I pit Uhaul! Or: Anybody can just take a reservation! It's holding it that matters!

[Debaser]

Yesterday I needed to move some things from my SO's parents house to a storage unit. They are moving out of state and we would like to keep lots of stuff that would otherwise be thrown away.

Several weeks in advance I reserved a 10 foot Uhaul truck for a one way trip of less than 100 miles to get the items from the house to a Uhaul storage center in my town.

The day before the move, I get a phone call from what sounded like the stammering 17 year old pimple faced clerk boy from the Simpsons. He tells me that they do not as yet have a truck for me. I tell him that I have a reservation and will be needing a truck. He assures me that they will have a truck once one is returned. He actually uses the word "guarantee".

Since I have been now guaranteed the truck which I had already reserved, I proceeded to just wish for the best. I drove an hour and a half and showed up at the Uhaul at openning time: 9 am. I sigh with relief as we pull into the lot because there are several trucks sitting about. Surely, one of them is for us to use.

It was not to be. I am told inside that my truck isn't there. I tell him I don't need a 10 foot truck, I'll take anything. He persists. I can't have any of the trucks. While I am waiting other customers show up and pick up the other trucks right in front of me. I ask why they have reservations that seem to matter while my reservation is seemingly useless.... the clerk insists that all customers are equally important.

****************

This is where I lose it. You see, I'm not a highly emotional person. I don't enjoy giving people a hard time, and I don't enjoy arguing with people. I still tip waitresses even when the meal sucks, because I know it's not thier fault. You get the idea.

But this clerks' seemingly intentional ignorance about the situation just pissed me off. I demanded that I get a truck. I asked why I was getting screwed over while other customers where getting trucks ahead of me.

He insisted that the problem was that I was a one way move. All these trucks are in town trucks, he said. They must be dropped off here. I needed a truck that day. So, seeing as it was my only option I said OK, fine. I'll take an in town truck and return it here. Finally, a solution.

Nope. He tells me he still doesn't have any trucks. I look out the window and point to a 14 foot truck sitting in front of the building. "Give me the truck!" I tell him. He says that that is someone elses truck. Now he's just busted. I tell him that now I know he is full of it. The one logical reason that he gave me has been taken away and he still isn't giving me a truck.

I never used profanity and didn't use any personal insults or anything like that. I didn't want to piss him off and needed a truck that day. We went for a drive to get a bite to eat and some time to think. I called other places to try and get another truck, which is difficult at the last minute.

When we return, the clerk has good news for us! Someone cancelled and now we can have a truck.

We get a 14 foot truck. This is too big for our needs and our stuff bounces around inside. We had reserved the smaller 10 foot truck on purpose.

We get the truck in town. This means that we have to drive it back (3 hour round trip) once we are done with it. It also means that we have to pay more money for this, because we are now paying for mileage.

So, we have something that we didn't want at a higher price than we were promised and it's completely inconvenient as well! We've also wasted half the day dealing with this shit. Good job Uhaul!

Once the truck is unloaded I decide that I'm going to fight back. I call up the Uhaul where we rented from and ask what will happen if we don't return the truck.

Clerk tells me "Then you would be abandoning the truck."

I say "No, I'm not. I'm leaving it right here, at a Uhaul location."

Clerk says if I don't return the truck he will call the police and report it stolen.

I tell him that this is absurd. The police would simply be angry with him for wasting thier time. I offer to call the police in both the departing and destination towns to explain my story and tell them where I am leaving the truck.

Clerk doesn't bring up the police again.

I ask him how much he will charge me for not returning the truck.

He says "A lot." After pressing him he says $150. The clerks at the location where I am actually say that they might charge me for the cost of the truck: $30,000. I tell them to go ahead and try.

I let the clerk on the phone know that I will dispute any bills greater than the original $177 one way charge for the deal I had made three weeks ago. I apologize to the clerks at the destination Uhaul because this wasn't their fault and I was not rude to them.

I call my credit card company to find out how much Uhaul has charged me. $1. Just enough to run my card, and the massive damage hasn't hit yet. I tell my credit card people the situation and that I don't want to pay Uhaul and any punishment charges from them will be disputed by me. They suggest turning off the card for a while so it can't be charged. Great idea. Card is now off.

I went home and made a martini, and it tasted damn good. Big companies all to often step all over the people they do business with. It's fine for them to back out of a deal (the reservation) and screw me over. But, when I try to do the same thing back to them, they can just charge away on my credit card as punishment. Or so they thought.

Just because it's the right thing to do, I will pay them the amount originally agreed upon for the one way trip. I'll eventually send them a check and turn my card back on. If they do charge me on that card ever, then I will fight them with my last breath. Just because I'm joe sixpack and they are a mutlinational corporation with armies of lawyers doesn't mean that they can push me around. Fuck em.

Oh, and I'm now on "the list" and can no longer rent from Uhaul. Bloody fucking shame that is.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Oh, and I'm now on "the list" and can no longer rent from Uhaul. Bloody fucking shame that is.
Sounds like this worked out perfectly :)

[Sauron]

My computer is acting wonky at the moment, or I would search for other U-Haul threads. Suffice it to say they have been well and roundly Pitted in the past for just this type of behavior.

I have rented from U-Haul in the past, and gotten good service. However, U-Haul sells franchises, and apparently gives little or no guidance to the franchisees. As a result, a local business who owns a U-Haul franchise is apparently free to set whatever draconian policies it wishes. So your U-Haul experience is based on how well the local business runs the franchise.

Believe it or not, your tale actually has a happier ending than many that have been relayed on this board.

[GaWd]

Well, I had a whole "evil corporation" rant composed about Uhaul fucking the little guy repeatedly until I accidentally clicked some stupid, obscure fucking button on my new mouse that apparently is the same as "back" on my browser. One evil empire(Microsoft mouse) prevented a grade 'A' rant about another evil empire from being posted.

Anywho, Uhaul has screwed many a consumer. Your story isn't uncommon or even rare. I've had 2 such experiences. Unfortunately, Uhaul screws lots of people over, but there's little or no economical impact on them for playing these games with people.

You need to move. For that you will need a truck. Since you're going to be busting your hump to get it all in, done, and completed as fast as possible, you'll want the easiest truck to load and unload. You'd like A/C and a working radio. You'd like something that will reliably make it down the road, too.

Who do you call? Uhaul of course. Independent moving companies usually have crappy trucks that have been beat down and are probably even a double-clutch manual tranny. The A/C died 100,000 miles ago and it only has an AM radio with one speaker still working, kinda. THe suspension is worked, and the deck is 4 or 5 feet high-a huge height for a woman of 5'3"(like my wife) to hand me stuff to load.

With the churn Uhaul has on trucks, they most always have good quality rigs with working A/C, stereos and a nice low deck so you can easily load stuff(but not always, I know).

You can see the attraction here, I'm sure. FYI, last time I rented a Penske with a Tommy Lift so I didn't have to rent from those fuckers at Uhaul.

Here's another person's experience: http://www.thepeters.org/uhaul.htm

Sam

[Annie]

Wasn't this an episode of Seinfeld?

"We have your reservation Mr. Seinfeld. We just don't have a car available for you."

[neuroman]

Way to stick it to the man, Debaser. Of course, UHaul treats all its customers equally. It's just that some are treated more equally than others. :D

I'm starting to think of reserving two trucks (and cancelling one) the next time I do a major move, just so this kind of sh*t doesn't happen to me.

[Mayfield St. Cloud]

You are not alone...

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=201231

[Really Not All That Bright]

Who do you call? Uhaul of course. Independent moving companies usually have crappy trucks that have been beat down and are probably even a double-clutch manual tranny. The A/C died 100,000 miles ago and it only has an AM radio with one speaker still working, kinda. THe suspension is worked, and the deck is 4 or 5 feet high-a huge height for a woman of 5'3"(like my wife) to hand me stuff to load.
Ryder has always worked pretty well for me too.

[mhendo]

Excellent rant. Uhaul is a bunch of slimy cunts, and more power to you for coming out on top in this all-too-common scenario.

One question: Did you make your original reservation at the local office, or with Uhaul's central office (either 1-800 number or uhaul.com)? Because if you did the latter, then that was your first mistake.

You see, Uhaul's central reservation system will just keep taking reservations, no matter how many it gets, and no matter whether or not there's actually a truck available at the relevant Uhaul location. They then leave it to the local franchisees to sort out the mess on Saturday mornings when twenty people turn up to rent 6 trucks.

When my partner and i moved house a few months ago, we went to the local Uhaul office and made our reservation in person with the guy at the counter. I made it clear to him that i knew about Uhaul's shady reservation practices, and that if we didn't receive a truck on the day we booked, then all hell would break loose.

He was completely sympathetic, and i got the feeling that he hates the Uhaul corporation as much as any fucked-over customer does. He said he often just keeps getting reservation after reservation from the Uhaul system, even when all his trucks are already booked. Complaining to the company doesn't help, he said. We discussed the fact that sometimes people sue Uhaul over non-provision of services, and he told me that if the judgment goes against the company, the money actually comes from the local franchise in question and, in the end, comes out of the staff's annual bonuses.

Neuroman, be careful aobut the two truck scenario, because if you leave it too late you could end up getting stuck with a $100 cancellation fee, even though they've probably got another 10 people ready and willing to take the cancelled truck.

[1010011010]

The last "In Town" truck I rented from U-Haul didn't appear to have a third gear. Nothing like screaming around town at 35 in a big ass orange truck.

[GaWd]

Ryder has always worked pretty well for me too.

Ryder has one of the highest decks out of all of the moving companies, and consequently one of the steepest ramps in the business. Not only did the last Ryder truck I rent ruin most of the casters on my toolboxes, but it's a REAL fucking bitch trying to push 600 pounds UP the ramp with broken casters.

So no, Ryder doesn't work that well either, IMO.

Sam

[Debaser]

I was thinking of the Seinfeld episode when I wrote the thread title.

I called the local office. Didn't even realize calling the central office was an option.

I have actually used Ryder in the past. They had a huge lot with tons of trucks. The truck was deisel and I asked how much I would be charged if I didn't fill it. They told me not to worry about it. They fill it up for you and only charge what a service station would to fill it up! Ryder is also cheaper than Uhaul considerably.

Ryder's only odd thing was that they are only open from 8-10 am on Saturday, closed the rest of the weekend. So, if you want a truck, you must show up at that time to get one. However, they let you return it by Monday and only charge you for one day, so it's a good deal.

I didn't use Ryder this time because there was a Uhaul location in both the departing and destination city. It seemed like it would be more convenient. I should have went a little out of my way and got Ryder.

[Debaser]

BTW, it's day two and I still haven't gotten a call from Uhaul. My card is still dis-activated.

I'm wondering how long I should wait before re-activating the card? If I re-activate it in a week, what's to stop them from just charging me then?

Also, I'm slightly worried that a bunch of my fiance's stuff is in a Uhaul storage locker. (The stuff in Storage is in a Uhaul center at the destination, not where we got the truck from.) I know Uhaul auctions off your stuff if you don't pay your monthly bill. Is it a possibility that they could use this as leverage against me to get me to pay the penalty charges for the truck I rented?

[Nutty Bunny]

I had the same "Seinfelian" conversation with a Ryder agent, when I moved from Raleigh, NC to Albany, NY about 6 years ago. I even remarked to my friend, who was standing there I couldn't believe I was acting out one of my favorite Seinfeld scenes of all time.

I had the reservation number, but no truck. I asked the person what the point is of having a reservation if there's no truck being reserved. My parents had come down from NY to help me move, plans were made, etc. I was livid! Moving that far is incredibly stressful as it is, I didn't need that hassle as well.

Anyway, it ended well, as the clerk found me a truck within a couple of hours of my meltdown in the office. But, chocolate Christ on a cookie cross, they really have to figure out a better way to serve their customers, rather than trying to get the most rentals they can by screwing the customers over!

[Nutty Bunny]

Crap. That would be "Seinfeldian".

[Ethilrist]

When we moved from Minneapolis to St. Paul (about a 10 minute drive), we had a whole houseful of stuff to move, so we reserved a 40 foot truck.

When we arrived there day of the move, they didn't have a 40 foot truck for us and instead rented us two 24-foot trucks for the same price. My wife was going to go off on them until I pointed out that, for the same money, we were getting 8 more feet of truck that was easier to drive and park...

[GrizzRich]

Didja ever read over the contract you sign when renting?
Last time I rented from U-Haul, there was a paragraph was amounted to "U-Haul shall be held harmless for any failure of the truck to perform".
That is, if the truck breaks down........too bad, so sad.

:confused:

[Carol the Impaler]

Yep, they suck.

Used UHaul for a move from Austin, TX to Omaha. We had to refill the wiper fluid (which we found out was dry after a pounding, muddy Texas rain as we're driving up the interstate!) and add oil!

I'll never use UHaul again. Used Penske for the move to Chicago. It was a dream! FM stereo, AC, comfy seats and a truck that easily maintained 65 mph with an almost full load.

Right now I'm moving to a different apartment in my building, so I needed just a dolly for the furniture. To my chagrin, UHaul is ubiquitous around here, and it didn't make much sense to go way out of my way to rent a $10-per-day dolly. Penske told me I could only rent a dolly if I rented a truck. Pondered actually doing that just to avoid the cluster fuck that is UHaul.

As fate would have it, we have one at work. And it folds down for handy CTA transport!

[Nutty Bunny]

But wait, there's more!

The truck I had would only go 55 MPH. That's it. You couldn't go faster because it had that "kickback" thing that wouldn't allow the truck to go any faster than that.

Not to mention the fact that to move from New York to North Carolina cost $1,500 for the truck rental, whereas moving from NC to NY cost about $170 for the same size truck. That's no typo, folks--fifteen HUNDRED dollars as opposed to one hundred seventy. I mean, okay, there was a huge migration of New Yorkers to North Carolina at the time (to find work), but that is a huge price difference. Apparently no one wanted to move back to NY, except me (the reason for moving back is a rant for another day). :rolleyes:

[GraphicsGal]

One question: Did you make your original reservation at the local office, or with Uhaul's central office (either 1-800 number or uhaul.com)? Because if you did the latter, then that was your first mistake.

that sometimes people sue Uhaul over non-provision of services, and he told me.

My local UHaul would not take a reservation and forced me to call the National number. I made my reservation for a 24ft truck a month in advance.

My move was on a Sunday. I call UHaul on Saturday to find out where I am supposed to pick up my truck. Nope, no reservation. After 2 hours on the phone in which I find out that National has my reservation but local does not (and they somehow cannot communicate)< I figure I am really fucked if I don't find a truck SOMEHWERE.

S I call Budget and yes, they have a truck...for $144.95...a mere $105 more than UHAUL. At that point, I gifured it was better to have a truck than worry about $105 bucks. Good thing, too, because UHaul, who guaranteed I would have a truck, stiffed me.

I did get my $5 reservation fee back, though.

[mhendo]

My local UHaul would not take a reservation and forced me to call the National number.When they tell you to do that, it basically means that they know they don't have a truck available, but that they are following the head office policy of never declining a reservation. If you try to book locally, and they tell you to book nationally, then just walk away and find another carrier.

At least you got the 5 bucks back. :)

[GraphicsGal]

When they tell you to do that, it basically means that they know they don't have a truck available, but that they are following the head office policy of never declining a reservation. If you try to book locally, and they tell you to book nationally, then just walk away and find another carrier.

At least you got the 5 bucks back. :)

Well, this is a handy little piece of info to know! Thanks a lot mhendo.

It is very sad that this kind of stuff goes on. How often does one have to rent a truck, and how is one supposed to know such tips? Where was this thread in the weeks before I moved on May 23?

And I WAS happy to get my $5 back. I hope the very snotty young woman I spoke with multiple times at Uhaul regional gets some sort of painful, chronic disorder that's named after me...

[liirogue]

Debaser, I would get her stuff out of there just to be safe. They just might try to use it as leverage.

[Debaser]

Debaser, I would get her stuff out of there just to be safe. They just might try to use it as leverage.

Ugh. Do you realize what a tremendous pain in the ass that will be?

(You may be right, though.)

Anybody have any knowledge on this?

[liirogue]

I recommend borrowing a pickup from a friend and just making several trips. Or renting from another company. IMHO, it isn't worth the risk, though I have no experience with your situation.

[ivylass]

Anybody have any knowledge on this?

IANAL, but you said she was your fiance, not your wife. Unless your name is also on the storage unit, I don't see how they can hold her responsible for your bill.

[Debaser]

It's under both names.

I don't think there will be a problem. It is a different Uhaul location that I have the dispute with than the one where the storage unit is. I'm hoping that they don't cooperate much, and are owned and operated seperately.

[Tastes of Chocolate]

I recommend borrowing a pickup from a friend and just making several trips. Or renting from another company.

I love the idea of pulling into a UHaul storage area in a Ryder truck.

[liirogue]

I love the idea of pulling into a UHaul storage area in a Ryder truck.
If you spin it right, Ryder might rent the truck for free... advertising in the lion's den and all that :p

[Giraffe]

Just to echo others in the thread, U-Haul sucks shit. Their uniformly awful customer service would be enough to make me never rent there again even if they did actually know how to take and hold a reservation, which they don't. I honestly can't believe they're still in business, considering how many people use their vehicles to move. When you move, you're already stressed out -- the last thing you need is to find out that you don't have a truck to move with on moving day. Yet it happens all the time.

I've had excellent luck with Ryder so far, though. No more U-Haul again, ever.

[Jackmannii]

When you move, you're already stressed out -- the last thing you need is to find out that you don't have a truck to move with on moving day. Yet it happens all the time.Well, their slogan is "Adventure in Moving".

[PunditLisa]

Are you sure that "de-activating" the card will work?

I know that companies can charge stuff to your credit card even after you cancel it, if you've signed a contract that says you'll pay. If not, I could check into the Ritz and stay a week. Then before check out I could just "de-activate" my credit card and take off. Right? :dubious:

[Cyros]

Are you sure that "de-activating" the card will work?

I know that companies can charge stuff to your credit card even after you cancel it, if you've signed a contract that says you'll pay. If not, I could check into the Ritz and stay a week. Then before check out I could just "de-activate" my credit card and take off. Right? :dubious:


When I worked for a credit card processing company I learned the 3 things needed for a company to charge your card.

1) Proof that the card was there. Either the receipt showing it was swiped (the receipt number will begin with an S) or an imprint of the card.

2) Proof that the customer was there. This would be your signature on the receipt.

3) An authorization number. When your card is charged or a pre-authorization for a charge goes through the credit card company gives an authorization number for the transaction to say that they did verify the funds were on the card and blocked them aside for the company.

If a company has these 3 things then you are pretty much stuck with the bill. If they are missing one or more, they can still charge the card but you can dispute the charge and the company will automatically lose.

[GraphicsGal]

When you move, you're already stressed out -- the last thing you need is to find out that you don't have a truck to move with on moving day. Yet it happens all the time.

This was EXACTLY my main bitch. I was beyond stressed when I moved. Having to spend several hours the day before my move (which was on a Sunday) screwing around with uncooperative and unhelpful people just made me want to scream.

I suspect that many people are so grateful to get the move behind them that they lose the will to write rafts of blistering letters to and about UHaul...

[Debaser]

Are you sure that "de-activating" the card will work?

I know that companies can charge stuff to your credit card even after you cancel it, if you've signed a contract that says you'll pay. If not, I could check into the Ritz and stay a week. Then before check out I could just "de-activate" my credit card and take off. Right? :dubious:

Sure. I don't see why you are skeptical of this. If the card is turned off, it cannot be charged by anyone. It's like cancelling it.

[duffer]

When I worked for a credit card processing company I learned the 3 things needed for a company to charge your card.

1) Proof that the card was there. Either the receipt showing it was swiped (the receipt number will begin with an S) or an imprint of the card.

2) Proof that the customer was there. This would be your signature on the receipt.

3) An authorization number. When your card is charged or a pre-authorization for a charge goes through the credit card company gives an authorization number for the transaction to say that they did verify the funds were on the card and blocked them aside for the company.

If a company has these 3 things then you are pretty much stuck with the bill. If they are missing one or more, they can still charge the card but you can dispute the charge and the company will automatically lose.

I'll take issue with this post in a minute.

debaser, first of all great rant! Well formed, well explained, well spoken. I've used U-Haul twice in my life for multi-state moves and never had a problem, but I'm usually lucky in these areas.

Cyros, I'm not going to challenge your work experience, but I will offer what I had happen as anecdotal evidence.

I tried to buy Valium over the 'net. It was an outfit based in Austrralia. 2 hours later the credit card company (Bank One) called to say the card was invalid as some company in Germany tried to charge $382. (In addition to the original fee.) The solution was the account was shut down and a new card with a new 16 digit number was issued.

In short, call the original card issuer, tell them any charges from the earliest date you can swing are not authorized, and you get a new account number. You still owe your original debt, but U-Haul doesn't have the new number to bill.

No guarantees, but it worked for us. Good luck with the move, btw.

[PunditLisa]

Sure. I don't see why you are skeptical of this. If the card is turned off, it cannot be charged by anyone. It's like cancelling it.

I'm thinking that if you signed the contract and secured it with a credit card, it can indeed be charged.

[Cyros]

Cyros, I'm not going to challenge your work experience, but I will offer what I had happen as anecdotal evidence.

I tried to buy Valium over the 'net. It was an outfit based in Austrralia. 2 hours later the credit card company (Bank One) called to say the card was invalid as some company in Germany tried to charge $382. (In addition to the original fee.) The solution was the account was shut down and a new card with a new 16 digit number was issued.

In short, call the original card issuer, tell them any charges from the earliest date you can swing are not authorized, and you get a new account number. You still owe your original debt, but U-Haul doesn't have the new number to bill.



Ah, but the difference is that over the 'net the company can have neither the proof that the card was there nor your signature authorizing the charge. To be honest, even if the charge had been legitimate, you could have disputed it and won (of course the credit card company keeps track of things like this so you can't just do it willy nilly [love that phrase]). I would venture a guess that the card was cancelled and a new number issued purely to prevent further fraudulent charges from appearing.

As far as telling your card company that any charges are not authorized, if a company can produce the proof the card was there, the proof you were there, and a valid authorization number then it doesn't matter if the card is cancelled, shredded, mangled or what. The combination of those 3 things is proof that you and the card were present at the time of the transaction and the credit card company verified that the card was active.

Of course, this hijack really doesn't relate to the issue in the OP as I doubt that they would have signed off on charges they weren't going to pay. I posted to clarify for PunditLisa.

[gotpasswords]

When we moved from Minneapolis to St. Paul (about a 10 minute drive), we had a whole houseful of stuff to move, so we reserved a 40 foot truck.

When we arrived there day of the move, they didn't have a 40 foot truck for us and instead rented us two 24-foot trucks for the same price. My wife was going to go off on them until I pointed out that, for the same money, we were getting 8 more feet of truck that was easier to drive and park...

Where were you renting a 40' truck from? That's firmly in tractor-trailer territory. AFAIK, U-Haul's largest truck is 26', and for normal people accustomed to driving cars where you can see out the back, it's huge enough.

Another thing I haven't seen in this thread yet is (around here, at least) you can't even get a truck for a whole day on in-town moves. You can have it for the morning, or you can have it for the afternoon. And they seem to truly expect people to get the truck, drive it to wherever, load it, drive it to the new wherever, unload it and return it to the U-Haul shop in four hours. Heaven help you if you need to make more than one trip.

Last time I moved, I used a local company. IIRC, it might have been a Ryder franchise, despite the truck being plain white. Picked the truck up on Saturday morning, and as long as it was back by the time they opened on Monday, they were fine with it and only charged for the mileage. Our move was fast-paced, but we didn't have to kill ourselves, and I returned the truck on Saturday night, just to get rid of it. Doing the move in four hours to suit U-Haul would have been impossible.

Oh, the last time I used U-Haul, the driver's door fell off the truck, and the automatic transmission was only semi-automatic. Once I got the hang of over-revving the engine, taking my foot off the gas and stomping it back down to force a shift, it worked OK. Between that and the typically under-powered engine, getting up freeway ramps was a treat!

[eenerms]

Jeeze Debaser thanks for the scare rant. We're up for a move on the 5th July got my fingers crossed. They say they have a truck and we are in a major metro area so I'll have to take their word for it :eek:

[mhendo]

Another thing I haven't seen in this thread yet is (around here, at least) you can't even get a truck for a whole day on in-town moves. You can have it for the morning, or you can have it for the afternoon. And they seem to truly expect people to get the truck, drive it to wherever, load it, drive it to the new wherever, unload it and return it to the U-Haul shop in four hours. Heaven help you if you need to make more than one trip.When my SO and i moved in April, we had our 17' truck for the whole day. We picked it up at about 8.30 in the morning, the move took two trips, and we were done by about 2pm. We ended up dropping it back around 3, but we could have kept it until 5. I think that some franchises try to get two rentals a day to bump up their income levels.

[duffer]

Cyros, thanks for setting me straight. Hadn't thought of that part of it.

[Abbie Carmichael]

Thanks for this thread, OP. I'm moving soon and was planning on renting a UHaul.

Ryder never even crossed my mind. I think I'll check them out.

[Scuba_Ben]

I have had two experiences with U-Haul.

The first was an emergency case -- someone I knew needed to move THAT DAY, without advance warning. U-Haul had nothing available. I guess they book trucks only in advance, and don't have any last-minute slack. (I rented either a Penske or a Ryder from a gas station that had a few trucks as a sideline.)

The second was a normal case. I reserved my truck in person at the local U-Haul center, for a local move of less than 10 miles. I had no trouble with the truck. I would like to note, though, that their estimate of how big a truck for how many rooms is on the optimistic side. Next time, I'm adding 1 room to the recommended size just to handle the underestimate.

Now someone else's story.

A friend rented from U-Haul for a one-way rental. The reservation was handled properly, he got the truck, loaded up, and headed out. On the highway, the truck broke down. The police showed up to clear the truck off the road, and the friend was on the phone with the U-Haul service desk to make arrangements. At one point, the police officer started talking directly with U-Haul -- and then U-Haul hung up on the cop, with the vehicle situation unresolved! :mad: With no other option, the police towed the truck to an impound lot. Yes, the truck was still filled with the guy's stuff. As is common in these stories, the guy swore never to rent from U-Haul again.

The next time I rent a truck, I'm going to cross out that maintenance disclaimer and write in that the company warrants that the vehicle is in good operating condition, with an appropriate penalty if the truck breaks down. If they don't like that change to the standard contract, I'll find someone else.

[tdn]

The next time I rent a truck, I'm going to cross out that maintenance disclaimer and write in that the company warrants that the vehicle is in good operating condition, with an appropriate penalty if the truck breaks down. If they don't like that change to the standard contract, I'll find someone else.

You may as well start finding someone else right now then. IANAL, but AFAIK, you cannot simply cross out various clauses of a contract. I believe that would nullify the contract altogether. Certainly a U-Haul clerk, who is likely working there because he hasn't yet passed the bar, is not going to make himself responsible for a contract that a customer altered.

[carimwc]

I have heard so many complaints about U-Haul. A friend rented one for a local drive- she was just moving a couch from one place to another, maybe about 20 miles. The truck had no ac and broke down twice. Fun in NoVa summers.

That's why when I was looking at moving options I said U-Haul was out of the question. Instead, we are using something called ABF U-Pack. (http://upack.com) They send a trailor to your home, you load it up, and they drive your stuff to your new location. It's much cheaper than renting a one way for interstate moves. Much. The price includes gas and tolls and things and you pay per linear foot. It's a great deal and from what I've heard, fairly reliable. The only complaints I've heard stem from having to load the truck yourself!

U-Haul is just one big scam now.

[D.E.S.K.Top668]

I have heard so many complaints about U-Haul. A friend rented one for a local drive- she was just moving a couch from one place to another, maybe about 20 miles. The truck had no ac and broke down twice. Fun in NoVa summers.

That's why when I was looking at moving options I said U-Haul was out of the question. Instead, we are using something called ABF U-Pack. (http://upack.com) They send a trailor to your home, you load it up, and they drive your stuff to your new location. It's much cheaper than renting a one way for interstate moves. Much. The price includes gas and tolls and things and you pay per linear foot. It's a great deal and from what I've heard, fairly reliable. The only complaints I've heard stem from having to load the truck yourself!

U-Haul is just one big scam now.
I used ABF U-Pack myself when I moved from California to Georgia. I also use ABF weekly (I'm the shipping manager for my company.) It's a pretty good service, just remember that the delivery time and day are not guaranteed. I also advise using a buffer (matresses, boxes of linens/clothes, etc.) between your stuff and the bulkhead they give you. "Your" trailer will have regular freight put in it after the bulkhead is up and freight loaders with forklifts aren't known for being gentle when loading.

As for U-Haul, the last time I used them was when I helped my sister move about four miles. I had no problems with them, but the rental place was a U-Haul franchise/head shop :eek: It was then I realised that they don't screen their franchisees real closely.

Peace - DESK

[Scuba_Ben]

You may as well start finding someone else right now then. IANAL, but AFAIK, you cannot simply cross out various clauses of a contract. I believe that would nullify the contract altogether. Certainly a U-Haul clerk, who is likely working there because he hasn't yet passed the bar, is not going to make himself responsible for a contract that a customer altered.IANAL either. Crossing out a clause from an agreed-to contract ought not to nullify the contract; I expect that unilateral changes are of no effect under contract law.

What I'm discussing is modifying a standard contract, before I sign it. You're likely right that the clerk doesn't have the authority (or, I suspect, training) to approve changes to the standard contract. That's when I ask for someone who does have the authority. And shortly after that, I'll probably be looking around for some more cooperative truck rental place. I've heard so many stories about U-Haul, that a franchise manager probably knows better than to guarantee that the truck will run properly and not break down.

[Cyros]

Cyros, thanks for setting me straight. Hadn't thought of that part of it.

No problem.

As to the OP, the only time I tried to go Uhaul I booked my truck about 3 weeks in advance. I thought everything was groovy but called the night before to confirm the reservation. The nice lady I was speaking with informed me that no, they didn't have the truck I needed but luckily (for them) they did have the next size up. At twice the price!!! Fuck That!

I have since gone with the local 2 big guys and a truck option. I mostly just move within town so this is a good option for me. It runs about $50 an hour and I don't have to do heavy lifting.

The one time I moved across country I just went with a big name mover. I didn't have much stuff so I could afford it even though I was unemployed at the time and again no heavy lifting.

[Mama Tiger]

The last two times we've rented a truck, we've used Penske. We got nearly new trucks with comfy seats, good radios, well-functioning AC, and capable of doing highway speed as comfortably as our car. Plus they were cheaper than U-Haul.

And would a U-Haul agent do this? Papa Tiger got laid off, so we decided we needed to get my grandmother's stuff out of storage 600 miles away to save on the storage costs. The local Penske guy I called bent over backwards to get me a truck, and since it was far cheaper to do a local rental, when I asked if there was any way he could come down on the price since the mileage charge was steep, he said, "I'll call you back in a few minutes." Sure enough, five minutes later the phone rings -- he's knocked 40% of the daily rental rate and 30% off the mileage charge! And then he threw in furniture pads and tie-downs at no charge. Man, I was ready to wrap him up and take him home!

I'll never rent from anyone but Penske again.

[fluiddruid]

Ah, U-Haul. A friend of mine was charged a huge cleaning fee (like $60+) for not folding up some drop blankets that would have taken 2 seconds.

I used to work for the police department, and the local U-Haul was a standard customer. There were two reasons - their alarm system would go off whenever the wind blew (and they didn't care about wasting the PD's time), and we had to escort angry customers off the premises on a regular basis. I mean, regular enough that I was tired of it in three months! (No other business was even close)

[Bear_Nenno]

I fucking hate Uhaul and I will never give them any shred of business - ever! And if I ever completely lose it and go on a crazed-psycho crime spree, they will be my first victums!!

[mhendo]

I should have linked to this earlier:

fucked up (http://www.dontuseuhaul.com/]dontuseuhaul.com[/url]

Not only do they have a bunch more reservation horror stories, but they also have a nice guide telling you how to sue the company if it fails to provide you with a truck when you've made a reservation.

The website was started by a couple who got screwed by uhaul on an interstate one-way reservation. They sued, and got a few thousand dollars to cover their extra moving and storage expenses.

And maybe the company's so fucked up because the family that started it is also [url="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688112552/qid=1070759174/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-4099556-8492701?v=glance&s=books).

[Danalan]

I've posted the whole story before, so I won't go into details, but U-haul once rented me a truck that was:

14 Quarts Low of Oil

That's right, a diesel engine with 16 quart capacity -- 14 quarts low. 3 and a half gallons. So much for well-maintained.

[mhendo]

I should have linked to this earlier:

fucked up (http://www.dontuseuhaul.com/]dontuseuhaul.com[/url]

Not only do they have a bunch more reservation horror stories, but they also have a nice guide telling you how to sue the company if it fails to provide you with a truck when you've made a reservation.

The website was started by a couple who got screwed by uhaul on an interstate one-way reservation. They sued, and got a few thousand dollars to cover their extra moving and storage expenses.

And maybe the company's so fucked up because the family that started it is also [url="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688112552/qid=1070759174/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-4099556-8492701?v=glance&s=books).Fucked up indeed! The coding, that is. Let's try again:

I should have linked to this earlier:

dontuseuhaul.com (http://www.dontuseuhaul.com/)

Not only do they have a bunch more reservation horror stories, but they also have a nice guide telling you how to sue the company if it fails to provide you with a truck when you've made a reservation.

The website was started by a couple who got screwed by uhaul on an interstate one-way reservation. They sued, and got a few thousand dollars to cover their extra moving and storage expenses.

And maybe the company's so fucked up because the family that started it is also fucked up (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688112552/qid=1070759174/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-4099556-8492701?v=glance&s=books)