I hope I can help at least one person avoid the extreme hassle and migraine headache I had, otherwise known as doing business with U-Haul. Don't be fooled by the low prices they advertise for their equipment. There are many hidden charges if you're not careful! If you absolutely must use them, always pay them in cash, never provide a credit card number!
The truck I rented was advertised as "only" $19.95 per day. This does not include the 99 cents per mile, the gas you use, and tax. There was also a $5.00 fee to reserve the truck online, and I'm told it's $10.00 if you show up to rent a truck without a reservation. Their website tries to charge you for unwanted extras like dollies, padding, boxes and tape. These items are already filled in on the order page, and you have to manually uncheck the boxes next to everything you don't want. That is, assuming you even notice these extra charges. They even put a two-wheel dolly and a furniture pad in the truck when I said I didn't want them. They're in the way, but if you cut the zip ties on them, you get charged for their use, even if you only moved them out of the way.
The "only" $19.95 per day truck cost me a total of $170.88:
$ 19.95 rental fee
$ 34.65 mileage (35 miles)
$ 3.28 tax
$ 5.00 reservation fee
$ 5.00 gas
$ 75.00 unauthorized charge on my card
$ 28.00 overdraft fee
$170.88 total
Notice that they charged my card in spite of my paying cash, and insisting TWICE that they do NOT charge the card. It took three days to get the bank to remove the unauthorized charge and overdraft fee, still leaving a cost of $67.88 for the truck. I am including a copy of my complaint to U-Haul's "customer care" which details my nightmare of dealing with these people:
"I reserved a truck on your website for Saturday, September 2. I used my debit card to pay the online reservation fee of $5.00. I received a call that the truck would be ready at 9AM on that day at the above location. I arrived there at 9AM and stood at the counter for at least half an hour while the manager answered the phone and helped other customers, while ignoring me. I was even told to step aside while he helped someone else who just showed up!
"Finally, I was given a clipboard and shown to a truck to inspect before taking it. It was an old, broken down GMC with more than 140,000 miles on it. The hood would not shut completely, so I couldn't drive it on the freeway without the wind blowing the hood up. The front end was so far out of alignment that the steering wheel had to be turned a quarter-turn to the right to go straight down the road, it drifted all over the road, and the front tires were extremely unevenly worn. The gas gauge read full going downhill and below empty going uphill, totally useless. I accepted this because it was all they had, and I wasn't going very far with it. I was shocked to later find this note on the back of the damage sheet #86535216: "Corner cap is torn with with a temporary aluminum tape repair. Customer accepts the risk of water damage." This was not brought to my attention, and it did rain that day.
"After I marked down all the damage I could see on the sheet, I went back into the office and had to wait in a long line. When I finally got to the counter, the employee asked for my driver's license, then my debit card. I told him I was paying cash right now, why do you need the card, too? He said it was "to make sure I am who I say I am, " not to charge the card. I specifically told him again not to charge the card, there was not enough in that account, I was paying cash. He assured me again that my card would not be charged, it was only to verify my identity.
"I finally left the lot at 10:15AM and arrived at my first stop over an hour late. The people there had left, thinking I wasn't coming. I had to call them and wait until they got back, and then the person at the next stop had left for work already, because we were two and a half hours late. The rest of the day went like that, what should have taken about three hours wound up taking almost nine because you can't have a truck ready for me when you say it will be.
"I paid the bill in full and left disgusted, determined to never use U-Haul again. I was shocked when I noticed my checking account was overdrawn Tuesday, September 5 because of a $75.00 charge on my account from U-Haul. When I called the U-Haul office this morning (Wednesday the 6th), the employee was very rude, constantly talking over me and contradicting me. Even though I told him him TWICE not to charge my card, and he assured me TWICE that he would not, he now changed his story. He said that my contract says the act of swiping my card authorizes them to charge whatever they want.
"I refer you to the back page of my contract, "Additional terms & conditions for equipment rental, " #4: "Payment for all estimated charges is due at the time of rental by cash or credit card or other method acceptable to Company. Payment for additional charges is due at the completion of rental in the same manner. Any charges that cannot be determined or that are not known to Company at the completion of the rental are payable by the customer immediately upon receipt of an itemized invoice."
"Nowhere in there does it say by swiping my card, I authorize you to charge my account.in fact, the card readers were down when I was in there, and the employee simply wrote down my card number. I did NOT swipe my card. I requested to pay cash for all charges and I did. The employee assured me TWICE that my card would not be charged. The truck was accepted back in the same condition as when I took it, and I have not received any itemized invoices.
"The employee did nothing but argue and contradict me about this unauthorized charge on my account. The simple fact is that my account was overdrawn, with a negative balance, not just a hold on my account as he claimed. The manager of this office was supposed to call me right back, but it is now six hours later, and still no phone call. My bank has advised me to wait until this $75.00 charge clears, then file a police report so I can dispute this unauthorized charge.
"What I am asking for is at least my $75.00 back and that you discipline your employees for rudeness and incompetence. I should get more than that back for all my trouble thanks to you."
Since sending this complaint to U-Haul's "customer care, " I received an e-mail promising that they would investigate this matter and contact me in two business days. I still haven't heard from them or the manager who was supposed to call me right back. I wonder if their argumentative employee (Ron?) even told his boss, or just said he would call. My bank added a $28.00 overdraft fee to the $75.00 charge yesterday, but reversed both of them today after I explained the situation to several bankers and showed them my receipt for a CASH payment to U-Haul.
I will update this report if I hear anything more from these people. Keep my experience (and the other 14 I've seen so far on this site) in mind if you're considering doing business with them. At least use cash only, don't show them any cards!
Randy
Des Moines, Iowa
U.S.A.
0 comments