U-Haul of Ballard

Quick and easy, excellent customer service, didn’t mind that I brought the truck back a bit late. Great experience overall!

Holy cow — how is this place still in business? I tried to rent a truck from them last month, and (gasp) showed up an hour or so early. After waiting in an entirely empty store for 15 minutes for someone to actually show up and help me, it turned out that they couldn’t give me the truck because they had a piece of equipment in the way. So they sent me to another location (down on 15^th, which had far better service).
We needed a truck again this past weekend, and I had my wife go and pick it up because I was out of town. The truck reeked of cigarette smoke and had graffiti on the inside. The customer service in the store was, again, very poor: the were rude and unhelpful to my wife when she came to pick up the truck. Similarly, the customer service on the phone when we had to talk to them was indifferent and unfriendly. Needless to say, we will not be using this location again, ever.
I’d avoid this place like the plague. There are far better places to go.

If I could give zero stars I would.
I understand that uhaul is a big company in it for the money, but the level of incompetence and lack of cooperation here was still shocking.
I rented a truck. So far so good. Then my truck broke down. For no apparent reason.
I did the responsible thing and called Uhaul roadside assistance, where I was met with radio call quality from 1984. After failing to actually talk for more than 15 straight seconds with a human I gave up. Now uhaul roadside tried to call me back, to their credit, but they dropped their own connection so it didn’t matter. I was in Ballard – cell phone service is not an issue for us.
So we got jumper cables at our own expense. Hooked the dead battery up to a jeep and tried to charge it. No luck. By this time 45 wasted minutes have elapsed.
Then we call uhaul again, in desperation. This time the telecoms gods relent and we can talk. Hurrah! We are informed we will be serviced by Overlake Towing in «60 minutes.» Ah, the optimism.
90+ minutes later (after multiple calls to the Overlake dispatch center – which tells us they never promised 60 minutes to uhaul) the guy in the tow truck finally shows up. He is the first competent interaction we’ve had and he is not from uhaul. He peeks inside, fiddle with the connection and gets the truck working. We ate duly humbled but we’ve also lost 3 hours and really it’s not our job to check truck battery connections.
So we complete the move (almost 11) and drop the truck with a very clear note to uhaul Ballard to not charge the card (because obviously).
Cue Monday: I call Ballard uhaul to make sure they didn’t charge the card. The gentleman on the phone cannot find any record I ever had an issue (good to know that mail slot they told me to use gets checked). He then shares that somebody tried to steal the battery, but that’s not their fault. So of course they will happily charge me for the broken truck they rented to me, because to do otherwise would violate policy and admit some kind of responsibility.
As promised, my response is this review.
To cut a long story short: rent from uhaul in Ballard if you want a business that doesn’t take responsibility for thieves playing with their trucks, declares them roadworthy and then charges you regardless of what happens to you or your truck.
Thanks uhaul!

Service is OK here. I rented a truck here on Tuesday night. Do not rent from here.
Except that they don’t tell you that U-​haul does not refund overfueling when you pick up the truck, they just keep stressing that you have to fuel it when returning.
The clerk told me an incorrect fuel consumption for the truck. I filled the truck up with the amount of gas per miles used. Found that we returned the truck with more than when we picked it up. Next morning I call and get a lame «sorry» and that it was somewhere inside the contract. I’m tired of «sorry», this is no way to run a business
If we returned the truck with less than the fuel we picked it up with I’m sure they would gouge us. A few bucks back would been the right thing to do. I’m soured with this location and with U-​haul in general and most likely will not ever rent a truck with them.
So they can keep my dollars and lose a customer for good. This corporate practice of unfairness has to be answered in kind.

THe service was quick, and the attendents were friendly. It was easy to access the location and was a good experience over all.

I echo the comments about poor customer service here… I came in to get my propane tank filled, and was told someone would be out to fill it, take it to the green tent. I stood out by the tent in clear view of one of the other employees who was moving pallets (he had been inside to help customers in the shop, so had seen me there as well). Not only did this employee make eye contact with me multiple times as I was waiting… and waiting… but stopped to help 2 guys who were together and were confused as to which truck they had rented. After he helped them, I thought surely he will come help me? NOPE.
After waiting 15minutes (out in the cold, which only added to my irritation) I went back inside to see if I could get some help. The gal behind the counter was helping another customer, so I got in line behind them. She then proceeded to walk right past me without any acknowledgement and walk out the front door. To be fair, I gathered she was still helping the previous customer, but a simple ‘are you still waiting to get your propane tank filled? Gosh I’m so sorry, I will take care of it.’ would have been nice. C’mon people, this is customer service 101!
I took my tank and left and will look for a place that actually appreciates my service.

I’ve rented here about four times now in the last couple of years. And all goes smoothly, no surprises, courteous help. Nothing really special, but that’s the point. I don’t want anything out of the ordinary when getting ready to MOVE or after I’ve moved. I use Uhaul for renting pickup trucks to buy a new couch for my daughter, to full-​blown household moves.

If I could rate –5 stars I
NOT LET BRANDON OR ANYONE INSTALL ANYTHING ON YOUR VEHICLE!!! I had a trailer hitch installed and they drilled a hole thru the side panel of my vehicle, clearly visible, which they failed to tell me. thought maybe I wouldn’t notice. Now they’re playing dumb leaving me to deal with their insurance whose cust service is just as herendous as uhauls. It’s a long story of terrible cust service at this location and their «no care attitude» in rectifying the situation so grab a coffee and settle in.
It all started when I ordered my hitch through
and made an appt to have it installed where a confirmation stated that I would be contacted by them prior to my appt to set up a time. 1 day before my appt date still no call so I decide to call them. They tell me that the part is not there yet. What the hell? They don’t even call me to tell me this? I ask them to call other locations to locate it and ask them to call me back THAT DAY to which they agree. Never received a call. Never even a sorry for not calling in the first place to let me know I couldnt come down on my confirmed date. What kind of awful customer service is this? And how does the regional office or uhaul itself consider this by any means acceptable?
So skip ahead 2 days later I stop in to see what the hell is going on with my hitch part. They say they will have it the following w/​e so I schedule for Sun (still no apology on the part not being there or for not calling me back. I bet these guys didn’t even call around).Sunday comes so I drop off my truck to have the hitch installed. Thought this nightmare of horrendous service was over. thank god!
Skip ahead 2 wks to which I notice a small hole in the rear panel of my truck. I think that’s strange… wth? Looks like a BB was shot thru it or something but I’m no expert in damage so I take it down to a bodyshop where they say it looks like a drill hole. I say no way… I’m thinking seems harsh for some sort or vandalism… going around drilling holes thru cars but then he asks me to open my trunk so he can show me. He peels of the inside panel where the wiring to the trailer lights that uhaul installed are and says yes it’s definately from something being drilled. You can see a hole clearly through the metal body panel of my truck. He tells me something was drilled from the inside. Then it hits me… I see a shiny new ground wire screwed into a ground lower down with a screw whose tip matches the hole drilled up above. The idiot initially tried to drill the ground where the hole was. Clearly it’s visible right through the side panel of the vehicle. He must have seen it I mean there’s no way he couldn’t have noticed it.
So back to uhaul I go. I calmly ask for the mngr. The mngrs not there so a man named Brandon says well what’s the problem as I’m the one that does the hitch installs. So out we go, as I explain and show him what’s happened. He seems to agree that this is what happened but can’t remember if he did it or not (couldn’t he look in the computer to see who installed it?).He says there’s nothing he can do and the mngr is off for a week so ill have to come back. As I leave I realize it was him that installed it. I’m pissed I need to come back but I will take it up with the mngr.
Now onto the mngr Joseph. I come back and ask is the mngrs in. This guy only says yes and asks me what about. I tell him I’ve had a problem with my hitch install to which he asks what it is and I’m thinking is this guy going to get the mngr or what? I don’t want to repeat myself. Finally I ask him if he is Joseph to which he agrees. would have been nice to tell me he was the mngr himself in the first place to stop the confusion here but anyways, just another example of their piss poor customer
outside we go as I begin telling him what has happened and all he can do is look at the hole kind of puzzled. Well did Brandon say anything about this he asks? I tell him Brandon told me to come talk to you. He continues to touch it and look at it for 5 minutes not saying much until he says yeah I don’t know. I tell him look the hole starts from the inside going out and it’s inside a panel where the wiring for the trailer was put in. And there’s even a shiny new ground wire now there with a screw that I bet you will fit nicely into that drilled hole. NOBODY ELSE WOULD BE INSIDE THIS PANEL DOING ANYTHING! Joseph then has the audacity to tell me «well I can fill it with silicone for you». Are you f@&(ng kidding me here??? I know I don’t drive a Mercedes but my vehicle is an 08 toyota with no damage. I tell him that won’t do and they will have to pay for the bill to fix it.
He then tells me well you can call this ins # and see what they say but they will deal with all this & goes inside to get the #. Another prime example of uhauls grade «F» cust service.
I see — so you guys drilled a hole through my vehicle & I need to chase the fix? They should be the ones calling the ins and fixing this!

Don’t trust their «online» reservation system to reserve your truck or trailer. They don’t honor it. They will refer you to the 15^th AVE location after they say they can’t help you. Might as well go there first and save yourself the hassle/​time.
Also, this location has only 2 people working at their peak times, so slow service.
.

Excellent selection of boxes in every size for moving at cheap prices. They even have a box of boxes along the wall that you can bring in your old ones and take someone elses for free! So definitely check that out.
Rented a van for a day to move our King sized matress. When I saw the final charges after they had been posted, they had all these extra fees which I guess were legitimate but not discussed at the onset of the rental. BEWARE!
Plus the truck was old, did not run great and was difficult to drive.

So far this has been the worst experience. I say so far because I have yet to even get my 17′ truck. Here comes the back story:
3 weeks ago I reserved a truck to pick up Sunday morning. I called three days later and asked if I could pick up the evening before and have through the day on Sunday, Answer was «yes.» I requested a confirmation email. Did not receive one.
Three days later I received a phone call to confirm the reservation. Everything was on track. They said they would send a confirmation email, did not receive one. Because I did not receive an email, I called today to confirm my truck. When I called they said I had the truck from Saturday evening to Sunday morning at 9. I told them this was not what I reserved. They continued to tell me there was nothing that could be done. Throughout being on hold/​talking with them for 45 minutes they refused to help the situation.
Then I said, «I will call my movers and see if they can do the move Saturday evening, if that works I will pick the truck up that evening.» the man than went on to say that he wouldn’t rent the truck to me because I was pissed and he did not believe that I would return it on time the next morning. They even admitted that this was there fault.
Not only could they not get me a manager to talk to until tomorrow morning, they now were saying they would not rent to me because I was MAD! I think I had the right to be upset, no? There were also no other truck available in the area and I have to be out of my apartment by Sunday at noon.
After I got off the phone I got a call ten minutes later and they had a cancellation and now I will have a truck. Requested a confirmation email and have yet to receive that.
Wish i could give zero stars. The score may change if all goes well on Sunday. But this truly has been the worst experience with customer service I have ever had.

This company is great! Very affordable uhaul rental, and the staff is friendly and helpful.

I reserved a cargo van online. I picked it up at 6pm on a Tuesday and returned it by noon the next day. The van had low mileage and was the perfect size for someone like me who hates driving in the city in a huge vehicle. Pick up and drop off went smoothly. There were no unexpected fees and my receipt was promptly emailed to me. The two people who helped me weren’t setting the world on fire with friendliness but that’s not an important factor for me when renting a uhaul. All-​in-​all it was a very good experience.

I suspect people only review U-​Haul when they have a bad experience. Anyhow, I figured I’d write because I was apprehensive about coming here, but got quick service, a van in good condition, and my credit card was charged for the expected total. Works for me!

If I’m towing my car behind a giant van packed with my belongings for an agonizing 800 miles, I’d like to know if it should be in «park» or «neutral».
The advice I got from the u-​haul guy? «either one works»
Really? Because although I’m not so auto-​savvy, I think it’s probably one or the other. Two wheels on the ground, 800 miles, I’m thinking if I get this one wrong my sad little ’97 camry is done-​zo.
The truck was fine — no frills of course but that’s not u-​haul ballard’s fault. The advice following «either one works» from another employee to «check the manual»… that’s definitely u-​haul ballard’s fault.
Thankfully I made it to San Francisco with no issues, just one more reason to shout out the window as I cruised down 5… «so long, sucktown!!!»

Had a terrible experience that is still ongoing drama. An employee told me to lock the keys in the truck if I was to return it over night. I thought nothing of this because car dealerships have a common practice. My 19.99 truck rental to move a couch and a few items ended up costing over $ 90 once fees where applied. Have been in touch haul corporate and in the end it came down to the local managers approval or denial to refund me. Terrible customer service. I will do anything to prevent this location from getting any business, I’ll even help you move.
Thanks a lot Joey Partain.

Just booked a truck, got an e-​mail confirmation that said my truck would be available at the time I requested, then had a guy call me several hours later and say, «apparently the web site books trucks that don’t exist.»
At least they called.

I do not know how to give a negative star if that were possible. I went in for a custom hitch install that took 7 ½ hours. Yep! That’s right! Not even a comp. The installer had no idea what he was doing, worked slower than molasses and talked on his personal cell phone. His first attempt at the wiring was wrapped arount my muffler. When I pointed out this would simply melt the wiring — he did agree to redo it and it looks okay now. But really — 7 plus hours. DO NOT COME TO THIS STORE!!!

Two experiences:
1) Eek! Methinks not.
2) Yay! I’m a fan.
What do you do if you’re in such a predicament? Meet somewhere in between. And here you have it.

I’d rather strap my couch to my back and walk the five miles to my new place, then rent from UHaul again.
$ 19.95 a day translated into over $ 75 in charges for 2.5 hours with the truck and less than 20 miles driven during the move. I’m not a whiz at math, but I’m pretty sure that equals a total ripoff.
Their website information is NOT current. If it says that there will be a 10′ truck available on Saturday morning, you better be prepared to move on Thursday night with a truck twice the size and in half the time.
Never. Ever. Again.