I don't normally write bad reviews, and I want you to know that this is not necessarily a review of the Denver specific U-pack facility, the rep there was actually very nice and understanding, but of the whole process as a whole.
In short, I do not recommend this, unless you're the kind of person who enjoys headaches, coordinating complicated moving scenarios with limited internet access, false promises, unexpected increased costs, annoying your neighbors, and poor communication.
Now, for the saga that was my U-pack move from California to Denver...
First off, DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, I cannot stress that enough, it may be possible if you you get the relocubes which are smaller, but do not use the trailer. The trailers are literally the size of a semi-truck trailer. No one communicated this to me until right before the move when I received the confirmation package - at that time I had no other choice but to go with them since the other companies I had contacted were booked or had raised their prices. The trailer took up 4 parking spaces in my apartment's small parking lot - definitely irritating my neighbors. I also called to see if we could get next day pick-up, was reassured by the Oakland shipping yard that they could do this, but the message was never communicated to the actual dispatcher who sends trucks to pick up the trailer since he was on a break and the person I talked to just must have forgotten to tell him. That night, my apartment managers threatened to tow the trailer since I had given them the same assurances that it would be picked up the next day and not sit there for more than 24 hours. Luckily, it was picked up on the third day before the tow truck got there... but by that time I was on the road and just praying it would all work out and anxiously looking for the confirmation that it had been successfully picked up.
Next, I'm in Denver and I learn my new apartment complex wouldn't allow it to sit in their lot for more than 24 hours (understandably). I should also note that my rates had also been increased when I found an apartment and gave my final address right before the move because even though I was reassured that it likely wouldn't be a problem as long as it is in the Denver area (another false reassurance), my new apartment complex ended up being just outside the edge of their service area in Denver and my rates were increased. Rather than honoring their promise, they raised their rates. Once again, no one communicated to me what towns were outside of their service area... If they had, I would have used another service since the increased costs were about equal to hiring a full-service moving company from the beginning. I assumed since I was part of the Denver Metropolitan Area it would be fine, but I learned never make assumptions with these folks...
Since I knew there was no true guarantee of next day pick-up after my last experience, I decided to hire some movers from another company to pick up my belongings at the shipping yard and shuttle them to my house. One positive note, at this stage, the Upack folks did reduce my price since they didn't have to deliver it to my apartment. But, it was still a wash with the price of the movers tacked on to the price of the Upack folks.
Anyways, I called the day before my movers arrived to pickup my belongings and I was reassured by the Upack customer service representatives that the movers I hired could arrive any time of day. But I found out trusting that was another mistake. My movers arrived at the shipping yard to find my trailer backed up against a wall and inaccessible. Apparently, 8:30 is a really inconvenient time for them since it is when all their trucks are leaving and the lot is hectic. That's fine, I could have handled that, if someone had COMMUNICATED that to me, I would have scheduled the movers to arrive later in the day. But, since it wasn't communicated to me, they arrived at 8:30 only to sit around for an hour doing nothing while they waited for the trailer to be moved to the staging area where they could unload it - wasting me $200 of labor costs because of Upack's poor communication. I called the customer service reps again, the the best they could do to reimburse me for the hassle was $50. Cool, so I'm still out $150... and a whole lot of time... and a whole lot of stress... and a whole lot of coordination headaches... And of course, I was told by the customer service rep, essentially "well, you signed a contract, you should have known." Right, it was all my mistake. B.S. read more