U-Haul Environmental Fee Class Action Website is Active

A U-Haul settlement website had been established to let Class Members know about their rights under a class action lawsuit that claims that U-Haul customers in West Virginia who declined to donate to the Conservation Fund were still charged and paid an environmental fee.

The website notes that as a result of this allegedly unauthorized charge, U-Haul customers in West Virginia may have paid more than they should have for U-Haul truck rentals.

A court in West Virginia has granted Class certification to consumers who filed the U-Haul Conservation Fund class action lawsuit, determining that the consumers had effectively shown that U-Haul could have charged many consumers a Conservation Fund charge without their consent.

At this point, the court has not determined whether or not U-Haul did, in fact, wrongly charge a fee to consumers. The court has only determined that the consumers who filed the U-Haul lawsuit have sufficiently established that many consumers may have been similarly affected by U-Haul’s alleged actions.

Now that the lawsuit has been certified as a class action lawsuit, the U-Haul unauthorized charge class actin lawsuit may proceed to trial.

If a consumer does nothing, they will automatically be considered as part of the Class, but if any benefits are awarded, Class Members still may need to take action to receive the benefits. Consumers may be excluded from the Class upon request. The last date to mail a request for exclusion is March 28, 2019.

Consumers who fall into two categories qualify as Class Members. According to the U-Haul class action lawsuit website, consumers qualify in the Old Contract Subclass if they:

• “Rented a truck from U-Haul in West Virginia between May 1, 2008 and October 31, 2011,
• Declined to make a donation to the “Conservation Fund” (and had not made such a donation in connection with any other prior contract), and
• Were charged and paid the environmental fee of $1, $3, or $5.”

According to the website, consumers qualify in the New Contract Subclass if they:

• “Rented a truck from U-Haul in West Virginia between November 1, 2011 and May 30, 2017,
• Declined to make a donation to the “Conservation Fund” (and had not made such a donation in connection with any other prior contract), and
• Were charged and paid the environmental fee of $1, $3, or $5.”

The U-Haul unauthorized Conservation Fund charge class action lawsuit was filed by Amanda Ferrell, John Stigall, and Misty Evans in August 2011, against U-Haul Co. of West Virginia. The consumers claim that they rented U-Haul vehicles from the company and, during their rental, declined to contribute to optional environmental fees.

They claim that an environmental fee was nonetheless added to their bill. Allegedly, these fees varied in cost — in one case the fee was $1, in another case it was $3, and in yet another case the fee was $5.

Allegedly, hundred of West Virginia residents were similarly affected and were charged a fee without their authorization or consent. The consumers claim that U-Haul’s act of charging an environmental fee without consent violated state law, breached their contract, represented a fraudulent concealment of charges, and disregarded consumers’ rights.

Ferrell, Stigall, and Evans seek punitive damages from U-Haul, as well as damages to compensate for their financial injury. They also seek injunctive relief that would prevent U-Haul Co. of West Virginia from continuing to charge consumers without their consent.

Amanda Ferrell, John Stigall, and Misty Evans are represented by James C. Peterson and Aaron L. Harrah of Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Dietzler PLLC, and by Anthony J. Majestro PLLC.

The U-Haul Conservation Fund Class Action Lawsuit is Amanda Ferrell et al. v. U-Haul Co. of West Virginia, a West Virginia Corporation, Case No. 11-C-1426, in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia.

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