Can't speak to the U-Haul situation, but I have rented from Enterprise many times, and have never had an issue. Upon renting a vehicle, they record the fuel gauge level, w/ engine running, to the nearest 1/8 tank. You initial (concurring w/ the reading) on the registration form. In my experience, they are 'casual' about comparing the before- and after- fuel levels. If it's close, you get benefit of the doubt. Enterprise--to their credit--seems to be very customer-focused. (No, I don't work there, nor is this a paid endorsement. :))

I had an awful experience w/Uhaul's customer service. I had rented a truck to move and had to return it by 2 p.m. No problem, right? I asked what if I was late, and the customer service woman said she'd call the police if I returned it just 1 minute late!

DD: wow. Way to win people over with exceptional customer service.

I think it really depends which U-Haul facility you use, as I am pretty sure most are independently owned and Operated. I have used the U-Haul facility on Tollgate Road in Bel Air numerous times and have been very satisfied, have never had an issue with re-fueling charges. It's important to keep in mind not to blame U-Haul as a whole, but to blame the specific facility that has been used where an issue has come up.

DD: Very good point, Steve. Thanks for reminding us to be more judicious in our comments.

Ever see how much rental companies charge the government on fuels costs for rentals. I had a hertz government rental which I took back 3/4 full, they charged my government account $90 fuel charge on a small suv hyundai!! It doesn't even take $90 for a full tank of gas, not in Kansas City. These companies try to bank of these fuel charges, they rely on them.

BEWARE how much tank you leave with when renting with them I payed more attention to outside damage of the vehicle thinking that would be more of a liability to me if I didn't. Well on the paper they gave me the fuel read, (E-F 3/4) but on the truck dial the reading was reversed (F-E 3/4), yes I overlooked the the small print F/E and it cost me, again I was concerned more about physical damage to the vehicle, and gave only a glance at the fuel dial. When I talked to the servicing location they admitted this was a problem, and they had issues with other customers before, but why would they make a simple change to the paperwork to avoid any confusion when it serves their purposes of making more money.

DD: rich, that just sounds so shady to me. I really hope everyone starts doublechecking the fuel gauge, the contract and the condition of the car and maybe even take pictures when they're renting.

While on our honeymoon we learned the house we lived at was sold. All our belongings were sored in garage. We stayed in a halfway house ran by a friend. we had limited funds so we rented a uhaul truck. While it be cheaper to pay the over due charges verses renting 2 storage areas (if not driven) we did that. With no notice the truck was confiscated by uhaul. Sometime later we got a bill over 5,000.00 (2,500 for cleaning and 2,000 miles) Afer several calls and being told to talk to a manager, which never was in, we sent them a dispute letter. Ever since then we are told that they have no record of this truck nor all our property which includes our wedding gift, clothes, everything except clothes we had on our honeymoon. What can we do?

DD: John, I'd contact the AG's Consumer Protection Division and the Better Business Bureau immediately. I'm not sure what type of protection you have, but I hope you held on to all your paperwork and any documentation you may have of what was in there.

I just rented a van for $19.95 a day plus 59 cents a mile. Now excuse my ignorance but since I was being charged by the mile and the tank was not full and the person at the counter never told me to refill so I assumed I didn’t have to. Yes it was on the contract but I didn’t read the fine print because important details are usually verbally communicated. Well I was not happy when I returned the vehicle and they told me they were going to bill me a $30 surcharge and $2 + the price per gallon of the missing fuel (1/8th of tank). I complained to the manager that how was so I supposed to refill to the exact level without going over or more importantly under fueling to avoid the refuel "Rape Charge". I said if they wanted the tank refueled then they should rent vehicles with the tanks full so there is no question about much fuel you need to replace. He said they don’t always refuel so customers don’t have to wait to rent but I saw four vans just sitting there the whole time so there wasn’t anyone waiting. He said it was easy to refill to a precise level (not full) and told me to refuel or pay. Well I did refuel and guess what I went over a couple gallons despite my best efforts because the fuel gauge didn’t respond immediately even though I kept walking back and forth from the tank and to front to try to visually match the level I started at.
So in the end Uhaul makes out by taking advantage of their customers. If you under fuel you get whacked with a $30 surcharge and $2 plus the price per gallon of missing fuel. If you over fuel they do not reimburse you so they make out either way. How is this a fair and consumer friendly policy?
I can’t believe UHAUL gets away with this practice.

I picked up a large truck with a "full" tank. Full meaning the needle was on the completely darkened circle to the right (the circle to the far left is undarkened and the circle in the center is half darkened). The paper I was given to note the fuel level had the "F" on the right side circled by the U-Haul rep. Before returning the truck, I refueled it after an exhausting day of moving. I was tired and talked with my wife on the phone and left the gas pumping, assuming that it would stop when "full". When the pump automatically stopped I was at just under 42 gallons of fuel ($81.00). This was for 53 miles of usage. When I looked at the needle it was the equivalent distance past full (the completely darkened circle on the right) of a half tank as indicated by the gauge. I dropped the keys that night in the drop box and called the next day. I politely explained to the representative what happened and that clearly the gauge was not correct. She informed me that I signed that it was full and that she checked it in as full and therefore there was nothing she could do. I asked her to look again at the gauge to corroborate what I was telling her, i.e. that full was actually well past the full mark on the gauge. I explained that clearly I did not use 42 gallons of fuel to go 53 miles and that therefore "full" on the gauge was not full. The truck is rated at 7 MPG. I told her that even if the vehicle only got 5 MPG the most I should have used was around 10.5 gallons. She stated she would check with a manager and call me back. She never did. I finally was able to speak with her face to face at their counter a week later. She held firm in her position and told me that it was my responsibility to fill the tank to the exact same spot and that I had obviously over-filled the tank. I explained that when the paper said "full" that logically that means you fill it until it is topped off. I also pointed out to her that the tank is on the passengers side and even if I did realize that "full" in U-Haul world doesn't really mean "full" that logistically it would have been very difficult, without another person there to yell "stop" from the cab, to fill it to the same level.

She informed me that she has been with U-Haul for five years and this had never been an issue before, i.e. stupid me. I told her that I found that incredible, that when their paper says the truck is full and the gauge seems to support that, that I should be able to rely on the representation.

In all my years of renting vehicles I have never had this problem. You get a vehicle full you return it full. Not precise; you might give back a little more or less, but you expect it to be close. Bottom line is that U-Haul would not acknowledge that some 30 gallons off on their fuel gauge is a problem. In the end she offered me $20 in U-Haul VIP bucks to make me go away. I told her that I didn't expect to move again anytime soon so they had little value to me.

From what I can gather, based on other consumer complaints, It appears that there is a problem top-down with customer service with this business. Beware.

Like the majority of us who move a lot, I too have had mixed experiences with Uhaul, not all of them bad necessarily. re: the whole gas issue, my last one was the best. I rented a truck for an in-town move. I calculated the mileage and refilled the tank. When I returned the truck it was parked on a hill; needless to say the gas gauge was way off and the owner (of this incredibly decrepit hardware store) told me it needed to be filled up. I moved the truck to flat ground and we waited for the gauge to adjust. Apparently this wasn't good enough and the tank still wasn't where it should have been. This is where it get's good: knowing I would be charged a ridiculous amount for (supposedly) not filling the tank, I didn't want to leave it as is, regardless of whether I was right or wrong. But instead of having me go fill it up, he told me to just give him "$5 or $10 dollars...or something." What could I do? I gave him the $$, but whether he actually used it to fill up the tank is anyones guess. All these experiences are why I've changed course and now rely on moving pod companies like Door to Door - http://www.doortodoor.com. In the end this services is so much easier to deal with (and often less expensive.)