anything else i can do?

[bernie]

here is a copy of a letter i sent to a couple agencies about a place i rented a van from. comments welcome
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3-27-03

i rented a cargo van from u-haul. i was quoted-19.95 per day, and .49 per mile.

i was charged .49 per kilometer. it even says on my receipt.

i was told at the time of payment that the computer did a 'calculation' to switch it from KM to
miles. yet on my reciept it had the starting KM and ending KM. no adjustment was made.

i called the customer service center, who was very miffed by this. they called the store, the
manager called me asking why i didnt go to them 1st. i told him, i had brought it up at the time i
paid, and he said there was a conversion by the computer. (i didnt feel like getting into it then.
besides, i had the receipt showing me the charges). he mentioned the conversion by the
computer thing, to which i responded that he was full of sh*t. i also looked at the odometer
while i drove and it kept track in KM. so i knew the receipt was a mirror of that.

so then he asks how many miles i 'thought' i drove. i told him i could figure out the exact miles.
he said they couldnt because they only had the KM numbers. i told him there is a definitive
number for the conversion...blah blah.

anyway, i called back with the conversion, and ever so politely, they credited back to me what
they overcharged. funny, when i mentioned how many miles, he said, 'yes, that's how many you
went." as if he was testing me.

personally, i didnt care about the $25 as much as them ripping someone else off this way.
during the first call, he'd mentioned that no one else had ever complained. to which i said
maybe no one else caught it.

so my question is, how do i go about reporting this possible scam? im sure this place isnt going
to do conversions for anyone unless they ask or confront them about it.

also, the cutomer service center has the odometer readings. the lady read me the number and it
was the number of KM on the vehicle before i took it over. she thought it was in miles. i told
her it was the KM reading, not miles. which is a subject for misreporting miles that should have many repercussions

total KM on van when i brought it back...26184....

actual miles converted...16273.4

so a difference of a possible 9910.60 miles could be overcharged on this vehicle alone. at .49
per mile

------

i hate these A Holes. it doesnt sound like it was an honest mistake to me.

i sent this letter to my states attorney generals office. which probably wont do anything, but it felt good.

thanks for taking the time if you read this far.

cya

b

[Howard Burroughs]

That sucks about U-Haul. I can't help but thanks for sharing. At least your brother poker players are now warned about the U-Haul shuffle.

BTW, I always thought the two most dangerous words in poker were, "I call".

Best of Luck

Howard

[Jimbo]

Bernie,

It would have been easier just to push the little button near the odometer which changes the display form kilometers to miles. Unless this vehicle was manufactured in Canada and not for export to the USA it must have this option.

[Michael Davis]

Bernie,

Send a copy of this to the Better Business Bureau.

-Mike

[bernie]

"It would have been easier just to push the little button near the odometer which changes the display form kilometers to miles."

that wouldnt have told me how far the trip was. usually, on newer models, the 'trip' meter has to be reset prior. which sets it to zero. but even then, a renter can just hit the switch and youd (computer) would have to do the math for total miles travelled anyway.

im not sure if that button will switch from KM to MI. i have a van just a hair older. but ive never tried it. i also believe it was made for canada since the primary speedometer reading was in KM. which i found out after i wondered why it felt like it was crawling at 40MPH. it just didnt seem right. then i noticed the MPH were the smaller numbers where the KMH usually is. (remember this if you see a UHaul travelling slow. they may be going by a KM reading)

but the main thing is that theyve been reporting false miles to the main center that keeps track of all the vehicles. this leads me to believe that theyve been overcharging for as long as theyve had the vehicle. that and the fact my bill was in KM, im not so sure this was just this vehicle specific. these places usually dont have that many options in their programs on their computers to differentiate MI and KM. i have a feeling if i saw the program, i may even be more pissed if their is an option for them to choose which to charge for.

im tempted to ask people i see coming out of their to see their bills. whether for other vehicles or at least just this van to see if theyre still charging for KM. if they are, then it's fraud. and if they do it after ive made it public record, that would prove even more (to me at least) that they are scamming. which if i was a lawyer, and they should be thanking someone that im not, id check to see that each case prior is retroactive to any fine or punishment they recieve. per instance. yes, i would be a prick lawyer and make them pay dearly. smiling while i did it too.

i know it sounds overboard, but after being self-employed for 13 years and having my chances of ripping people off and not doing it, and there were many many times i couldve. it really pisses me off when i see it. as stated in the letter, im not as worried about my $25, though it was nice, as i am them ripping off someone else. it's one thing if one doesnt read their bill, but when one advertises one thing, yet does another. that irks me.

b

[bernie]

i sent a copy to my state's attorney generals office which, i believe, also sends a copy to the BBB.

may not make anything happen, but it made me feel better. but they do say that a copy of the complaint is sent to the place of business. which oughtta piss em off a little and make them feel a little UTG.

b