of miscommunications and frustrations
• Timeliness: Carrie experienced delays during delivery because of miscommunications
• Loss and damage: Carrie’s belongings arrived intact with no damage, thanks in large part to 1-800-Pack-Rat’s climate-controlled storage facility
• Would Carrie use 1-800-Pack-Rat again? No, Carrie would use PODs instead

Carrie needed help moving from Phoenix, Arizona to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Carrie and her wife are remote workers who were eager for a change of scenery. They relocated from Phoenix to Philadelphia to escape the Phoenix heat and be closer to friends and family.

Along with transporting their elderly dogs and cat, Carrie and her wife also needed to move the contents of their two-bedroom, two-bathroom house.

Carrie felt nervous but excited about this new adventure. She needed to transport fragile items, like glassware, and family heirlooms. But even then, she felt more concerned about logistics.

Carrie planned to rent vacation homes in Philly so she could get to know the city better before buying a home there. She needed a moving company that also offered storage between their move date in January until they found a permanent address. She also wanted to store her stuff in a secure facility with climate control.

Carrie needed to minimize the stress of the cross-country move on her elderly pets, who aren’t fans of driving. Carrie needed a mover that could transport all of her belongings at once without return trips— or the need to drive a rental truck.

She had a lot of must-haves for the move, but Carrie knew the right company was out there.

Carrie’s move at a glance

Carrie got quotes from five moving container companies

Carrie briefly considered full-service movers, but she soon realized that moving container companies were the way to go because of their storage options.

Carrie spent two weeks looking for the perfect container moving company. Over the course of a weekend, she obsessively searched Google for information.

She found moveBuddha and loved the reviews, guidelines, and comparisons. She used the moveBuddha Cost Estimator Tool to estimate how much space she needed and for a ballpark estimate of the costs.

Carrie especially enjoyed reading the Better Moves Project interviews, which gave her a better idea of each company’s policies and real-life customer experience.

From there, Carrie reached out to five container companies for quotes. MovingPlace offered the cheapest quote, but they didn’t offer storage, so Carrie decided on 1-800-Pack-Rat.

Here’s how Carrie’s quotes stacked up:

Carrie chose 1-800-Pack-Rat for its affordability and reputation

Carrie did a lot of research on 1-800-Pack-Rat and loved its reviews, customer service, security, and reputation for handling moves with care. It didn’t hurt that it was one of the cheapest options, either.

1-800-Pack-Rat offered a price-matching policy, so Carrie thought the company was a great deal for the money.

She hoped to complete the quoting process online but realized talking to a 1-800-Pack-Rat rep was the way to go. She negotiated the fuel surcharge fee and took advantage of seasonal moving discounts that weren’t available online.

1-800-Pack-Rat quoted Carrie $4,298 for the move. This included container dropoff and pickup, cross-country transportation, and secure storage at her destination.

To save money on the move, Carrie found free boxes and ordered packing materials during Black Friday to save a few bucks.

She struggled to prep for the move because #procrastination, so she enjoyed 1-800-Pack-Rat’s flexibility.

In the meantime, Carrie and her wife readied their Phoenix home for rent.

Moving day was quick and easy

The 1-800-Pack-Rat sales team was very helpful. They explained the moving process thoroughly, so Carrie felt very confident about her move.

1-800-Pack-Rat called Carrie to provide information about measurements and clearance for the moving containers. She specified where to place the container, including which way she wanted the doors to face.

1-800-Pack-Rat dropped off the container on January 18. Carrie had as much time to pack as she wanted. When she packed the container, she called 1-800-Pack-Rat to schedule pickup and transport.

From there, 1-800-Pack-Rat loaded up the container and transported it to a storage facility in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. When Carrie settled into life in Philly and found a new home, she contacted 1-800-Pack-Rat with the address and scheduled delivery at that time.

At this stage, things were going smoothly and Carrie loved the seamless process.

Delivery was disorganized

Unfortunately, delivery wasn’t as smooth.

Carrie gave 1-800-Pack-Rat her delivery address on July 3. She asked if she needed to get the container parking permit or if 1-800-Pack-Rat would provide it. The rep said 1-800-Pack-Rat would apply for the permit, and Carrie simply needed to pick it up.

On July 11, Carrie hadn’t heard from 1-800-Pack-Rat. When she called, a new rep said she had to manage the permit. It was a tight deadline, but Carrie managed to pay the permit fee and receive the permit in time for delivery.

Carrie borrowed parking cones from her neighbors and displayed “No Parking” signs on the street in anticipation of delivery.

On July 15, 1-800-Pack-Rat called her to tell her that they couldn’t deliver to her street address because there was no clearance. Instead, they instructed her to visit their Cherry Hill storage facility to get her stuff.

Carrie already paid $250 for the permit, which 1-800-Pack-Rat offered to refund.

She hired a separate moving company to meet her at the Cherry Hill facility, where she loaded her belongings into a rented 16-foot Penske truck. For an additional $1,000, Carrie finally had her belongings delivered to her new home in Philly.

Our take on the move

1-800-Pack-Rat gave Carrie a seamless pickup experience and offered stupendous customer service in January 2023. This is because winter is the non-peak season for movers, so Carrie enjoyed a high degree of communication and service.

But in July? That’s peak season for movers like 1-800-Pack-Rat. Many of our Better Moves project participants who move in the summer say they experience communication issues and misunderstandings.

While 1-800-Pack-Rat nailed pickup and storage, delivery definitely could have gone more smoothly. Since Packrat didn’t have the delivery address, there is no way they could have predicted that delivery access would have been an issue. Packrat should have reduced her overall price when it was determined that they couldn’t deliver the container directly.They offered to make things right with Carrie by refunding the permit fee.

When you book a moving container you have the option for door-door delivery, or you can do door-terminal or terminal-door or terminal-terminal (terminal = Packrat’s local warehouse). Terminal-terminal moves are always cheaper because the company doesn’t have to deliver the container locally, so they save a lot of money and pass those savings onto the customer. Of course, it’s the customer’s responsibility to get the items. So Packrat should have re-quoted her for a door-terminal rate, since they weren’t doing the final delivery to her address.

Also, Carrie made the choice to hire a separate moving company. Instead, she could have rented a truck and gone and picked up the items herself (saving a lot of money). Outside of the delivery issue, which can happen with any moving service, it seems like Packrat provided the services they were asked to provide at the original agreed upon price.

Carrie needed to be more proactive during the delivery process. She should have followed up within a few days of sharing her delivery address instead of waiting a week.

Miscommunications can happen, so it’s important to be proactive if you don’t hear from your mover within 48 hours. If Carrie followed up more quickly, she could have saved on permitting costs and avoided the time crunch of moving her stuff from Cherry Hill.

Still, a lot went right in this move. 1-800-Pack-Rat gave Carrie an unlimited window of time to pack her belongings. Many moving container companies give you just three days, which creates a lot of stress.

All in all, Carrie’s move had some problems, but her belongings arrived safely at her new home in Philadelphia.

The verdict

All in all, 1-800-Pack-Rat cost $4,200, but the additional fees for the rental truck and movers brought the final total to $5,550.

In hindsight, Carrie believes she should have asked Philadelphia locals about moving companies. She primarily worked with the Phoenix 1-800-Pack-Rat branch, but 1-800-Pack-Rat was relatively new in Philadelphia.

Most Philly residents use PODS, which delivers to just about any street in the city. For future moves, Carrie recommends chatting with people who live near your new home to see how the container company operates locally.

She also recommends checking local reviews for your moving company. Their service and experience can differ by location, so do your homework before a move.

While Carrie experienced some frustrations with her move, she’s ultimately still looking forward to her new life. She enjoyed the move on her own terms and timeline, and she’s excited to finally settle down as a Philly resident.

Here’s how Carrie rated 1-800-Pack-Rat’s performance on a scale of 1 to 5:

• Communication – 3
• Timeliness – 3
• Quote accuracy – 4
• Overall experience – 3

Do you have an upcoming move? Share your moving story with the Better Moves Project to earn a $500 stipend. Sign up now.

Check out these helpful resources before signing off:

• Moving Cost Calculator
• How Much Does 1-800-PACK-RAT Cost?
• 1-800-PACK-RAT vs U-Pack: Comparing Service, Quality, and Price