I am filing this complaint regarding a catastrophic failure by U-Haul to safeguard my property and to provide basic information needed to recover it after it was towed, which ultimately resulted in the total loss of nearly all of my belongings. I rented a U-Haul trailer to move from Ohio to Florida. After fully loading the trailer with all of my personal belongings, my apartment complex had the trailer towed. The tow company refused to release the trailer to me and stated it had been returned to U-Haul. From that point forward, I contacted U-Haul multiple times seeking assistance in locating and recovering my property. For an extended period, U-Haul could not tell me where my trailer had been taken. After repeated calls, I was eventually told that I had three days to recover my belongings, but U-Haul still could not identify which U-Haul location had possession of my trailer. With no guidance or support, I personally drove to every U-Haul location in the city searching for my trailer. No employee at any location could provide information or assistance. On the third day, I went to the U-Haul location at 1739 West Alexis Road, Toledo, Ohio, and asked directly if my trailer was there. I was told it was not. Despite this, I drove around the back of the building and discovered my trailer sitting on the property. It still had a parking violation sticker from my apartment complex attached, confirming it was my trailer. When I opened the trailer, I discovered that it had been broken into and completely ransacked. Nearly everything inside had been stolen. I lost tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of property, including but not limited to: A box containing all of my jewelry and multiple Rolex watches My entire professional photography studio, including all cameras, lenses, lighting, and equipment A small safe that was inside the trailer Personal belongings accumulated over many years My father’s urn, which was smashed and desecrated The trailer had been locked when it was towed, and it is clear the lock was forcibly removed. I immediately contacted U-Haul multiple times after discovering the theft. I left numerous messages for regional leadership and anyone I was referred to, including individuals described as area or district leadership. I never received a meaningful response or return call. I was ultimately told there was nothing that could be done. When I spoke with the manager of the U-Haul on West Alexis Road, she was dismissive and rude and stated that no one had opened the trailer or stolen anything. This statement is demonstrably false given the condition of the trailer and the total loss of its contents. As a direct result of U-Haul’s failure to: Track and disclose the location of my trailer Secure my property while it was in their possession Respond appropriately after the theft occurred I lost virtually everything I owned. I was forced to remain in Ohio instead of completing my move to Florida. I had to start over from nothing and purchase replacements for basic necessities, which caused me to max out my credit cards and severely damage my credit, and even then I was only able to replace a small fraction of what was stolen. I am seeking accountability from U-Haul for their negligence, failure to safeguard my property, and complete lack of customer support following this incident. I believe U-Haul bears responsibility for the loss of my belongings while the trailer was under their control and stored on their property.
Justin H
Customer Reviews for Bernthisel Self Storage
(U-Haul Neighborhood Dealer)
Testimonials From Recent Customers
Customer feedback is extremely important to us. We use these reviews to guide our efforts and improve our service. Everything that follows is direct from our customers, without any filtering or editing on our part.
Truck was dropped off after hours, no personnel interaction.
DAVID CVery handy. Very easy. Very friendly.
Jeff S | Overall ExperienceDropped off Trailer on a Monday at 2 PM. Nobody working at the location. Just used the app to register equipment return.
Rick HAll good
JEFFREY SStaff was very accommodating and personable. Will continue to do business with them.
JEFFREY SEverything was fine except the windshield was filthy. Could hardy see out of it when driving into the sun.
JOHN Pcan't think of anything.
Janice BVery helpful when I had to drop off after hours.
FRANK DNothing
EMERSON LThe owner of the facility was very nice and helpful. The U-haul itself was in great shape and we had no issues. Easy pick up and drop off.
Daniel SAbsolutely wonderful to do business with this location. They went out of their way to help me with an issue I had with the trailer when hooking it up again at my home. The team member drove to my home in his personal vehicle to help with the re-install after I had already left and I couldn’t thank him enough for his efforts. Bernthisel comes highly recommended and would do business with them again if I am in the area in the future.
JAMES TSmall store. Friendly, personalized service.
Robert BThe employee was very nice and helpful
Matthew NVery friendly and quick checkout.
ROBERT Ba little bit of a wait as only 1 person was working. But he was efficient and started working with me while the previous folks renting a trailer went to move their truck.
DOUGLAS SNot a very exciting interior, but a helpful and polite worker. They helped to answer any questions.
Gretchen RMike Fritz at Bernthisel in Waterville gets 5 stars for competence, courtesy, and helpfulness. In spite of heavy rain, the 5x8 trailer we hauled stayed dry inside. We had first tried two UHaul places in Bowling Green, but the one on North Main never called back, and the one on Poe seemed to be making stuff up. I’m glad we drove up to Mike’s place- not far from Bowling Green and without the hassles.
TIMOTHY JKeep doing the good service, that Uhaul is providing now.
JAIRO PGentleman at the desk was helpful and knowledgeable
Brianna GIt looks like a vacant lot so easy drop off. It was closed when we dropped off the trailer.
Charles WMike is very helpful great to work with!
Christopher FEverything went well. Received confirmation call from staff. He did what he could to make the reservation work as it should.
JEFFREY SThis location was great, quick and easy. the Uhaul app to return the truck on the other hand was horrible. It crashed on me 3 times, was very slow, and would freeze. Super frustrating. I almost wouldn’t recommend someone to use Uhaul due to the app experience alone.
Bret HThey said we are full and not affiliated with u haul went 30 miles out of my way and the owner was very rude you need to shut him down
Bill P | ReservationThe whole experience was very smooth and the people very helpful.
Steve MGreat customer service
Diana MEmployee actually counted the blankets and that's when we discovered that we only had 30. Most were not in bags, but were loose. I should have counted before I left the Hamilton location, but again, we were on a tight schedule.
Ken WThis UHaul pickup location was amazing! I received a call the night before verifying all of the rental information. The gentleman I spoke with said they would be closed on Saturday, but if we had any problems or issues he would come out and help! There was a small mattress that was left in the truck from a previous renter. Called this location again to let them know of the issue and was told he would work with the field manager to get this fixed. Excellent customer service!!
Jill BBefore just filling up the gas tank we thought we had filled per ridiculous guidelines (on rental sheet., please let us know and we can correct. We thought we were doing the right thing, and got gouged $$$$ for about 5 gallons. Not right.
James BI've been charged a lot more than I was supposed to for renting a UHaul and plan to call the company on Monday to sort it out. I have in total 2 charges for my UHaul totaling $124.10. The first charge is on 11/24 at 1:39PM for $75.92. The last charge is from 7:39am for $48.18 that was charged today (11/25) even though I moved yesterday? My understanding was that the $48.18 was all that I owed given it calculated the mileage and the cost of the truck, so I'm unsure where this $75.92 charge is coming from. If this is corrected to the proper amount I'm willing to adjust these reviews but I'm not pleased as of right now. Would not recommend to a friend.
Nicole LNo improvements needed. The guy who runs the rental location did an excellent job.
John SGreat and friendly service!
Aracelly CThey are usually blessed in Saturdays but they had no problem meeting us to pick up our equipment needed!
Seth OI had trouble with the 24/7 on my device. I called the 800# and the woman was super helpful but it didn't work out. The guy Bernthisel was great and got me all set at pick-up and drop off!
Daniel FThe agent was very helpful. Very close to my home, but their inventory is slim. Just happened to have what I needed. Gave location AVERAGE rating simply because U-Haul is not their primary business. All my experiences with U-Haul have been very positive.
Martin RSecond time I have dropped here, large parking area, easy to drop truck and trailer. Mike was very helpful with drop off. I did use U-haul's electronic drop off, via text link from phone this time, super easy and fast.
Roger BPersonnel did not come out to help until it became very frustrating. Location said it opened at 9am and the doors were locked when we got there at 9:30am.
Daniel SAppreciate them having what I needed to rent. It is a small shop and only one employee. If he is busy, you have to wait. Plan to return.
JEFFREY SThey don't carry the balls or connectors for the trailers. Bring those with you or you will visit the New O'Reillys like we did. All in all, great place to pick up a trailer.
Mindy LI used the 24/7 pick-up (using the application). Truck was easy to find, application worked, I had not issues picking up the truck.
Adam Slocation is good ,uhaul needs to streamline checkin process , at least for regular users
ed q1. An upfront guideline on how self checkout at a neighborhood store works. For a first timer, i was confused as to what are the next steps while I was waiting for approval. 2. Checkin on the app did not work. Had to use the browser to complete the process. The app went into a blank screen repeatedly.
Tony G