Same thing happened to some friends of mine. They reserved a truck and went to pick it up and there was no truck. They were told their reservation did not guarantee them a truck. I don’t see how that makes any sense!
Ultimately they found a truck for them at a distant Uhaul that my friends had to go pick up. But I will never use Uhaul ever after that!
I am on hold trying to talk to the VP of something or other in Woodbridge…
The more I think about that, the more crazy it makes me.
If five dollars and a reservation does not guarantee one a truck, then what is one paying for? What does “reservation” mean under the circumstances?
My first thought is, “Tell me, clerk, do you feel that stealing my five dollars for your boss is worth it to YOU? Will your boss split the money with you? And will you still feel it was worth it after I have picked up this desk and shoved it down your throat?”
At the very least, they’d have to WORK for MY five dollars… hell, I’d feel obligated to hang around and give them a full tilt nightmare at a dollar a minute. They would NOT want to pull that stunt on me twice.
I’ve never dealt with U-Haul. Rented a Ryder truck a couple of times. They never gave me any reason to complain.
…but what this one U-Haul franchise is doing now very much disinclines me to EVER want to do business with them… I mean, this is some BAD advertising…
This happened to me too!
Made the reservation online, paid the fee, called a day prior to moving to confirm and found out they just randomly cancelled my reservation. Didn’t feel the need to call me and let me know or anything, no no, just felt like cancelling my reservation for shits and giggles, apparently.
:rolleyes:
And here I was thinking it had to be a fluke…
U-Haul sucks. Thank goddess there’s like 10 different places in my area so I was able to get another one.
Ah yes, just remembered they tried to pull that “you called and cancelled your reservation” bullshit on me too.
After I told them they were full of crap and I most certainly did NOT call and cancel my reservation and no, I did not have a husband who would’ve called or another family member who would’ve called, they just said “oh well, don’t know what happened”.
My anger has begin to bubble up again at this and it was over a year ago!
Ok honestly, this just happened…
Me: “I just want a truck to be there tomorrow morning!”
Uhaul bitch: “I can’t just make a truck appear! How about you make $1,000 appear in front of me!”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Another victim of Uhaul’s idiocy here. I reserved a 10-foot truck well in advance of my move. When the day came, I had friends there all ready to help me move. I called for the truck, but they claimed not to have one.
I proceeded to rip the clerk a new one. I don’t usually do that, but I was really pissed and my friends weren’t too happy at a potentially wasted trip, either. Finally the clerk relented and offered to call other Uhaul places around town to find something for me. She eventually did, but it turned out to be 26 fucking feet long. That was one white-knuckled drive across town in heavy daytime traffic that I hope I never have to repeat.
Wow, tramp. That’s pretty messed up. Does Uhaul have some sort of employee interview process where they screen out the competant, polite people and only hire assholes?
Wait, was that the VP you were talking to?
If not, escalate to the next supervisor, and keep on going. And follow this up with a letter (physical, in an envelope) to the CEO if you don’t end up yelling at that person too.
I am on the verge of tears right now.
My sister went through a similar experience a few months back. Except she had been warned by a co-worker that a reservation does NOT mean that a truck would be there. (Seinfeld: “Taking the reservation is really the easy part. Anyone can TAKE a reservation. The crucial part is HOLDING the car.”) She called the local dealer directly the day before she was to move to confirm her truck would be there. The manager told her that he had no reservation for her and no truck available. She gave him the confirmation number and he said no one had called that order in to him. He also said that in the future she should call the local dealer directly and not deal with the 800 number. He found a truck for her about 40 miles away, but it was such a royal pain that she swore she’d never use them again.
If you want an easy $$ franchise, open up a mom and pop rent-a-truck operation right next to a UHaul place.
I’m not normally on the litigious side of things, but if I were you I’d start documenting who’s told you what and when, especially the insults. After all, I’d find it hard to believe that a company that charges you, fails to honor a contract, and then ABUSES you when you try to seek a remedy isn’t begging for a lawsuit of some sort.
Oh, I’m sure an evil company like U-Haul has disclaimers in teensy eensy writing all over the place. They have to, or they’d be bankrupt by now, methinks.
I wonder what Taxguy, Mr. Corporate Supporter, thinks about this one…
Oh man. Reading this thread is fueling the anger within Happy.
My ScrewUHaul story isn’t quite as dramatic as the mysteriously canceled reservations, but IMO, it’s equally ridiculous and frustrating.
Late last fall, my girlfriend moved from one apartment complex to another. I called UHaul four weeks in advance to reserve a truck for her moving day (a Saturday). That day beforethe move, around 3 p.m., UHaul called my home voice mail and told me I could pick up the truck at 6 on Saturday, and that it needed to be returned by 8 a.m. on Sunday. Okay.
I just assumed they meant I could pick the truck up at 6 a.m. on Saturday (silly me). I had another question I had to ask them, so I called the UHaul, and then re-confirmed I could pick the truck up the next morning. The guy said, “No, you can pick it up tomorrow night, at 6.”
I said, “What? I reserved this truck for one day.”
He said, “You’re getting it for two: Saturday and Sunday.”
I said, “You’re giving it to me for 14 hours overnight, and you think this is acceptable?”
He said, “That’s when your truck will be available.”
I said, “How do you expect me to move overnight??” (Mind you, this is October, so it gets dark shortly after 6, not to mention most apartments allow no moving after 10 p.m.)
He said (I shit you not), “That’s you’re problem, sir.” And this is where I lost it.
Among much yelling, I told him he could shove that $5 reservation fee up his ass, I was canceling the reservation, and would never use UHaul again.
Then the fun part came. My GF had family and friends coming from great distances the next morning to help her move. And a mere 18 hours before zero hour, we had no truck. The best part is she had alreay told her friends and family that her fantastic boyfriend Happy had made all the arrangements with the truck, and their should be nothing to worry about.
So anyway, I got up early the next morning, called every non-UHaul truck rental within a 40 mile radius, to no avail. So I finally, out of sheer desperation, I walked into a UHaul place (a different one than the one I had made the original reservations with), and asked if they had any trucks. The dude said they had a 14-footer ready to go. And I said I’d take it.
But I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever use UHell again.
Happy
The exact same thing happened to my employee last weekend. She made a reservation about a month in advance and was told they would call the day before to advise of a pick up time. The day before, no call. So she called them. They told her there were no trucks available, she hadn’t been given a reservation at all and was on a stand by list. They would call her if a truck became available. Now she told me that she’d called every single local office, A Man With A Van, Two Guys and a Truck and every Bubba-owned operation she could find in the phone book.
It’s student season here… No, that doesn’t mean we get to shoot 'em. There are two major universities here and pretty much for the next few weeks, no trucks are available to anyone. How the students manage to get them and move in, I do not know.
At major personal risk, I gave her the keys to the company truck – a brand spanking new 12’ delivery truck we bought the week prior. Hadn’t even used it for business yet! I explained that she and her husband were not covered under the insurance and if anything happened, it was her dime. And I handed her the keys.
She got herself moved, returned the truck spotless and with no calamity and nobody got in trouble. And I didn’t charge her a penny. She even handed me a five dollar bill to reimburse the company for the gas she used.
If I could loan you our truck without risk like that, I’d be on my way to VA for you! So sorry this happened to you. Future reference: use Ryder or some local company. Never call the 800 numbers. Always call the local offices to make reservations.
I have to be the coolest boss ever, don’t you think?
I hate Uhaul as a company. THe problem is…
Well…
Their trucks are the nicest and the easiest to load! I rented a ryder for one of my moves. I have lots and lots of tools and equipment to move.
A Ryder ramp is like 40’ long and at a severe angle. A Uhaul ramp is about 20 feet long and at a gentle angle.
A Ryder truck has a deck height that’s probably 2-3’ taller than a Uhaul. It’s a real bitch if you’re moving lots of stuff or heavy stuff.
There are assorted little things too, but they don’t amount to much.
Too bad Uhaul SUCKS so bad.
Sam
Have you tried enterprise rent a car and asked them if they have a cargo van or large truck you can rent. They are usually reasonable
tramp, once you get off the phone with Corporate, you might want to give your local Better Business Bureau a ring. Couldn’t hurt, might help.
U-Haul is, bar none, the worst company in America. They did this same thing to me last year. I made a reservation weeks in advance, the appointed day comes and no trailer. I have to say, that after spending 8!!! long hours on the phone with them that day, most of it on hold, I got a trailer some 40 miles away that I had to go and pick up. I would rather eat glass than deal with those bozos again. Hang in there Tramp!
Ms Boods’ Adventure with U Haul in Belair Road, Overlea, (Baltimore), Maryland, May 2003:
I knew I’d driven right past the club where I needed to be, so I thought, Behold! A U Haul place on the right, just up there. I shall pull in, and ask directions – maybe he’ll even let me call my friend, the owner of the club, cos I must be within 1,000 yards of the place.
I went in. ‘Hallo!’ I said, quite nicely.
Gent behind the desk, ‘Whaddya want?’
Me: ‘Yes, rather, I’m lost, and --’
Gent: ‘I’m not from here, and I don’t know where anything is, Fuck off.’
Me: ‘Hmmm…right, then, perhaps, please, might I use your phone --’
Gent: ‘This is a business phone. Maybe there’s a phone at the 7-11 down the street.’
Me: started to stammer an apologetic reply – as he picked up the phone to call a tow truck to have my car towed from the car park since I wasn’t there to reserve a truck! I had to run to my car, and pulled into the little flower shop car park next door. As soon as I went into the shop, visibly shaking and seemed a bit upset, the girl behind the counter said, ‘Oh, my God, let me guess – you were just at U Haul next door.’
I did later ring the main office in Maryland, and they were shocked at his behaviour, and I believe investigated…but, crikey…