Here's the situation: you're planning to move at the end of the month. You call your local UHaul store and ask about making a reservation for a truck. They tell you sure, no problem, you just need to put a deposit down on your credit card and you'll be all set. You're amazed at how easy it was to reserve a truck. 

Now, the end of the month comes and you go to pick up your truck only to find they don't have one for you. No excuse, no offer to get you one from another location, they just hang you out to dry without so much as an apology.

Why does it happen so often? Each UHaul location maintains its own fleet of trucks for "local" moves, which basically means the renter picks up and returns the truck to the same location. However, in addition to these, UHaul wants to be able to offer out-of-town moves, so they also maintain a fleet of trucks designated to get a renter from one part of the country to another. This fleet of trucks circulates the country at random as people move from one city to another and return the truck to a location at their destination. Think about the problem with this system. I'm a big UHaul outfit in, let's say, Chicago. On the fifteenth of the month, I happen to have six "out-of-town" trucks on my lot. I have eight people who are interested in reserving a truck for the end of the month. Do I give them all reservations? I might have a few more trucks show up before the end of the month, so I do. Then someone calls who wants a truck to move on the 23rd. Sure, take one of the trucks. I might still get another back before the end of the month. When the end of the month does come, I have 8 people who've all secured reservations on their credit cards and only five trucks available. I rent what I have and then try to stall the customer for a few days in hopes that more trucks will come in. 

Nice system!! Here's the problem with it. In most states there is a law against this practice. If you found yourself in this situation and had to scramble to find another means to move, incurring high costs and a lot of inconvenience, here's the good news. You can follow the steps outlined in the pages of this site, sue UHaul and have them pay you back for all your troubles. I've done the legwork for you and successfully got my money back. While I make no guarantees, there's a chance the same steps will work in your state. Read on!