Zippy Shell Reviews

The agent at ZIPPY SHELL said that, “Sir, the scale doesn’t lie”. These people are grifters. They know that customer is normally on a tight and stressful schedule and they take advantage of the fact knowing that a lot of people will cave in out of desperation. It is despicable and reprehensible. I told the driver to beat it and now they’re trying to take me for an $800 “cancellation penalty” that they will NEVER GET! Don’t use ZIPPY SHELL!

ABSOLUTELY UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE USE THIS COMPANY. You'd be smarter to sell everything you own than hire these people to "MOVE" aka destroy them. CAUTION DO NOT USE THIS ABSOLUTELY CORRUPT business. I don't even know how they're still legally an entity. Literally horrendous customer services, experience and execution (if you can even say they do that). I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to use this company.

The next day logistics worked out and they were able to schedule my move. They charged me more than what was agreed upon. I had to call multiple times to try to get an update on the charges and where my belongings were because their communication is nonexistent. Zippy Shell/Pack Rat could not tell me where my shell was at or when they could expect it. This is certainly not comforting and a bad way to conduct business. I was told there was nothing they would do about the the additional charges - again awful customer service- why not be upfront and transparent about your fees?

6/23/22 I got an email that my shell made it to the storage destination - The very last day. I call and get a message that they are closed. I called the next day to get my move scheduled. I give them 3 different options (3 different days- try telling your work you must take off, but you don't know when). I get a very vague email that my move is scheduled for 6/29/22. I call to try to get details and they are unable to provide me anything. Another charge hit my account days before they even deliver my belongings. Then again, the evening before my move I get a call stating that something has happened, and they are unable to move me as agreed upon. They would have to unload my belongings from the Zippy Shell/Pack Rat at the storage facility and then loosely load my stuff onto a truck then drive that truck to my home and then unload it again. I explained that is very unprofessional and increases the chances for loss or damages.

I was very upset and requested that I be present when the unloading at the Zippy Shell facility was happening so I can ensure things wouldn’t get broken or lost. I explained as well that this would cause the move to take longer and that I didn't want to be charged for any additional time! He promised me that I wouldn't be charged and that I could do that and that it wouldn't be a problem.

I was also explicitly stated that Zippy Shell/ Pack Rat did not have authorization to charge my account anymore. I was told that the movers and the facility would call me and that they would not open the storage unit until I got there. I am in the area by 7:30 waiting for the call. I waited until 9:30 a.m., still no call so I showed up at the facility in Buford, GA- Charlie was rude and inconsiderate - he claimed to not have any notes about me wanting to be there. He cuts me off when I am explaining the situation and is overall unprofessional towards me. I find out that the movers have already started without my consent. The storage wasn't locked by Zippy Shell/Pack Rat as stated and was left open since 6/11/22!

The movers were ill prepared to move- the truck was too small, and they didn't have a dolly to move my stuff. It took the movers 6.5 hours to move a small one bedroom. The move damaged a vintage bike, and hybrid bike, broke a 20-year-old antique Disney Snow globe, stained my brand new couch, and almost every piece of furniture was damaged. I filed an insurance claimed, they denied it after 6 months of investigating. Which I wasn't once contacted for a statements as most reliable and ethical companies would do. Please save yourself the trouble.... Zippy Shell/Pack Rat is the worst. They are unethical, unprofessional and fail to communicate.

They will seem very nice and helpful till your first payment goes through (2 days before the container drop-off), then expect to pay several hundred dollars extra and hours on the phone. Everything is about locking your options by not giving you any information (in time, if at all any). Every time, they will pull up the agreement and read out a hidden condition. Double their initial quote, that is what you will be spending. They add extra and duplicate charges, you have to spend days arguing to get them to admit it and get the refund. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. THEY ARE THE WORST, RATINGS DON'T LIE, I WISH I HAD REALIZED THIS BEFORE.

I followed all of those instructions, had the movers on my end ready to go for that date I discussed with VA team. Called to confirmed the schedule drop off and the soonest they can do it was OVER a week from when I called. And zero customer service. You call the corporate line and they put in requests, but you won't know for 24-48.hrs the outcome. If that date they provide you is different than what was already very clearly worked out, you won't know for 48 hrs. And then, you have to call back and start the process ALL over. If they schedule on a Wednesday and you've been clear it has to be a weekend, guess what, you have to call back and wait maybe 48 hrs. Schedules fill up quickly and I'm now in a new city with no ability to really plan my move, because I'm at the mercy of back and forth. Thus, so are the movers.

Take away what the VA team and I worked out, here is what they promise on their website: "Don’t worry, your things are just a phone call away. Now that all that stuff is out of your hair, we’ll keep it safe in one of our climate-controlled and secure locations. Need something back? No problem, just give us a call, we’ll have it back in a flash."

A "flash" is actually no less than 10.days and you best be available on that 10th day, or it will be another 10. Now I'll have thousands in extra hotel and other costs because they won't honor the original date and also there is no "two day" delivery. Don't bother with Zippy Shell. It's a cool business model, with a great website, they reel you in on the quote side, and then you are on your own. You are better off with the sketchy one truck and a dolly company.

Our belongings arrived, multiple pieces of furniture damaged. They didn't even bother to remove a credenza because it couldn't be salvaged. We initially thought our apartment was on the first floor, but when we realized it wasn't, I called to inform them. They said they would be adding the stair fee, which was fine with us. Fast forward 9 MONTHS later, and today I received an invoice saying $150 was being charged to my card on file. I immediately called to dispute and was told they never charged for the stair fee. After going back and forth with a supervisor who talked in circles, I was told there was nothing they could do. 9 months later. This is absolutely unacceptable. Save yourself and do not use this company. It's the cheapest option for a reason.

It's been 9 months of calling customer service to get a resolution. 9 months of false promises. We were even told they'd found something on camera in one of the warehouses. This past week, they denied our claim and offered us $250 of hush money. They stole from us and are trying to cover it up. All we got out of this move is pain and heartache, and I want justice for what they've done. Don't use 1-800 Pack Rat or Zippy Shell, or you may be as financially and mentally destroyed as we are.

Original Review: July 14, 2022

Went with this company for a long distance move from NJ. The sales rep was nice and I felt like I made a great decision. Once the move took place, they delayed my container 2 days and were unapologetic. Charged me erroneous fees for a drop off at my house and storage insurance I never purchased. The unit itself had a busted interior lock when arrived at my moving location and exterior shell lock when it arrived at my destination. They accept no accountability for their errors and their customer service reps act like you are bothering them when you call. Will never suggest this company to anyone sadly.

If that wasn’t frustrating enough, they took over a week to get us our COI correctly and delivered it on the morning of the move. And as a warning, the customer service department is absolutely useless and will tell you that they put an “urgent” request and still take time to get back to you. The company has been an absolute nightmare while moving and highly recommended that people look elsewhere for long-distance movers.

Dio rushed my wife off the phone while we were planning the move saying if we didn’t book then and there that we would lose the special price and that he had to run to get his next Covid shot or he would be late. All in the same call that he said we would NOT be charged a storage fee. When asked about that conversation in the call, they said they didn’t hear that either. DID WE MAKE THAT UP TOO? When we asked for a manager – we didn’t a call back until 2 days later at 10pm at night. The “manager” was rude and hasty on the phone and said there is nothing he could do for us we “signed a contract”. The contract says nothing about being charged prior to 30 days and on the receipt it says NO STORAGE in clear English. Not only that, but they damaged our items!

We paid for the loading team and the team that loaded one of our pods loaded it incorrectly and we had multiple damage to expensive furniture. We supplied them with multiple moving blankets, tarps, towels, and cardboard as to not damage anything and they never used any of it. We also supplied them with bungee cords and ratchet straps which were never touched.

Our fireplace was manhandled and not covered with the blankets supplied, our bedroom furniture is all scratched up, there is a rip and a giant oil stain on our couch – oil stain?! From where the pod that was above us? They loaded a metal spiked outdoor tool on top of my ironing board cover and ripped it to shreds. We paid an extra $1000 for them to load our things to have them break, scratch and dented? Our mattress was dirty and disgusting because they literally wrapped our pod in $.99 black wrap from the dollar store. Our pod wasn’t even wrapped correctly. I have photos of everything. I emailed a claim form to the claims department and never received an email saying they received the paperwork. What kind of customer service/experience is this?

The unloading team in NC were sweethearts – they were respectful, kind and unloaded very quickly. Our unloaders were the only good thing about Zippy Shell.

When I called ZippyShell and informed them of my issue, they said they could send another shell at full price without movers, but it would take 9 days. I had to be out of my apartment that day. They then offered a second solution for me to pack up my items into a rented van and drive them to a facility to pack them myself. It was the only option I had, so I took it. Not until I already packed the van did ZippyShell tell me it would potentially be 2 days before I could go to the facility and drop off my things. Two Days?! I spent the night in a hotel near the facility and awaited a call from ZippyShell, which never came. I had to call them 5 times and was told they "could not yet confirm a drop-off date and time." I finally asked if they were even connecting with the facility and they admitted that no one had answered. So they weren't 'confirming'... they were stalling!

I asked for the address and drove to the facility myself. Once there, I was quickly offered a shell and packed it with my remaining items in less than 15 minutes. Now, I'm being price gouged by ZippyShell for a second shell that they insisted I didn't need. All while having to rent a van, stay in a hotel, and pack the shell without assistance. They're still "considering my request" for a reduced price based on their mistake(s) throughout this process, but have said it is unlikely. This company is NOT transparent. Their communications are poor. And they're mistreating people during a time of need. I'm extremely disappointed and will NOT recommend them to anyone planning a long-distance move. Terrible service.

The loading company barely managed to fit everything in & the shell was picked up on time (4/27/2022). I proceeded with my move, drove from PA to TX & called Zippy Shell about a week after pick up to figure out where my belongings were to help me plan some appointments. The first person I spoke with said my goods were in transit, but when I pressed for where along the transit route, they were unable to give me any specifics. The CSR doubled-down on their refusal to help, so I hung up & called back to get another rep. This happened two more times, with the third rep finally revealing that my shell was still in PA, despite me telling the original sales person that I did not want any storage. My agreement even noted it was for immediate delivery. This is where I began to lose my mind.

I remembered taking a photo of the shell when it was delivered & there was a local PA number, so I called & verified they were local, not the corporate group. When I told the woman my name (it’s kind of unique), she said “Oh yeah, your pod is definitely here. I just saw it yesterday.” She looked up a few things & confirmed it hadn’t even been scheduled for pickup yet. This was a full week after the shell was picked up from my home. The woman took down all my information & assured me that it would get routed to the person responsible for scheduling everything. She also noted that the scheduler typically calls a person back within an hour when it’s marked expedited.

When that call-back never came, I wasn’t surprised at all. I was, however, beginning to get enraged. Every single person at the corporate call center told me my shell was in transit when it had never even departed for its destination. I waited 3 additional days before calling the local person in PA again, at which time she informed me that my shell was scheduled for pickup May 10, 2022. For those keeping track at home, that was nearly 2 weeks after they claimed it would begin moving toward TX.

Once the shell arrived in TX on 5/13/2022, I immediately called to schedule the delivery which included unloaders. They arrived this morning (5/16/2022) WITH AN EMPTY SHELL thinking they were scheduled for a load-in. At this point, a mistake is par for the course on this whole experience, so I didn’t get upset when they told me it only took about half hour to get to my home. No problem that in about an hour, they would return with my shell. Two hours later, I began making calls to figure out what their time frame was. While on the phone with yet another third party that Zippy Shell brings into this existing logistical nightmare, the movers finally showed up.

As the nice little icing on this cake made of excrement, the movers proceeded to damage not one, but MULTIPLE items while right in front of me. A nightstand fell flat onto cement out front off of a dolly, multiple other pieces were banged into walls inside, the siding outside & really any other obstacle possible. A dresser foot was ripped off completely as they set it down and when they didn’t have screws to fix it, they assured me their supervisor would reach out to me, but left before I could verify the number they gave was even right.

After all of this hell, I contacted multiple people involved in the process. The third party responsible for booking the movers told me to contact Zippy Shell for a claim. Calling Zippy Shell got me a PDF form that I have to fill out and send back. But something tells me, I won’t even get a tiny percentage of what my belongings would cost to replace. And that dresser with the foot ripped off is still on its side upstairs as I type this. Who’s going to fix that and pick it up? I hired movers because physically (and this should come as a shock to no one) I can’t pick up a solid wood dresser by myself. I have never seen a company make so many bad decisions so many times, so consistently. There wasn’t a single person I spoke with or interacted with that did the right thing.. ever. Oh and to top it all off, I’m out an additional $700 for “storage” and “fuel subsidies” despite having the exact price in writing.

TL;DR: In case you missed it up top… DO. NOT. EVER. USE. THIS. COMPANY.

The morning of the delivery we had worked with our neighbors to block three spots in front of our row home, we live in downtown Baltimore, and on their request cleared the back of our alley too. They sat in their truck for almost 30 minutes and then left with no explanation. About 30-45 minutes later, my wife received a call from an agent at Zippy Shell stating that they were going to charge us $750 for a cancellation fee…Not sure what we cancelled so we turned off the card they had on file.

Over the past week we’ve spoke with them at least 5 times refusing to pay their cancellation fee while they’ve held our belongings hostage. We settled on paying $250 because they refused to schedule a delivery until the cancellation matter was settled. Again, very confused here as we never cancelled anything but we would like our things so they win I guess… They were scheduled to deliver our things again this morning between 8-10. We’ve called three times and they had no updates on when the truck would get here. My wife just got a call that there was an issue with the truck and now they won’t be here until tomorrow. Absolute worst moving company I’ve ever worked with and would not recommend anyone waste their time or money on their “service”.

On multiple occasions I asked to speak with a supervisor and they send you to a retention person who tells you there is nothing they can do and to read your contract. I was also told they didn't care if I gave a bad review because they are not some mom and pop shop who can respond to customers. You pay them your money but you don't get your stuff. If you don't call constantly you won't have any clue what is going on. Do not use Zippy Shell or Pack Rat as they are the same company. From reading the reviews I am sure my complaint won't matter!!!!

I managed to FINALLY get in touch with customer service after literally having waited on hold twice for over an hour, they were apologetic and said they’d schedule a follow-up cage right away. That was inconvenient, but fine. I asked that someone call me and let me know when they’d be there because I was not in the state where my things were in storage and would need to make arrangements. They not only sent someone without clearly contacting me, they did it twice while I was hours away. I finally called the local office and scheduled a time with them. I was told Wed the 11th of Aug at 10am. It’s a 4-hour drive to meet them for me and a second day off of work, but I got here. They didn’t get to me until 4pm, and I still had to drive back home and go to work the next day. When I say I will never use them again, I mean NEVER. The customer service has been subpar at best.

The storage unit is not as shown on their website. It’s an open wire crate that fits inside a nondescript truck! Such false advertising! Delivery of my household goods was promised today, Thursday, July 29, 2021, by email. It's 9:44 p.m., and I still haven’t heard from them. And, I hired an outside company to help me unload today. I can say with the utmost honesty that I have never been treated with such indifference and lack of common courtesy by any company before. And, I’m 72 years old!

I am now in month #2 without my belongings. Three weeks ago, they emailed to say my things were in a warehouse in Seattle. But they didn't have to labor to bring/unload it. They gave me a 2 week runaround when I tried to arrange to come and get it myself (not a special request--this is a service they offer). They tired me out with this runaround, which included a lot of "my dog ate my homework" excuses like, "the forklift is broken, so we can't pull your things down." (A warehouse. Whose sole job is warehousing, had a broken forklift for days on end?) Anyway. I finally agreed to a later delivery. Because they wore me down. They then called me the day of delivery---after I had already been waiting 3 hours--and told me my things were still in Nashville. What?? After 3 weeks of emails and phone calls, it turns out my things weren't even here?

Then, the next day, I got an automated email saying, "congratulations, your things have arrived!" The pod traveled 3000 miles in 25 hours? But when I call the general help line, I'm told "oh no, they are here. I called the warehouse myself! Oh...but we can't give you a date yet. We're still working that out." All of these contradictory statements (your stuff has arrived!, no actually, everything is still in the original city; no actually they are here!...But we can't tell you when we will deliver them.)...cannot all be true.

It is pretty clear to me that some of the things I've been told are intentional mistruths, intended to buy them time. For what purpose, I do not know. But all you need to know is that you do not want to deal with this company. Not for one second. Anyone but them. If your only other option is renting a truck and driving your own things across the country...do that. This company isn't just incompetent. They are unethical. It might even be a complete scam. Because, through all of this, they have continued to charge me 250 a month in storage fees.

I was told that I would not be able to have movers come again until 5 days later and 3 days after I needed to be out of my apartment and that the most Zippy Shell could do was provide a $200 discount due to the "short notice". After speaking with multiple people at Zippy Shell, no one was able to find a suitable solution for me to be out of my apartment by the end of the month and as a result I had to take the rest of the afternoon off of work to frantically call movers around the city in hopes someone could move me on extremely short notice. I spoke with over 15 moving companies and found one who took pity on my situation and said the only availability they could provide was for that night.

As a result, I moved forward with the new moving company knowing I needed to be out of my apartment. Due to Zippy Shell company policy, I was told that my movers would not be able to drop my belongings at their facility that night due a 48 hour notice policy at their warehouse (mind you their movers cancelled on me and they were still not able to make an exception). Since this was my absolute only option to get movers to me, I had no other option but to have the new movers take all my things to my parent's garage where everything is now haphazardly stacked. By the time the entire ordeal was over it was after 1am and I had to pay a large amount of money for last minute movers.

Zippy Shell customer service was incredibly unhelpful, had no back-up plans in place (they kept telling me that the truck breaking down was an "unforeseen circumstance" but as a moving company you need to have contingency plans in place) and the $200 discount was a slap in the face for the chaos that ensued and the amount of money I had to pay to get new movers. I had just lost close to $1,000 finding last minute movers and felt it was fair that Zippy Shell at least meet me in the middle and provide an additional credit and they wouldn't even entertain the idea of providing more money. It was very clear that they didn't care about the customer experience (especially after asking to speak with multiple supervisors and being told that a supervisor wouldn't be able to help).

The irony is when I was shopping around for movers, I decided not to go to PODS because they were more expensive and now I've cancelled my order with Zippy Shell and will be moving forward with PODS. After telling PODS the story, they seemed completely unsurprised and basically said they tried to warn me this would happen. Lesson learned: spend the extra money and go with PODS! I could not recommend Zippy Shell any less.