My UHaul Story

Rent U-Haul, almost die, hung out to dry…

The following is essentially the exact contents of a demand letter I sent to U-HAUL seeking reimbursement of my expenses caused by U-HAUL’S truck breakdown and subsequent failure to make good on the truck rental:

On 9/22/03 I made a reservation by telephone for a 17 foot U-HAUL TRUCK for a one-way rental from Vermont to New Jersey.

In the evening of Saturday, 9/27/03 I accepted delivery of said truck from the U-HAUL CENTER at 460 Riverside Avenue, Burlington, VT. It required two strong men to load the truck to full capacity with my cargo.

Rhonda Thibault, General Manager of U-Haul Center in Burlington, Vermont. She rented me a dangerous vehicle.

U-Haul rental agent in Burlington, Vermont - rented me a dangerous vehicle.

At 1 P.M. on Sunday, 9/28/03, while driving southbound on Rt. 87 though Glens Falls, NY, the truck’s steering mechanism completely failed, resulting in the truck veering from the extreme right lane to the extreme left lane, entering the grass median, slamming into the guard rail, and finally coming to a stop against the guard rail. I had to exit the truck on the passenger side because the driver side of the truck was pinned against the guard rail.

I set up an emergency triangle behind the truck, secured the truck, crossed the guardrail, and then crossed the northbound lanes of Rt. 87 to Exit 18, where I found a U-HAUL CENTER near the exit ramp.

Jason, the MANAGER at U-HAUL’S GLENS FALLS CENTER, put me in telephone contact with your emergency hotline. After finally getting through to a representative, I was advised that a local wrecker would be sent to pick me up to retrieve the truck. Jason assured me that if the truck could not be repaired immediately, he would do whatever it takes to put me in another truck that day.

Up to this point, I felt that U-HAUL was treating me properly.

After retrieving the truck, however, I spoke with Jason by telephone from the local wrecker’s garage. At that time, Jason reneged on his earlier promise to provide another truck for me to resume my move that day, despite the fact that a compatible truck was on the GLENS FALLS U-HAUL LOT. Jason ultimately hung up the phone on me.

This put me in a very bad situation, because I had two men standing by to unload me in New Jersey. It was also necessary for me to complete my move that day (Sunday, 9/28/03) because I had to be back to my job on Monday morning, 9/29/03.

At around 5:30 P.M. on Sunday, 9/28/03, pursuant to U-HAUL’S instructions, the local wrecker dropped me off at a motel in Glens Falls, NY, and gave me a claim number to use in connection with this matter. I was advised to save my receipts for reimbursement. After checking in at the motel, I called U-HAUL and provided them with my room and telephone numbers. At that time, U-HAUL advised me that I would be contacted first thing the next morning by their Albany facility.

In the morning of Monday, 9/29/03, U-HAUL ultimately advised me to call the local wrecker, who advised me that he was picking me up and towing me and the undriveable truck to U-HAUL’S ALBANY REPAIR FACILITY (2043 Central Ave., Colonie, NY. phone: 1-518-456-7514).

We arrived at U-HAUL’S ALBANY/COLONIE REPAIR FACILITY ON CENTRAL AVENUE at around 11 A.M. Elmer (the mechanic) determined that the truck could not be fixed that day, and advised me that he would advise Jeff (the ALBANY/COLONIE, NY U-HAUL CENTER REPRESENTATIVE) of that fact so that Jeff could provide me with another truck. Elmer advised me, however, that Jeff was presently indisposed. At 12:15 P.M. I telephoned Scott at U-HAUL’S ALBANY REGIONAL OFFICE (phone: 1-800-451-1577) and appealed for help. Scott advised me that he was uncertain about how he could locate a truck, and that I would have to speak with Jeff.

By 12:30 P.M., Jeff was still indisposed and nobody was helping me. I finally demanded to speak with Jeff directly. Jeff advised me that he could not help me, and that I should speak with Scott at U-HAUL’S ALBANY REGIONAL OFFICE. I then telephoned Scott for the second time, and again pleaded for some assistance. Scott advised me to “stop whining” and hung up the phone on me. This was the second time in two days that U-HAUL’S people hung up the phone on me and refused to help me.

In short, U-HAUL’S organization treated me in an unreasonably shabby and outrageous manner, and refused to honor the promises it made to me and to my father.

At that point, I was forced to telephone one of U-HAUL’S competitors, take a taxi to their location, rent a replacement truck, return to U-HAUL’S ALBANY REPAIR FACILITY, and transload my entire cargo to the replacement truck — by myself.

My out of pocket damages, caused by U-HAUL’S TRUCK breakdown and U-HAUL’S subsequent failures to transload me to another one of its trucks as promised, are as follows:

$ 32.43 ($43.23 fuel to fill truck less $10.80 fuel used)
     5.00 (calling card for phone calls resulting from accident)
   69.86 (motel bill including phone calls)
   22.00 (dinner 9/28/03)
     8.00 (breakfast 9/29/03)
     8.00 (taxi to rent replacement truck)
 226.61 (replacement truck rental)

$371.90 Total out-of-pocket expenses

In addition, I was unable to get to my job on Monday, 9/29/03, and suffered various cuts and bruises to my face, arms and legs in the process of transloading my cargo to a replacement truck unassisted. This was essentially a job requiring two strong men.

U-Haul injury. My right arm severly bruised.

U-Haul injury. My right arm severly bruised.

U-Haul injury. My left arm severly bruised.

U-Haul injury. My left arm severly bruised.

See what happens next with my U-HAUL complaint . . .

Do you have a U-Haul horror story?  Tell us about it below, or send us an email.

31 Responses to “My UHaul Story”

  1. Melissa says:

    I’m moving from Juneau, AK back to the east coast and we do not have a lot of options here. Only way in or out is ferry or airplane and it is expensive. The ferry requires bookings months in advance to secure a vehicle space so I had to reserve a U-haul trailer months in advance because you need to tell the ferry the length of your vehicle. No ferry rez, no way out.

    U-haul is your only option for any kind of rental that provides a trailer or truck and their one way vehicles are limited everywhere and here the options even fewer. I needed an open trailer because I’m transporting a lot of plants and they cannot be in a pitch black trailer for three days -the length of the trip. The only option that came up available for Juneau for a one way rental was a 5’ x 9’ Utility Trailer w/ramp – more than I needed for plants and some things but okay, it’s open air and the plants are a priority.

    The ferry costs $1681 just for the vehicle – a hefty fee. The cancellation policy is not generous. You lose $340 if you cancel 2 weeks before sailing and $500 if you cancel 1-6 days before sailing and $740 if under 24 hours. As many of you already know U-haul reserves the right to not provide you your reserved vehicle 24 hours before your pick-up date. Here in Juneau they give us a ‘courtesy’ of 2 weeks.

    I, fortunately, went in to talk to our local dealer a month in advance because I was concerned I never saw one of these trailers in their lot only to find out the dealer (our local seamstress – apparently anyone can open or take over a U-haul dealership) did not even know what this trailer was and had never seen one. Basically, it does not exist here in Juneau so why advertise it? It’s false advertising. I wanted to know what was going to be offered to me in its place and the dealer had no idea and didn’t seem to know what was going on in general.

    I was told to call corporate – I refused – and then told to call the traffic department that manages the movement of the fleets located up in Anchorage. I called and begged Kaila to please help me, that I was moving, had no other options, and was losing hundreds of dollars on the ferry if I couldn’t get a trailer. She promised to call back by the end of the day (did not trust that she would so got her work schedule for the week) and, of course, she never called back. I called her three days later on her next work day and was told she was on another line and she would call me but never heard from her again so got Scott on the line who told me there was nothing they could do and U-haul makes no promises of vehicles and I didn’t read the agreement yadda yadda yadda (I did).

    I asked repeatedly why the trailer comes up in-line as available in Juneau if it has never been seen here in over a year and I kept getting the same bs that it was my fault and U-haul never promises any vehicle. Again, I explained that here in SE Alaska we have no other options and the ferry requires us to make reservations months in advance and we lose hundreds of dollars if there is no vehicle. Certainly U-haul could make an exception and work with me. Customer service might as well have been a robo-call just repeating the same bs over and over. When I became frustrated and angry he hung up on me. When I called back the next person hung up on me. All I did was ask her name. The next call I managed to get a manager on the phone and things only got worse with the same circling back to it was my fault and the only thing they could give me an enclosed trailer. I explained for the umpteenth time I needed an open vehicle (trailer or truck) or at the very least a vehicle with windows. Again the robo-call customer service just repeated I didn’t read the contract and the only other vehicle available that day was the enclosed trailer.

    What does it take to say I’m sorry…that U-haul f-ed up? That we falsely advertised a vehicle and although you reserved a trailer 3.5 months in advance that we have no comparable fleet available to you for that day so you must now eat the ferry cancellation fee? Why wouldn’t you want to do better and learn a better system not only for remote areas such as Juneau but for everywhere? Or just to help people already very stressed from moving? Why wouldn’t you, as a manager, offer to make an exception and let someone with no other options because your reservations are worthless ( there are not even car rentals available here) take another vehicle? What kind of customer service hangs up on people because their customers are frustrated by policies that really screw them over? It’s insulting and disrespectful. I’m moving for crissakes. You’re moving. We all need the vehicles we reserve.

    I’m a really flexible and forgiving person but deeply hate this company. I’m sitting here in Juneau as I write this with no idea how I’m getting my belongings and plants onto that ferry in September. I should not be in this place having planned my trip in early June. F-you U-haul. F-you.

  2. Lauren Jacot says:

    I wish I would have read this last week. Our Uhaul was stolen with all of our belongings. EVERYTHING is gone. The cameras showed the criminal attempt to break into several penske trucks but was unable to, then got into our 26 ft UHaul and was GONE in 90 Seconds. UHaul refuses to help us with anything. We are now sleeping on the floor of our new home 🙁

    F*CK UHAUL

  3. Hope H says:

    Uhaul and anyone associated with the company are the highest description of rude. After you do the initial renting, expect to be treated with the most disrespect ever. No one has an answer to any question asked. They are liars and cheaters. I honestly don’t know how they have stayed in operation as long as they have.

  4. DYLAN M says:

    As a new employee to UHAUL in the LA area of California, these posts frighten me for my limited time I’m gonna be working at UHAUL.

    As a csr who only really check-in pick-up trucks, the regular trucks, and trailers, most customers who have complained in-person don’t really know what they signed up for initially. I’m not trying to bash any past present, or future customers but what I’ve noticed, as a past customer myself, is that a good amount of people don’t ask all the questions before signing up for a contract.

    The other day, while moving some products that took too much space on the showroom floor to the hitch bay for storage, I overheard a customer sound shocked that he had to refill the gas prior to returning the truck. This guy almost signed up for a $75 contract and possibly could’ve been hit with another $30+ because common sense didn’t hit him till his late 40s.

    And yes, when it comes to storage, UHAUL is cutthroat. On my first day they had me clean out 2 storage rooms that the old manager used as storage for old, out-of-date equipment and the current manager was furious stating “everyday we don’t have these spaces available for a customer is $100 out of our store’s pocket”. I don;t know the math behind it or why but that’s how UHAUL is in LA at least. 1day for you means nothing but to any budgeting manager it could possibly be $100 a day if the renter doesn’t clear out or pay another months rent.

    As someone who has moved a lot always plan for the unknown, I’ve saved myself as a past UHAUL customer by adding 10 more miles in-town or 50 miles 1-way. Also having funds available for a second month’s worth of rent. If I only need 1 month and a week, then I would use the last 3 weeks to slowly unpack my storage room, a box here a piece of furniture there. And with the trucks, if you went under your initial mileage the store reimburses either through your credit/debit card on file or in cash.

    In short, just like you’d research a vacation trip or research an educational institution when it comes to moving or renting storage you also need to research. Any unanswerable questions should be brought up in-person or over the phone when asking about placing a reservation.

    Oh, and yes unfortunately UHAUL doesn’t, in-person, train their employees how to be their best when it comes to customer service or anything relating how you wish their sales rep should be. It’s done by a computer tutorial that a trainee can just click through, so yes a good number of employees can be easily antagonized into being the worst sales rep or csr on their first day and bam they are a-holes for the rest of their career with UHAUL. All I can ask is that if you come across the diamond in the rough, the sales rep or csr who under duress can still apologize and bring the stress level back down and find a solution best for you even if it means paying a little and not a whole lot, taking it as a blessing just as they take you, a calm customer who knows what they want asks questions in a calm matter and whether you get a contract or not walk out saying ‘thank you’ or something on that level, take you as a blessing. I’ve never yet met anyone in any line of work, unless they are a owner or CEO of a company, enjoy what they do %100. Hell even professional athletes make millions yet still complain, whine, or just shut-up and take the money and grudge about whatever for the rest of their career.

  5. Tom says:

    I guess I got lucky! Tried for 2 days to rent a pickup truck, made 5 phone calls and the reps were all consistent- they all made mistakes. Got a ride to a location with a reservation for a pickup and was advised they hadn’t had pickups in 14 years. Drove to another location in person and discussed specifically reserving the pickup truck for the next day while looking out the window at it. Next day, no pickup truck but had a reservation for a cargo van! Thanks but no thanks! Won’t call them again for anything.

  6. Michelle LeBeaumont says:

    U-Haul, in fact, DOES SUCK !! My husband and I were U-Haul dealers for 5 consecutive years until November 14, 2014, when the newly-hired MCO President in Denver closed our doors and, thus, altered our lifestyles as we knew it. Back in August 2014, a verbal agreement via telephone regarding the delivery of two U-Boxes was made between us and the MCO President, Mike Blau. Being the only U-Box dealer in the entire State of Wyoming, at that time, Blau agreed to pay us a certain dollar amount to deliver two U-Boxes from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Casper, Wyoming; a 325-mile, round-trip drive. The U-Boxes were delivered to Casper, Wyoming from Cheyenne, Wyoming, then picked up at a later date and driven back from Casper to Cheyenne. The total drive time for this entire transaction was approximately 12 hours. We also agreed that U-Haul would reimburse us for the use of their 14-foot truck to deliver the U-Boxes. To keep a long story short, the total invoice that we sent to U-Haul for this whole issue included the fee for the labor to drive the U-Boxes 650+ miles, the reimbursement costs for the truck rental and the reimbursement of the fuel costs. After two solid months of hounding and hounding U-Haul to reimburse us, we received a check for final payment in October of 2014. On November 14, 2014, the MCO President closed our dealership’s doors. Turns out, Blau was audited a couple weeks earlier and the audit didn’t go well. We assume he had his ass handed to him. He decided to “clean house”, by closing our dealership and firing a long-time employee at the Denver, Colorado facility. Our dealership had grossed over $150,000 from January 2014 and mid-November 2014. We were in the top 5 grossing dealerships in the State of Wyoming. Blau accused us of trying to rip-off U-Haul. I ask, how can a single dealer in a single invoice rip-off a multi-million-dollar company? Blau is such a spineless, non-confrontational maggot, he couldn’t even close our doors personally. He had our AFM do his dirty work. U-Haul treats its dealers worse than it treats its customers. U-Haul SUCKS !!!

  7. Elik says:

    U-haul is behind suck, they’re thieves that use lawyers to take advantage and make contract that should be illegal.
    In my case they stole from me $60 with their so called contract.
    I hope people will expose u-haul for what they are.

  8. Rented a uhaul truck from Cooperstown NY 2 Burlington VT. Picked the truck up with quarter tank of fuel, returned it with quater tank of fuel. Uhaul a day later said they added fuel at the sum of 88.50. PETER at uhaul said there was no reverse charges and that was it and hung up. I took it upon myself, and stopped payment. I’d rather pay the bank and not PETER. Have a nice day PETER.

  9. Terrall P says:

    Every Time I rent a U-Haul Truck I swear it is the last time. Last year I rented a newer U-Haul truck one way. It was OK but had several issues. I worried since I did not pay for the insurance. The next time I rented was a local move so I went to the U-Haul dealership in Augusta GA, near the mall on Wrightsboro Road. They had a new truck out front when I arrived so I sprang for the insurance, just in case. They gladly sold me the worthless policy and then I saw the new truck pulling away, and the worst looking unsafe 15+ year old piece of junk rolled up. I kid you not, every panel on the whole truck had a little “X” sticker on it stating it was already wrecked there. I tried to drop the insurance and of course they said “I’m sorry, we already billed your card.” The location is also filled with rude and unconcerned employees. I have to use U-Haul to rent trailers as they bought up their only competition “Jartran” quite a few years ago. I will always try to rent a PENSKE Truck from now on. They are for the most part, safe and newer vehicles. U haul drives em till they drop.

  10. who knows says:

    U-Haul Sucks…
    for the customers. and for the employees.
    I am a U-Haul employee I know!

    For the customers info, some of the standard things to consider.
    This is not illegal or bad business, but most or a lot of it is just shady, or unethical.

    U-haul is a business, they are in it for the money. Money > customer.
    They will charge you for every thing they can, and more!

    Take for example.
    When you rent a truck you are told to bring it back with the same amount of fuel you took it at or you will be charged a $xx.xx refueling fee + $x.xx per gallon of gas.
    Now all that sounds fair. and it really is. What they do not tell you is that after we charge you for the missing fuel, WE DO NOT REFUEL IT.

    This is how it works. 90% of U-Haul customers always bring the truck back at or ABOVE the fuel level they took it at. now keep in mind the tanks on the truck are huge so unless you have someone watching the gas gauge while you fuel it, more than likely your going to end up bringing the truck back with more fuel than you took it with.
    U-HAUL does not give you any money back for the extra fuel.
    In the 1 year I have worked for them I have never seen 1 truck be refueled! I have seen many trucks leave at 1/4 tank and come back at 1/2.

    Feel safe in that truck you rented?
    We have an entire check list we have to do for every truck that comes in,
    and it has a lot of stuff to check, oil tires engine, you name it its on that list.
    By the time we finish that list the truck should be as safe as if it were new.
    BUT- we are told not to waste time. do it as fast as possible, don’t clean the windows unless they are VERY bad. If its a one way truck and some thing is wrong send it out any way. One-Way trucks cost our location money, better if the next place has to fix it.

    How about something as simple as U-Hauls Take a box Leave a box program.

    We have a Bin at the front door that people can leave old box’s in for others to use.
    I see so many nice people come into U-Haul and fill our box bin with used boxes so that someone can make use of them. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to drive over and do some thing nice for others.
    What you need to know is that 10 min after you drop off you box’s and you are gone we are supposed to take the box’s out to the dumpster.
    How is U-Haul going to sell any box’s if there are free ones to take.
    I think its fine that U-Haul wants to sell box’s, but why pretend to want to help people out? why not just get rid of the take a box leave a box.
    Image is why.

    And U-haul has a great offer for all the customers that rent a one-way truck.
    1-month free storage! Its is honestly a great deal. you get the pitch. We offer 1 month free storage when you get to where your going just for renting from us.
    Now this is a Great deal honestly.
    Gives you time to find a new place, and move in at your own pace. without having to pay for storage. and U-Haul know that some of the people that get a free month, are going to need it longer and would rather pay the higher cost of storage at U-Haul than have to move to a less expensive storage facility. That is good for you and good for
    U-Haul. But what if you go 1 day over your 1 month and you didn’t have the funds for storage? U-Haul puts a lock on the unit and tells you that you cant get your stuff out.
    So you have to save up the funds to pay for 1 month of storage, and no its not pro-rated, you go 1 day over and you owe 1 month in full. so now while your trying to find that new job and living in your empty house. they will keep charging you rent, holding your belongings hostage. and if you do not pay up soon. they will auction all your stuff.

    Want to rent a trailer. might want to make sure you have the right wires for it.
    I bet you have a round plug for your trailer plug. Every RV, boat trailer, dump trailer all use the standard round plug.
    That’s why U-haul uses a non-standard flat plug….???
    Not to worry though, for around $60-$80 we can install the one you need. and if you cant afford that we sell adapters!
    U-haul created a plug that NO ONE USES, just so they could sell you some thing they created. again good business, for U-haul.

    U-Haul has some very smart people working for them. people who spend all day finding new way to make you pay just a little bit more. if they cant find some thing to sell you they will make one up out of thin air or nickel and dime it out of you.

    As for Employees, or people considering working for U-Haul.
    First thing to keep in mind is they pay minimum wage and U-Haul does not hire any full time employees ever.
    When I went to work for them I was told they were looking for part time people.
    I assumed that was how they went about hiring new people so they could weed out the bad employees. I assumed at some point after doing a great job they would make me full time. that was my fault for not asking. But as it turns out only management get full time and benefits. on average you will only be allowed to get 20-30 hours after you have been working there for a few months, and that’s if you are a great employee.

    You will be expected to do a lot of things that would usually pay extra
    U-Haul has locations with Mechanic bays where they install hitches.
    The average Hitch and Wiring job takes a skilled person 1-2 hours to do and U-Haul charges $60.00 an hour labor to the customer.
    So that gives you about $0.00 dollars over you min wage for every hitch you install..
    No that is not a typo!!
    They bill $60.00 and hour for the work, and you get paid NOTHING!
    I have to wonder who really gets paid the $60.00 per hour. The Shoen family?

    You are asking,
    Why do I work for a company I dislike so bad?
    Because in this economy you take what you can get no matter how bad it is

    How does U-Haul get away with all this BS?
    Because in this economy we take what we can get no matter how bad it is, and they know it!!

  11. KIERAN K KELLY says:

    I HAD RENTED A 26 ‘ U HAUL FROM MOORESVILLE NC TO NEW JERSEY AND TOLD THEM AT THE TIME OF WALKING IN I WANTED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE AND NEEDED A STORAGE FACILITY WHERE I DROPPED OFF THE VEHICLE . AS THEY OFFER A FREE MONTHS STORAGE WITH THE RENTAL OF THE VEHICLE.
    NOW TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION I HAVE ALREADY HAD 3 BACK SURGERIES, I DRIVE 10 1/2 HOURS GET TO THE DROP OFF POINT AT 6:45 ONLY TO FIND THERE IS NO STORAGE CENTER AT THE SITE. NOW IT STARTS POURING DOWN RAIN LIKE I HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE IN 45 YEARS, ONLY TO BE TOLD THEY DON’T HAVE A STORAGE FACILITY. THE CLOSEST ONE WOULD BE 17 MILES NORTH OF OUR ORIGINAL DROP OFF POINT THAT WE ALREADY PAST…… SO WE TURN AROUND EVERYONE FOLLOWING WE GET THERE WITH SECONDS TO SPARE , AND YOU GUESSED IT IT WASN’T A U HAUL STORAGE CENTER. NOW ITS OK TO DROP THE U HAUL THERE BUT THEY DON’T ACCEPT THE FIRST FREE MONTH AS THEY ARE NOT A U HAUL FACILITY. I AM NOW LOCKED INTO A 3 MONTH CONTRACT IN ORDER TO GET ONE FREE BECAUSE THE ONLY U HAUL STORAGE CENTER IS 2 1/2 HOURS AWAY FROM MY ORIGINAL DESTINATION WHERE I TOLD THEM I WAS GOING TO BEGIN WITH. NOW REMEMBER THE BACK SURGERIES? NEEDLESS TO SAY IN THE POURING DOWN RAIN A 10 1/2 HOUR RIDE I AM HURTING WE WORKED UNTIL 2:45 IN THE MORNING UNLOADING THIS TRUCK . I HAVE YET BEEN BACK AS THE MOVE IS NOT COMPLETE TO SEE THE DAMAGE TO MY $8,000.00 DINING ROOM FURNITURE MY TELEVISION SETS ENTERTAINMENT CENTER AND THE COUCHES BECAUSE ALL THEY HAD WAS A 10X 15 OUTSIDE STORAGE AREA. WE HAD TO REORGANIZE THE ENTIRE LOAD LEAVING THINGS IN THE RAIN WITH ONLY THEIR PIECE OF SHIT SO CALLED MOVING PADS COVERING THEM IN THE RAIN UNTIL WE COMPLETED THE UNLOAD AND LOAD PROCEDURE. YOU KNOW WHAT ENOUGH SAID I CAN GO ON FOR HOURS BUT LET ME FINISH BY SAYING.
    AFTER ALL THIS AND GETTING BACK TO NORTH CAROLINA I HAD SENT A E MAIL TO THEM 2 DAYS AFTER MY EXPERIENCE, YOU WOULD THINK SOMEONE WOULD RESPOND RIGHT? GUESS AGAIN STILL WAITING TO HEAR FROM THEM . BUT GUESS WHAT U HAUL WILL HAVE A LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM FOR FALSE ADVERTISEMENT AND DAMAGES TO ALL MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK STAY AWAY TRY TO SAVE A BUCK AND GET F#$%^D FROM U HAUL NEVER AGAIN AND I WILL TELL EVERY PERSON I MEET NOT TO PATRONIZE THEM

  12. Mary D. says:

    Uhaul is the worst place to rent from especially here in Mobile.
    Go to Penski on Broad street they are the best.
    occasionally i am forced to rent the small cargo trailer from uhual and it NEVER fails i have to deal with retarded inbred stupid ass people that would never get a job any where else.
    The location on 200 W I65 Service RD S, Mobile, AL 36608 is especially loaded with idiots. Do yourself a favor and NEVER use UHAUL cuz if you do you will turn into a crazy person and it wont be pretty!

    • Nice2meetu says:

      The I-65 Service Rd Beltline Hwy Mobile,Al location has the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced renting/leasing a vehicle.

      There’s nothing worse than dealing with a redneck uneducated bitch that smells like cigarette smoke trying to sound smart. I’ll rent a donkey before I deal with their jackasses again.

  13. bob says:

    i didnt have any idea that this site exsisted. wow cool. in 2001 when i moved from rhode island to florida i rented a u-haul, had i read this stuff i would say i believe anything i read here (lmao) the truck anti lock brake light came on and the driver window fell almost exact same time 1000 miles into move. well i found a uhaul place and the guy told me u dont need to worry bout the light, he went under the truck pulled out something and threw it into the woods(lol) then it started to pur rain like i was back in biblical times 40 days and nights. so he found an old boot, cut off the heel, took off the whole door panel and pried the heel into the window so i didnt get wet anymore. well 25 miles later the window fell again, i took a bath and i swore i’d never pull into a u-haul lot again. cost me a night in a hotel b4 i caught a cold or something(they actually re-imbursed me. but all in all this site is the bomb. glad i looked. wonder if the tow bars they put on will stay on, i need 1 to get some boxes from W.V just got married xmas eve 2009. ahhh maybe i look elsewhere. im not a web surfer but i do need a bar to tow 1 of those tiny 2 wheel box trailers. NOT U-HAUL THO

  14. Steve Dibble says:

    This was not a good Uhaul experience. They initially were going to send me all the way across the city in morning rush hour traffic to pick up the truck (to be picked up at a real estate office no less) instead of letting me get a truck at a large well staffed center 10 minutes from my house. This even though I made my reservation days in advance. It took several phone calls and a lot of wasted time until they finally let me get a truck closer to my house.

    I should not have to fight for what should be common sense service.

    And the truck was terrible. I have driven many mid to small size moving trucks over the years and this one bordered on unsafe. It sounded like it had an exhaust leak and was extremely noisy in the cab. The front end and shocks were worn out, had a bad shimmy at 50 mph and it felt very unstable.

    Of course this was a one way move and there was no time to go back and get a different truck. Uhaul is well aware that the truck renters options are limited due to time so they pass off these junk trucks on longer distance movers who will have no choice but to make due.

    From Alabama to Florida, 2 days drive. Thanks Uhaul for a miserable driving experience. I will go out of my way to never use them again!

  15. Dervco says:

    I rented a Uhaul truck that had a huge sign on the side that said $19.99 for a day. I told the young guy that i needed to go to a town 1.5 hours away and get the contents of my garage. The truck was a piece of crap but made it. I was delighted to be informed when i returned the truck that i owed over $200.00. The owner stated that that truck is $19.99 for short in town trips and i was being charged for excess millage. When i told her that I told her young employee where I was going and that is the truck he gave me she said ” he is new “. I will never rent from Uhaul again.

  16. jo daddy says:

    Leigh you are retarded what do the customers ask for? To have a truck they reserved, oh yeah that is an unrealistic expectation from uhual i forgot. People are so annoyed going into uhaul because they have to deal with losers like you.

    EVERY creature at Uhaul sucks, people/humans don’t.

  17. Leigh says:

    I work as an rental agent for a independent uhaul franchise. I know how inept Uhaul is because I have to make up for it constantly. I get reservations sent to my store when its obvious that my fleet cannot cover them. THe whole point of the Uhaul webbest network is to provide better service… but it just makes more of a mess. Believe you me, I know they nickel and dime everyone. I hate my job, but I still do my best to treat the customer with respect and do what I can to remedy any situation, because I have been screwed over by uhaul before. I think it is strange that all the uhaul representatives are jerks, but it is true! ! However, some of the customers have unrealistic expectations and they themselves are rude without being provoked. All I can say is we are all people and it would be nice if respect were a two-way street. After just graduating college and not being able to find a job in this economy… and having to work for Uhaul… I have learned a valuable lesson- People Suck and I have to pretend they don’t- voila- Customer Service.

  18. scott says:

    So i finally got moved to Abilene before Christmas, I ended up using uhaulsucks to do the move. I made a reservation online for the truck and picked up from some back alley franchise place less than 3 miles from the uhaulsucks service center in West Arlington (this should have been the first sign) the employee told me that if i returned the truck early and under the allotted amount of miles I would recieve a partial refund for doing so….

    So I think to myself I can do a move from 2nd story apartment drive 200 miles in 4 hours and move into a 2nd story apartment in less that 24 hours and get the truck turned back in the following day and get a partial refund.

    It was nice that day prolly about 65 degrees outside @ 10 am so i get started and get everything loaded up and i am on the road by 3 pm. I get to Ranger, Texas which is about the 1/2 way mark to Abilene and realize that a cold front has blown in and it is cold prolly 30 degrees with the wind chill and all i have on is a windbreaker, polo shirt and a pair of river shorts and all of my clothes are inside the uhaul at the front of the truck.

    I make it to my new place around 730 pm and try to find the cowboys-ravens game on tv but i am screwed because its on the nfl network. I start unloading and it is really getting cold outside. I think about saying forget the early return on the truck and just crashing out on the sofa and starting early in the morning but decide not to because i can get a partial refund and the sooner i get unpacked the faster I can get to my warm clothes boxed up in the front of the cab of the uhaul.

    So I unloaded the truck til 4 am in shorts and polo shirt— the low temp that night in Abilene was 20-something, the wind chill was ungodly I get up the next morning gas the truck up and get it turned in 18 minutes before the 24 hour mark on the contract and i am pretty amazed that I pulled it off all in less than 24 hours. So i ask the guy @ the drop off what the refund to my card would be and he just kind of laughed and said “they told you that? ‘ and he goes on to tell me that they tell people that all of the time and proceeds to tell me that there is no refunds for turning a truck in early and under mileage. Uhaul wll charge you for going over the mileage and keeping the truck out past the due date, but they give you no credit for returning it early. He tells me to call customer service and raise hell and they will partially compensate me for my troubles….

    Uhaul customer service was a joke, I filed a claim and was told someone would contact me within 48 hours and they actually did (first time uhaul kept their word) 2 days later as i am laid up on the couch sucking down bottles of nyquil and eating benadryl like thay were m&m’s because of the cold i picked up from working through the night. I get the call the rep offered me 30 dollars in uhaul bucks for my next rental and didnt even apologize….I was so pissed that they thought they were gonna buy me off with 30 dollars in uhaul bucks as if I was ever going to use them again. Since i wasnt satisfied with the offer someone from Management would call me back in 48 hours. I guess they have so many complaints it takes them 2 days to resolve an issue. No one ever called me back, i waited 7 days and fired off another email to customer support, got a call back this morning from some ass in fort worth who was insistant that no one promised me a refund for turning the truck in early, he claims that the owner was at Streamline Auto that morning that i picked up the truck ( which he wasnt, if he was he must have been under the desk) and that the owner never promised me a partial refund for turning the truck in early..

    bottomline……uhaul sucks…..i screwed up by not callin Penske Truck Rental, their rate for a 24 hour one way 1000 usable miles 157 dollars, 100 less than i paid. UHAULSUCKS.

  19. Ian says:

    Although I haven’t had this type of experience, I’ve done a fair amount of moving using Uhaul trucks (and storage facilities) and it was never easy. Between run-down equipment (lights not working on a trailer!) and decrepit facilities, the only reason this company (IMO) continues to make money is because they are everywhere. For our last move we looked into something different, because the fact of the matter is, moving sucks no matter how it’s done. We ended up using doortodoor.com and their moving pods. So much easier! Costs will vary and their services aren’t available in every city and town, but I will not hesitate a second to recommend them as an alternative to Uhaul, or any other truck rental company for that matter.

  20. Howard says:

    What other companies do you recommend-I didn’t see any on your website as you stated

  21. Amelia says:

    Wow, this sounds awful. Would you be willing to share your Uhaul horror story on http://www.uhaulsafetyalert.org? We really want people to be fully aware and informed before they spend their money and risk their safety with Uhaul.

  22. rick askar says:

    after a long battle with uhauls manager they gave me my money.But not my time. i will never use uhaul again. there scam artist. They pray on movers! They should be shut down. The lest a class action .

  23. rick askar says:

    u-haul is charging me 90.00 gas after already putting $40. i only went 12miles . we need to stop U-haul . to be contenued

  24. UHaul Sucks says:

    Putting unsuspecting human lives on the line thru repeated negligence and malice is not worth the small sums of money paid out on rare occasions. Risking my life and worldly possessions as well as the lives of those on public roadways was not worth the small settlement check. I have been scarred for life by U-Haul. At least I survived to tell the story.

  25. Bob says:

    They gave you terrible service – If you are in a business such as that, you do have to realize the pressures and constraints put on those that are moving. Not to mention the fact the traumatic experience of almost wrecking the thing

    That being said, they did pay all your bills and kick you an extra grand. So I’d have to say they made it right.

  26. mark says:

    my brother rented a uhal to move 3 miles and made about 4 trips. they tried to charge an extra 150 for fuel and other crap. he didnt pay it. uhaul is a rip off.

  27. Bruno Lopez says:

    A piece of advise to anyone intending to move…
    GIVE YOURSELVES MORE TIME.
    As a general rule these companies are not to be trusted, always be on guard as a consumer…remember where you live…America…dog eat dog is the motto.
    Everyone’s for himself.

  28. UHaul Sucks says:

    So do I, that’s why U-Haul’s behavior is so outrageous. I wouldn’t have believed it unless it happened to me. Gosh, when I think back to that awful experience, I still don’t know how I transloaded my entire cargo from one truck to the other. I was running on adrenaline and just wanted to get the hell away from those unscrupulous people. I didn’t realize how badly I hurt my arms bearing the weight of my stuff alone until the next day when the horrible bruises turned up on my arms and legs. U-Haul sucks.

  29. TIM G says:

    I FIND THIS STORY HARD TO BELIEVE

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