My parents are about 75 and live in Wisconsin. They contacted U-Haul in October and were able to schedule their U-Haul units. Then the sale of their house fell through and they had to postpone the move. When rescheduling the U-Haul units they found that the price was now actually more than double the cost. They decided to wait and see if the price would go back down. In February the price was comparable to the October price so they schedule the move for March 12th and will load the containers and have them shipped.
On March 9th they called U-Haul and asked if there was a possibility to hold the shipping date if they run into problems with the closing on the house; U-Haul stated there would be no problem. On March 12th they picked up the first of eight containers. After loading it they returned it to and picked up another. When retuning the third they were told that their containers were too heavy and that some of the contents needed to be removed. Did I mention that they are in their 70s? The fourth container was brought over and they had to unload about a quarter of each of the three previous loaded containers. There is 2000 pound limit, but no way to gauge what the weight in the container is! This exhausted them and they had to stop for the day. Remember there is a $15 charger per trailer per rental per day.
The next day, March 13th they picked up and loaded three more containers and delivered them back to the warehouse. Their requirement was to have the containers in on the 16th for shipping to arrive at the warehouse on March 29th. This was another $15. They would not load the last container until the 16th, as they were waiting on the verification of their closing, but loading it turned out to be the morning of the 17th. Another $15 for the trailer, but this was expected. The container was dropped off about noon and they headed out of town.
On the 17th I confirmed that they had started their drive to Texas. I looked online to check the status of their containers. I saw that they picked them up on the 12th and they were ready on the 13th. Then I noticed the delivery to Texas. They were to be delivered to Texas warehouse on April 10th and Self delivery on March 30th. WAIT!! I would need a time machine to make that possible! This spurred my first call to U-Haul HQ in AZ. It was a little after 6pm on March 17th when I called and I thought the support was very helpful. They explained that on the March 9th the ship date was moved to the 28th and I would need to contact the regional office and talk to a specific person. They gave me the number and told me that the office opened at 7am, but it is best to wait to call until 8am. I figured that since I get to work for 6am, this should be fine. I called at 8am March 18th and asked for the individual. I was told he was busy and had to call me back. To my surprise he did call me back. He stated that on March 9th a request came in to hold the shipping of the containers until the 28th. So it appears that the question the parents asked actually turned into an action, but this should be fixable, right? I thought, “I would have expected the drop off office, who made the change, to have corrected this when they received the last container, but it did not happen”. I stressed to them on the phone that the schedule they have would incur an additional $800 and the containers should be shipped as soon as possible. The individual from regional seemed to have helped as he stated he would get the date moved up to later this week. He also stated the update should be reflected on the web site. Everything seemed fixed and I thought it was handled.
Today March 19th, I looked at the web site and the same dates still appeared. Self-delivery on March 12th, return to WI warehouse on March 13th, arrive warehouse TX on April 11th and self-delivery on March 30th. I had to call HQ in AZ again to find out what the actual status is since two days have now passed.
A little after 5pm on March 19th I call HQ in AZ and they connected me directly to the regional office. I was frustrated to find out that there were not any more notes entered after the ones of March 9th. At this point I must admit I was not calm, cool and collected! I did raise my voice, I did cut him off when he talked and as much as I tried not to cuss I may have a slipped once or twice. At this point all he could state was there are no notes and the earliest I can get them shipped is Monday the 23rd since all shipping slots for Friday have been booked. I did recompose myself knowing that the man I am talking with is doing what he can at this point. I sternly told him I acknowledge what he has stated, “No notes and the 23rd is the best he can do”. I actually thanked him for his time and hung up.
I immediately called the man I talked to yesterday. Today on the 19th he stated he was stepping out of a meeting to help me and would call me back. Again he did call me back and stated he put the information in the system, but cannot be sure it was saved. It was interesting how the recorded conversation with HQ on March 17th wasn’t in the notes, nor were there any notes entered for the call with regional or this man on March 18th. The man stated he called the WI warehouse to see if they will load up on Saturday to get the containers down the road a few days earlier. Unfortunately he then stated that if it does not happen they will ship on Monday March 23rd.
Although this does reduce the time to retrieve the containers, it should allow enough time to complete the move without paying another $800.
Keep this in mind if you plan to use U-Haul and good luck to you if you actually use them.
