U-Haul Center of Chelsea

Doesn't Recommend

nycgal33

Joined 2 years ago

So-so customer service. A few weeks ago, I bought about $350 of boxes and moving supplies from U-Haul off their website, and per their advertisements and website, I bought plenty of boxes because they guarantee they will buy back any unused boxes as long as you bring a copy of your receipt. So about a week ago, I borrowed a friend's car and lugged a bunch of extra boxes to the U-Haul in Chelsea. I gave the woman at the counter the boxes and my receipt and naively expected them to refund the cost of the boxes (about $80). But after typing various things into the computer for 20 minutes, the woman declared she couldn't refund the money without a "contract number" which might have been on a yellow packing slip that came with the boxes. I told her I didn't see a packing slip in the boxes, and had no idea what my contract number was. And no, I didn't save the boxes the boxes came in since they were huge and easily would take up half my living room. Plus their web site says very plainly they guarantee they'll buy back the boxes with a copy of the receipt, and I pointed at the piece of paper with "Order Receipt" printed at the top. I asked her if she could look up the contract number using my order number, and she replied "no, sorry, our system doesn't work like that." She then said the only thing I could do was bring the boxes back another day when their Corporate customer service line was available (it was a Sunday).

Now since I don't own a car, in order to bring back the boxes, I would have had to rent a car to bring them back, which would have cost more than the refund. After a lot of back and forth with various people in the store, one woman finally took pity on my and told me I could leave the boxes there along with a copy of my receipt, and I could call back the next day when the National Customer Service line was available to help and we'd try to clear it up then. So the next day, I called up the National Customer Service line, and the guy told me, "Oh, the contract number and the order number are the same number. They should have known that at the store. Just call them and tell them to call this number if they have any trouble processing your refund." So I proceeded to call the store and explained my story to the woman who answered. She sounded annoyed, and asked why they didn't just process the refund while I was there the previous day. I told her I tried but no one in the store knew how to do it so could they please process it now. She said I'd need to bring in the boxes and copy of my receipt to do that. I told her the store had the boxes and the receipt and gave her the name of the person at the store who took the boxes and receipt from me, to which she responded she'd have to look into it and would call me back. Well, she never called back. Nor did the person I talked to at the store a couple days later, or the one I talked to a day after that. So at this point, my hopes of getting my $80 back are next to non-existent. U-Haul really shouldn't advertise a guarantee it has no intention of honoring. And I have a hard time believing the store couldn’t have found a way to refund my money with the receipt I gave them if they’d really wanted to.

UPDATE: Well, after I posted this review on Citisearch, someone from the Chelsea U-Haul finally called me back. They are now refunding the money for the boxes I returned, so it's a happy ending after all and I've upgraded the rating to 2 stars from 1 (I still think they could have found a way to resolve it the day I was there and I shouldn't have had to make multiple calls to the store to resolve it).

Doesn't Recommend

NYthings

Joined 2 years ago

Treat like the plague, and get them to confirm the miles 3x. Unbelievable how bad this place is. I rented a truck for 3 hours to drive 11 miles. I returned it, we joked about how I had only driven 11 miles (I had guessed 12 miles), paid the fee then headed out.

I noticed by a week or two later my deposit still hadn't been refunded on my credit card. I also went to pick up another UHAUL trailer in the Bronx. But in the Bronx the told me they couldn't rent to me- I was on a blacklist since I hadn't paid a parking ticket. So I started the calls. Turns out UHAUL in Chelsea billed me for 4 days and 55 miles. And wanted me to pay a parking ticket that was received THE DAY AFTER I RETURNED THE TRUCK. Now, since National UHAUL managed to prove to them that the same truck was rented to another person 3.5 hours after I had rented it, I was finally, hours later, able to convince them that I didn't need to pay for the 3 extra days and for the parking ticket. But they wouldn't budge on the 55 miles- said it was my word against theirs, and that there was no proof I didn't drive 55 miles. Read around- it seems like they try to pull this scam on a daily basis. After literally spending hours and hours on the phone with them, I just gave up. The world would be a better place if this shop did not exist. Not so much a slight on UHAUL (the UHAUL in the Bronx was very good), but this location in particular.

Doesn't Recommend

Hummer

Joined 4 years ago

Worse Than The Post Office!!!. Have you ever gone to a United States Post office here in NYC staffed with life long Federal employees that seem like they are moving in slow motion and couldn't give two Sh%ts about your needs? If not, go to this U Haul location and experience it for yourself. The staff is slow, surly and often outright rude. Many of the trucks are ANCIENT AND RUN DOWN.

GO TO PENSKE! (and no I don't work for them) TRUST ME!

This system made me check one star, it's actually lses than zero.

Doesn't Recommend

macdadi

Joined 5 years ago

Awful. If you wish to be screamed at by employees, and wait nearly 2 hours for your van, this is the place to go.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review by Citysearch Editors. Do-it-yourself moving trucks, trailers, equipment and packing supplies for one-way and in-town moves. Storage is also available.