U-Haul Lawsuit Alleges Company Illegally Hides Extra Fees Until the End of Checkout

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that U-Haul International unlawfully waits until the end of its checkout process to add hidden fees to a customer’s transaction, a practice known as “drip pricing.”

Get class action lawsuit and class action settlement news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter.

The 18-page lawsuit claims that U-Haul employs in California a predatory “drip-pricing” scheme in advertising its goods and services at artificially low prices that do not include the company’s “environmental fee,” which the case says is tacked on to a consumer’s sale price at the very end of the transaction.

The case accuses U-Haul of ignoring California’s Honest Pricing Law, a 2024 amendment to the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, by “continuing to dupe consumers” into shelling out for illegal hidden fees. By the time the fee has been revealed, the filing says, a consumer has already decided to rent from U-Haul.

Related Reading: Arbitrations for Hidden Junk Fees, Drip Pricing

“U-Haul's drip pricing practice frustrates comparison shopping, impedes competition, and causes consumers to pay more for truck and trailer rentals than they otherwise would have,” the suit contends.

The plaintiff in the case is a California resident who, on two separate occasions, rented trucks from U-Haul for an advertised price of $29.95, but was unknowingly charged an additional “environmental fee” that was only disclosed at the end of the transaction.

Though the fee was only an additional $1 each time, the suit argues that the money was “wrongfully obtained” by U-Haul and that “law does require that the listed price include the full amount (excluding Government taxes) that a customer must pay for that good or service.”

“U-Haul's violation of the Honest Pricing Law is particularly egregious because (1) labeling the fee as an ‘environmental fee’ would lead a reasonable consumer to believe that the fee is a lawful, legitimate charge and (2) the fee is only displayed after a consumer has clicked through approximately 10 pages and reached the end of the checkout process,” the class action lawsuit says.

The complaint argues that since the Honest Pricing Law was passed in October 2023 but did not go into effect until July 2024, U-Haul should have been aware of its alleged wrongdoing, given that the company had nearly nine months to modify its business practices.

The U-Haul drip pricing lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who, while in California and within the applicable statute of limitations period, bought goods or services from U-Haul and were charged any fees, excluding mandatory taxes, that were not included in the advertised price.

Check out ClassAction.org’s free legal resources to learn how to file a class action lawsuit.