The Boycott Uhaul Page

 

UHAUL SCREWED ME

The Setup
In the beginning of the year, I was going to move across town due to my skyrocketing rent.  I decided that instead of making 10 trips in my parent's minivan, I'd rent a truck and make the move in 1 trip.  I saw a sign like this one and decided that uhaul had decent prices.  I had heard stories of mechanical problems with uhauls, but since I was just going across town, I wasn't worried about it.  I decided to go for the medium sized, 14 foot truck just to make sure I could do it in 1 trip.  I knew there was a per mile charge, but I expected it to be something like 10 cents per mile...not a major factor.

The Pick-up
January 3rd, 1998 I went to the uhaul to pick up the truck I made reservations for.  I got there at 9:45, just after they opened.  I was in a hurry because I had to be at the new place for a cable install 'between 11am and 2pm'.  The place didn't look like much...it was one of those houses that have been converted into an office.

Problem #1 - The Wait
I walked in and there was 1 guy ahead of me.  I ended up waiting over an hour for the uhaul guy to help the guy ahead of me.  It turned out this company was really a security company that did uhaul on the side. The guy didn't really care about the uhaul customers and didn't know how to work the uhaul computer.  Evidently they let just anyone become a uhaul dealer, and don't give them any training.  I waited over an hour while he was on and off the phone with someone at the uhaul headquarters trying to figure out the computer.  This made me seriously late.

 
Problem #2 - The Scam
When he finally did get to me, we got thru the paperwork rather quickly, and we walked out to the truck.  The truck he gave me sure looked like a 10 foot truck.  It even said in huge numbers on the side of the truck, now only 19.95!!   I asked the guy about it and he 'explained' that regardless of what the truck said, the rate for the truck was $29.95, and that's what he charged me.  I even confirmed later with uhaul that the DCxxxx truck number was indeed $29.95.  Can you say BAIT AND SWITCH???  And if that wasn't enough, the per mile charge was 49 cents!!  This thing was $30 in mileage alone!!  Half of that was the trip back to return the truck, and they wouldn't let me return it to a uhaul closer to my destination!!
 
What I got
What I paid for
 
Problem #3 - The Wonderful Customer Service
We walked out to the truck and when I saw he was giving me a 10 foot truck that said $19.95 in big numbers on the side, I question him about it.  He literally went off on me, seriously yelling.  He was yelling about this is this kind of truck and that's what it cost.  I had done nothing to provoke that kind of response!  He was screaming at me so much, I couldn't even talk to him rationally, So I just drove off pissed.  I have never been spoken to in this manner and could not believe anyone could remain in business with an attitude like this.

The Return
The uhaul guy seemed rational when I returned the truck, so I thought I'd give him a chance to apologize.  I said to him 'I really didn't appreciate you yelling at me earlier, It was very unprofessional'. His reply was 'I think you're a little young to be lecturing me about what professional is'; and he proceeded to yell at me again!  Now, I'm only 26, but that should have nothing to do with this situation.  I informed him that I was going to inform uhaul and the BBB about his behavior that went beyond rude, and he simply said 'go ahead'.

 
The Result
So, to sum up, my goal was to get everything moved in 1 trip, pay $35 - $40, and get to my destination in time to meet the cable guy.  The truck was so small, I didn't get everything moved in 1 trip.  I had to borrow my parent's minivan, and make 3 additional trips.  The total bill ended up being over $60.  This brings up another point.  I made the reservation a month in advance.  They charged my visa card a deposit of $80 when I made the reservation and refunded the difference when I dropped off the truck.  That $80 sat on my card for a month!  That's unacceptable.  To top all this off, they made me so late, I missed the cable install and I had to wait 2 weeks before I could be free to get another appointment.  So I had to put up with crappy reception for that time.


I'm not the only one they've screwed..here's a testimonial from a friend:

> When my ex-girlfriend rented a Uhaul to move across the country we got a
> terrible truck! The thing wouldn't start most of the time and finally, it
> went completely dead in the middle of nowhere! Uhaul had to come and get
> us. We were taken to a small garage in a REALLY small town in Colorado.
> The starter was bad. They didn't have a part. Their recommendation? They
> got it started for us and said.. "just don't shut the truck off" We still
> had at least 5 - 6 hours left in our trip! So we left the engine on. Had
> to fill up the gas tank.. left the engine on. TERRIBLE! They wasted our
> time. She called for a refund. The bill which was originally, about
> $1000, was reduced by $118. Still, I think it should have been at least 1
> / 2 off!

 
Please join me in boycotting uhaul, especially the one in Blue Ash in Cincinnati, Oh.
 
If anyone would like to prank call or any other type of revenge:
10792 Kenwood Rd, Cincinnati, Oh 45242
513-794-0120   ask for Dave
 
 These pictures were taken with my Sharp VE-LC1U digital camera.  Check out the details.