Zippy Shell Reviews 278

We moved from TN to FL....From the scheduling to the loading, everything was great!!....They loaded up, very particularly, stored our pods for a few months because our house wasn't ready....We liked the fact that our items stayed in the pods and were never handled again until they unloaded at our new location....We called and scheduled delivery....College Hunks showed up and were very careful and courteous....Scheduling, pick-up and delivery worked as expected....It was a great experience.

This company is also known as 1-800-Pack-Rat. They failed to pick up our container despite us confirming multiple times that yes, it's ready for pickup. The pod was shipped to the wrong state and the customer service either didn't know or refused to tell us where it was. Then, it was stuck at a local warehouse because they were overbooked and couldn't deliver it. At no point would they give us an arrival estimate, which meant we had to book and cancel movers multiple times. We paid $4,000 and received $400 back after the debacle.

They STEAL!! I had so many things stolen from my things. Even the drivers stole locks.
Had to do to the BBB to file a complaint because they wouldn't answer me, but still, I got nothing. They didn't lock up my things, even though I gave them a lock. Rats go into my things and dropping everywhere. Very unreliable. DO NOT EVEN THINK TO USE THEM!!

I, the Customer of Zippy Shell, ordered Zippy Shell to deliver a small
container to be self-loaded and delivered by Zippy Shell to the final destination. Zippy
Shell was obligated, by contract, to weigh the full and empty containers in shipping.
Upon arrival at the final destination, Zippy Shell promised a delivery on 21 July. This
date changed without notice to 28 July (this was not ASAP as determined by the
contract on page 1). Upon arrival, the Zippy Shell driver drove into the home electrical
junction and cut power to our house for 4 days (see pictures of damage to electrical
wires and burned box). The driver cutting power to the home resulted in approximately
$400 of groceries being destroyed due to the power outage.
After the delivery, I contacted Zippy Shell, asking for a copy of my weigh tickets. Zippy
Shell had on file that the weighing was supposed to take place. Still, due to a lack of
planning, Zippy Shell did not weigh the empty or full container (see
attachment identifying that Zippy Shell admitted that they did not consider the
container). The weigh tickets are REQUIRED for me to be reimbursed by my employer.
The documentation Zippy Shell provided with what they deemed as a possible
estimate of my shipment weight was not suitable but also NOT the weight of my
shipment.
I contacted Zippy Shell several times after 28 July to work on a solution for the issue of
no-weigh tickets, loss of food, and trauma of 4 children under 6 years of age and 2
adults in the heat wave of August. Zippy Shell could not provide a suitable solution for
the loss. Their answer was to reimburse for the weigh ticket portiononly. I reiterated the
requirement of weigh tickets and that the goods moved into my home must be
repacked onto a new moving vehicle, driven, weighed, and then subsequently unloaded
back into the house. This requirement resulted in me having to rent a Uhaul($202.74,
see attached), drive 108 miles ($57.85 in gas, 2 hours in time. This is public data based
on drop-off location and closest Certified CAT scale location), pay for weighing
empty/full ($27.00) and six total additional hours of loading/unloading (required to take
an entire day off of work to complete the above tasks, $72.00 per hour at a total of 8
hours). This total equates to $1,263.59 in losses. While admitting fault, Zippy Shell
would not provide compensation for a new truck rental or any hired help to load and
unload the house (a service that was ultimately not used). I have accepted no payment
from Zippy Shell as they FAILED to uphold the second half of the contract.

Update (Feb 13, 2024): it has been 6 months and zippy shell has not resolved the situation. zippy shell says they spoke to their driver and he claims he hit nothing. Therefore they do not find themselves at fault and are not providing proper compensation. Pictures below show truck backing into the wires. Wires cut. Burn marks on the container.

Zippy shell will not honor claims nor provide customer service to veterans and their families when moving.

If I could give 3.5 stars I would, but seeing as it's 3 or 4, I went with 3. Overall we were pleased with our service with ZippyShell. This was my second time moving across the country. I researched multiple cross-country moving companies and ZippyShell gave me the best deal. I even approached them with additional discount offers I was given from requesting a free quote online and they honored those discounts. Booking was incredibly easy (thanks Mitch!) and it was nice to not have to put any money down until two days before our move (only needed tentative moving dates and a credit card to hold the price & booking). The crew in NYC who came and loaded our things into our shell were phenomenal. They really knew how to pack things in tightly to maximize the space and tried their absolute hardest to fit as much as possible. They were quick and efficient. Few things we'd like to mention that were frustrating for us and could be improved on: our shell wasn't shipped for 1 week after it was loaded. Granted, it was the Wednesday before New Years but there was Thursday and Friday that our shell could have been sent out. It would have been nice to be notified that it would not be shipped for a week due to the holiday and perhaps a little money back due to the delay would have been nice. (I had to call after New Years to find out that our shell was not shipping until Jan 3rd.) Also, another cross-country moving company I used in the past gave updates similar to "tracking a package," so I could see where my belongings were as they trekked across the country. This would be a great addition to the services offered, as it gives one peace of mind that their life belongings are safe and on the way. The only notifications I got from ZippyShell were text or email when our shell shipped and when it arrived at the local destination. The local delivery team in Colorado was a bit frustrating as the facility was not open on Wednesdays, Saturdays or Sundays to deliver and pickup our pod/shell (we did not know this until we called to schedule delivery). We had to have our shell delivered on a Friday and our friends & family who were wanting to come help us unload were unavailable to do so, as it was a weekday work day. So my husband and I did all the unloading ourselves (thankfully we're in fair shape and were able to do so, but I'm sure this isn't the case for a lot of people who are self unloading and relying on help from others). We were charged twice for the second half of the moving cost (they take the first half 2 days before your move and the second half once your shell arrives at your destination facility). We noticed this right away and had to contact customer service to have the second charge reimbursed. The truck delivery drivers were great at calling prior to arrival and very efficient in placing the pod in our driveway and picking it up. There is room for improvement within the company but overall, we were satisfied with our cross-country move with ZippyShell.

Zippy shell is a trash company and quite frankly they deserve to go out of business. They rescheduled our move on us multiple times even though we had a confirmed date, were disrespectful every time we spoke to them, lied about the size of the containers, the list goes on and on. I can’t discourage using them enough. It got to the point where we almost got a lawyer involved to help us get our stuff. It is supposed to come tomorrow and if it doesn’t we will be contacting the police for stolen property. On top of that we were told the “movers” they work with will do nothing to protect the carpet or anything. That’s all on us. As someone who has moved multiple times in my life I have never heard of movers who think it’s a good idea to track mud through someone’s home. This company is trash plain and

I would never use this company again. When I was shopping around for a pod-type moving option for a cross-country move, the rep at Zippy Shell made a solid sell that Zippy Shell was the best option of all the competition - larger boxes, up-front pricing with no surprises (this was the worst offense), more flexibility, rigid box instead of wood which could mold, etc. (casually left out the fact that they DO NOT ship your items in a box, but rather a cage and that the cage is inside the box that gets delivered to you which effectively shrinks your storage space by at least 30% and left us needing to purchase ANOTHER small box which I did from UHAUL and had a much better experience with aside from the added expense. It would have been completely unnecessary if the Zippy Shell container was actually full size that I was sold on and not the reduced size of the cage that is in the fine print.) I was really sold on the fact that Zippy Shell claimed to be the only company that provides the complete cost up front and doesn't rape you with additional fees for gas, etc "like PODS does." Whelp, I am here to tell you I got lopped and additional $467 fuel subsidy that I was told the angelic Zippy Shell doesn't do. And to top it all off, we were charged a $250 Stair Fee. I am curious what percentage of houses have NO stairs be it to a basement, or second fl, or even just up to the front entry of a single story house in many cases? I opted to pay for the convenience of movers on the back end, but was never told that is done by a third party and assumed ZS would be delivering direct from their warehouse. Our cage was delivered by a local moving company in their truck. Fortunately the guys that helped were wonderful and hard workers and cautious with our items, but I tried very specifically to limit the number of hands our items would pass through to limit and damage or loss and would have liked to have known that information up front. I consistently had trouble getting a hold of anyone useful to talk to on the phone and will likely continue to have trouble getting a refund for the additional fees I was told I would not incur.

What ever you do, do not use Zippy Shell for your next move. I had used Zippy Shell for a long move but smaller items. They hired a moving crew to move my items. We supplied the packing materials such as blankets. The moving crew themselves told us ahead of time that Zippy Shell does the worst job with moving items and our items will most likely be broken due to the way they move and shift the items. They basically said they don't care when moving stuff. Sure enough they were right, broken furniture, broken box, and missing pieces that wee broken off bc because everything was not inside a pod but a cage. I filed a claim for my items, I waited 6 months for them to get back to me to tell me "The 1-800-Pack-Rat Zippy Shell claims process has concluded, and we appreciate your patience regarding the matter. The claims department has evaluated the claim you’ve submitted for damage to items that you rented from the Company. Upon review of the facts of this matter and the terms of the Customer Protection/Duty to Insure Addendum to the Rental Agreement, it has been determined that the damage incurred to your property were not caused as a result of the unit being improperly loaded, mishandled or dropped by a member of the 1-800-Pack-Rat Zippy Shell staff.

Section 6 of the Addendum states: “6. Exclusions: We do not assume liability for damage caused directly or indirectly by any of the following, regardless of any other cause or event contributing concurrently or in any sequence to loss: or (xii) damage caused by improper packing, normal shifting or intentional acts. (please see attached rental agreement terms/conditions)” Based on the terms of the Addendum, this is not a covered loss.

Additionally, the Loading/Unloading Help section of your attached signed rental agreement advises that 1-800-Pack-Rat Zippy Shell does not provide packing assistance or packing materials. It is the customer’s responsibility to supply such items if they wish them to be used during the loading process. The claims team reviewed the documentation enclosed within your claims submission and spoke with the loading team. They confirmed that no adequate protective loading materials were provided. While we apologize for your experience, 1-800-Pack-Rat Zippy Shell cannot take responsibility for the damages sustained to your property."

Again we provided blankets and packing materials and they provided the workers to pack the items. Do not use them. It may seem like a good idea but use someone else. Let their business fail for not taking care of their clients.

We used Zippy Shell when we were trying to move out of state. They can't keep their delivery dates and they do not communicate properly with their warehouse. We had the warehouse try to drop them off 3 times before the date they were actually supposed to be there. Thrn the day they were supposed to be there, they only dropped one instead of 2 and told us it would be another week before they could get the other one there. Keep in mind, you only get each container for 3 days. We had paid movers to load them. I had to search for and call the CEO to get our container delivered. The containers themselves are just wire cages, the ones you get form PODS are solid. Another hit against Zippy. We set up delivery of the PODS last week. I have an email saying they won't charge for storage this month since they will be delivered before the renewal date. Guess what htye charged me anyway. This company is unorganized nad has no idea what they are doing with logostics, which is a major issue for a moving company. Stay far far away. Pay the little extra for PODS. You will be glad you did.

If I could give 0 I would. I hired the services of this company, we closed the date, and when I went to pay, the bank asked for authorization, I accepted in 5 minutes, and they sent me a message the next day canceling the entire moving services for the next day, because it took me 5 minutes to accept the payment they put someone else in my date. We already had a hotel booked, and we would have to leave the Apartment on the same day as the moving. We got in touch and they said there was nothing more they could do. And when my friend called to try to schedule it for the same day and same coordinates, they said they could do it, but for a higher price, because it would be something urgent. A whole scam!

We used ZippyShell to move from CO to TN. The service was outstanding from first contact through pick up, storage and delivery. The shipping rate was competitive, and the low monthly warehouse storage rate was a real plus. The movers/labor on both ends were timely, professional and very careful with our furniture and containers. We have unpacked now, and there was no damage or breakage. Everything happened on time as promised, with no surprises. You can't say that about many transactions these days. We will definitely be using ZippyShell for our 2nd upcoming move from CO to TN.

Coordinator forgetful - had to remind of location. No key provided. They cut their own lock, left unlocked , shrink wrapped over. Best part , cage was completely crushed in front , under shrink wrap , and boxes busted , all outside furniture ruined. “ told to fill out a claim “… of course
As of august 29- I have now received my third request to submit a claim. Which was done and submitted immediately. They’re communicating they need 90 days to process - when pictures clearly show the front of their cage was crushed in. Curious the next delay.

My wife and I moved from IL in August of 2021 to Tennessee, we used a company called Zippy Shell.
Everything went fine when they packed us up. Everything in locked Shells, and I was handed the keys.
Oh, we paid them to pack up all our items.

Now comes the disturbing part.
When we called to have the first Shell delivered, they came with a rented truck with all our items thrown in the truck.
Many items were damaged and couch that was Yellow was just a mess. They said will be back tomorrow with the second load.
I mentioned, we have our baby grand piano in the second load, and you should bring some additional help.
Next, I received a phone call from a supervisor from Packrat Chattanooga TN, he stated we don’t move pianos.
I said but you moved it from Campton Hills IL to Chattanooga TN. You’re a 1 ½ away from me. Really!!!
They would not move it, and we had to hire a third party, costing me an additional, I $900.00.

Since then, we have placed a claim with the company. They said they would get back with use on a decision in late December.
The decision was they declined out claims. Said they are not responsible for items we packed.
I went back at them to reconsider our claims because we did not pack the items they did.
Also, the items left our property in locked Shells. The items returned to me in a rented truck, obviously someone cut the lock.
Lastly, to this day we still don’t know if we received everything we packed. Didn’t realize we should have numbered our boxes and tagged our items.

Stay away from Zippy Shell & PackRat, even though I paid for the insurance they have screwed us out of $26K.

Excellent phone support
There was not a lot of info shared over an online account or even sent to my email, but at each stage once I got a human on the phone I had excellent, informative service and quick responses. I used zippy shell to move from CA to NY, it was the perfect service for my case.

I wished I have seen the reviews here before using Zippy Shell. I could identify with all the 1 star reviewers about their experience. We nearly lost the sale of our house because they "missed" the delivery date, even though I have called on the day of delivery and was confirmed that they will deliver before 12 pm. I even received email reminders they sent about the delivery. Came 11:30 a.m. we received a text message stating that the cages and movers will come the following day.
The customer services does not know what is going on with the facilities. When I called to complain of the miss delivery, all they could offer was a $100 compensation. And when we thought that stress was over, the stress saga continued. Our containers left the old house on June 15,2023 and we finally received our 4 containers on July 26,2023. That is more than a month without our basic needs. We could not schedule people to help because we DO NOT know when the containers are arriving. The movers and drivers were very nice and helpful but their corporate management is unbelievably NOT customer friendly. If you want a stressful, unreliable, expensive move, use Zippy Shell. That should be their new tag line.

ZippyShell lost a full container of my contents and still charged me $4,200. Contents worth $40,000. No response. Every time I call, they say they will let me know when they find and refuse to reverse the charges. They packed and left with 2 containers on June 29, 2023 and today is July 22.

I am writing this review as the movers for Zippy Shell are moving our belongings down to the "pod". The estimations provided by Zippy Shell is not even close to accurate for what their pod is able to fit. My wife and I live in a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment and we were advised that one pod will fit all of our belongings. We will be able to fit about half of our stuff into this pod.

Long story short, I called into their customer service and after waiting 20 minutes, a representative advised that we will have to get another pod.... AT THE PRICE OF 3.5K. Absolutely not........... She is having her supervisor reach out to us and we are waiting on them to call us. It will also cost us 800 dollars minimally to cancel, even though half of our stuff is loaded into the pod.

If Zippy Shell is able to work with us, I will update my review. As of right now, it is not promising.

Cost: Great
Dependability: worst in America
Customer service: terrible
Concern for customer: None
Will they even show up: Nope, but their customer service will send lots of messages.

I don’t understand how they continue to be a company. We called and booked 2 pods in January to be delivered at the end of June in Philadelphia. We had multiple calls with them verifying all of this 3 months, 1 month, 2 weeks before. They were supposed to show up Friday June 23rd between 8-noon. Noon came and went. My wife called customer service. They “sent a message to the facility”. The facility in Pottstown, PA never called back customer service but they insisted that it would arrive before 8 pm. Customer service sent 4 messages to the Pottstown, PA facility and never heard back. Well they never showed before 8 pm and when we tried to call they were now closed.

So at 8am on Saturday June 24th we started calling customer service. We had movers coming at 10 am. Customer service again said they would “send a message to the facility” I told them their messages must not work because they sent 4 already and nothing happened. I asked to talk to a supervisor. They couldn’t get one. So I hung up and called back and the next person got me a supervisor. The supervisor said he would call the facility manager. He got back on and said the facility manager would call me. 30 minutes later, no call. So I called back to customer service and he again called the facility manager who said he would call us back. It took him another 45 min to call back. When he did he said they are usually only able to deliver 1 pod at a time. I don’t know why this was brought up now for the first time since we booked 5 months prior and verified with them multiple times before. Then he said he “might be able to get you one pod later today”. We asked if it would be before noon since our movers were coming at 10 (right when I was finally talking to the facility manager). He laughed and said no. So we called Penske and found a moving van and a car trailer. It completely changed our plan. We had to go from Pennsylvania to Colorado and we were going to slowly drive across the county. Now I had to drive Penske truck and tow my car and then we had to return the Penske truck sooner than we had planned our trip. We canceled with zippy shell and they reimbursed us but that was it. Worst company ever. I can’t state enough that no one should ever use them. Dependability is kind of a big deal in moves and they clearly do not care at all about there customers. Not even a little bit. Awful experience. Should’ve listened to the other reviews. I guess that’s my fault.

This has been the worst moving experience in my 60 plus years moving around the world. Zippy Shell thought they could do my household goods in one container, I told them no way. Then they quoted two containers. They are cheats and liars. The associate Gregory Forester took care of the contract. The packers/movers filled four containers. I discovered today they took a truck to the warehouse to fill the fifth container. I was told from day one there were only four containers. The local agent sent me a packing list for $3900. I had nearly all the packing materials which I bought from 1/2 Price Boxes, and I had packed the majority of my goods. The local agent is charging me for four wardrobes, which I purchased and packed myself. I purchased a TV box, he tried to charge for that, but ended up charging me $80 to put the TV in the box. They listed 50 pictures boxed, I do NOT have 50 pictures. Now since they claim they filled a fifth container without my knowledge nor approval, the price has increased from over $19,000 to well over $23,000. I am an 85 year old widow on a fixed income, which leads me to believe what they are doing is elder abuse. Now I find out today that it will take several days to have the goods shipped. I am in New York now, the goods are going to Philadelphia. Once there I need to call for delivery which won't be until about 20 July. That means I stay in the hotel or in my new home without furniture or anything else. This is the most preposterous thing I've ever experienced. I made a major mistake and am paying for it big time.

Do not use Zippy Shell.

Their quoted "total price" became an "estimate" after I signed the contract. Customer service is non-existent after the initial sales call. I believe it was a miracle that I actually received my belongings.

The most egregious wrongdoing is that the salesperson on the phone promised and ASSURED me that my quoted price was the total for my move, which was a barefaced lie.

I specifically said, and I quote: "$1628.00, that's the total price for the whole move, and there are no extra charges after that?"

To which the salesperson (Dio Molina) reassured me that this was indeed the "TOTAL" price of the move.

I wish I could obtain a recording of that call. But I know that Zippy Shell would never provide it.

I was wary of being ripped off, but not wary enough.

There are monthly rental/storage fees of $219.00 assessed, as well as a "transit subsidy" that was not mentioned before the contract was signed. That added another $193 past the agreed-upon price.

The container itself was adequate, but clearly had seen better days. It functioned as advertised. I must commend all of the drivers that move these units around, as everyone I dealt with was professional and timely. I believe I got lucky there, as others have had nightmare scenarios of their belongings being stolen or lost.

This whole experience will surely serve as another hard-learned lesson for me to carefully read any contract before signing.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!