Email sent to U-haul December 21, 2018

I had the most horrific experience using Uhaul last month. My order number is 97506062. Below lists many of the problems that I encountered on my moving day.

When I was comparing different moving options, I called Uhaul on several occasions to make sure that one Ubox was appropriate for a 1 bedroom apartment. I moved a 680 square foot apartment in Los Angeles. I did not move any appliances and was not planning on moving the actual mattress, only the bed frame. I called Uhaul on 3 separate occasions to discuss the sizing. I was told that one box was ample room for my small apartment. I was also told that I could secure a moving company through Uhaul and that this company would pick up the Ubox, bring it to my apartment, deconstruct my furniture, move my furniture and boxes into the Ubox, and then bring it back to the storage facility. 

To prepare for my move, I had called multiple times to ask about the details of what the movers would need for packing. I was told that these people were full service movers and that they would disassemble or reassemble my furniture depending on if I was moving in or moving out. I was also instructed to fill the drawers for moving so that space would be conserved. I was unsure about doing this so I asked during 2 separate phone calls and also watched the Uhaul video to confirm that this was a normal way of moving.  

I was given a price for the movers to complete the entire transaction - from picking up the box, to filling it, and then taking it back. The day before the scheduled moved, the movers called and asked me where the box was coming from. I did not understand what they were asking. Didn't they know where the box was coming from since they would be the ones picking up the box? How would I know anything about the location of the box since I had paid for full service movers?  The lady representing the moving company said that depending on the location of the box that the price of the move could change. I had NEVER heard this before. She told me that if the box were in a different location than what she had originally thought, she would give me a call later that day and let me know. I never heard from her again that day so I thought we were good to go as far as the scheduled move. 

On my moving day she called me an hour and a half before our scheduled appointment. She said to pay the movers the extra fee. What extra fee???? I was in disbelief that a moving company that I scheduled through Uhaul was suddenly changing their prices ON THE DAY of my cross country move. I had no idea if she was trying to pull a bait and switch on me or what was going on. I asked for more information and she completely freaked out on me and told me I to go get another mover and that she would not be sending anybody to get my Ubox. Talk about insane stress for the day of your move! She left me high and dry and I was forced to call Uhaul to report the issue and to try to find another moving company since my box was ready that day. 

After the moving company representative threw a fit and told me no one would be coming, I called Uhaul and spoke with someone who tried to find me a different company to come and move me that day since I was expected to leave my building that day and because my Uhaul box was ready for pick up. He called me back within an hour and explained that he was unable to find anyone else, but he was able to talk to the owner of the company who said he would still come by to do my move. I was torn by this because on one hand I desperately needed a mover ASAP, but on the other hand I was very concerned about dealing with a company that had handled my move so rashly. The moving company called me about an hour and a half after that. I also dealt with the owner of the company this time instead of the representative and he said he would be by later in the day. 

Due to all the issues, the movers were very late from their originally scheduled time and did not show up until it was getting dark. I had packed my boxes and bought furniture wrap as directed by the woman at the moving company. When the movers came in to move the boxes and furniture they informed me that they weren't full service movers. They said they were only there to move boxes and furniture PIECES. They expected me to have my kitchen table and bed frame completely dismantled. This to me was absolutely crazy! I have never heard of movers only moving furniture pieces and not the actual furniture. But I was stuck since this was my moving day and they arrived so late. There was no way to get another company.

Additionally, one of the very first boxes they touched, they dropped on the ground. This happened to be my flat screen tv. They acted as if it was no big deal and was protected since it was in a box. This was not the original box and was just a box I had packed it in. I am very concerned about opening this box after I have my Ubox delivered. I hope that drop did not kill my tv. Furthermore, I had spoken with the movers before arrival and was told that they would be doing all the moving and to please get furniture wrap so that they could wrap the large items. Thankfully, I had my mother in town to help me with the move. She was able to dismantle the bed frame and kitchen table so that they would move it. 

While this was happening, they also dropped another unpleasant surprise on me. They told me that they wouldn't wrap my furniture and that it was my job to do this. I was then required to stand outside and wrap my items before they would move them in the truck. 

While my mother and I were working on the tasks mentioned above, the movers packed the Ubox. Unfortunately, there was no light in the box. This made it very difficult for them to effectively move my things into the box. They even asked me to hold their cell phone up using the flashlight feature so that they could see what they were doing as they loaded things in the box. When it came time for the movers to move my dressers, they were shocked to find out that I had packed my drawers. I explained to them that I was instructed to pack in this manner to conserve space. They said that this could harm the integrity of the furniture. I agreed, but was unsure of what to do since my dressers were already packed and we were running out of time. They ended up moving the boxes with the drawers in them. However, they pulled out some of the drawers with the plan of putting the drawers back into the dressers after they were in the Ubox. This proved to be quite difficult since it was dark in the box. I watched the movers bust off pieces of the tracks on my dresser drawers when they put them back in the slots while in the box. I am so scared to see what my dressers will look like and to see how and if the tracks will work properly since the integrity of them has been ruined.  

The way the box was packed I am going to be scared to death to open it. The movers chose to put an expensive 55 inch flat screen tv as the very last item. It is not protected by anything other than a thin box (not it's original box) and so that it can potentially fall out when the door is opened since it was jammed in at the very end. They also had to use strong force when closing the door. 

When I spoke with the Uhaul representatives I asked what I needed to supply for my box. I was simply told to get a lock for my box. No further instructions were given. I purchased my lock from Home Depot. When we tried to put the lock in through the door, the way the box was built the lock would not go completely through. We had gone through all this work and then there was no lock. I had never been told that only specific types of locks would fit. Luckily the movers had a spare, but of course this cost additional money. 

And lastly, I didn't get notification until the following day after the move that my box had made it to the warehouse. I have no idea where my box was on the evening of my move. 

As one can see from all of the issues mentioned above, this was a horrible experience. Moving is stressful enough without having all of these issues occur on the day of your move. There were multiple problems with the moving company that was provided via Uhaul.  Uhaul must do a better of communicating with both the moving company and the customer. Both myself and the moving company had different expectations of how the move was supposed to work. I was told the move would be full service. The moving company didn't think they had to dismantle furniture. This is a huge difference in expectations. I was told the move was full service and that they would handle the pick up of the Ubox. The moving company thought I should have insight as to where the box was coming from and adjust my price accordingly. The list goes on and on.

I am DREDDING getting my Ubox delivered to my new home. I have two very expensive large flat screen televisions that have been compromised. My bedroom dressers have been damaged. I witnessed metal pieces getting busted off of my drawers. I was also forced to leave many items behind. I was assured that my small 680 square foot one bedroom apartment would have no problem fitting into one Ubox, but there were many items that did not make it in. This is additional money that I must waste to rebuy these items. And now I have the concern of how am I going to rebuild my bedroom set and kitchen table. I am a single girl with no mechanical ability. I have no idea how to reassemble furniture and believe this should be part of a move!