Uhaul Story

U Haul = U Are On U’re Own, “Buddy” U Haul

What could i be charged with? i took a uhaul to the border ……? my roomy said the cops might be after him and he wanted to leave the country. so i hatched a plan ,rent a uhaul for a two day intown move i ...

U HAUL you’re on your own. U Haul When I moved into my new old home I got a good deal on a used washer and dryer from some people that I met and who worked at the same place ...

A horrid nightmare of dangerous equipment and deplorable customer service from start to finish!

I reserved a moving truck via U-Haul’s online reservation service at a certain price. The day before my “reserved” rental, I waited fruitlessly for U-Haul to contact me to confirm my reservation. The evening before moving day, I went online and reserved ANOTHER truck with the foolish notion that this would somehow increase my chances of obtaining a truck on moving day. Wrong.

The next morning I spent three hours on the telephone with U-Haul’s regional office attempting to locate and confirm a truck. The closest truck, the last truck, the only truck available in a large metro area was parked and ready for me 40 miles from my home. Out of desperation I agreed to rent this truck. An old truck. A truck with 185,000 miles on it. A stick shift. Lucky there was a huge parking lot near the pick-up location for me to practice how to drive this truck. Driving this truck is NOT for everyone.

I picked up the truck, loaded it up, and started north the next morning. About 90 miles through the trip I stopped for refueling (diesel!). I noticed both front tires were smelly, hot, the tread was shredding off in big chunks, and it was obvious to even the most optimistic person that a major blowout was imminent.

I called U-Haul’s “1-800 Dumb Customer” number and a service truck arrived from the nearest town within an hour and a half. The mechanic replaced both front tires, gave me a wink and a pat on the back, and told me he’d feel safe driving this truck cross-country. I started out again, made it 10 miles down the freeway at 40 mph, and realized the tread was again shredding off both front tires.

Looking at the front end, I noticed one tire was pointed towards North Dakota, and the other towards Michigan.

Fortunately, the customer service truck and I were going the same direction and he pulled up behind me.

I said “Look at this alignment.”

“Yep, she’s got a problem allright.”

“What will U-Haul do for me.”

“Tell you what. You have two options. Drive this truck 30 miles to my shop, load all your stuff YOURSELF into another truck … OR … go real slow to your final destination and hope the tires don’t blow.”

I asked if I had the option to abandon the truck or have it towed so I didn’t have to drive it. The mechanic said if I abandon the vehicle I am fully responsible for anything that happens to it, and as for the towing, he said that is “impossible” due to the size of the vehicle.

So there, I drove 20 mph to my destination, stopping every 10 minutes to check the temperature of the tires. Made it.

I returned the truck to the U-Haul shop nearest my destination, fuming over how poorly I was treated, and how I was placed in an extremely unsafe situation with no alternative. The U-Haul clerk agreed, she said that U-Haul has really gone downhill over the past few years, and I should ask for a complete refund from the regional office.

Over the following week I managed to speak with some sort of manager at the regional office, “Scott.” Scott was the most argumentative, unskilled, unsympathetic, unapologetic, hotheaded, adversarial customer service manager I have ever seen in my dealings with ANYTHING. I asked him for a full refund and he said “That is never, ever going to happen.” He instead offered me a small refund and some “VIP Coupons” which are of no value to me since I will never darken U-Haul’s doorstep even to purchase a charity gumball in their lobby.

Before the refund showed up on my credit card, I filed a brutal online complaint to U-Haul on their website. My core complaint was that I was given no option other than to drive an unsafe vehicle, and I demanded a 100% refund and I further stated that I would file a complaint with the BBB and the State Attorney General’s Office if I did not receive the 100% refund. The next day, a very warm, apologetic, professional U-Haul representative called me to apologize up, down, and sideways for my experience. She offered me a 50% refund. I reminded her that I intended to contact the two agencies if the refund fell short of 100%. She said “You did reach your destination, didn’t you?” I said “Yes I did.” She said, “Then you did receive some value from our product, didn’t you?”

This implies that U-Haul’s definition of “value” contains no regard or concern for the personal safety of their customers.

After receiving my 50% refund, I had little motivation to push the issue with the BBB or State Attorney General’s Office for what amounted to be a little over $100. So, I have not as of yet. However, my act of simply threatening to file a complaint with these agencies seemed to motivate U-Haul to offer an apology and at least a somewhat meaningful refund.

Tags: moving truck