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I Hate U-Haul Truck Rental (And So Does Everyone Else)
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U-Haul is, in my personal opinion, quite possibly one of the most poorly managed businesses still in business and the only way they get away with it is because they’re almost the only game in town. The U stands for Unreliable. Ask anyone if they’ve ever had or heard of someone having a bad experience with U-Haul and prepare yourself for an intricate story about how U-Haul screwed them This is exactly what happened to me this weekend. (I added to the title because everyone else hates U-Haul too!)
I was to help my girlfriend and her roommate move out of their apartment in New Jersey starting at 10am on Saturday. The night before, her roommate called and confirmed (the guy said they had the truck on site and she could pick it up at 10ish the next day) that the truck they reserved was ready for us tomorrow. She calls the next day right before she is supposed to leave – truck isn’t there. Truck was never there. In the general area, there were no one-way trucks available for rental because it was the end of the month and they were all booked (reserved! ha!). We didn’t get a truck until 7pm, didn’t depart until 11pm, and worked all through the night until 6am unpacking.
One year ago, when my roommate and I moved out of our apartment (and into another), we too ran into the same situation. The U-Haul site had decided, even with our reservation, to rent our truck out to a walk-in customer because they didn’t know if we would show up. We didn’t get a truck that day until 2pm. This year, we opted to use a minivan from a reputable rental agency.
U-Haul is unreliable and dishonest. While they’ll gladly take your cancellation fee, they won’t give you any money if they screw you and rent out a truck you need. Most of the time we’re talking about end of the month moves where you need to follow a strict schedule in order to check out of the apartment, complete the final walk-through, and get on your way. If we didn’t move, we would have to continue paying a rent because of U-Haul’s unreliability. Don’t call it a reservation if you don’t reserve anything.
My fellow bloggers who read this, write a post about how U-Haul has screwed you and trackback to this one. Non-bloggers, send this to a friend and have them comment and/or pass it along. Spread the word, like a virus, that U-Haul is a business that should go down the tubes.
If you need to move, use these alternatives (I haven’t used them but U-Haul has screwed me two out of two times, so I’d use any of these before U-Haul ever again):
- Budget/Ryder – Ryder was acquired by Budget, so try Budget for your moving needs.
- Penske – I see their trucks all the time and the drivers are always smiling, so they can’t be all that bad.
- Hertz – Word on the street is that Hertz rents trucks as well.
- Public Storage – Storage companies typically will let you use their truck if you rent from them and with the smallest storage closets running about $30 a month, this is a great deal for in-town moves.
From the comments, it also sounds like even if you get a truck (the “lucky” ones), they aren’t reliable (surprise!) and could die on you.
U-Haul CEO’s Cell Phone Number
Courtesy of the Consumerist:
The CEO of Uhaul gave out his cellphone number last night on an episode of Inside Edition, inviting consumers to call with complaints or questions. Joe Shoen explained saying, “People can’t get this organization to behave, I can.” That number is 602-390-6525.
Let him have it!
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I recently moved with Penske on a one-way trip and saved about $700 dollars compared to U-Haul. I had to return the truck about 50 miles away because they didn’t have a drop-off here, but it was worth it. On-line reservations were easy, service was great, and I didn’t have to wait in line. I highly recommend Penske. (Oh, and their trucks are really nice too.)
Another vote for Penske!
I’ve used U-haul a couple of times with les than stellar results, luckil nothing like the horror stories on here. Moved from Missouri to Pennsylvania with Penske this summer. It went great. Easy online reservations, competitive rates! The give a 12% discount for AAA members. I wasn’t a member, but Penske has a link on their site so you can join. I think it cost me $55 to join, but it gave me an $85 discount.
I’ll use Penske again if at all possible!
We too had a problem with U-haul or after reading Walter’s comment “U-Hell”. My husband and I moved from Montana to Calgary two years ago. We rented a truck in Kalispell, loaded it and we were on our way. We only made it about 12 miles out of town when we stopped to fill the tank and discovered that the parking break did not work. We called the 800 number and had to wait about 30 minutes for a call back. Then they advised us to drive back to Kalispell to have it fixed. We turned around, drove back, and waited an eternity for them to check out the problem. The guy brought out a chunk of metal and clunked on a part on the truck to make the brake light work. THEN……. I kid you not… gave us a piece of FIREWOOD to stick under the tire in case we had to park. Again, as mentioned previously by others…. There were no other trucks available. We made our trip and every stop was a major hassle. The next delightful moment we had with U-haul was when we returned the truck after the move and they told us that we had gone over our mileage and tried to charge us. My husband had already explained our whole ordeal to them and we didn’t even get an apology. When the girl tried to charge us, my husband basically had to speak very slowly and say…”OK, No….do you not hear what I am saying?….U-haul and this crappy truck are the reason there are extra miles.” “Not only are we not paying for extra miles, we are not paying full price for this piece of junk!” He had to walk them outside and show them the metal piece used for banging on the brake part and also the chunk of firewood before they finally got it. What a joke! I have never experienced such poor customer service. Some basic training here would be really helpful although it doesn’t sound like the managers have much more of a clue. Next time around I think we will try Penske.
This company needs to be put out of business. I am currently sitting, waiting for a truck, 8 hours after I was to pick up the truck I “reserved” (U-Haul ought to look up the definition of that word in the dictionary). With no option for other companies at this late stage in the game I am at the mercy of the heartless giant. If I had kown this beforehand, I would have rented with Budget. I will from now on.
DO NOT EVER RENT FROM “UHAUL” UNLESS YOU ENJOY PAIN AND MISERY!
I WOULD NOT WISH THIS ON MY WORST ENEMY!
I’ve used U-Haul twice. The first time was pretty bad.. but their on-site staff at the Winnipeg St. James location did everything they could to help us out. Called us the night before to tell us there was no truck.. all they had were trailers. Luckily my moving buddy had a big F150 and could pull one. When we got there, we found that the wiring plug on the truck was in bad shape and not even compatible with the trailers. The guys at the store were very apologetic about our situation and didn’t make excuses. For no charge they re-wired my buddy’s truck.. just had to pay for the wiring attachment, which was like $10. I had no complaints about the staff, which is why we used them the second time.
Second time went off without a hitch, but we did move mid-month which likely accounts for that. This next move is into our first house and I don’t want to mess with it… I’m gonna hit up Budget. Anyone know other truck companies in Winnipeg?
I rented a uhaul and they said i was getting the truck that the woman told me i was going to get and t turned out she wasnt going to bgive me that nice newer one and by new i mean like a 1989 so instead she gave me this crappy stick shift with grinding gears and a transmission that sounded like it was about to fall out . Damn piece of shit drove like a pig. it had no working ac or radio or lowering system and the back was full of someones junk. you could hear me start it up a half of a mile away. almost around 300,000 miles on it before i used it . they charged me 300 for a day. screw that i said i threw them a 150 dollars and they took it and i screwed never again will i use there crappy trucks.
I must say that there are a lot a similarities to the airline industry here. Everybody wants their truck rental or plane ticket dirt cheap and then whine up a storm when things go poorly due to lack of maintenance, delays or poor customer service. In all fairness, my experiences with most truck rentals have been mixed bag- some good and some bad. I have only had one truck quit on me completely and it was no fun. When I rent power equipment in my business, I only deal witht the most reputable firms, not because I have money to burn, but because it is ultimately a better deal to spend more on newer and better maintained equipment that is less likely to fail then to have to pay for all the wasted time. I would be willing to pay up to 50% more for a higher quality truck rental experience or plane ride for that matter- it would be well worth it in the long run.
Re: Dan Kope
The airline business like the hotel business tends to overbook reservations (I was in the business for years) UNLIKE U-haul, when they oversell and end up with more people than flights or hotel rooms they don’t tell you that you are S.O.L., they generally bump you to another flight or even hotel room somewhere else (and pay for it) NOT U-haul, Hell I have flown SW airlines, the least expensive out there that I have seen and have always had great service with them. I don’t agree that cheap means crappy. I don’t think this has to do with people trying to get something dirt cheap, I think it has to do with a huge company not training their staff! U-haul needs to get a clue!
As an employee at West Sac UHaul I must say these comments disturb me. Of course if you go across the nation some nightmarish stories will start to pile up. Every company has its problems, and when viewed on the scope of the whole nation, it may seem like this is the majority of happenings, but I assure you it is a smaller percentage by far than those who have had a great experience at UHaul. Everyday I get told at my job how great people think we are and how they have had nothing but wonderful UHaul experiences. My store has been commended through letters for our excellent customer service (710-056), and in some of these stories I noticed a common thread. Unfortunately reservations are subject to availability, and trust me no matter how soon you think you made your reservation, someone else beat you. We can only have so many trucks on each site, and there are so many people who need to move, especially on peak moving dates, such as the end of the month, and to expect a big company not to have something awry, when in such demand you must admit is ludicrous. I feel for people, I have been a customer, and I know what it’s like to be angry. I got furious at Target the other day, but this does not mean that I now hate all Targets. It just means that employee was not the best. Come out to West Sacramento UHaul, and we will take care of you , I promise.
-Ryan Kile
i have read all of the bitching and moaning that people have posted here
all i have to say is i move every 18 months or so for the past 25 years (FOR WORK) i have used every rental company there is and i can truefully say i have never had a single problem with uhaul
yes i have ran into a few rude people along the way tell me one company that dose not end up with a rude employee now and then
and really would you want there job dealing with people at there worst (everyone hates to move.)
as for the resv. people need to learn how to read they tell you everything pick up time subject to availablty location same thing rate subject to change equiment subject to avilabilty so on and so forth
you need to contact joe shoen he is the owner of uhaul he makes the rules all his employees have to do what he says is the right way to run his company
a bit of advice dont use dealers (ie; uhaul at a feed store) go to a center if you have one in your city most of the people who work there a nice well trained and truly want to make your move easier
and i do feel sorry for all the people who have had problems and i feel lucky ive never had to deal with anything like that.
i use uhaul because i have had problems with budget and penske and ryder
budget never has a truck when you need it
penskes are way to hard to find
and well ryder went out of bussiness need i say more
U-HAUL REALLY DOSE HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIMENT AT THE LOWEST PRICE
When I read all the postings about U-Haul last spring, I decided that for my cross-country move in a 24-ft truck I would use another firm. Since none of my friends had any experience with renting big trucks, I decided on Budget because I could find practically no bad comments on the web. The local agent (in Delaware) was quite experienced and a former U-Haul agent who had given up and switched. To make a long story short, without asking I received a 20% discount and everything went according to plan. The truck had only 8,000 miles on it. When I returned it to a Budget agent near the PHX airport, it turned out this agent too had been with U-Haul and had given up on them (must be a reason for this pattern). When he learned I was going to get a taxi to the airport, he volunteered to take me there in his car, for free(!). Trip number 2, in August, was totally uneventful, and the truck had only 8,500 miles on it when I picked it up. I’ve now booked 2 more trips 9the last, Thank God!), both in October, and again the local agent has gone out of her way to give me good service. Of course, now I’m a returning customer, but she didn’t have known that when I made my first rental.
I doubt that I will ever have the occasion to rent a big truck again. But if I do, it will be from Budget. I even wrote Budget about my favorable experience…but didn’t get any response from them.
I don’t know how Penske compares to Budget, but both names appear to be superior to U-Haul.
i just won a lawsuit with uhaul today. I “reserved” a 17′ truck and they gave me a 14′ truck. Then they had the nerve to charge me a $430 late fee because I had to make a second trip.
I sued in small claims court in Washington County, Oregon. I had all my legal arguments in a row to make a very convincing argument against U-Haul, but the judge didn’t even want to hear them. He essentially said “your so right, I dont even want to waste my time listening to you tell me your right”
I encourage EVERYBODY to take U-Haul to small claims court.
We rented a Uhaul 7 months ago and purchased the insurance coverage also. A driver under the influence hit our truck and destroyed 80% of our belongings. We are still waiting to be paid. They want to give us virtually nothing for our belongings.
Frustrated in TN
I agre whole heartedly. It’s a known fact that they would rent the truck right under your nose if they could. I rent often and they are the worst rental company and charge to the max. They are a rip off and should be blackballed
I Hate u haul rentals. dont every rent from them. once i rented a truck and they were all nice to me. but the day i was gonna go pick it up they told me there was nothing avaliabe in this location and i would have to go to the other location which was atleast 30 km away. then i asked then if they would not change me for the kms and guy started being all rude. he is like no we can’t don that. then i am like … ok then give me my money back, i dont want a trunk from you shit faces.
My cousins rented (confirmation # and all) a truck to move my aunt from Binghamton, NY to North Carolina. They made the arrangements about ten days in advance of the planned move. They were supposed to call Saturday morning to find out what time to pick up the truck. Imagine their surprise when they called and found out there was no truck. The confirmation only meant the truck would be theirs IF there was a truck available?????After hours on the phone trying to find something within 50 miles a truck was found in Dallas, PA and was supposed to be available Sunday morning. A later call to the same phone number confirmed that not only was there NO TRUCK available at Dallas, PA..THERE WASN’T EVEN A U-HAUL LOT IN DALLAS, PA!!!After much pleading and mentioning a phone call to the State Department of Consumer Frauds a truck was located near Syracuse (over 90 miles away) and we were able to pick it up, bring it to Binghamton and pack it in time for them to leave one day plus six hours later than intended. Every single person we talked to about the elusive confirmation system DEFENDED IT and found no ethical impropriety with it. You gotta love ignorance.
I work for this company… and I will agree that somethings seem a bit unethical. But it really depends on the area. Many times the store managers want to be helpful, but are limited on what they are allowed to do.
I hear stories of fustration all the time… and I wish I could console those in need in every situation. It just get’s the point where a mistake is no longer a mistake, and it is just a continual process of errors.
I will agree we have some shaping up to do, but the company itself is not as bad as it is described. They just need a re-structuring of management, one that understands the concept of full customer satisfaction.
I will apologize on behalf of the company to those who have had a terrible experience. Although it is out of my range to solve or make any type of resolution for them – I can apologize for all the heart aches and all of your troubles.
I hope that things get better! God Bless and have a good day!
I can’t believe you’re still getting comments on this post over a year later, but for what it’s worth, I’ve used Penske twice for cross-country moves and have been very happy with them. They even have a lowest-price guarantee if you book early online and then find the price drops later and a nice discount for AAA members. As I recall, I haven’t heard of a good experience with U-Haul (sorry to Kya above), and Budget was quite pricey.
I am in the process of bring a law suit against U-haul and need as much help as possible. The situation is that a sub-optimal truck was rented out and it stalled once and then completely shut down the second time. A mechanic from u-haul came out and “fixed” the problem but found a dent/crease in the gas tank. Further down the road, the driver heard a pop and while trying to find an area to pull over and stop saw that his vehicle was on fire. Everything was burnt quickly as the fire was generated near the gas tank.
I am looking for any similar incidents, especially near colorado and any links/articles detailing improper maintenance and repairs of Uhaul trucks. Please email to uhaulsuit@hotmail.com
Rented and loaded a big truck for an overnighter only to find out the lights weren’t working and was offered a replacement but no $ adjustments or help transferring my stuff from one truck to the other.
Returned the truck the next day with the gas 1/16 below the original mark and was charged an exorbitant rate – asked if I could take the truck to a gas station to put in a bucks worth of gas and was told no because the transaction had been finalized even though I had hours left on the orig contract.
Because each location is franchised, Uhaul is a hit or miss proposition. Probably 50% of the locations are doing poorly and can’t afford to keep their inventory in good shape and probably rely on the fringe benefits derived from the gas penalties and late fees, etc.
Not a friendly place to do business and will probably look somewhere else next time I need to rent.
John
Yikes. I have a U Haul reserved for a move from Alberta to BC. beginning of December. All as pects of the move are choreographed (i.e reserving elevator, hiring loaders and movers, cleaning people to come in right after).
You guys have me very worried. Not sure what Ill do if truck not there.
Budget doesnt rent a large enough truck for One Way Moves. Anyone got any other suggestions or other companies available in Alberta?
Always use Ryder the have new trucks and are in the trucking business for truckers to rent as well. I drove into a U haul lot in Winnipg to rent a van. When I saw a van and two trailers sitting in the lot with flat tires I new maintenance and quality was not a priority. I left and went to Ryder.
I am in Canada, Montreal. U-haul Quebec, same crap (merde, pardon my french). Got me waiting, got me with problems with new tenants, and all the same shit. Old and unsafe trucks, they just suck.
Someone was moving out of our apartment complex and hit our car. I witnessed the incident. My husband and I went out to confront the driver and we took down the license plate number. My husband went back to get paper and pen and the driver took off. Get this one – Uhaul claims we couldn’t provide the name, addresss, etc. of the driver. Well HELLO – he took off. In the same breath they state that the driver denies hitting our car.
So they know who it is. They also claim since there is no damage to the truck it couldn’t have happened. Well, the truck literally lifted the back bumper of our car with the tire, techinically he ran over the bumper. The estimate is under $400 dollars. We have a police report and described the driver to a T. So I guess if the driver says he didn’t do it, then I guess that is all they need. So now we are left with contacting the Texas attorney general’s office and anyone else in this state (insurance commission??) and most likely small claims.
Is anyone familiar with Republic Western insurance? I hear that Uhaul owns it. Any thoughts to help us out??
Unfortunately, I was burned badly also by U-Haul. Not only did the truck break down and they hauled all of my belongings so that everything was caused to slide to the back and ruined alot of my belongings, they also came and towed off the truck from my house with my belongings still in it to someplace on the other side of Jacksonville Fla. I had to find a ride to go and pick up my belongings and another truck. Someone name Mr. Delmonico called me from they said U-Haul’s Insurance Co. I tried 25 times at least, to call him back and he refused to return my calls. Not only was I out the price of all of my reuined belongings, I was charged $100.00 on my bank card, I also had to fill up the truck that I had to drive back across town to satisfy the Mayport rental place. An unbelieveable and horrifying experience. If anyone has any answer’s to my delima please write back to me and let me know what to do. I’ve heard that there is a law suit going but can’t find that either. Thanks for listening and do not rent from U-Haul truck rentals.
Back in October 2006 I rented a U-haul, put my Visa up for the deposit. Paid for the rental made sure I put my gas in it and dropped it off. On Dec 14th I received my visa statement and low and behold there is a 50.00 charge on it from U-haul, well I was stund. I called the location where the truck was rented and was told to come in a see the manager, so off I go, when I arrive Im told the manager is the 24 yr old kid on the line and I would need to wait. Im 38 so I found this alittle funny. As I explain my perdicament, he pulls my record from the computer and says that the 50.00 charge was for gas, that the truck was returned with only 1/2 a tank and was booked out with 5/8 of a tank. I told him I had put the same amount of gas in as I received the vehicule, and I asked him why wasnt I called when the truck was checked in the next day, His reply was that they tried calling a few times, I replied that my answering service has been working fine for all the other calls I receive each day why was there no massage, he said that he didnt know why I didnt receive any but that he made several attempts to call. I no I wasnt called and Im so angry that this kid has done this to me and others, Im sure, when he is in a position of trust,….please,…… almost 2 mo’s go bye, and its x-mas, I think he needed some extra cash, why else wait so long. Never again will I use this company and if I thought it would do me any good I would file a formal complaint. Good luck to the next poor sucker who was in line behind me today, I hope he heard the whole conversation…. Sincerely a former U-haul client. S.S of Oshawa
Hey yall, as a former U-haul employee, I could go on and on about how absolutely horrid the company is, If you think the trucks they rent are bad you should see what they give the service people to drive. The entire fleet is poorly maintained, most scheduled services on trucks usually dont get done till well after the required time ( every 5000 mile or 8000 Km is more like every 6500 miles or 10000km) And even then it is done in a hurry and half assed. The company hates having equipment down for repair and encourages to do the fastest repair possible for the cheapest amount and get it back on the road and making money. In my position I was to have a service vehicle which to drive and use to cover my area in order to maintain teh independnt dealers and to recruit more u-haul vendors. I was able to actually use my service rig about 1 month out of the months I worked there. I left due to an absolute fera for my own safety. the equipment is unsafe at best and service is a joke. I to this day still cringe when I see a uhaul on the same road I am travelling.,
Going to keep it short.
Reserved a truck and the next day it was gone. I drove an hour to get the last one in the area … they didn’t help with gas and didn’t give me any discount for my problems.
Reserved a truck another time and also reserved a car tow package. The next day all was well, I get in the truck and the steering went out on the highway. Luckily, the truck didn’t have my vehicle in tow. We brought the truck back to U-Haul and they gave us a better truck … no apology, no discount, nodda.
After a bad U-Haul story of my own, I booked a Penske truck last fall for a cross-country move, and it was an exceptionally smooth process from beginning to end. Skip U-Haul and go for Penske (or ABF, whom I’ve also heard great things about).
Here we go again. So anyway, you guys, are all off on your facts, if a truck is meant to stay in town, it will never be promised to you to take 1500 miles away, I’m in house I know the system. UHaul is NOT a franchise, there are dealers, i.e; a liquor store that also has UHauls, they profit share, but own NOTHING, also they are not held to the same standards or training that those of us in centers get. Also, reservations, I can’t believe it is such a hard concept to grasp. If we told you right off the bat that we may be overbooked you may not make a reservation, so of course this info isn’t volunteered, WE HAVE A BUSINESS TO RUN PEOPLE. Perhaps some common sense could be used to know that perhaps you aren’t the only THICKHEADED DIMWIT who waited until five days before a move to reserve a truck. Also, maybe you didn’t choose to move at the end of the month, that’s just how things work, but IT’S HOW THINGS WORK, so maybe if you know, say, at the beginning of the month you’re gonna move go ahead and reserve a truck then. So you have a confirmed reservation, if we are overbooked what would you like us to do, build you a truck, I bet you would. Also, no one beats our prices, I do the calling to the other stores and check there rates, we make sure no one beats us. The other companies also offer no flat rates for one ways, so go ahead and pay by the mile. Oh and the “immediate 20% discount without even asking” COME ON! That is an old car salesman trick, come in to my UHaul, and I’ll gladly give you a price 20% over what I’m supposed to charge, and the “immediately lower it”. You won’t even have to ask.
Once i moved using U-Haul and when i returned the truck the employee was a guy i knew from school. He asked if the truck broke down. I followed his cue and said that it stalled in an intersection. He say “that’s good”, wrote it down and refunded my full rental price. So i guess even U-Haul employees’ hate U-Haul
I have only rented once from U-Haul, and it was my last. I was doing a local move of about 28 miles one-way, returning the vehicle to where I rented it. The fuel gauge on the ancient piece-of-crap truck they provided showed about a needle’s width under a half a tank when I got it. I got my load to the destination and unloaded it. Just after leaving, the truck started stalling. I made it about two miles, and it finally died on the side of the road. Fortunately, a friend was following me, so I went to the U-Haul office and told them about. I wanted to just give them the keys and tell them to fix it, but they said I’d be responsible for vehicle abandonment charges. Okay fine, I can’t argue with the fine print. So I waste another three hours arranging for a mechanic to meet me at the truck. He quickly determined that it was out of diesel, even though the needle said it had about 1/4 tank. The gauge was mis-calibrated. I think most vehicles that show a bit under half a tank should go more than 30 miles before running out of fuel. I’m sure it’s not the first time that this POC truck had run out of fuel, and not the last. Thank goodness it made it to the destination so I could unload.
The U-Haul office said they’d refund my money, but I still got charged, and unfortunately I never followed through on it (it was only like $40). I’m still mad, seven years later. But I feel better now! Thanks for the opportunity to vent.
I’ve usually had good luck with U-Haul. I did have one bad experience going from Oregon to Seattle, Washington when the fuel pump died on Hwy 5 but they sent out someone to fix it. Took ‘em 4 hours, but they did fix it.
The worst experience ever was with Budget. To make a long story short, we ended up losing an entire day with paid moving help because Budget didn’t have any trucks. We kept hearing about how they were expecting a delivery of brand new trucks, etc, but they were running behind. They jacked us around for about 4 hours before the local office people said “We will not help you any more. Call the 1-800 number.” The 1-800 number people were even more useless. They told us “you don’t actually reserve a truck. You just reserve the RATE.”
So, 10 hours after we were scheduled to pick up the truck and after countless ignored phone calls in which a “manager” was supposed to call us back but never did, we called and found a Budget truck was available! But we had to drive 45 miles outside of town to pick it up.
We did, because it was our only choice. We did call U-Haul but they were all booked anyway. We got that truck, and they had the gall to tell us they needed it back by 8am the next day. We packed (without our paid help, so we lost the $$ on that) and then unpacked (again, without the paid help) at the destination and frantically drove the truck back because they threatened to charge us for another full day PLUS a late fee.
We complained to the bank and tried to reverse the charges because we lost more money on the paid help than we spent renting the truck, but failed because “Services were delivered.” (ugh).. we griped at Budget corporate who basically shrugged and said “Too bad” and we bitched at the local people, who were apathetic.
Never again will I use Budget. We’ve moved ourselves once since that time, and we used U-Haul. Everything worked out fine.
uhaul dicked me the exact same way at the one on valencia in san francisco. reservation doesnt mean jack to them, they prolly laugh whenever they confirm them on the phone. maybe we should all start a campaign of flooding them with false reservations just to spite them.
So I agreed to move this friend…she reserved the truck way in advance and had to be out of the appt by noon. We show up at 0800, when they opened, and despite being 2nd in line waited over 1 and 1/2 hours before even being helped. Why? Because after helping the first customer, the guy “in charge” found that $500 was missing out of the safe. He then fired the only other guy there, who had helped close the night before and could not account for the missing money. Right in front of us. While waiting for the police to arrive, he had the guts to ask us to help “look around” for the sack of money with the $500 in it. True story. Then the cop shows up, and starts taking the report. Of course she asks why we’re standing there…and when I tell her what was going on she tells the guy she’ll wait while he gets us on our way. Thats when we find our truck went to the folks who were ahead of us…with no reservation! And…they have a much larger truck but it’ll cost more. Thats when I almost lose my mind, I don’t remember exactly what was said but ended up with the bigger truck for the same price. A dandy too, brand new ford with tons of power. The kicker was, the guy that was “fired” was still hanging around for the police report, and the head guy had him get the truck and warm it up! So it took about hours just to get a “reserved vehicle”. Before returning the truck I couldn’t help buy power-brake half the rubber off the rear tires, I know it was petty but had to get some satisfaction. BTW, this was in Shoreview, a suburb of the Twin Cities…
please excuse the french, but fuck uhaul. i just want to call them, and bitch the shit out of them and unleash my anger.
i’ve used uhaul once before. when i went to fill up the gas, it was impossible. i pump the diesel fuel, and after 1 second the fuel is gushing out of the hole. i wait. pump 1 second and fuel is gushing out again. yes i used the correct fuel for the car.
i drove it back to the location about 5 minutes before they were closing, and explained to the store owner that the vehicle would not accept fuel, and that i should not be charged for me. he said there’s nothing he can do, he has to charge me for it unless i fill it up. He told me i could go try again. I said okay, well where’s the closest gas station? About 5 blocks away, and but i have to be back in 2 minutes cause he’s closing.
i couldn’t believe it. i told him that was ridiculous and obviously it was not possible to go there and come back in 2 minutes, no matter how fast i was. eventually it turned into a swearing and yelling match and him threatening to call the cops. i went off on him with some pretty bad explecitives and then i left, not wanting to have any issues with police.
I hate uhaul.
Ryan Kile, you are a tool. There’s no such thing as a reservation with Uhaul. You can make all the reservations you want and even pay $5 for it online, and it doesnt do anything for you.
I just rented a van from U-Haul, drove it in town and filled it up at the gas station right next to the U-Haul before returning it. They charged me the $40 for not filling it up before dropping it off. I have the receipt and clearly recall topping it off after the pump clicked several times, but they refused to listen to me. I said I would NEVER do business with them again and the manager did not seem the least bit concerned. Too bad for them, because I’m moving a fully loaded apartment in two months. So I hope my $40 was worth the $200 I would’ve dropped on a large truck.
BTW, those vans apparently get a nice efficient 7 MPG according to the manager.
Who are you kidding. I work for your competition and there is no wonder we run circles around you guy’s. You are basically confirming the opinions expressed about your company. Telling “dimwits” to book the truck early and if you don’t have it telling them “You want me to build a truck for you”. I prefer to call the “dimwits” customers and if I overbook I find the customer a truck. No matter if the reservation was made 5 hours or 5 months previous. As far as pricing is concerned, you can quote any price you like considering you will have no trucks available when the customer arrives. I am sure they feel better about saving a few buck’s when you tell them you do not have a truck for them. My company also gives free and unlimited mileage on ALL one way rentals. Get your facts straight before you put anything in print. I guess I can’t blame you for being angry. I hear the complaints from your customers on a regular basis as well, but at least they always leave with a truck, a smile, and a thank you.
I’m a tool? Why because I explained to you how it works? Fuck you, we overbook, that’s how it is. The reservations are real, trust me, I make them, and I then see them come in and pick it up. Proof is in the visual. Do you reserve one every week, and have reservations fall through every time? We take care of our trucks at our location too, and there is a system in place to do so. The problem isn’t UHaul, it’s whiny lazy fucks like what America is mostly made up of filling the jobs that suck. If we all stopped bitching and stayed off the computer and took pride in our jobs, maybe all companies would run well. If you get a shitty burger it ain’t In and Out’s fault, it’s the fuckhead who made it. If the truck breaks down it’s not UHaul’s fault, or Budget or Penske’s for that matter. It’s the lazy retards with the uniform on’s fault. I know the next step, “hire better people”, well frankly the amount of people willing to work hard, and we do work hard at UHaul, is low. People would rather do “security” or tear tickets, or just collect fuckin welfare. UHaul has been in business for many years and will stay there.
Oh and J Smith, what competitor that runs circles around us? We beat all competition last year by 413%! (On average, budget was the closest down 294%) WE DON’T EVEN ADVERTISE. So please tell me the name of your imaginary company that “runs circles around us.” HA!
I made a reservation for a trailer two weeks in advance. I was not contacted by 5pm the day before as advertised when I made the reservation. I called the 800 number and Latisha blew me off, put me on hold, and never returned before I got tired of waiting after 20 minutes and hung up. Later that evening my cell phone is beeping with a text message confirming the rental and the pickup location. When I arrive at the pickup location at the prescribed time, neither of the two trailers that are there are rentable. The pigtails are not connected to the lighting harness and the individual manning the store does not know how to hook them up. Not to mention that the turn signal is duck taped on to the back of one of the units. I go through the trial and error of getting the lights to work and then ask if the brake fluid has been checked on the unit. Of course, the not-so-sharp attendant has no idea. And the caps on the brake fluid containers on both trailers, that are only suppossed to be hand tightened, cannot be taken off, even with a wrench. Who knows how long it has been since the fluid has been checked, and if any of the brakes work at all. A trailer is then returned that the light pigtails are hooked up correctly and the brakes work. The only problem is one of the tires has NO tread. By this time I have been at the U-Haul place for an hour and a half, so I take the trailer. A little over 100 miles out, the tire blows and shreds tearing away the lighting harness under the wheel well. It takes almost two hours to get someone their to fix the tire. The call center is useless. They cannot figure out what 1/2 mile east of mile marker 26 on eastbound I-10 means. They don’t come with a tire mounted on a rim, but with manual tire tools and an air compressor. Lubricant is sprayed all over the highway as the tire man battles with the tire to get it off. The new tire is about 2 inches shorter than the one being replaced. Then we are greeted with, “I hope this will get you there.” When I called the store manager where I rented the trailer, he basically told me tough luck because he did not give a shit either.
Every aspect of this U-Haul experience was bad. No one that I ran into seemed to care about the customer. I have rented two Penske trucks in the past year and have found that experience very satisfactory. Penske seems to service their equipment where U-Haul seems to wait until it breaks. Then they do not care how much their customers are put out. I for one will NEVER do business with U-Haul again. I would hope that the State and Federal Departments of Transportation would start pulling over these vehicles and give them a good safety inspection. My guess is that very few would pass.
I will dispute the charge from U-Haul through my credit card company. Unlike U-Haul, they seem to care about my business and will reverse the charge during the dispute process.
Let’s hope that one of the other rental carriers will come into the trailer market and knock U-Haul out of the game. I for one will be rooting for that day to come.
I rented a Uhaul truck on the 4th of May 2007. The truck I requested was there and the Gen. Manager assured me the tank was full, however the way it was parked, (slightly downhill) it will appear not full. We drove out and didn’t bother looking at the fuel gauge until we were half way to my daughter’s apartment when we noticed it was now only a little over half full. note: so far we had only driven about 15 miles. When we returned the truck 3 hrs later, we had driven a total of 31.2 miles and had placed $15.00 (4.8 gal.) of gas in it just about 2 miles from the Uhaul dealer. He checked the truck and informed me that it wasnt on full and I could be charged another $50 if I dont fill the truck up. I took and put in another $25.50. A total of $40.00 to drive 31.2 miles??? What the hell is wrong with these people. They have completely LOST my business forever.
We rented a u haul for 2 days…8 am to 8 pm the next day. We reserved it 3 months in advance. They called us to tell us that they didn’t have the van we wanted but they have a bigger one that we could use. We said we would bring it back the next day and they told us that we could only have it for the day….12 hours. We said that they gave it to us for 2 days and they said that they would never have allowed that. We kept calling over and over again trying to get something done ( and to piss them off). They never gave in. We were left up in the air.
U HAUL SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup, u-haul sucks. I was on line waiting to pick up my vehicle. This totally tweeked out sales person takes a phone call for a “reservation”. The other sales clerk (who seemed to be in training or something) said to him “we don’t have any trucks to give”. Tweeked boy said “I didn’t say I was giving them the truck, I’m just taking the reservation”. So expect an entry somewhere on-line from those poor fools who thought that their reservation meant they could rent a truck.
My truck, $19.95 as advertised, I know it would come to more but how much more, I had no idea. I drove 30 miles and had to put in 8 gallons of gas before they were happy that I appropriately filled the tank back up. So now a pickup truck get 3 gallons to the mile. I had no idea. I drove a pickup truck for years and always got at least 15 miles to the gallon. The total rental, including gas, cost $74 for 3 hours. Yeah, my bad. Some day their company will come down. Some day.
My son rented a U-Haul to help a lady move out of her house and to Long Island, New York. He reserved it in Altoona (none availabe), but on the day he needed it, he had to drive to State college in his car, using his gas to go get it. So he gets it tells them he is going to Long Island, New York, all the papers were signed in Altoona, he just had to get the truck from State college. So they get everything packed for this woman and move all her things to Long Island New York. They have reserved train ticked for coming home a week ago, so they drop the truck off at the closest location then get the train. While on the train the U-Haul company in Long Island called him and said, we have to charge your credit card $250 more dollars for dropping it off at the wrong location. They marked it as Long Island City, New York, which was never said at all by my son and the papers from Altoona only say, to Long Island, New york. He called the president of U-Haul in Long Island and he did nothing. He said, some of the people he talked with from U-Haul were very rude. This is going on now, he moved the woman on friday, June 29th, 2007. The U-haul was 40 miles away from where they said, it should be and charged him $250.00 for that!!!!!!!This is ridiculous and never should of happened. Now I am working on getting his money back, thats for sure. I WILL NEVER USE U-HAUL AGAIN or people I know either. If you have had problems send me an e-mail Lecia911@yahoo.com or my son Jesse Millercpurepair@yahoo.com thank you for your time.
Save yourself alot of grief, DON”T USE U-HAUL, it would of been cheaper for a moving company to move her.
The Los Angeles Times has published a three-article investigative report on U-Haul. Read why you might want to avoid renting from U-Haul.
The problem with Uhaul is the way their business is set up. They have many dealers that are not directly owned by Uhaul. Usually these people are good but sometimes they are bad. A big problem is that you can call both U-Hal and the independent dealer to hold the truck. I called and rented from their 1800 number but then when I got to the dealer they were about to rent it away! I felt bad taking it but I had no choice.