Why I Will Never Rent from U-Haul Again

From old, unmaintained, and dangerous equipment to strikingly poor customer service at all levels, U-Haul is, in my opinion, the absolute worst moving truck rental company out there. The actual rental and driving experience, combined with how little they did to offer any sort of admission of guilt or acknowledgment of their mistakes, has convinced me that this company has no interest in the safety of its customers. This article explains in detail why I've come to this conclusion.

To start, I'll publish the letter I wrote to the U-Haul Customer Service Manager describing my experience driving from Mississippi to California. At the end of the letter you'll be shocked to find out the pathetic response I received from U-Haul and what they offered me as an apology for my experience. It's important to note that I have spent the majority of my adulthood moving because I'm in the Navy and am constantly moving from one duty station to another. I'm not a novice when it comes to packing up a moving truck and driving across the country.

Here is the letter I sent to U-Haul customer service upon arriving to my destination (I have removed U-Haul personnel names and any of my own personally identifiable reference numbers):

Dear Customer Service Manager,

This letter is to inform you of the mishandling of my recent U-Haul equipment rental experience and the corresponding lack of customer service support I received. In the following I will describe what I believe was utter negligence in my treatment as a U-Haul customer and my own and accompanying family member's personal safety while operating U-Haul equipment.

Here is some background information concerning my rental. I am an active duty Unites States Navy jet pilot with orders to transfer from Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi to Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. I rented the U-Haul 17' truck and car carrier trailer in order to transport my household goods and vehicle from Meridian to San Diego. My sister accompanied me for the cross-country trip. My well-planned trip was to have me leaving Meridian, MS on May 28th and arriving in San Diego on June 1st. My sister was joining me for the trip to help with the driving and keep me company.

In the next few paragraphs I will describe chronologically my dealings with your company from when I made the U-Haul equipment reservation until I arrived at my destination in San Diego.

On April 30th, I confirmed a reservation at www.uhaul.com(reference no. xxxxx) for pick-up on May 26th. On May 7th, I visited the U-Haul CT Queen City in Meridian (my preferred pick-up location). I went to the U-Haul rental location in order to have my vehicle's tires measured so as to ensure it could be safely attached to the car carrier. The pick up date was confirmed via the computer system at U-Haul CT Queen City. After measuring my tires, the employees assured me that my specific vehicle and tires would be attached safely and easily to the car carrier for transport.

On the afternoon of May 25th (one day prior to my scheduled pick-up date) I received a call from a U-Haul service representative (name removed) telling me that there were no U-Haul trucks matching my request anywhere near Meridian. She informed me that the closest rental location was in Laurel, MS, despite the fact that I made the reservation nearly one month in advance of my requested pick-up date. This is also in spite of the fact that according to the U-Haul website's "Find a U-Haul Location" search engine, there are no less than 10 U-Haul pick-up locations within 47 miles of my home in Meridian. The location in Laurel--Pawn & Trade (#032712)--was 70 miles (about 1 hour and 30 minutes) south of my home in Meridian. When I requested one, the service representative offered me a discount of $94 off the truck price and $74 off the trailer price, which I agreed to as fair. I do not understand why it was not possible to have my U-Haul equipment delivered to a closer location and barring that, was not given earlier notice as to the pick-up location change. Moves are stressful, hectic times, and it is inconsiderate to provide a customer who most likely works and is packing for a cross-country move late notice that she may need to drive well out of her way in the days prior to moving so as to pick up the equipment, especially when she lives three miles from the area's main U-Haul center.

When I arrived at Pawn & Trade, the representative (name removed) did not have the discounts on file I was promised on the phone by the service representative who called me the day prior. While she did try to be helpful, it nonetheless took approximately 30 minutes just to retrieve this information and print the contracts. I then spent another two hours and 30 minutes at the location because of various problems. The first car carrier that I was issued did not have the appropriate hitch receiver and would not attach to the truck. The second (and ultimate) car carrier I was issued did not have the correct wiring adapter for the trailer-truck lights connection. After I refused to buy an adapter for the connection between your U-Haul truck and your U-Haul trailer, I was resigned to taping the connection together using my own electrical tape. I then discovered that the passenger-side turn signal, brake, and running lights on both the truck and trailer were inoperative. The U-Haul representative assisting me in the equipment hook-up was subsequently unable to find the fuse-box in the truck in order to replace the apparent blown fuse. I was instructed to stop at the U-Haul Center in Meridian (to which the local representative called ahead to notify of my arrival) to have the wiring and fuses checked and fixed. Additionally, I discovered three of the tires on the car carrier to be at least 15psi low, with one nearly flat. Lastly, when I attempted to attach my vehicle to the car carrier, I found that the holding straps designed to go over the front tires were too short (despite my precaution of bringing the vehicle in to have the tires measured over two weeks prior). My vehicle is an unmodified 1993 Toyota 4Runner 4 Door 4WD with 31" tires. I was thus forced to let most of the air out of my front tires in order to deflate them sufficiently to secure the straps over them. The trailer hitch hook-up incompatibility, light connector, and car carrier tire inflation issues should have all been resolved prior to my arrival at the Laurel U-Haul location. The tire/strap size issue should have been resolved even earlier--when I brought my vehicle in for measuring.

By the time I drove from Laurel to Meridian, the U-Haul Center where I was to receive the light/fuse assistance was closed. I therefore had to spend even more time contacting the U-Haul service hotline number (1-800-328-0355) in order for them to send someone out to my home to fix the problem (service reference number xxxxx). I would like to note that the service I received in this instance was timely and effective. Once the service was complete, I loaded up the rental truck and my vehicle on the carrier and was off on my move.

On the second day of travel (between Dallas, TX and Albuquerque, NM) I began noticing very poor engine performance and I calculated the mileage as being very low--from 5-6 miles per gallon. Your website states that the 17' truck's approximate mileage is 10 miles per gallon. Therefore, I was receiving about half the mileage the truck should be getting and thus paying nearly twice as much for diesel. As for engine performance, the truck was not accelerating past ~45 miles per hour on flat grades and was decelerating to 15-20 miles per hour on mild inclines with the gas pedal pressed to the floor and the overdrive and air-conditioning both off. I do not believe that this is acceptable for a truck rented to me for use in a long-distance move. Perhaps the poor performance and mileage were due to the fact that not only did the truck have over 182,000 miles on the odometer at the time of rental and was visibly an old model, but according to the truck's log in the glove compartment, had not had its scheduled 180,000 preventative maintenance performed.

Because of the engine performance and mileage issues, I contacted U-Haul to have them send out a mechanic to look at the vehicle when I arrived at my planned overnight stop in Albuquerque (reference number xxxxx). While the representative was timely, he spoke extremely little English and was as a result quite difficult to discuss the situation with. He replaced the fuel filter and was worried that there was gasoline in the diesel fuel tank. I explained that I had placed only diesel fuel in the tank , but that there was approximately ¾ of the tank already full when I picked up the rental truck. The engine performance did not improve during the remainder of the trip.

On the fourth (and final planned) day of travel (May 31st), after 175 miles of driving and stopping for lunch in Needles, CA, the truck would not start. The engine would turn, but would not light, despite my careful execution of the diesel engine starting procedures (allowing the glow plugs time to charge by waiting for the "Wait to Start" light to extinguish). After several attempts with time intervals to allow the starter to rest, I called U-Haul to send out a representative (reference number xxxxx). The representative from Mike's Pow-R-Tow tried a number of times to start the engine unsuccessfully before it finally lit on about the 10th try. We also pointed out to him a leak from under the hood (thick fluid that was most definitely not water from the A/C), which he said was nothing important.

Upon driving approximately 10-15 miles out of Needles, the engine temperature in the truck began rapidly rising while we were driving up a mountain, and the "Engine Temp" light illuminated. Before starting the climb, I had turned off the overdrive and air conditioning in order to conserve horsepower. However, due to the overheating, I pulled off the interstate onto the shoulder; and while doing so, the "ABS" light began flashing. At this point, I would also like to mention that during the course of my trip, I had become very skeptical of the functioning of the emergency brake on the U-Haul. Whenever I applied the brake, the advisory light on the dash would not come on, even though I knew the light was operable because it came on with the rest of the lights every time I started the truck. Because it was a hot day and I was crossing a mountain range, I decided to wait to see if the engine cooled down while the truck rested. But, when the "ABS" light illuminated, I was justifiably worried that it was possible I might have no effective brakes on the truck. Once pulled over, I left the engine running because of the problem starting it just prior in Needles.

After 30 minutes on the side of the road, there was no change in the engine temperature so I decided to call the U-Haul service hotline yet again (reference number xxxxx) for assistance, using my cell phone. Initially, I spoke to the U-Haul hotline operator who took my basic information, but was then placed on hold for over 20 minutes while being transferred to the next representative. At this point I hung up and called the hotline again, explaining again that I was in an emergency situation with an overheated engine and a malfunctioning brake system. She then transferred me again and placed me on hold again for 30 minutes. I finally got a representative on the phone, but during the next 20 minutes was forced to repeatedly describe my situation and recite my contract and equipment numbers because each time I was transferred to another representative, they had no idea what the nature of my emergency was. By this time I had been on the side of the road in the Mojave Desert for about two hours in 115 degree heat just trying to get help dispatched in my direction.

The representative who finally decided to take up my case took down all of my information, and then asked me where I was located. I said that we were on the shoulder of I-40 at the crest of the first mountain about 10-15 miles west of Needles, Ca, and that the next town was at least 50 miles west of me according to a road sign. He informed me that this was not good enough and that I would need to call him back and give him an exact address. As I was in the middle of the desert on the interstate with no exits in sight, this was virtually impossible. He told me to drive the truck until I could find an accurate address and call back. I told him that I did not feel comfortable driving a truck with an overheated engine and faulty brakes any further through the mountains. Furthermore, I had already spent two hours to get to this point on the hotline and he refused to give me a direct line phone number or a reference number in order to expedite the process when I was able to call back. I told him there was what appeared to be a mile marker that said 125 and that was the best I could do. He informed me that 125 was not a possible mile marker position for where I described I was and said that I needed to call back and without allowing me to say another word, he hung up on me.

I am utterly appalled that a representative on an EMERGENCY hotline would hang up on a customer, especially with the knowledge that this customer is stranded in the desert with the closest town over 10 miles away. I called the hotline back and after another long wait, was finally transferred to a helpful person (name removed) who actually took out her atlas and confirmed that yes; mile marker 125 was, in fact, 15 miles west of Needles. The next representative told me that I would have to wait one and a half to two hours for assistance. I had made my first call to the hotline at 3:30pm. It was now past 6pm. About 15 minutes after I had finished talking to the dispatcher, a representative called to inform me that, in case I didn't know, it was 115 degrees outside and that maybe I just needed to let my engine cool down. Trust me, by this time, my sister and I were well aware of how hot it was outside, and that the engine had been cooling down for over 3 hours. I would also like to note that with the same description of my situation, one hotline representative told me everything was fine with the truck and that I could keep driving it to my destination while the next representative told me I was definitely going to need to be towed and to not attempt driving the truck.

At about sunset, a U-Haul employed area service technician named Kevin arrived. Within 15 minutes he determined that a gasket was blown on the engine, that the truck was not drivable, and as a result it would need to be towed. He arranged to have us towed to Barstow, CA, about 100 miles to the west (thankfully on the way to my destination), and said that he would stay with us until the tow arrived. I explained to him that my sister had a ticket to fly out of San Diego International Airport late the next morning (as I would have been in San Diego by that evening had the truck not broken down). He said that we would get to Barstow in plenty of time to drive the 200 miles to San Diego that night, and that I could just come back to pick up my new rental truck the next morning. After waiting with us for about an hour and a half he said he had another call, gave us his cell phone number, and left us waiting for the tow.

When the tow truck did not arrive by the time it was supposed to, I called Kevin to see if he knew anything. He told me that the tow truck had broken down itself, and that he would have to send me another tow truck. This new truck, however, would have to tow the U-Haul in the other direction, over 50 miles back into Arizona to a location 20 miles south of the interstate. He informed me that I could take my vehicle off the car carrier, leave the U-haul on the shoulder, start driving to San Diego and he would have the tow company take care of hooking up the truck. I told him I would stay with the U-Haul as I was not comfortable with leaving the truck full of virtually everything I own on the side of the interstate not knowing how long it would sit there. On top of that, I could not just drive my vehicle away as there was no air in the front tires (please recall that I had to let it all out in order to secure the car carrier's straps over the tires), so I needed the tow truck's air.

At around midnight, the second tow truck had not arrived. My sister and I were still on the shoulder of the interstate. Kevin gave us the number of the driver, so we called to check his status. He was asleep at his home. Apparently, he was under the impression that I was not with my truck and that he did not need to tow it until the next morning. It was not until 2:00am that the tow truck arrived and I could start my 300-mile drive to San Diego. That means that I was in the middle of the desert, in 115 degree heat, on the side of the interstate with no town anywhere nearby for a total of 10 and a helf hours from the time I made my first call to the emergency hotline to the time when the truck was finally towed.

Once I got to San Diego at 7:30am, I called Kevin to see where I needed to go in order to get my belongings transferred to the new U-Haul truck. He gave me the address of the U-Haul location in Lake Havasu, AZ. By the time I was able to get to Lake Havasu (over 350 miles from San Diego), it was 3:30pm and according to them, too late for them to find a loading crew to transfer my belongings from truck to truck. I was forced to stay in town overnight at my own expense so that I could do the transfer in the morning. The gentleman who worked at the Lake Havasu location and his son ended up helping me transfer my things into my new truck.

When I finally returned to San Diego and unloaded my belongings, it was extremely difficult to find a U-Haul location that would let me return my truck and trailer. Most told me that they did not have room, while a number of them simply did not answer the phone (or have an answering machine) even though I called repeatedly during their posted business hours. While the representative at the U-Haul location I was finally able to find did reimburse me for my hotel stay in Lake Havasu, he said he could not reimburse me for any of my other expenses.

In the previous account of my recent experience, I have given multiple examples as to why I do not believe that U-Haul was one bit concerned with my or family's welfare, safety, and patronage while renting their equipment. I had to make four calls to the regular hotline in order to have service come out to me during my rental. I was rented an old, under-performing truck that had not had preventative maintenance performed recently. I was hung up on by a service representative on an emergency hotline, after being left on hold for over two hours. My sister and I were left in the middle of the dangerously hot desert for over 10 hours before being towed. Because of these and the various other reasons described in this letter, I expect from you the following reparations in order to help resolve this situation:

1.Full reimbursement of the total charges for both the 17' rental truck and car carrier: $934.24
2.Reimbursement for extra diesel I had to purchase due to the extremely poor mileage performance of the rental truck (half of my diesel charges): $250
3.Reimbursement for my cell phone charges incurred on May 31st for the unnecessarily numerous and extraordinarily lengthy calls to your hotline: $30

All receipts and contracts are enclosed with this letter. I would like to note that these claims for compensation do not cover the numerous wasted hours and considerable discomfort and anxiety I experienced in dealing with the above-mentioned problems. I have spoken with my credit card company and have delayed payment to U-Haul for the rental services until this situation is resolved.

If I do not receive a response to this letter within 15 days I have copies of this letter I am prepared to send to the Better Business Bureau, the US Navy's Personal Property Moving Center, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and my lawyer. I am fully prepared to take legal action if necessary. I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem.

So, I'm sure you are wondering at this point what sort of response I received from U-Haul. I have to say, it was pretty pitiful. They sent a letter saying they were sorry for the troubles I experienced, and that they could not reimburse me for my rental and other charges because I did actually use the truck. They sent me four $50 "VIP" gift certificates for use toward any U-Haul equipment in the next year. Seriously?

These are all the reasons why I will never rent from U-Haul again.