Alison
Hawley,#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, April 17, 2003
I worked for a company that is an independent Uhaul dealer (not Uhaul owned). If you contacted the dealer directly & made the truck reservation then you have a valid complaint & should indeed be compensated. If that is the case the dealer should have contacted you well ahead of time to let you know there was a problem getting a truck. However, if you made the reservation by calling 800-go-uhaul or online you should have been informed at that time that the pickup location you requested was only your preferred location & that location & equipment size may be changed. Both also state that you will be called 24 hours before your pick up time to be given the pick up location information. Many times the phone number left by the customer picking up is not the number they will be at the day before or the number is already disconnected or hasnt been connected yet and Uhaul is unable to contact them. 8 out of 10 reservations we receive from the 800 # or from on line have this problem. Im not saying this is what happened with your reserve you indeed my have a valid complaint. However, if the reservation was made on line or by calling the hotline then you need to take these things into consideration. When making a reservation its best to make the reservation well ahead of time. We were told to have at least 7-10 days notice. Second call the location you want to pick up from direct and make the reservation through them this way if they know they cant fill it they will tell you. Third if you do find that you have to call the 800# or make it on line, be sure to do it well ahead of time. Do not make the reservation the day before. Your reservation will not be viewed and sent to the dealer until its too late, usually the day after the reserve is made. Most people know when they will be moving so dont wait to make that reservation. I hope that you can be reimbursed for your extra expenses. Sometimes it takes a phone call or two to the main headquarters to get matters like this resolved. Just contacting the dealer or their marketing office is not enough; usually they do not want to deal with it.