U-Haul customer said no to insurance fee, so the company tried to scam him. But they didn’t anticipate his smart move

A Tennessee man says he successfully fought off a nearly $200 damage charge from U-Haul because his timestamped walk-around video proved the company was trying to charge him for pre-existing damage. This whole situation is a perfect example of why you’ve got to be prepared for hidden charges or tricks in the fine print during basic transactions these days.

TikTok creator @wolfgangkw2 shared his story after a short U-Haul rental in Johnson City, Tennessee, turned into a surprise $197.86 charge. He claims the U-Haul location “tried to scam me out of $197.86,” and he’s sharing the video because he’s convinced this practice is happening at more locations.

The customer explains that when you rent a U-Haul truck, the company offers damage coverage, which, in his case, was $15. If you decline that coverage, you assume responsibility for any damage found later. If you’re only driving 40 miles round-trip like he was, skipping that $15 fee sounds totally reasonable.

U-Haul needs to fix this particular location

He stated, “I don’t want to pay the 15 bucks. If something happens, I’ll assume responsibility for it.” Unfortunately, he believes that decision immediately made him a target for the alleged scam.

The TikToker claims that U-Haul actually benefits when customers purchase the coverage, because the company pays for the necessary repairs out of pocket. However, when a customer declines the coverage, he suggests that U-Haul can allegedly pass off old damage as new and charge the renter directly. In his view, “They try to take all the previously existing damage from the people who did pay and pin it on someone like me.”

When you have to deal with movers that wreck things, U-Haul seems like a better alternative, until you deal with the customer service. The worst part of this story is how U-Haul handles documentation. The TikToker says the company doesn’t clearly explain that customers must take their own photos of the truck before leaving the lot. Instead, he claims U-Haul allegedly sends a text message with a photo upload link after the customer has already left.

“They deliberately don’t tell you that you have to take your own photographs,” he stated. Even though he says he never received that text, he noticed scratches on both sides of the vehicle and decided to film a walk-around video on his own. This incredibly smart move ended up saving him the following day.

The morning after his rental, U-Haul charged his debit card $197.86. When he called customer service, a representative told him the charge was for a large scratch on the right side of the vehicle.

“She tells me it’s for damage,” he says, “And I’m like, ‘I didn’t damage the vehicle.’” He claims the representative told him the charge stood because he didn’t upload photos and didn’t purchase the protection. When he suggested she check the previous renters’ photos, she supposedly told him none of the earlier renters had uploaded any documentation either. He immediately reacted, calling that “an impossible improbability.”

It gets worse. He claims the same representative eventually found photographic proof that the damage existed before his rental, but she didn’t immediately disclose it. Instead, he says she hung up on him and contacted the U-Haul store directly. That’s absolutely awful customer service.

When he arrived back at the Johnson City location, employees already knew the damage was pre-existing, but still asked him for proof. That’s when he pulled out his timestamped walk-around video. He says, “You could see the damage in the video. The timestamp and the date were right there.”

Even with the evidence right there, he claims employees continued to scrutinize the video. As this scene played out, more customers gathered inside the store, and he started loudly explaining the situation. “So now everybody in the store is hearing what’s going on,” he recalls.

A manager finally processed the refund, but didn’t apologize for the trouble. Instead, the manager allegedly told the customer to be nicer to the customer service representative next time. Which is how you know you should not trust a business.

The TikToker says the store only refunded him after other customers started expressing concern. One couple even said they were reconsidering renting after hearing the story. He plans to speak with an attorney about the incident.

The takeaway here is simple: if you rent a vehicle and decline the protection, you have to inspect the vehicle and document its condition thoroughly. Take a video, capture the date and time, and don’t rely on the company to send you a link to upload photos later. Protect yourself, because it seems like U-Haul won’t. Luckily, whenever we have U-Haul stories, they end happily, but it doesn’t seem like that’s because of the company.