Hi,
I rented a van from U-Haul in Jersey City, NJ on Sunday 5/11 and had a bit of a run-in with the rental agent. He looked up my reservation and they demanded a land line phone number. I don't have a land line number and figured it was for marketing purposes. I resist giving extra information so I just gave my employer's main number. He immediately picked up the phone and dialed the number. When it was clear this wasn't a private line he hung up and demanded a "LAND LINE" I was a little startled and started asking why he wanted a land line to call. He was clearly irritated and kept saying things like "it's policy" or "it's 9am, don't start with me!", and finally, "so I know you are who you say you are." He already had my driver's license and it matched the info in the reservation so this step seemed unnecessary but I wasn't getting anywhere.
Luckily my brother was with me and has a work line that has his voice saying his name on voice mail. Having called and been satisfied the rental agent then asked for a SECOND credit card. I didn't have a second card with me other than the one used to reserve the truck. When I protested things got heated again. A second agent tried to step in and explain that the second card was because I was renting a truck and was a very expensive piece of equipment. The first agent tried to keep her from talking to me and appeared to be the manager. Requesting a manager wasn't going to work and I needed the truck. My brother used his card as the secondary card.
Now, I have rented trucks from this location in the past and never needed anything other than 1 credit card and a driver's license. Apparently one now needs a land line with your voice on voice mail or a land line where someone will vouch for you, two credit cards and a driver's license. I don't see these requirements anywhere on the web site or rental paperwork. I even asked what I needed to get the truck when I called to make the reservation and was told I needed nothing more than the credit card used to hold the truck and license. Consumerist readers might want to keep this story in mind if they ever consider renting a truck from U-Haul.
Rob [redacted]
In the end Robert needed a driver's license, 2 credit cards and a land line phone call in which his name was spoken on the recording to rent a truck. Our quick research didn't reveal anything about a land line either. We're guessing that this is the local agent's not-so-brilliant way of deterring vehicle theft. But just because he has good intentions doesn't mean he has the right to do it. We wonder if U-Haul corporate is on board with this policy. We're guessing there is no shortage of truck rental places in New Jersey. Maybe it's time to start looking elsewhere.
]]>Who the fuck still has an active land line when they are moving!?
]]>Also, this was a corporate location and not a franchisee.
]]>Name and Principal Position
Edward J. Shoen
2005 646,157 - 3,673
Chairman of the Board
2004 467,307 3,000 1,987
and President of AMERCO
2003 503,708 - 334
and U-Haul
Mark V. Shoen
2005 646,154 3,000 3,673
President of U-Haul
2004 623,076 3,000 1,987
Phoenix Operations
2003 617,308 - 334
James P. Shoen
2005 586,923 - -
Vice President of
2004 187,503 3,000 -
U-Haul Business
2003 201,543 - -
Consultants, Inc.
Ronald C. Frank
2005 259,962 86,058 3,673
Executive V.P.
2004 240,852 198,805 1,987
U-Haul Field Operations
2003 237,995 15,704 334
Jack A. Peterson(3)
2005 259,974 65,000 -
Chief Financial Officer
2004 4,808 - -
of AMERCO until July 2005
2003 - - -
Gary V. Klinefelter
2005 190,387 650,000 -
Secretary and General
2004 285,581 3,000 1,987
Counsel of AMERCO
2003 251,738 55,000 334
and U-Haul through
November 2004
*The above executive compensation data is an excerpt from the proxy statement filed for
AMERCO /NV/ on 7/22/2005
Search
Executive Compensation:
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On topic... I have had nothing but good service with Uhaul the few times I have rented a trailer (2 local, 1 long distance (1200 miles)) and the one time I rented a truck (local).
Some people on here just seem to have real bad luck!
]]>@johnva: Yah, you are probably right. You know, I would actually probably be a happier person without this cellphone on my belt, but it has come in handy in too many emergencies. And it is better than the pager I used to carry.
I grew up with one phone, in the kitchen, where everybody congregated and there was no privacy. Of course, I was making phone calls from a walkie talkie in 1989 when I was 14 years old thanks to a nifty (and legal) little ham radio trick called an "autopatch" that would patch a ham radio into the phone system.
I guess I'll be one of the few old fogies to have a home phone line in 30 years. And, if perchance they are no longer available, I'll just have a cellphone dedicated to the house.
]]>Hahaha...U-haul doesn't do that.
@Ethek:
Penske and Ryder do not exist in most small towns. U-haul does. If you're willing to drive an extra hundred miles to drop the truck off, there aren't many places you can't avoid U-haul. But even then there are some (Alaska, last I checked).
]]>Trying to get a Blockbuster card I got the same resistance. They refused my cell or work phone on my application, and would only take a landline number. Since I don't have one, I now use Netflix. So thanks, Blockbuster, I love Netflix.
]]>This is bs. Your cell number is okay with UHaul
]]>I gave him a $200 cash deposit. His only concern was that whoever was
going to show up and drive the truck two days on would show a valid
local driver's license.
He provided a nice, clean truck, one in good shape, and at the end of
the day, everyone was happy. For those who know this area, he's out
on Ocean Ave near the turnpike entrance.
Lesson - and this applies to everything from truck rentals to a cup
of coffee - whenever possible, stay away from chains and franchises.
Seek out locally owned and managed businesses. You get better
treatment in just about every service or product you buy.
Oh, and they didn't require a land-line number or two credit cards. Sounds to me like the original poster was dealing with a rogue franchise.
]]>Sounds like some bullsh*t to me. Try to talking to a manager. I rented a truck last year when I moved and had no problem with just a cell phone number.
]]>They were trying to do you a favor by preventing you from renting from them. We used Uhaul from ND to OR, and our truck broke down in the mountains in road construction where there wasn't a shoulder to pull over on. Yeah. Never again.
]]>@timmus:
I've actually had quite the opposite experience:
They rent the dinosaurs out for in-town, and the newer ones with the un-fun bland paint job for the long-distance.
The worst was the in-town one we got that turned out to be from Canada...complete with a speedometer in km/h and no mph, a non-functioning parking brake, and a rear ramp that flew out and hit the car behind us as we accelerated at an intersection.
To their credit, they didn't call a collections agency when we did a chargeback lol.
]]>I just don't give a phone number to charities, or I give a fake one if their website insists or something. They don't need that information to take my money. Other solicitation calls are drastically reduced just because it's not a landline.
As for screening calls, I find it's much easier with a cellphone than with a landline. I never have an audible ring active on my phone, so annoying me while I'm meeting with someone isn't such an issue and I just check for missed calls when I'm free. As for calling other people for non-urgent issues, that's what I consider email to be for.
]]>This week, they demanded 2 phone numbers, and then proceeded to tell me that my truck was unable to pull the trailer, as it needed a vehicle with a GVW of 3500lbs. My truck is 3400 lbs. They only rented me the trailer after they looked in the computer for my prior rentals of the same trailer from the same location.
I should also add that at the prior rental, they attached the trailer incorrectly and it FELL OFF THE HITCH. Thankfully I was only going about 30 when it happened and my truck nor the trailer were damaged. I inspected their work quite closely this time.
]]>"I had a lady a few months back who didn't have the Safe Move policy, hit an overpass, ripped off the top of the U-haul and got rear-ended. Uhaul was asking this lady for the money the next day. "
We have rented from this location before and it always takes close to 45 minutes for anything, trailer, large truck, etc. However, we rented from another franchise a year or so ago and we were in and out within 7 minutes. U-haul seems to have very little control on how the franchisees do business. No quality control whatsoever. There are apparently some responsibilities that these franchises have and they are not always followed, doing walkarounds BEFORE they rent out a truck, cleaning the interior, etc. You would think they would at least check the tire pressure, oil, lights, etc.
]]>I'm gonna go ahead and say that he wanted a second credit card because he was afraid the limit on the first card wasn't high enough to cover whatever fees he plans on stiffing you with.
]]>@HIV 2 Elway: "An asshole in New Jersey? I've heard it all."
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@darkryd: Thank you! I kept thinking the whole time I was reading it, am I the only one who thinks its weird for people who are supposedly moving to have a landline still in use!
]]>My wife's newest vehicle is a Pick-up truck, mainly because of all the hime improvement we do, we got tired of dealing with U-Hauls BS! We rent cars for vacation and out of town trips all the time and never had a problem. Everytime we rented a U-Haul we got the 3rd degree or were accused of causing damage to the trucks!
Write down EVERY SCRATCH on the rental agreement before taking possesion! Every truck has tons of dents/Dings and they always try to pin them on us! They don't seem to do pre-rental inspections with you before renting, just have you initial it's "OK".(around here) Both of us have perfect driving records for 25+ years, no accidents! I'll be damned if I get accused of crashing or denting one of their trucks! Also be sure to check mechanical condition of the trucks, I've had one that was a sure death traps, returned it just after leaving the lot, should have never been on the road! (Barely moved, stopped even worse. They told us it would clear up after it got warmed up! (YEAH RIGHT!!!!!)
@scarysnow: @johnva: I don't have a landline... but I do have Vonage which is close enough.
Why?
Many reasons. I only give coworkers, close friends, and family my cellphone number. I don't want to have to screen out the calls I don't want to get all day.
Sometimes I need to give out a phone number and I don't want the person to be able to easlily reach me (charities come to mind here, although I like to give to Leukemia & Lymphoma, or St. Judes, I don't want my phone going off in a meeting just because they want more money.
I make it a point not to call people on their cellphones unless I have tried their other numbers first. I have a direct line to make something on their belt buzz, disturbing them from whatever they happen to be doing -- is it that important that I bother them, or should I just leave them a message at home?
Also, if I want to call "Dick or Jane" who are married, and it doesn't matter who I get, should I call "Dick" or "Jane" or just their home number and see who picks up?
It may be because I am 32 and cellphones weren't cheap enough to own until about 8 years ago, so I grew up without needing to feel like I am in constant communication with the world...
]]>Give me a break.
]]>I had to rent a truck to move my 3 bedroom house a couple of months ago and used Penske. I highly recommend them over any experience I have ever had with U-Haul. There mileage rates were half of UHauls to begin with and the truck was about the same amount. When I arrived to pick up my truck they told me they did not have one but went out of there way to find me a truck and cut my mileage rates further and gave me the rate of a smaller truck! I was pretty upset when they told me they had no truck, but the representative went so above and beyond to fix the situation, I would gladly use them again.
]]>My last U-haul had no running lights, and I had to duct-tape some makeshift ones on.
...and while moving my girlfriend down this week we passed a U-Haul trailer with a whole wheel missing and a large number of visibly shaken victims next to the carnage.
I'll rent from anywhere but U-Haul, even if it costs more, just to know that the rental probably is much less likely to kill or maim me.
]]>I've had nothing *but* problems with U-Haul in the past.
]]>OP should have called the U-Haul CEO's cell phone number!
the simple solution is, just put your cell phone on mute and give them that number.
]]>OP should have just put his phone on silent and let it go to voicemail. Unless your greeting mentions the cell phone company, they have no way of knowing whether it's a "landline" which is a retarded policy in the first place.
]]>Now, Pub[l]ic Storage, on the other hand, is a different story. The night I wanted to move stuff is the night their gate broke down. I had to jump the fence in order to open the side door. Now, I'm about 5'7", 180lbs. I am in no way an athletic guy. It was a piece of cake to get over that fence. Yeah, it really made my possessions feel safe. No refund offered from the office, the bitch was rude, and I was told "there is no way for anyone to open the gate after hours." FAIL.
I moved my stuff into a place called A-1 Storage. The manager lives on-site, the rates were cheaper, and it was a much better looking grounds. They will probably receive my business again.
]]>So if the truck broke, or wasn't returned in time, they were going to charge the cost of the truck to the credit cards?!?
I agree with renting from Penske, but in my area, they only offer commercial rentals. They seem to try hard to dissuade residential renters.
]]>in my experience, the easiest and cheapest truck rental company to deal with is budget. i made an online reservation, received a reservation #. i called a few hours later to the local place to confirm, and showed up 9am the next morning and was in the truck driving in less than 10 minutes. use your amex card and you get a 15% discount.. in my case $33.99 for a 24'truck and $0.76 per mile.
]]>Rent cargo vans from Enterprise and if you can get outside Jersey city, some of the hotel have really, really good rates.
We got vans on a couple of different occasions from Enterprise at the Crown Plaza in Seacaucus for <$25/day.
]]>who has a land line anymore?
]]>@swissdietcoke: Try going to a location that has Uhauls but isn't just a Uhaul store. Our local hardware place rents them without stupid demands. They didn't even charge us a deposit.
]]>Uhaul sucks in 3....2.....1....
]]>I've never had a problem renting from U-haul without a land line - well, except for the problems with their broken down vehicles.
U-haul is the worst...
]]>I only have a cell phone as it is cheaper than having a land line AND cell phone.
]]>An asshole in New Jersey? I've heard it all.
]]>I know several people who only have cell phones. This policy is too clumbsy to actually be from corporate. What if a guy is renting a tuck, but his wife did the out going message on the answering machine?
]]>Even if the price is a tad higher with Penske the nickle and dime antics you still come out ahead.
]]>Thank you for finally giving me a reason to get rid of my land line!
]]>