He paid the money, then submitted a complaint via Ryder's online form, and is understandably pleased that Ryder decided to refund the money. But Patrick doesn't stop there, basically saying Ryder has won his loyalty for life by refunding the money it never should have asked for in the first place. He submitted this letter to Ryder:

To whom it may Concern:

On the morning of 9/25/09 at approximately 8:30 AM, I rented a Truck from your South Plainfield NJ location. Upon rental, prior to taking possession, a walk around was done on the truck identifying any damage to the truck on the Commercial Vehicle Damage Description Report – Safe Driving Tips form. Upon the walk around me and the person accompanying me identified that the front passenger side corner cap was damaged and had duct tape on it, either holding it together or on. I made sure that it was clearly marked on the Vehicle Damage Description Report, and did not inspect it any closer as I felt that the report was sufficient evidence upon return that I was not responsible for the corner cap damage. After my last stop that day and upon empting the truck I noticed that there was pieces of plastic with duct tape on them in the back of the truck(closest to the cab). I looked up and saw that the corner cap now had a hole in it where the duct tape damage was noted that morning. I thought to myself, not a big deal, this was clearly noted on the Vehicle Damage Description Report, end of story. The vehicle was returned at approximately 8 PM on the night of 9/25/09.

On Tuesday 9/29/09 I was contacted by the rental office and was told that there was damage to the previously stated corner cap and that I was going to be charged for the repair. I said that this was unacceptable and was directed to call the Rental Manager to dispute this. On 9/30/09 at approximately 11:30am I spoke with Dan DeMichael, the Rental Manager, and told him I did not feel that I was responsible for this damage, since it was clearly noted on the Vehicle Damage Description Report, prior to my taking possession of the truck. His position was that there wasn't a hole there when I got it, it was just a piece of duct tape, and it had nothing to do with the structural integrity of the corner cap. The conversation ended there because he had no estimates for repair and did not know how much he wanted to charge me at that time. On the morning of 9/19/09 he contacted me again after getting the estimate and is now charging me $200 for the repair of the corner cap. I stated that this was unacceptable and did not feel that I should be held responsible for a repair of something that was clearly already damaged and documented on Ryder's form. I asked for documentation of the previous renter's damage claim and repair charge for the damaged corner cap with the duct tape on it, but that could not be provided. I can only assume that this corner cap was previously damaged and repaired to a sub standard state with duct tape in house to save money on the repair work. After I drove it around for 12 hours the duct tape lost its integrity and this sub standard repair fell apart. Now I am being charged for it because the previous repair was not done properly and happened to fall apart while in my possession.

I have used Ryder in the past with no problems. I have exclusively used Ryder the past few years because of bad experiences with competitors and never had any of those problems with Ryder. I have told everyone I know not to use said competitors and have always recommended that they go with Ryder. This, unfortunately, may not be the case if Ryder does sub standard in house repair work, and waits for someone with a $500 deductable to come along and then charge them for when the substandard repair doesn't hold up, regardless of the damage being noted on the Vehicle Damage Description Report, which according to your contract is what should have been done. I would like my $200 refunded so I can stay a happy Ryder costumer and continue using your services in the future.

I disagree with Patrick that the insurance is a good idea. In most situations your own car insurance should cover any damages done to the vehicle. But of course you should check with your provider before you go U-Haul crashin.'

(Photo: Atwater Village Newbie)

First, here's Jesse's update:

I got a call from the district manager last week after I called their main corporate number and lodged an electronic complaint on the website.

He apologized for the experience that I had with Ryder, and assured me that that's not how they like to do business. He asked me for my invoice from U-haul, which I sent him via e-mail.

I just got a voicemail from him this morning asking for my mailing address so he can send me a check for the $120 I asked for in my complaint.

That's a pretty amazing response, but we were still left confused about what, exactly, other customers should do if something like this happens with Ryder in the future. (We imagine they're not going to offer $120 refunds every single time.)

We contacted David Bruce, the vice president of Corporate Communications at Ryder, for some insight. He was glad to hear that the area managers took care of the problem without Ryder Corporate stepping in, and that the customer was ultimately satisfied with the resolution.

Here's what the Ryder guarantee actually entails, according to Bruce:

If you give us 24 hours lead time, and we say, "Okay you can have a truck," if the truck isn't there available for you, or a smaller one at a reduced rate, or a larger truck at the same rate that was agreed upon, then we give you a certificate that would be redeemable for a free rental at the next available time.

That works well for a commercial user where you may not be so tied to a particular time frame. Part of the outcome of this incident is [for us] to maybe go back and look at that, because it was developed at a time when we weren't even allowed to market to consumers.

Wait, Ryder isn't in the consumer moving van business? Bruce pointed out that when Ryder sold off its "yellow truck" business in 1996, they were contractually obligated not to market their rentals to consumers, and that the guarantee we've been asking about—and in fact pretty much their entire business model—is built around commercial rentals. Ryder is set up to mostly deal with commercial customers, not consumers with a set moving day, and that's likely why Jesse fell through the cracks.

I don't want consumers to think that we're a direct, comparable offering to a U-Haul where you pick one up in one location and then go to college and drop it off wherever you go to college or that kind of thing. Basically when you're renting from Ryder you're renting from a company that's 90-some-odd percent commercial transportation and logistics, that happens to have a good inventory of vehicles.

Not to make excuses for [what happened to Jesse], but we wouldn't want people to waste their time trying to rent a one way vehicle, so consequently you won't see a lot of marketing of Ryder for moving purposes. It's mostly people who go to our website thinking that we offer that, so we give them an avenue to do that and very much appreciate their business. But maybe we need to go back and look at how to improve on the experience."

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That's due to the USPS online address change form, which charges you a dollar and requires the credit or debit card be under the address you're moving to or from.

Joe, who lacks such a card, is unmoved:

Wanted to let consumerist know that I recently moved to a new address. I went to the old post office and asked for a change of address card. Teller directed me to use their website — it's all they allow now.

Well go to USPS.com and first) have to find the link to change the address (You'd think that would be upfront right in your face - nope - it's down hidden in the household section).

Second, when you enter your data, you have to give them a credit card to charge $1 for using the service. PLUS, the card has to be from one of the address listed in your change of address (either old one or new one) - I didn't have any credit cards that matched this - I still own a house in Dallas and all my credit cards point to that address).

So, in essence I couldn't change my address. Can't get a response from USPS on this.

It begs the question about what do people do that don't have a credit card - or in case of me - in my situation? Also, didn't this use to be a free service? What exactly are we paying them through the government for if we have to now pay for these types of services. Maybe Kramer on Seinfeld was correct - we don't really need the post office any more...

I'm not sure if you can still pick up free change of address cards at post offices, but my recently-moved cheapskate friend (takes one to know one) said he wasn't able to find one and had to spring for the $1 online address change form.

So don't anyone move unless you've got at least an entire dollar of savings or credit, just to be on the safe side.

UPDATE: Reader Keir has verified that you can still pick up a free change of address form at the post office, as well as print one out online and either send it in or drop it off, saving you the buck.

(Photo: frankieleon)

Jesse had his reservation canceled on him the day before his move because all of the trucks at his local Ryder location had been swooped up by another location. When he asked what they could do to help, they told him he should call around and see if anyone else had a truck. When Jesse then asked if they'd reimburse him for any extra money he'd have to spend on a last-minute rental, they told him no.

Jesse sent in the following last Friday:

I'm moving tomorrow (8/15), so about a month ago, I wanted to make rental reservations for the moving truck. I've been a U-Haul customer in the past for in-town moves, but you pay by the mile with them, so I shopped around. I found Ryder was having a special online. For $38, I get a 16' box truck for 500 miles. Great deal, I thought! They have a 100% availability guarantee pasted all over their website, and they all answer their phones touting it. So I made my reservation and went on with my life.

I was expecting a phone call about a week prior to my move to confirm my reservation (this is protocol for U-Haul, as far as I know). I hadn't received a call by the end of the day Monday, so I called to make sure everything was alright. The rental coordinator at my branch was very nice to me. She told me that they might not have the 16' truck I ordered, but that they'd have something smaller at reduced cost or bigger at the same price.

This morning (8/14) at 8:30am, the rental coordinator called me saying that they won't have anything for me to pick up at their rental center tomorrow. A new renter is moving into my unit shortly after I leave, so I need to be out of there tomorrow as I've agreed. I asked what I should do. She said that her best advice would be for me to call a few other local Ryder centers, but that I would most likely have the same luck that I was having at her branch because the Allentown, PA branch had sucked up all of New Jersey's rental trucks for tomorrow. Even Philadelphia branches are tapped.

I asked for a Customer Service number, and she didn't know if they had one. I asked if it was likely that they would refund the difference between the truck I had reserved and whatever I would have to pay at another company. She said she didn't know, but that she didn't think Ryder did that kind of thing. I asked what the 100% availability guarantee was for, and she said she wasn't sure in this case.

I was unable to get to a corporate customer service representative by calling Ryder's main number. Hitting 0 sent me to the closest rental coordinator to my area code, who happens to be the coordinator I'd been working with.

She gave me the district manager's number and extension, but he is out of the office.

I ended up calling U-Haul, and fortunately, they have a truck available tomorrow.

I think it's reasonable for Ryder to reimburse me for the difference I'm having to pay with U-Haul (about $120 bucks with the miles I'm driving). The problem is I can't get in touch with anyone at Ryder who would be able to answer to that request.

What do you think? Do I have a shot at getting the $120?

Let me know if you need any more information. I'd love to see Ryder make good on this unfortunate situation. I'm one of seven people who is being displaced from my local rental center alone. I can only wonder how many are in my same situation.

Jesse followed up with us this morning to note that the district manager is apparently still out of the office, and—in the true spirit of zero availability—nobody seems to be taking his calls for him in his absence.

He summarized the things that went wrong in handy bullet points:

• They promise some free moving supplies, like boxes and tape, which never show up. No big deal.
• I ask for a quote for two pod units, but am talked down and assured by the salesman that one pod will fit everything in our 2-bedroom apartment without any trouble since they are designed for 2-3 bedrooms. After packing, unpacking, and repacking the pod three or four times, everything does NOT fit. In fact, the leftovers have to be divided up between two cars and an SUV, all packed very tightly.
• The delivery ends up taking longer than I remember the salesman saying, but it's not a big deal. Everything seems to be going fairly smoothly. Until...
• I get a phone call around 7:30 am the day our things are scheduled to be delivered saying that the pod has been delayed two days and there is nothing I can do about it. I will have to take another day off work to unload this thing. They don't mention any recourse at this point.
• Later that day, I get a call back saying the pod will be delayed a further day. This is a big problem since I need my inlaws' help to unload the thing, and they had planned to leave that day. The CS Rep admits at this point the truck is stuck at a weigh station because it is too heavy, and the police won't let him leave. This seems to me like something they should have checked first. In the meantime we are staying at a hotel with them since there is no bed in our apartment.
• We are dining out a lot since we do not have kitchen equipment. I am supposed to work at home the next day and now do not have a desk or a chair. I end up setting up my computer on boxes and contorting myself to use the computer. We moved our aquarium fish to the new apartment and had to buy some new supplies for them since ours are lost in the pod. Incidental expenses continue to add up. They will not talk about compensation at this time.
• I call to be sure the pod can be delivered early in the day when it finally gets here. They can't guarantee that, and then say there may be a problem putting it on the street. Of course, the guy selling me the thing said nothing about that when I hired them.
• I press the CS Rep about compensation and he tells me they can give me the standard $50 a day, which comes out to $150. This is actually kind of insulting to me. My work day alone is valued over $200. Add the chair, food for 4, hotels, and incidentals (not to mention the stress) and I was thinking like something more along the lines of $750 would be about right.
• When I tell them I am considering having a lawyer write them a letter, they threaten to not even give us the $150.
  The contract disclaims responsibility for delays due to "circumstances beyond their control," but since they were the ones who loaded their truck up too heavy (potentially breaking laws and being a hazard on the road), I think this was firmly IN their control.

As of this writing, Matt has not yet received his pod. (Update: the stray pod arrived earlier today, with everything in fine condition.)

In the case of the overweight truck, it sounds like the "circumstance beyond their control" is that the truck driver got caught.

It sounds like Matt has already carefully examined the contract which would be my first recommendation. This case sounds like a fantastic candidate for small claims court if the company still refuses to admit fault.

(Photo: lordsutch)

Here's how ChexSystems works, courtesy of an Assistant Vice President at a "large regional bank" who contacted us:

We have had to close out accounts in the past due to a negative report from ChexSystems which shows that the customer had a charged off account with money owed. To keep using ChexSystems we have to not open accounts that have money owed to other banks. That is usually the only way [for those banks] to collect.

Of course, BoA could have explained everything a lot better. Just because someone has a negative ChexSystems report, it doesn't mean they are blackballed forever. It's kind of like bankruptcy, as you come off their records after 7 years.

Although that's probably why most customers denied a new account at any bank are rejected, it doesn't sound like it applies to Jesse's case based on what he told us:

They said it "may have something to do with an unpaid account." The only problem is that I am young, have good credit, and had never had any account with Bank Of America. Their claim was impossible.

ChexSystems doesn't care where the old account was—in fact, the whole point of it is to catch people with bad accounts at unrelated banks. But if what Jesse told us was true then we doubt he has an unpaid account with a former bank.

We contacted him and asked him to spill more secrets about his financial history for the benefit of the community. Here's his response:

I had 2 accounts with a local branch in Massachusetts, the first was a savings account which I closed when I switched over to a checking account.

I waited to close this account until I had received my new one. After receiving my TD Bank card I closed the account with this bank over the phone and they had no issues with me.

I barely ever use checks and have never bounced one.

I have only one credit card, which I got only a few months before applying for BOA. I have yet to be late on a payment.

I have no idea how ChexSystems works, but the only debt I have is from student loans which are actually still in a grace period.

My best guess is that I was denied due to some sort of issue identifying my residential address because I had just moved. Of course that doesn't explain why they sent me the cards in the first place.

Who knows, maybe it was ChexSystems who caused the problem and not BOA. Still, is it really means to ban a customer for life?

We received so many stories from other readers telling us how BoA screwed up their new accounts that we had to spin them off into another post. After reading those stories, you may begin to feel that Jesse dodged a bullet by having been turned away immediately. At least that way BoA couldn't charge him overdraft fees, "research" fees, or other penalties without explanation.

Continue reading: "Bank Of America: 'That's Why You Don't Open New Accounts Online'"

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(Photo: TheTruthAbout)

If you don't have time to read all three stories, skip to the bottom to see what Edward found out after sending an EECB to Bank of America.

First, Wayne's story. It's long, but it illustrates that even when Bank of America attempts to fix the problem, they can cause more harm than good.

I recently moved to a new state and opened a checking account with BoA online (my local bank in Ohio didn't exist where I moved outside Philadelphia). It was a Sunday when I filled out the application online and I had considered just waiting until the next day and walking into the bank and opening one. After talking to an online customer service rep via their chat window I was assured it was smarter to open the account online because the free checking account offer I was signing up for was ONLY available online.

I transferred my balance (around $400 I think) over from my old bank to my new BoA account. The online rep explained to me that until I received my debit card in the mail I could just walk into my local BoA and take money out of my account, which was fine with me. Wednesday rolls around and I do just that. The bank teller lets me take $200 out of my account and sends me on my way. So far so good. A couple of days later I come back to take another $100 out of my account and I am told there is a problem.

First, the new bank teller says she can't understand how they let me take any money out of my account the previous time because there is a flag on my account and it says I don't have any money in the account. In fact, it shows that I came in on the date of my previous date and withdrew money, and that they charged me a fee for having insufficient funds. At this point I am totally confused...and slightly pissed.

She explains to me that she doesn't understand what is going on either and that I need to call their customer service center because they are the only ones that can handle my problem. I am on my lunch break from work so I hop back in my car, start heading back to work (hungry), and dial up the number the teller had given me. The customer service rep that answers my call confirms that there is a flag on my account because they could not verify my new address. I explained to her that I just moved not even a week ago and since I moved into my cousin's apartment, I didn't sign a lease or anything. I told her I had to sign some paperwork to move in with the leasing office however so that they knew who was going to be living there. She asked if I had any utility bills in my name there and I said no, I don't, but I did have a new cell phone from a provider in the area where the bill was sent to my new address with my cousin.

The rep told me to take something from the leasing office acknowledging that I was living there and my cell phone bill into my local branch and they could take care of it. I said that's fine, but shouldn't my social security card and ID be enough to verify I am who I am? She says that would help but take at least a copy of my cell phone bill or a letter from my cousin and instructs me to go back the branch. I turn my car around (still on my lunch break (and still hungry) and go back to the bank that I had just left.

I walk in and talk to the same teller and explain to her what the lady said. The teller seems even more confused. She tells me that there is no way they handle anything like that and gets the manager. The male manager confirms the same thing. At this point I am pretty frustrated and just want to close my account and take my money and get something to eat so I can get back to work and on with my day (and life...without BoA). The teller and manager at this point take me to a tabel on the side and have me call their customer service line again right there from the branch.

This time I get a male customer service rep who confirms there is a flag on my account because they couldn't verify my new address. Nothing shocking there. I clue him in on what the previous customer service rep and he seems incredibly confused stating he has no idea why the other rep would have said that and said that in fact they had already closed on my account out completely. He said I would be banned from ever opening an account with Bank of America again. I ask him when I can have my money back (since Christmas was less than 10 days away) and he tells me 6-8 weeks. I hang up the phone, tell the manager what he said and they seemed just as baffled as me. I leave the branch pissed off.

Now...the best part. I had around $100 left in my account at BoA when they closed it. Around 6 weeks later I receive a check in the mail from BoA for around $20 with another letter explaining an overdraft fee of $75, apparently from when I took the original $200 out of the account. The kicker is that THEY SENT THE CHECK TO MY NEW ADDRESS THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T CONFIRM. As far as I am concerned not only did BoA waste my time and screw me over for doing nothing other than signing up for one of their accounts online (under the guidance of one of their own online reps), but they also flat out stole money from my pocket by charging me for it and for taking my own money out of the account...after telling me that I could.

I wouldn't wish a BoA account upon my worst enemy. At least when my car was broken into and robbed the thief ran off and tried to hide. When BoA stole from me they sent me a letter to brag.

Here's Chris's email about the duplicate checking account and how BoA tried to charge him penalties for not noticing he'd been given a second, fake account.

I was just reading the Bank of America article and experienced the same thing this past year. I received a set of checks in the mail that were registered to a second account under my name, that I never knew existed. The account was registered to a bank in a town that I have never actually been to. Because I did not know about the second account I proceeded to use the checks and the checks got returned because the account did not have any money in it. Once I discovered what happened I was on the phone with Bank of America reps all day working my way up the food-chain. No one would listen to me until I said that Bank of America is a scam and that they were trying to con me. Once I threatened them with those words I finally got them to reimburse any charges that I received for checks bouncing and had them cancel the account. They tried to tell me I applied for this second account, even though it was at a Bank of America in a town that I have never been to. Bank of America is a screwy company at best.

Finally, here's a copy of the EECB Edward sent to Bank of America after his account was closed without explanation and dinged $60 for an unexplained "research fee":

On May 7, 2009 I applied online for a MyAccess checking account. I chose the Debit card funding option and had $100 withdrawn from my Chase bank account to fund the Bank of America checking account. I received confirmation of submission of my application. Shortly after, I receive notification my account was approved. On May 11, 2009 my Chase checking account was debited for $100.

On May 13, 2009 I received two seperate mailings: one included information regarding my temporary password for my online account and the other contained bank disclosures. I proceeded to enroll in online banking and was notified that a call to customer service was required. I called customer service and they informed me that my account was closed — they could not provide any reason and said I would need to contact their Risk Department at 877-240-6886. I called them that night, but they were closed — apparently they close at 4PM PST.

On May 14, 2009 I called the Risk Department around 1PM. Once the representative verified my information, she began reading to me what sounded like a prepared script. She went on to state that when opening the account online, I agreed to a disclosure that stated Bank of America reserves the right to close my account for any reason and at any time. She goes on to tell me that the account is closed and that I will never be able to open an account at Bank of America. I asked them what was the reason behind my account closure. The representative then repeats that Bank of America reserves the right to close my account for any reason and at any time. I ask again, "But why was it closed?". She repeats the same statement for the third time and then states, "That is the reason why." She said they will be sending me a cashier's check for $40. I inform her that my initial deposit was for $100 and it has already been debited from my bank account. She states that there was a research charge for $60. I respond saying that it is hard for me to comprehend how Bank of America can close my account, without giving any valid reason AND charges me $60 (60% of my account balance). She tells me for the fourth time that Bank of America reserves the right to close my account at any time for any reason and then disconnects me.

Immediately after this phone call, I walk into my local Bank of America branch. I am eventually directed to a personal banker. I explain the situation. After telling my story, she comments, "That's why you don't open up accounts online." She lets me know that the online departments are seperate from the retail branches, but says she will try to find any additional information. She asks for my social security number and tries to look up my account history. She cannot find any information. She lets me know all she can see is that the account is closed. She tells me there's no use in her calling the Risk Department as they will only tell her the same thing they told me. She gives me a card to Customer Solutions. She tells me to call the number as it is my best bet at getting this issue resolved.

I call Customer Solutions at 1-800-831-4419. I explain my story. They put me on hold as they contact the Risk Department. They come back on the line and give me the exact statement the Risk Department told me. I let the representative that it is completely absurd that they cannot even give me a valid reason, let alone charge me $60. She says Bank of America will not refund the fee. I ask her if I have ANY other options to get this issue resolved. She responds, "No." At this point, I want to start recording names and record the shady nature of these business transactions. I ask her for her name and extension or any other information in which I can identify her. The line goes silent for a minute and then disconnects.

I look online to see whether this has happened to other individuals. Apparently it has.

http://www.raisedguidance.com/2008/10/banned-from-bank-of-america-fo.html
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/banking/bankofamerica-risk-assessment.html
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/checking-account-scam-c92924.html
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=41155
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090312090401AAcoGUA

This has been absolutely my worst experience in dealing with a bank. It bewilders me to see how Bank of America treats its customers. I expect at the very least, a full justified explanation for my account closure along with a refund of my full $100 deposit. Assuming that Bank of America charges $20/hour for research, please let me know what exactly took three hours and what research they found because apparently I haven't heard it.

Edward notes that the EECB appeared to do the trick. He even finally got an answer as to what triggered the closure:

I was also sure to copy the comptroller of the currency who regulates these financial institutions. Long story short, someone from the "executive offices" of Bank of America gives me a call letting me know that Bank of America is sorry and that they will refund the fee they charged me. They sent me my entire balance back along with a $50 Home Depot gift card for my inconvenience. I also finally got a real answer in regards to why they closed my account — my mailing address was not the same as my legal address (note that despite this, they had no problem taking funds from my Chase bank account).

Anyways, thought you might want to share this with your readers. Obviously Bank of America has some serious procedural issues in regards to how they handle what they determine as "fraud".

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(Photo: jonathan mcintosh)

Update: Be sure to check out Jesse's follow up post where he clarifies his credit history, and these stories from other short-lived Bank of America customers who had accounts closed for no clear reason, or worse.

Jesse writes,

I recently moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut. Upon my arrival I made the choice to leave my local bank account behind. I signed up for a Bank of America account through their website, thinking it would be simple to have ATMs that were available in both states.

After a month or two of frustratingly waiting, I received not one, but TWO debit cards in the mail. I looked through the paper work and found that they had in fact signed me up for two separate checking accounts.

I figured a quick call to customer service would clear the issue up, but the story only gets worse. The customer service rep I talked to told me that my account had a "flag" on it. I proceeded to ask if this was because THEY gave me two accounts and was told that the issue was not that. They said it "may have something to do with an unpaid account." The only problem is that I am young, have good credit, and had never had any account with Bank Of America. Their claim was impossible.

Finally I asked if I could just close the accounts and open a new one. They told me that I could no longer open an account with Bank Of America. I asked if I could open an account in the future and they told me that I could NEVER open an account with them again. As in NEVER.

Basically, Bank Of America banned me for signing up for an account after they made the mistake of sending me two accounts.

I called them a second time to see if I could get another answer and the customer service rep said "We suggest you find another bank."

I switched to TD BankNorth and currently have no major problems, besides any bank is better than one that gives you two accounts and bans you for life before you can use either.

In a way, BoA may have done you a favor, Jesse! Now if only Chase would start banning its customers for life, we'd be getting somewhere.

Update: Matthew says the same thing happened to him, and the only explanation BoA offered was that the fine print gives them the right to close an account at any time for any reason:

I too was banned from BoA. I recently got a new job and was looking to switch banks. I loved BoA's program in which they round up purchases, and send the difference to a savings account. I signed up online and was approved and received everything I needed in the mail; Cards, Pin Numbers, etc... I sat on the cards for about a week, waiting for all my purchases to clear from my former bank account to transfer everything over. I called to activate my card, and my account had been closed. "What the heck?" I thought. I'll call tomorrow and get this straightened out. I received a letter in the mail that day stating again, that my account had been closed. An account I never used.

I searched on your website and found the numbers for the higher ups and decided to give them a call. They did confirm that my account had been closed, but could not notify me why because they had some fine print (which was there) that stated either party can close the account at any given moment. The rep then stressed to me that I would NEVER be allowed to open another BoA account again.

I wasn't mad or anything, I'm was just more worried about WHY they closed it, more-so than the fact that they did.

(Photo: TheTruthAbout)

He blogged the chain of events;

June 17th-9:30 a.m. -Called local U-Haul. Woman took my info, including my credit card information. I told her where I lived now and where I was moving to and she said she wasn't sure which location would have the 24-foot truck I needed. She put it into the "general reservation system" and someone would be in touch shortly. She told me I'd be charged per 24 hour period.

June 17th- Noon-Finally received a voice mail from "Radford" who said he had the truck. I called back, He was on another call and put me on hold. The call disconnected. I called back and was immediately disconnected again. I called back a 3rd time, Radford said he didn't know what was happening, but would leave the phone off the hook while he finished with the other customer. Eight minutes later, after listening to his entire conversation with the other customer, he picks up again. To verify, I asked if I would be charged per 24 hour period; if I pick up the truck at 4 p.m. on Thursday and can't have it back by 4 p.m. on Friday, would I be charged an entire second day? He said that is two days. I told him what the first woman said and he informed me that the woman who I spoke to before was wrong. After setting up the reservation, he gave me a price quote of $39.95 (1 day). I again asked if I would be charged one or two days because I'd be returning it late on Friday. Then he said that I'd be charged just one day (contradicting himself).

I asked the location of the truck pick up the truck. He's over an hour away, not even close to either moving location. I told him it would be impossible to get the truck back to that location because of the move. I asked if there was a closer location I could drop the truck off at after the move. He said no. He said he'd put me back in the general reservation pool and someone would be in touch.

June 18th - Noon-Twenty-four hours later and still no call. So I call the general U-Haul 1-800 number. I give them my reservation # and he tells me that I need to talk to my local agent (the original woman) and transfers the call. It hangs up. He did give me the number before he transferred so I call back myself. I get someone different. I explain the entire situation and she tells me that she's found an available truck near my new house and that someone from that location will call me shortly.

2:30 p.m-No call. I look up the number for the U-Haul office that is supposed to contact me. I give my reservation # and speak to a gentleman. I explain the entire situation again. I tell him when I need the truck and that I may need it later on Friday and could I bring back after 4 p.m. on Friday? He says he can't authorize that and I need to talk to the regional reservation department and he would transfer the call. I begged not to be transferred. I told him I'd been transferred all over and I'm just trying to book a truck! I even warned him that if he transferred me I was just going to use another company. He said to please hold and he will transfer me to the correct location. The phone rang forever and hung up on me.

2:35-Enraged, I looked up Enterprise and verified that they also rent 24 ft trucks. I call the closest location. A professional sounding man answered the phone. He set everything up and he's fine with my pickup date and getting the truck back whenever is easiest time and location for me. He tells me if the location is closed, they have a drop box for the key. He reserves a dolly, furniture pads, and straps to make my move easier. He tells me about all the truck features and thanks me for calling and using Enterprise.

I didn't have to give my credit card in advance. I only talked to one person who picked up on the first ring. It took less than ten minutes. It's $30 more a day, but I'm paying for the service, which is worth it if it makes an already stressful move much easier.

It's now June 21st. I still haven't heard back from U-Haul and they have my credit card information.

Enterprise picks you up. U-Haul makes sure you don't go anywhere.

See, and here I thought that the point of calling ahead was to ensure that they would have a truck for you. I am clearly naive.

U-Haul gets into the "staying" business [Great Moments in Christory]

(Photo: kb35)

This weekend, my brother and I needed to rent a trailer to move some furniture. We reserved a 6' x 12' cargo trailer through U-haul over the phone for $29.95. We arrived at the specified location at 9 o'clock [Friday morning] ready to pick up our reserved trailer.

The only problem? No one was there. So we call their customer service line to see what's up. The rep tries, but cannot get in touch with anyone from the location. The only thing the rep can do, is get us a 5' x 10' cargo trailer at another location about 20 miles away. The rep offers us a discount from the regular 5' x 10' price of $29.95 to $19.95. It's not really a great offer, but we don't think we have another option this late in the game since these things must be reserved well in advance.

So we go out of our way to pick up this much smaller trailer, and waste about two hours of our daylight. Luckily, my brother noticed a small sign that says something like, "Right time, Right location, or we give you $50." They didn't offer this to us, the rep didn't tell us, we had to ask. So the general manager reluctantly gives us the $50 credit and we felt much better about the whole situation.

The guy behind the counter lets us know that if we need more time, just call the next day and they will extend our discount for another day. That's convenient, because it rained that afternoon so hard that the streets were flooded. More lost time. We call the same day and reserve the trailer for another day at the same discounted rate.

This is where things get really fun. We receive a call the following afternoon telling us that we have kept the trailer past the allotted time and that we would be charged $250 and they would report the trailer stolen.

My brother asked to speak to a manager and was told none were available. He was told the manager would call him back when he was available. No one called us, but we called back several times and no one even answered the phone.

So we finish moving and take the trailer back before noon. Still no manager around; he will not be back until tomorrow. We wait for the belligerent employee, "Nik," to finish yelling at another frustrated customer on the phone and he contemptuously tells us that although there was no incorrect action on their part, they will waive the fees and just charge us for the time we used. We agree because we just want to get out of there and go write to The Consumerist about the lack of customer service.

He proceeds to charge us for three days instead of two and tells us we are late bringing the trailer back because it is after noon. The receipt says "11:53" and of course, he doesn't have permission to issue a refund because he is not a manager. We called their 1-800 number and they said a rep will get back to us to resolve the matter. No calls yet.

(Photo: Tim Patterson)

This was left as a comment on the original post yesterday afternoon.

This is a response from Quality Van Line Management directly. First and foremost we last spoke to Cori about a week ago, and he was making an outrageous demand for money and threatened us by saying that if we do not pay him what he wants he will immediately try to ruin our business reputation and start making us look as bad as he can on the internet. If we were to give him the money, he would be happy with the service and the situation would be over. Obviously, we did not.

Regarding the facts, the job was picked up on July 31, 2008 and delivered on August 8, 2008. Within contracts Cori and Ali signed and were well aware of, we had 7-14 BUSINESS days to deliver the furniture, it arrived in 5 BUSINESS days, which is in fact an early delivery. After delivery Cori came to us with complaints of damages. By law we have a claim department that handles these issues and we give a valuation with signing up with our company of $0.60 per lb per article. Before signing up with us you are more than welcome to buy additional insurance, Cori chose not to do that. Therefore, he went to the claims department for damages and recieved an offer of $288.00 for reimbursement. He was not happy with this and refused, he called us back and said he wanted $800.00 back for his inconvienences, stress, and lack of professionalism in his opinion. He did understand the reasons the quote went up and had no problem paying for that, it was just his stress upon delivery he decided $288.00 would not be enough. We offered to make it $350.00 just to satisfy his demands, and he declined once again and told us in these exact words, "Your company will be sorry".

We have all legal documents of Cori and Ali complying to the terms of the move, and understanding the contracts. This complaint is coming directly out of spite because a customer is not getting what they wants, it is our job to make sure every customer gets everything they deserved by the law and the terms of moving policy.

Read the original post and ensuing comments here.

Here's an overview of Cory's experience with Quality Van Lines:

• The company raised the fee by 50% on the day of the move;
• Cory was charged for special packing supplies that weren't provided;
• two of the movers were guys hired that morning off the street;
• the agent who worked with the couple to set up the move stopped returning calls, then went on vacation;
• the van was late to Chapel Hill by 5 days;
• the van's driver smashed into Cory's car and damaged it;
• the items arrived badly packed and damaged.

We think one thing Cory should do is post his story online, especially since he's already written a 1400-word account of what happened. [Update: we've posted Cory's full story below] The best way to warn others about a bad company is to publicize the experience. Along these same lines, Tim Walker of MovingScams.com lists a half dozen organizations and websites to contact (including his) to get the word out.

MovingScam.com also has some must-read advice on how to find a reputable moving company. First on their list: skip the online search and look for local companies the old fashioned way (i.e., via phonebook and recommendations), because "while there are some reputable moving companies that have web sites, nearly all of the victims that contact us found their moving company on the Internet."

Your next step is to pick up your phone book, or call your local real estate agents and find at least three moving companies that have offices in your area. Try to find moving companies that have been in business at least ten years, and do not hire a moving broker. Current consumer protection laws related to the movement of household goods only apply to Motor Carriers and not to Household Goods Brokers.

Set up appointments for them to come to your house and do an in-home estimate in the order of your least favorite to your most favorite company. If they won't come to your house to do an in-home estimate, hang up and find another company.

This summer, we decided to move from the Albany, NY area to Chapel Hill, NC with Quality Van Lines from Clifton, NJ. Below is a sort of timeline of our move, and the issues we had while dealing with Quality. I will do my best to keep it succinct.

Before the move

We first received a quote from Quality on approximately June 23, 2008. My girlfriend Ali worked with Alan, who asked her for a list of all of the items we planned on moving. She gave him that list, and he came up with a quote for around 530 cubic feet. Later, on July 28, he provided us with a revised quote for 526 cubic feet ($1628), based on some items that we had decided not to bring with us. Based on this price, and the estimate Alan gave of a 4 day wait between pick-up and drop-off, we decided to book our move with Quality.

Moving day

The movers showed up at the planned time on July 31, and went into our apartment to look at our things. Almost immediately, the foreman told us that there was no chance that our things would only take up 530 cubic feet, and that he could not understand where that estimate came from. We asked if the fact that we had more boxes than we had anticipated could account for such a difference, and he said no. He said that the un-boxed furniture alone (which had all been cataloged in the quote) would take up much more room than we were quoted.

As the movers started bringing our things down to the truck, the foreman took us aside and apologized for two of his helpers (who were not speaking any English). He told us that they did not actually work for the company, and that he had recruited them "off the street" earlier that morning. In addition, we noticed that the promised mattress bags, furniture blankets, and TV crates were not being used. None of our wood furniture received blankets, and the mattresses were simply wrapped in lightweight plastic. The flatscreen TVs were wrapped inside boxes that had to be modified on the spot in order to hold their contents; there was no protective packing material or special-fitting box used on either TV (we had been charged $70 for 'TV Crates').

Once the things were all in the truck, we were told that the total came to 800 cubic feet, which was 52% more space (and money) than we had been quoted. We paid a large chunk of the balance, as well as a $200 tip, and were told our things would be handled as carefully and as quickly as possible.

Waiting for our things to arrive

Once the movers left with our things, we left the Albany area for the long drive down to Carrboro, NC. On Saturday, August 2, Ali gave Alan a call to check in with him and see how the delivery was progressing. She reminded him that he had estimated an August 4 delivery, and he replied that he had never told her that (a flat lie). She asked him what we could reasonably expect, and he basically dodged the question, saying that he would need until Monday to give us an update. So, we called Quality again on Monday and spoke with Alan; he told us that he needed to contact the warehouse, and he would call us back "in 10 minutes". Approximately 90 minutes later, after not receiving any call back, we called again. Alan told us that he had no information for us, and could not tell us when we could expect delivery.

On Tuesday morning (August 5), I called Quality again and asked to speak with Alan's supervisor, as he had been misleading and unhelpful. I ultimately ended up speaking with Moe, who told me that I could expect our things to arrive possibly later that day, but "guaranteed" by Wednesday. After waiting around in an empty apartment and receiving no deilvery or update on Tuesday night, I called again on Wednesday. At this point I was told that, unbeknownst to me, Moe would be out of the office for the rest of the week, and that the drivers would contact us.

That, of course, did not happen. We called the driver directly on Thursday, and he gave us a story about the truck needing repair, and being set back by a day. So, we spoke to Alan. After very rudely telling us that we basically had no reason to complain, he made some calls and told us that the truck was going to arrive in our area late Thursday night. We told him that, no matter how late it showed up, we wanted our things that night; more importantly, we told him that we expected the drivers to contact us directly if that expectation would change. After waiting up (again, in an empty apartment) until well after 1 am, it was clear that our things would not be arriving. We never received a phone call from anybody telling us the plan had changed.

On Friday morning I called the driver directly, and he gave another story about the courier losing the keys. I asked him specifically why he had not called to notify us when that happened, and he did not have an answer. He told us that he expected to arrive that day, but that it would be later in the night. Finally, after several calls trying to verify our correct address (which we had correctly given to several different people), the truck arrived around 8 pm on Friday night (8 days after pick-up, and 5 days after the originally estimated drop-off date).

Delivery

When the moving van arrived, the driver and his assistant were trying to determine the best way to park the truck. Ali suggested that she and I both move our cars to a different lot to give them room, and they agreed. However, before I was able to start my car, the driver had decided to back into his planned spot without waiting for me. While maneuvering his truck, he backed directly into the rear end of my car, causing several thousand dollars worth of damage. After the police were called and a report was filed (and he damaged my car again trying to move the truck), the movers finally opened the truck.

When we looked into the truck, it looked as though everything had been haphazardly thrown into the truck, without any consideration of which items were fragile. As they began removing items, it was clear that this was the case; many of our items were visibly damaged in the gathering darkness, and many of the boxes marked "fragile" were badly beat up (as were their contents). We initiated the claim service, and they replied to us saying that the 60 cents per pound of insurance we had entitled us to a total of $288.

While waiting for the claim service to respond, Moe had personally told me several times that he was aware of problems extending beyond damaged property, and that he wanted to "make it right" with us. However, once we received word of the claim amount, I contacted him and he refused to offer more than $55 on top of the property claim. That is $55 (out of $2400) for the total lack of respect and professionalism, not to mention the broken promises and inconvenience of having a damaged car.

Please keep in mind that this is just a summary; there were several calls which I did not catalog here. We were consistently treated rudely and in an exceedingly unprofessional manner. The lack of communication and follow-through was truly astounding. We expect a more substantial refund in light of all these problems; we think it would be more than fair to pay, in full, the original amount quoted, meaning we would not be charged for the extra cubic footage in light of all of this aggravation. However, Moe has refused to even consider this.

Any suggestions for what we should do would be welcome. Should we pursue small claims court? I doubt that would help, since most all of the promises that were broken were merely verbal. What about reporting the two "off-the-street" workers to the department of labor or INS? Please, we want to be treated fairly, but short of that, we want to punish Quality Van Lines for this horrible experience.

"How to Find a Reputable Moving Company" [MovingScam.com]
"How to File Complaints Against Your Mover" [MovingScam.com]
(Photo: Getty)

Hello Consumerist,

I have been trying to deal with Morton Van-lines (www.mortonvanlines.com) for almost 7 months. My girlfriend and I are working studio musicians based in L.A. and were offered a chance to set up a studio in New Zealand and do some recording sessions for up to a year plus.

Because of the comparatively small market of musical instruments in the country, we realized we had to bring along most of our instruments, along with our clothing and personal belongings. We had done our research and chose the company based on our budget and the service included in the delivery.

Our equipment was picked up from my house in Los Angeles in late August and we were quoted with a 6-8 week turnaround. We left the U.S. in early September and arrived at our studio in time to prepare the room for our gear. After the 15th week passed, we wanted to know what was going on. We then had an extremely difficult time in getting any word on our shipment. Burning through countless phone cards, and infinite email messages that were never returned, we started to really fear the worst. When we did actually get in touch with somebody at the office, we were
consistently let down with numerous false promises.

We never got the tracking number that was promised, nor any insight on what the hell was going on with our stuff. This hide and seek went on for FOUR MORE months, bringing it to a total of 6 months.

Now, keep in mind, we have a business to run, and work that needs to be completed. Dealing with customer (dis)service has been a nightmare for us and has put an INCREDIBLE amount of stress on our relationship. After the 4th month, we had finally gotten word of what was going on... it was shipped to the WRONG COUNTRY and was returned to the
U.S.!!!! Imagine the soul-crushing blow to learn that if they shipped it THAT day, it would take another 6-8 weeks!!

By this time it is mid-Dec. and we were now faced with a complete strategic disaster. We had to cancel all studio bookings, and face that fact that no matter how beautiful the country is, we could not enjoy it one bit. I came back to the States on Dec. 28 (even though I wanted to stay in NZ for new years so bad) to deal with this problem more locally. But then, the fun REALLY began...

For the entire month of January, I tried to reach the operations manager by calling the office everyday. I spoke with the two shifting secretaries and left dozens of messages with them and on the operation mangers machine. For the entire month of January, I DID NOT get one call back! Not even one call back. After a particularly fiery email, she finally called me and then used every cookie-cutter excuse you can imagine. Between a string of random emails, we had gotten 6 different guaranteed, written projected arrival dates, spanning over 2 months, that were NEVER followed through. At present (Feb. 11, 2008) the current written guarantee for delivery was today, the 11th, which was
let down once again. I am STILL trying to get our stuff back after 6 months being God knows where.

At this point, I am extremely concerned whether all of our things will be in there and in what condition they will return in. After being in transit for 6 months, who knows what state they'll be in. Not to mention I have been living out the small carry-on bag of clothing that I packed to bring with me to NZ (as most of our clothing was in the container).

Morton Van Lines (or Moron Van Lines, as I like to refer to them) have pledged to a 100% refund and compensation for their inability to provide the service we hired them for. However, no amount of money can ever compensate for the hell we went through, and are STILL going through in order to get our things back. Between missed dates, stressed relationships, called off sessions, plane tickets bought, and time lost, money can only refund so much.

I wish I could conclude this story with a happy ending, but this ongoing saga of mismanagement will go on for a long time, even after we get our things back.

What a horrible experience. What a horrible company. Their website is dead now, and judging by this posting on Rip Off Report, so is the company. Looks like Daniel's stuff might be sitting in a storage locker somewhere, while the storage company waits to get paid by an insolvent moving company.

It's important to do your research and hire a reputable moving company, especially if you're shipping internationally. Movingscam.com has tips for international moves, and a roster of companies they recommend.

RELATED: Morton Van Lines Disappeared and Has Held my Household Goods for 4 Months in Oregon Ashland Oregon [Rip-off Report] (Photo: frischmilch)

UPDATE: It seems this post may have had an effect. Commenters are reporting that Joe is now picking up. He even reportedly said to one of them, "Yes, this is Joe Shoen, are you calling about the internet?" Good on ya, Joe, now make sure that voicemail box is cleaned up.

The message says that he's sorry he missed your call, but he checks his voicemail frequently and if you leave your name and number he'll return your call. I count three lies in that statement. The only thing worse than not being responsive and transparent to your customers is lying to them that you are. When he gave out the number, Joe said, "People can't get this organization to behave, I can." Empty words, Joe, empty words.

However, reader Teresa says she's had success by calling the corporate customer complaint line at 800-789-3638.

PREVIOUSLY: Uhaul CEO's Cellphone Number

"If you go online and you only have one choice of a subsidiary of one of these companies, it's not one-stop shopping," [Ev Liebman of New Jersey Citizen Action] said. "It's simply misleading. Consumers need to be aware that there are other companies providing similar services and possibly at lower prices."

Movearoo's sponsors disagree, saying it's just useful advertising for their services and not misleading.

"It's not unlike what other industries do when they provide services," said Frank Kellam, business development manager for Verizon. "You won't find the traditional phone companies on a similar site (cablemover.com) set up by the cable companies. It's not unique and it's not out of line."

They're right. But that's also why you should look for more comprehensive online help when you move.

Interestingly, you don't have to look very far: the company responsible for Movearoo's backend has a similar site called WhiteFence.com which offers a much broader list of companies to compare. (Although we see no mention of companies like Vonage on their site.)

Do you know of other websites that offer help with moving, and aren't just fronts for a few key players? Add them to the comments below.

"Aid or ad? New telephone hookup website blurs the line, critics say" [New Jersey Star-Ledger]
(Photo: Getty)

"It can cost up to $2,000 each time it happens, minimum," said Merow.

U-Haul dealers must now find a way to counter this new water scam while also continuing to battle traditional gas scams. They are on full alert.

"We have increased security, increased cameras at all our locations, increased patrols," said Merow.

Merow says the thefts have become brazen. Just this past weekend someone stood on the other side of the U-Haul parking lot fence in broad daylight and fed through a siphon hose, trying to get at the gas inside the U-Haul trucks.

Um, don't siphon gas from U-Haul trucks, either. This little non-recession thingy is turning ugly.

U-Haul: Crooked renters refill gas tank with water [KOMO]

(Photo: Mikey G Ottawa)

Today I read yet another despicable story about the ineptitude of U-Haul and its local representatives. I had a similar experience during my last move.

Like many others, I chose to use a rented truck and perform the move myself. I made an online reservation about 3 weeks in advance, and surprisingly was scheduled for a truck pickup at a store more than 20 miles away (even though there are at least 3 U-Haul reservation centers within 5 miles of my old home). This was annoying right off the bat since I was obviously going to be paying for this imposed mileage. I accepted the possibility that these other centers had no trucks available and decided to move forward.

On the day of the pickup, I arrived at the store with a printout of my reservation and stood in line at the counter. Upon being called forward and presenting my reservation, I was bluntly told that no trucks were available, reservation or no. I made it clear that this was unacceptable, but the "manager" to whom I was speaking simply waved me away and began helping the next customer.

I stepped out into the parking lot and called U-Haul corporate to get this resolved. I spoke to a very helpful woman (whose name I unfortunately can't recall) and explained the situation. She said that she would call the store and get me a truck.

About five minutes later, I received a call back and told that there was a truck available for me now. I walked back in and immediately received a stare of disdain from the manager with whom I dealt previously. It was obvious that he wasn't too happy with the situation, but at this point I really couldn't care less!

He slid the paperwork across the counter for me to complete, and began telling me how much of an inconvenience I was causing. "Corporate called me and is making me give you a one-way truck," he said. My reservation was local; that is, picking up and returning to the same location. Apparently, he had a separate inventory of trucks intended for renters who pickup up in one location and return to another, and the corporate response to my complaint was to require him to rent me one of those trucks for my local use. What's the big deal?

So, fast-forward to the day after my move is completed. I drove the truck to the rental center, pulled into the parking lot, and stepped out. I walked into the office, but no employees were inside. Walking back out, I saw — sadly — the same manager from before, standing outside. I call over to him that I am returning a truck, and his response is, "Just leave the keys in the drop box and leave the truck where it is." Sounds good to me; I drop off the keys wrapped in a copy of my contract, and I head home.

Three days later, I'm at work. During my lunch break, I decide to check my home voicemail and am surprised to hear an angry message from U-Haul: "This is Alexandria U-Haul Rentals. Your rental truck was due three days ago and you haven't returned it. If you don't return our truck today I will call the police." *click*

Imagine my surprise.

I immediately start by calling the rental center and explaining exactly what happened. The gentleman on the other end explains that the manager (humph) personally walked the entire lot and my truck was not there. I explain that the manager personally saw me there on the day of my return and instructed me to place the keys in the dropbox. I am told that there is nothing he can do, and he hangs up.

I then placed a call to U-Haul corporate again, and get escalated to corporate security. I explain the situation again, and the agent I'm working with agrees to call and speak to the store, and get back to me. Remarkably, I receive a call from him about 20 minutes later... but nothing has been resolved. I tell the agent that although I didn't know the name of the manager I saw that day, I could describe him. "6 feet tall, brownish-blond hair, shoulder-length. Very slight build, and a smoker." The response: "Huh. Sounds like Tom, the assistant manager. Let me call the store again, and I'll get back to you."

Less than 10 minutes later, the agent calls back again. "I spoke with Tom. He walked the lot again and found your truck. Sorry for the inconvenience."

What a surprise. Suffice it to say that U-Haul won't be getting any of my business in the future.

It's a good day when reader complaints can be resolved without police involvement. U-Haul recently settled a class action suit over their broken reservation system, so honoring his original reservation saved them $50. Unfortunately, the manager's malice or incompetence cost them more in the long run. If you get stuck with a U-Haul problem and the normal channels aren't working, don't forget CEO Joe Shoen gave out his number on Inside Edition, and says he wants to help.

(photo:elisharene)

Broadway Express says:

We have been in constant contact with the customer since the accident. Credit cards are charged for these self moves on the day of loading. Standing procedure in the transportation industry is a load must be paid for before a claim can be filed. The customer called as asked immediately after the accident if we would refund the load charges, and we said we couldn't, but the insurance was contacted and an adjuster was sent out promptly. The salvageable items were loaded on another one of our trucks in the area and is being transported to the customer's destination.

The standard claim form sent to the customer states .60 cents/lb. This is not the case with a catastrophe. This customer will probably receive full value from the insurance company. An adjuster is also meeting the truck in California to re-evaluate the goods.

They also let us know that the driver is very experienced and has been with the company for 14 years but is from Illinois and was unfamiliar with the Boston area and made a tragic mistake while trying to merge into traffic. Let's send everyone involved our best wishes.

(Photo: k a t m )
PREVIOUSLY: What Do You Do When Your Moving Company Destroys Everything You Own?

Hello all,

This is my first time posting to this list and I'm hoping that someone will be able to help! My husband and I contracted with a moving company, Broadway Express, to drive our belongings from Boston to Oakland, CA. Yesterday, after the truck was packed by local professional movers, the Broadway Express driver drove down Mt. Vernon Street, turned onto Storrow Drive and promptly hit the Longfellow Bridge (11' clearance and a 13' 6" truck), shearing off the entire top and sides of the truck and distributing our belongings across the road. We have the standard moving insurance offered by this company, which is $0.60/lb. In retrospect, we should probably have tried to get better coverage, but who would have thought that the truck driver would try to scrape the top 2.5 feet off of his vehicle?

My question for the list is: does anyone have experience in dealing with a total moving disaster? How can we maximize our reimbursement? Most of the furniture was damaged and a good deal was totally destroyed. The moving company claims that we need to pay for the move in order to file a claim, so they have already charged my credit card. This was our first experience using professional movers and I can't say I enjoyed it.

Thank you in advance for any advice and let me know if you'd like to see pictures — I have a ton.

Best,
Unfortunate People

Has anything like this ever happened to you? Any advice for these people?

Don't hire Broadway Express as your moving company [Universal Hub]

More info on the bridge crash [LiveJournal]
(Photos: K a t m )

Dear Consumerist,

We hired Ultimate Van lines, based in Dallas, TX, in April 2008, to transport our furniture and other household property from Fortville, IN to Lake Forest, CA, with an estimated delivery time of 7-10 days after pickup. Pickup in Fortville, IN occurred on 4/29/08. They have still not delivered our property to us as of 5/24/08.

They have stonewalled us in our attempts to contact them (they did not answer their phone, or return phone or email messages the first week). They have offered multiple excuses as to why our items have not arrived. They will not divulge the location of our property so that we can go reclaim it. They seem to change the rules of our contract every time we call. They are not consistent in how they explain how their company works or why this delay has occurred. They claim not to receive faxes, emails and phone messages from us regarding payment of our final balance. We are concerned that our property has been stolen from us and that we may never see it again.

I have filed cases with the Better Business Bureau of Dallas and the National Consumer Complaint Database. The police in Lake Forest and Orange County do not seem to know who to refer me to. I faxed the FBI on Saturday in the hopes that they might help us. At least the FBI seems willing to review our case.

We have lost thousands of dollars worth of property; besides furniture, appliances, and clothing, we have lost memorabilia and some financial records.

What is more, my children (my daughter: 3 years old, and my son: 7 weeks old) are sleeping on the floor while they wait for their beds to arrive. We purchased cheap air mattresses in Wal-mart's camping section. My son no longer has a crib, because Ultimate Van Lines never delivered it.

There is evidence that Ultimate Van Lines has perpetrated this scam before on the internet. Unfortunately it was only after we realized there was a problem that we located poor reviews of them online. Customers at ripoffreport.com, my3cents.com, and movingscam.com reported their property being held hostage and cash amounts extorted from them upon delivery.

Please help ensure that Ultimate Van Lines is not free to victimize other customers in the future. We’ve already paid thousands of dollars to relocate to California, and if we hire a lawyer to litigate our case, we will have to pay thousands more. We just want our things back.

I am appalled about all I’ve learned regarding moving companies and their scams since this happened to us. Those who perpetrate these crimes really seem to operate above the law. I’ve heard that the police are powerless to help when movers hold property hostage and extort money from their victims. I want to help put a stop to at least one company making money this way.

- Heather C.

And that's why you want to check out a moving company's reputation BEFORE you sign up with them.

How To Avoid Moving Scams
How To Find a Reputable Mover
Things To Know Before You Freight Ship
8 Tips From A Moving Company
Trouble With Your Movers? Call The Department Of Weights And Measures!

But that's not going to help you out of your current predicament. You want to contact the California Public Utilities Commission, which has jurisdiction over moving companies in California.

Short story: We had 8160 pounds of personal items in storage with Wright Way Moving & Storage of Kent, Washington (not a self-storage place, a pallet-style warehouse storage place). They stopped sending bills. We called to find out why. Their number is disconnected, and their building appears abandoned. We have 1) filed a police report 2) informed our insurance company, and 3) contacted the military to find out if they can help us.

Long story: My husband finished his Marine Corps enlistment September 28, 2007. We own a home in South Carolina, near his last duty station, and as of that date it was under contract for a closing date of October 24. The packers came on September 13, and the movers came to pick it all up on September 14. The mover arrived in Seattle on September 16 or 17, and turned our belongings over to Wright Way Moving and Storage, as we were not there to take delivery. Our intention was to arrive in Seattle, spend some time getting settled, getting jobs, etc, then find an apartment and take delivery of our items. We had savings to tide us over, and the military pays for storage up to 3 months, after which point you can opt to take over the storage costs, but the military is still responsible for delivering the items.

Cue the mortgage crisis. Our buyers backed out, due to the husband's inability to prove his employment history. The house sits on the market still - we've recently buckled and signed a contract with a property manager to attempt renting it instead. Because the house hasn't sold, we can't afford to get a place in Seattle, so thank God we can live with my mother rent-free. And let me tell you, nothing tests your patience more than living in a single bedroom with your husband and 19-month-old son. His crib is in storage, so he sleeps on a foam bed on the floor. We thought it was a temporary solution - a few months tops.

In December our 3 months of free storage were coming to a close - we received a letter from the military giving us all the contact information for Wright Way, and I called and spoke with Ann, being sure to give her all of my current contact information - where we're living in Seattle, phone numbers, etc and asking for an invoice for the partial month of December. I was concerned that they might claim they couldn't contact us and sell our things, so I made sure to reach out. They sent me two invoices - the partial December and full January bills, both showing my current and correct contact information, so I know they have it on file. I paid those invoices in full, and have the canceled check to prove it.

Around mid-March, I realize we haven't received any further invoices from them - even if they bill after-the-fact, I should have received February's invoice in March. Life happened, and we didn't end up calling to check up on it until last week. A couple of calls last week went unanswered - no voicemail, no answer. So today, my husband tried again and got a "number disconnected" recording. Very concerned at this point, he drove out to the storage facility to find the building basically abandoned. He came home and did some googling and was able to find that they canceled their business license in late March.

So, seeing all of my worldly possessions flash before my eyes, the first call was to our insurance company - we were smart enough to get Renter's Insurance, but only for $10,000 - I figured that would cover anything that got damaged, I never imagined it would all disappear. USAA instructed us to open a police report, so my husband did so - they will be driving by this evening to see if there is a Property Manager to contact or a way to get in the building to confirm the items are truly gone. I have also contacted our military contact - the people who gave this company everything we own.

So this letter is for two reasons. 1) To warn others with items in storage to get LOTS of Renter's Insurance - its cheap, and worth it. 2) To make sure we have done everything we can at this point. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I'd love to say that all's well that ends well, but I definitely feel burned by the whole situation.

We had opened a police report with the local department, who seemed compassionate about our situation and said he'd go by the building Monday (4/14) night to investigate the status of the buildings and items inside - he failed to mention that his next day at work was Friday. Four days is an eternity when all you can think about is the handmade toybox your father made for his very first grandchild.

We learned that the Trade Commission would have jurisdiction over licensing and fines for such a facility, if we had our things there for less than 90 days, over that, its considered permanent storage and out of their hands. And let's face it, the company no longer existed, so a fine isn't going to do us much good.

The military contact in the office that had originally placed our items in storage knew that the company was undergoing bankruptcy in February. She coordinated the move of all military-controlled storage items at that time, but our shipment wasn't flagged because we were past that 90 day limit and the military was no longer paying for the storage, so they essentially didn't know our things were still there. However Karlene ended up saving the day for us. She tracked down the cell phone number of the man that owned Wright Way - when she called him at first he tried to pretend he wasn't Jack Wright, but she was able to get him to admit it, and he stated he'd given any outstanding items to "SDS Incorporated". She asked for the number and he said he'd get it "in a few days". She pressed for a number by 1:00 that day (this was probably around 10am on Tuesday). By 3:00, she had confirmed that our household goods were safe and sound with SDS, and had two contact numbers for us.

When my husband spoke with SDS, he confirmed everything was intact, and that he actually had been an employee of Wright Way. When everything began to go south for the company, he decided to take control of the items in storage, moved them all to a new warehouse, and is still putting the business together to handle what he's jumped into. We certainly owe him a debt of gratitude and wish we could continue to be his customer, but after this experience we've made arrangements for a self-storage place very close by where I can go visit my things. And as soon as the police report is closed, we're upping our Renter's Insurance. It was only 24 hours from start to finish, but it is not a 24 hours I would ever want to relive.

The moral of the story: Renter's Insurance (and don't move until your house is actually and truly sold).

(Photo:Joy of the Mundane)

From CyberNet:

The URL of the coupon is:

https://moversguide.usps.com/img/coupon/bestbuy/200804_clientarea.gif

The first thing that popped into my head was that part of the filename for the image is just the year followed by the month. In this case the 200804 represents April, 2008. As it turns out the URL of the image changes from month-to-month almost like clockwork. So the next time you're looking to buy something from Best Buy check to see whether this coupon applies to you, and adjust the URL to represent the current month. USPS might be changing the URL as more people start to catch on, but by modifying the URL I can see that they've been using this structure for nearly a year.

Reusable" 10% Off Best Buy Coupon [CyberNet]

• Book well in advance( at least a week) with a MAJOR credit card
• If you reserve through the 1800 number, get your reservation number and call back a day or 2 before to find where to pick up your equipment. Do not wait for someone to call you.
• When you pick up, bring your drivers license and credit or debit card. It makes things easier for everyone.
• If you know a location that you prefer to pickup or drop off, let uHaul or the dealer know.
• Take the insurance, but only if you are not covered by your auto policy. No credit card will cover damage.

"I have read many of the horror stories on the web and consumerist, and have this to say... Every situation is different, when you get a good or bad experience it can be isolated to a single person or location. We think we have a partnership with Uhaul, we let them repair the equipment, we take care of the customers. Speaking for our location, I honestly never want to send someone out on a rental if I feel the equipment is unsafe, and with our primary business, there is NEVER a need to lie or treat people poorly.

"Overall, their equipment is in much better shape than when we were a dealer a few years ago, we are contributing to our bottom line with their product on our lot, and I would not say they are a bad company. Their software could use some streamlining and their intractable attitude as well."

ENVIRONMENTAL FEE Effective the week of March 4, 2008, Web BEST will begin charging an "Environmental Fee". This will be charged on all truck rentals. It is $1 per day on an In-Town with max of $5 and it is $5 per rental on a One-Way. This money will be set aside and spent on waste disposal and related activities.

Most auto part, tire stores and auto repair facilities have charged a similar fee for several years. Both Penske and Budget charge similar fees. The customer expects U-Haul as the industry leader to deal responsibly with these matters and we are.

Q: What is the environmental fee for?
A: To help defray a portion of the costs associated with the disposal and treatment of waste fluids, batteries, tires and many other environmentally hazardous wastes. In addition the fee will also be used to offset costs associated with the research, development and new technology U-Haul continues to add to it`s equipment and facilities.

Q: What if a customer complains about the fee?
A: You are in charge of your customer service, if you feel it is necessary to refund the customer, by all means, please refund them. As with any charge, you can reverse this fee. Before you do, ask yourself and your customer. "Do you want clean air and water thirty or fifty years from now? If so, pitch in."

(Thanks to le-garce!)

Feds crack down on moving industry [San Jose Mercury News]
RELATED: How To Find a Reputable Mover
(Photo: Getty)

San Francisco lawyer Thomas A. Cohen, an attorney for the class, called the settlement "a terrific resolution" and said plaintiffs had a right to return to court to bring a contempt motion if U-Haul was "somehow using words in a way . . . confusing to a customer."

The case involved U-Haul's practice of accepting all advance reservations booked online or with telephone reservation agents. Under the company policy, customers were to be told their reservation was "confirmed" and that they would be called the day before their move with instructions on where and when to pick up their equipment. According to the suit, many customers were forced to wait hours or days and travel long distances for the pickup.

In his ruling, Stevens said U-Haul had used "the words 'confirmed reservation' in order to lock up customers as soon as possible and minimize the chances that customers are going to shop around."

U-Haul settles California class action [L.A. Times]
(Photo: PetroleumJelliffe)

My wife and I signed up for Dish Network service last summer '06 and were fairly happy with it. Come this August we moved into a new house where another service was available and decided to switch. I called and canceled our service approximately 2-3 weeks before we were set to move (paying a prorated disconnect fee in the process), scheduling the last day of service to be the last day of the month. I was told by the Customer Service rep that I would receive pre-paid 'courtesy' UPS boxes to return the equipment. We expected the boxes to arrive before we moved, considering we'd given ample notice.

However, come moving day, no boxes had arrived. "No problem" we thought. After all, we had a forwarding address set up and if junk mail can find its way from the old address to the new, surely something as large as this will too.

Come next month I happen to look at my bank account and there's a $300 charge to Dish Network. I received no bill, no phone call, my bank account is simply $300 poorer. I immediately called them back and requested an explanation. It seems that the boxes were sent to our old address and not forwarded. They'll resend the boxes which should arrive in 3-5 business daysand as soon as we have a UPS tracking number, the money will be refunded. Case closed. Or so I thought.

Fast forward two weeks and the boxes haven't arrived. I called customer service again. Guess what? They sent the boxes to our old apartment address... again. I asked if there was a location near where I lived so that I could drop the equipment off myself and get my money back. I'm given a number to a local distributer. I'm told to leave a message and they'll get back to me. While waiting to hear back from the distributer I received a bill for $24.75 from none other than Dish Network. But I canceled the service! Ah, but I owe $25 in sales tax for the $300 worth of equipment I don't want. And here's the kicker: it's addressed correctly at our new house.

I, for a fourth time, call up customer service on Monday Nov 5th. In a rather irritated tone I skip the niceties and ask for the boxes to be sent to the address that I now know is quite firmly in their computer system. I'm assured that they'll be resent and that I'd have them by Friday. That was yesterday. Calling again this morning I'm told that the boxes have been mailed to my old apartment complex for a THIRD TIME. Supposedly they've sent a fourth set to my house this time, (which apparently will take 7-10 business days to arrive, contrary to the 3-5 it's always taken before) and I can finally get my money back.

I'm hoping that the inept CS reps can connect the addresses long enough to get these mailed correctly, but I expect in about 2 weeks I'll call back and yet again be told that they were sent swiftly to my old address along with a $24.75 charge going to collections (assuming it isn't withdrawn from my account without my permission again). Any advice (and publicity) is appreciated.

(Photo: diaper)

You have to register to post, and as Kevin Kelly points out on his blog, it's no CraigsList in terms of size or reach, but moving boxes are so expensive that "it's worth having another resource in your arsenal."

U-Haul Box Exchange [Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools]

RELATED
U-Haul Box Exchange Forum
(Photo: Getty)

We recently experienced a scam at Chelsea Mini Storage, Manhattan's largest public storage unit, that (according to an employee) is standard practice- customers who reserve storage units by phone arrive with their belongings to find that their room no longer exists, and are forced to accept smaller rooms for the same price.

In our case, I reserved a 7x10ft room for $194/mo, received a confirmation number, and spoke on several other occasions to salesmen (all of whose names I recorded) to re-confirm the room size, layout, book a moving company affiliated with CMS- Moves LLC, etc. I even called the day before our move to reconfirm and advise CMS of our arrival time. During each call I was assured that "we have thousands of rooms, we'll have your 7x10 no problem."

Upon arrival, sales staff kept us waiting for over 45 minutes for no apparent reason while our movers waited nearby with all our belongings. Finally, sales associate Johnny advised us that no 7x10 rooms were available, but that he would give us an 8x10 room for the same price. When we saw the room, we and the movers realized it was significantly smaller than 8x10- my 6ft boyfriend could barely stretch out across the width of the room.

We then asked for Kevin the manager- his bizarre explanation was that when you book a room, you're only locking in the price- not the room size (?). He rudely asked who I spoke to by phone, and when I produced the names and dates and noted that the same info is posted on their website, he changed tack, saying that he couldn't be responsible for what his staff may have told me. When I pointed out that Johnny had 10 minutes earlier promised us the 8x10 room for the 7x10 price, he said Johnny had misspoken, and then kept repeating that according to company records our room was in fact 7x10. We asked him to accompany us and measure for himself- he refused, saying he had no measuring tape! His helpful advice- make our things fit into the smaller room or pay almost twice the promised price for a larger room.

At this point our movers said that this was common practice at CMS and that the only way customers could be assured of having the rooms they'd reserved was to come in advance, sign the contract and put a lock on their empty room- otherwise, you're at CMS's mercy when you arrive with your belongings.

Hope this helps other consumers avoid the same problems.

(Photo: BrilliantTrash NYC)

I get a call from my bank on August 1 and they tell me that UHaul has just tried to charge $700 to my account and then $1000+...The first charge goes through but the second one is stopped. So now they are trying to charge me for their incompetence. I can't believe this. I contacted the bank and they understood, credited me back my money, filed a dispute, and issued me a new card. Thanks Wachovia.

UHaul: Go Fuck Yourself [More Willie]
(Photo: blmurch)

My wife and I have been subscribers of Time Warner Cable (digital cable + internet service) for over 3 years. We haven't had problems as big as most, but we've still had our issues here and there. Yesterday's happenings, however, take the cake.

Around 5pm my wife returned home from being out for much of the day only to find that our cable had been entirely shut off. She and I have just sold our place and are buying a new one, but we hadn't yet called TWC to have our service shut off. Needless to say, she was confused.

So she called TWC and received a wonderfully helpful CSR (sarcasm, here). She explained to him that our service had been disconnected, and wanted to know why. The CSR told her that it had been shut off because we didn't live there anymore. My wife attempted to explain to him that we, in fact, still live there and aren't moving out for at least 6 more days. She had to say "I am currently standing IN MY LIVING ROOM. WE STILL LIVE HERE."

The CSR then told my wife that they had documents from our buyer saying that he owned the place, and that our cable wasn't going to get turned back on. Keep in mind we never cancelled it. Also keep in mind that the buyer could not have had documents stating he owned the place because as of yet he hasn't received his final papers from Escrow. The CSR literally said (and I quote), "Erin, Erin. Erin. You're not going to get it turned back on. You're not. We are not going to turn it back on." (Erin is my wife's name).

Finally my wife escalated the call to a manager, who quickly turned it back on.

In short, our buyer went down to a TWC storefront and told them he was moving into our new place. TWC lied when they said they had proof that he owned it, because even our buyer doesn't have proof that he owns it yet. They shut our cable service off without contacting us to confirm, and simply took the word of a person who, as far as they're concerned, is a complete stranger. The CSR was disrespectful to my wife and told her there was no way in hell our service (that we pay for) was not going to get turned back on. The manager fixed it all.

(Photo: daedalicious)

Two weekends ago I was in a situation where I needed to move some furniture out of storage and into my new apartment. Between my own experiences and the reports on Consumerist.com I was hesitant to rent from U-Haul, despite their convenient location. I looked into renting a full size van from Enterprise or a truck from Home Depot or Lowes but since I was moving on a Sunday and under 25 years old neither worked out for me.

The rental itself wasn't half bad — I skipped paying the online reservation free knowing that the reservation wouldn't be guaranteed anyway and instead called ahead to the local store (number acquired via Google Maps). I managed to snag a 14' truck after waiting a few hours (3:30pm Sunday) and agreed to return it after-hours (~6pm).

When I get back to work on Monday I logged in to my bank website and saw a charge of $75 on my card followed by a credit of $19.82 — total charges at nearly $56. Confused, I called the local number and was transferred to a regional CSR (call was after-hours). The CSR was quite nice, offering to fax me a copy of the receipt and look into a double charge (for two rental periods). Of course, he followed up with neither of those promises.

Fast-forward to today, Monday, a week later. All I want is a copy of the bill and to contest the second $19.95 charge. Poking around on their website I find a form to request a copy of your bill. I fill out all of the information and at the end am asked if I agree to a $10 "research fee". Ridiculous!

So I call 1-800-GOUHAUL and try my hand again at raising them on the phone. That number, of course, is their national number, and we all know how well integrated U-Haul corporate is with their individual retail locations. Needless to say, they transferred me to a busy tone. Next I call the local U-Haul location and get hung up on. Twice. "Thank you for calling U-Haul, please hold — click."

After a call back to the national number I finally get the number of the regional call center. I get a nice rep named Phoebe on the line and explain that this is my 5th or 6th call on this issue. As luck would have it she is the executive assistant to the regional manager. (Executive support FTW!) She takes down my contact information, gives me a direct number to her office (skipping the IVR) and immediately emails me a copy of the bill as well as a confirmation of refund for the second billing period. Whoa!

I guess the lessons to be learned here are many:

1) Never reserve a truck online. Always call the local number. Make sure you're speaking with a local person — often the local number will ring over to a regional sales office.

2) Always check your credit card for the amount charged, particularly if using the key drop after business hours. Keep gas receipts to prove that you filled up and take pictures of the dolly and blankets in the back to prove you didn't use them.

3) If you need to contest your bill and are not near the local store, call the regional number. You can usually get this from the national CSRs. If you're looking for Western NY it's 888-761-9232. Pheobe G. was the rep who helped me — her title is Executive Assistant so she'll likely be able to get straighten out your problem. Please don't abuse this number!

4) U-Haul isn't evil, just mismanaged. If you are persistent you will eventually get someone on the line who genuinely cares about your issue.

Hope others find this information helpful. Thanks Consumerist!

Terry VH

(Photo: PetroleumJelliffe)

Gallant got recommendations from friends, and made the company agree on a "not to exceed" price for the move.

Goofus entered the moving company's name wrong in the Better Business Bureau site and so she didn't see the complaints racked up against the company she went with. She also signed a blank bill. Don't be Goofus.

RELATED:
How To Find a Reputable Mover
Things To Know Before You Freight Ship
8 Tips From A Moving Company
Trouble With Your Movers? Call The Department Of Weights And Measures!

The company says it's accidental, while annoyed judges have thrown out U-Haul's defense in some of these cases.

We wonder if it's less malice and more incompetence, demonstrating the inability of U-Haul corporate to influence what happens at the ground-level in their stores, with employees just grabbing whatever spare parts are around to fix trucks, even if they have giant EVIDENCE - DO NOT TOUCH tags.

Key trial evidence goes missing [LAT] (Thanks to frinklemur!)
(Photo: Al Seib)

During a yearlong investigation, Times journalists surveyed more than 200 U-Haul trucks and trailers in California and other states and found that more than half were overdue for a company-mandated "safety certification," a check of brakes, tires and other parts typically required every 30 days.

Some safety checks were more than a year overdue.

In response, U-Haul said its fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles is safe and well-maintained. It said it is investing heavily to modernize the fleet and spends about $350 million a year — about 20% of its rental revenue — on maintenance and repairs.

The Times checked the safety certification stickers of 207 U-haul trucks and trailers during January and February and found that about half the trucks and three-fourths of the trailers were more than 30 days overdue for safety certifications. Some trucks hadn't been inspected in many months; one was last certified in November of 2005.

U-Haul responded by claiming that the stickers probably fell off the trucks, or that the safety inspector had neglected to attach a new sticker. Even if the inspector had attached a sticker, it seems likely that the inspection or repairs never actually took place, according to several ex-employees quoted in the report:

"I would never rent a U-Haul truck," said David Esquivel Jr., who was a U-Haul mechanic in Fremont, Calif., before being fired under disputed circumstances during a union organizing campaign in 2004. "It's not dependable."

Darryl Stasher, formerly a top U-Haul executive in Mississippi, said he was accused of "hanging paper" when the company fired him in 2001. Stasher, who worked for U-Haul more than 17 years, said that the charge was a pretext in his case, but that the practice was rampant.

"They set standards and guidelines that, in reality, they knew were not happening," he said. "All these trucks were breaking down the day after they were rented, and after they said maintenance had been performed."

Upkeep lags in U-Haul's aging fleet [LA Times] (Thanks, Daniel!)
(Photo:Christina Alspaugh)

Traveling downhill or shaken by a sharp turn or a gust of wind, a trailer can begin swinging so violently that only the most experienced — or fortunate — drivers can regain control and avoid catastrophe.

The practice has killed dozens of customers...

When accidents do occur, U-Haul places the blame squarely with the customer, who is expected to learn how to safely tow a trailer from a detailed safety manual. Yet the manual is rarely distributed with trailer rentals, and there is no Spanish version. The Chairman of U-Haul, Edward Shoen says that a Spanish version is "a nice idea," but "we don't have a big demand for it."

U-Haul has already altered certain practices: they no longer let Ford Explorers tow trailers, not because the combination is dangerous, but because the Explorers have become "a magnet for attorneys."

Defying the evidence uncovered by the Times, Shoen is adamant that his vehicles are safe. "Our equipment is suited for your son and daughter. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say U-Haul is rated 10 in safety." — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

Driving with rented risks [L.A. Times] (Thanks to Daniel!)