Uhaul Story

Downfalls of U Haul U Haul

U Haul Gives the basics. U Haul I have move more times in the last 15 years, than I want to think about. Every time I think we are going to settle down and stay someplace w...

I used a U-Haul truck last weekend and was extremely dissatisfied with the service I received.

On October 15th I reserved a 10-foot truck online so that I could fly from my home near Chicago and move my disabled mother from North Carolina to Wisconsin on October 30th. I was assured–both online and via phone–that my exact pick-up location would be confirmed the day before the move, but no one ever called me. I finally called the traffic center at 5 p.m. on October 29th and was told that my pick-up location had been switched from Fuquay-Varina to Lillington, NC, which is 22 miles from my mother’s home. I was explicitly told that my equipment would be available for me to pick up first thing in the morning.

After a redeye flight from Chicago to Raleigh-Durham, I drove up and down Main Street in Lillington looking for a particular store, which in reality is an unmarked garage. Once inside, I discovered that no one had been expecting me and that there were no trucks on the lot anyway. My reservation confirmation was useless.

I then spent MORE THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF on the phone with the unapologetic U-Haul traffic center. First, a representative told me that a different truck was scheduled to arrive at this garage at some point later that day, and she suggested that I just wait around indefinitely until that truck arrived. Because my mother needed to evacuate her home by 3 p.m., this option was unacceptable. Then at 2:00 I was told that there was a truck in Pittsboro, NC, but I couldn’t have it because that particular office closes at 2:30 on Saturdays (!!), and there was no way that anyone could wait a few extra minutes for me to arrive.

Finally, an available truck was located in Fayetteville. I raced all the way out there, got the truck, and then drove the 63 miles back to my mother’s home so I could start loading her things. By then, we had missed her 3 p.m. evacuation deadline by more than an hour. Luckily, her sympathetic landlord gave us an extension, and we finally began our slow 1,200-mile trek quite late that night.

I am amazed by the irony of U-Haul’s slogan about helping to make moving EASIER. U-Haul’s unprofessionalism made a stressful move even more stressful. I understand that mistakes happen, but I just learned that a friend had the same experience last summer with U-Haul. I just think consumers should be aware that even confirmed equipment reservations don’t necessarily mean anything!