Uhaul, Torrington, CT (via Uhaul.com) - made reservation for truck via Uhaul.com - still unable to get truck at Uhaul in Torrington, CT

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on February 24, 2003:

From: Jennifer Caranci [Email User]

RE: Uhaul, Torrington, CT (via Uhaul.com) - made reservation for truck via Uhaul.com - still unable to get truck at Uhaul in Torrington, CT I wish that I had read the complaints about UHaul on the web before choosing them for my move in June 2002. 2 weeks before my move, I reserved a truck on UHaul's website. They gave me a confirmation # & said they'd call in 24 hours to confirm by phone. When I didn't get a call, I called them. Of course I didn't write down anyone's name, but the man I spoke to said that I could choose a location in my hometown of Torrington, CT, to pick up a truck & they would make the arrangements with me.

I picked out a local supplier, a well respected gas/service station in that town who also rents UHaul trucks. (As I still respect them & believe they really had no control over the following situation, I won't say who it is.) The UHaul rep told me that I would make payments to this business owner for the truck on the day of my move. UHaul would send them my reservation information & I could call the service station the day before to re-confirm. The day before my move, I called UHauls toll free customer service # to again confirm the reservation. I said that I wanted to pick it up around 8am, and a woman told me that I needed to call the local service to confirm a time. I called the local service station & they said they couldn't confirm when a truck would be available, but they'd call me asap when they had one. I was confussed. Isn't this why you RESERVE a truck? He told me yes, but since some people keep trucks overnight they cannot predict when they will be returned the following morning, and that there are other reservations in front of mine. I was nervous about it, but the guy said he'd call me the next morning once a truck was there. On moving day as of 10am I still had no call. I called the station but no trucks. I called UHauls toll free again, and a woman explained that while I did have a reservation, there is no guarantee of getting a truck, and due to this busy weekend (last of June), they were still trying to fullfill truck reservations from the previous 36 hours!!!! I asked her 'Do you mean that there are still people waiting for a truck that were suppossed to have one a day & a half ago??' She said yes. As for me, I would have to call around my town or state to find an available truck. Isn't that HER job???? I had this day only to get out of my apartment. My destination was an hour away & there were 2 other people standing by to help. After numerous calls & about 2 hours, I could not locate a truck anywhere in the local area. My father was able to find one about 1 1/2 hours away, but it wouldn't be available for another 2 hours (2pm). Then my fiance was able to borrow his brothers Tahoe truck & we got a start on the move-around 2pm. By 4pm I still hadn't heard from any of the UHaul renters in town or my father.

Finally my father showed up in Torrington without a truck. He said the one he drove 35 miles to get showed up needing immediate repair as the previous renter nearly got into an accident from the poorly maintained truck. Thank goodness we had the Tahoe-after about 4 trips each way we finally got all of my stuff out & into the new place in Cromwell, CT. I am just really glad that we didn't put any money down up front. I will never ever TRY to use UHaul again or recommend it to anyone. Jennifer Caranci

Cromwell, CT