U Pack

For months and months I was looking for a moving company to deliver my furniture from Puerto Rico to Maryland. While looking at the reviews for Rosa Del Monte and Flor de Mayo Express, I grew an uneasy frustration after a couple of phone conversations with both companies. Eventually, I decided not to use them.

I continued to search and found a company named ABF and decided to try them. They have a service called U-Pack.

You pack and unload yourself, but in my opinion it’s even better because only you know the value of your stuff and how far you’r willing to go to protect it.

It’s a matter of taking the time in advance to do the research on how to load and secure your cargo. They give you 3 days to load and 3 days to unload. They priced it by size of the container and not by weight of it.

The Relo Cube was delivered to the original location the date I scheduled it. It was picked up at that location the day I requested. Left the port of San Juan the day they said it would and it even arrived at the final destination one day before it was expected, for a total of 16 days in transit.

Let me just say; every step of the way has been an uncomplicated, easy to access via the web and a very flexible process. The customer service both in the states and in the Island were impeccable. I could not be happier with the outcome.

I’m sharing my experiences in dealing with ABF in hopes this will assist others (“en la diaspora”) in choosing a freight company to move their valuable and beloved goods between the Island we all love and the main land USA.

As painfully as it is to admit, when you acquire and/or receive services from companies or even the Government in PR the expectations are not to be of a high standard. So, I’m delighted to say I had received an excellent service and that I highly recommend ABF for any moving you would have to do from Puerto Rico to the states or within the U.S. states.

In conclusion, I will definitely use ABF Freight System Transportation Company services again. We can only hope they will keep it up!

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1544

I just recently used U-Pack to move from Raleigh, NC to The Villages, FL and the entire experience was terrific. From start to finish I was so impressed with how easy they made my moving experience. I coordinated my move with Steve who was incredibly professional, friendly, helpful and very easy to work with and I even had to change my moving date several times and it didn’t phase him a bit. When I was ready to load my cube, John dropped it off (on the worse rainy day possible) and he couldn’t have been nicer. He had a great friendly disposition and took the time to ensure I understood how to open/close and best pack the cube. And when it was loaded he came and picked it back and it was shipped to Florida where it sat safe and sound for several weeks before I arrived. Once I was ready to take delivery I gave Steve another call and just like that it was delivered as promised and on-time. That’s when I had the great pleasure of meeting/working with Lloyd who delivered my fully loaded cube. Lloyd was also incredibly professional, friendly and funny as heck. There was a slight delay unloading the cube because of the strict requirements of the apartment community where I moved but that didn’t bother Lloyd one tiny bit. He was as patient as Job and just went with the flow. I also used the movers U-Pack recommended to unload my cube and they offered the same on-time, efficient, quality, professional service. They made light work of unloading my cube making this one of my best and easiest moves ever! Moving is hard enough, especially during a pandemic, but ALL the folks I had the pleasure of working with and meeting from U-Pack were terrific. This company obviously cares about their customer and understands the value of good customer service. If you’re moving locally or long-distance don’t hesitate using this company. They will not disappoint. The cube was quality and my stuff arrived perfect. Not one broken item! U-Pack offers excellent, on-time, as promised service at a very fair and reasonable price.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1000

When their labor partners arrived to load.They could not load because loading ramp on truck was broken. I was charged for 1 hour labor for nothing. Later that day a new ramp was delivered, but I had wait for 2 days for another crew to load which was

$400 more than the original quote.

When my furniture was delivered the unloading crew(again their labor partner)

left some packing materials and lunch trash on the truck.

When the driver came to pick up the container, he dumped the trash out of the truck onto the parking lot of my new community. I called customer service .

I was told “the driver kicked the trash out of the truck because the truck must come back clean or they will charge me $250”

I filed a complaint a few days later,it’s been months ,they still haven’t responded

THESE GUYS DONT CARE!!!!! USE A FULL

SERVICE MOVER

Cost me: extra labor, 2days extra rent, not to mention some breakage

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

After getting quotes from PODS and traditional moving companies, it was clear that UPack was a better value. I liked getting a real quote online vs having to call PODS to get the amount. I made my reservation online, and when I did call UPack customer service, the agent there answered quickly. I appreciated their patience while I asked a million questions; they were efficient and professional. I got two ReLo containers for the price of one small POD, so I got twice the space and everything fit perfectly. I used the packing methods and straps as recommended in the UPack videos. Everything arrived in perfect condition with minimal shifting. The cubes were delivered on time, picked up quickly once I had them packed, and arrived on schedule to North Carolina. I liked being able to track them on the website as they made their way across country. Once in NC, the driver called that morning to say he was on the way - he gave me a 2 hour window and showed up right on time. He was able to put the cubes side-by-side in the apartment parking lot. This made unloading very easy. I called when they were empty and UPack came the next day and picked them up. It was flawless service from end to end. I would definitely use them again.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2600

This is a very unethical moving company. My entire 26 foot load was damaged ie shattered pottery, ruined antique furniture and torn keepsakes. When I reported the extensive damage (which included 20 photos) U-Pack denied any responsibility! Their driver had to either hit another vehicle or run off the road to cause that much damage. But U-Pack management would not admit to it. The so-called insurance they sold me was not worth the paper it was written on. If you value your personal belongings, do NOT contract with U-Pack. You will surely regret it if you do!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

We just had an excellent experience using U-Pack Relocubes for our 600 mile move. Would highly recommend!

Booking: simple online quote, but calling them resulted in even better price. Very friendly and prompt customer service.

Price: All-inclusive, no surprise costs, affordable and competitive.

Piece of mind: guaranteed to actually have the cubes available on the day you need them.

Flexibility: we went with a hybrid model of filling the cubes at a service center and having them delivered to our door at the destination.

Transportation: tracking available, cubes left departure city next day after filling and arrived at destination city in two business days. No third-party transportation company shenanigans! The convenience of not having to drive a moving truck ourselves was a HUGE factor.

Delivery: organized by simple phone call, truck arrived following early morning. Total moving time 3 days, when estimated was 4-6. Driver was very helpful, friendly and professional. Our containers were handled with care.

Apartment/limited parking: cubes were placed as to not be an inconvenience in limited parking of apartment complex. They were also kind enough to be able to pick the empty cubes up same day!

Belongings: we shipped a motorcycle amongst other things and it was a tight squeeze (will not fit a bigger motorcycle for sure) but most everything arrived in good condition. Depends almost entirely on how well you pack and strap everything down. Had no problem with the locks we got for the cubes, nothing was tampered with.

Overall, choosing U-Pack made a stressful and tiring move a bit easier, and we are very pleased with the experience.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1700

We moved from AZ to NC. A friend recommended UPack by ABF. I would never use them again. The inside of the truck was filthy. Some of our furniture seems to be irreparably damaged. Not only that, but the rep that we scheduled with on the phone gave us one set of instructions, and the driver that showed up at our house gave us another set of instructions. The driver told my husband that they

would pick up on a set day, circled it on our paperwork and left.

The rep on the phone said call for pick up. The driver never showed up the set day. When my husband called the Arizona hub to have our loaded trailer picked up, the woman that answered was rude and short with him. She scheduled a pick up for the following morning. The driver never showed up again. He called that afternoon. She scheduled the pick up for the following morning. Again, no driver. Finally, the rep (in Arkansas) that I originally scheduled this move with called and said that no one had heard from us. I was outraged. That rep was able to schedule it for us, but we were now running a day behind. We were on a tight cross country schedule, so this was very stressful for us. When we got to the other side, all of our belongings were covered in some kind of black yuck. My cream linen office chair even appeared to have been stepped on when they closed the truck? I don't know. I can't even guess. The entire experience was horrible. The cost of this awfulness: $8,000. Never again.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

Long distance moves are exhausting and hard and expensive. Upack (using abf freight) was very easy to work with, very accommodating. They delivered when they said, drivers were friendly and helpful. No extra charges tacked on. Our only issue was we had a full truck, so we had to wait another day after our trailer was delivered for the ramp to be delivered to our new home to be able to unload. Other than that, everything was great. It's important to pack the trailer well, and tight. We only had one casualty of a broken vase, but it was our fault for how it was packed. Would Def use again. Hope I never have to!! Lol. Moving sucks!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2318

We used two Relo-Cubes to send furniture to family in the Des Moines area from Winston-Salem. For us, all went well.

The Cubes have vertical E-Track. I bought the E-Track fittings to hold 2x4s and made a second level in one of the cubes. This allowed us to ship 10 dining room chairs on the upper level and the table and table pedestal legs on the main level, along with other items.

Packing: Chairs had pipe foam on the backs and moving pads. nested pairs were ratchet strapped in. The large, two leaf dining room table was disassembled and crated with pads, foam and cardboard. The three leg table pedestals were turned upside down and bolted to a shallow platform using the E-Track and 2x4s.

The second Cube held a long sofa, shipped vertically on a padded box to keep the weight off of the rolled arm. Also assorted small pieces, again all padded and strapped.

The Cubes were delivered on time and loaded over a weekend. They were picked up on a Tuesday afternoon and arrived for unloading in Iowa the following Tuesday. Due to an extreme cold snap and Christmas holiday the Cubes were not picked up until a week later but I don't see that as a defect in the service.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2567