Class Action Alleges U-Haul Continues to Deceive Consumers with Fraudulent Reservation Guarantee Policy

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A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in New York federal court alleging U-Haul and its parent company have in recent years continually failed customers by refusing to address problems stemming from “their own system failures, dishonest advertisements, and inattentive management.” Filed against U-Haul Co. of New York and Vermont, Inc.; U-Haul International, Inc.; and Amerco, the 31-page complaint—which very closely echoes a case filed in July 2017—says U-Haul fails to back up its own reservation guarantee policy, the product of previous litigation over arduously long wait times for equipment pick-ups.

“Unfortunately, this decision has not remedied the problem,” the lawsuit says. “Despite many complaints from consumers, [U-Haul] continues to engage in fraudulent and deceptive practices by failing to make good on their reservation guarantee policy.”

The lawsuit says U-Haul’s reservation guarantee policy—from which a consumer is to receive $50 should his or her rental be unavailable in the exact size and location at a pre-determined pick-up time—is central to its nationwide marketing campaigns. While the company touts that consumers will receive what they reserved, or at least be compensated in the event that doesn’t happen, the lawsuit claims the plaintiff found himself on the wrong side of the arrangement.

“In this case, [the defendants] promised [the plaintiff] a 15-foot truck at the location he selected but failed to deliver on that promise. [The plaintiff] followed all the steps required to ensure that he received his truck at his designated location, but [the defendants] neither provided him with the truck he ordered nor compensated him with $50, as promised by their reservation guarantee policy.”

In alleging the plaintiff’s experience was far from unique, the lawsuit outright claims U-Haul and its parent company have “deceived hundreds of thousands” of consumers in violation of New York’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.