Complaint Review: U-Haul

On June 7, 2004 I made a confirmed reservation for a full size U-Haul car carrier trailer from Charlottesville, VA to Rochester, NY, to be picked up in Charlottesville on Saturday, June 19 (Reservation number 28785643). Today, the morning of June 19, I received a call from U-Haul's regional office in Richmond, VA that the trailer was not yet available but was expected later in the afternoon; however, they could offer me a car dolly instead. I told U-Haul's representative (by the name of Jessica) that I could not use a dolly for the type of car I intended to transport, so I would wait.

In early afternoon I called the regional U-Haul office back at 888-313-9821; Jessica stated that my equipment had not yet come in, butthey were still expecting it. I asked where the next available car carrier was located, and was told, in Harrisonburg, VA, 65 miles from Charlottesville. I said that at this point I would rather wait another couple of hours for the one to come into Charlottesville instead of driving 130 miles roundtrip to Harrisonburg.

When I called again at 4:30 p.m., Jessica said that it had not come in, and the three Charlottesville locations as well as all other locations in the vicinity, including Harrisonburg, were closing at 5 p.m. I asked her if she realized that U-Haul was not honoring their confirmed reservation, which I considered a binding contract. She said it was not a binding contract. I replied that it was a binding contract, especially since it contained a clause that if the customer cancels the reservation on the day of pickup, the customer was subject to a $50 cancellation fee. She said she'd be happy to cancel my reservation at this point without a cancellation fee. I told her I didn't want to cancel my reservation, I had based all my plans on receiving the booked equipment. Jessica said she had offered me the dolly in the morning.

I pointed out that the U-Haul reservation confirmation "reserves the right to substitute equipment of equal or greater size", not of smaller size. Then she said that she had told me I could pick a trailer up in Harrisonburg. I responded that that was a lie, that she had only said there was one available in Harrisonburg while holding out hope that one would become available in Charlottesville as well. Since I need the trailer this weekend, I asked her if they would at least give me a discount if I would have to drive 130 miles roundtrip to pick up the equipment in Harrisonburg. She said no, take it or leave it.

At this point I hung up on her and called U-Haul's national 800 number. I explained the situation to a customer representative who seemed quite helpful. He agreed that there should be some kind of adjustment if I had to pick up the trailer from such a far away location, and told me he would connect me back to the regional Virginia manager by the name of Christie Jackson; she would be able to make an appropriate adjustment.

After waiting on the phone for another fifteen minutes, a person at the Richmond, Virginia regional office by the name of Vanesha picked up. I asked to speak to Christie Jackson. Vanesha said that Christie Jackson was on leave and wouldn't be back for a while. I explained the situation to Vanesha. She said she couldn't make an adjustment, only Christie Jackson could, but she was gone for the next few weeks! I asked to speak to another manager, whereas Vanesha said only she and Jessica were in the office, they were not authorized to make an adjustment, and there was no one else and wouldn't be anyone else until Christie Jackson's return, for which Vanesha was unwilling to give me a date.

Again, I called U-Haul's national 800 number, and again I got a customer representative (not the same as before) who listened patiently, then expressed her utter surprise as to what Venesha had told me with regard to adjustments. After putting me on hold for a couple of minutes, she came back and said that I had a good reason to ask for an adjustment if the equipment was not delivered as promised and I had to travel quite a distance to pick it up, and that indeed there was someone by the name of Amy Cox in the Richmond, Virginia regional office who had the authority and could help me from 8-5 on weekdays.

Well, let's see what'll happen with this Kafka'esque situation tomorrow, Sunday, June 20. One thing I have learned for sure: U-Haul is a badly managed company that tries to strong-arm their customers and where employees (at least the phone people in the Richmond, VA regional office) take no responsibility but are intransigent and rude instead.

Fred
Charlottesville, Virginia
U.S.A.

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