U-Haul Truck Rentals Consumer Reviews - Page 2

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- I made a reservation two days ahead of time for a pick-up truck and was told there would be one available at the location the reservation was made for. Upon arriving to pick up said vehicle, I was told that the reservation was "pending" & they did not have a truck available as I was promised upon making the reservation. They instructed me to call the corporate office. I did so and was told to go to a different location & that I would lose 30 minutes on the rental time due to travel time.

When I arrived at the second location I was then informed that a customer had the one truck available reserved for four weeks and that customer would not be bumped. I was then referred to yet another location. When I got there, the truck was available, but was not informed that I would need extra documents for the rental. This has been a major inconvenience to not only myself but my driver as well. I, personally would not recommend using U-haul rental services.

LAKE HAVASU, ARIZONA -- We reserved a 20 ft truck for Saturday Aug 5th on Wednesday for pick up at 8 am. We then realized that was not going to be enough time so we called and changed the reservation for 4:45 on Friday Aug 4, we were told to pick up the truck on Lake Havasu Avenue at 4:45. When we got there the associate said we were not on his list and to go to another location.

When I called and talked with a U-Haul representative they told us to go to Acoma Blvd... Great but they were already closed at 4. But our reservation was for 4:45, so we called again, talked with someone else who put in for a 50$ guarantee that the truck be at our location and to have us talk with a customer service specialist.

The specialist told us that there basically was nothing they could do for us but to give us 25$ off and give us an extra day, we didn't need an extra day added on, I have to start work on Monday, we need to move everything now tomorrow. What good is a reservation if your company isn't going to honor it? I will never go with U-Haul again. They had the audacity to ask if we were mad. Well in fact we are. Time is more precious than money since we have to move out-of-state. I will make sure everyone I know will learn from my mistake of going with U-Haul.

CALIFORNIA -- False advertising, bait and switch: U-Haul website advertises a 15' truck at my nearest location, which I reserve. I get a call shortly after confirming me for a 10' truck and they'll get back to me on if a 15' or 17' becomes available in the area. I then found out (online) that the 10' truck doesn't have the ramp I need for heavy items. I went back on the website the following day and find another nearby location that says in large bold lettering above the location that a 15' truck is "currently" available there. Great. I booked it, then got a call that it doesn't have a 15' truck, but I can get a 10' truck.

Observing a pattern at this point, I voice my frustration at the sloppy advertising. I am rudely informed that the fine print says trucks might not be available at the location where they are booked. I reiterate that the less-fine, large, bold print atop the online booking for the location said it was currently available at that location.

Also, don't be fooled by the $50 guarantee. U-Haul gets around this by calling both your online reservation and subsequent phone confirmation "reservations." Only the latter phone confirmation triggers their guarantee. So, even though you "reserved" the truck online, that isn't the "reservation" U-Haul guarantees. I cancelled my reservations. I have used U-Haul in the past and been satisfied, but doubt I will be using U-Haul again.

EL PASO, TEXAS -- Reserved a truck with Uhaul from El Paso to San Antonio and verified with Uhaul that truck was available. A day later Uhaul called to change my reservation to another city 40 miles away and notified me they did not have the size of truck I reserved only smaller. I explained to them that came from SA to ELP for the sole purpose of moving my furniture from storage and did not have a way to get to the other city. I asked if they could drive the truck to ELP and they said no. I asked if they would cover the cost to pick up the truck at the other city and they said no.

After all of this we moved the reservation one day. Later I got a text message saying they are going to change the reservation ANOTHER time to another location and a different time. I asked if they could guaranteed that this time they would have the truck I reserved and they stated no. I was left with no good option.

Through it all Uhaul reps were not sympathetic and kept on saying, "I don't know what to tell you", when I would ask why and what happened. First and absolutely last time I use Uhaul. I have used both Budget Truck and Penske before and never had any issues and received significantly better service.

EDMONTON -- Complaint about a Canadian U-Haul at Edmonton (9521-51st avenue, Edmonton, AB T6E4W8 Canada). Complete dissatisfaction with the unprofessional services and disrespect demonstrated by several staff members. The experience has left us with the impression that U-Haul's advertising is completely false and we will not be recommending your business to anyone in the near future.

We booked a 26' truck at U-Haul online more than 3 weeks in advance for our planned household move. We were supposed to have it at 9 am. My husband arrived at the pick up location on time but was told to wait. The staff members did not have the courtesy to give a word of explanation as to the status of the rental despite my husband having asked several times.

He was finally told at 10:15 am that there was no truck available and that he could register on a waiting list in case a vehicle suddenly became available. My husband was very dissatisfied as he had waited for so long for nothing, and also considering that he had asked for a day off at work and that several people were also waiting at home to help us move. This created a huge loss of time for several people.

My husband decided that U-Haul had wasted enough of our time and decided to leave and asked for a refund as per the slogan you so proudly display on your website as €œ$50 back if we can€™t provide you with the vehicle you booked€. Not only did the staff member tell him it was not possible to give him this refund because he had changed his reservation (and please note SHE had changed the reservation by putting him on a waiting list) but in addition, if he left, he would be charged for not picking up the vehicle without a 24 h notice.

This was completely inappropriate as you not only failed to meet your commitments in the first place, you then expect your customers to pay for multiple mistakes due to mismanagement and poor organization. My husband, who does not speak fluent English, as we arrived from France last year, asked for better explanations. Other customers present had supported him, saying it was ridiculous to take so many online reservations without checking the availability. He was then referred to your on-site manager. She was obviously not happy to deal with the situation.

Several times while my husband was trying to find his words in English, the on-site manager interrupted him and prevented him from speaking by talking louder and louder without listening to him. My husband finally lost his temper and demanded that she let him speak.

Suddenly, she portrayed herself as a victim, claiming she would not tolerate his attitude and that she was calling the police. For what? For having not been able to do her job respectfully and properly? For having taken advantage of someone who could not communicate as easily as she could? For choosing to ignore a problem she was supposed to deal with as a manager and for which U-Haul is completely responsible for? This is a much more serious problem than mere incompetence or unprofessional customer service.

Her attitude, mixing bad faith and dishonesty, is an intolerable lack of respect for my husband, as a customer first, but as a person above all, that should not be tolerated from anyone.

It is a shame for a company such as yours, internationally recognized, claiming to be the largest moving operator, to offer such poor quality service (incompetent and disrespectful) as your agents and manager displayed. After reviewing the many bad customer reviews on your website, it can be clearly seen that I am not inventing or dramatizing the situation. There are many similar disrespectful situations presented there. For the reasons discussed above, I have sent this letter to you and I intend to forward this complaint to anyone dedicated to these kinds of issues.

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND -- I have rented a U-Haul truck previously for all of my moves - from my first apartment, to my first house, to my current residence. However, I must say that the time that I rented a 26-foot truck on March 4, 2006 from an authorized Shell station in Annapolis, MD. was and is the last time I will ever do so.

As an inconvenience to me, I had to pick the truck up from a location that was 20 miles away from my home when I lived less than a quarter of a mile away from a U-Haul location - a customer svc. rep. told me that my truck would be shipped to the convenient location and that didn't happen. And when I arrived to pick up the U-Haul truck, the gas gauge was broken but the representative made a note of it and assured me that it was full of gas. I drove it off the lot and when I reached the highway nearby, I was only able to drive 10 miles per hour in a 55-MPH zone; the speedometer, odometer, signals, and safety hazard lights did not work.

As this was the day of my move and a paid moving team awaited my prompt return with the truck, I contacted a serviceman and went to Budget, which graciously had a large, fully operational truck available. Now to my utter frustration, U-Haul refuses to refund me for the charge made on 3/4/06 of $144.72 and on 3/20/06 U-Haul decided to charge my MasterCard an additional $206.91 for towing, as if it was my fault that the lemon truck broke down and endangered MY safety!

I contacted a representative prior to the second charge posting and she said that it was not in her power to issue any refunds but she gave me the Phoenix, AZ customer service info and said I could debate the charge of $144.72 and I would not have to worry about ANY ADDITIONAL charges. So unfortunately that was not accurate, just like when a rep told me my truck would be shipped to a convenient location, because indeed I have been charged $206.91 for a truck that was a total LEMON - I as the customer am penalized.

There are some very helpful representatives who have lent an empathetic ear who I am sure hear horror stories and atrocities that U-Haul "family" endure constantly. My suggestion to anyone considering renting a U-Haul truck - DON'T DO IT.

My suggestion to U-Haul online - please don't penalize U-Haul "family" when U-Haul equipment is not functional. Improve the technological quality of your vehicles and make the truck pickup process convenient and both U-Haul as well as U-Haul "family" will be happy.

Anyone who has access to a computer can do a web search on U-Haul and find thousands of blogs and complaints about service and equipment; I only wish I had done the online search prior to my reservation. It would have saved me stress, worry and money. Now I will eagerly join the thousands of dissatisfied U-Haul customers with online postings, complaints, and a formal letter to the Better Business Bureau.

LEAGUE CITY, VIRGINIA -- My recent experience with U-HAUL tells me that they care only about the money, not the customer... On Feb. 1, 2006, I went to my local U-HAUL dealer to rent a 26 ft truck for a move. That day, it was pouring down rain. After getting the transaction started, they pulled a truck around for me to get the mileage off of it. When the guy got out of the truck, he stated that I would have to roll down the window, as the inside release did not work. I went back inside, told them that this was unacceptable, especially in the severe rain.

After 3 other trucks with various safety problems, they found yet another truck, and again, brought this one around. This one seemed at first glance to be better. Only issue was a manual transmission, but, since I have driven them before, did not see a problem. Because it was raining, I noted the mileage, and signed the contract. By this time, the wind had picked up, and it was raining so very hard, I could not see the front of the hood of the truck.

Well, after traveling about 2 miles, a car jumped in front of me, causing me to have to hit the brakes...would have been fine IF the air brakes worked!! No air pressure was the indication on the dash, so I reached for the emergency brake, and...no brake!! Well, I changed lanes quickly to avoid an accident. When I finally got home, the brakes returned to normal, but, still no emergency brake.

Anyway, got the truck loaded, and shut down and locked up the truck for the night (3:15am!). At 7:00 am the next morning, a knock on the door...the police officer needed me to move my U-Haul truck because it was blocking the road. Much to my surprise, it had rolled down the driveway, and into the street, blocking the traffic. I moved it back into the driveway, and set the emergency brake, and it seemed this time to hold. Went to breakfast. Came back, and the truck was in the street AGAIN! Moved truck to the street.

Called UHaul, and requested to have someone look at it. After waiting for 3 hours, called again, and they stated that they had nobody that could come until tomorrow, and that as long as the truck was drivable at all, I needed to bring it back to them. Well, my movers, whom I am paying by the hour, called me from the new house, and wanted to know when I was going to arrive.

I told them that I would be right there, so moved the truck to my new location, and unloaded...I took the truck back to them, and when I tried to tell them of the numerous problems, they very passively said "We'll look at it." I have also found out that they, at the recommendation of U-HAUL Corporate, place the new(er) trucks on one-way, and the older trucks, on local only. The thought is that if it breaks down, local is easier for them to work.

However, it seems that by doing that, they also have the attitude that: (1) screw the local user, he doesn't need the automatic trans, or the emergency brake, or, even hazard lights; (2) the local person doesn't mind having a truck that is really no longer road worthy...he should be grateful for what he can get... Well, my take is, SAFETY is not a concern for the local user as far as U-HAUL is concerned. Next time, I will utilize someone else...U-HAUL is NO-HAUL in my book!!!

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- I sent this email to the CEO Joe Schoen:

"I've run into a sticky situation with your U-Haul's of Brooklyn NY. I think you would be interested to know that there are some poor practices going on in that area. I scheduled myself to pick up a truck at the New Utrecht location at 10 am ((718) 232-1400). I'm not complaining about the service at this location, although I should. I counted 25 people in line on a Sunday morning at 10 am and we were all there for an hour or more in line. It just didn't move. I did get my truck, having arrived early, received it at 10:30 am (my pickup time was 10). No biggie, right? OK.

My scheduled drop off time was 10 pm, same location (contract number **). When I arrived at 10 pm the location was closed with a big fence locked around the place. There was no drop box for keys, as my contract indicated there would be. Perplexed, I called U-Haul Customer Service (1-800-GO-U-Haul) and spoke with two fine ladies, ** and **, who both told me to take it to the nearest location with a drop box. I didn't like this solution, but I had no other option, I live in the city without a car and it's a decent-sized headache to get to these U-Haul locations.

So off I go to the closest U-Haul with a drop box, 88 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY‎ - (718) 788-3370. This location is so awful, it should be immediately stripped of any right to the name of U-Haul. There is a chained dog which greets the visitors with vicious barking. There is a non-English speaking employee handling the drop-offs. He made me move the van 3 times before I gave up and handed him the keys. He refused the keys so I put them in the drop box myself, and left. I walked under a dark bridge to the nearest subway station in Brooklyn at night thanks to the unclear policies of the New Utrecht U-Haul. But wait, there's more.

The next day I have my $80 mandatory pre-payment from U-Haul on my card PLUS a $143.78 charge for dropping off the U-Haul truck at the wrong location. The location which U-Haul told me to drop it off at. And that's nothing to mention the gas I used and the miles I used (which I will have to get reimbursed for) to get to the new location. So now you see my $19.99 truck has cost $220. Not good.

The worst part was being shuffled around general customer service, the regional district, the New Utrecht store, and the non English speaking Park Slope address. I would particularly like to point out that ** at 718-522-4924 who is a reservation manager kept me on hold for no less than an hour and a half and a couple of times, pretended she hadn't already spoke with me, and rudely told me repeatedly that it was my fault, despite listening to my explanations.

My request is this: a full refund for the $80.00, plus any additional mileage or gasoline fees New Utrecht U-Haul might add on, plus a refund for the $143.78. I've had an awful experience and I would appreciate your support at this time. I have used U-Haul before and had a very positive experience, I hope we can resolve this matter in a manner that benefits both of us. Thank you for your time."

PLEASANT VALLEY, MISSOURI -- This is perhaps more on safety storage: 7101 Stewart Rd, Pleasant Valley - (816) 781-0007. I made reservation # ** on 11/06/09 for a truck and tow dolly. The safety storage lady called me back as U-Haul promised right at 6 pm on Friday night (thought that was latest time they would, not actual time).

The clerk, a woman, called and repeatedly asked for me, I repeated phrases like "speaking", "this is him", "you're talking to him" before the incompetent could comprehend that they were actually talking to me. All the while being extremely irritating by not disclosing who they were or the nature of the call. I believe with the name repeating and what not, it may well have been 3 minutes before she even would say who and what she wanted. Not a good start.

I arrived this morning to pick up the equipment, and was surprised to see the equipment I ordered was not even on the lot. I entered the store, gave ID, CC, etc. to learn my order had been changed from a car dolly to a trailer. I asked if there was a cost difference and she replied she did not know and it should not be much if so. This made me fee uncomfortable yet I played along, trying to get to the bottom line what's it really going to cost me.

I expressed my fears of a cost difference and my hesitations on the difference between my internet order and what I was actually receiving and the possible cost difference. It was at this point the woman picked up the papers I had already signed and told me to forget it then. I asked her what she meant and she flew off in some tirade about me belching in her face (???) and told me to get the hell out of there.....

WTF!??? Not only do I have no reflection of belching or passing any other bodily gasses, just some poor stiff trying to move. Long story short, my card was charged $292.19 for equipment that I did not receive or use with a promise of a refund some 7-10 days from now. The best part is that I have this weekend to evacuate this house and move or be homeless. I now have no money to rent a truck or trailer from anyone and no other way to move my belongings some 200 miles.

Was on the telephone the rest of this morning trying to get a refund receipt number to expedite the refund and after 3 hours, that was not forthcoming either, so here I sit with packed belongings, no truck and no cash left to rent one. Most are happy to rush in a cashless society, remember this story well before you hand your card out to anyone you could be on the street and penniless too.

Thanks U-Haul for nothing, you are all a bunch of crooks, mostly safety storage of the Kansas city area. Stay way away from these people. I notice they try to gloss over their incompetence here with replies. I spent my time this morning trying to get another truck or a direct refund. It was not forthcoming and will never be for any other either. They are crooks.

TORONTO -- ***UPDATE*** After U-Haul offered me some useless coupons in exchange for the nightmare move they stuck me with, I got the paperwork to file a civil claim against them and sent them the contents of my claim. Briefly, my intent was to sue them for the total cost of my move, including the rental fees, gas for the wrong truck they gave me as well as gas for my personal vehicle, legal paperwork fees, hired help fees and punitive fines in the maximum amount of $10,000. I was ready to go - on principal alone.

U-Haul had a rep contact me and I was issued a full refund for the rental and gas for the rental as well as my personal vehicle, in addition to the $35 I spent on small claims court paperwork. FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS - UNTIL YOU DO, THEY WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE UNWILLING TO FIGHT.

ORIGINAL POST: U-Haul made this the single worst moving experience I've ever had. What was carefully planned to be an easy 4 hr move turned into a grueling 18hr marathon from hell. We made reservations for a 14ft MOVING TRUCK (or larger). Sometime mid-afternoon the day before our move, we were called by U-Haul and informed that they could only provide us with a tiny regular van – or we could pick up the truck we made reservations for 200 kilometers (120 miles) from our location (that's 400km before we could even start loading the truck!!!).

We were moving from one city to another, and U-Haul was made aware of this when we made reservations. It would not have taken a stroke of genius to inconvenience someone moving locally with a smaller vehicle than to do this to people moving to a different town, nearly 100 km away.

Additionally, their customer service representatives were rude, under-trained, and besides what I believe was breach of contract, their staff engaged in record falsification. For example, U-Haul's records of our telephone conversations state that I agreed to a van pick up. I did not agree to this. I was GOADED into it through lack of choice due to U-Haul's failure to provide the services it contracted to offer me when I made my reservation.

Finally, U-Haul's failures resulted in substantial additional expense in labour costs (400% over budget), as well as fuel costs (3 return trips from Toronto to Acton versus the budgeted single one-way trip). My time is also very valuable and I cannot put a price on it - U-Haul cannot refund me my time. I am completely disgusted with this company and its irresponsible, thoughtless, & sub-standard employees and suggest to that a complete refund of my costs would hardly be a satisfactory outcome. As far as I'm concerned, they should be run out of business completely.

I would love to hear from a reputable class action law firm how running a business that compromises people's situations to such a large degree can possibly be legal. I can only imagine how many countless other U-Haul customers have been victimized by their outrageous business practice.