Our U-Haul Near Death Experience (Long Read)

[bubbley]

Date: June 2, 2012
Time: Reservation for 4:30 PM pick-up
Location: U-Haul, 5519 6 St SE Calgary
Equipment: 17’ U-Haul Truck
Moving: NW Condo to SW Home

Picked up the U-Haul from the above location and encountered a very lets just say rude employee who gave us our keys. Did not mention anything to us and in fact didn’t even get us to sign the rental agreement, she just put a line right through-it where we were supposed to sign. We didn’t realize this until after the ‘incident’ which you will read about. Furthermore, my friend kept going on that day about some documentary he saw about rental companies and how we should not rent from them and blah blah, we didn’t really pay to much attention to his concerns. But what resonates with me now is when we were doing the little walk around process of marking the U-Haul with an ‘X’ sticker for any damages, the same friend joked with the U-Haul employee and said “Are these things even safe to drive?” where the employee who shall remain nameless said jokingly “No, half of them don’t even stop!”, we didn’t think anything of it and moved on.

We drove the U-Haul truck to our NW Condo that we were renting with no issues. Once at the condo, we proceeded to load all our contents from the condo into the 17’ U-Haul truck, this took us approximately 4 hours to complete. There were 5 of us in total assisting with the move including myself and my fiancé.

At approximately 9:00 PM we were ready to depart to a friend’s house, where we would be dropping off one couch. I was driving the U-Haul with a friend as a passenger, my brother was in a mini-van which was also loaded with contents, my friend was also in a mini-van loaded with contents and my fiancé was driving our vehicle. Our friends place is approximately 10 minutes away from our condo, so we decided to all head there together. My brother and fiancé went at their own pace, I was driving a lot slower with my friend in the mini-van following behind me so when I would need to do a lane change I would signal he would complete the lane change when safe and id know it was ok for me to then make the change as well.

When we arrived at our friends we quickly unloaded the couch, hung around for a few minutes and proceeded to leave promptly. It was getting late and we only had a few minutes of sunlight left to start unloading into our house. Same idea as before, the fiancé and brother would head over to the house at their own pace start unloading their vehicles and myself, passenger and friend following would arrive later as we were obviously driving slower with the loaded U-haul truck.

The route we would take would be Stoney Trail to Glenmore Trail to 14 Street. Once seeing the 14th Street SW exit, I signaled and completed the merge from Glenmore Trail. At this this point we were probably travelling approximately 60-70 km/h, after starting to straighten the steering wheel, all of a sudden the U-Haul jerked us pushing us sharp left, making some loud noises at the same time. It was hard to control the truck, the steering wheel became very heavy; we then jerked to the right and then back to the left at this point I was able to regain control and we came to a complete stop. While these uncontrollable jerks were happening, it was evident that the whole truck especially the back where all our items were was swaying back and forth. I immediately felt like we were going to tip over, I don’t know how we didn’t but maybe there was someone watching over us. This happened so quickly and with so much force we were swaying around inside like rag dolls inside, I drilled my shoulder into the window, snapped my neck side to side, heard a loud thump which was my friends head hitting the window but luckily I did not panic and was able to gain control of the truck. Fortunately there were no cars beside us in the two lanes otherwise we would have side swiped everything in our way. Our initial plan was to take Deerfoot Trail but thankfully we made that stop at our friends house first, if we had gone that route I am certain there would have been a different outcome to this.

Anyways, back to the story after re-gaining control we slowly drove to the right hand lane and stopped. Our friend behind us had seen all this unfold, he parked behind us and came running to the truck. My friend and I got out with our hearts pumping and trying to come to grips with what just happened. My initial thought was that the tire or something had popped so we looked down around and couldn’t see anything. We then decided to take the next exit which was the Rocky View Hospital which I think is 75th Ave and the first right there on Eagle Ridge Drive or something like that. It was a safe place to park with lots of lighting we got out and discovered this:


http://dc616.4shared.com/img/Z1tL9Ot5/0.1980206906249603/U-Haul.JPG (http://www.4shared.com/photo/Z1tL9Ot5/U-Haul.html)

http://dc613.4shared.com/img/4X0SNG1Z/0.7847372058620761/U-Haul_2.JPG (http://www.4shared.com/photo/4X0SNG1Z/U-Haul_2.html)

After regaining our composure and making sure we weren’t hurt too badly we counted our blessings and called U-Haul Roadside Assitance. After talking with someone from a call center in the USA, it took this person 20 minutes alone just to find our coordinates. After this point, the next step was that they were going to dispatch their service tech/towing person, they would call me back and let me know. At this point my brother and fiancé had arrived, we waited a minimum of 45 minutes and the lady finally called back said they had nobody to come out and that we would have to deal with it tomorrow. At this point it was late between 11-12 AM, all our stuff packed including clothes and toiletries and nowhere to stay. My fiancé was on the phone with a couple different people on their customer service line and they told us no problem find a hotel and keep your receipts for dinner/breakfast and the location will reimburse us. We locked the U-Haul and as we were all starving and hadn’t ate for hours, we proceeded to Tom’s Pizza to eat. Our friends were nice enough to allow us to spend the night so we didn’t need to stay in any hotels.

On June 3rd we received a call in the afternoon from City Wide towing and U-Haul informing us that the truck will be towed to our house so we could finish unloading. At the same time we proceeded to go to the U-Haul location to speak to the manager. We asked a few questions to the Supervisor and were informed that there is no routine inspections done on U-Haul’s other than a physical inspection and only time they do an inspection is if a previous customer has reported it. She was quite dismissive and we were informed to speak to the Manager who was not in and she in fact did not even have any knowledge of our incident that had occurred the day before. From this point, we headed back to our house which had the U-Haul truck towed right out front. Once we opened the door it was quite evident due to the jerking around of the truck a lot of our contents were all over the place and some items were even damaged. My fiancé called in to report this as well. At this point my friend and I were feeling the soreness of being thrown around in the U-Haul so we weren’t quite useful during the move; we had some more friends come to complete the move.

On June 4th, on the way to work I called City Wide Towing to let them know that the truck was ready to be towed back to U-Haul. They informed me they needed a PO # from U-Haul, so I had to call them. I retrieved the business card that was given to me by the Supervisor the day before and called the number. A gentleman picked up who was not the manager and was also apparently not at the location but was taking the calls. I gave him my information to have the Manager call me back and also informed him that there truck is ready to be picked up. In the afternoon, I began to receive automated text messages from U-Haul stating that we have an overdue U-Haul rental. I called the location back to once again let them know that they can tow back the truck. At this point the person told me that they cannot complete this request and that I have to call back U-Haul Roadside Assistance and let them know. After waiting on the phone, I notified there call center in the USA that they can take back the truck, I received a call back a short while later from them notifying me that City Wide was on their way.

At this point we hadn’t heard from the Manager, so once again we called him to try to meet with him. We got a hold of him and let him know we would be there shortly. Upon arriving, he greeted us and we went over what had happened. He told us we would not have to pay for the truck and to provide him the receipts for reimbursement. After providing the receipts he was just about to reimburse us and the last second he said that he had to call his traffic manager. After calling the traffic manager he informed us that he cannot complete the reimbursements as the truck was not there yet and that the traffic manager would be calling us tomorrow. At this point we had been very civil, reasonable and understanding. I told him we cannot keep driving back and forth and that we just want to put this nightmare behind us, and told him to just reimburse us like your company told us you would do. At this point, things get tense and the original guy who did the walk-through and told us that some U-Haul’s don’t stop buts in and mentions we didn’t even get insurance and that we signed a contract! I proceeded to show him the contract and where they failed to get my signature, at this point the manager basically tells him to shut-up. Seeing that this is getting us nowhere I tell the manager we will wait for this other person to call us.

Today, on June 5th I get a call from this ‘traffic manager’ and she asks me right away to send her the receipts. I tell her that I will call her back as I was at work and on way to a meeting so I take down her email and phone number. I send this information off to my fiancé who then calls her back. When my fiancé called her back they went over what happened etc. and the lady informs us that we still have to pay for the truck + KM's but they will reimburse us for a meal. She then proceeds to say things like:

- oh hunny this isn’t a cash call I mean you have to admit this is kind of funny one person’s neck is hurting and the other person’s back and you have damaged contents which means you didn’t pack it good enough
- your fiancé looks fine we have him on video
- this is a false claim, you are going to get a lawsuit against you
- this one is going to be fun

At this point, my fiancé is fed up with her and calls back to speak to someone else but they keep transferring directly to her as she is apparently the only manager. This is where it stands as of now.

At no point did we mention we want anything from U-Haul, only what they had told us that they were going to do which is reimbursement of the rental fees and our dinner. There has been no sympathy, level of service or any indication U-Haul remotely cares about their customers. At the end of the day we’re just glad that we walked away from this with minimal injuries as it could have been a lot worst. This has been a very traumatic experience and U-Haul has been an absolute nightmare to deal with.

Edit: Inside Edition's Investigation into U-Haul Trailers:
sYhofTqsxrg

Edit: CTV's W-FIVE Investigation (http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/20051021/wfive_uhaul_051021/)
After renting 13 U-Haul trucks across the country, W-FIVE found not a single one passed basic provincial standards. Each truck required some sort of maintenance to make it roadworthy. Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/20051021/wfive_uhaul_051021/#ixzz1x1lQmIG3
Edit: Someone with a similar story made this site, you can find more stories in the blog section:

U-Haul Sucks (http://www.uhaul-sucks.com/)

[Kloubek]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Looks like a snapped tie rod?

Uhaul is not a great company. Well known, but well known to be problematic. I still remember many (many) years ago when I was a young pup and we had one break down while moving from the BC coast to Kamloops. We had to transfer all contents to the new truck ourselves and arrived into Kamloops at about 5am.

While I was too young to remember the details exactly, I do know that my father had to fight with them to reimburse us for the expense.

My story is back from the early to mid 80's, and I don't think Uhaul has improved at all.

I rented one about 2 1/2 years ago, and had to fight with them because they didn't mark down the mileage when I picked it up. As such, they tried to charge me for the previous person's mileage until I managed to show them a date-stamped picture of the mileage just 10 minutes after I took the keys to the truck. Without that, they told me I would have been SOL.

Good luck with everything.

[z24_wheels]

No.

[-relk-]

Glad to hear your ok.

Fight them and make them pay, thats my advice. You should not need to pay for that service...

[Graham_A_M]

The fact most of the Uhaul trucks are registered in Arizona (because they dont meet Canadian safety standards) speaks a fair bit of numbers. (Thats why you typically see them with Arizona plates on them, despite being in Canada for many years).

Its quite well known all their trucks are beat-to-piss garbage to begin with.

This whole thread doesn't surprise me in the least.

Lack of proper attention & inspections from a truck leaser, not surprising break downs occur, then a myriad of paperwork and bullshit to weight this down until the original incident becomes a wasted effort.

Rinse and repeat as necessary. :banghead:

[bubbley]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Sorry to hear about your experience. Looks like a snapped tie rod?

Uhaul is not a great company. Well known, but well known to be problematic. I still remember many (many) years ago when I was a young pup and we had one break down while moving from the BC coast to Kamloops. We had to transfer all contents to the new truck ourselves and arrived into Kamloops at about 5am.

While I was too young to remember the details exactly, I do know that my father had to fight with them to reimburse us for the expense.

My story is back from the early to mid 80's, and I don't think Uhaul has improved at all.

I rented one about 2 1/2 years ago, and had to fight with them because they didn't mark down the mileage when I picked it up. As such, they tried to charge me for the previous person's mileage until I managed to show them a date-stamped picture of the mileage just 10 minutes after I took the keys to the truck. Without that, they told me I would have been SOL.

Good luck with everything.


Originally posted by Graham_A_M
The fact most of the Uhaul trucks are registered in Arizona (because they dont meet Canadian safety standards) speaks a fair bit of numbers. (Thats why you typically see them with Arizona plates on them, despite being in Canada for many years).

Its quite well known all their trucks are beat-to-piss garbage to begin with.

This whole thread doesn't surprise me in the least.

Lack of proper attention & inspections from a truck leaser, not surprising break downs occur, then a myriad of paperwork and bullshit to weight this down until the original incident becomes a wasted effort.

Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Thanks, yes the tie rod just snapped off. I'm not surprised with your experience, worst company I have ever had to deal with to date. Hope this thread will make people think twice on the risks associated with these trucks.

[FixedGear]

this is bad news for me, as I was planning to rent a U-HAUL to move across the continent in a few months (3 day drive). :facepalm: i don't suppose there are any other options, aside from getting a movign company? I have to tow a car, too. :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

[corsvette]

I dont know why u-haul trucks dont require alberta commercial vehicle inspections, this is what happens when companys dont have no reason to do proper maintenence.

[ercchry]

well the good news is you now live in the best quadrant ;)

[cet]

Originally posted by FixedGear
this is bad news for me, as I was planning to rent a U-HAUL to move across the continent in a few months (3 day drive). :facepalm: i don't suppose there are any other options, aside from getting a movign company? I have to tow a car, too. :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

You could try somewhere like Penske, Budget or National. Although I'm not sure if the latter two do one-way rentals.

[DENZILDON]

It's good that no one got hurt.

Since I heard that they send all their old trucks to Canada I never used them.

Always used budget, never had a problem may it be a cargo van or bigger.

[Vdubbin]

My Buddy just rented on from Penske for a move to Kelowna and had no issues what's so ever. He even rent 2 trucks initially and when we got everything packed into the big one they had no problem returning the empty one the next morning.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[FraserB]

Looks like the stud snapped or the nut simply came off. Neither would surprise me with U-Haul.

Gelad you are (reasonably) ok, I agree with everyone. Fight them and make them pay. Worst case, make it a PR nightmare for them, I believe there is enough space to park a car in front of that location with a sign reading"U-Haul trucks are not safe, ours broke and almost crashed". Just stay off their lot and they can't do shit.

[bbcustoms]

Originally posted by corsvette
I dont know why u-haul trucks dont require alberta commercial vehicle inspections, this is what happens when companys dont have no reason to do proper maintenence.

Because they are not Alberta vehicles, nor BC, nor Ontario they are just "passing through" hence why they are all registered in Arizona. They actually have a pretty smart system for a mickey mouse organization. Their vehicles have no permanent location as people do one way moves all the time and vehicle gets left at your destination's nearest Uhaul location. A vehicle could potentially be anywhere anytime so the only rules they are governed by are Arizona's.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by cet


You could try somewhere like Penske, Budget or National. Although I'm not sure if the latter two do one-way rentals.

Penske doesn't do one-way rentals, Budget doesn't do one-way to states, and National tells me the store is sold out of cars for the last week of August. :rofl:

I'm moving to the states, so it looks like i'm gonna be driving one of these heaps 3 days across the desert. :cry:

[Rat Fink]

.

[darthVWader]

Originally posted by FixedGear


Penske doesn't do one-way rentals, Budget doesn't do one-way to states, and National tells me the store is sold out of cars for the last week of August. :rofl:

I'm moving to the states, so it looks like i'm gonna be driving one of these heaps 3 days across the desert. :cry:

Be safe and carry a good safety kit and a lot of drinking water. I would hate to be stranded in the desert the last week of Aug.

[C_Dave45]

God, don't get me started. It's amazing this company is allowed to prosper.
I've rented 3 different times with U-Haul and every single time it's been a disaster. Each outlet is independently run, IIRC, and that ads to the problem.

My experiences:

Moving across provinces, one way. Pre-paid a deposit to ensure a truck would be available on specific day. I had two days to move from BC to Saskatchewan. I show up on that day; "Oh sorry..we have no trucks". Took a whole day and a trip into Richmond from Abbotsford to finally get a truck.

Truck broke down, couldn't get roadside assistance.

I didn't have a credit card, so I had to pay cash deposit for a truck. When I return the truck, expecting a refund (cash deposit less rental fee) the girl says I owe X amount of dollars. "Uh..no, you owe ME money..I left a deposit". I show her the receipt...but the ink is SO FAINT...you can't see the details. They have no record and won't give me a dime back. Took HOURS of threats to call police, call to the bank, copy of ATM transaction from my bank before they FINALLY agreed to it.

Complete shithole of a company. I guess that's why they're so cheap.

[theken]

A failed starter is not a maintenence issue, that just happens.
Tie rods should be inspected but u-haul is shit. And those trucks do not need to meet dot specs as they are registered less than 4500kg so I believe they are registered in Arizona because it is probably cheaper, has nothing to do with cvip's.

[firebane]

You know why all Uhauls are registered and insured in Arizona? No inspections.

Great to know huh.

[FixedGear]

EDIT:

more I think about it, I'm just gonna pack my important shit in my car, ship my clothes and other crap, and by all new furniture. No truck or u-box rental... just me, my car, and Fedex.

[Mar]

Rented from the same location. Transmission let go after I finished unloading it so I told them to deal with it or leave it there, I didn't care. Some guy came out and hit it with a hammer a few times and drove it back to the shop. Plus the air conditioning didn't work and a hole in the front was repaired with duct tape. It was trash.

Plus they wouldn't let me return it at another location, I had to go all the way back where I got it. I'll never rent from U-Haul again, they gave me a $75 coupon for that experience and I've still never used it.

[SJW]

I will never rent anything from U-haul ever again. They are brutal and unsafe. Also crooks.

[thager]

Originally posted by firebane
You know why all Uhauls are registered and insured in Arizona? No inspections.

Great to know huh.
the north american head office is in arizona, thats why they have arizona plates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Haul

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by FixedGear
EDIT:

more I think about it, I'm just gonna pack my important shit in my car, ship my clothes and other crap, and by all new furniture. No truck or u-box rental... just me, my car, and Fedex.

Very wise idea. You may want to check out what Greyhound can offer as well. I had to ship a mountain bike sized package down to Houston, and Greyhound was twice what UPS quoted, but its still another option for you. :dunno:

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by theken
And those trucks do not need to meet dot specs as they are registered less than 4500kg .... has nothing to do with cvip's.

uhh, every vehicle on the road here must comply to our rules, weight does not matter. I have been pulled over by CVI in my pickup, van, cube van, basically whatever I have been driving that has a company name on the side, but either way, the police can pull over a car, call it too rusty and have it towed...Im sure something could be done if they decided to crack down.

[Canucks3322]

Reserved online earlier this year, cancelled after reading reviews RIGHT on their own website, glad to see those were not exaggerations.

[A|pine]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Sorry to hear about your experience. Looks like a snapped tie rod?

Uhaul is not a great company. Well known, but well known to be problematic. I still remember many (many) years ago when I was a young pup and we had one break down while moving from the BC coast to Kamloops. We had to transfer all contents to the new truck ourselves and arrived into Kamloops at about 5am.

While I was too young to remember the details exactly, I do know that my father had to fight with them to reimburse us for the expense.

My story is back from the early to mid 80's, and I don't think Uhaul has improved at all.

I rented one about 2 1/2 years ago, and had to fight with them because they didn't mark down the mileage when I picked it up. As such, they tried to charge me for the previous person's mileage until I managed to show them a date-stamped picture of the mileage just 10 minutes after I took the keys to the truck. Without that, they told me I would have been SOL.

Good luck with everything.

I just helped my girlfriend move into her place and unfortunately I did not take a picture of the original odometer so we were SOL. It wasn't very much (we only traveled maybe 20 kms, she calculated it out) and they charged us for travel of about 30 kms. Just remember to take that snap shot next time you rent from uhaul because they will try to pull a quickie.

[project240]

The problem is that there seem to be very few other companies that do one-way rentals. Budget, Penske, National... none of them do one-ways within Canada. We're moving in a couple of months, but haven't yet been able to find another reputable "self-serve" rental from AB to BC.... although I haven't searched that much.

Cost wise Uhaul would in theory cost about $1000 compared to $10800 (the only quote I got from the 1st moving company I called out of the phonebook).

[theken]

Originally posted by GTS4tw


uhh, every vehicle on the road here must comply to our rules, weight does not matter. I have been pulled over by CVI in my pickup, van, cube van, basically whatever I have been driving that has a company name on the side, but either way, the police can pull over a car, call it too rusty and have it towed...Im sure something could be done if they decided to crack down.

Commercial vehicle inspections (cvip) which I mentioned apply to commercial vehicles over 4500 kg which are done yearly to try and ensure that vehicles are road worthy. When you register a commercial vehicle under 4500 you do not have to do this. Hence why they are shit. Which is what I said. Your car may be rusty they cannot tow for rust, dot can hand out tickets to trucks for being unfit for the road but if you don't have to pull scales lot less chance of seeing a commercial vehicle inspector.

Half the cars on this board aren't "legal"

*edit I hate typing on iPads you miss half the letters

[A790]

If U-Haul is threatening you and you want to make sure that your story is known, PM me.

We can set up a website and do some nice SEO/social media work on it, just like what we did with Mr. Banerjee. We'll see if the tables turn then.... :)

[bbcustoms]

Originally posted by A790
If U-Haul is threatening you and you want to make sure that your story is known, PM me.

We can set up a website and do some nice SEO/social media work on it, just like what we did with Mr. Banerjee. We'll see if the tables turn then.... :)

U-haul is a helluva bigger fish than Banerjee was, they can actually afford to pay their lawyers. Would be good to see though.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by bbcustoms


U-haul is a helluva bigger fish than Banerjee was, they can actually afford to pay their lawyers. Would be good to see though.

Doesn't really change anything. :dunno:

Having money to pay some lawyer does not change the fact that you run a shit company that operates vehicles that are unsafe and would not pass a basic safety. Not to mention rude employees and ones that don't understand contracts.

It would be interesting to see the rental contract, there might be a case for OP to simply reverse the charges on his card since he didn't sign anything that compels him to pay.

[bubbley]

Will be seeking legal advice on this situation as this traffic manager threatened to sue us and said their lawyers will be contacting us within 24 hours.

:facepalm:

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by FraserB
It would be interesting to see the rental contract, there might be a case for OP to simply reverse the charges on his card since he didn't sign anything that compels him to pay. +1...if you didn't sign the contract, I don't think you are legally bound to it. Might be worth contacting your credit card company as well. My family has had pretty good experience with Visa that way.

I wonder if a call to the CPS Truck Unit would be warranted as well...


Originally posted by bubbley
Will be seeking legal advice on this situation as this traffic manager threatened to sue us and said their lawyers will be contacting us within 24 hours.

:facepalm: Wow, really? :facepalm:

Any lawyers on Beyond?

[A790]

Originally posted by bubbley
Will be seeking legal advice on this situation as this traffic manager threatened to sue us and said their lawyers will be contacting us within 24 hours.

:facepalm:
Sorry, what exactly are they suing you for?

[FraserB]

Originally posted by bubbley
Will be seeking legal advice on this situation as this traffic manager threatened to sue us and said their lawyers will be contacting us within 24 hours.

:facepalm:

What are they going to sue you for?

Trying to submit a claim for something that broke your stuff and couls have killed you?

Make sure your wife wirtes down everything she can remember about the call and who she spoke to and when. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a recording of the call that U-Haul made.

And that break is the result of crap maintenance procedures and nothing else. Either the unit wasn't maintained and it disintegrated from lack of lubrication or some retard didn't install a nut correctly.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by A790

Sorry, what exactly are they suing you for?

They are apparently suing us for False Claims.

[A790]

Originally posted by bbcustoms


U-haul is a helluva bigger fish than Banerjee was, they can actually afford to pay their lawyers. Would be good to see though.
Means nothing. As long as the information presented is factual and not embellished they don't have a thing they can do about it.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by A790
If U-Haul is threatening you and you want to make sure that your story is known, PM me.

We can set up a website and do some nice SEO/social media work on it, just like what we did with Mr. Banerjee. We'll see if the tables turn then.... :)

Here is one I found but not updated as of late:

Uhaul Sucks (http://www.uhaul-sucks.com/)

Edit:

Holy Crap! Just read the story of this guy, alot of similarities!

U-Haul Complaint (http://www.uhaul-sucks.com/my-u-haul-story.htm)

[Kg810]

:facepalm:

I was thinking of using U-Haul in mid-july but after this, fuck that. What a bunch of clowns.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[el_fefes]

You should contact Global about this. Hopefully they can the story. If their fleet is not maintained the company poses danger to their customers. :thumbsdow

[-relk-]

Originally posted by el_fefes
You should contact Global about this. Hopefully they can the story. If their fleet is not maintained the company poses danger to their customers. :thumbsdow

Not only customers, but everyone on the road. I am gonna make sure I stay clear of Uhaul trucks from now on.

[Jeff TYPE R]

Originally posted by project240
The problem is that there seem to be very few other companies that do one-way rentals. Budget, Penske, National... none of them do one-ways within Canada. We're moving in a couple of months, but haven't yet been able to find another reputable "self-serve" rental from AB to BC.... although I haven't searched that much.

Cost wise Uhaul would in theory cost about $1000 compared to $10800 (the only quote I got from the 1st moving company I called out of the phonebook). I moved a full house with Alero from BC to AB for $2500, which included all packing and they're fully insured. :dunno:

[FixedGear]

LOL, I can't believe they're threatening legal action. great customer service eh? :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

(I would think folks at the U-HAUL corporate headquarters would be quite upset if they found out the manager was doing this.)

[project240]

Originally posted by Jeff TYPE R
I moved a full house with Alero from BC to AB for $2500, which included all packing and they're fully insured. :dunno:

Just did an online quote and came back at $5900, that didn't even include any of my woodworking equipment... 2500sqft house:dunno:

Anybody have any experience with Universal Truck Rental?
http://www.universaltruckrental.ca/

[Jeff TYPE R]

Originally posted by project240


Just did an online quote and came back at $5900, that didn't even include any of my woodworking equipment... 2500sqft house:dunno:

Anybody have any experience with Universal Truck Rental?
http://www.universaltruckrental.ca/ :dunno:

Doesn't matter what the cost is, honestly. When I moved from AB to BC we took a week off work to move, which included time spent packing, which is the shittiest work imaginable, then $1000 on a Uhaul, then driving 2 days there and 1 day back, then doing the drive all over again because we had 3 cars in addition to the Uhaul. You think driving across the city is bad in a Uhaul, try QE2 with heavy crosswinds followed by 700km of narrow, curvy mountain roads, watching your wife dodge wildlife while following behind in your sportscar and having a yowling cat as company the whole way there.

Fuck that, I'd pay for movers every time, even if it were $10k.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by ercchry
well the good news is you now live in the best quadrant ;)

:werd:

[Zero102]

Originally posted by bubbley
Will be seeking legal advice on this situation as this traffic manager threatened to sue us and said their lawyers will be contacting us within 24 hours.

:facepalm:

It has been just about 24 hours, has U-Haul broken yet another promise? ;)

[nzwasp]

Im renting a uhaul truck on Saturday - All these stories are making me nervous.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by Zero102


It has been just about 24 hours, has U-Haul broken yet another promise? ;)

No calls as of yet just their claims department, no lawyers.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by Jeff TYPE R
You think driving across the city is bad in a Uhaul, try QE2 with heavy crosswinds followed by 700km of narrow, curvy mountain roads, watching your wife dodge wildlife while following behind in your sportscar and having a yowling cat as company the whole way there.


LOL :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[project240]

Originally posted by Jeff TYPE R
:dunno:

Doesn't matter what the cost is, honestly. When I moved from AB to BC we took a week off work to move, which included time spent packing, which is the shittiest work imaginable, then $1000 on a Uhaul, then driving 2 days there and 1 day back, then doing the drive all over again because we had 3 cars in addition to the Uhaul. You think driving across the city is bad in a Uhaul, try QE2 with heavy crosswinds followed by 700km of narrow, curvy mountain roads, watching your wife dodge wildlife while following behind in your sportscar and having a yowling cat as company the whole way there.

Fuck that, I'd pay for movers every time, even if it were $10k.

:rofl: Difference of opinion I guess. I'm used to hard work so packing & loading/moving is easy. $1500 and 3 days of hard work vs $10K... :dunno: seems like an easy decision for me, although I do understand how much some people hate the work involved (which I guess is why the moving companies charge as much as they do)

[master hec0]

I once rented a basic 2 wheel car dolly from U haul.
when I went to pick it up it looked old and rusted I requested the newer looking one beside it but the owner told me that the rusty one just had its service the week before and was safer the new one was due. I had waited almost 2 hours at that point for a rep to come down in open the gate to the yard (okotoks yard is not staffed) so I just wanted to go hooked it up and get on my way.
That trailer was the loudest thing on the road making horrible banging noises on anything but a perfectly smooth road It turns out after a bit of investigation one of the fenders was being held on with one loose rusty bolt and was bouncing around hitting the trailer frame. POS

[GreyFox]

Originally posted by nzwasp
Im renting a uhaul truck on Saturday - All these stories are making me nervous.

Be sure to post up your experience if you make it back alive!

I WAS intending to rent one of these at the end of the month but now I'm seriously debating it. I'm just moving in town and the cost difference between UHaul and Budget is more than double and you get a smaller truck with Budget so it's a pretty big difference.

OP, be sure to continue to update thread with what's happening. I'm curious how long it's going to take them to figure out there is absolutely NO way they would ever be able to sue you for anything....you'd think they'd give it up as soon as they saw that you didn't even sign a rental agreement.

Also, on a somewhat related note, would you recommend getting a bigger van for moving from a condo? I'm moving from a one bedroom + den to a house, but there's 2 of us living there and we have quite a bit of stuff...sounds like you weren't able to fit everything into the 17' and might have even been tight with the 20'...

[FixedGear]

If I was moving within town, I wouldn't think twice about renting a U-Haul. I can deal with driving a beat-to-shit truck, as long as I'm in the city. I wouldn't rent one for a move any farther than Canmore or so, though.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[googe]

Originally posted by FixedGear


Penske doesn't do one-way rentals, Budget doesn't do one-way to states, and National tells me the store is sold out of cars for the last week of August. :rofl:

I'm moving to the states, so it looks like i'm gonna be driving one of these heaps 3 days across the desert. :cry:

Penske does do one-way rentals. That's probably nearly all they do...no one returns vehicles that size. I've used them one-way many times, including moving to the states from Canada.

[project240]

Originally posted by googe


Penske does do one-way rentals.


No they don't... not within Canada.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by googe


Penske does do one-way rentals. That's probably nearly all they do...no one returns vehicles that size. I've used them one-way many times, including moving to the states from Canada.

uhh... no they don't. I looked on their website - 3 times - and even just called them. they don't do one-way rentals within canada, or from canada to the states. so i guess that has changed since you moved to the US.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by GreyFox


Be sure to post up your experience if you make it back alive!

I WAS intending to rent one of these at the end of the month but now I'm seriously debating it. I'm just moving in town and the cost difference between UHaul and Budget is more than double and you get a smaller truck with Budget so it's a pretty big difference.

OP, be sure to continue to update thread with what's happening. I'm curious how long it's going to take them to figure out there is absolutely NO way they would ever be able to sue you for anything....you'd think they'd give it up as soon as they saw that you didn't even sign a rental agreement.

Also, on a somewhat related note, would you recommend getting a bigger van for moving from a condo? I'm moving from a one bedroom + den to a house, but there's 2 of us living there and we have quite a bit of stuff...sounds like you weren't able to fit everything into the 17' and might have even been tight with the 20'...

The threats received from the traffic manager were likely to scare us or discourage us from taking further actions against them. Unfortunately, they have now given us more of a reason to do something about the situation. We just wanted them to do what they said they were going to do. That was all, until they threatened us that is.

I would recommend something bigger, couches and bed takes up alot of room. We had alot of boxes/plants/decor as well, luckily we had a couple of vans at our disposal. If I could do it again it would be a bigger truck and not with U-Haul, in fact I would hire someone to make the move for us, it's just not worth it.

[googe]

Originally posted by FixedGear


uhh... no they don't. I looked on their website - 3 times - and even just called them. they don't do one-way rentals within canada, or from canada to the states. so i guess that has changed since you moved to the US.

Huh, I stand corrected. I see when you choose canada, the tooltip says "one way not available within Canada". That is stupid :)

It's possible that my Canada -> US move involved renting it in Seattle and driving it to Vancouver to get my stuff, maybe that's what happened.

Well, they definitely do 1-way within the US.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by bubbley


The threats received from the traffic manager were likely to scare us or discourage us from taking further actions against them. Unfortunately, they have now given us more of a reason to do something about the situation. We just wanted them to do what they said they were going to do. That was all, until they threatened us that is.

I would recommend something bigger, couches and bed takes up alot of room. We had alot of boxes/plants/decor as well, luckily we had a couple of vans at our disposal. If I could do it again it would be a bigger truck and not with U-Haul, in fact I would hire someone to make the move for us, it's just not worth it.

Wow seriously? they scare you a bit with their tall talk and you back down like that and hide? :nut:

Holy fuck buddy. :facepalm:

Glad to see they know how to scare wussbags away from further ruining their reputation.

[relyt92]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M


Wow seriously? they scare you a bit with their tall talk and you back down like that and hide? :nut:

Holy fuck buddy. :facepalm:

Glad to see they know how to scare wussbags away from further ruining their reputation. I think you might've read his post wrong.

[bourge73]

Ouch Grambo be mad, maaaaaad!

[Graham_A_M]

^ LMAO, no I seriously dont get mad, at all, leave alone on some forum. Im just amazed at his reluctance to pursue this further, based on the merits of a few construed "threats" of some idiotic $16/hr Uhaul claims manager.

[bourge73]

^^ agreed I would have lost it way before on those losers!

[brucebanner]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
^ LMAO, no I seriously dont get mad, at all, leave alone on some forum. Im just amazed at his reluctance to pursue this further, based on the merits of a few construed "threats" of some idiotic $16/hr Uhaul claims manager.

I think they are going to pursue further action. The way I read the post was that they were going to leave it be, had they received what they wanted in the start. They did not, instead they were threatened and because of that are going to pursue the issue further then initially intended.

Or did I read the post wrong?

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by bruceod


I think they are going to pursue further action. The way I read the post was that they were going to leave it be, had they received what they wanted in the start. They did not, instead they were threatened and because of that are going to pursue the issue further then initially intended.

Or did I read the post wrong?

That's how I read it too.

[guessboi]

Last time I rented a U-Haul in 2010. It was leaking from the top. :guns:

[relyt92]

Originally posted by bruceod


I think they are going to pursue further action. The way I read the post was that they were going to leave it be, had they received what they wanted in the start. They did not, instead they were threatened and because of that are going to pursue the issue further then initially intended.

Or did I read the post wrong? That's how I see it, mainly based on

That was all, until they threatened us that is.

[Adachi]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M


Wow seriously? they scare you a bit with their tall talk and you back down like that and hide? :nut:

Holy fuck buddy. :facepalm:

Glad to see they know how to scare wussbags away from further ruining their reputation.

I think he meant to say that they were most likely TRYING to scare them with the threats etc.
Not that they got scared by their talk.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by bruceod


I think they are going to pursue further action. The way I read the post was that they were going to leave it be, had they received what they wanted in the start. They did not, instead they were threatened and because of that are going to pursue the issue further then initially intended.

Or did I read the post wrong?

This is correct, thanks.

[A790]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
^ LMAO, no I seriously dont get mad, at all, leave alone on some forum. Im just amazed at his reluctance to pursue this further, based on the merits of a few construed "threats" of some idiotic $16/hr Uhaul claims manager.
You mis-read the post, bro.

[Kg810]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M


Wow seriously? they scare you a bit with their tall talk and you back down like that and hide? :nut:

Holy fuck buddy. :facepalm:

Glad to see they know how to scare wussbags away from further ruining their reputation.

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/watch-out-we-got-a-badass-over-here-meme.png

...that can't read good.

[nzwasp]

Following on from my post last thursday, I hired a 14ft truck from hawkestone husky on saturday and I had a pretty good experience.

The only thing that bugged me is that they said I drove 60 miles, I checked the odo before and after I left and it did in dead change by 60 but I only made two return trips and I live 1km from the husky. Looking at google maps it says im 12 miles from old house to new house.

Of course then I had to pay mileage and gas for the truck which amounted to 1.10 per mile and $30 for the gas I used.....thirsty trucks!

[codetrap]

Originally posted by nzwasp
Following on from my post last thursday, I hired a 14ft truck from hawkestone husky on saturday and I had a pretty good experience.

The only thing that bugged me is that they said I drove 60 miles, I checked the odo before and after I left and it did in dead change by 60 but I only made two return trips and I live 1km from the husky. Looking at google maps it says im 12 miles from old house to new house.

Of course then I had to pay mileage and gas for the truck which amounted to 1.10 per mile and $30 for the gas I used.....thirsty trucks!

5 miles from rental shop to house..
12 miles old to new
12 miles new to old
12 miles old to new
12 miles new to old
1 mile to husky
1 mile back from husky
5 miles to rental shop
= 60 miles

[nzwasp]

what rental shop?

The husky is where I got it from - I never went to this fantasy rental shop in your equation so i should be minus 10 miles.

[codetrap]

Gah.. ok. I missed that you rented it from the husky. Dunno then.. 10 miles isn't really a biggie though.

[thetransporter]

the CEO of uhaul gave you his mobile # in the video..

[A790]

Originally posted by nzwasp
what rental shop?

The husky is where I got it from - I never went to this fantasy rental shop in your equation so i should be minus 10 miles.
So you're implying that the ODO is lying?

[Sugarphreak]

..

[cancer man]

Did you deal with that cnut operator..Female looks a hundred years old and ran the pirating Direct T.V Sat.If it is her pm me and i'll give her a kick and another.
I can't remember her name Dawn,Donna.
Somebody should know her name?Evil bitch by the hottub place.

[Rat Fink]

.