U-Haul Center In Landover, MD Refused key return until my rental van was damaged, claim I'm at fault since contract wasn't closed. Landover Maryland

I returned the van around 6:45 pm on Saturday and parked it in the return zone. I went inside the store to return the keys but the woman behind the counter said she couldn't take them, that I had to give them to one of the guys outside.

I went back outside and waited about three minutes for them to take the keys. After about three minutes of waiting I decided to wait back in the store.

A few more minutes pass until suddenly a U Haul truck scrapes the side of the van and keeps driving. I shout "Hey look, that guy just hit the van!" the store employee says "What? Oh I can see it, it's still rocking!"

The employee, my mother and I all went outside to inspect the damages. The employee drove the van out of the parking zone to the front of the store so she could inspect it in more light. There were scrapes along the headlights and the mirror.

U-Haul says I have to pay $150 for the van because the contract wasn't closed. I told them the only reason it wasn't closed was because the refused my keys and told me to wait.

I later learned the driver of the U-Haul truck wasn't the woman they rented it to, it was an unknown man who went to fill it with gas under orders from a U-Haul employee.

They finally took the keys at 7:16, more than half an hour after I actually returned the truck. I was told to call the store on Monday.

Here is the summary:
The van was hit in the return zone of their parking lot by one of their trucks while I was waiting inside their store. The truck that hit me was in motion because one of their employees told a man to who wasn't in any rental contract to put gas in their truck. My contract was only open because they REFUSED the keys for over half an hour.

I went back to the store on Monday and the manager said there was nothing she could do. She charged the $150 to my card and told me to call their insurance agency. I called their insurance agency, they told me to call U-Haul customer service.

I called customer service, the guy I spoke to was great. He apologized for the situation and said someone would call me within two days. Two days later (Wednesday), a woman calls and says it's "technically" my fault but she'd investigate and call me back. It's now Friday, no one has called back.

I'm 24 years old; I've been driving since 16 without a ticket, accident or claim. Thank you, U-Haul for destroying my perfect driving record by claiming I'm at fault.

Davidsnothappy
Washington, District of Columbia
U.S.A.