A San Angelo, Texas, man says he drove a rented U-Haul about 68 miles while moving his family across town. When he returned the truck the next morning, the clerk told him he owed more than $980. According to the rental records, he had driven about 600 miles.
The renter, who posts online as West Texas Grass Nerd, said bad weather was in the forecast on closing day, so he rented a large box truck instead of using his own trailers. Before pulling out, he walked around the truck with his phone, recording the dings, dents and scratches. He checked the cargo area, too.
He noticed one discrepancy right away: The paperwork listed a full tank, but the fuel gauge showed roughly a quarter tank. He stopped next door to put in about $20 worth of gas. While he was there, he snapped a photo of the dashboard. He didn’t open the picture to make sure the mileage was visible.
The family made four trips between the two houses. By his count, that put about 68 miles on the truck, all within San Angelo. He brought it back around 9 the next morning, and the clerk asked him to swipe his card. It was only when he asked for the total that he learned how much the location expected him to pay.
He pulled up the dashboard photo to challenge the mileage. The picture showed the instrument cluster, but the digital odometer display had come out blank. He said he left without paying and that the clerk then tried to charge the card he’d used for the deposit.
After several calls, he reached a district manager who agreed to look into it. According to the renter, the manager traced the extra mileage to a previous customer who had driven more than 600 miles. That mileage hadn’t been entered when the truck was checked back in, he said, leaving the wrong starting figure on his rental.
The renter said the manager resolved the dispute. He didn’t say what he ultimately paid. Subplot News reported that it reached out to U-Haul for comment.
U-Haul’s rental guide says the contract lists the starting mileage under “Miles (MI) Out” along with the per-mile rate for an in-town rental. The company advises renters to contact the pickup location if the mileage or fuel level on the contract is wrong.
The renter’s takeaway was simple: Before you leave the lot, compare the odometer and fuel gauge with the contract. Then open the photos you took and make sure you can actually read the numbers. He had a video of every scratch on the truck. The one detail he needed at the counter was the one his camera missed.
