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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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07-27-2007,3;15 p.m.Requested Car Carrier, for Chevolet Cavalier 2003 4 Door, HT. front wheel drive. There, was some concerns amoung emloyees at U-Haul, uponwhich UNIT TO ATTACH. TO THEIR U-HAUL TRUCK. tHE DESTINTION WAS COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL DOC. STARTING lOS ANGELES TO FRESNO CALIFORNIA ( 265 MILES). UHaul attached and instructed how to instaul and position clearly, this was done to position and parallel. After leaving he 110 fwy on to the 5 fwy. I pulled over the two units and Checked that all was secure before going threw the Grapevine. I stopped mid point in the grapevine for gas and rechecked the trailer and its connections. Secure.
Threw the grape vine north 5 fwy, just about 9 miles out side of bakerfield, the trailer started to woble ,sway, and tilt. We, pulled over with smoke comming from aft of the towing vehicle rear.
Both rear wheels tited inward and the front of the wheels facing outward.
The AAA Truck driver arrived in 45 minutes. before exiting his vehicle, in the dark, he shock his head. “It’s a broken rear axle it’s it “. I inquired How did you know. The driver exited his vehile with a flashlight and went down and looked as the light showed the break of the axle.
This Is a common tow call this type of vehicle carrier, It’s not suppose to go 100 miles to it’s destination. As the driver went and inspected the Axel and showed the area where the rear axle was broken into. Also, showed the tire rubbing into the fender wells on both sides.
But AAA, Two truck driver has censured, by a memo to all AAA driver, to Not tell the injured party. It’s bad for customer relations between AAA, and with U-Haul.
U-Haul, had prior knowledge that this particular model, of single axle car transporter should not go further than 100 Miles. Prior to used the computer information U-Haul, release the trailer knowlingly
Did U-Haul know that this carrier was going longer distance than 100 miles, YES, From LA to Bakerfield is about 120 miles and that is only half way. To Fresno. A distange of 260 plus miles.
U-Haul allowed the continued use of a known piece of defective equipment, remain on the roads and highway’s of America . If you have expierenced this type of unsafe equipment failure of U-Haul, please contact me at Michealoangelo@Yahoo.com.
Newer cars, are made cheaper. And do not have the same size or strength rear axle. New car have a curved flat axle. Older cars with rear wheel drive have a cast iron axle. The cast axle will not bend or brake. The 3/8 in curved steel axle will end and over 60,000 flexing at 60 miles per hour will not withstand it will break
The decision not to use a flatbed carrier, of which their were some available, was the decision of the personel at U-Haul in Los Angeles.
Unsafe vehicles should be removed no matter what or who are involved. Would the manufacture of a car carrier be responsible for damage because of it’s falty design. And was U-haul responsible for contracting out a known defective piece of equipment. Where does responsibility lie.
I have also had bad U-Haul experiences, including one incident where I spent hours on hold with the company (and daytime cell minutes add up!) to find out that the reservation I had made well in advance would not be available. The nearest location I could pick up a truck was hours out of my way, but U-Haul indicated that that was my only choice. I have also heard several stories about trucks leaking and ruining posesssions, despite purchasing all rain “precautions”. Of course, these people never got the refunded money that U-Haul indicated they would pay!
Being a worker and assistant manager of a local UHaul dealership, I am truly appalled at some of the things I have read here. In my own personal experience, regional UHaul dealerships have always been rude and overly agressive, but I would never have imagined it to this degree.
At our location in a little town in Oklahoma, we try our best to get the customers in whatever equipment they had reserved. There is absolutely no excuse for treating customers with such disrespect and disregard.
In fact, recently we had a problem with one of our trucks not working correctly with an auto transport that was sheduled to go to maryland. After waiting almost three hours for the mechanic to show up (which was an insult to us, a UHaul dealership) he finallly fixed it. I guess this is where a larger dealer would screw their customer over, but our owner refunded the price of the auto transport fully and sent them on their way.
My advice would be, go to the smaller, independent uhaul dealers who actually care about the customers. If you go to a large corporate dealer (they are easy to spot out: all of their employees wear khaki shirts and black pants), they are more likely to screw you over. Also, if you make a reservation in person or over the phone with an actual dealer, they will feel much more compelled to go out of their way to help you, as opposed to if you make it online.
We had the most awful experience. We needed a truck to move from So. Ca. to No. Ca. We told them that we really needed a very good truck because of the long drive.After taking most of the day to load the truck we headed north . When we stopped for gasoline near Bakersfield the truck would not start. We paid for a tow truck to battery jump it so that we could continue.We had no idea what the problem was and it was beginning to get dark and very foggy. We turned on the headlights and dicovered they did not come on. We had to call for the tow truck service again because this is danderous on the highway. We did not know where we were and there were no services near by that we knew of. After a couple of hours the tow truck was unable to get the lights to come on either.It was too dangerous to stay on the side of the road because no one could see you there. It was so late in the early AM and and such a long stretch of desolate area we had no idea where a Uhaul would be to turn the truck in and the visibility was only a few feet ahead.. Even if we did we would have to unload this truck and load into another truck after no sleep or rest and very little to eat and not having extra money for any type of delays.We turned the Uhaul in the following day and told the management of our troubles, hoping to at least get a partial reimbursement for our troubles, and tow truck services. No such luck. We were told to call the So. Ca. Uhaul manager and in return he told us to talk to the No. Ca. manager. We got the run around I hate the Uhaul Co.and what it stands for. I wish I could get everyone to be aware.If possible,DO NOT RENT UHAUL TRUCKS!
U-Haul Sucks!!! These idiots who call themselves managers of the rental centers (yes, Jesse Miller of the San Jose, California U-Haul rental center who i am referring to) can’t even keep their inventory straight! He charged me $232.40 for a ONE DAY trailer rental. When I called him to make him aware of HIS mistake, he told me to take it up with my credit card company!! The nerve of this jerk. Where does he and U-Haul get off by telling consumers to take it up with someone else when they are the ones doing the charging? Boy, they’ll take your money fast, but will find some excuse why they won’t give it back to you. U-Haul? You use them and U will watch them HAUL your money away.
Budget is just as bad. We reserved a truck and actually went to pick it up on the day of the reservation. Not only was there no truck there but no one expected any to show up any time soon and was not going to look for it. We were instructed to call the national reservation line where they said an inventory manager would find us a truck and contact us within two hours. After calling every two hours (because no one every actually called us back) for the whole day we just gave up and never heard from Budget again.
They are cheap and with competitors like Uhaul, I guess they don’t need to work very hard to keep customers coming.
My opinion on renting a moving truck with U-Haul:
Exremely rude, incompetent and arrogant staff all along both on the phone and at the branches.
Without going into lot of details the move from Toronto to New York city was a horror story
Starting with our truck being at the location but the key missing
To rude staff threatening to simply cancel our reservation when in fact I had flown from New York to Toronto over the weekend to help my wife move
To us paying at least 100 USD more for gas, since the key could not be found and we were given the only option of taking a 26-foot truck instead of the 10-footer that we had reserved.
To the New York U-haul guy arrogantly saying he was doing us a favor by making a copy of the contract, which the Toronto guys were supposed to give us, but forgot to.
To the New York U-Haul location charging us the CAD rate per extra mile in USD.
To U-haul not understanding the difference between CAD and USD when we were trying to explain to them over the phone that they had applied the wrong currency. Their argument: U-haul is one company and we charge a certain amount per extra mile. The contractual rate was 0.64 CAD per extra mile. The New York location’s usual rate was 0.40 USD per mile. So let us get the best of both worlds and pick the higher of the two rates and the stronger of the two currencies, yeah!, and charge 0.64 USD per mile.
Oh, by the way, on a previous occasion (in-town move in Charlotte, NC) I had also made the mistake to go with U-Haul and I was offered a truck without seat belts. When I pointed this out to them I was told: “Oh, who is waering seat belts”.
Conclusion. Don’t go with U-Haul. In my experience Penske is quite good, and the one time I rented with Budget it was not too bad, either.
The problem is that in the case of U-Haul people with low intelligence start abusing their power. But I hear U-Haul is not doing too well these days. I wonder why.
I will never recommend U-Haul to anyone, ever! This company has the worst reputation and only after having experienced there terrible customer service first hand am I suddenly seeing just how bad they really are. I made a reservation one month prior to moving from my condo. The day before the move which happened to be over the labour day weekend (good luck rebooking eleswhere)! they decide to tell me that my reservation for picking a truck up in Mississauga approx 15 minutes from my house was no longer available and I had to drive all the way to Hamilton for a smaller truck and my 24 hour reservation had now been reduced to a 4 hour reservation! UNBELIEVABLE! after trying several thousand times to reach customer service I finally got through to only sit and wait 45 minutes until someone could help me. Only then being transferred four times and then on hold again for 34 minutes! Luckily I was able to get a truck with Bristal Rental after calling several rental companies. By the way Im typing this note while still on hold for customer service at uhaul 48 minutes now!
So many terrible U-Haul stories. Lets hope that they can fix themselves up.
I RUN A UHAUL in a small town…………….. people ask for to much all the time to much to much uhaul is a huge company that covers all of canada and the u.s if u dont get a truck in your small shit stain town cry about it and cry so everyone see’s u crying and calls u a cry baby
I find it hard to believe that you have the ability to run anything after reading your childish and poorly structured rant. I guess you do qualify to run a U-Haul in a small shit stain town because an education is obviously not needed to apply within that failing company. Your company sucks and it is due to having ignorant morons like yourself running branches. Instead of writing a response to this, do us all a favor and sign up for an online class in English so you can finally get that GED. We know you can do it and we’re pulling for you.
My husband and three year old daughter rented a truck to go from Maine to North Carolina. It broke down 5pm just outside of Hartfor Connecticut on friday evening. The never called for a mechanic until saturday morning an hour and a half before I was supposed to check out of the hotel. When asked how I was supposed to be in contact with uhaul when I was stranded out in the parking lot “Ma’am that isn’t my problem.” The truck wasn’t fixable at the point. And they were supposed to bring me another truck. They wouldn’t. They found one about 20 minutes away and the only cab company wouldn’t bring us out there “We don’t have the cars for that.” And he hung up. In short a family member drove down and brought us to the store to get the truck and when I got there he said they didn’t have one. He talked to someone via phone and gave me a truck. I assume he took someone’s “reserved” truck. Which the truck wasn’t cleaned out before he gave it to me, but it got me home. 5 hours before I was due to go into work. But I made it finally!
U-Haul is not the problem. I think the problem is with you people that expect the world to revolve around you. If you want everything to work out perfectly you should hire a professional moving company which would probally cost you 3 or 4 times more.Budget/Ryder; all locations closed on sundays and short hours… & for the rest; no one offers moves across the US (one way moves…) U-Haul serves the whole entire United States for a fraction of what it really should cost to move. Its the 21st century.. people sue left and right and insurance costs a ton… People should be happy with U-Hauls competitive prices & service…
U-Haul is a AMERICAN family owned business. Dont hate on americans you should be putting your time fighting other stuff.
U-Haul sucks, and so do most of the deadbeat that work and protect this shitty company. Regardless of cost, if they can not honor reservations, then don’t take them. That way people can know what to expect, and they don’t waste their time and the time of others.
Customers have a right to expect to be treated nicely.
U-Haul and the incompetent people who work there are the problem. People don’t expect everything to work perfect. But if you make a reservation weeks in advance, there is NO EXCUSE for U-Haul not having a truck there when you go pick it up. NONE!!!! They also should not rent trucks that are unsafe to drive.
Also, do not use patriotism to protect ineptitude. That is shameful.
Also, how can people be happy with U-Haul’s service. U-Haul does not provide any service. If your lucky you get keys to a shitty truck that might or might not get you to where your going. On second thought, the lucky one might be the ones that don’t have a truck when they get there. At least their life is not put in danger when my moving their valuables in a broke down truck.
If you think renting from U-Haul sucks try working for them
U Haul sucks big time. (sorry laura. hope you find a better job soon). NEVER again. and i’m making another move shortly here and it’ll be a long distance one with a return trip in a few months. the one thing on my list in big red letters is DONT RENT FROM U HAUL. or listen to brian. moron. see comments above..U Haul was horribly rude and unreliable. the interoffice communication was grossly lacking and their response to inquiries was non existent. i even emailed the big corporate head..multiple times.. nothing. and so thats what they get from me…nothing. ever again. RUDE and Unreliable. Non responsive. irresponsible and an american shame. Shame on you U Haul. and you too brian.
My ordeal with this joke of a company began when I tried to rent a trailer from Toronto,Ontario one way to Pennsylvania. Called the online number and set up the transaction complete with a resevation number at which time I was informed I would need a pre trailering inspection. I was sent to a bicycle sales store (which doubles as a U-haul rental facility) and after dealing with someone who knew little or nothing about trailering or U-haul itself, I bought their wiring so as there should be no problem with the hookup. I travel a distance of 320 mi. to Toronto and informed the day before the rental that the pickup spot has been changed. No problem, I arrive to wait 1 1/2 hrs in line to find they do not have the trailer that they themselves redirected me to. The helpful girl at the counter informs me that this is not only a hassle for me but that it is a hassle for her as well. I guess the meaning is she might have to do something extra and find another trailer. She locates another trailer 45 mins away across Toronto. I travel to the other Uhaul dealer to find they do indeed have a trailer but after trying the lights find they do not work from the trailer back. All connections on the towing vehicle side of the connection were fine. All the part time Joe’s gave it a shot with different wiring plugs ( which I refused to pay for ), to no avail ,and I was left after 6-7 hours start to finish of this fiasco with no trailer and empty handed across the border to the U.S.
All this was nothing compared to the runaround I have recieved since trying to voice My dissatisfaction to the U-haul Corp. Initial complaint calls have been dealt with ( or not dealt with is more to the point) by taking the complaint and being told I will be contacted withing 48 hrs (which as yet has not happened). Other instances are simply ignored and I am either disconnected or routed to non existant phone numbers. In every instance I have to repeat this sordid tale to whomever fields the call and once again am told to wait for a follow up call which never happens.
Apparently it is comforting for U-haul to know that in a world of fierce corporate competition they are the only one way moving game in town and therefore have no responsibility to customers. I am not shocked since having this experience with them to see so many dissatisfied customers on this site. I’m sure it’s only the tip of the iceberg. I can only hope in the future that I am able to read about the not so untimely demise of their corporation. If there is ANY other way do yourself a favor and use another moving company.
A post script for Brian: Just so you know Brian, this so called “AMERICAN” family business will not accept AMERICAN DOLLARS at their Canadian rental centers. I understand that the exchange has swung the Canadians way but this is after all an AMERICAN FAMILY BUSINESS, right?
I don’t like U-Haul. Haven’t had good experiences with them. But Penske and Budget have been consistenly good. I recommend both.
I booked a regular size truck over the phone. I tried the website, but, it was wierd and not getting me anywhere, so I gave up on it. The call center person took by credit card info and confirmed my “reservation”. An hour later, I got a phone call from a Uhaul center that my reservation was confirmed and the truck was ready and waiting for me to be picked up. When I reached the center, guess what – there was no reservation for me in their office and they could only access their local database. I spent over 2 hours on my cell calling up multiple numbers (used most of my monthly minutes) with Uhaul trying to sort out the problem. Finally gave up and got home, and saw the called id on my home phone and called them. Turns out my booking was made in a different location – at least about 15 miles away – I cancelled it immediately. It took me about a month to get the charge removed from my credit card and that too only after I got my credit card company after them (good work – Chase). I still had to pay the reservation fee of $5.
If you are not aware – Menards rents trucks for short haul (1-2 hours, 15-20 miles), costs nearly $20, – no gas, no mileage, etc. Not meant for full day or more. Worth a try. I did and will do again, if needed.For this, Uhaul would easily cost close to $60
I don’t know about you guys, but I live in Raleigh NC and I rent uhaul trucks all the time, i have never had a problem…. with their customer service or there trucks……. Moving is very stressful, but not to me and my company, and rent from different locations all the time, and I will say that I have never had a problem….. Sucks to be those of you that have had problems….
By the way, if you try to use a Ford Explorer, they will refuse to rent to you. Their response is that they have been subject to too many lawsuits.
It’s true moving is as stressful as it is, and this is the second time using U-haul and running into problems. The first time, the truck was not the right size, then we had to wait for a truck to become available. This time we rented the truck at one location, then they called the next day saying we should pick it up at location about 20 minutes away. The phone number for that location was not inoperatable, so we went on a website to see who was close by to find out if there was indeed a U-haul location there. After getting the number, the person seemed clueless about everything. She did not know if there was a truck or if there was a booking, and this is 3:00 pm, when the booking was done a couple days ago.
For the people out there who think that the customers are the problem….are ignorant in how to run a credible business. When you provide a service, and you stand by it, you should honor what you offered the customer and if you don’t have it, u should state that. If something has come up and you cannot provide the service, you should go the extra mile to make sure that your customers needs are being taken care of, instead of taking their money and being rude or inconsiderate. Whether the price is $1 or $1000, you’re still providing a service.
U-Haul gave us the shaft as well. We kept the trailer we rented from them for an extra day and they came and stole it back when it wasn’t connected to my truck. Then they charged me a recovery fee even though I needed the damn thing to get an empty weight ticket. I loathe U-Haul. Down with U-Haul.
U Haul is the worst company I have ever dealt with. We “reserved” a truck three weeks in advance to move my daughter. The guy “guaranteed” that a truck would be available, and I should just give him a call the day before to let him know what time I would pick it up. Same scenario as this blogger: the day before when I phoned: NO TRUCKS. (And this on a weekend at month end when there were NO trucks to be had from anyone.) We left from our home (5 hours away) anyway, drove to our daughter’s which involves a ferry ride (last ferry at 9pm), went to the UHaul place, lots of trucks in the lot, but no, none for us: they were all for in-city, local use. Everyone who worked there was terribly young, all people on the telephone (the dispatch center) were incredibly rude and didn’t give a hoot except for one kind lady who must have been new. They finally “found” us a truck two hours away (four hour return trip) so that by the time we would have got it and loaded it, we would have missed the ferry. Since my daughter HAD to be out of the house and my husband and I HAD to work the next day (five hours away), we gave up. Thank goodness there was a shed in the back yard that the landlord allowed us to move her stuff into. Because my husband could not take another day off, I had to hire a moving company to do the job. U Haul is a joke. When I made the reservation, the guy told me I could even keep the truck the next day: no hurry to get it back. We attempted to move on a Sunday and now I know that everyone who got a truck (finally) on Saturday was probably SO PISSED OFF that they were in no hurry to return it so people like us could use it the next day. Also I think they really have no idea where the trucks are, and where they will end up. This company only works for customers who have NO schedule, No job, No commitments. I have told everyone I know never to use this company, ever.
Agree. Uhaul does not have any customer care or consideration. I am not sure how they sustain the business. Uhaul is not only known for the unreliable equipment and the high rent cost, but also difficult to return the rentals.
Here is the example that I had:
I rented a vehicle, and returned it on time. Based on their instruction, I returned the truck at the lot, drop the key and contract in the door slot.
The next day morning, they sent text messages and pages saying the truck was overdue. I called them, and the first 3 people said that they did not know anything about it. And after 2 hours of aggrevation, 6 phone calls and 3 people with dont-care attitude, I finally told them that I would contact authority. Finally, the fouth person responded and confirmed that the vehicle was returned at 5 PM. The truck was sitting at the return lot for all that time! But I have not gotten the final bill, which they promised to send by fax me. I am worried that they would charge me a lot of extra on my credit card for ridiculous stuff.
We should collect our voices to fight with Uhaul. This company seems not only bad in equipment and service, but also in ethics, based on what I heard. I am not sure how Uhaul stays in business.
After reading through stories posted here, I am amazed that Uhaul still operates. At least two stories sound like my bad personal experience with Uhaul:
1. Broke down vehicle
2. Worst service you can ever get, especially, you are stuck with broken rental truck from Uhaul.
We all should start using non-Uhaul vehicle and equipment such as Ryder and Pensake, Uhaul’s competitor.
People are just amazing really they are:
You all know something everybody has something bad to say of u-haul, but the real truth is, that its the customers that leave these trucks in the conditions their in, they rent them treat them like shit and return them all beat up. Maybe u-haul should start charging the customers with more of the repairs to these rentals for in which they treat their rentals. Did it ever cross anyones mind that maybe u-haul has an expensive time trying to keep up with all the repairs and mishaps with these vehicles, and because of custmers that of course no one ever claims responsibility on.
Its in my opinion that u-haul can not repair, stock or even get enough parts for them as fast as the average customer can tear one up MIGHT BE THE TRUTH here. People should be ashammed the way they treat these rentals,
Truth aslso is u-haul has a lot of new trucks on the road but give it to a customer and watch them just destroy it, talk abpout dishonest try giving your customers a lie detector test after them renting one and returning it all damaged smelling like smoke and just trashed or lieing about something went wrong with one while they were renting it but the problem has all the sudden vanished compaining of nothing just to try and save a buck, or to get some money returned for a false complaint, point here is no one is being responsible for their own actions on how people take care of rentals.
The facts of all this is either deal with what anybody has to rent you of simply get off your can start a business, or just simply go out and buy yourself a $35.000 truck eat the payments and insurance. Start renting it to low lifes that dont take care of your investment and see just how well you stay in business. I HATE TO SAY THIS BUT U-HAUL VEHICLES ARE PROBABLY MORE RELIEABLE THAN WHATS SITTING IN MOST OF YOUR DRIVEWAYS……. AND PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE MORE RESPECT WHEN THEY RENT SOMETHING IS THE TRUTH AND THE MORAL OF THE STORY SO STOP THE DRAMA PLEASE…
I’ve moved eleven times in the last ten years. I’ve used Uhaul about four or five of those times. I have NEVER had a pleasant experience, and never will, because I won’t use them again. They have repeatedly “lost” or “released” my reservation to someone else, eventhough I have always shown up on time. I have never been offerred anything in the way of retribution, and have never seen an accurate estimate of costs up front. They advertise their trucks for $19.99, but somehow my bills always end up being closer to $50 or over, even without going over on miles and returning a full tank.
They are the worst rental company I have ever dealt with in any capacity. Their management is piss poor. The assholes behind the counter couldn’t move slower. The trucks look and run like something out of the Beverly Hillbillies. The billing and advertising is deliberatly misleading and padded. They are a shining example what you DON’T want your business to be.
But unfortunately they are usually the only game in town. Lucky for me we have Penske and Budget in town as well. I haven’t used Budget yet, but Penske was great. The lady told me up front what the costs would be (all of them). The truck was available when I needed it. They stayed open an extra hour for us to pick it up. They let us keep it an extra day over the weekend with no charge. Customer service was top notch and efficient. I never got the feeling the clerk was on a personal phone call while I was standing at the counter waiting for help. I certainly can’t say the same for U-F*cked.
I am a U-haul GM. I understand what it feels what it “has” felt like to have many of the same situations happen to me. I also dont like them. I try to avoid allowing those situations to happen to you.
-How do you in your day, try to help your customers? Are you ever in a position where you just cant make them all happy?
In what ever business you are in. Try for a minute to imagine 80% of your Weeks work Slamming you Friday night and Sat. Morning.
-And there is nothing you can do about it, because everybody else, moves after work friday, and saturday morning.
I do everything that I possibly can to help ease the rush, and make every customer happy.
I do understand at the end of the day that I did my best, And the bloggers here are not personally upset with me/ that employee(with respect to your personal oppinions of who helped you.)..
****Maybe you should work at U-HAUL. And show us how its done..
GM
I would have to agree with the GM as I also work at uhaul its actually an act of god that you get your truck when you reseve it. Its hard to judge when people are going to rent trucks of course end of the month is a given but our small fee of 50 dollars if you dont show up hardly accounts for someone taking an in-town truck for a weekend and putting 50 miles on it. And we only get the 50 bucks if you deside to use a worthy credit card. Most of the time I wave the fee anyways because why argue. I rented a Penske truck and it broke down it took them 5 hours to come and just tow the truck at least if a uhaul breaks down they will get you up and moving in an hour and a free rental. AND WHO CARES IF YOUR DRIVING A PIECE OF TRUCK THAT HAS SOME DEFECTS YOUR IN IT FOR ALL OF AN HOUR IF ITS A LOCAL AND ONE WAY TRUCKS HAVE LESS THEN 100 THOUSAND ON THEM AND ARE TURNED INTO PIECES OF CRAP BECAUSE OF PEOPLE NOT KNOWING HOW TO DRIVE THEM. NOT UHAUL
Wow…I’m really glad that I didn’t have any of the horrible experiences many of you did with U-Haul. I’ve only used them once and I was actually satisfied. I moved from the Chicago area to Madison, WI back in July (in the middle of the month, which probably helped). I reserved a 17′ truck online and was able to pick it up at the scheduled time, no problem. I was worried about the condition of whatever they gave me, so imagine my surprise when they gave me a new truck with 1700 miles on it! The truck was just fine; had no problems driving it and I always felt safe. All in all, it was an uneventful move (which sounds like the best kind!)
I only had a few, very minor complaints about U-Haul, nothing like what other folks have mentioned:
1. Now they have you return the truck with the exact amount of fuel that you got it with – they gave me a truck with 1/4 tank in it. It was kind of a pain to have to figure out how to get it back with just enough, especially considering that my trip was short enough that I didn’t want to risk overfilling the tank. I don’t know why they don’t simply require you to return it full – that would make a lot more sense. That said, they didn’t dispute the amount of fuel that gave me and I didn’t have to pay extra or anything.
2. When I went to return the truck (granted, on a Sunday) there was a line of 5-6 trucks in front of me and only a couple employees checking them in. It ended up taking nearly half an hour – kind of frustrating.
3. The truck they gave me had a V10 engine that got 7-8 miles per gallon on the highway. It was nice to have the power, I guess, but a diesel would’ve been more efficient. Luckily for me, my new employer was reimbursing me for moving expenses, so the $120 for gas didn’t really faze me.
After reading some of the posts here, I’ll definitely consider other companies for a future move, especially an in-town move. U-Haul does seem to be the cheapest/most convenient for a one-way move, assuming things go as they should.
As an aside, I don’t know how anyone can read the stories people posted here and say, “well, U-Haul is cheap and you get what you pay for, so you have no right to complain.” Trucks catching fire or breaking down, making reservations but not getting a truck, being overcharged, and generally receiving terrible customer service – I don’t care how cheap U-Haul’s trucks are, nobody should have to put up with the kinds of things people have experienced. I’m kind of surprised at how bad they are, since my experience was so good, but I guess I should just count myself lucky.
I read these comments with interest and trepidation about using UHaul again as I have multiple things coming up needing a rental truck and that is how I happened on this site as I was searching for UHauls corporate site. My first experience was generally OK, just had a truck with the oil light on all the time and the mechanic said go with it. While nervous about the whole trip it did work out. The next move made me furious and after reading the posts above, sounds like it is all too common. I made a “reservation” for a 26′ truck two weeks prior as I was going to be out of town and my wife was going to pick it up. The morning of the pick up she is at the UHaul office and calls saying they have no truck and we have people coming to load it up. The rep. finally find one 45 minutes away, even farther away from our house. I think I turned blue when I was told I would be charged extra for returning to the truck to the dealer where I originally made the reservation, and I didn’t need my cell phone to be heard from Vancouver when speaking to the UHaul rep in Toronto. In the end we returned it to the dealer who provided it. The rep. to his credit was not rude, but was not in a position to do anything about it. I called Customer Service and they were of no help and bordering on rude, and the Manager never called back like I asked. From reading these stories, I can see a reservation has no meaning, so there is really no point as it gives you a false sense of a promise that is very possibly not going to be lived up to. Puts us in a predicament when you have a definite date to do something with the truck.
Finding this web page helped me make a very good decision on my recent move. Over the past eight years, I had made three long-distance moves, each time using a U-haul truck. TWO of the three times the reserved truck was not there for me at the day and time it was reserved (these were in Las Cruces, NM, and Ft. Worth, Texas – the third time in Blaine, WA, they had the truck for me). It was a nightmare getting an alternate truck on those two times, costing over 2/3 of a day that was scheduled for loading (houses had to be vacated, and helpers had been arranged). Both of those times I was appalled at the complete lack of concern, unhelpfulness, rudeness, and incompetence of the u-haul employees. The third truck (rented in Blaine, WA) was ready at the appointed time, but in horrendous condition, and obviously had not been serviced at all, despite it’s high mileage. It was a miracle that it made it to my destination.
This time, after reading the above comments, I went with Penske. It went without a hitch, and while this is not an endorsement of Penske as a whole, I must describe the advantages I experienced based on this one time. I rented a Penske truck in Bellingham, WA, to drive to Albuquerque, NM.
1) The price was LESS THAN HALF what U-haul quoted for the same trip.
2) The truck was ready, clean, and in good repair and AVAILABLE ON TIME.
3) The representative was courteous and competent.
4) The rental included 1 more day and unlimited mileage, allowing me to take a slightly longer but safer route (U-haul’s stinginess with time and mileage would have forced me to cross the Rocky Mountains in midwinter to stay within their meager allowances, or pay steep extra fees).
5) Penske trucks use diesel fuel, saving on fuel costs.
6) The truck never had the slightest glitch from beginning to end on the 4-day drive.
I will NEVER, EVER, EVER use u-haul again!
“Anyone can TAKE a reservation. The key part of the reservation is HOLDING the reservation!” – Seinfeld
I made a cross-country move back in 1992 using a Penske 26-foot truck and a tow dollie. Aside from the packing we had to do (ourselves), the truck and driving were great. The truck was ready as scheduled, had low miles and was in extremely good condition. The dollie worked perfectly. The trip was a memorable and fun experience. I would rent from Penske again in a heartbeat!!
Thought I was the only one being screwed around by U-haul. Rented truck in Huntsville, Ontario for my move with my daughter to Milton area. Picked up truck no problems dealer was very nice. Problems started when I returned the truck to the place where I was suppose to (had map off their own website given to me by dealer). When I arrived I was told they were no longer a u-haul dealer. I used their phone to call the head office number on my contract. Explained the situation. Told to drop off in Mississauga. I said no way as I had no more cash to put more gas in or pay for extra mileage. I said it was their responsibility to get the truck as I fulfilled my responsibility as stated in my contract. I felt it was up to u-haul to update their dealers contacts and drop off points and therefore I would be leaving the truck where I was told to. I was hung up on by the girl I spoke to first. Called back and explained to someone else. I was told I could be charged a retrieval fee on my visa, I said I had better not. The gentleman agreed that If I were charged I could fight it. Sure enough, next visa statement an additional $506.25 was charged by the mississauga dealer. I called head office and was treated like crap by “Greg” who refused to let me speak to a supervisor or anyone above him. He was quite possibly the worst customer service rep I have ever spoken to. He originally explained that 173.40 charge was a two day late fee. I was not late returning the truck. And the balance of 332.85 was a retreival fee. Two other employees I am dealing with do not see the 332.85 charge on their system. Greg appears to be the only one who knows about it (him and Visa). I have recieved the 173.40 back. Now Greg’s story is the 332.85 charge is for towing because now I apparently locked the keys in the truck and they had to tow it. What a bunch of bullshit!!! This company employes the rudest people. They must have a special U-haul training course on how to lie and cheat customers.
Still fighting.
My experience with UHaul was mediocre. Although they were very unorganized, the truck I had was brand new with only a few thousand miles. The car hauler I rented had seen better days and I was skeptical about puting my $35k car on it at first.
I RENTED A U HAUL BEFORE AND BY THE TIME I GOT TO THE TOWN THAT I WAS MOVING TO THE U HAUL TRUCK WAS DEAD. I COULDN’T EVEN LEAVE THE HOTEL I RENTED UNTIL SOMEONE FINALLY CAME OUT HOURS LATER TO CHECK THE TRUCK. THEN, I CALLED LAST WEEK TO GET A TRUCK AND I WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE A DEPOIST WHICH I UNDERSTAND BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULD CHARGE ME 69 CENTS A MILE FOR EVERY MILE I DRIVE IT EVEN THOUGH IF I PUT GAS IN THE TRUCK. THAT’S PAYING EXTRA FOR WHAT I PUT IN THE TRUCK, I DON’T THINK THAT’S FAIR.
February 2,2008
My girlfriend was moving her sons belongings out of storage to her new house in whitby ontario. We had made a reservation online and was contacted by u-haul 3 times to comfirm her 14ft cubevan was indeed reserved. The morning of the pick up we were called and informed that we had to proceed across the city in the opposite direction to pick up our confirmed rental. When we arrived at 9am and stood in line with all the other “happy” customers, and we were contacted by Nadia from head office and informed that even though we had been standing in line for over an hour that our rental still started at 9am and had to be back at 3pm or pay penalties for our tardiness. When my girlfriend stated that their were 10 people in front of us and only one person tending to everyone, and not to mention she seemed more interested in taking reservations on the phone instead of helping the people in line, she said, “thats to bad, but that is our policy”. I didn’t know by using the phrase, “that is our policy”, this would protect a company from total incompetence. If I knew this I would have been using it for years to save my ass. At this time, Nadia, our friendly customer service agent from head office, hung up on my girlfriend, that is when the twitch of my eyelid started, I am not one to get angry, but with my heart medication in hand, it was time to let go, but we were next in line, so I cooled down…..a bit.
We reached the counter and were told that our 14ft cubevan would be ready to go as they were bringing it around to the front, credit card, license, and a signature later, we felt we were on our way. WRONG……….the twitch was back. We stood outside when they dropped of a van, I said “no no no”, we orded a cubevan, I had the girlfriend call the origional location we had the reservation with to confirm, and make sure were did reserve the said “cubevan”. Yes we were correct. We went back inside and said we didnt’ want a van we reserved a cubevan. “Sorry we don’t have any to give you, and it is our policy to give you what we have”. How stupid of me, forgetting that the catch phrase, “thats our policy” was used, and we should be totally forgiving of their uselessness and inability to take a proper reservation. We now knew that it would take 3 trips to get from Toronto to Whitby and we were paying 49cents a kilometer. Now this was gonna cost 3 times more than origionally we had budgeted for and not to mention the gas. We had to move the stuff so we bit the bullet and took the van. I asked the girlfriend to call ROWLAND from the origional location and see if we could work outsome sort of a deal, and after a few choice words, a barrage that would make Dennis Leary proud, he agreed to get our kilometer charge dropped to 29cents, Oh my god what a gesture of goodwill. Thats when we were then informed that because of the snow storm the previous day and fact thatthe van was in the back of the parking lot, they could not guarantee that they could get the vehicle out because of the snow. The city only knew about this snowstorm for a week, so I guess it caught the general manager RODNEY WARREN by surprise as the whole lot was unplowed. It was 11:35 am when our van was dropped infront of us, 6 inches of snow encased the vehicle and the driver had rolled down the window and drove it over to us with his head out the window instead of at least clearing off the windshield, very impressive indeed. I asked him to clean off the snow so I could do an inspection of the vehicle, and I was promptly the told, “to do it myself”, this guy must have been the employee of the month. I looked around to find something to clear the snow off, the twitch in my eye building, but could only find a shovel. I proceeded to clear the snow off the van making sure to cover the uhaul employee of the month” with snow as he stood and watched me do his job. My girlfriend told me to be careful and not damage the van, who cares, if I scratch it I point it out and say it was there when I cleared the snow off. Now there was no inspection on their part so let the scratching begin! After I had finished clearing the snow, I launched the shovel like a hammer throw and sent it about a hundred feet in it snowy depths somewhere on the lot. Now it was time to get in the van and drive off and have a happy move……….Wrong again! OOOOPPS, forgot the lot wasn;t plowed as we w spun our tires, we watched the odometer climb as the van moved 3 feet. My girlfriend was now in tears as we watched our kilometer charge rise by $2.oo before we even had gotten out of the entrance to the lot, and at 11:54am we were finally broke free and drove like a getaway car after a bank robbery, but is was us that had indeed been robbed.
We got our move done, and returned the van leaving it in the path of the plow that was finally removing the snow from the lot. My girlfriend was walking toward the office when some guy started yelling “Hey woman, give me the key” My girlfriend ignored him and went in the office, I took the key and to avoid hearing my fave saying of the day, “it our policy” went back to the van to remove our empty coffee cups. God knows how much that would have cost us? That is when the guy that was calling my girlfriend “woman” said that he didn’t appreciate her walking away from him. I turned and said “buddy, You don’t know what we went through with U-haul”, He could tell by the look in my eyes, not to say another word except “sorry”. That was the only time anyone from U-haul used that simple 5 letter word during the entire day. The best part of my day with U-haul was when I used my half finished Tim Hortens coffee as a fast ball and threw a strike into the open door of the 14 foot cubevan that we were supposed to have rented.
Now I know how Steve Martin in “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” must have felt as he lost it with the car rental company.
U-Haul Sucks!
This has turned into a support group for I HATE UHAUL, LOL! I am amazed by the number of people who’ve had horrible experiences with Uhaul. I thought I was on of the few. Long hold times, no guarantee of a truck even when you have a reservation and the list goes on and on. NEVER EVAH again! We last used Budget and we were VERY happy with the results.
I am about to make a cross-country move from PA to Idaho and stumbled across this site while trying to research rates for a truck. I feel the need to say thank you all, for one, for reminding me why I refuse to rent from uhaul when it really matters most, and two, for reminding me why I was so happy to quit working for them in the mid-nineties after giving them two years of my life. As one who has been on both sides of the fence here is my inside intel.
I read most of the 2005 entries and some of 2007 before just scrolling down to the bottom and writing my own. The COMPANY of uhaul as a whole needs to be boycotted and shutdown. It is full of more corruption, incompetence, indifference and general uncaring than ANY company i’ve ever worked for or done business with…EVER. It would take me more time than I want to invest to tell my whole story so i’ll be brief.
It was, and likely still is, the most personally trying experience as an employee to ACTUALLY give people the level of service and support that they expected and deserved – not to mention PAYED FOR. The upper ranks of uhaul are stealing hand over fist and have no time or desire to give the store employees the help and support they need in order to properly service the customer. THE EXACT SAME ATTITUDE THAT THE STORE EMPLOYEE GIVES TO THE CUSTOMER IN THESE SITUATIONS IS THE ONE THAT REGIONAL MANAGEMENT GAVE TO THEM WHEN THEY TRIED TO GET THE CUSTOMERS EQUIPMENT SENT IN SO THAT THEY COULD FULFILL THEIR RESERVATIONS. Sad but true.
And so out of anger and frustration with being put in the position of being yelled at and agressively confronted and attacked (every now and again, physically) by the customers by Regional “Mis-management’s” lack of care and support, most store employees and first-level phone support people develope the “defense mechanism” of being incredibly rude and uncaring. It doesn’t help that when the employee does something decent like actually refunding a persons money who didn’t get the service that they paid for, uhaul would take money from the employees pockets for doing it. That will make you real cold in a real big hurry. So in retaliation, most employees will begin to abuse the system just like upper management, to get back money that was taken from them for trying to do their jobs CORRECTLY. Boxes and hitches would be sold out the back door. Trucks would be “rented” out without paperwork before being logged into the system with incorrect milage – which explains why they would be on the lot but the company not know it was there.
Employees would complain that they wouldn’t drive some of the trucks personally or rent them to anyone, out of good conscience, because they were in such bad shape. We’d complain and complain and fight to get the repair people to come and get the equipment and take it off the lot or fix it and would be fined, or suspended or FIRED for insubordination or something. So people would stop caring even more. We would complain about not being comfortable with taking money for reservations we knew we couldn’t get filled and management would respond by taking money from us for failing to pass phone inspections for being honest with the customer – or at least who we thought were customers on the phone.
Turnover was high. Stores were always short-handed. Lines at the end of the month were always out the door. The equipment we were able to get always sucked and when that one piece of good truck or trailer came in every couple of months or so, we would all stand around it and marvel at its beauty as though it was truely a splendid and dying breed. We would fight over who would get to rent it out first or for which one-way customer we would give it to so we could fulfill our personal promise to someone to have their truck there on time. We relished the feeling of making that one customer, that one day…happy. We tried to bath in that feeling for as long as we could because we knew that quite sooner than later it would be all about how we had hosed someone.
Upper managment didn’t care and they made sure that store reps didn’t care either. Towards the end of the month attitudes would change because we knew there would be an onslaught of distressed, anrgy and ticked off customers; crying mothers, time-challenged tenants, dad’s threatening to jump the counter and hurt you, moving-crew-on-the-clock-with-nothing-to-do families, you have my money so where is the service I paid for people…PEOPLE. People.
I was an acception to the rule – I still cared no matter what and tried to do the best I could to make people happy. Some people are built for customer service and some have no busines in the business. Some of us understand that the customer is not upset with us personally but with THE COMPANY and as far as the customer is concerned YOU ARE the FACE of the company. And some of us will take it personally no matter what. I really learned a lot about the service industry in general – even though it was the hardest route to learn it on. Today i’m in Telecommunications/IT and still use the valuable skills I learned in the trenches at uhaul. In fact, I use them in my everyday life – i’m married now so I REALLY need them to deal with my wife! LOL! But seriously, here are some inside tips on making your life experience of moving yourself less of a nightmare:
1) You are going to have to spend a “little” bit more up front to avoid the nightmare later. Reserve the truck for a day or two sooner than you need it and pay for an extra day or two to have the equipment when you really need it. It’s better than the headache of not having it on time and paying extra rent or something.
2) Have a backup plan JUST IN CASE. Make a reservation with two different companies or locations – one a day or two earlier and the other for the day you need and cancel accordingly. With all of the mess-ups they have it’s likely one won’t have the equipment anyway.
3) I got hosed with Budget on a one-way cross-country truck and a car-tow so it doesn’t really matter who you use. Do your homework and pick the company you think is best for your needs and what ever you do, DON’T PICK THE ONE THAT GIVES YOU THE BEST RATE TO SAVE A BUCK OR TWO. Pick the one you think will deliver on their promise.
4) If you can avoid it all all costs DON’T PUT YOUR MOVE IN THE HANDS OF AN INDEPENDANT DEALER (Stan’s Gas and Go, etc.)! THEY USUALLY DON’T GET ANY LOVE FROM THE MAIN COMPANY AND TREAT YOU LIKE “THAT OTHER COMPANY’S” PROBLEM CHILD. Besides, truck equipment rental is JUST supplemental income for them and not their main source. They don’t really need your business and will quickly let you know it.
5) And though this is the saddest piece of advice (and wrongest one to have to give) you have to be aware of the type of people you are dealing with at these companies. Don’t expect phenominal service. Don’t expect good service. If you happen to get it, be pleasantly surprised. In fact…pretend YOU are giving them service by renting from them. Keep you cool at all costs…you’ll get more help than the person who demands that they get what they pay for. And don’t threaten to speak with a manager about it cause you just may already be yelling at ‘em.
6) Suck it up and chalk the experience up as a loss and move forward with your life. I still have not been reimbursed for all of my extra expense and making me pay full price for larger equipment than I reserved or needed.
7) Pay a REAL moving company if you can help it. There is nothing like having a laugh with your wife while someone else carries the heavy stuff and being moved in a few hours instead of a few days. **HINT** If they have to rent a truck from uhaul, it’s not a REAL moving company…you’ll get hosed there too.
I worked for U-haul in various capacities back in the early 1990’s while attending college and can appreciate many of the horror stories posted here. U-haul WAS a great company at one time but by the time I came to work there the company was no longer being run by the wise man that started the company but by his @#hole son Jim. That being said, READ THE CONTRACT. The contract you sign when you book your truck clearly states that U-haul has the right to switch the location of the truck due to availability. Also, don’t blame the employees! 99% of the time we had problems with trucks not being available were directly the fault of either 1. 1800-GOUHAUL booking a truck we never had and then dumping the cutomer on us to deal with and 2. customers not bringing the truck back to the correct location and/or on time. That being said, U-haul has major problems with equipment because the staff are rarely trained and at a busy location the equpiment leaves before it gets a chance to be checked over.
Oh I forgot to add in my favourite U-haul memory from my 2.5 years in their employ. The last summer I worked there the head office sent a memo to all stores stating that since no employees were punching out for lunch breaks that they would be automatically deducted. Understandable except that as a policy of being perenially understaffed we were NEVER allowed to take a lunch break once in the entire time I worked there. As of the next check I was shocked to see a deduction of 5 hours from my pay that I worked for the phantom lunches I was told I was not allowed to take because “we are too busy”. That’s the kind of crap the employees are put through on a daily basis.
the people that rent from uhaul think that every thing is going to be so simple, but they never think that the people that bitch are the ones that usualy get left out in the rain, uhual has just done the opp. ya the equipment is hard to arrange, but its better than nothing…just get safe move…. dont be cheap
WE DEAL WITH THE CUSTOMERS WITH CARE, SHIT I HAVE EVEN DROVE A HOUR JUST TO PICK UP SOME THING FOR OUR CUSTOMER, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT A BIG RENTAL, WE DO ALL WE CAN, SO CHILL….
I am disgusted with the service i had. I used the 14′ truck from burlington to bloomfield nj. I filled the gas up alittle bit above 4/8 ths of a tank. Wasnt quite 5/8 as when i picked it up. I was charged 30.00 as well as 20.00 for the extra gallons. It only need 1-2 more gallons to fill to 5/8 and i was overcharged for more gallons as well as charged the 30 dollars service fee. I know nobody went out to fill the gas to 5/8 after it had alittle bit more than 4/8 in the tank. I am also dissapointed that i didnt look at the odometer after i got the truck and there was no way i went over by 44 miles. I believe that these people who are in charge of the trucks when they are returned swindle money outof people after it is dropped off. I will never use this uhaul company again.
Uhaul is for sure a pain in the ass, although i dont blame the employees, but they sure as hell dont have a system down. I found it easier and cheaper just to rent in town drive to my location and drive the empty trailer back. You save more on the uhaul then you spend in gas, its just a matter of wasted time. I’ve delt with Uhaul multiple times, once the back wheel of a 17′ truck was messed up and wouldn’t drive, we got home just to call roadside assistance…which took about 6 hours to take car of, we ended up leaving the next day. Another truck rental they didn’t have the 10′ so they gave us some huge beast “AT NO EXTRA COST!!!!” Thank you soooo much for the $500 extra spent in gas, we apreciated it, oh and all the empty space in the back was very pleasant as we had to bungy cord everything to the walls. Hurray uhual…id advise anyone to go with budget when applicable.
I personally am sick and tired of people whining and complaining about u-haul. I know for a fact that this is a great company. I mean think about it if u-haul was such a horrible company then why are they the number one Moving company in America, against big names like Penski, budget, and Ryder. They dont even advertise, you never see a U-haul commercial, ad in the paper, anything. They get all there business by word of mouth. I grew up with Uhaul my father has worked there for 25 years, and is now a Markering company president, my mom is a reservation manager and has been there 17 years, my brother-in-law is a store manager and has been there for like 5 years and my sister is a store clerk and also worked there for about 5 years. All of them are perfectly happy with their jobs and I have been there when they are dealing with rude, irrate customers and treat them with all the respect they give their family. I understand that uhaul is not perfect and mistakes happen, there are rude people who are working for u-haul, as with any company. I hope that all of you will give uhaul another chance because those people who are rude workers, and dont care about the customers, dont last long in this company. I would be angry to if I was overcharged and screwed over but maybe if you calmly explain the situation you will get somewhere, instead of screaming at those who really cant do anything about it, or are trying. Remember that these are humans to and if you yell at them for so long they are gonna yell back. Put yourself in their shoes and maybe they will do the same. Either way give them another chance and as for those little stores who rent out uhauls dont link them with The uhaul company, they have their own rules, therefore I suggest working with a true Uhaul center.
u-haul is great i have rented all over in colorado mostly in the denver-metro area and have never had a bad experiance other that long lines around the first of the month. one time i had a flat tire and had to call the 1-800# and they had some one out there in 20 mins
My name is richard i work for u haul in key largo fl i hear alot of stuff from customer that come from u north and they say that people at the u haul companys up there act like they don’t care while here at my u haul company customers are more important then making money we would like for are customers to be happy i know it sounds like i’m stand up for u haul but i’m not u guys have to put urself in are shoes and see what we deal with every day we have people that comedown here from up north and yell at us about something the other store did wrong and all we can do is call the other store and rty and fix it but the diffenrt between us the other places is we are a center and they are a dealer they have there rules just like we do and i understand that it is not right for then to act like they do it is because they don’t care about what uhaul does are has to have they care about there money that is it but u guys need to see this shit that they don’t care but we do and we care about our customer and we are here to help. we are a center and all most all centers care but it is the ones that get people that don’t like people that have there first job and don’t care about them but u know how that is u had a first job too. but i ask that u guys give uhaul one more chance and see if they made a differnts in the company so i ask please think about the people that need jobs and have to make money to life off of
I had an aunt work at the uhaul in (Gulfport MS) and when she was working there she would come home and talk about how things was not 100 percent like they claimed. She worked for about 8 months , my point to my story would be the fact that she would come home and state how when she first started working every body that was there was newto the system. Her and the other employees had to take a drug test, after that the manager that hired her was fired then they brought in another manager that hired people that was not tested for drugs and they also was smoking on the job there was alot of theft going on in the place the manager was always sleeping on the job in a shutoff room so that no one could spot her sleeping but the employees and the employees was told to let customers know that they would have the truck for them so that no other rental place can bet them from gettin business , just say it is alot that goes on that shouldn’t.they do need to be investagated.
A lot of these rental agencies advertise attractive fees… but, that “$19.99 In-Town Move” quickly becomes a $120 ordeal, when the extra fees they *don’t* advertise are added on. Then, there’s the gas issue… I have yet to take away a truck with 1/2 a tank of fuel, yet they require you to turn it in with 1/2 a tank, or you pay a $90 penalty. What happens to that fuel?
If they’re going to charge you over a hundred bucks, no matter what, why don’t they just advertise that? Better yet… how about they just stop charging the extra fees? Those trucks are fully insured, regardless of whether the customer pays the extra $60 for insurance, or not. And, the customer is fully capable of cleaning up after themself… so why the extra fee for cleaning the truck (which they hardly ever do, anyway)?
The inconvenience of their stringent requirements on renting tow dollies are also pretty damn awful. They told me that I would be unable to pull a 91 Mazda RX-7 (a small sports car), with a 4×4 Toyota Tundra (a full-size pickup), because the car was too heavy. So, I brought my friend over with a Ford F250, and they still denied me rental, based on the braking power of the truck. As a last ditch effort, I told them I was instead going to tow a 68 Volkswagen Beetle… again, I was denied, due to the weight and ground clearance of the car. The only way they would rent the tow dolly, was if I also rented a truck. So, why advertise that you rent them separately from the trucks, if it is IMPOSSIBLE to do so?
I’m pretty smart when it comes to cars… and, I know that when a manufacturer tells you that your truck can tow 5 tons, they mean it. My Mazda weighs 2800 lbs, and the trailer weighs 400. Trust me… the Tundra will pull 2 tons, with no problem… and, the brakes will not fail. Much less so, on a Ford F250.
The bottom line is… all rental companies are corrupt. False advertising, hidden fees, and predatory business practices are rampant throughout the entire rental industry. This includes hotels and motels, as well as furniture rental companies.
Something needs to be done, before it gets even more out of hand.
If you want a real joke go look at the trucks FOR SALE at a local UHAUL place! Those were/are actual trucks people got stuck renting! I was passing a UHAUL today in NJ and saw a big FOR SALE sign in a truck window and pulled in because I’m in the market for a truck. What a bunch of POS!! The DMV should make UHAUL scrap these death trpas from being put onto our nation’s roads! I would definitley sue UHAUL if any of their trucks got into an accident with myself or my family! RUN AWAY from UHAUL! Rent from a monkey before you go there! No wonder everyone that owns a pickup truck is always deluged with pleas to ‘help me move’. I etter go buy a station wagon….
I have to say most of the comments I have read about U-Haul really angers me. I agree with Bill M.’s comments.
First of all most of you complainers have no clue what you are talking about besides personal experiences. Did you actually rent from a U-Haul center or did you rent from a dealer who uses and accepts U-Haul equipment is the first question? Secondly, like Bill says it is customer’s like all of you out there that cause the truck problems. You say you’ll have it back by 3 pm but you return it at 5 pm so the person who was scheduled right behind you has to what for the next available truck or get upgraded to a larger truck. Or how about the people who steal the trucks, keep them for a month, drive them 2500 miles, live in them and trash them out, break the radio and door handles, wreck them, leave them out of gas and many more numerous things and then just leave them in a bad neighborhood or at a bus station and then the thugs and hoodlums get a hold of them and tag them and destroy them. Then when they are finally able to recover the vehicle they have over $5,000 worth of damage to the vehicle. They then try to charge the card you left but it’s declined or you left a $100 deposit. They then try all methods and means to track you down and re-coop the cost but you’ve dropped off the face of the earth and they are now left to eat those repair costs and not to mention another place was expecting that equipment in to cover a One Way but now they have to scramble to find replacement equipment for it and it’s busy end of the month weekend and what equipment in the area they have they already have set aside for the other reservations because they had no clue someone wasn’t gonna show up with the truck. Or how about you people who disconnect the speedometer cable to keep the miles the same and screw them out of their money? Or how about you people who damage them and don’t pay? You say your insurance covers it so then why don’t you pay and then take it up with your insurance company like they explain if you don’t take their offer of safe move protection; it’s called third party re-reimbursement! Most of you have no clue about the way the equipment is cared for either. Every time a truck comes in it goes through one kind of an inspection and that same inspection is repeated once a week whether it has been rented or not. Then once a month it goes through a more thorough inspection and both these are done on-site. But then every 5,000/15,000/30,000 miles they go through different levels of inspections and those are done by certified mechanics at the local shops. Then to top it off they go through a DOT standard inspection once a year. When they start out new straight from factory they are categorized as One Way and then when the meet certain criteria they become in town equipment, after that the are repaired and sold. You have all the accessibility in the world to go online and find out all the information you want before you buy one of them and each vehicle has a list of repair and etc. done to them that you can look at. NO ONE MAKES YOU PURCHASE THEM! So how can you complain about the vehicle you have willing bought. It’s just like a used car you can drive it, have a mechanic look it over, and etc. so it’s your fault it’s not the vehicle you expected because you were too LAZY to properly investigate it and be more informed. And this equipment is like any other vehicle that has been used and abused; it’s gonna break down at sometime eventually they can’t stop that the can only maintain it to the best of their ability. So any of you out there who take care of their vehicles as well as U-Haul feel free to give me some feed back. But, if you don’t feel compassion for those who are trying to serve you because it is not their fault always that things like this happen. So if a fog rolls in and the airport has to cancel all of the flights is that the attendants fault? Think about the intricate details and organization of running the business and all that is involved before you start hating and being accusatory to all. Be knowledgeable and informed about all the facts before you start a SLANDER campaign because that is ILLEGAL!!! Not all U-Haul centers have such complaints or problems. Many are very dedicated to their customer and a job well done. How many of you have had a bad experience in any other business transaction from the check out lady at the grocery store who is having a bad day, or the waitres who brought your order wrong (could have been she took it down wrong or the cook made it wrong, but you blame the waitress no matter what), or the doctor who wrongly diagnosed you because you were to embarassed to tell him/her all of the symptoms that have been happening, or what about the many other daily business problems WE ALL go through? How many of you actually take full responsibility of your part? Not many of us do now a days and I am just as guilty as the rest. So let’s stop pointing the finger of blame and the next time you have a business transaction do your best to hold up your end and be understanding and compassionate if the other party is having a proble m with their end because you have no idea why and it could just very well be out of their control like it is your. Like my mom always says “When you see someone with a bad attitude; give them a smile and a kind word. You never know what made them that way but you generousity may have just changed a persons day and life. And it cost you nothing but a mere second of your time. They may have lost a loved one unexpectedly and were unable to get off for the funeral for all you know and it’s not for you to know their problem; it is for you to lend out a hand towards humanity!”
I had an experience that started sour but ended up AWESOME!!! I was supposed to pick up a One Way 14′ truck in OKC to Tulsa but the only trucks coming into the area so far were the monster sized ones. I couldn’t fit that into where I was going and didn’t want the extra gas price. I went up to the store; irate and ready to tell them off. But the lady treated me so well no matter how angry I got with her; I even was in her face screaming at one point about what bulls**t this was when I had a reservation. She still calmly explained that on the one way equipment all they can do is set it as expected in and hope the customer shows up with it on the where and when that they say they will. Not to mention if you schedule a truck it doesn’t always mean that they will always receive that size in or enough of those sized ones in to cover all the reservations and reservations are covered according to who is leaving first. Plus someone may have reserved to leave DC with a 14′ truck and return it to our center the night before your due to go out so we figured that we’ld put you in it. But then they get bad weather up there and the other customer isn’t able to leave for another day and that puts him here SUnday night after your reservation. She then gave me several options. I ended up taking a local truck to Muskogee then to Tulsa and then BACK TO OKC & HAD NO PROBLEMS!!!! She discounted my cost, let me use the dolly and pads for free, and extended their new $50 refund for reservation guarantee. Even after I returned the gas to where it was supposed to be I was still $30 up. SHe went out of her way not only to make me happy but to help too because of small things like saying she’ld add the dolly and pads for free to make the move faster because I truly wasn’t going to ask for any because of the extra price and I was on a budget! WAY TO GO U-HAUL!!! ANOTHER SATISFIED CUSTOMER!!! No one ever complains about the good things in life, something to think about huh? They have been in business for almost 65 years so they must not all be too horrible!
u hauls sucks the sweat off a dead mans balls
I think old GET A GRIP works for Uhaul or U ASS HAULS, as i call them. He should state that 65 years of being fucked in the ass with no lotion is horrible. Thanks U ass hauls.
the old bait and switch is the uhaul sales pitch. yeah we have that truck for 19.95. you get there and suddenly the truck is gone..
No Shit? I just called you from my cell phone in the parking lot and no customers have come or gone, lying mother fuckers.
Oh, hey i can give you this 27 foot gas guzzlin mother fucker for only 39.95,, instead of the regular 44.95,,
oh thanks what a deal , i only pay 20 more and i save 5 yippie.
bait and switch, call the BBB and see the complaints, holy shit, If it werent for these fuckers ther BBB would be out of business.
FUCK YOU HAUL IN THE EVER LOVING BUTT
OH GOD!!! lol.. I am renting a Uhaul truck for my move from West Virginia to Georgia.. I found this site when I was trying to find out how much I was going to pay in gas… I sure I hope I dont pay this much in pain and suffering… lol.
Super nervous now.. but will post to let everyone know how it goes. But I think it is true that we do only complain about the bad things in life. Its rare when we enjoy the good things…. I reckon we just expect them when we pay for them so they go unnoticed….
Wish me luck!!!
i work for u-haul,and yes assholes work for this company,but not all the people that work here are like that, i have been with u-haul for over 3 years,and we have ass holes as customers. i have been called all kinds of
names,and some are going to beat my ass,or shot me,because things do go
wrong,with getting a truck or a trailer for a move. other companys have the
same problems,as u-haul does,bad csr,and not everone that works for u-haul is an asshole.
I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH MY MOVE USING U-HAUL. I EVEN GOT A EXTRA COUPLE OF DAYS JUST BUY ASKING. I CALLED A GREAT INDEPENDENT U-HAUL AND THE TOOK REARLY GREAT CARE OF US
I hate uhaul, but unlike most of the people on here, one bad experience was enough. It’s very simple people: don’t re-rent from them if there are other options.
I WORKED FOR U-HAUL FOR A WHILE, AND I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING ALL OF YOU ARE SAYING. IT IS A PIECE OF SHIT COMPANY, WITH SHITTY MANAGEMENT, AND NOTHING BUT “MONEY-HUNGRY C.E.O.’S” RUNNING THE SHIT! WHEN I WORKED THEY’RE (HEY THEY PAY AT LEAST RIGHT?) I DISCOUNTED ALOT FOR THE CUSTOMERS! EVERYDAY ACTUALLY! THEY NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE ME !
u haul in norton va. sucks.The only place to rent uhaul is in coeburn va.,ask for ron.Uhaul is all we got so what do we do.they charge 80.00 a day plus .70 a mile ,BIG RIP,40.00 to put gas in + 4.50 a gal. 40.00 more if you dont clean it+ anything they say you done to it.They charged me 15.00 ins. that I didnt want and then told me what all was not coverd,about 13 things so I said what is coverd she said a flat and if it dies and wont start back.So not only is uhaul a rip so is this renter.This renter is ripping the people off to.This is in Norton Va.24273.If you want to be ripped off ask for Beth.
But what does one do? I’d like to tow my car behind a one-way rental van/SUV from DC to Newfoundland Canada. The companies that allow one-way rentals don’t seem to allow towing and Budget won’t let you drop off in Canada, so it seems I’m stuck with one of U-haul’s trucks?
I AM SURE RENTING A UHAUL IS BAD, BUT TRY WORKING FOR THEM, THEY ARE THE MOST UNDER HANDED COMPANY TO WORK FOR … FROM THE REGIONAL SUPERVISORS ON UP, YOU GIVE THEM YOUR DEDICATION AND THEY GIVE YOU A FOOT IN THE ASS. THEY WILL ASK YOU TO DO DISHONEST THINGS ( BUT LET THE BIG DOGS COME IN TOWN AND THEY WILL LET YOU TAKE THE FALL BELIEVE ME ) I MYSELF WORKED FOR THE COMPANY FOR A LONG TIME AND THE DEPARTMENT I WORKED IN ..BOY I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH FAVORITISM BETWEEN A SUPERVISOR AND AN EMPLOYEE IN MY LIFE ( I THINK THEY ARE TWOT LICKERS ) WHILE ALL THE OTHER EMPLOYEES GET SHIT ON.
#1.I have only, personally, rented from U-Hell…oh, I mean U-Haul. We rented on 12/23 to move into our new home on 12/24. I picked it up and noticed slight shaking. We loaded our things on it and went on our way. My husband drove behind me to make certain that I would be ok. We made it ok and unpacked. We got up the next morning to go drop off the truck. I drove again and approx. halfway to the drop off location, the windshield popped out of the truck. (Not completely, but wind was coming through.) We had paid the extra insurance on the vehicle so we called the 1-800 number to tell them our problem. They said to pull over and leave it at a safe location. We did. They also told us to lock the keys inside and record the gas. We did that too! We also called the drop-off location to tell them what happened. Well, a week or two later, we received a letter in the mail telling us that we stole the vehicle and we owed xx amount of money. I called and explained. They apologized and said the problem would be corrected.
#2.We attempted to rent a trailer from a U haul in Olathe, KS. The young guy at the counter was pretty helpful. He explained that we owed nearly $1000 for a Uhaul in GA. (That is where we rented the first time.) We needed the trailer to haul a boxing ring back to GA. (We had just driven straight from south GA to KS, with two kids under 3, in less than 14 hours so we could be back before Christmas.) The young guy said he would handle everything and we went to hook up to the trailer. Several hundred miles down the road we realized he had used a mixture of mine and my husband’s info. Mixing our ss#’s together, our street address with KS as the state and zip, “mistyping” our credit card number (We paid cash.), and putting that it was a one-way rental. The tires were nearly bald, floor was “busted” in a few places, and I believe the tail lights didn’t work properly. Once back in Albany, GA, we called and were told “I don’t know what to do.” Long story short, the trailer was eventually stolen from in front of our house and we didn’t even report it. We figured u haul had either came and picked it up or code enforcement finally came and got it. Whatever the case…oh well. We well not rent from U haul again…just from our experiences with the dishonest customer service people and the “emergency” service reps.
I will share my most recent story of Uhaul and how abhorrent the service is and how inconvenient the entire system is.
I have moved 22 times in the last 10 years, unfortunately many of those times I have been forced to use Uhaul because there were no other truck rental companies near the small towns I have lived in. Each and every time something has gone wrong with the truck rental process or the truck itself. I do not understand why you call it a “reservation” online when I really do not get to reserve a truck at the location nearest me or where I would like to pick it up. I am forced to make a reservation and face a cancellation fee even though I am not privileged enough to find out where I can pick the truck up until the day before.
I have taken to calling the location directly or stopping by instead of calling the 800 number, where the motto should be “we don’t give a damn what you want or do we care to help you, but we will take your money and say good luck”. There is a reason that people want to make reservations, its called planning. When you have to move on a certain day, you need to know that the truck is yours and that you do not have to drive 50 miles to pick it up. Its not like Uhaul will give you gas to get back to your moving location after driving 2 hours away to pick up a truck.
It is completely unbelievable to me that Uhaul does not focus on what is right for the customer in any way and that the customer service seems to get worse instead of better each time I call. I called the Sacramento, CA regional office today and spoke to a Rhonda who interrupted me continually and offered no solution to the questions I had. On top of that she stated she was the manger on duty and would not allow me to speak to her manager. She stated that they “do not have voice mail”. I am expected to believe that in today’s workplace?
I work for a large corporation myself and I guarantee you if I EVER acted that way I would no longer have a job. These types of events are what ruin a reputation and push people like me to go out of my way to use another company for my moving needs and tell everyone I can NOT to use Uhaul.
I rented a u-haul last year to move. I took the day off from work, not an easy thing to do. Got my nephew and his friend to help carry stuff. Made the first of three trips to my new house, told the guys to go get some lunch, i’d meet them back at my old place in an hour. they drove off, i went to leave about five minutes later and the damn truck wouldnt start. then it starts pouring down rain. I end up knocking on a door of a neighbor and ask to use the phone. I call u-haul and get a total run around just trying to get someone there tobring me a different truck, or come and fix it long enough until i can get it back to the uhaul place and switch out trucks. They say they’ll be there within an hour. so, two hours later my nephew comes back and i explain all the problems. I end up trying to jump the trucks battery with his car, and amazingly after a couple failed tries it starts up. I immediately drive back to uhaul and they give me another truck. So I pretty much waste the whole day on something that should have taken three hours tops. I didnt finish moving till 2 am that night. They never did show up to jump the battery, nor did they even call. So if you have a broke down uhaul truck, dont expect to see anyone come fix it even if they say they are coming.
Stick with the small independant dealers who care about your business. Forget U-Haul or Budget. Avoid them like the plague.
You are taking a huge risk by using them.
A few years ago a U-haul truck I rented BROKE DOWN TWICE in one night !!! My room-mate and I were left in a freezing cold for hours both times while we waited in the unheated truck for their repair man to arrive.
Because they are the only major rental in our town, we foolishly went to them again this year for a move from Michigan to Chicago. The U-Haul representative was so dim-witted or addled on drugs that he insisted that Chicago was located in the state of New York and not Illinois — thereby giving us the incorrect quote on an out of town truck. Avoid them at all costs. They don’t seem to care.
I had a “Guaranteed Reservation” for a truck at U-Haul. I made this reservation in person at the local U-Haul Center (not a franchisee) as I felt the service would be more reliable.
On moving day I arrived at opening time to find a long line of customers in front of me. Everybody had a problem! No car dollies as promised, no appliance dollies, no trucks, etc. When it was my turn to be waited on there was no truck available! Big surprise, right! They found me a much smaller truck 40 miles away at a franchise location. Upon arriving, the franchisee refused to honor my Guaranteed Reservation for a 24 hour rental period. They would not rent me the truck unless I agreed to return it in 6 hours. I had now wasted 3 hours of my time on moving day, driven 40 miles to get a smaller truck that would require 2 trips to move and found out that the truck had to be back in 6 hours. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place so I agreed to return the truck in 6 hours. Apparently, U-Haul modifies their rental agreements at will so they can rent a truck out 3 times in a 24 hour period.
The truck was a POS and would not start. The franchisee did not even have a set of jumper cables on hand. I lent them mine! The truck was low on fuel so I stopped at the first gas station I saw. I checked the oil just to be sure and found it was low. I added 3 quarts to bring it up to the add mark on the dipstick. When I attempted to restart the truck the battery was dead again as it was every time I started it that day.
I learned fron this experience and now rent trucks from other companies. One piece of advice I might give is to rent the truck a day or two before you actually need it. That way if there is a problem you have time on your side to work things out. I recently reserved a 15 passenger van for a church group. I arranged to pick it up the day before I actually needed it. I called the rental company (Enterprise) the day before I was scheduled to pick up the van to confirm the reservation. I was told everything was fine. 10 minutes before I was scheduled to pick up the van they called me to tell me there was no van available. They wanted to know if a 7 passenger mini van or suv would work? The local Enterprise manager bent over backward to find a van and had it driven in from the next state. Because I had time on my side everything worked out. The Enterprise manager even told me to bring the van back on empty for the inconvenience. Guess where I rent trucks from now?
Yes…U-Haul sucks.. Looking to move again and it will NOT be with U-haul.In 2003 we made a move from the Seattle area to So. California. Reserved a 26` truck and 40 moving pads. When we picked up the truck, it was ancient and we had no moving pads,they said they would locate some for us and deliver…that never happened.We ended up using every blanket and rug we had to pad our belongings.We were on a time schedule and like most had to be prompt with the move. From the moment we set out my husband was mortified…the stirring was horrible, the wheel shaking back and forth, the radio didnt work and come to find out as we made our way south the a/c didnt work either. The first stop for fuel he checked the oil and found that there was no cap on the oil fill, oil had splattered all over the inside of the hood…we had to stuff a rag into the fill spot to contain the oil. The first night we stopped in Yreka,Ca. We woke in the morning and when we started the truck water blew out the bottom of the radiator, we called for service and the nearest u-haul mechanic was in Medford,OR..we were stranded all day and did not get back on the road until 9 pm that evening. Wasting a whole day of travel put us behind on everything including our new jobs…when I called into U-haul to complain and ask for a refund or credit or anything…they said” so sorry you had a bad expierence…byebye!”
I was furious..never again U-haul…never and every chance I get I tell people not to use them…They are horrible!
Wow, what some amazing stories. Boy am I glad I found this site. I just made a reservation yesterday when I called to check for rates and the sales assistant was persistant on me booking now to lock in rates for a moving truck for December to go one way from Michigan to Florida. I found this site today and just so happened saw a neighbor of mine who moved yesterday so I thought. But she was back because her truck she rented from uhaul broke down that she had to drive 45 minutes to get. They left her on the side of the road and she had to find a way to get back to where she was.
She was informed that another truck would not be avaliable until tomorrow and she would have to move all her stuff from one truck to another.
Well since hearing that from her and reading everthing here, I am cancelling my reservation as I write. Thank you all for saving my life…………………….
PENSKE IS THE BEST… YOU THINK UHAUL IS BAD… BUDGET… WANT TO TALK NIGHTMARE… I MADE RESV. AND CALLED TO CONFIRM… THE PLACE TOLD ME THEY DIDNT HAVE THE RESV.. JUST GO ONLINE AND DO IT AGAIN.. UHHH.. THAT SOUNDS FUNNY, SO I CALL BUDGET, THE PLACE HAD CANCELED THE RESV.. SO THEY MADE ME A NEW RESV AT ANOTHER PLACE… WELL MOVING DAY COMES, GET UP EARLY IN THE A.M. .. BECAUSE.. ITS HOT IN AT NOON IN JULY IN VEGAS… WELL I SHOW UP EARLY AND THAT PLACE DOESNT EVEN EXIST ANYMORE… SO I AM ON HOLD WITH BUDGET FOR 30 MIN… FINALLY THEY SEND ME TO ANOTHER LOCATION ACROSS TOWN… I WAIT 1 1/2 HRS FOR A TRUCK.. A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM I DID… SO NOW ITS LIKE 120 OUT AND I LOST A FEW HOURS OF MOVING TIME… THEN TO TOP IT OFF… A FEW WEEKS LATER I GET MY CREDIT CARD BILL AND THEY HAD CHARGED ME $50 FOR NOT KEEPING MY RESV. AT THE PLACE THAT DIDNT EVEN EXIST…. THEY PUT THE MONEY BACK, BUT WHAT A B.S. NIGHTMARE… NEVER NEVER RENT FROM THEM!!
I rented a uhaul about 2 years ago and I was not satisfied. The truck I had, had a floating gas hand. Which I tried to tell the guy when I took the truck back. I had just put $40.00 in the truck was not a block away and when I get to uhaul the guy tells me that I needed more gas. And I tried to explained to him I just put gas in the truck, this truck was so old I know I spent about $80.00 for gas before I took the truck back, because it had a floating hand and because it had a floating had it cost me a lot of money that I should not have paid. Anyway I took the truck, across the street and put more gas. I was very upset and I wrote to the main office. I feel if you are going to rent truck you should keep the maintaince up. That was terrible. But what can you do there are not a lot of truck rental companies. So they get away with it.
I’ve never seen a blog post that got steady comments for three years before. What really surprises me, though, is that it doesn’t look like anyone has mentioned that even when they don’t reserve a truck for you, they still won’t refund the reservation fee.
I “reserved” a truck from them for a move once on a Saturday morning and paid an up front fee. I went to pick up the truck and was told they wouldn’t have them in until 8PM. I said okay, I’ll just go to Penske I want my money back. I was then told I could have it all refunded except the $5 “service” fee. I directly asked what “service” they had provided me and she said, with no apparent conception of the conflict, “reserving a truck.” I never could get them to agree to refund the $5 fee for the “service” of wasting my time.
As to the comments that some people have had a bad uhaul experience and the internet collects bad experiences. Maybe. I haven’t met them, but maybe there’s somebody out there who rented a uhaul and came away satisfied. I can say for my self that I will never deal with U-Haul or any subsidiary or affiliate of theirs again and I strongly discourage others from doing so any chance I get.
Wow… I’ve only had two experiences with U-Haul. Once we rented a truck in Los Angeles for a one way trip to Oakland. No problems that I remember, although this was in the middle of June. Truck had AC too, wish I’d ridden in it with my aunt rather than riding in my dad’s van with no AC.
The other time we used U-Haul was an in-town move that took two weeks (my grandma is a serious pack rat…). No problems picking up the truck we reserved, although we did end up using it longer than we had originally planned, they didn’t have a problem with it, but we did have to bring the truck back and get a different one because someone else had reserved the one we had started out with. Okay, why not give them the other truck that was the same size I dunno.
Only real issue we had was that the new house had a really steep curb going into the driveway and you really had to step on it to get up the curb and hope that you hit the brakes in time to avoid hitting the garage. But the second truck we got didn’t have that problem. Of course all of our neighbors have 4 wheel drive, and the ones that don’t usually put some metal plate in the gutter so they can get into their driveways, so I’m not sure how much of that we can blame on U-Haul.
Next time I have to help someone move I’ll probably call Penske first and use my AAA discount. But I did try them on my last move and they were all booked up for the size we wanted, which was why we went to U-Haul. So if Penske is booked next time I’ll probably call the same U-Haul we used before and keep my fingers crossed…
Of course, from the horror stories I’ve read here I get the feeling that maybe they have more complaints back east? So in general U-Haul isn’t as bad here on the West Coast? Well I’ve never used them anywhere else so I wouldn’t know…
It’s not just the US where U-haul sucks, it’s Canada too. I was moving from Toronto to Ottawa and needed a one-way. U-haul was the only rental company that allowed one-ways, so I went with them. I originally booked to pick up the truck on a saturday, but then called back to pick it up on friday (so I could pack the truck friday evening and leave asap saturday morning). When I called back, I had to wait on hold for 45 minutes to ask to change the reservation. They told me they could change it, and that someone would call me thursday by 5 pm to let me know where I could pick it up. At a 4:45 there was still no call, so I called them – again a 45 minute wait. They told me the pickup location would call me by 9 am friday. They left me a message thursday night at 11 pm, asked me to call them by 8 am friday, which I did. When I did call, the location said the reservation was for saturday, not friday, they wouldn’t have a truck until then.
Ok, not the end of the world, I’m just going to be leaving a bit late. Saturday I was about to go to pick up the truck, but decided to call first. Turns out there was no truck for me. Not only that, but the staff tried to make it sound like *I* was the one being unreasonable, and that I should be more understanding because they are so busy! They told me I had to call head office if I had a problem. When I said no, I’m not holding for 45 minutes again, they hung up on me.
Thank goodness Hertz had a truck available. I managed to work out an arrangement with my brother so that he could drive the truck back to Toronto for me.
I was also screwed by UHaul-Screw Haul-
I called the national line to rent a tow dolley to bring a car home from a distant city.
I explained my situation, gave all info for them to qualify me for a tow dolley, was given a reference number. Went to that city to pick up the dolley-was told I need a hitch installed with wiring, which I already had.
I just want the tow dolley!
No, your truck is too light, you need to rent one of our trucks and a trailer. That car will never fit on the dolley, it’s too big.
I said I called the national number TWICE to confirm it and I wanted the dolley I had reserved.
They don’t know what they’re talking about! This is what you need! They aren’t her. We are and this is what you need!
I WALKED OUT!
After driving nearly 400 miles, I left without getting my car b/c I wasn’t going to give them a cent to upgrade and screw me over.
I will NEVER recommend that screwy company to anyone!
I will look into Penske and other companies.
Wake up UHAUL, you’re losing business and getting a really crappy reputation due to these tactics!!!!!
I’d always use U-Haul when living in Texas (over nine moves with various sized trucks and numerous trailer rentals) and have never had a problem. Expectantly as rental vehicles go, there was wear & tear eq. dents, scratches, etc. but the cab was always cleaned and smelled decent and furthermore, mechanically the trucks were sound. The U-haul rep and myself would go through a post-trip verifying that things looked satisfactory before I left the lot with the truck. Plus, I would stop ever so often on long trips and inspect the truck. (I doubt anyone that is complaining about a breakdown did their own inspection or observed warnings about appropriate weight and speed limits when hauling) Some of these stories sound a bit out-landish and more “mob-mentality” than actuality. Although, I’ve seen the U-Haul equipment being used in Arkansas and will admit I’d have reservations about renting it (haven’t had to yet). I think that is the real issue at play here: The location of these U-haul business’ and the character of the people that primarily use the equipment which, in turn, has it’s effects on the personnel that deal with them.
I’ve Had A Uhaul Before, OMG They Sucked!!!!
I live In Canada Moving from KW To Toronto. And Holy crap The Truck Like Broke Down only Like 5 KM from my Depart.
DO NOT USE UHAUL!!!
Use Budget They RULE!
I too “reserved” a trailer to move from one city to another and I too got the verbal runaround about how they would “try” and have a trailer for me on the day I requested. I could not understand why I was making a reservation for something I could not reserve! It had me batty! I kept asking Shawanda from 800ville how in the world this was suppose to work and she just kept saying the same thing over and over; “We don’t know if we will have a trailer there for you or not. Would you like to make a reservation?” I kept looking around for Ashton Kutcher! I was told to call back the following morning (of the day I was moving) and they would tell me whether or not the trailer was going to be there. “What about the guys I have hired to move me? What about the people moving into the apartment the afternoon of the day I am suppose to be gone?” Finally she just hung up.
Horrible company. Horrible employees. Horrible equipment. And they still use those outdated, freaky little 4 prong, flat headed connectors and OH…guess what??? They just “happen” to sell the adapters (for $3.00 more than they cost at ACE). Bastards!
I guess I have been EXTREMELY lucky based on these posts. I have never used any service except for U-Haul in my 23 years of adult life. I have done 3 state to state moves and nearly a dozen local moves using their big trucks. I have also rented their closed tow trailers for state to state hauling twice as well as renting closed and open tow trailers about 10 to 12 times for misc stuff. This math adds up to at least one rental from u-haul per year for the last 23 years.
In all cases but one, I put in a reservation, sometimes just a day in advance, and have NEVER had an issue with the reservation. The uhaul locations that I have used (8 different ones) have all had a staff that was a little over worked and somewhat frazzled, but never rude.
I also have several friends who use U-Haul all of the time and none of them have ever seen any issues. Between myself and the friends I have helped move, I have been involved in nearly 50 U-Haul transactions and have yet to see one go bad.
Guess I have just been very lucky.
Has anyone had a problem with; returning a truck and putting the keys in the drop box (after hours) and them saying “the truck was never returned?” If so I’d love to hear the story! It just happened to me. It’s really made me think that doing the after hour drop off is not such a good idea, it becomes your word against theirs.
Well, I work for the blasted evil company everyone here referrers to as UHaul. I don’t have great pride in my company for any means. I went trucks all the time from other stores and they are reliable. My store has only had one truck break down in the past 6 months and thats because the stupid guy ran it out of gas. Never would we schedule someone for pick-up and not have the truck waiting for them the minute they got there. I am not being bias, even though most will think that to be impossible. Uhaul in my opinion is hit or miss, depends on the store you go to and how good the manager is there, double check our reservations yourself and never use the 1800gouhaul phone number for reservations. Call the stores directly, or even better go up there your self to inspect the truck before your scheduled moving day. Just trying to help save you all a little money by using uhaul instead of a more expensive company.
My mom and I went to U Haul because we thought they were a reputable business, boy were we wrong. It all started June of 08. We were to move a pickup from Browns Valley, Ca to Thompson Falls Mt. We went to Yuba City CA to rent a car trailer. The trailer was going to cost $565.00 for a one way trip. We signed the contract after inspection of the trailer. We then had to buy a connector to fit the pickup we were driving. You would think they would have standard connections on them, just another way to get into your wallet. They hooked up the car trailer and my mom asked if the tires were all up and ready to go. They said yes, this sticker on the tailer says it has been checked. WE DROVE 20 MILES DOWN THE ROAD TO RESIDENCE WHERE WE WERE TO LOAD THE TRAILER. We loaded the pickup onto the trailer to find out both tires on the driver side was showing low. I took the air gauge out to check the tires. They were both showing 10 pounds. I started to air up the tire and guess what, the air was coming out of it as fast as I was putting it in. I went and aired up the other tire and told my mom to call the 800 number for road side service. WE ARE ON A TIME FRAME HERE WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOADED AND GONE BY NOW. Road side says that they would have somebody out to fix the tires within 2 hrs. Guess what, 6 hrs have passed and many calls to the 800 number. Still nobody showed up, they flat left us stranded. My mom is 75 years old and it was 100 degrees out that day. After about 6 hrs had passed I told my mom to tell them to come and get their trailer and that we were going to find another way to get the pickup to Montana. I called a friend and was able to rent a trailer from a private party. They charged us 300 dollars for breaking our contract. What about them breaking their contract when they left us stranded for over 6 hrs in 100 degree heat. WE HAVE BEEN LIED TO, DEALT WITH RUDE EMPLOYEES AND THE BEST OF IT, THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE TIRE. THE WORST OF ALL THIS IS WE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT KEEP THEM IN BUISNESS. THAT THEY CAN TREAT THERE CUSTOMERS LIKE SHIT, LIE TO THEM AND TAKE THEIR MONEY FOR A SERVICE THAT DID NOT FILL. WE LOST ALL THE WAY AROUND. THIS IS A PIECE OF SHIT COMPANY AND THEY NEED NOT TO BE IN BUSINESS! If you are ever in Yuba City Calif. feel free to stop in and tell them that you read this and that they are a bunch of rip off bastards. Jerry L Truelock- pissed off customer
Hi, My name is Phil, and I work for Penske, I have been reading for a couple of days and I find it unbelieviable how many stories are on here. I am currently working my 3rd straight double shift here at the call center on one of the busiest weekends of the year. There have been COUNTLESS calls in today from customers of uhaul or budget. I feel very sorry for them because at this point and time we cannot help them. From this perspective I have come up with the following conclusion. You may see that Budget or Uhaul is cheaper. But if you want your truck actually GUARANTEED, call Penske and set yourself up with a truck. we are the only company who can actually guarentee the truck where you get it. I do have this site save on my favorites list and I would love to field and questions people have on here.
Ps. If anyone could find somewhere on the internet that has a lot of negative penske comments i would love to see it. I know of epinion.com, but it looks a lot like this here.
Thanks for reading.
To all the morons here with bad stories about U-Haul you guys are the biggest bunch of procrastinators I’ve ever heard! I work at a u-haul and i stumbled on this site when I googled u-haul at home for no reason. people dont come to this site to post happy moves because no with happy moves comes here. If a procrastinator makes a RESERVATION AT LEAST 3 DAYS BEFORE THE MOVE, LIKE A SMART PERSON. you would be as happy as the people who praise u-haul for being the most affordable and the best move. THE MORONS who have nothing but bad times with u-haul are the only people who would call the night before or last minute to reserve something. GRANTED NOONE KNOWS WHEN WE WILL BE KICKED OUT OF OUR HOLMES, for example, on the west coast where i live there is a decrease in the realty market, houses are being forclosed and banks are repoeing houses. anyways to this guy JOSE ” In a couple of ocassions I have gone to pick up a uhaul truck that I had reserved months in advance and they didn’t had it.” THIS IS NOT TRUE, I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU WENT BUT IT WASN’T A U-HAUL OWNED CENTER! MOST OF YOU PEOPLE GO TO HOLE IN THE WALL LOCATIONS OR MOM AND POP STORES WHERE THEY DON’T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT CUSTOMER. TO JERRY ABOUT THE TRAILER “You would think they would have standard connections on them, just another way to get into your wallet” JERRY YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG. THE STANDARD CONNECTION IS A 4-WAY FLAT CONNECTION FOR TRAILER WHO ONLY HAVE BRAKE LIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS AND DAYLIGHT HEADLIGHTS.
NOW I WOULD HATE TO PRETEND TO LIKE U-HAUL BECAUSE I WORK FOR THIS COMPANY, OR EVEN DEFEND IT BECAUSE I MYSELF HAVE SEEN CRAPPY SITUATIONS. BASICALLY IT’S LIKE THIS, THE PEOPLE WHO I HAVE SEEN TALK CRAP ABOUT U-HAUL IS BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING A CRAPPY TIME MOVING. FOR EXAMPLE LAST MINUTE RESERVATIONS. I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE SHOW UP AT THE END OF THE MONTH, WHEN ALL OF OUR TRUCKS ARE RESERVED 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCED, AND ASK FOR A TRUCK OR TO SEE IF WE HAVE ONE AVAILABLE. OF COURSE WE TURN THEM AWAY BECAUSE SMART PEOPLE COVERED THEMSELVES 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCED. WE GET CALLS ALL DAY LONG ” do you have any trucks available today?” NO!!!!! IF YOU WERE SMART YOU WOULD HAVE MADE A RESERVATION! ” oh, i was thinking about that but i just forgot and we were doing something else “
Penske Employee again, Just wanna comment quickly on the above emloyee up top, if you want to deal with this guy, go with uhaul, if you want to deal with above and beyond customer service, give penske a call. even if you call the night before, we will try our best to get you a truck. not like this “employee” from above. I even apoligize for him. Seems as though he is having a bad day. Dont forget, if you have any questions, just give us a call and we would be more than happy to assist you. or just ask here, I will check frequently.
U-Haul guys apparently can’t read either, or they would have noticed that the majority of the complaints on this page are from people who have RESERVED THEIR TRUCKS WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS IN ADVANCE!!! And yeah, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the reason they’re complaining is that they are having a bad move…they’re having a bad move because the POS TRUCK THEY DID ACTUALLY GET SCREWED INTO TAKING BROKE DOWN MULTIPLE TIMES! I’m sorry you work for UHaul, I’m sorry you can’t read and I’m sorry your skills in logic are so under developed. Poor guy.
Anyway, I have had a couple of bad truck experiences with the Milwaukee Wisconsin USuck but the Madison and suburban Madison locations are all passable. In the Madison area I have rented three times and although the trucks were worn they didn’t break down and we weren’t moving too far so it was tolerable. I wouldn’t ever rent USuck long distance and ever since I found Penske I wouldn’t rent from UHaul again period.
I strongly encourage anyone that is traveling long distance, out of state, to save up and spend the extra cash to have a reputable mover take your belongings to your next home. READ UP ON THE MOVERS FIRST! The internet is awesome, saved my sister a bundle when she found out some international packers/movers had a bunch of consumer complaints and lawsuits out against them. Better Business Bureau is a great place to start, as is your state’s Attorney General Consumer Protection division (they’re there for your complaints if you DO end up getting porked too).
Hey “U-HAUL EMPLOYEE”
Perhaps you can explain what went wrong in my situation (see above post, dated 04/27/2008). I personally went down to my local U-Haul Center almost 30 days in advance to make a reservation. I received a “Guaranteed Reservation” for a 24 hour truck rental. After finding out there was no truck available for me I was sent to a dealer who would only rent the truck to me for 6 hours (there was no discount on the daily rate or for the dead battery). We are not all procrastinators. Most of us knew we would need a truck and made a pro-active effort to reserve one. Perhaps you could show your customers some empathy. We trusted that U-Haul would deliver on it’s promise of a “Guaranteed Reservation” only to find out it means nothing and that U-Haul makes no apologies for it!
I must be a very lucky one. I recently moved about 800 miles and used a U Haul for the trip. The online service was very easy. I got a call the day before my move to confirm my reservation. I did have to wait on the attendant to finnish with another customer for about 30 minutes before I got helped, but I don’t think that’s U Haul’s fault. I called U Haul when I got here and they helped me find the nearest center to return the truck. The truck was in great shape and only had about 4,000 miles on it. I am in no way affiliated with U Haul, just a recently satisfied customer looking online for another quick in town move for some of my stuff and ran accross this site.
I will list a helpful hint. When entering in your two destinations, use Zip Codes and not city names. Try it and you’ll see why.
Rented a U-haul trailer to go from MT to AZ; wheel (entire wheel) fell off–lugnuts wore through–on the interstate in ID; items broke when the wheel fell off and the trailer hit the pavement–no, speed was not a factor as the truck pulling it was a dog. U-haul paid for hotel room for the night, but did not compensate for belongings–took 6 hours to come help. Used Budget to go from MT to OH last year. They were expensive, but there was no headache in the process.
They scam you on in-town moves by “allowing” you, ie forcing you to pay, for 50 miles upfront with no hope of refund if you do not need that much driving. Hey, I’m moving in town, why do I need to drive 50 miles? $19.95 my ass, with their comprehensive insurance they want $84 just to get the thing out the door whether you only need it for a couple hours and 10 miles usage or for the whole day and a trip to the next county and back. And Billy Joe Bob at the quickie lube did not impress me much as a UHaul representative either.
Wow, and I thought I was the only one. U-Haul is horrible. This weekend I was double billed, and they claim the fuel tank was not filled to 3/8’s. The penalty was a $30 service charge, plus $25 for fuel. The U-Haul was returned with 3/8’s, and so far they denied my claims. They say I wasn’t double billed, but I was. U-Haul charged my VISA 2X. As for the fuel charge, I was told: Too bad. That’s ok, because I will sue them. I suggest to all that are are unhappy, to do the same. Thanks for nothing U-Haul !!
I am a uHaul dealer. Trucks are hard to get a hold of. Also a lot of dealers are pressured into making high profit reservations so they try to get as much money as they can on each truck they have. The smaller dealers only make a few hundred a month on UHauls, more like 700 in the summer so any money they can get they do. As for other stuff, make sure you check the mileage on the truck and the gas before renting. when you return, fill that gas in advance. Some of the ford gas guages are slow in reading so you have to drive 2 miles before the needle reads correctly. This is especially true of vans.
I’m with you all. In this age of “service me or I’ll sue because that’s the American way”, all the rest of us normal folks who just want to get our business taken care of fairly and in a timely manner get shafted time and again.
That said, there is a couple in Jennings, La who run a UHaul business. Around this time last year, I was on a road trip with 2 teenagers and a baby – and my engine blew up. The cheapest way I could think to get all of us and our disabled car back to Texas from the armpit of Louisiana was to rent a truck and haul it. When I explained to the woman what my situation was and that I was stranded with these kids, she had her husband go to another town to pick up a truck for me (yes, they were out) and he hooked up the tow, put my car on it and got us on our way. No extra charge – just really good people.
I was in such shock at how these people from UHaul behaved! They were my guardian angels (that says a lot from an agnostic!) It doesn’t make me loyal to UHaul, but it reminded me to always try to take the time to see people for who they are – not just what they do.
Good luck with your future moves – always make the journey the best it can be.
Oh, and when you’re on a narrow highway and you’re coming up on a rental with a car in tow – just slow down until the road clears up – most renters get really nervous trying to keep those monsters between the lines!
i cant belive all of u making a web site even first of all lets face it shit happens some trucks are not avl. cause other customers have not returnd them on time ever think of that or ya maybe they had a one way for u the day befor but come the next day something is found to be wrong with it would u rather have the truck and break down in it maybe that will give u something else to b- about as far as fuel goes its in clear print that u sign what the charges r and that u must return it on what it left on not that well u went only this many miles or u put ten bucks in it just return it on the line it left at whats so hard about that and watch ur ass like u would any other place re check the fuel or miles we all know moving is stressful i have moved many many times and u haul has always been easy and simple sure some things may go wrong from the truck not being avl right when i need it or as long just the same me not being there on time to pick my truck up but they worked with me like i worked with them point is its moving day things r going to go wrong i dont know any one who has a perfect move unless u have some one doing all the packing driving what not but still there is is the apt going to be ready on time did we break anything this and that but u just have to be flexable and expect the worse and hope for the best so to u all better luck on ur next move i love u haul will never use anything else and thank any one there who has helped me in the past and will next time its not easy dealing with angry customers who are already stressed anout their move so ty and keep up the good work
DOING BUSINESS WITH UHAUL IS A NIGHTMARE. I WILL NEVER RENT FROM THEM AGAIN. AVOID. RENT FROM PENSKE OR ONE OF THE OTHER REPUTABLE TRUCK RENTAL COMPANIES !