U-Haul Moving & Storage of Frederick

I recently moved to Frederick from Gaithersburg, MD and rented a U-​Haul 14′ truck from their Gaithersburg facility. The UHaul website stated that a 14″ foot truck would hold up to a 1 bedroom apartment. So, here is my review of this U Haul experience. The staff at the receiving location was very friendly and they included an extra 20 miles for free. So, I have no complaints about that site. Onward to the end location in Frederick. As I mentioned earlier, the truck was supposed to fit a 1 bedroom apartment. Needless to say it didn’t fit everything. Here is a breakdown of what I was transporting so you have an idea of what was left.
1 Queen Size Bed
1 Futon
1 Medium Size entertainment center
1 Love Seat
2 Night Stands
1 Kitchen Table & 4 Chairs
1 Rollaway Bed (Twin)
1 Desk
20 Boxes
Well, the truck accommodated all the furniture, but only half the boxes. So, I called U-​Haul in Frederick to tell them that I was given inaccurate information from the website and to see if they would be able to compensate for the extra miles it is going to take for me to do an extra trip to pick up the rest of my belongings. Well, the female employee at the Frederick location told me that there was «nothing she could do» and that I would be charged «$ 29.99 for the extra day, and .40 cents a mile». So, I used the truck and then brought the vehicle back to the Frederick location «after hours» and followed all their instructions for said drop off to the «T». The gas guage was at its original level, the dollies and pads were returned, and the truck was returned clean. Well, I got a call from U-​Haul later that day and was told that I would have to pay an additional $ 292 for the extra day which is more than the first day of initial use which was $ 153. I spoke to the same female employee. This employee told me that the extra charge was for the «MISSING DOLLIES AND PADS». Now mind you I put one of their «U-​Haul padlocks» on the truck and gave them a copy of the key. (Of course you have to buy the lock for $ 5.95 if you want to not only secure your belongings, but drop the vehicle off after hours if you have their «EQUIPMENT»). I did take pictures of the returned truck with all of their belongings in the cargo area, and did a complete walk around with a camera. Once I told this female employee that I have photos to prove I returned all their belongings, I was put on a brief hold. When she came back, she stated that everything was fine and that the charge was now for $ 40 for the extra day which was $ 10 more than what the same female employee stated the day earlier, the extra mileage, and the $ 28 for their «Safe Move» option which was not explained to me either in which I would have to pay for each extra day.
All in all, I would say that their trucks are in great shape. The staff at the Frederick, MD location in my opinion were full of crap. I can only imagine what would of happened if I didn’t have photos to prove my claim. So, if you are going to rent a U-​Haul truck I would strongly recommend that you take photos of the truck when you pick it up, and when you return the truck as well. The other problem is that the truck was given to me with a fuel reading that wasn’t easily understandable, and had you guessing on how much gas to put in. There wasn’t a full tank of gas, nor a half tank. On the contract there is a diagram of the fuel guage that showed the tank at just slightly above a half tank. Now if you bring the vehicle back with anything under that, than you get charged a «$ 30 Service Fee for them to take the truck to the gas station, in addition to the gas used to to fill the tank». Apparently they try to get as much money they can from their customers.
In conclusion, I would NOT RECOMMEND this company for rental trucks. I do sense a level of dishonesty with them.

If I were rating this place on the store portion alone, I would’ve given it 3 or 4 stars — clean, bright, and everything you could possibly need for moving or storage.
And then, we rented our moving truck. On the hottest day of the summer. And we start driving it… and realize that the air conditioner is broken. Even worse, we get to our destination, load up the truck, go to drive it away, and realize it won’t start. After jumping it — in the 105 degree heat — a check engine light came on.
We waited 90 minutes for a mechanic to show up — a mechanic who the U-​Haul dispatcher had given no background information, including the fact that he had to call one of us to get into the gated apartment complex. We just happened to see him outside the gate. He fixed the check engine light, but not the air conditioning, and sent us on our sweltering way.
So thanks, U-​Haul. Thanks for giving us an ill-​maintained truck, almost giving us heat stroke, and making us lose hours of productivity while we waited around for someone to fix things. We might be back for boxes, but never again for a truck.

I’ve rented trucks from them on two separate occasions, both times my experience was so-​so. Their level of service is okay, but nothing to get excited about. If there was another U-​Hail location closer to me, I would definitely try somewhere new.