LOSER: UHAUL
When it comes to Customer Service, UHAUL has always been the bottom of the bilge for me. Slow service, poor service, and now, no service at all.
ATTENTION FORD EXPLORER OWNERS: According to the minimum wage slave I tried to rent a trailer from last week, Lawyers for UHAUL feel your vehicle is a liability risk - and they won’t rent you a trailer if you show up driving a Ford Explorer.
That didn’t stop a different minimum wage slave from renting me a trailer a month earlier when I moved half of my belongings into storage. But this story actually started several years ago.
I scheduled an appointment, more than a week in advance, to have a receiver hitch installed on my Ford Explorer Sport Trac. When I arrived, they seemed surprised. My appointment was right there in the computer for all to see, and yet the hitch installer had been given the day off. So I rescheduled across town and UHAUL cheerfully took my money – never once mentioning their Ford Explorer Policy.
More recently I needed a trailer brake controller installed on the same Sport Trac, so I scheduled an appointment about a week in advance to have it installed. And when I showed up, the same thing happened. The installer had taken the day off. I again rescheduled across town, this time back at the other UHAUL facility – the same one that screwed up in the paragraph above. They also took my money cheerfully – never once mentioning their Ford Explorer Policy.
When I reserved the first trailer, no one mentioned the Ford Explorer Policy – even though I was driving my Explorer at the time of the reservation. In fact, the guy that made the reservation for me had just spent about an hour inside my truck installing the trailer brake controller!
When I showed up to pick up the trailer I spent nearly 30 minutes in line while one person tried his best to serve all the customers that had made reservations. At one point he mentioned that nearly every piece of equipment on the lot had been reserved that morning. Yet he was the only one scheduled to work behind the counter. And that clearly demonstrates a blind eye towards customer service by UHAUL.
Thankfully, I was given a trailer that morning; and the person working the counter solo even connected it to my truck for me. Regretfully, that’s the last time that ever happened.
I used that trailer to move half of my belongings into storage so that we could list our house and start our move into our new home. When I returned to get a trailer to move those items into my new home, I encountered yet another problem: the previously unmentioned Ford Explorer Rental policy.
Now, as you can see, I’ve had quite a few dealings with UHAUL - all of them pertaining to my Ford Explorer Sport Trac in one form or another. And yet this policy comes as a surprise to me. There are no signs notifying potential customers of this ridiculous policy. No one bothered to ask me what my tow vehicle would be at the time of my reservation. I did find, with a little help from Google, a mention of that policy on the UHAUL web site while writing this article, but I wasn’t dealing with the web site when I made my reservation. I made my reservations in person while driving my Explorer.
I wish the story stopped here. But it doesn’t. There’s more.
Just three weeks ago I made an astonishing discovery while making an adjustment to my RV Hitch. The receiver hitch that UHAUL had installed for me was loose! One of the bolts had backed all the way out, hanging on, literally, by just a thread. And most of the remaining bolts were loose. UHAUL had failed to properly torque the bolts when they installed the hitch. And had I pulled my RV up the mountain, like I had planned, with the hitch in that condition – we never would have made it. A terrible accident would likely have occurred on a very nasty piece of mountain highway here in Idaho. Luckily, I noticed before actually pulling the trailer.
And that’s my tale of incredibly poor customer service, courtesy of UHAUL. Since I only own two vehicles, and both of them are Explorers, I’m reasonably certain that this chapter of my life is closed. I have no plans to sell either truck, and even if I did – I’d replace them with two more Explorers.
Permalink: LOSER: UHAUL
Posted by Michael Worth on October 10, 2005
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well thats good for you. WHEN YOU ROLL OVER HAVE FUN.
Now there's a useful response comment... ASS
oh thats sad. i hate these uhaul guys good for nothing.why for one or two lawsuits they are stopping other explorer customers.if they got problem with those custmoers ,stop them from renting. why they hit whole explorer community. i think we should file lawsuit against against uhaul for "discriminating explorer users"
I just discovered UHaul's Ford Explorer policy, and I, too, have a Sport Trac. I plan to show up driving my Sante Fe, then switch the trailer to my Sport Trac just before dropping the Sante Fe off at the car sales lot on my way out of town.
By the way, ASS, I've been driving SUVs since 1988, and I have NEVER even come close to a rollover. If you're concerned about rollovers and SUVs, LEARN TO DRIVE before you get behind the wheel!
Well, I got a nice email back from UHaul customer service, but they also are very specific about not allowing Ford Explorers, all models and years. I believe that this is discriminition. They will allow Jeep Wranglers to tow their trailers, as well as Nissan Sentras....both would be accidents just waiting to happen due to their a)short wheelbase and b)light construction.
The customer rep thought I should get a different vehicle for the tow. Hmmmmm...as if I could afford to change vehicles! And as if I want to give up my 1996 Ford Explorer that has 4-wheeled in the San Juan Mountains without any problem! This same Explorer towed the largest UHaul trailer from Florida to KC without a whimper or 'roll-over' threat. It has 185,000 miles and still is tight and has yet to use any oil. It is a great vehicle!
I want to know if there are any lawyers willing to take on the ONLY national trailer rental company. Budget and the others are out of the trailer business, I guess. The UHaul company is the bully, and we are the victim. I feel like the big kid just tripped me up in the school hallway.
And there is no Teacher or Principal to help me out.
I discovered the "No Explorer" policy at U-Haul last night looking to reserve a trailer to pick up some things in Tempe & me-haul them to Tucson. Not believing what I was seeing, I back up the vehicle screens and selected a Ford F-150 2WD and they were willing to rent a trailer for that. When I called one of the local U-Haul stores to see what gives, received their insipid explanation about lawsuits and weak chassis' on Explorers. I ask if my vehicle were a Mercury Mountaineer would they rent the trailer. The answer being "sure". They are the same vehicle (expletive deleted).
One would suppose that since U-Haul is in business that they would carry insurance to cover such eventualities and unlikely occurences. I do. If there is a lawyer out there that wants to take on a class action discrimination suit, I am up for it.
I am now in the same predicament. I am moving to Louisiana from Virginia. I am now going to be forced to pay a mover over a grand to move me. Did you also know that the Uhaul website says that my Ford Explorer Sport Trac is too heavy to tow behind a rental truck???? How is it that Uhaul has become to be the only company that rents trailers for one way use? If anyone has any advice, I could sure use it.
This also happened to me...I guess I have been living in a bubble and had never heard of Uhaul's policy to not rent to Ford Explorer owners. This past week my Mother was rushed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for emergency heart surgery...her vehicle was left in a city about 250 miles away from the clinic as it would not start as all of the family members drove to be by her side.
The second day after her surgery my husband & I made a flying trip back to that city to rent a Uhaul trailer to bring the vehicle back to our home town about 90 miles away. We completed the paperwork, paid for the bill on our credit card and had hooked up the trailer and were ready to go...as we pulled up in front of the Uhaul rental Store and my husband ran in to sign the paperwork.
We were in SHOCK when he came out and said that we had to UNHOOK the trailer as they would not rent to us because we were driving a Ford Explorer!
What a mess...we will NEVER rent from Uhaul again!
The whole ordeal started when Explorers with Firestone tires started rolling over. Lawsuits began to develope and anytime a lawsuit included the name Explorer in the vehicle description, jurors start dishing out loads of dough. A trend started and no matter what the incident, if it involved an Explorer, there was little chance for the owners to loose the law suit. The numbers were staggering. So a couple of law suits that involved Explorers and U-Haul, U-Haul pretty much automatically lost. The suits were scattered all across the country. So... U-Haul decided to stop renting to them in hopes to eliviate some of the cash lost. Now... I can understand the discrimination issue some have, but realistically, I don't belive discrimination against a particular type of vehicle is legally possible. Kinda like a truck driver wanting to take his 80,000 lbs over a bridge restricted to 45,000lbs. He wouldn't sue, yet he would take another road. I know it sucks for many that own Explorers, (mind you, Mazda Navahoes and Merc Mountaineers are the same, but it the name, "Explorer,") but it is saving them cash. You may think that, well they aren't getting any of my cash, so how is that saving them cash. Simple, your rental may cost $200-$300 or less, but law suits costs millions. It's a simple balancing act, less revenue lost over lost customers. Financially, by the numbers it makes perfect sence. What to do? Rent somewhere else. No where else to rent? Local move? Borrow a friends truck, or get one of your own. Out of town move? Rent a truck and auto transport and haul your explorer. No matter what you do, U-Haul aint gonna let you pull with an explorer. There have been numerous suits filed and judges ordered the cases dismissed due to no discrimination laws against types of vehicles. Simply put and not to be rude, get over it, theres nothing you CAN do.
I am not thrilled with UHaul as my only source for a one-way trailer rental. As much as I am offended by the insentitive comments of the "Former U-Haul employee" and wish that I had other options, I doubt that this situation is going to change any time soon, even though the Explorers of today bear no resemblance to the Explorer that prompted this policy by UHaul.
My complaint lies more with Ford Motor Company. Last April I was about to purchase a Ford Freestyle before I realized that the V-8 and 4wheel drive option were not available. After talking to my sales person about the need to tow a trailer ocasinnally, we decided on a loaded up Explorer Eddie Bauer that came with a Class III/IV hitch installed by the factory and rated for 7200 pounds. Last week I went to UHaul to rent a trailer and was told that UHaul did not have a trailer in its inventory that they could rent to be towed by an Explorer. After a lengthy discussion with the UHaul manager, I was informed that this was a national policy that had been in place for about five years and was not negotable. I went imediately to my Ford dealer and informed them of my problem. Their flipant attitude was that they had never heard of this problem and I should take this up with UHaul.
Does anyone seriously believe that no one at Ford Motor Company or any of its dealers has ever heard of this problem in the past five years? I wish that I had become aware of this information before I bought a new 2006 Explorer. I can trade for a Mountaineer with all-wheel drive, not selective 4wheel drive and UHaul will be happy to rent me a trailer. I doubt seriously that the Class III/IV hitch is available on the Mountaineer with all-wheel drive.
Does any one know how to get to the proper person at Ford to start the process of resolving this problem?
Why do you keep going back?
I too have been stalled by the ban on Ford Explorers and Uhaul. Not only that but calling Uhaul got me no where fast. The first woman I talked to said that Customer Service would help me with an alternate rental. That was just a lure to get me to talk to the most rude women in history. Customer Service is supposted to help the customer not insult them and make them angry. One angry person can do a lot of damage to a company. Let's all go get them. Soon they will ban rental to all SUV's. This is absurd.
Just cover up the Explorer name badge with a Mazda Navajo or Mercury Mountain Badge Whala! it's not a Explorer anymore and you can rent a trailer.
I am moving from california to colorado and bought a ford explorer sport 4x4 with a 5000 lbs tow package because I move alot only to find out uhaul wont rent me a trailer. All i need is about 250 cubic feet and now i am forced to pay about 1200 for a moving company! I am a young single mother looking to move somewhere I can afford to raise a child and now have to spend our saving on a dumb truck!
EVERY ONE NEEDS TO GET OVER THEMSELVES, ARE YOUR LIVES SO BAD THAT YOU NEED TO SIT HERE AND WASTE YOUR TIME WRITING THIS CRAP. DONT YOU HAVE FAMILIES THAT YOU COULD BE SPENDING TIME WITH. ALL THIS COMPLAINING ISNT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTHING, PLEASE TELL ME, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED?
UM...yes it sucks that u-haul won't rent to explorer owners, expecially when they DO rent to owners of mountaineers. It happened to me too. BUT it is because of the lawsuit happy people (several of you outing yourselves above) that they do that! Like former uhaul employee said, juries made up of idiots just start unloading uhaul cash anytime there is an accident with an explorer. Ask yourself this: if you were uhaul would you do it any differently? I thought so...
My daughter and her husband are moving as we speak, from Maryland to Texas. When they were planning for the move she had the same difficulties, they would not rent to an explorer owner. They had reserved a truck, until I encouraged her to find out why they wouldn't rent to a vehicle with towing abilities. That's when she found out about the problem, and had an idea, she had her brother-in-law take his jeep to rent the trailor, instead of renting the much more expensive truck. They had no problem picking up the trailor with his jeep and when her husband arrived for the move in the explorer, they hooked it up and are on there way here. Just an FYI for others to consider.
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