Over the weekend of Valentine’s Day was the time we finally had a chance to move a family member’s belongings. Since we knew that U Haul was a nightmare to begin with, we were still saddled with having to use them for the move, as they were the only ones that would have been in the area of the area to receive the furniture and personal belongings.
I make this mention of the only route I had as an option as being 400 miles from the area is ending up putting me in literally no man’s land and even a U Haul trucking service in the area was exciting to find. Had I known the route I would have had to go to pick up the truck, I would have gone with another truck rental company, gladly.
It was three weeks ahead of our scheduled time that we called to make sure that the pick up point still existed, given that some places close in remote areas and are no longer a U Haul distributor. The point to pick up the U Haul did indeed exist and they stated they would gladly have the truck ready.
When I called to double check, I was laughed at and again assured that there would be no problems and the price; however, I had noticed was different then the first time that I had been given. I was also told to go onto the internet and make the reservation and bring the receipt I printed out to the office at the time of pickup. I dismissed the differential in charges and had a friend call and they were given the original price for the arrangement of the size of the truck that I wanted.
Gas prices, as we all know are outrageous and can make a move, let alone a trip expensive. Since we had to pick up the truck at the destination that the belongings were in we drove our car to the point of pick up. The pick up was closed and we were redirected to a point in Des Moines, Iowa. I suppose to have the pick up in Winterset, Iowa. There were in fact, three trucks of that size sitting at the Winterset Office. Yet, we were told on the phone when we called U Haul that Winterset did not have any trucks.
In the event of being stuck with U Haul we had no other option but to back track in our trip to Des Moines, Iowa which back tracked us an extra 50 miles out of our way. Before we drove out of our way we called first to verify that our order was indeed ready. They were persistent in wanting to know our receipt number and everything else. We were told that the truck was indeed there. After calling the different and numerous numbers that the U Haul gave us to hunt down a truck after of course, we did make a reservation and it was not like we just showed up and expected them to be able to pull a truck out of air.
We were now three hours behind schedule, not to mention that we were also racing a storm that was headed on our tails to the route to Davenport when we got the belongings. We knew the storm was going to be coming and knew we had a certain amount of time to get to Winterset and back to Davenport.
We arrived at Des Moines, very upset and complained about having to drive out of our way to obtain the truck and the representative then scoffed and asked how it was out of our way we were headed to Davenport were we not? I asked in what direction he thought Winterset exactly was, but he didn’t answer so I answered for him.
“Davenport is North East of Des Moines, while Winterset is south west of Des Moines,” the information finally seemed to sink in.
“Oh, so you are going to want extra miles. Like I said, Ma’am its not about what you the customer wants, it is what U Haul wants.”
I tried to tell myself to swallow the pride and imagine ripping him from limb from limb was not going to solve anything. By now I was grinding my teeth and I felt my hair standing on end, as I imagined the anger of the many other customers that had been done wrong by U Haul’s lies. I also thought of all of them that had sat by the road with the U Haul that had either caught on fire or broke down, and they were stuck with those charges. I tried to place myself in a better situation then them, it could be worse I told myself.
“Where do you want to drop off the U Haul?”
“Davenport.” I stated flatly.
“Ma’am, I will check to see if that is an option.”
What! Since when wouldn’t it be an option? That is what my mileage said, that is where my return destination is and that is where I am taking it no more back tracking, no more U Haul hunting for a return destination. I was taking the U Haul back to Davenport and that was it, I was not going to drop it off at Clinton, Muscatine, DeWitt, or any of the other surrounding areas from Davenport. I was not paying any more for their extra miles!
The representative finally gave me an option and it was a destination west of Davenport. I glared at him and explained that I lived on the Eastern side; I was not dropping it off at a destination of their choice. I was a customer, and they could deliver it if need be! He supposedly made the return destination to where I wanted it; however when it became time to return the U Haul, the gas gauge didn’t work. Surprised? I am not as we went over our miles the allotted.
Then U Haul wanted proof that we put gas into the truck, we gave them the receipt and waited for an hour for their mechanic to verify that the tank was indeed more then we had borrowed it. Then we were told that we would be charged a $50.00 wrong destination fee.
I told the representative that I had made arrangements with Des Moines and told them I was returning the truck to Davenport’s head quarter shop, because of the head aches. This representative said, “Well it is not about what the customer wants, it is what U Haul wants we need you to deliver the truck where we need a truck for a reservation, it isn’t what you want it is what we want you to do with our equipment.”
“So, hire someone to transport your own trucks across the country side and not have a customer pay for the miles.”
Time and gas was not the only issue, they only gave us 289 miles to go from Winterset to Davenport. It was then that I was told by the representative that U Haul did not really care what the customer wanted it was how U Haul did things and if I didn’t like it I could call the number 1- 800- 528-0355.
It was sad to hear the truth come out of a U Haul representative’s mouth, the truth that I had suspected for a long time about U Haul. They did not care about their customers. Whether you have a reservation or not, they do not care and remember it is not about your customer convenience it is about theirs.
As the cold hearted truth settled into my thoughts I thought about how thankful that learning the truth of their not caring, could have been worse as it could have been just like so many other sites I have visited since my learning experience with U-Haul.
Reservation or not, you may have a truck or not have a truck and the truck you get more then likely will not be the truck you asked for either. Also, it doesn’t matter to them if you have to wait days with the reservation. However, you will not be refunded so you can seek a truck rental elsewhere, you will have to pay them for the rental still if you back out.
Once I arrived home from dropping off the U-Haul, I called the 1-800 numbers to learn it was for only emergencies, and I asked for a complaint number and after telling them that I knew the Better Business Bureau number, I was finally given a number to complain.
