I am fixing to sue the pants off U-Haul. I am super fired up and writing about this makes me even madder so I am going to be brief. Poor Chuck is still on his way back from a 3000 miles round fruitless trip to retrieve our things from a Fort Saint John, British Columbia storage unit. After making reservations for a 6 X 12 enclosed trailer and driving over 1400 miles to pick it up, he was told it wasn’t available. He could see it in the lot, but it had been taken from his name and reserved for someone else.
Chuck had reservations to pick up an enclosed 6 X 12 trailer on Saturday, May 29th. Because he had to work on Friday, he got a later start than he originally planned. After driving straight through the night and into Saturday, he saw that he wouldn’t make it to pick the trailer up before closing time so he called the U-Haul pick up location and talked to the representative about the delay. He was told that the 6 X 12 enclosed trailer would be available for pick up on Monday, May 31st. He called her AGAIN on Sunday. She assured him that the 6 X 12 enclosed trailer would be there for his use on Monday. What happened when he arrived Monday morning? He found that his reservation was cancelled without his consent or knowledge and a new reservation was made for a 5 X 8 open trailer. We have absolutely no use for a 5 X 8 open trailer. It simply will not work for our needs. Furthermore, U-Haul stated that there was not another 6 X 12 enclosed trailer anywhere in Canada. Chuck only left Alaska to retrieve our things from a storage unit in Canada. He returned without them because of U-Haul’s incredibly big mistake.
Over 3000 miles of wear and tear have been added to the truck that we are still in debt for. Over 3000 miles worth of gasoline was spent. Over 5 solid days lost. We were paid up on the storage until till the end of May. Now, we will have to pay for the months of storage fees until Chuck can leave work to retrieve our things. 2 night’s hotel costs (the other nights were spent driving) and probably hundreds of dollars of long distance from Canada calls were spent because of U-Haul’s mistake. I personally spent hours, HOURS, on the phone with about probably 10 different U-Haul representatives. Most of the time, I was placed on hold while my 4 year old daughter drooled in front of the T.V. All but one U-Haul representative treated our situation with callous disregard.
Because of U-Haul’s mistake we will have to go back to get our things. Did I mention it is over 3000 mile trip? Chuck had hoped to get the trip out of the way before my daughter and I arrived in Alaska. Now, since he is burnt out, I will come along to help with the drive the next time he can break away from work to make the trip. If I go, our daughter will come along. What he hoped to get behind us during a long Memorial Day weekend away from work has turned into an absolute mess.
A “file” has been made at U-Haul and we are supposed to get a call from someone in the next 3 business days. We’ll see how it goes. If an offer to reimburse us for our mileage and gasoline charges is not offered, I am seriously going to go through the absolutely dreadful process of suing.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
U-Haul
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 and is filed under mess,trailer,U-Haul,U-Haul mistake. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.
OMG. You should sue for sure if you don't get your money back. That is absolutely NOT acceptable. Unbelieveable.
ReplyDeleteI hope the rest of your trip to Alaska goes smoother, and your journey returns to being joyus. Right now, all this moving stuff must be a headache to say the least.
I won't be using U-haul when I move next year.
This is terrible Hayley - has Chuck made it back safe yet? I really hated reading this story - I bet Chuck was really mad too! Try to stay positive - only 2 days until you leave - I am so excited for you! I hope you and Charley (and My Friend) have a good trip up. You guys better call us this weekend and let us know you made it!
ReplyDeleteGood grief... that irritated me just reading it. I can't stand situations like that, especially when the company at fault will not help out or take responsibility for their screw-ups to make things right. :(
ReplyDeleteBUT.. having said that... I'm praying the next day goes well and that you have a SAFE and easy trip to Alaska !! I know you are both ready to see Chuck..and I wish you the best of luck in your travels and your new adventure! :) (And I hope UHaul makes things right for you guys without you having to sue..) ;)
Well, I don't really want to ask, but did you ever hear from them?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah. They called and said they would give us $50.00 and they had a U-Haul ready if we were ready to turn around and make the trip again. I am waiting for Chuck to proofread the story and then I am going to send it to Burns, Burns, sans Burns.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this next time, you should probably give them your credit card number over the phone to reserve and ensure the U-Haul is yours. Most places have you do that anyway.. but it seems the best way to prevent a mistake like this from happening again. There will always be human error, but they should have compensated you better. This next time, at least you can drive there in confidence, knowing you've reserved it with the $$ already. Print your receipt and take it with you. Roooooooaaaaaadddd Trrriiiippppp! Woo! Please do it while the roads are not icy. Please. You tryin to give me a heart attack? You want my brain to 'splode?
ReplyDeleteWe did! We had a printed reservation!
ReplyDeleteSo the thing was that Chuck was not able to pick up on the date of the reservation? Did they every say anything else? I think Guy had mentioned that maybe you could get a U-haul in your town...yes it would be twice the miles on the u-haul, but at least you would have it with you.
ReplyDeleteWell not exactly. He was just going to be later than he expected. He was willing to meet the lady but she wanted to wait since it was going to be about 7:30. SO, she assured him it would be available on Monday. We can't even think about going back right now. I think when he does, we will borrow a trailer.
ReplyDelete