I rarely leave reviews, but after what my family went through with PODS, I feel obligated to warn others.
We were moving across the country and narrowed our options to United Van Lines, North American Van Lines, and PODS. The first two companies were more thorough but more expensive. We chose PODS to save money. That decision ended up costing us far more.
On June 11, PODS confirmed that two containers would fit in our driveway with no issues.
On June 20, the first driver arrived with the first container. He had no idea a second container was scheduled. After placing it awkwardly, I asked if he could reposition it to maximize space for the second container arriving later that day. He refused, citing company "protocols," but assured me the second container would still fit.
A few hours later, the second driver arrived, looked at the driveway, and immediately said, "This isn't going to work." He told me the first driver had positioned the container incorrectly and even called those protocols "bogus and inaccurate." According to him, had the first container been placed correctly, both would have fit.
Because of PODS' mistake, I ultimately had to hire movers five times instead of two, at $569 per visit.
Things only got worse.
The first container was picked up on June 24, and the second was scheduled to arrive by 4:00 p.m. I had movers booked for 4:30 p.m. Around 2:30 p.m., after waiting over 30 minutes just to reach customer service, I spent another 30 minutes while the representative unsuccessfully tried to contact both the driver and the warehouse. Despite reaching no one, she assured me everything was on schedule and said she had "no concerns."
At 4:30 p.m., the movers arrived. The container didn't.
To avoid wasting their time, we paid them to move everything from our house into the garage while we waited. At 5:00 p.m., I received a notification pushing delivery to 6:30-9:30 p.m. Twenty minutes later, another notification changed it to the following day. Then, around 9:00 p.m., I received yet another update.
The new delivery date was July 3.
No phone call. No explanation. No apology. Just a no-call, no-show followed by a delivery date more than a week later.
We had to be out of our home by June 27. We have two children under three, and I was starting a new job on July 8 that required a 23-hour drive across the country. PODS knew our timeline, yet still pushed our container back more than a week with virtually no notice.
When I called customer service again, I was simply told there were "unforeseen circumstances" and July 3 was my new date. No accountability. No solution. No urgency.
Because of PODS' failures, I spent thousands of dollars on movers because of mistakes that were entirely their own. Customer service was consistently difficult to reach, and when I finally spoke to someone, they either had no answers or showed little concern.
Moving is already one of life's most stressful experiences. PODS made it exponentially worse. They failed at basic planning, their own employees contradicted each other, missed a scheduled delivery without notifying us, and delayed our move by more than a week despite knowing we had a hard deadline.
The money we thought we saved by choosing PODS was insignificant compared to the financial cost, wasted time, stress, and uncertainty they created.
My advice is simple: Do not choose PODS. Pay more for a company with a reputation for professionalism, communication, and reliability. The extra cost is insignificant compared to the risk of having your entire move--and your family's plans--fall apart.
I disputed the charges and requested a full refund because PODS failed to deliver the service they promised. As of today, I still haven't received my money back.
PODS didn't just inconvenience us--they jeopardized our entire move, left my family with nowhere to live, and showed little concern every step of the way.
Save yourself the stress. Choose literally anyone else.
And PODS, do the right thing for once, and give me my full refund! read more
