richboyd"at"SpeednetLLC.com

More Abused/Cheated U-Haul Customers

THE TRUTH ABOUT UHAUL'S INSURANCE

This is a little different about U-haul - but still a complaint and we'll never, ever use them again and will tell all friends and family to never use them.
Last week my husband called the local U-Haul dealer to rent a small open trailer for the day. He was told the trailer was available (he had rented the same trailer from the same dealer just the week before). He gave them our credit card number over the phone to 'hold' the trailer and then drove right down to pick it up. When he got there they asked him for a second phone number for an emergency contact. He gave them our neighbor's phone. They immediately called it but our neighbor works days and wasn't home. So they asked for another number - my husband gave them another one - same results. They refused to rent to him unless he could come up with an emergency number that some one would answer. Everyone we know (including family) works so of course no one is home to answer. So no rental - which was bad but it gets worse. They wouldn't rent to us but informed my husband they were going to charge him $50 on our credit card because he cancelled the reservation!!! My husband was furious but they were adamant. When he got home and told me the story I called the local place up and was told the same thing. I told them we had just rented a week before and were not required to give an 'answerable' phone number AND we didn't cancel the reservation - they wouldn't rent to us - so we shouldn't be charged $50! He said the number was for an emergency contact in case of accident - I told him I was the emergency contact and our home phone number should be used for that. He then said "oh, it's not for emergency it's for security" in case we run off with the trailer. I told him what can be more secure than a credit card and never the less we shouldn't be charged for a reservation we didn't cancel and had we been able to rent the trailer would have only cost us about half that amount. He actually laughed at me and said too bad it was already charged on our credit card and if we didn't like it to take it up with our credit card company. He then had the nerve to say "Have a good day"! I contacted U-Haul customer service with my complaint via email and received an answer that it was referred to our regional manager and I would receive a response within two business days. Needless to say two business days passed with no response, actually I gave them a whole week. I then fired off another email to Customer Service and received a response that my second complaint was referred to another manager. About an hour later I received a call from "Richard" who took elaborate pains to send through a credit of $50 to our credit card (I'm not holding my breath that it will actually appear). He said it is NOT company policy to charge $50 for a cancelled reservation and I again (why I don't know) explained we hadn't cancelled the reservation - that fell on deaf ears. So we will see if we get a refund - if not they haven't heard the last from us.

Kaye  Wefelmeyer "at" aol.com
send more tourists to Oregon, the last ones were delicious

Not sure how to add my complaint to your page but here it is i you'd like to ad it on there. Oh, its been a month and a half, and still have not had a reply from them other than the "we have forwarded this to a center near you to look over you complaint, they will contact you in 2 business days.." Never happened.

When going in to buy boxes at 12:30 this afternoon my husband was told there were 3, 16 ft. trucks available for 4/21/07 that we could rent from 7am-7pm. When we settled on a time and called back when he got home we were asked for contact info to be reached at so they could call us back as they were busy. After waiting an hour and a half we called back, since we hadn't received a call, and were told again, we will contact you. After another hour and a half, we were again told the same thing, for the third time. I then asked to speak to a manager who informed me that I could get a truck for that day but only from 9am-4pm. I asked if we had been given a call back after our first initial phone call, if we could have gotten a truck for the times 7am-7pm, like we were told this morning we would be able to. I was told that all we could do to get those times is to get a smaller truck that is available longer that day. We were not offered a bigger truck with a discount, or a bigger truck with the price of a 16 ft. one. It didn't seem like our business mattered, or that they were striving to make us happy customers. We are disappointed, as we are moving twice in the next two months due to closing dates on our current and new home being two months apart, and we would have loved to use Uhaul for both of those times. I have reserved a truck with another company for our first move, and would love to be given a reason to come back to haul for our second move, as I have used Uhaul before and in the past have loved the way I was treated. But as of right now, I am regretting spending my afternoon trying to rent a truck with Uhaul and am also regretting spending $120.00 worth of boxes from a company that hasn’t treated me as a valued customer.

halloran_family "at" yahoo.com

Uhaul Insurance is worthless

I was on your Uhaul website and just couldn't believe some of the complaints, but oh yes I can. I hate Uhual and would like to file a class action lawsuit against the company for false advertisement and bad business practices, but I do not know how. Here is my story In October 2006, I rented a Uhual 26 foot truck because that is all they had well, my husband got into an accident on the way to returning it. We took out the insurance but oh what at joke because I now know that the insurance is worthless. It is now May 2007 and I get a collection notice in the mail for over $10,000 from Uhual's insurance company for the damage claim they paid out to the other drive. I called the company and it was like talking to an unprofessional person that spoke to me like I was trash.

First of all my husband's name was not on the rental agreement and when they found out that my personal insurance company does not cover such a large truck they said that I was going to be sued for the damages even though I did not wreck the truck and the insurance it took out only covered my property. I was not told this when I purchased the insurance or I wouldn't have wasted my money. My insurance co basically left me out there hanging. Uhual briefly spoke to my husband long enough to find out that he didn't own a car so he had no insurance company to go after. I do not know where to turn because I do not have over ten thousand dollars to pay Uhual. This company should be shut down for false advertisement and bad business practices. Can you point me in th right direction or if I don't have a leg to stand on honesty is always the best policy. Thanks for listening.

Thanks.
Sharrie Abrams sherieabrams06 "at" comcast.net

Sharrie--Get an attorney-quick. It will be cheaper than the $10,000 they want. I would never pay it and they can't really make you.

Uhaul insurance is worthless because they own the company and almost always find a way to get out of paying any claims. RGB.

I am so glad to see that someone is not afraid to take up for the people that have been done so badly by u-haul. I am a manager for a Penske Truck Leasing Company and I hear horror stories. Actually I Love U-Haul (not really), but I get all of their disgruntled customers and they come to me and rent from me and never go to anyone else. I have an enormous customer list that re-rent from me and I believe it is from the good customer service that I and my staff provide. For which we all know that U-Haul is oblivious for no customer service. Anyway, good for you providing this webb site to let people know how dangerous it is to even drive a U-Haul. If anyone reading this ever comes to Texas. We will take care of you personally.

sugarland.tx "at" storagechoice.com

Rich,

We went round and round with "The Regional Manger" Lauren and still came out with being hung up on twice. We called Budget one hour after our fiasco with U-Haul and there was no problem whatsoever in getting a truck in the same area. Feel free to post this on your site.

Thanks
Matt VanderMyde

The following was forwarded to the UHaul customer service website. No answer as of 4/23/07:

ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS. We were just hung up on by your representative at 888-313-9821. Her name is Lauren and claimed to be a manager at the regional office. She refused to give us her last name.

On January 22nd, 2007 we reserved a truck for a one way trip from Blacksburg VA to Gloucester VA to begin on May 14th, 2007. Our reference number 22397174. On April 20th, 2007 we were called by the U-Haul center in Blacksburg and were told that they would not have a truck, at all, in Blacksburg for us as stated in our reservation. We were told that we would have to search a fifty mile radius to find a truck on our own, or we could pick up a truck in Gloucester and drive it round trip and u-Haul would wave the miles. However, when we asked for the fuel to be covered for the portion of the trip not covered in the original reservation we were told no. Lauren became insistent that it was not her problem and that if we didn't except the fact that there would be no truck in Blacksburg then that was too bad. She further stated that she was canceling our reservation and hung up on us.

On April 20th, 2007 we were also told that Carol Fisher, supposedly Lauren's Manager, would contact us on Monday to discuss the issue. Ms Fisher never contacted us on Monday. When we called the U-Haul office we were told that she left for the day, and that is when we were connected with Lauren.

Please be assured that we wish to have this issue resolved by someone other than Lauren. Someone with a civil tongue and knows how to behave as a concerned manager. I will write a letter a week to Lauren's boss asking for her immediate termination of employment from U-Haul. I will be contacting the U-Haul Corporate Office and advise them of just how rude Lauren was and how despicable her behavior has been.

Matt VanderMyde  smjv1992"at" cox.net

 Rich: 

I currently work for a private Uhaul dealer, I have dealt with many of the types of problems that I have read about on your site.  As a private dealer employee and an "insider" I would tell the people that visit your site that if there is no other choice than to go with Uhaul then go directly to a private dealer (i.e. a small local lot at  a gas station or joined with another business)  our main directive is to satisfy and keep customers, that is the only way that we are able to keep our business running, we can't exactly go around pissing on everyone and expect to stay in business long.  I have countless customers that prefer my dealership than the very large uhaul center not more than a 1/4 mile away. 

I'm not on here to preach about uhaul and if i didn't work for them I honestly would never use them either.  the reason for such abrasive staff is because uhaul expects all of their employees to work for barely above minimum wage.  I have a friend that has worked for uhaul for 3 years and another that has worked for uhaul for 10 and neither of them has ever made above $9 an hour, they are the mcdonalds of the truck rental industry.  I am currently in the process of opening a 4x4 garage with some of my friends and I understand the importance of keeping numbers up, but not at the sacrifice of pissing off customers.  customers are the number one priorty, especially in the business of moving which is very very expensive and stressful on the moving party.  I am very sorry for all of the problems that you and everyone else on this page has had with the company, no one should have to deal with such crap when it comes to something this big. 

please don't think that this is some sort of lame apology from somone that is trying to get in good with an already pissed off crowd.  This is just a letter of understanding from someone that knows both sides of the fence. 

I am glad that I have had the opportunity to stumble on your site,  now I know where other dealers are going wrong so that I may better cater to my customers needs and wants. 

I stumbled accross your site looking for an executive phone number at Uhaul .... good luck.

I sent out an email to the customer service representative ccing almost everyone on your page including all of the consumer advocate names I could find at CBC and having them refer to your site for more unhappy customers and there reasons. I realized after I sent it I should have checked the name list as almost every email addressed had bounced back to me off that site. This was more of a heads up then anything.

Let me quickly describe my beef with U-Haul. I had a friend who was moving into his new condo he bought in North Vancouver, BC and was going to throw out an old refridgerator he had and since I was helping him move I asked if I could take it and use it in my garage as a beer fridge. He agreed so I went to the local Uhaul to rent an appliance dolly to get it out of his second floor apartment. Since he already had a budget rent a truck I only needed the dolly, so we phoned around and found one at the local Uhaul and went and rented it for 10.00 for the day. We moved the fridge and went back less then 3 hours after renting it and returned it. I paid with my credit card and off i went. Well when I got my bill and looked at it 6 weeks latr i had two bills one for the 10.00 and one for 600.00? I called them up and the guy at the guy who answered the phone says it happens all the time he went out found the dolly and said that who ever was working that day must have been to busy to close the sale in the computer and that the charges were for 40 days of rental and 125.00 for the dolly. He said it was a Saturday and he couldn't credit my card until Monday and would have the manager call me back once he credited it.

I never got a call back and tried on a number of occasions to contact the manager, with no luck so I sent out an email to the customer service on line form. Not a bright move I guess as I received a call back from a very irate manager saying he was not going to refund my money due to the fact that I contacted guest relations? well after at least 12 phone calls and 6 emails I finally got them to refund me partially 475.00 as they tell me they no longer have the dolly and that I would have to pay the 125.00 for the missing dolly? The first guy I called six weeks after it happened had told me he had the exact dolly oin front of him as the Serial #'s matched, this would mean the dolly went missing well after a month later and had nothing to do with me, but someone had to pay for it.

I have contacted every email address from customer relations, cc'd every email address on your site and cc'd CBC Consumer Affairs to see if they are interested in the story.

Thanks for the list of names and complaints I just hope they are willing to tell there story to the media to make Uhaul accountable for their poor service.

Lee McGlame  leemcglame "at" telus.net 

Horace is a guy from Customer Relations that called me after I responded to the customer relations generic email sent to me by a Jill Wildridge, U-Haul Customer Service. I waited a week and since I had no call back from anyone I responded to the only email I had and he responded then called me told me he would phone me right back but as usual I have not heard anything from him. His tag line at the bottom of the email says he is from British Columbia and has a number (602) 263-6811.

The address I rented from was:

1410 Main Street
North Vancouver, BC V7J 1C8, Canada
(604) 986-5656

The store Managers name at the time was Brad Van Voorst and apparently he has been moved to the Port Moody BC office now, do to to many complaints. When I started the calls to customer service everyone I spoke to knew of this guy and said he gets a number of complaints, so instead of firing him they move him to another location? Must be hard to hold on to help over there that can take all the flack.

As per the name McGlame yes very unusual there are only 21 in all of North America the majority of them all reside in the Boston Area, a couple in Chicago and my immediate family here in BC. My dad has been working on the genealogy for some time and I have sent over your question about the corruption as you are right as it had changed a couple of times I think and besides he loves to talk about the family name. I will forward his response on to you when I get it.

Thanks for the help on this I am so frustrated you have no idea, 600.00 to rent a dolly for 3 hours is unbelievable. I am hoping to get a call from CBC consumer affairs and I will direct them to your site if they do.

Lee McGlame
Surrey, BC.
604-351-9252
leemcglame "at" telus.net 

           I HATE UHAUL

 So far I have paid these people about $1,500 dollars, and have come out with a hate so passionate I will NEVER use U-Haul for ANYTHING ever, EVER again. I recently had an in-town move, and even though U-Haul was among the cheapest, I used a local Business (I HIGHLY recommend Longhorn Rental for anyone in Central Texas) that friends had a positive experience with before.  Here is my uhaul story:

 In November (’05) when I was home on holiday, I stopped by my storage locker in Dallas to address some issues in person that I had not been able to address by phone or fax. I talked to the manager in the little office there, and I told him about how it has been a nightmare with trying to deal with them from afar. Here is what I relayed to him:

      First I was not getting my bills/notices. When I finally do, I have $80 worth of fees on the account. I called LoraLee (the account rep) a few times until I was able to catch her, and updated my address and contact info, and she said she could rebate the $15 fees, but not the Lien fee, so and we settled up over the phone. Then I get my bill, and I was late on July’s payment, but I notice there is a little thing that says if you enroll in automatic bill draft, then the fee can be waived. So I am like, FINALLY, a way to deal with this, so I call to set it up. This is where it begins. I call a few times, and the phone just rings and rings and rings. I call another time, and someone picks up, and I ask for Lora Lee, they put the phone down to get/look for her. I wait on hold until I am cut off (guess someone walked by and decided to hang up the phone). I call back, it rings and rings. Another time I get ahold of someone I ask her and am told she is not in. I ask when she will be in and call back. I call back a few times and leave messages for Lora Lee to call me back (maybe she was sick, or on vacation?). Time has gone by at this point. Probably 2 weeks. So I try to go online, to uhaul.com - Self-storage - Pay rent . I would type everything in, and get to the point where it would ask for some sort of ID # like a receipt # or something (I can’t remember any more). So I look through everything, looking for that number, and I give up. Even this won’t work, can’t do it online…  Finally I call frustrated, and tell the person that picks up that I am trying to pay my bill, and set up automatic payments, the person says that they can’t do it, it has to be Lora Lee or a manager, but Lora Lee isn’t in, and the manager is tied up. I leave my # for someone to call. Wait a couple days, and begin to call several more times, either it rings and rings, or it rings and someone picks up, and puts me on hold, and after waiting 5 min, I hang up, or it rings and someone picks up, and puts me on hold, and then I am hung up on. This whole thing went on for weeks. THEN I get another bill with ANOTHER $15 fee and a Lien fee. Now I am really upset and calling all the time (same results however). The guy Sam that would answer the phone sometimes knew me by voice. Finally after explaining why I am getting increasing aggravated, and that SOMETHING has to be done, Sam says that he can go ahead and take a payment, but he can’t set up automatic payment, and he can’t reverse any of the charges. He says that Lora Lee has to do all of that, I expressed my frustration of being able to get ahold of her, and that he will make sure she calls me back once I make a payment. So I make a payment over the phone to Sam. Needless to say, I never received a phone call back, and it is a TOTAL waste of time to try to deal with this over the phone, so I decided to wait to address this in person. In September (’05), I drive to Dallas, and with the main goal to talk to someone there in person about this. Well the morning I went in staff was low, but I was able to sit down with Lamersha and discuss the account. She completely agrees that it was totally ridiculous that I had to call dozens and dozens of times, and THEN informs me that SAM is an assistant manager, and COULD HAVE helped me with all of that, and in fact she can as well, with everything but the fee reversal. So, I pay her, get set up for automatic payment, and she prints out what needs to be reversed, notates the account as well as my paper, and signs it. 

      So I leave and everything goes ok, and in Nov. when I am in town, I go to Uhaul to get x-mas decorations, and to address the (above) situation with the manager, and he assures me that he will take care of it, that the people working there at that time were a bunch of idiots, everything was run badly, Sam is gone, in fact most of them are gone, and the team is much better now. He explains that while I will not be refunded, I will receive a credit that should take place in time for Dec rent, and I will not owe rent again until March or April. And, to help avoid this happening again in the future, why don’t I get set up for online services, but guess what! That’s another charge too, $10 please… and even though I have automatic bill pay, I am frustrated enough at this point to relent!

      Well this is the last I have heard. I have NEVER received ANY credit, NEVER received a letter explaining why. INSTEAD in fact, for December, I receive ANOTHER LATE FEE. Interesting since I have AUTOMATIC PAYMENT in place. So I call again, ask to speak to the manager, informed he is not there, and may he (the person I was speaking with) help me. SO, I tell him that had talked to the manager about some over payments that were to be reversed, and they were possible going to take effect in Dec, but DEFINTELY by Jan, and I needed to follow up with him about that, and also that I just received a bill WITH A LATE FEE, and that I have auto payment, and if they took the payment out late, that is not my fault, this is why I got set up for elec. Payment in the first place, and he said he understood, definitely not my fault, but he cannot reverse charges, only the manager can, and I gave him my # and he promised the manager would call me back as soon as he could. And guess what, I have never heard from UHAUL, or any of its employees since besides my bank statement taking $60 (or when they feel like it, $75) out of my account every month. (I show $170 in fees/payments outside of rent)

Also, there is a site, http://dontuseuhaul.com/  I urge you all to check out.

UHAUL SUCKS

I have been renting from U-Haul since I was 17, I am now 57 years old.  I too have had my share of breakdowns.  I'm always chalked it up as the cost of doing business with the company that rents trucks.  However about nine months ago I rented a U-Haul truck, to go down to Langley Air Force Base were specifically NASA to pick up some equipment and office furniture on the way back both cables fell down and drag behind the truck unbeknownst to me.  When I arrived at place in Providence Forge Virginia and pulled around behind to unload, I found it impossible to let the door.  After examining the situation us all one of the cables that was back up under the truck, as I was backing up to where I was to unload.  I've pull the cable out from under the truck and it showed signs of being ground and had come undone, however one had only slightly been ground and had not come undone.  I call the one 800 number to report the problem, at some point I got response that they had no cables in stock and would need to come I on Monday this being a  Thursday evening, as I best recall.  I told the man on the phone, I wouldn't be here until after 12 Monday, and he said that was OK.

            As I drove up the following Monday at approximately 12:45 I didn't see anyone so I called you all to explain no one had come to fix my truck.  He then explains someone they came by but couldn't find the truck.  I now believe that was a lie, he came by and found the truck, but no one was here.  As I have now have learned, the door is too heavy for one man to lift, and re string the cables. As I... he said I was not to worry, the repair man had just left.  For me to stay right here, as he was going to turn him around and send him back ASAP.  About 15 maybe 20 minutes I solve this old ragged faded 24 foot U-Haul truck pulling down the small gravel road to my place.  It with a the first words out of his mouth would be how sorry he was that I was having problems with my truck and he was here to fix it right away, no, no, no, no.  The first words were, it is, all your fault the cables came down, because, you probably did not lack it properly.  I asked him how he knew that without first examining door. He was very intimidating with his mouth as he shouted how many years experience he had and that 98% of the time that's why the cables come undone.  Well not giving you a blow-by-blow, but he insisted on be helping him with the door stating is too heavy for me to live by myself, especially as hot day is at its very so I said sure sure I give you a hand.  And I did, after 20 or 30 minutes of distress heat and fatigue and all the time standing all my equipment crushing things he said," I found the problem and you or not the cause of this breakdown" he went on to explain to me that the inner spring had broke and that had allowed the tension to come off the door and thus allow the springs to drag behind the truck.  He told me it was not a breakdown that he could fix over the road he can only fix that back at his shop in Norfolk, Virginia.  He father informed me I needed to help him lift the door again and I did again he inserted a block of wood the size of a 2 x 4 that jam the door from coming down.  Then he said you need to get this unloaded and deliver it to be in Norfolk there I did protest vigorously.  I explained I rented a truck, I needed truck I'm already late, I have a time limit of 10 days, to pick up items that have bought at auction from the government.  Off other explain this was putting me in a bind can't you do something.  He then stated since it is all our fault I will trot to get you a new truck one without problems because it's brand new, also I will try to get you extra days three maybe four, hang on let me make a few calls.  He did make those calls and said go ahead and unloaded get it down to West Point that he will hold you this like new truck and its 2 feet longer also .  You shouldn't have any problems with that truck.  This day was extremely hot and humid.  I told the driver I was going to back it up in my yard so we wouldn't have very far to carry anything we could just unload it right there behind the truck, could he please give me a hand.  He said, I am already behind schedule the man that usually works this territory is on vacation, and I am having to cover two territories while he's out.  There is no way, I can help you unload this truck.  I asked him once maybe twice "you are saying, all I have to do is unloaded this truck driver down to West Point, and there will be no problems getting the newer truck it will be there right? .  I've father inquired was the 2 x 4 going to stay right there, he explained to me in a real sarcastic tone, "Mr. I have been working for you all going all in 17 or 18 years, I know what I am talking about, I do this all the time and you will be perfectly safe, just go ahead unloaded, get it down to West Point.  The sweat was rolling off the both of us, and I asked what it like a cold Coca-Cola, he looked at me and said sure.  I quickly fetched him a cold Coca-Cola and one for myself.  As we consumed the cold drink, I inquired once more in a very friendly tone, do you think you could give me a hand with a few of the heavy items, before you go? He almost choked the rest of the great down and bid me farewell and said it is against U-Haul policies for me to unload your items for you, I am sorry. Well I informed him right then, that sense I was already hot and tired it would probably be  tomorrow before I can get the truck unloaded, he said that will work, they are holding the truck for you.  There were other words past but pretty much that was that and he jumped in the truck and sped away.  The next day I began to unload the truck, again it was a hot humid but somewhat misty day not rain just and on again off again mist. I had unloaded maybe 7 ,  8 or nine items, when out of the corner of my worst nightmare unfolded before my eyes.  The 2x4 fell, then I saw stars, I found myself pen under this door. At first the pain was severe but it began to subside however my breathing was becoming impossible, making a long story short I almost died.  I was hospitalized in intensive care for a while upon release I have undergone some doctors  treatments one being steroids injections in my lower back.  I took out the maximum out of insurance that was available through U-Haul that resulted in me getting $1000 many many many months later from you all my lawyer took half.  I am almost financially ruined I cannot even afford the gas it takes to run back and forth to all these doctors let alone attorneys, it is true I feel I'm getting better but my life has been changed drastically because of this accident.  They have hired a law firm, I have met with them personally, they gave me the illusion that they really truly want to settle but needed allow information before they could.  They alluded to things like but not limited to.,, we had to make sure of your truthfulness, because many people fake their injuries, and tried to sue when there's really nothing wrong with them, the lawyers for U-Haul LURED me in to chat with them, explaining once they get to know me they'll be any better position to recommend to the insurance got me and you all a settlement.  I took the bait, because of my financial plight and found out quickly they want to know and find that all the dirt about me.  I was asked questions like but not limited to, tell me abide this bankruptcy, tell me abide this lawsuit and then they asked me about my employment record starting back in the 80s, my education and a dispute between myself and a man I purchased some land, from. when I inquired, what that had to do with my lawsuit, he explained to me, how this was all about getting to know me, what kind of man I was. Then he asked me what the name of my first wife was in my second wife's name also, and my daughters name also.  When I inquired what that was all about, well they may know things about you that you've done wrong, it bad dealings you had.  And tried to convince me this was normal and that if I did not cooperate they would subpoena the records anyway.  They father asked me about my tax filings how much money I made list the places you worked at.  All aimed at gathering dirt on me.  There was very little talk about or realistic settlement, a fair settlement.

        My phone number is 804 -- 966-7619, I'll will of course call you on my nickel, as a former U-Haul employee do you have anything positive or negative but more importantly truthful to add to the above.

              Yours truly Larry Plymal

>>>>>>>

UHAUL SUCKS

Hello, Richard!  I am delighted to find your site.

Last weekend, I helped my sister move from Georgia to North Carolina.  She had reserved a big truck for 10:30 a.m. in her small north Georgia town, and had had five conversations with the operator about it (although he never bothered to give her any paperwork or a confirmation number) but when she called the day before to reconfirm, the man told her he wouldn't be opening until 1:00 because it was Mother's Day and he had to eat lunch with his mother. (I'm not sure who eats lunch at 10:30, and I don't see why he couldn't give her the keys to her truck and then go eat,but that's another story.)  So we got there at 1:00 to pick up the truck.  There was no truck that was the right size on the rutted gravel lot,   and the place was still closed, with a hand-scrawled "Opening at 1:00"  notice taped to the door.  Another customer was already waiting, sitting on the steps of the dinky little shed, and a third drove in to wait.  At 2:00, we called the other U-Haul outfit in town, and they were closed, too.  At 3:00 we left, leaving the times and our  phone number on the sign on the door.  Back home, my sister finally located a truck that was almost big enough at a franchise 30 minutes up the highway, and went with a friend to pick it up.  While she was gone, the original location called (about 3:45), said  "Well, that'sOK, too" when I said my sister had gone elsewhere, and hung up on me with profanity ("Hell, lady, I don't have to listen to this") when I said, "That's not all right.  It's incredibly irresponsible and unprofessional and the men we had to load are gone and now it's just two senior ladies to load the truck. . .." So U-Haul responded to a complaint by hanging up with profanity. My sister finally got back from the secondary location with a slightly-too-small truck, but the parking brake would not engage to hold it in her sloped driveway, so we left it on the flat street and called customer service.  Mohammad, who seemed to be in India, was actually helpful, and sent a repairman from a town an hour away; the repairman finally got the brake and brake light operational just after 8:00 p.m.  So we'd lost the entire day for loading the truck and been thrown an entire day behind her prearranged schedule for moving in in North Carolina, getting phone and cable, etc., and had to leave the items she had in storage behind for a future trip. Furthermore, the truck's brake lights went right back out again, and so she made the entire drive not knowing if the brakes themselves had also gone back out and if she'd be able to stop the truck or not.  To add insult to injury, the furniture pads she'd reserved were not available at the second location--they gave her a smaller number, and many were unusable because they were soaking wet--so her nice furniture got beat up on the trip.  If there is a result from a complaint to U-Haul, we haven't seen it yet. Never again U-Haul!
      Thanks for letting me vent,
            Rebecca Landers
            landersbkwrm "at" aol.com

Thanks for posting all those horror stories about Uhaul.  I was looking to rent a trailer, and googled UHaul, so to speak.  Your page came up and thank god it did, because uhaul is such a known company, I was just gonna go with them, but after reading some of the stories on your site…NO thank you.   

Thanks for having your site.

 Also, I thought you might be interested to read/post the following story by CTV, if you haven’t already. (its a two line URL)

uhaul_051021/20051022?hub=WFive

From: " Judy Gappa"  judgap "at" dslextreme.com

U-Haul Customer Service & Management:

I am writing this letter to you and copying the local media outlets to convey to you my very disturbing experience with your branch located at 3429 Gardella Plaza, Livermore, CA on Saturday, August 26, 2006.

I called your 800 reservation number ~ 1:30 PM PDT to reserve a pickup truck for the same day (I needed the truck to pick up furniture I was going to purchase).  I recall the customer representative advising me of the conditions of the rentals, including the $5.00 deposit.  I do not recall being advised of having to provide proof of insurance.  I proceeded to make the reservation (reservation # 5030985)

About 30 minutes later, I received a call from the aforementioned Livermore branch, advising me that they had a pick-up truck available.  I advised the person who called me that I would be there within 15 minutes.

When I arrived, I provided my driver’s license and credit card to the branch manager in order to proceed with the rental transaction.  The branch manager then informed me that he also needed proof of insurance.  Not knowing that this was necessary, I went out to my car and brought back the California proof of financial liability card that my insurance company issued to me to carry in my vehicle.  This card is considered by the California Highway Patrol as proof of insurance.  The branch manager, however, insisted that I must produce a copy of the actual insurance policy.  I responded that I, as well as most people, do not carry this document with me, and did not have time to drive all the way home to retrieve it.  Furthermore, I have rented many vehicles in the past, including from U-Haul, and have never been required to provide proof of insurance, much less my actual auto insurance policy.  The branch manager responded by advising me that he would not proceed with the transaction.

Aside from losing out on my prospective furniture purchase, I found this experience to be quite humiliating.  I wonder if racial discrimination had anything to do with your branch manager refusing to rent the vehicle to me, given the facts:

• I am visibly Hispanic, and all others present at the branch when this incident occurred--including the branch manager, other employees, and customers--were Caucasian. 
• I presented a valid California drivers’ license, a platinum VISA credit card, and a valid California proof of insurance card, to the branch manager to for this rental
• The branch manager never offered U-Haul insurance as an option

I am very interested in hearing your response.  

Louis A. Pagán
(address withheld)
Castro Valley, CA  94552  

UHAUL

 I rented a 14' truck to move 13 kilometers, my estimate was $68.61. I came back 11.20 hrs later with the truck in the condition I received it in and ended up being charged $158.71, $48.00 being for diesel. The kid behind the desk seemed like he cared more about the dirt on the floor than me being overcharged. I called up George Catar the Regional Manager and he ended up hanging up on me while I was mid sentence. Since then I have made numerous attempts to contact him and finally a year later I amazingly get through to him and he promised me this and that. That was over 2 months ago and still nothing. He even tried telling the computers were down, that's why he couldn't call me back - uh okay, whatever. 

He tried telling me that there are "variables", any uphill, stop and go traffic, the weight of my belongings, and leaving the truck on while I was unloading. I told him I treated the truck like my car, when I'm not using it I turn it off - make sense? Not to him because he had no proof. What a load of crap! He tried offering me rental vouchers or a "really big discount" next time I move. Yeah right, out of who's pocket - his pet ghost?! 

I guess the question is, why the heck do people still rent from these crooks? I live in an apartment and see people bringing in U-Haul trucks, I walk by and shake my head in disbelief and thinking "Hey! Your money." 

Coming up with that kind of cash was hard considering I got walked out on by a cheating ex of almost 8 years, it was a very traumatic time - U-Haul made it worse. Especially coming up with first and last which was nearly $1350 and a thousand dollar dental crown to follow. 

I could call them everything but human, but it won't get anywhere faster. I work in a large plant and am not shy about my moving experience with this evil empire. 

I ended up being charged a Safe-Tow Insurance which I never wanted and I made this clear on my reservation, an extra day, and 48.00 for diesel, it came out to around $84.00. $48.00 to drive 13 kilometers! Not even a Lamborghini would cost that much! 

PEOPLE NEED TO STOP RENTING FROM U-HAUL! 

THEY WILL CONTINUE TO TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS POORLY UNTIL PEOPLE BEGIN TO REALIZE JUST HOW BAD THIS EVIL EMPIRE REALLY IS! 

RYDER   BUDGET   HERTZ   PENSKE are the moving companies of choice...

 ...and cheaper doesn't mean better. 

Hi Richard:

I stumbled accross your site looking for an executive phone number at Uhaul.

I sent out an email to the customer service representative ccing almost everyone on your page including all of the consumer advocate names I could find at CBC and having them refer to your site for more unhappy customers and there reasons. I realized after I sent it I should have checked the name list as almost every email addressed had bounced back to me off that site. This was more of a heads up then anything.

Let me quickly describe my beef with U-Haul. I had a friend who was moving into his new condo he bought in North Vancouver, BC and was going to throw out an old refridgerator he had and since I was helping him move I asked if I could take it and use it in my garage as a beer fridge. He agreed so I went to the local Uhaul to rent an appliance dolly to get it out of his second floor apartment. Since he already had a budget rent a truck I only needed the dolly, so we phoned around and found one at the local Uhaul and went and rented it for 10.00 for the day. We moved the fridge and went back less then 3 hours after renting it and returned it. I paid with my credit card and off i went. Well when I got my bill and looked at it 6 weeks latr i had two bills one for the 10.00 and one for 600.00? I called them up and the guy at the guy who answered the phone says it happens all the time he went out found the dolly and said that who ever was working that day must have been to busy to close the sale in the computer and that the charges were for 40 days of rental and 125.00 for the dolly. He said it was a Saturday and he couldn't credit my card until Monday and would have the manager call me back once he credited it.

I never got a call back and tried on a number of occasions to contact the manager, with no luck so I sent out an email to the customer service on line form. Not a bright move I guess as I received a call back from a very irate manager saying he was not going to refund my money due to the fact that I contacted guest relations? well after at least 12 phone calls and 6 emails I finally got them to refund me partially 475.00 as they tell me they no longer have the dolly and that I would have to pay the 125.00 for the missing dolly? The first guy I called six weeks after it happened had told me he had the exact dolly in front of him as the Serial #'s matched, this would mean the dolly went missing well after a month later and had nothing to do with me, but someone had to pay for it.

I have contacted every email address from customer relations, cced every email address on your site and cced CBC Consumer Affairs to see if they are interested in the story.

Thanks for the list of names and complaints I just hope they are willing to tel there story to the media to make Uhaul accountable for their poor service.

Lee McGlame

>>>>>>>(below letter to Uhaul)

Horace:

Thanks for your response and once again for not calling me back as promised once again as mentioned the dolly was returned the same day as it was rented, I returned it myself. When I called back the first time to discuss the 600.00 over charge for a 3 hour rental of an appliance dolly from the North Vancouver office of U-Haul, the gentleman I spoke with Scott, told me he had the dolly in front of him and the paper work had just not been closed on the account. He was kind, understanding and told me it would be rectified by that Monday and I should be receiving a call back from his Manager Brad V. to confirm. So if the dolly is or was missing it happened more than a month after I rented it. I appreciate that after a month of complaints you have credited me back partially for 'YOUR ERRORS" but I refuse to pay 125.00 for a dolly you say you know longer have.

I have been at this for a couple of months and have had nothing but rude people swear at me and tell me that is my fault that I should have asked for a return number to confirm the return of the dolly? I refuse to pay the extra 125.00 for a dolly I used for three hours and do not have. If it has been lost by your staff then you should deal with your staff but I want you to clear the charge today and do not have Brad V. (Manager in North Vancouver office) call and swear at me because I sent an email to guest relations and then tell me he that he will not refund my money do to the fact that I put in a complaint against him. I have also been told on three occasions that I would get a return phone call from your offices and never once received a call back that was not instigated by myself, your offer to call me right back makes the fourth.

I should be compensated for all this grief, telephone calls, hours on hold, rude management, and told that I have stolen a dolly. This may have been a simple mistake by your staff members by not entering the close of this sale however it has become a marathon of grief on my part "your customer".

I have now noticed that one of your customers Richard Boyd has a site dedicated to your poor customer satisfaction and I have noted over 100 outstanding complaints ( I have cc'd just a small number of them in this email). I can't believe I was not smart enough to seek your company out before I became a victim. I will be contacting CBC consumer affairs to discuss my challenge and supply the names of these 100 other outstanding complaints to investigate a little deeper. I see that W-Five has done a report on you already so this will be a good follow up to how well you have cleaned up customer satisfaction since there report. I will not stop emailing every email address I can find through my investigations on this all the way to the president of Uhaul until I get this resolved. I was not sure which office of consumer complaints at CBC top contact so I have CCed everyone I could find that have postings on these kind of reports and hopes it will make it to the right person..

To review the 100's of open complaints from clients and disgruntled employees you can start on this site at  http://clanboyd.info/uhaul expect an email follow up weekly with updates to your responses and what I am asked to do to rectify so we can keep track of all the rediculous hoops I have to jump through to get my 600.00 back for a 10.00 rental. Please feel free to give me yet another task to do as we get ever so closer to my refund.

Lee McGlame

The last U-Haul truck I saw had the words, “Moving Made Easy” painted on the side of it. My experience with U-Haul was anything but ‘easy’. I can almost guarantee that I will never use U-Haul again.

I reserved a U-Haul truck one week in advance via the online site for February 4^th, 2006. After I completed the reservation and entered my credit card information I was a bit confused to read that a “U-Haul representative” would call me to confirm my reservation and schedule a pick up time and place by 4pm on Feb. 3^rd, a mere fifteen hours before I was planning to move. Although I thought this was a bit strange considering I made the reservation online, I didn’t loose any sleep over it, until Feb 3^rd…

I started getting nervous after 4pm on Feb. 3^rd when I did not receive my conformation phone call. I promptly called U-Haul’s 1-800 number to check on the status of my reservation. I was shocked when the customer service representative was only interested in my phone number and telling me that I would receive a phone call in two hours (6pm). When I did not receive a phone call by 6pm my nervousness turned to a panic. Once again I called the 1-800 number, hoping I would talk to a different customer service representative, one that was interested in helping to alleviate my problem.

Once again, the customer service representative did not want to hear anything from me except my conformation and phone number. I was told someone would call me by 7pm.

I call back at 7pm to report that no one had called me. By this time I was familiar with their drill. I asked the U-Haul representative, who is supposed to call me? They didn’t know. I asked how they were contacting this person, by phone, e-mail, IM. They couldn’t give me any of that information. I asked if there were any other numbers I could call. They didn’t have any. I asked for any ideas or help in any sort of way that they could provide. All this person could do was take my number and have someone call me by 8pm. I asked to speak to their supervisor. They refused.

I call at 8pm to report that I had not received a phone call. The uncompassionate U-Haul customer service representative assured me that someone would call from 7 – 9am on February 4^th, the day I was planning to move. I did not get much sleep that night. No one called me in the morning as promised.

That morning at 10am I went to my local U-Haul dealer and acted as though everything was fine. I showed them the printout for my reservation. They did not have a record of my reservation or a truck waiting for me. I explained my situation and for the first time I felt like someone cared about me and the problem I was in. Luckily, one of the employees had a number to call. My truck was not at the location I requested online, but was at a National Car Rental. Once I arrived at National Car Rental no one there knew anything, at least my U-Haul truck was there waiting for me.

Once I finally got the U-Haul I had no problems, however, the events leading up to this are totally unacceptable. A satisfied customer will tell few, however, an unsatisfied customer will tell many. I paid $240.17 for my U-Haul rental. Because of the events I describe I would like a full refund. If you have any question regarding my experience please do not hesitate to call me.

  Sincerely,

Tyler Leuten   tyler1979"at"hotmail.com

Dear Mr. Boyd,                                             1 April 06

I stumbled across your website while searching for the address for U-Haul. I was NOT surprised by the number of complaints and am sure there are many , many more ... I would like to add mine.
2 weeks ago my son needed a rental truck to move to a suburb of Chicago ...we called the main U - Haul place in Coralville, Iowa to inquire about renting etc. We were told that we could use my debit/credit card to hold the truck and when he reached his destination that he could pay cash ( as they would total up the number of miles , gas charges etc ) But we were also told that the size truck he needed was not available at that site and to call the one here in Iowa City , Iowa. We did and they had one available. We picked it up , used my card and off they went . When he reached his destination low and behold they had ALREADY charged my card for 250.90. This was without figuring out gas , mileage or anything else. He found this out after walking in and telling them I want to pay cash for this and they said .Sorry but that card was already charged. Meantime .. I am getting overdraft notices after notice because of this. Ended up costing me 190$ in charges plus my son 14.50$ to overnight the money to me thru the mail .. so I could put that money in my account.
Is this a common practice now? In the past we have used the card to do this and when they got there they paid cash and the card wasn’t charged. Is there someone I can call or what ? Rest assured ..U-Haul wont be getting any of or business again . 

Thanks Kenna McKeever 

Kenna_Mckeever"at"hotmail.com

Hello Richard                                                                16 Mar 2006

I am a former uhaul employee and i would like to say that the person who claims to make $20 per hour is full of it.  I believe the 10 hr days 6 days a week because i did it, but never that kind of pay. They are too cheap to even repair their trucks.  

I was an assistant manager and if a truck was in need of some sort of safety related repair, i would usually put it out of service, and then later on find out that all of the people higher up in the company, probably the people that call themselves technicians and such, usually just blew it off.  They don't supply enough tools and equipment to repair them at the rental stores, just enough to make the people happy.  I would never bring my own tools in there, the last guy that did got them all stolen.  They don't seem to think that severe wheel alignment problems are any major issue even when they wear out a set of tires in 4 days.  

After the stuff I saw go on there, i would never even consider driving one of the trucks on the road.  They boast how they have newest fleet of large trucks, when they don't.  Mostly a fleet of antique Internationals, 1985-1988 to be exact.  And they still have those going one way over the road.  I drove one from Erie, PA to Jacksonville NC when i first started at uhaul, just thought i would be nice and help some friends out, and that was the worst trip of my life.  the truck would not go over 20 mph up the hills in Virginia no matter how many times you downshift and it wasn't even fully loaded.  It managed to blow oil all over my truck that I had on an auto transport and i'm sure that it got many other vehicles too.  When i returned it I told them about it and told them i worked for uhaul at the time and hoped i could at least get them to pay for a car wash or something but they just didn't care. I know that is minor compared to a lot of other peoples experiences, but it is still bu**s**t. 

 And I would never trust uhaul to put on a hitch, When i put them on i did it correctly and never had a customer come back and complain.  When there were new people hired, and the new manager tried to tell me how smart everyone was, i watched them try to put a hitch on and they usually cried about it and didn't even know how to use a torque wrench. Might as well use zip ties.  I wouldn't trust anyone there to do it, you would be better off tying the trailer to your vehicle with a piece of rope.  

After they brought this new manager in from the other store, that made my life a living hell.  She stalked me before, if everyone thinks the guy stalks the girl, i got news for them.  i went to a local truck stop where i go every day, and she followed me there on several occasions.  As she tried to make sexual advances on me i told her more than 20 times to get the fu** away from me, and i have a witness to all of this too.  I should have filed charges, but it is too late now.  To make an extremely long story a little shorter, she got promoted to manager at the store i worked at.  She has no experience in managment (when i did and never got the position)  and isnt even fit to wipe her own  ass.  She is either screwing or blowing the " Marketing Company President" other wise, anyone in their right mind would never hand her that position.  After about 2 months of her being manager and doing drugs on the job, i resigned as assistant manager due to an argument about her budget.  She hired 7 new people and pissed off a several current employees and most of them quit because of her, but she kept bitching how she was over budget.  Now if you are running a business and there is only work for one person there, are you going to pay 4 more to sit on their asses and do nothing?? That's what she was/is doing.  You cant spend more money than you make in one day and be profitable.  Then they are all smoking pot and doing god knows what else and driving the trucks around.  One was already driven thru a garage door.  And these are the kind of people that will become "successful" in life.  Anyway i told her i didn't want to be her assistant manager anymore.  Then about 3-4 weeks later, she changed the schedule and didnt tell me.  She set me up to open and knew i wouldnt show up because i didnt know.  There is a perfect reason to fire someone, but i told her that i wish her all the bad luck in the world and hope she rots in hell before she could have the satisfaciton of firing me.  If you would like mord details on UHAUL HELL feel free to contact me.  I could go on for months about this company and still have more.  And for anyone that is trying to get a job with uhaul - dont do it, it will be one of the worst mistakes of your life. 

I rented a truck from u-haul Feb 12, 2005 moving from Columbus, Ohio to Augusta, GA.
The truck they gave me cut off in the drive way and would not start. I called the 800 number, which was busy from 5-9pm. when I finally did get someone it was the next day b 4 someone came to look @ the truck. they promised someone would b out w/in an hour. They told me to go back to the business to get another truck as the motor was not working properly. I got another truck, 24 ft when I actually needed a 26ft.
I also paid for a tow dolley for my vehicle. The second truck I got I packed and it did not have the proper wiring for a tow dolley and I had to take the truck back to u-haul to have this corrected. Once on the road the steering wheel started shaking when I got in Tenn. I called them and was told there was nothing that could be done unless I took the truck over 100 miles from my route. I struggled to GA. All they did for me was give me a walkie-talkie before I left Ohio and 100 free miles for the second truck.

Last month, on the 3rd, I rented a truck from them to move from Augusta to Macon, GA. There wasn't an appliance dolley @ the Gordan hwy U-Haul so I had to go to Wrightboro Road for one. The charge was $12.68 for the appliance dolley and I used my debit card.When I returned the truck the next day the appliance dolley was left in the garage. I returned it a few days later. They said I owed the nearly $200.00 for not returning the dolley with the truck. They used my debit card number from the appliance dolley to get this money from my account w/o my permission or signature of authorization on Feb 28th.(Nearly a month after the dolley was returned) Bank of America refunded the money promptly as I did not sign for them to deduct this from my account and they will investigate the transaction. I told U-Haul the dolley doesn't cost $200.00 and why was I being charged when I returned it!!!!!!!!!!!!
I checked the contract at the time I got the dolly from Wrightboro U-Haul and questioned why I was being charged $12.00 when the sign plainly advertised for $10.00? The General Manager @ Wrightsboro Rd was very rude and acted as if she was doing me a favor for $12.oo when she stated it would cost much more because I didn't get the truck from that store. I told her I wasn't paying 40 something dollars for a dolley when a call was made to inform them from the other U-haul that I was coming for the dolley. SHE SAID, "Let me see what I can do for you" and let me have it for $12+tx. She tried to get more money from a transfered transaction from a sister store.
Before I use U-haul again I'll move my belongs on a wagon with horses and get better service than I've got from them.
Not only is the service PISS POOR they will use your credit card/debit card for whatever charges THEY want.
Better business bureau?????? why haven't they stepped up. I'm sure the onions out number the roses tremendously!!!!!
Budget or Ryder will be a choice when/if I must move again.

Ilene  bellilene"at"yahoo.com

Dear Rich

Wish I'd read your web page BEFORE I rented a U-Haul truck yesterday! I just got ripped off by being given a truck that barely ran and wouldn't start again when we were unloaded and ready to return the vehicle. Roadside service was non-existent (at least not available for four hours), but finally we were lucky enough to get the truck to start again. We carefully kept it running until we got it back to the dealer (after hours by now) and left a complete explanation. Nevertheless, this morning the manager refuses to waive the $39 charge for not having stopped at a gas station and refilled the tank right before returning it. Never mind that we would have had to leave it at the gas station if we had done that, he will not refund the money. Now after seeing your website I'm wondering how many OTHER charges will be showing up on my credit card bill.

I've already sent a complaint via the U-Haul customer service form on the web, and am planning to complain via my credit card company if I don't get results from customer service. Any ideas on what tactics work with this company?

Saelon Renkes

-- 
* * * * * * * * * *
Saelon Renkes
http://saelon.com

February 14, 2006 

To Whom It May Concern:

  After numerous attempts to contact you and hours of being left on hold or transferred, I called my credit card company to reverse these charges.  Before they reversed charges, they also called you with me on the line to verify that you would not assist me in resolving this matter:

 The U-Haul truck in question broke down 10 minutes after we began our move.  It broke down on a 8 lane highway.  Our family and pets were stranded for over 7 hours, with you telling us that help would be there in the next 30 minutes, over and over and over again.  We could not leave the vehicle, for fear of being hit.  We could not use the restroom, nor could our animals, for fear of being hit.  We were cold, as this was the middle of winter.  We were hungry and no help was in sight.

 After 7 hours, help arrived to tell us that he was not trained to repair the vehicle, and all he could do was tow it away, with our belongings in it.  Our move lasted an additional 2 days, and we were forced to rent another Uhaul truck at our own expense.  WE missed days off of work at a cost to us. 

 EVERY SINGLE TIME I CALLED YOU OR THE BANK CALLED YOU, WE WERE PLACED ON HOLD, HUNG UP ON, OR GIVEN A DIFFERENT NUMBER TO CALL.  FINALLY, SOMEONE TOOK THE INFORMATION OVER THE PHONE AND SAID I WOULD RECEIVE A CALL BACK WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS.  THAT WAS OVER 60 DAYS AGO AND NO HAS CALLED YET.

 If leaving infants and animals on the side of the road in the middle of winter is how you conduct your business, how do you look yourself in the mirror each night?  My husband and I are both public high school teachers, and very honest.  This is atrocious.

 Sandra Sastre Chavez  Email: ssastre”at”pittsburg.k12.ca

(mailed on 2/16/06) acct # 4038695

check number 118

$331.16. 

Our costs in total for both vehicles and loss of wages was over $1,500.00

                                                                                        Jan, 2006

I work for uhaul, and i still say it sucks a--. The gas station i work at has only 4 trucks, each of which breaks down at least once a month, and there is a truck in a field with a broken park brake which has not moved in over 2 months. Uhaul does not take care of thier trucks, especially when it comes to preventative maitenance and wheel alignments. And the people that send us customers (uhaul traffic) totally overload us. We rent in shifts to accomodate customers (7-2 or 2-9) and having only 4 trucks, we have at least 10 customers. Then uhaul complains too much that we dont rent our trucks out enough and we arent making them enough money. Meanwhile, 2 of our 4 trucks are broken down and uhaul just sits on their a-- and does nothing. Not only is it stressful for us students who work here, but for customers who need a truck. Up here, we do care about our customers, we just feel that the company uhaul is a pain in the a-- for everyone. Steve - Ottawa, Canada    taste_my_scythe"at" hotmail.com

============================================

A few months ago we rented a diesel truck from Uhaul to move from Bakersfield, CA to Colorado Springs. It started horrible and ended the same. First it was 4 hrs late, they said the one they had in for us needed repairs. We could see that. Things happen. So they gave us "another" truck. Liars!
We believe they gave us the same screwed up truck. It billowed black smoke and sucked diesel the whole way. I was driving a mile back from the truck over the Colorado Rockies, to make sure I didn't have to turn around and go find my family in that piece of crap truck. By the grace of God it made it. When my husband told them about it and the cost of the extra diesel it took, they laughed it off! As if it was not their problem. They then gave him a number to contact uhaul about a refund for some of the diesel. We have lived here for 4 months now, and uhaul has never returned our calls.    Eric79karen78 "at" aol.com

hi, I can't disclose my name at this time, but i just heard about the web site for the first time today. I am currently employed by u haul and i can honestly say that there are not many good things to say about this company. Let me start off by saying this company is just plain cheap. I can tell u so many stories about u haul until I turn blue in the face. I am a truck mechanic for u haul in Massachusetts. I've been working there for two years. I'm telling u the truth when I say that the employees are not treated the way they should be, referring to the fact that they are underpaid. I read some customer complaints about u haul on the website and most of what I read is that the customer service sucks. Let me just tell u why customer service sucks here. Were underpaid. I can't make it any more clear than that. I'm a mechanic so I work on the trucks, so the people who work in the repair facilities are obviously going to make more. The employs in the stores make a lot less, so that's why most of them don't give a flying crap about there job. But let me just say there are employees of u haul that do care. Most people want to know why the rental equipment or trucks suck so bad. well let tell u about that. First, most of the trucks are 16 years old. so that means they are always breaking down. only recently have they started to purchase new trucks. As far as know Penske, Ryder, and budget always have late model trucks in their fleet. it sucks working on these piece of craps trucks we have. people probably think that the mechanics who maintain the trucks suck. not all of us suck. personally, when i fix a truck I want to do my best because my name is on that truck. All u haul cares about is how much can we rent these trucks?. how much money can we squeeze out of them without putting as much money back in in to them. when i pre inspect a truck when it comes i usually find allot wrong with it. If it were my way i would fix it right, but unfortunately I'm not allowed to do it right. They won't let me, they usually want me to fix the truck so it can at least be rented and by u haul standards, that's pretty low. that pisses me off because then that makes me look bad because my name is on the repair statement and in the log book. I'm getting so sick of u haul that it's not even funny. I plan on not being here in the near future. I know i can do better somewhere else, make more money, and actually be proud of the the equipment I'm working now. well, I hope I just gave a little insight of what happens behind the scenes at u haul. Feel free to contact me if u have any questions about the company from hell.

forthelilfeofme "at" aol.com

To whomever it may concern:                                Sept 11, 2005

 This letter is about our experience with UHaul on our move from Saskatoon, SK to Mount Uniacke, NS. Right from the beginning, it was the move from hell, all because of UHaul and their way of handling customers and problems with their equipment.  

We pre-booked a 26-foot diesel that we were supposed to pick up on August 24, 2005 at Diamond Service. I was called on the 23^rd, letting me know that the truck was ready for pick-up the next day. My boyfriend went to get the truck early on the 24^th and instead of the 26-foot diesel, we were given a 24-foot gas and trailer, all for the same price as the 26-foot diesel. The truck was a 1994 GMC TopKick in horrible condition. It had over 185,000 miles on it, torn seats, it was filthy, and numerous make-shift repairs were done on the outside of the storage compartment (duct taped and painted over). We were in a bind so we took the truck. If we would have known earlier that UHaul was going to give us that to drive over 4000 km, we would have found another way to get to our new place. Unfortunately, UHaul was our only option for our trip across Canada since no other self-moving companies allowed their trucks to go that far.  We packed the truck and realized that we didn’t need the trailer. We took the trailer back to UHaul at Diamond Service and were not reimbursed the difference between the 24-foot gas and the 26-foot diesel. 

We left early on the morning of the 25^th and had no problems until we hit Russell, SK. The service engine light came on and remained that way. The truck seemed to be running fine, so we kept driving. A few hours later, the truck began to idle down and it would not rev up past 3500 rpm and 80 km/hr on its own. We finally would get it to go faster again, but we experienced this problem five times that day. We drove until we hit Falcon Lake, MB, approximately 12 hours after we left Saskatoon. 

The next morning (August 26) we again set on our way, hoping to get most of the way through Ontario. About 10 minutes into our trip, the truck again would not rev up past 3500 rpm and 80 km/hr. It took hills very slowly and (for those of you who do not know) Manitoba and Ontario can be very hilly. We decided to pull the truck over before we went up a huge hill because we knew it would not be able to make it. We checked the truck to see what could be wrong with it but nothing seemed to be out of place. We contacted UHaul and had to relay to them four times where we were. Finally, we got someone who could help us (John, in Manitoba) and were told that they were going to send someone out to help us from Saskatchewan, 12 hours away. This seemed ridiculous, so we asked if there was anything else they could do. Finally, they decided to send a tow truck from Kenora, ON to take it to a Ford dealership. Then they decided it was going to go to a GMC dealership. Then they changed their minds again and decided it would be best to take it to the Ford dealership. We went on our way to Kenora, figuring that since it was early morning that the truck would be in right away. As it works out, the people at UHaul forgot to tell the tow truck driver that it was a 24-foot truck. The driver went out with a regular tow truck just to have to turn around and drive another hour back to Kenora to get a bigger truck. The mechanic at the Ford dealership (Dingwall Ford) was expecting the moving truck there around noon. Instead, it showed up at 4:45pm. The dealership closed at 5:00 pm, but George was nice enough to take a quick look at the truck to see what was wrong with it. George figured that it would be an easy fix since the converter was plugged and the CO2 sensor was missing. George told us that he would have the truck ready for us at 10:00 am the next day. UHaul also informed us that we would be reimbursed for our hotel rooms and meals while the truck was broken down. 

We called Dingwall Ford at 9:30 am on August 27^th. We asked for George but instead of being directed to him, the fellow who answered the phone decided he would be the one to tell us what was going on. He was quite ignorant and treated us like idiots. He informed us that George was wrong, that the converter wasn’t plugged but that the gas pump was overheating. We were to call back at 12:00 noon. We called John at UHaul in Manitoba again and instead of being the decent person he was the day before, he began getting ignorant with us too. Instead of leaving things in his hands, we decided to go to Dingwall Ford and see what was up. When we got there, we were told that they were waiting for another piece of diagnostic equipment because they did not have any for a vehicle that old. In the mean time, I decided to check on our belongings. I could not open the back door more than 3 inches because everything was piled toward the back due to the towing. Dingwall Ford found out the problem and fixed it for us: the truck was running to cold and needed a new temperature sensor. The service engine light went off and we went on our merry way. A half an hour later, the truck would not rev up again. We pulled it to the side of the road and after calling UHaul again, decided that maybe it would be better to pull it over to the side. The truck started, but it would not go forward or backward. We told UHaul not to take the truck back to Dingwall Ford since they were incompetent jerks, so they said they would figure out where to take it to in Kenora. We decided to go back to Kenora since that was where the truck was going to be. Around 4:00, we were informed that the truck wasn’t going back to Kenora but to Dryden, and hour and a half away. Again UHaul forgot (this is a pattern, I am sure you will see) to tell the tow truck driver that it was a big truck. Again, the driver went out with a normal sized tow truck just to have to turn around and get a bigger tow truck. The moving truck was expected at George Solomon and Sons at 7:00 pm, but instead showed up at 8:30 pm. Cliff from the shop was great: he stayed until 11:00 pm trying to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. He figured out that it was the throttle body and instead of ordering in a new one, which would take days, he decided to rebuild it.  

On August 28^th, we called the UHaul in Dryden to see if they could help us. Again, we were given a 1-800 number, we needed to relay what was going on a number of times (“Sorry, we can’t help you, I’ll transfer you to someone else” – something else that UHaul seems to have a pattern for), given the run around, and told that the only help they could give us would be to send a tow truck out – which we didn’t need because we were already towed in. Cliff was a real saver, he fixed the truck and we were again on our way around 4:30 pm. We made it to just outside of Thunder Bay, ON, thankful that finally we would be able to get to our new place in a few days. 

August 29^th was a great day, the truck ran great. We didn’t need to call UHaul that day, so we thought that maybe our problems with them were over. We made it to Rouyn-Noranda, QC. 

August 30^th seemed to be a great day, too. We made it through Montréal and were on the 40 heading for Quebec City. The truck started losing power, would not go over 60 km/hr and would not rev up no matter what. We stopped seven times to check on it on the way to Quebec City and we finally limped into Lévis around 8:30 pm. 

August 31^st was no better. We thought maybe the truck needed a rest, so we decided to start off again without getting a hold of UHaul. We had the same problem so we stopped in Montmagny to get a fuel filter, thinking that that may be the problem. It did nothing. We contacted UHaul, again had to explain numerous times what was going on and were finally given to Guy in Montréal who told us to make it to Riviere-du-Loup so that a mechanic he knew there could take a look at it. Guy also told us that in our contract it says that UHaul is not responsible for any lost time that may occur because of truck breakdown but that he thought maybe we had a case against that. That meant that, according to the contract, out of the 10 days we were allowed to have the truck, the three and a half days of breakdown were not their concern, nor was the traveling at 60-80km/hr. The fellow looked at the truck and figured it was the fuel pump. He did not have the right one for that truck so he told us to contact him at 3:00 pm the next day to pick it up. We stayed overnight again and were again giving a different reference number for our costs because different parts of Canada have different jurisdiction and so on. 

We called the mechanic in the morning on September 1^st and were told that the truck would be ready by 1:00 pm. We were there waiting before then and were off once again shortly after one. We made it to Moncton that night and Halifax on the morning of the 2nd, nine days after we left Saskatoon. 

Now, you would think that that would be all the problems we would have with UHaul. Not so. We have been in repeated contact with UHaul since we got to Nova Scotia. We have been given the run around, we have dealt with jerks. The lady in Trafficking in Halifax has done nothing but be rude and callous with us on the phone. The young girl at Caps Plus in Sackville (a UHaul depot) told us that she really didn’t care what had happened and was (excuse my language) a royal bitch. All in all, UHaul is a very unprofessional company and in my opinion, the people who run the depots are no better. We are now being sent to a collection agency for the $540 we “owe” them because they put pieces of crap on the road and expect people to be happy with what they get and to get where they are planning on going in the allotted number of days. They owe us over $1000 and yet they will not deal with us until we pay them the money we supposedly owe them. We are not giving it to them. Instead, I am contacting the Better Business Bureau and anyone else I can to raise a stink to get UHaul where they will feel it most – their pocket books. After I emailed a bunch of people about our experience with UHaul, I received a number of emails back about bad experiences they or people that they know have had.   

My word of warning: avoid UHaul at all costs. Once they have your money, they don’t care what happens. 

To all UHaul depots and employees: I am surprised that you would affiliate yourselves with such a shoddy and shady company. I will no longer be a consumer at any place that deals with UHaul and I will do my best to make sure no one else does either.

Diane       delaine033 "at" yahoo.ca

Rich,
I reserved a 14ft. truck an auto transport for 11-4-05 with the move scheduled for the following day. I was relocating from Richmond, Va to Oxnard, Ca for employment. I had given myself plenty of time to arrive just in case something went wrong, and nothing could prepare me for what happened. 
The first day went along without a hitch, I settled in at a hotel and discovered that the auto transport had blown a tire. I called the emergency roadside service, about 40 minutes later a guy came fixed the tire and preceded to extort money for the repair of $65.00. I said for what, he said for fixing the flat, I said that no one mentioned that I would have to pay for repairs, he said that figures they never tell the customers of hidden cost. I mentioned to him that I would have to call Uhaul then his whole story changed. He said that he was just kidding, no he wasn't I just wonder how many other people he has swindled.
I started on the road again and the trip was once again delayed I got as far as Jackson, Tenn and the truck started to over heat so I pulled over at a rest area and again called the emergency roadside service. Mann's Wrecker Service appeared and we followed him to the shop where the truck had to be fixed, it needed a clutch fan and thermostat. I picked up the truck the next day and got about 10 miles or so and again another tire in the auto transport blew out. The emergency roadside service was summons again and Gary called and I returned his call, he said that the truck I had rented couldn't pull the auto transport. The guy who took the transport said he was surprised that we had gotten that far without a serious accident and that the people who rented should have known better. So we had to leave the auto transport and drive the SUV which I didn't want to do. 
I was beginning to think that maybe I wasn't supposed to be going to California and then I thought that this could be a blessing in disguise. The ending could have turned out deadly if the auto transport remained attached to the truck. We eventually made it to California two days longer than the trip should have taken.
Not only was I out of the money I paid for the truck an auto transport in addition I had to gas the SUV, loss wages on a new job (what a way to start your first day), 2 days of lodging, extra meals, peak time for cellular phone usage and I had to call a friend to help me drive the second vehicle and then fly him back home.
When I talked to Virginia's regional office all they want to compensate/reimburse me for is the pro rate amount I didn't use for the auto transport from Jackson, Tenn to Oxnard, Ca. and to me that is unacceptable. I was told that the SUV was over packed, I have moved before and I know how to pack don't insult my intelligence. If you call linens, pictures, computer equipment, cat accessories and 4 small plants overpacked I would really hate to see what they call overpacked.
First of all the trucks key tag said local only and the speedometer didn't work, we didn't realize this until the truck was packed. But that shouldn't have been my responsibility anyway I was paying good money and I expected to get service that I could count on not some botched up job.
I am looking at contacting the BBB and who ever else will listen. I am not going to stop telling my story until I can get some resolution from Uhaul. 
I see Nathanael Campbell sent emails to customer service (where) and he finally got reimbursed for hotel and moving expenses.
I think fair is fair and I can't let this go because the next person might not be as fortunate as I was.
Debra Fields

Feelsz"at"aol.com

                            MORE UHAUL COMPLAINTS

PART 1  PART  2

PART 3   PART 4

PART 5   PART 6

UHAUL 1

UHAUL 2

UHAUL 3

UHAUL 4

UHAUL 5

UHAUL 6

       UHAUL 7

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