Zippy Shell Reviews 278

Awful experience from start to finish. Unit arrived at the house and it was a cage, not a portable pod that could be left onsite. When We booked it, were told we would have 3 days to pack it yet when it arrived we were told we would have 3 hours! The guys that delivered it were hired to help pack and said they’d be taking it with them when they were done. The guys that actually packed it were very kind and helpful and once our belongings were packed they took it back to the warehouse where it would be sent on to travel from Portland Oregon to Atlanta Georgia. Once it arrived in Georgia I called to verify the total that I had left to pay and the agent confirmed the remaining 50% balance. Two weeks later when it arrived my card was charged the total balance plus an additional $609 for fuel subsidies! I had to call and have management review recorded conversation to get reimbursed for the over charged fee. Then our unit was being held in storage and we were told when we originally booked that the first month of storage at the destination would be free. Three days later I was charged $49.99 for insurance which I didn’t need as we have carry renters insurance that covers it, and then we were charged monthly storage for the month that was supposed to be free. I called and again spoke to management and they confirmed that I should not have been charged. It has been 3 months and I have not seen the reimbursement. Customer service claims they cannot take care of it yet I am not able to call or be transferred to the billing department. I did not print out the original contract I signed and they refuse to send me a copy. Definitely would not recommend them again! Last time I used upack and had a great experience with my cross country move and would have used them again yet they did not deliver to my point of origin.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO REPORT THIS BUSINESS TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (bbb.org)
The sales rep lied about the delivery window, the delivery to holding facility was delayed, then they couldn't confirm receiving of the shell, then they delayed delivery TWICE because they couldn't locate 3rd party movers and then they had a forklift break down (ONE forlk lift mind you).

I moved across the country for a job and bought a house (first home). I moved with my dog who was older. The move ended up really affecting his health because he kept moving from one place to the next that he didn't recognize. Sadly he passed away before our furniture arrived. He was without his normal pet bed for 20+ days, did not recognize the house as his own home, wasn't comfortable before his passing, and I'll never forgive myself for making the decision to use this company. People's lives are attached to their belongings in a long distance move. This business is fraudulently representing themselves as a moving company, they need to be shut down permanently. Worst experience of my life.

Buyer beware! They quoted me a 2 week range of dates in which my crate would be delivered. The salesperson deceived me that that was the window it would be delivered to my door with movers. As it turns out, that time window is for when the crate arrives in your state and at their rented facility. I am now told that my furniture won’t arrive to my door for another month, now after waiting 2 weeks! I have no furniture. I was told, that my only option is to get my own moving truck, go to the holding facility, and move everything myself with NO reimbursement.
The movers that they contract are terrible and clueless (I had to explain to them what the packing blankets were for.).
If you use this company realize it make take weeks longer than the quoted time frame for your crate to arrive, and hire your own movers.

Beware. I packed my shell in Colorado and had it moved to Houston and stored for several months. I requested access to it once in Houston (which I'd been assured I could have at any time with 24-hour notice), but it took three days for them to make it available to me. Lots of excuses and poor communication. Now I'm ready to have it delivered to my property for unloading, so I called and requested the date I needed and was told that was fine. Then a day later I received an email saying they can't deliver it to me (even though it's a local move) for almost two weeks after the date I requested. They were great at getting the unit to me for packing, but once I needed my items, seems I'm a low priority.

Worst moving experience.

• 1st I was expecting movers between 9 and 11 am on my moving day June 17th, 2020, 11 passes and I get a text about 11:10am stating that "Hello we hvae been delayed at as the Zippy Shell forklift has been notified to us that is not working. Currently waiting to hear back from Zippy Shell about how to proceed" I then get a call about 11:30 am stating that "We can't bring the container to you, but we can do a "loose load" I agreed, and they arrived and a truck more than 2xs the size of the container I purchased and were unsure of how much would fit in the container. At the last minute another mover arrived and stated that they were basically full, and I had to figure out the rest. At that time, I donated and threw away over $2000 worth of stuff. Zippy Shell then lied to me several times that my stuff. The manager that also arrived stated that this is not uncommon when working with Zippy Shell and 1-800-Packrat that they often must wait for containers because “the forklift driver is always too high to deal with it.”
• Throughout the move I contacted Zippy Shell for a status update and was told my pickup was June 20th and that means they have until the 8th to get it to Kent, WA. Most of the move it had not even left Charlotte, NC. On the 8th there was no confirmation of arrival and when I called, I was told “humm we don’t know where your container is at this point but we can go ahead and put notes in for when you want it brought to you so you don’t have to call back again”
• I did not receive confirmation of arrival until Monday July 11th and called to schedule the delivery to me. I got a call on Tuesday that I needed to call back to be old they had to do a “loose unload” for no specified reason. I had to call back again to get more details to know if they were going to charge me or not. Apparently, they put it in another container and couldn’t put it on their truck. I agreed again.
• When the movers arrived on 7/14, I was told “oh and we are sorry all of your boxes are crushed this was the way they came to us everything was just dumped into the container with no stacking or packing of the container.” I asked, “how full it was?” and was told “it looked full, but everything was dumped in with no packing there was probably at least ¼ of the container left if it was packed and stacked properly.” Meaning I left over $2000 worth of stuff on the other end for no reason. When I explained what I’ve gone through so far with Zippy Shell and 1-800-Packrat I was told that is the same feedback they get for all Zippy Shell and 1-800-Packrat customers.
• After the movers left, I found a missing chair (I have a dining room set of 4 and there were only 3) I called in and was basically told “fill out a claims form”
• I have been completing the form as I have been unpacking and for some reason Zippy Shell is charging my card more money with original invoices.

I would never recommend Zippy Shell or 1-800-Packrat to anyone and in fact I also plan to let my employer know to get them removed as approved moving companies.

I am very disappointed with the process so far. it's been over three weeks and there is no sign of my belongings. I am calling everyday to find the status and they give me the same BS story about not hearing back from the dispatch.

DONT USE THEM!! They a very expensive due to all the hidden additional fees. You get charged for storage even if you don’t need storage because your renting a cage. They contract out everything, they just do logistics and are a middleman doubling moving fees. The pod arrived in a moving truck, it was a metal cage moved by a local moving company. The movers said I should hire them direct to save $1k. These guys cost me $4k to move a 1 bedroom apartment 300 miles. no couch or big furniture, I packed everything. So many fees they don’t explain, and if you want to talk to them, it takes hours to finally get through. Hire local movers is the best, this is a scam logistics company that contracts out everything. Probably 2 owners working from their garage doing logistics. Never again. Fool me once, I’ll never be fooled again.

If you have to have your stuff delivered on a certain day at a certain time don’t use any moving company and lug it yourself to wherever you’re going. Outside of having to cater more towards their schedule (ie picking 3 possible delivery dates rather than just one) I don’t have much to complain about. Be careful that they don’t add insurance that you might not want. But they refunded me the first payment and canceled it right away when I called so I am not worried about that as much. They also tried to charge me for the first month of storage when I was told that was included in the original estimate. They refunded me that as well when I called so I will overlook that too. Most important is my stuff arrived perfectly how I packed it and I was happy overall. I think it would’ve been more expensive to drive a moving truck and much more time consuming. I would recommend 100% but keep an eye on your credit card to make sure you don’t pay what your not expecting and call right away if you see an extra charge.

Getting in touch with a representative was a breeze! Getting the dates for loading and transportation from Pittsburgh to Ft Myers was easy! If I had to stop here, they would get 5 stars! But, I needed the pod shipped to Naples to my storage unit, as I was only there for one week. When I spoke with E Smith, she said it wouldn't be a problem; but it was. The day they said I could have my pod delivered was the day of my flight back to PGH. Let's start the anxiety. We paid someone to help us unload the pod,, because our 'free help' i.e. family, had already left Naples. Then, I kept getting calls from the storage people saying that the pod had not been removed. I contacted zippy, and was told they had 2 trucks broken down. Understandable, except the storage manager was upset with me. Finally, 8 days later, the pod was picked up. Zippy's motto has something to do with making your move easy..NOT

WORST moving experience!! My girlfriend and I hired them for a long-distance move from PA to NY. The salesperson promised us that the shell will be delivered to our apartment and be unloaded from there, however, after they already charged us the second payment, they said they would have to do a “loose unload” where they unload the shell (while cutting open our lock that we put on the shell) and load it into a truck and then unload the truck again at our apartment. We hired Zippyshell to decrease the amount of unloads we do so our belongings do not break. Zippyshell gave us multiple excuses as to why they had to do the “loose unload” (which was not in the contract we signed) but they did not care. Also, we woke up at 7am to go to the warehouse in LI to unlock the shell for the movers. 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.

Like many people reviewing the company, I had difficulty when the driver came to pick up the container and found it was too heavy. I was told that I would need a second container and that would double the cost of my move. There is no way to know how much weight you are putting in the container until they come to get it. Their contract states that you will have to pay heavy fees if you cancel the day of the move. This is reasonable. But it is obvious that Zippy Shell is not very good at helping its customers navigate the unknown of packing the shipping containers and dealing with the fact that overweight containers do not leave the customer with any recourse, other than doubling the amount you have to pay, or receiving heavy fees for no services rendered.

Avoid like the plague.

I was not provided with a shell but rather a cage, you provide your own moving blankets and locks. Expedited shipping was 1 week late and was lied to on multiple occasion as about these whereabouts of my shells.

Once my items arrived, no word from the warehouse about when they could deliver. Managed to find 3 movers and rented a truck to pick up the items myself but then could not get the warehouse to confirm we could do that, either.

So expect for your items to be held hostage on your dime.

My wife and I paid Zippy Shell for a long distance move from NJ to NC in May. The experience with the customer service team and management were all horrific to say the least. We were told on the phone by Dio that we would NOT be charged for a storage fee if we had our pods delivered within the first 30 days, our receipt says NO STORAGE – DELIVER ASAP and they still charged us $438 for storage of 2 pods on the day they loaded our things. When we called to ask them to reverse it and to check the voice recorded call, they gave us the run around again saying they didn’t hear anything on the call and that they couldn’t share the recording with us. It took 17 days from day of load to the day of delivery – 17 days not 30! Not over 30, not at 30 – nowhere even near 30.

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.

I read your response and the order was under my wife’s name. I called countless times and nobody helps. I just emailed you and got an automatic reply. You can reach me from my contact information in that email. Thank you.

Garbage company and garbage experience. The price gouging and hidden fees they charge are insane, and I'm surprised they keep getting away with it. If you are thinking of using any company, choose any other company.

I've very disappointed in Zippy Shell corporate. After taking the full 14 days to move 1 container from Florida to Ohio now I'm waiting 4 days for Zippy Shell Columbus to drop the container to my home in Westerville. This moving performance is unacceptable and the corporate customer service was very little help. No shipment status information. Never again.

Well this is a disaster.

So I ordered 2 shells from zippy for transport from Seattle to Scottsboro AL. The initial conversation with the lady on the phone was nice and friendly. We sorted out moving dates on March 15 for a move at the end of May. 2.5 months ahead of time, should have been enough time to get everything organized for a smooth moving experience.
I was wrong.

So I was expecting the move to occur last week. On Wednesday and Thursday, one shell each day. Instead, Richard calls me and tells me that it will need to be rescheduled for 1 day on Saturday. I try to ask why this was occurring, I scheduled 2 and a half months ago. He replies, it in your contact we can change dates at any time.

Well Thursday rolls around and Richard calls again and says he can't get the shells to be delivered, so we needed do a loose load. Where the movers would load up a box truck and drive an hour and a half to seattle unload it, come back and reload the box truck again.

Well the movers show up on Saturday as expected load up the truck and drive to Seattle. Then proceed to be gone for over 6 hours. When they return, they tell me they have to unload some of my stuff back into the house because they can't make the second trip.

I then asked for my key to my shell. They say Richard has it and he was suppose to call me. No one called me, I dont know where the key is and half my stuff is still at my house. I have no idea when they are going to schedule my stuff to be picked back up.

This morning I had to wake up super early to move everything off the carpet because the carpet is being replaced. Zippy she'll is just causing me time and money. I don't think any saving you will get will be worth the hassle.

The saga continues update June 1.

So it's been a week since my promise move date and here I am with half my stuff moved and the other still at the house. After having no one contact about the rest of my stuff, I called Tuesday morning.

I got ahold of an operator that said they would call me back in an hour or two. I patiently waited for an update. 5PM rolled around and still no call back. So I called them back. I was transferred to a supervisor almost immediately and he said he would be working on it personally. I asked him to make sure and update me today. So far I have heard nothing back from the company.

We used them for a large home move over 1000 miles. They did not secure / lock our belongings and then unloaded the cages into a separate delivery truck. They stole many of our belongings due to the negligence of Zippy Shell not locking the cages. there was a great deal of damage but they want you to sign a non-disclosure in order to receive payment, which is not ethical. We would never use them or recommend them to anyone.

ZippyShell provided terrible service. They quoted me for 1 shell. When I said I'd like to be quoted for 2 shells, they insisted that 1 would be enough. On the day of our long-distance move, the movers crammed our shell full of our belongings (in a manner that will certainly result in damaged items upon unpacking). At the end, there will still a number of items that would not fit into the shell. I asked what my options were and was told that was "my problem" and they drove off with my things.

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.

Where do I even begin? I guess with this: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE THIS COMPANY.

Zippy Shell wasn’t able to provide me an online quote, so I called on 3/23/22 to book a move beginning 4/25/22 from PA to TX. The person I spoke with was very kind & helpful. He thoroughly broke out the costs, timelines, sizes of the container, etc. I was given a specific price, told most deliveries happen within 5-7 days of pick up & was assured that the shell I chose could fit a 2-3 bedroom apartment. I signed the agreement & that is where this hellish saga begins.

Unlike other reviews, the shell was delivered on time, however it was MUCH smaller than advertised. I’m not sure what kind of 2-3 bedroom apartment could fit in there, but my 2 BR (where one bedroom was used for an office, no large furniture) did not fit easily.

The loading company managed to fit most in & the shell was picked up on time (4/27/22). 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 5/10/22. 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 5/13/22, I immediately called to schedule the delivery which included unloaders. They arrived this morning (5/16/22) 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 that did the right thing.. ever.

TL;DR: DO. NOT. EVER. USE. THIS. COMPANY.

5/25 Edit: Their reply says contact them with no way to do so. Their attempts to “fix” things are halfass at best. AVOID THEM

The Movers who loaded and unloaded our Zippy Shell were fast, careful, and helpful with our furniture and boxes. Everything arrived in great condition.

Sometimes it was a very long wait to talk to a Scheduling Agent and others times I got one on the second ring. This was a bit frustrating.