This is a complaint that I wrote about Uhaul in 2007. At the time, I didn't know about this website, so I didn't post here. Just this past week, a co-worker had a similar experience with Uhaul, so I dug up my old letter to share it here. Nothing was ever done about my complaint.

Iam writing to express my disappointment with the services that I received from Uhaul within the past week. On Friday, June 1, 2007, I called to reserve a 26’ moving van. This being my first time renting from Uhaul, I was not aware that it may take several days for the equipment to become available. This did not cause an immediate problem, but the problem is that Uhaul does not make it clear that it could possibly take days to locate equipment.

The reason for my move is that I was starting a new job on Monday June 4, 2007. Had I known up front that it would be Monday before I got a moving truck, I would have paid extra to rent from another company that had plenty of trucks on their lot. Because I wasn’t able to get a truck until Monday, I was forced to start my job two days late, which did not go over well with my new employer.

More importantly, I would like to make you aware of the incident that occurred on the Sunday prior to me receiving the equipment. Since it was imperative that I move as soon as possible, I drove around town looking for Uhaul store that had a 26’ truck on their lot. When I found one, I called the regional office at 800-282-5730 and informed them. The operator told me that she did not have particular truck in her computer, so it must not have been checked in. As I walked inside the store, I met the attendant outside who told me that the truck was not reserved by anyone and that she would rent it to me. She told me to come inside and wait in line.

As I waited, I learned that the four customers ahead of me all wanted to rent smaller trucks, so I was sure that I would be able to begin moving that day. Unfortunately, the attendant rented the 26’ one-way truck to a customer in line ahead of me who was only moving locally. I reminded the attendant that she had told me that I could have that truck and that I have a reservation. She told me that that customer’s reserved truck had not yet been turned in and that she had called her manager, who told her to rent the 26’ truck to the customer. She then checked the computer for my reservation and told me that it had not yet been downloaded to her computer. I offered her my reservation number, but she said it didn’t matter because it wasn’t in the computer at all.

The problem with this is:
The attendant rented the truck to another customer AFTER it was promised to me.
The attendant did not even bother to tell me “Ma’am, I will have to rent this truck to someone else, because her truck is not in. I apologize for the inconvenience, but my manager says this is what I have to do.”
There were other trucks on the lot that she could have rented to the customer, but she chose to rent the one she had promised to me.
She lied and said that she had called her manager and the manager advised her to rent the truck. At no point while I was there, did she speak to a manager on the phone. I was watching and listening the whole 45 minutes that I waited in line.
I understand that it is Uhaul’s right to upgrade a customer to a larger truck if a smaller one is unavailable, but when this is done at the expense of another customer, it becomes unethical.
My reservation was not in the computer. Was this an oversight? Why was my reservation not in the computer?

Upon leaving the store, I called the 800# again. I believe I spoke to Sharon . I explained the situation to her, and she stated that the customer’s reservation was made before mine and even though the 26’ truck was promised to me, they still had to give it to someone else. I asked for a number to call to make a complaint and was given the number to Uhaul International (800-528-0463). After remaining on hold for 17 minutes, a male representative came on the phone and asked for my name, reservation number, and phone number, and asked if my problem was “unavailable equipment”. He took no other information from me and informed me that someone would be calling me back within two hours. No one called me back at all, in reference to my complaint.

As I sat in my car feeling helpless and mistreated, I decided to call the regional office back, to see if something could be done to rectify the situation, because it was imperative that I move immediately. Again, I believe it was Sharon that I spoke to. I explained to her that I did not feel it was right that the store clerk rented a truck that she had verbally promised me, and that I did not believe that this was Uhaul’s standard practice and procedure, taking a truck that was promised to one customer to give it to the next. I understood that the other customer’s truck was not available, but since there were other trucks on the lot, I did not think that it was fair since I was present in the store. I also did not feel like I should have to suffer because my reservation was not in the computer. At this point, Sharon began to raise her voice at me and told me that I could “…either wait, or she could cancel my reservation!” I asked her, “Why are you raising your voice at me?” She said, “I’m not raising my voice, YOU are the one who’s trying to talk over me!” I said, “No, I’m not.” She said, “Have a nice day, ma’am.” She then hung up the phone in my face! Again, I was left feeling helpless and in tears, in the presence of my child. I understand that the representative may have been frustrated with me calling, but this is absolutely no way to treat a customer, or any other human being. This was totally unprofessional. Moving was a big deal for me and Uhaul made the experience a nightmare.

I implore you to PLEASE go back and review the tape of this conversation. You will find that your representative was completely out of line.

I then called the international number again, to make another complaint. I spoke with Francisco and Diane. They told me that I would have to call the regional office in order to speak to management directly. They gave me this number: 706-569-3372. This number only connected me to the person that I was complaining about. I did speak with her again. She told me that she was the reservation manager. I stated that I did not wish to discuss reservations and that I would like to speak with someone who manages the reservation managers. She gave me the name of Virginia Romo, but stated that she will not be in the office until 8:30am Monday morning. Later that evening, I received notice that a reservation had been made for the following morning, so I did not proceed to contact Ms. Romo, as I needed to go ahead and move as soon as possible.

I am extremely disappointed with the service that I have received from Uhaul. To me, the name Uhaul was synonymous with professionalism and excellence. When I needed to move, Uhaul was the first company that I called. Initially, I was impressed with your rates and mileage allowance, which gives you an edge over the competition. On the contrary, the service that I received has tainted that image, making it worth the extra money to go with another company. I will never use Uhaul again. As a result of my experience, I also will not recommend your company to anyone else, and will more than likely share this horrible experience with many others. A friend has suggested that I post my complaint on www.planetfeedback.com, as well as other venues, and I am seriously considering it. Uhaul has made a very bad impression on me and has ruined what was supposed to be a fresh start in a new city .

Revently I rented a truck from Uhaul - in addition to the very rough customer service they have, they printed me a wrong initial odometer millage reading in my receipt, and charged me for many more miles. My fault, infact was, trusting them and not cross checking the millage of the car with the print out - when the guy walked out and checked the truck, I assumed that he made sure of everything- but not - he deliberatly let that happen to take more of my money. SO DO NOT TRUST THE CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSONNELS. ALWAYS D ONT TRUST THEM, AND CHECK EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU DRIVE THE CAR OUT OF THEIR LOT. OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE HARASED AND HARSHLY TREATED BY THEM!!

The worst ever Customer Service and on top of that from the GM of that store I am soo pissed about the rental..the gas mileage ...and overall service ...If anyone out there knows who I need to complain to about Uhaul and get results please let me know by email dcooper667@gmail .com

I got suckered by the $19.95 a day rental ad plastered all over their rental vehicles. Only fter scheduling a delivery, I learned there is not only a $.79 per mile charge, you also have to fill the tank, lest you be charged another $30. So, my 35.5 mile rental ended up costing me 4 times as much as the $19.95 - yes I was charged a whoppping $80 for a what is really a very little trip. I ended up putting another $19.99 for gas, which means the vehicle got me 2 miles per gallon. Talk about false advertisement! What a Rip-Off.

We rented an uhaul truck from Brandon Florida. The sales person that rented the truck to us showed us a fuel gauge on the computer screen. The gauge showed it was 3/4 full; we drove the truck straight to Sarasota. After removing a dresser and twin bed we went to Hess gas station, and put $16.00 in the truck. The gauge read a hair above 3/4 full; I then drove the truck to uhaul five minutes away. When I arrived at uhaul it was 7:15 and the gauge showed 3/4 full. I put the keys in a drop box while a person closed the door. He directed me to drop the keys in the drop box; he would not take the keys himself. A few days later my wife checked her card and there was a charge for $54.00 on our card. When we called them to find out what the charge was for they stated that it was a fuel charge for not returning the truck with the same amount of gas as when we took off from Brandon. The employee insisted I was lying and was trying to screw them. And that they were not going to refund the charge of 54.00 to our credit card.