A negative experience I had with UHAUL this week, for heads-up posterity
Posted by
Max
Jul 2 '21, 11:52
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tl;dr - take your own photos of your rental before you leave, and make sure you photo the top of the vehicle if you can see it.
Wednesday I reserved a 10' truck online. Granted, I reserved an hour before I was to pick it up, but the UHAUL website said "Available! Guaranteed availability or you get $50 back!" Showed up at exactly my reservation time of 1:30 and tried to use the mobile pickup method.
Mobile pickup requires an alternate phone number, which I assumed they wouldn't call, but they called immediately (to my work number where I knew nobody was present) and wouldn't proceed to he next step without me calling UHAUL to change the alternate number. Anyway, I couldn't find the truck by its number so I went inside. "Oh, that truck's not here, we don't have any of those." (what the hell kind of inventory management system allows that to happen?) So I go through the process of a new agreement for a van.
As you leave, the website process prompts you to confirm pics of the vehicle (front, sides, back, interior). They look fine to me. I leave, drive up the main road and onto the highway and as soon as I'm up to speed *vibration bang* the top mounted tail light assembly is hanging off the back of the van. So I return, and we get into it because they say there's clear signs of damage and I have to pay.
They say look at these places on top of the van where we put spindles, and if they're knocked off that means the van has been hit by something and yours are missing, and the tail light assembly is obviously scratched. Okay, true, but I hit *nothing* in that five minute drive. The guy is saying he personally puts these spindles on every vehicle, I ask for picture proof, and he shows me one without them on it ("That was before I put them on" well wtf, man?) but the rear-view pick I saw at checkout was too low to show anything on the roof so I have no proof.
I say fuck it, I'll pay, I'm desperate on time I need another van. They take forever getting the next van set up, but another guy comes back to me with good news: "It wasn't you. Photos from the return last night show damage." And one by one he asks other staff members to look at the photos and they all say "yep damaged" and determine that the previous renter tried to hide that fact in the return photos, but they could tell. So at least I'm off the hook for the charge.
So finally we go out for the next van. Are there spindles all on top of it? No, one missing up front, two missing in the back. "You see you're giving me a van with missing spindles, right?" "Yeah, I'll make a note." Fine, and I definitely took lots of my own photos this time. But wtf, don't tell me you put all the spindles on for every customer and then turn around and send out damaged vans.
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Responses:
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On the plus side, the story ended better than I'd expected. -- nm
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David
Jul 2, 12:12
2
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Yeah, UHaul isn't the best. But it's what we've got.
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Mop, Montreal Canadiens Fan
Jul 2, 12:10
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How much were they going to charge you, if you don't mind me asking/answering?
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JaxSean
Jul 2, 12:02
1
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That IM just exactly why I hesitate dealing with UHaul, Penske. Even corporate car rentals. And I do take my own pictures. -- (edited)
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budice
Jul 2, 11:57
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Good that it came to light in time. -- nm
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Beryllium
Jul 2, 11:57
2
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