I have rented a UHAUL 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 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 UHAUL 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 UHAUL 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, oddometer, 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 UHAUL who said they'd send a serviceman in a few HOURS. Time was money that day, so I used my best jugdment - I left the truck on the dangerous highway and went to Budget, which graciously had a large, fully operational truck available.
Now to my utter frustration, UHAUL refuses to refund me for the charge made on 3/4/06 of $144.72, and on 3/20/06 UHAUL decided to charge my MasterCard an additional $206.91 for towing charges, as if it was my fault that I was given a UHAUL lemon truck!
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 being penalized.
There are some very helpful representatives who have lent an emphathetic ear who I am sure hear horror stories and atrocities that UHAUL "family" endure constantly. My suggestion to anyone considering using UHAUL - DON'T DO IT.
My suggestion to UHAUL that I sent online - please don't penalize UHAUL "family" when UHAUL equipment is not functional. Improve the technological quality of your vehicles and make the truck pickup process convenient and both UHAUL as well as UHAUL "family" will be happy. Anyone who has access to a computer can do a Web search on UHAUL 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 UHAUL customers with online postings, complaints, and a formal letter to the Better Business Bureau.
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