"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)

U-Haul will appeal, of course, and announced that "the damages awarded are particularly outrageous given the circumstances of this case... The final verdict is another example of abuse of the legal system against corporate citizens in America."

What they failed to mention in their statement was that Waldrip's pelvis was crushed in the accident, "leaving him unable to walk and with no bowel control," and that "six previous renters had similar problems with the truck."

"Jury says U-Haul must pay $84 million to injured man" [Los Angeles Times] (Thanks to Peter!)
(Photo: Roland)

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)

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)

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!)

Matthew asks, "Is the little trailer indeed sporting wood?"

Normally we would consider such questions infra dig, but after the recent ruckus over the Peekaboo Dance Pole (ages 4+) we're just not so sure about this so-called "toy industry."

Whatever the answer, Lil Sammy Mover and Lil Hauler make quite a joysome pair when connected together.

Readers are invited to call1-866-277-6855 and share the truth they discover.

So we're always happy to see someone bring the bastards to court. That lone avatar of a just cause? Leonard Aron, who bravely fights against U-Haul's outrageous top-up fee, where they charge you for not filling the tank... even if you have. Class action lawsuit time.

Here's an example sent to Consumer Affairs: "I used the truck for 20 miles ... On the way to returning the truck I have filled up $9.37 worth of gas, which equates to more than 3 gallons of gas. When I returned the truck (the manager) claimed that I have not filled up the gas and charged me an extra $50 — $20 for gas (4 gallons at $5), and $30 service fee."

Of course, U-Haul's right to bilk you is in your contract, so it must be legal!

U-Haul Gets Hauled Into Court [Consumer Affairs]

After not being able to get his reserved Uhaul , Chris decided he would just rent a trailer from them and hook it up to his brother's 1995 Ford Explorer. That's when the fun really started.

95% of life is showing up on time. The other 5% is resisting the urge to vanquish the fools you find when you get there.

Generally speaking, U-Haul seems to run a significant side business charging you to make reservations for the wrong truck, for the wrong hours, "subjected to availability." It costs David M. $10 to hear from U-Haul, twice, that U-Haul had thoughtfully made him a reservation for a vehicle that wouldn't suit his needs.

Of course, even if David had accepted that reservation, past experience dictates he would have shown up and the truck wouldn't have been there. David's email, after the jump.

Before I begin, let me set the dates: I had to move yesterday (Sunday, October 1)...this was a one-day window for me, as my old apartment was paid through the first.

Here's the story:

- About two weeks before I moved, I went to U-Haul's website and made an on-line reservation for a 17' truck for a 24-hour period (we wanted to pre-pack a lot on Saturday evening (9/30) before the move. I was told by the website that someone would be contacting me in the next day to confirm the reservation. No one contacted me the next day, but my reservation on U-Haul's website switched to "confirmed" status, and I also received an e-mail confirming the reservation (which I only glanced at), so all seemed okay.

- I should mention this here: U-Haul charges you $5.00 just to make a reservation (which, presumably, will be applied toward your future rental). You have to enter your CC# on the website...

- A few days later, someone from U-Haul called me to tell me that actually, there were no 17' trucks available for "the time period I had specified"...would a 14' truck be okay? I told him that I had asked for a 17' truck, but it was all right if there were no such trucks available.

- Friday evening, when my girlfriend's parents were helping us pack, her father (thankfully) asked me to double-check the time to pick up the truck, so I check the confirmation e-mail (reservation #21937022)...

...and saw that the pick-up time was 9:00am Saturday (9/30), with a drop-off time of 4:00pm the same day. Just to be clear, I had specified a pick-up time of 4:00pm on Saturday and a 24-hour rental.

- Vexed, I called U-Haul and asked why my reservation was for only seven hours when I had specified 24 hours in my original request. The phone call went something like this:

Me: I can't just rent the truck on Saturday for six hours...I'm moving on SUNDAY...it's totally useless to me on Saturday.

Customer Service Rep: Sir...the website says "subject to availability" when you make the reservation.

Me: That's fine...I understand that it's "subject to availability". That said, when you determined that the services were UNAVAILABLE during the period I requested, why was I sent a CONFIRMATION? Why wasn't I sent an e-mail stating "sorry...your reservation time is unavailable, here are some available times..."? If you had told me that, I would have been fine with it and rented with another comapny.

CSR: ...the website says subject to availability...

Me: Then I want to cancel my reservation because it isn't what I wanted and I can't move that day.

CSR: ...your reservation has been cancelled *click* <—-that was her hanging up on me.

It was already 8:00pm, so I decided to wait until tomorrow (Saturday) to find another moving truck.

- Saturday morning, I call a few local U-Haul locations and no one has trucks available. Finally, I decide to call their national number, figuring that they'll have access to inventory all over the Bay Area...I understand that we may have to drive a ways to pick up another U-Haul, but thems the breaks. So I have the following interaction:

Me: I would like to rent a U-Haul this afternoon and keep it for 24 hours, as I'm moving tomorrow. I need a 14' or a 17' truck, and I need it for 24 hours.

CSR: I need to get your CC# because there is a $5.00 reservation fee...

Me: I know there's a $5.00 fee, and I'm totally willing to pay it, but I don't want to pay it, then get a call in an hour telling me that there is a 14' truck available for 5 hours this afternoon. If I pay this, can you confirm that there is a reservation available for the time period I've requested?

CSR: Sir, I wouldn't even be able to select these truck sizes if they weren't available. Someone will be calling you in an hour to confirm a location to pick up the truck you want to reserve.

Me: (Grudgingly) Fine...but my understanding is that there is a truck somewhere available that fits my requested parameters.

I take a shower, still without a concrete reservation. While I'm doing that, my girlfriend calls Penske, another rental comany, gets a nice woman on the phone, and reserves a 15' truck for pick-up only three miles from our apartment. All of this is done in the span of one phone conversation...no waiting for a CSR to call back and (not) confirm the reservation. All is good.

Two hours later, my cell phone rings:

CSR: This is ***** from U-haul calling to confirm your reservation today. Unfortunately, all the larger trucks are reserved, but we have a moving VAN available in Oakland...

Me: I already have a truck from another company...thanks for taking my $5.00, though, and not adhering to the reservation parameters I requested. <*click*>

Yeah...so now U-haul has at least $10.00 of my money and may, for all I know, tack on another cancellation fee for the "reservation" I cancelled on Friday evening.

Now I know that I should have looked more closely at the confirmation e-mail that U-Haul sent me, but when I see "U-Haul Reservation: Confirmed" in the subject line, I feel that it's safe to assume that the reservation I made was confirmed (as opposed to a completely different reservation subject to the whims of U-Haul's "subject to availability" policy). I wonder how many other people are bilked by U-Haul in the same manner, and whether their shady-ass business practice is even legal. To me, it smacks of "class-action lawsuit".

Needless to say, I won't be using U-Haul again.

Well, right or wrong, his efforts with the 1-800-GOT-JUNK customer service people were successful. He got an apology and the manager refunded him half the difference between the first estimate and the second charge.

...your items should not have been re-estimated due to our team's oversights... We do not condone or tolerate the use of foul language or disrespectful actions or attitudes in our organization be it amongst our own employees or more importantly with our customers. I am terribly sorry that you had to be exposed to such behavior.

Here's to complaining!

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Previously: 1-800-GOT-JUNK Hires Punks

Maybe it penance handed down from the gods of consumerism. After all, as Fight Club teaches, the things we own come to own us. When you try to divest yourself of your possessions, particularly so unceremoniously, there's going to be some tearing of the flesh as you pry out the claws of the albatross.

Or maybe, 1-800-GOT-JUNK staffs a buncha jerkoffs and they should give him a refund... Ryan's letter, after the jump...

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Ryan writes:

"Acceptance to a university on the other side of California and other dramas have led me to need to quickly sell most of my possessions here for my new life. Which meant today I had to clear out a storage unit full of junk from my last apartment. Dealing with U-Haul and another junking service at the same time put heaps of dread into me this morning , but not all was bad. When I called u-haul the day before I talked to the manager about an outstanding balance I had there which I was no longer willing to pay for. I told her my plight as a poor student and my sudden need to take off. I also inquired as honestly as I could what the consequences of letting my junk just go to auction at this point and not looking back. Her response was it would hurt me in the long run. I'm guessing she was implying my credit would get dinged. She gave me a chance though, and told me if I could clear everything in there by end of the week, she'd call the balance off and everyones happy.

Well I left that place anything but happy, but that didn't stop me from sending the u-haul manager a thank you e-note, though by their general customer feedback form as I had difficulty finding an e-mail addy for the specific store.

"Despite previous experiences, I must say how much I was pleased today with your manager K.T. at your location *** E. ******** Rd., ******, Ca.
She was very helpful to a delicate situation of mine and made things smooth and easy for a usually stressful situation. "

1800-Got-Junk? on the other hand was quite a disappointment. I tried not to judge the young employee duo that rolled up blasting rap music and laughing from their blue truck. Things only got worse though. I was exposed to their delightful foul language and jokes about my own furniture and other assorted belongings that were audible at times making me feel rather angry, or like the kid in math class everyone is making whispered jokes about. Their first visual estimate which I was happy with was then second guessed to me after they had moved a few pieces. To be fair this was because my refridge was in the back and hard to estimate its size. But the new estimate tacked on 40 bucks. Ok I'm sweating it off as best I can at this point but I'm also taking down their plate number and truck number on my cell phone.

After they've finally loaded it all up they try to process my request with some wireless card reader they have and finding a signal alone not only takes 20 minutes of waiting, but also a call to their internal tech support which they had to call another number to get the number for.

Their backup idea is to process it later and have me put my credit card number and billing info on their copy of the receipt. Despite not looking very Russian-mob-like I say hell no, but eventually their gizmo did work.

And after all that one of the movers tells me how they both "Hooked me up" @ a bill of $301

I think my real hookup will be a refund when I submit my complaint to 1-800-Got-Junk
-Ryan"

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The reason this email is so good isn't just David's amazing story of customer dissatisfaction, nor even the U-Haul manager's incredibly insulting lack of respect, but that David did what you all should be doing when you write us up a cogent, reasonable complaint: he sent it off to the Better Business Bureau and the U-Haul front office. He didn't get an apology, the manager wasn't fired, but David did get the charge reversed.

This is a really great read. David's letter to U-Haul and the BBB after the jump:

U-Haul International Customer Service PO Box 21502 September 19, 2003 Phoenix, AZ 85036

Dear Sirs;

On July 21st, 2003, I visited the U-Haul website and made a reservation for a 26' truck and appliance dolly for a house move on July 30, 2003. Given the choice between a one-way or a roundtrip rental I selected one-way, even though the moving distance was only about 10 miles. In reality I simply didn't realize one-way was intended for much longer distances.

I received an email from the U-Haul website, also on the 21st, verifying my reservation and informing me that the Buena Park, CA office was now in charge of my reservation and they would be calling me within 24 hours to confirm. This mail also informed me that they (the Buena Park office) would call me by 5PM on the day prior to the pickup date.

Also on the 21st I receive an email from U-Haul's Traffic Control Manager in Fullerton, CA, confirming that they were now in charge of my reservation and that someone would call me before 5PM on the day before the reservation to schedule a pick up time and location. It also confirmed my pickup city as Buena Park, CA and destination city as Anaheim, CA.

With all this handled so promptly and efficiently I expected no problems and went about preparing for my move. The evening of July 29th I realized I had still not heard from them as far as when and where to pick up the truck, so I emailed the Traffic Control Manager I had previously been emailed by, asking them to let me know as soon as possible.

The morning of the 30th I phoned the number provided in the email hoping to get the information for my pickup since I had helpers en route. I was told that they didn't have a truck for me because my reservation was for one way and that I could wait for one which may or may not be available today. They also didn't have any round trip trucks available that suited my need. I mentioned that I had made a reservation a week prior and couldn't understand why they couldn't have told me this in the call they were supposed to have given me by 5PM the previous day. The man apologized for not making the call but said there was nothing he could do about getting me a truck that size for that day. He said that he could provide one until 6PM but it had to be back by 6PM as they had reservations for it. This was really not going to be enough time so I asked if there was anything else available at all.

After much back and forth I agreed to rent a smaller truck. I again provided all the required rental information and three-quarters of the way through the process he tells me "oh!...nope, they just rented that truck out here, sorry."

So now we're back to the truck I can have until 6PM. Having no choice but to move THAT DAY and with helpers already sitting at my residence waiting for me, I agreed to take that truck. I drove to their lot in Fullerton and went in to pickup the keys. I watched as the counter guy, Enrique, pulled a key from the wall with a red Do Not Rent paper tag on it and began processing it, charging me the full advertised price for a day rental despite the early return time demanded. I was given a form with which to mark dents or damage on the vehicle and told to go outside and they'd bring it around. What pulled up outside was the most beat-up, dented, and abused truck I've ever seen. Large portions of the front fender sheet metal were literally ripped up and crumpled. The headlights had no proper metal plate around them but were instead seated wrapped in foil and duct tape. One massive dent had been sprayed with stripes and a number. I question whether the vehicle was even street legal.

(cont.)

I asked the guy who brought it around (and seemed to be eyeing the dashboard gauges suspiciously) how I should mark the diagram since the truck was pretty much one huge dent. "Oh don't worry," he tells me. "Everybody here knows THIS truck! Just mark 'lots of dents and scrapes' on the diagram." I did so, got in the cab. As much of the interior was damaged as the exterior. He assured me it was fine and sent me on my way. As I pulled out of the lot the thing slipped out of gear and flatly refused to go back into one. I was blocking traffic wrestling with getting this truck in gear until finally I managed it. I've driven moving vans before, even manual diesel trucks like this one. This truck was not operating properly. It was raining for the first day in ages that day and I had zero confidence in this vehicle.

I pulled the truck right back into the lot and went inside where Enrique and the manager were finishing up with a customer who then left the store. Here's a recap of our conversation:

Me: "Nah, this isn't going to work out, that truck's a piece of crap."

Manager: "OK, I'll just reverse the charges on your card" as he takes my paperwork.

Me: (waiting)

Manager: "What exactly is it that you want?" as he continues

Me: "I'd like a truck that's not a piece of crap."

Manager: "You know, you're the kind of customer I hate..."

Me: "What, the kind that makes a reservation a week in advance and doesn't even get a promised phone call the day before to confirm the pickup?"

Manager: "We did call you yesterday, I was here and I heard Enrique talking to you on the phone yesterday!"

Me: "Bullshit!"

Manager: "That's it, I want you out of my store now. And I'll be charging your card $50 for cancelling the reservation."

Me: "No, you will not."

Manager: "Yes I will!"

Me: "Fine, I'll call credit card company."

At which time I walked out the door and went to a competing van rental facility who not only had a well-maintained truck all ready to go with return anytime before the following morning but were also courteous and helpful. Myself and all of my associates learned a very valuable lesson that day about U-Haul. I've never in my life been treated as abysmally as I was by this manager. And he's right, I'm the sort of customer he hates...one who shall never bring business to him again. This man should be fired. I have contacted my credit card company and refuse to pay any sort of "cancellation" fee brought forth by U-Haul on this matter.