I heard a terrible story a few days ago…one that made me want to remind everyone to be very careful about the moving company you choose. I won't name any names – since I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty and I only got one side of the story – and it was the Reader's Digest version. But, still, I've heard these stories before – and if you look at message boards online, you'll probably read similar stories. Really, it's just heart-breaking.

The Story
Apparently this customer (who came across as very nice on the phone) contracted with a full-service moving company to move all of her items from state to state. She told me she used U-Pack to move a few years ago and had a good experience, but this full-service company gave her a great estimate – and getting loading and unloading help was a plus.  But, apparently in the end, the price went up…way up, and it was a completely unexpected increase. She refused to pay the increased charges; they refused to deliver the shipment without the additional payment. So, this company has been holding all of her family's belongings since October 2008. All of them. All of her children's toys, their clothing, pictures, paperwork, furniture…everything. They are currently involved in legal proceedings, but have a need to move again – this time cross-country. She said they've purchased enough off of Craigslist over the past year to partially furnish their small home. Last time their goods filled up most of a trailer – this time, it should all fit in one or two ReloCubes.  Hopefully, this will all be resolved soon and this family will have all of their goods returned safely.

The U-Pack Plug
Let me end this with a little plug for U-Pack. Picking a moving company is tough. It's sometimes hard to know who you can trust – and no one wants to be surprised with a price that's thousands more than what you thought it would be (or hundreds even).

I can say with confidence that after over 80 years on America's highways, you can trust ABF U-Pack. We pride ourselves in accurate billing – and you know the moment you load your moving trailer or ReloCube what your price is. With the ReloCube you just pay one price based on the number of Cubes you use, with the trailer you pay based on the linear footage you use – and your moving quote includes a per foot adjustment rate, so you know ahead of time the price to expect if you use more space than you estimated…and if you use less space, just subtract that adjustment rate and pay less. What a breath of fresh air to not worry about surprise charges and increases. Just pay for what you use, and U-Pack delivers.