The following is one of our fellow UHAULSUXS.COM community members account of their rental experience with UHAUL. In order to protect the privacy of the individuals involved, we have removed any references to individual's names.

I had requested that the equipment be ready "first thing" (when location opened) on Saturday, July 31st. About a week and a half before I was to pick up the equipment, I received a confirmation letter that had listed the wrong day of my rental. I quickly called to correct the error and again reiterated the importance of having the equipment "first thing" on July 31st. I was assured that there would be no problem. Further, I was instructed that if I did not hear from UHAUL 48 hours prior to the scheduled pickup to confirm, to call the regional office to ensure proper pick-up of my equipment. I did not hear from UHAUL within 48 hours period specified and on Friday called to confirm. I was once again told that everything was scheduled as planned and that my equipment would be ready "first thing" in the morning.

To my surprise on Saturday my equipment was not ready for pickup, further I was told that it would not be ready until 2 p.m. at the earliest. I quickly called the regional office to take care of matters and arrangements were made to drop the equipment off as soon as possible at the parking lot across the street from my residence. It must be noted that the need for having the equipment "first thing" on Saturday was that I had arranged for help to load the truck for that morning. I had stated throughout the course of my reservation and confirmation calls that if I could not pickup the equipment "first thing" that I would then pickup the equipment on Friday. Due to the equipment not being available as promised, I was required to wait till Sunday afternoon to leave (had to reschedule the help that I had lined up).

Late Sunday afternoon once the truck had finally been loaded, my girlfriend assisted me in guiding my car on the auto-transport. What transpired next, I will never forget. After I had made sure that the auto-transport was securely fastened to the truck (following designated instructions provided by UHAUL), I began to drive my car on the auto-transport as my girlfriend directed me from behind the side of the truck. The split-second my tires hit the back of the auto-transport, the transport came unattached from the back of the truck and violently swayed from side to side. I immediately put the car in reverse and rode back down the ramp, while I watched my girlfriend run for cover from the swaying hitch. Luckily, the chains prevented the auto-transport's hitch from hitting my girlfriend.

Having all my possessions in the truck (such as my phone), I used my cell phone to call the designated 800 emergency number provided by UHAUL. An operator answered by stating, "If this was an accident or another type of breakdown?" I said that it was another type of breakdown and I was then told that I would be transferred and to expect a 30-35 minute wait. After holding for close to 50 minutes and noticing that my cell phone battery was about to run out, continued to hold as I called again on my girlfriend's cell phone.

I was greeted again by an operator that asked the same initial question. I quickly explained the situation and asked to speak to a supervisor. The operator was adament in not transferring me to a supervisor and insisted that I continue to hold. Finally after a few minutes, the operator disconnected me. At this point in time my cell phone had now gone dead. I spent the next 45 minutes trying to get through to a supervisor to get someone out to fix the auto-transport. Eventually, I was told that there was nothing that could be done tonight and that I would have to wait till morning.

First thing Monday, I drove to the nearest UHAUL "super center" and had the transport inspected. The mechanic's resolution to the situation was to get a forklift to lift the auto-transport hitch up a few feet above the "ball" on the back of the truck and then drop it. The mechanic after using the forklift to "slam" the two pieces together assured me that "everything was fine now". I went back to my residence, drove my car onto the auto transport, and finally began my journey.

During the course of my trip that day, the truck began to "knock" in Tallahassee. I stopped outside of Tallahassee for a while and then proceeded to Pensacola for the evening. I stayed at a Red Roof right across from a UHAUL "super center" in case the truck was having problems in the morning. The next morning I checked out of the hotel and drove around town to see how the truck was running. The "knocking" was gone. I stopped at a gas station to check my fluids and filled up. I then proceed down the road. When I neared the Mississippi border, the truck started "knocking" again and I stopped to inspect the truck. Everything appeared to be fine, so after 15 minutes I proceed down the road. Once I was in Mississippi, the oil level gauge started jumping around and I stopped at a rest area. I called the #800 Hotline in order to have UHAUL to come inspect the truck. After a couple of hours, the maintenance personnel arrived and concluded that the truck was empty on oil. He then proceeded to replace the oil cap and add 16 quarts. I thanked him for his time and proceeded down the road.

After several hours, I was approaching the bypass for trucks near Lake Charles, Louisiana and followed the signs posted along the highway. After taking the detour for a few minutes, I decided to pull off the next exit to ensure that I was traveling in the right direction. I approached a red light and stopped. When the light turned green, I was unable to move the truck and started to roll backwards. I put the truck in park and put the hazard lights on. I began to call the 800 number once again, while directing traffic. To my amazement, I reached the same rude operator that I encountered Sunday night. Needless to say I spent the next couple of hours trying to get UHAUL out to examine the truck. After numerous phone calls to both UHAUL and the local authorities, I was finally towed to the nearest UHAUL location that was roughly three minutes away. It was there that the mechanic determined that the truck's transmission was "shot" and that UHAUL would give me a new truck to continue on with my journey. Further, UHAUL personally would off-load the contents to the new truck. For my inconvenience I was to be reimbursed for my nights stay.

After the truck was finally loaded the next morning, I once again proceeded on my journey. Everything was fine till I reached El Paso, Texas late that evening. This is where I blew my first tire on the auto transport. Due to the severity of the damage I was required to spend the night in El Paso until the tire could be fixed. Needless to say that once again I encountered a lovely waiting time until the mechanic arrived on the scene. Once the tire was finally fixed by noon the next day, I proceed on my journey. I arrived in Phoenix later that day, where I visited friends. After much needed relaxation, I proceeded on my journey envisioning that the worst was behind me (little did I know).

As I was traveling through the desert from Arizona to Nevada, I blew my second tire on the auto-transport in the middle of no man's land. Thanks to divine intervention, I was able to off-load my car and drive to a junkyard. I was able to coax the gentleman to put a replacement tire on the auto-transport in order to drive to Vegas. The gentleman from the junkyard noticed that the front alignment on the truck was "totally messed up" and that the front right tire was balding. He imagined that I had enough tread to make it to Vegas, where it could be repaired. After a stressful ride through the Hoover Dam, I was able to make it to the outskirts of Vegas (Hendersonville). I quickly checked myself into the nearest hotel, while at the same time calling the #800 to get UHAUL to fix the truck. Again I was treated by the same "one of a kind" service that only UHAUL provides its customers. After a prolonged period of time, I was assured that someone would be out to fix the problem.

The next day, I inspected the truck to find that the auto transport had been "swapped" without my knowledge and the the front right tire had not been touched. I then went through, what I had grown accustomed to receiving, horrible customer service (too put it politely) in trying once again to right another UHAUL wrong. After several hours and the usual "run-around" the problem had finally been rectified. The next day I then proceeded to my final destination without anymore-major glitches.

To add insult to injury, my belongings were severly damaged due to the numerous breakdowns and the lack of care in loading my contents into the new truck by UHAUL representatives in Louisiana. When I returned the vehicle and explained my fiasco to the manager at the terminal I received two "$20 off certificates" on my next UHAUL rental/purchase.