U-Haul
Ripoff, renting unsafe equipment, lousy customer service, refusal to compensate customer losses

In June my family and I rented a 26' U-Haul and auto-dolly to move from southern California to Tennessee. It turned into the trip from hell, in addition to costing us over $8,000.

I questioned the condition of the brakes before leaving the rental yard, and the attendent said they were fine. After loading the truck and heading out, the service engine light came on and the brakes were causing problems 100 miles down the road. Calling the 800 service # is an absolute joke.

We received no help, but managed to continue on 80 miles to the next town. When our truck wouldn't start, two different mechanics looked at it, and declared it fine. Half an hour later, the brakes were again failing, this time with service engine light on.

Again, the 800 #. Again, a joke. Stranded in Phoenix for 2 days while truck was attempting to be fixed, in addition to a damaged trailer hitch and a safety latch that did not work. This was also where we discovered the mirror was lashed onto the truck with a shoe string. We were given a choice to offload ourselves and reload to another truck for $200, in 100 degree heat.

Brakes failed in the hills beyond Tuscon. Coasted into Willcox, AZ. 2 more days delay. 800 # refusing to bring necessary parts to us. Continued to Las Cruces, NM, in hopes of repairs. 800 # told us to start over, since we were in NM, not AZ. 740 miles in 6 days. No repairs with no idea when U-Haul would fix it, if ever.

For our safety and others, we felt obligated to off-load on to a reliable moving van, United, for a cost of over $8,000 to drive the remaining 1400 miles.

U-Haul is refusing to reimburse us these out of pocket expenses. After arriving safely in TN, we called and were told by U-Haul "We would have paid your expenses in Las Cruces while waiting for repairs, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE". Were we aware of this in NM? No.

I won't give up without a fight. I have notified every state's DOT, the federal DOT, and Canada's DOTs. I have also notified no less than 15 newspapers and consumer advocates nation-wide, in addition to Nashville's I-Team Investigators, who are interested in my story. 20/20 has even done a story on U-Haul's rip-offs.

My goal is to see justice brought to my own family, in hopes that other victims will fight back also. Please contact me with any stories or feedback/information. Arizona's Atty General needs to be aware of this before U-Haul's faulty equipment kills someone.

Company: U-Haul
Country: USA
State: Arizona
City: Phoenix
Address: PO Box 21502

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