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I Will Never Use U-Haul Again.

June 30, 2010

Here you go, folks. Sorry to invade this blog of geekiness with a bit of a personal rant (aren’t all blogs personal rants?)

As some of you already know, I recently moved to Bells, TN after staying in temporary housing in Brownsville, TN. The pastor at the church/charge that I recently replaced was very kind enough to let me move my numerous books into my new office a week early so I rented a U-Haul and with the help of friends moved all of my theology books into the new office. (We also have a number of my “geek” books in a spare room in the church stored safely away until my wife grants me permission to put them in the den at the new parsonage.)

So, what does this have to do with U-Haul you may ask? Well, here goes:

Never, Never, Never USE U-Haul in Brownsville, TN. I started off with very mediocre service and that should have been a warning. I pulled up to their office on a weekday and the sign said, “Ring the Bell someone is here.” I rand the bell and there was no answer. I called the first number on the door and their was no answer. I called the second number and someone answered and said they’d be there in a few minutes. By the time they arrived, another customer had shown up on the scene and they were waited on before me. After waiting a while, I was shown the U-Haul I would be renting so I paid a cash deposit and was given the key. I overlooked all the mediocre service because, hey, this is going to be a simple move, right? What could go wrong? It’s turned out worse than I imagined. This U-Haul location has taken bad customer service to the next level.

For quick info, I returned the U-Haul truck to them the next day on time and with a full tank of gas. However, there was no one in the office. I called them on the phone and told them that someone might want to come by as I might owe them a balance on the account. I was told it would not be a problem and then I mentioned that they could call me on my cell phone if there was any additional balance. I dropped the key in the box and that was it…..or so I thought.

Fade to 12 days later (today). I receive a phone call from a COLLECTIONS AGENCY saying that I had an $89 balance with U-Haul. What? This sounded crazy so I got off the phone with them and called the location in Brownsville immediately. Nothing but a constant busy signal. I then call their corporate office and they say, yes, there is a balance of $50. What? Hmmmm. Something seems odd.

Well, needless to say, I have been disconnected from their customer care line twice and have not yet resolved this problem. The worst part about the situation is that the amount is not a large one and it’s actually a reimbursable expense. This means that, in the end, this rental shouldn’t cost me anything at all. I’m angry and frustrated that this local U-Haul dealer never had the wherewithal to give me a call. It’s ridiculous and very bad business.

Sadly, this is the way things work too often in the world. Instead of dealing with a problem directly, openly and honestly people would rather put it off on someone else. They like to hide behind layers & layers of bureaucracy because of their own inability to face problems head on.

Thanks for listening to my rant and, hopefully, you’ll avoid the U-Haul location in Brownsville, TN and possibly any other U-Haul location. I never had this problem with other companies and I will not be having it in the future. My recommendation? If you ever rent something of this nature, make them bring someone out to check you back in and look over the merchandise. If you’ve arrived during normal business hours (like I did) and they refuse to help you then you immediately call their corporate number.