UBox Uhaul Portable Storage Nightmare from the beginning! Tampa, Florida

I made the biggest mistake of my life when I called U-Box January of 2011 to receive a moving quote for their portable storage units. The price was too good to pass up.   They were cheaper than the rest of the leading companies and promised I would receive my items within six business days from pickup at my residence.  The pick-up went smoothly.  The woman arrived on time (February 22nd) to pick up all five boxes and said they would be shipped out by the end of the week...or so we were told.  We proceeded with our move as planned.  On the fourth business day (February 28th), I called to ask for a box location so I could schedule movers.  They were still at the initial warehouse in Savannah, GA!  No one had shipped them.  Her excuse was that they couldn't find a truck to bring them down.  NOT MY PROBLEM!  This move was scheduled with Ubox at the beginning of January - you are telling me in almost two months you did not plan accordingly and now my things are still sitting in one state while we are waiting for them in another.  She apologized and said she would call me when she had more information. 

 One day passed - no call.  I called back on the second day and again, they were still looking for someone to pick up my items.  On the seventh business day - March 3rd (remember my items were suppose to arrive in six business days from the time they pick them up from our house) I finally received a confirmation that my boxes had been picked up.  She could not provide a delivery estimate but gave me the local contact information for the people who would be receiving them. 

I called the local branch in Tampa, FL (this is where the nightmare really began) and was told that they did not have any information on my boxes and would not know until they arrived in the warehouse.  Now, please understand that I moved into my  new place February 27th with the expectation that I would only be without all of my  possession (furniture, clothing, my son's things, and other items) until March 2nd  at the latest.  We were sleeping on the floor and wearing the
clothes that we packed.  We had no cookware - nothing!  By the 4th of March I was starting to lose my temper.  No one knew where my boxes were.  I left another message that evening (now on the eighth business day) asking them to please give me a call as soon as my boxes arrived so I could plan accordingly. 

The morning of the 5th I called again.   Low and behold my boxes had arrived but no one had called me!  I asked the lady to please let me know what time she was planning on delivering the boxes so I could hire movers.  She swore she couldn't determine a time but would arrive when she could.  I asked her if she could at least call me an hour before she headed my way so I could try to find someone.  Nope - unannounced, she arrives outside my apartment gate and calls for access.  Great!  I now have boxes but no movers!  I asked if she can pick up the boxes Sunday since they were blocking my garage.  She said she could try - just give her a call first thing in the morning.  I call her that afternoon to arrange a time, the next morning, the next afternoon - no answer at all.  Not even a call back.  I left another message Sunday evening trying to setup a time to get the boxes on Monday.  No call back.  I call Monday morning - no answer.   I finally get a hold of her later that morning to see when she can pick up the boxes - her response "I'll get there when I get there".  I was livid!  I call the 800# for U-Haul to complain.  Amazingly enough, I receive a call 30 minutes later with a set time for pick-up.  That was the first disaster...but wait there is more!

I called on Tuesday (October 27th) to arrange shipment for my portable boxes.  Now please understand when I originally used their service - we were charged $690 to ship five boxes from SC to FL.  When I called to arrange shipment - they wanted to charge us $2300!  They were being shipped to NC from FL.  There was only a 200 mile difference so it wasn't even twice as far for almost three times the amount!  When she provided the "final price quote" she obtained my information, confirmed our delivery address, and again promised six business days for delivery.  I asked for an explanation for the price gouge.  The General Manager calls back and explains that they have no control over the price increases because they use third party trucks to deliver (the same third part that was a 1/3 of the price before).  He initially misunderstood my request and provided a price quote from SC to FL (the same exact shipment I scheduled in January).  What initially cost $690 was now being quoted at $1800! 

 After I restated my initial inquiry, he confirmed the $2300.  He also explained that they would not be able to deliver the boxes to our home (as previously confirmed) and that it would be an additional $500 or we would have to go to the distribution site in NC and get our items ourselves.  So in other words, we were going to have to either pay for a trailer to move our boxes or we would have to rent a moving truck and come and get our things from a PORTABLE STORAGE UNIT (whose sole purpose was to move our items to our house)!  That was the final straw.  I said have my boxes ready - we are driving down and getting our things ourselves.  My husband had to drive 700 miles to get our things.  I WILL NEVER EVER USE UBOX AGAIN!