This report examines the relationship between private equity ownership and consumer outcomes in the U.S. portable moving and storage sector, using 1-800-PACK-RAT / Zippy Shell as its primary case study. The platform carries $525 million in capital obligations — including $180 million in 13% PIK preferred equity from The Carlyle Group — against estimated annual corporate revenue of approximately $40 million. Consumer satisfaction data across eight operators reveals a consistent ownership-type gap: PE-backed operators score 1.4–2.1 on Trustpilot while non-PE operators score 4.3–4.8, a mean difference of 2.74 points across approximately 13,000 combined reviews. Federal safety data shows Pack-Rat's vehicle out-of-service rate at 18.4% — more than double the 8.2% recorded for pension-owned PODS. The McKeehan v. 1-800-PACK-RAT class action settlement (San Diego Superior Court, October 2024) documents 398 validated consumers whose 872 customer service calls were recorded without consent, resolving for $1,601,910 — 0.3% of the company's total capital structure.