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Thane Oven

Twink of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia June 19, 2009

I booked a car thru carrentals and was given the total price of 77.95 fr Thrifty at the end of the online reservation process. When I arrived at the office of Thrifty Car Rental near Chicago O'Hare airport on the afternoon of 11th June 2009, I presented the reservation details to the person manning the counter (I believe his name was Rihani). He then offered me a Ford Fusion. This was fine, but the total chargeable came up to 191.09. I was shocked by this as the new price represented a near 250% increase on what I was expecting to pay! I asked him why the amount was so much, and he said this amount included the insurance fees (loss damage waiver, uninsured motorist protection and supplemental liability). I understood that these fees were optional, so I informed him that I did not want to take out the extra insurance premium, and that I just wanted to pay the originally quoted amount of 77.95. He then said that under those circumstances, he was unable to offer me a Ford Fusion or any other car, but that I could take a minivan if I wanted to. Now, I understand that with a wild card booking, I might get a larger car, but I was not expecting a minivan. The website quotes a "mid-size or larger car". I do not consider a minivan as being a car, and I was not comfortable with the idea of driving something so large. More conspicuously, if his first offer was a Ford Fusion, why couldn't he have honored that without forcing me to purchase the optional insurance? I fail to understand why one would be allowed to rent a minivan without purchasing insurance, but that the reverse is true when wanting to rent a car. It seems to be a policy of double-standards. I have called customer service to complain but they were of no help. They said the best way to resolve the situation was to return the car and cancel the rental, but they also said there was no guarantee that any cancellation would be honored. From the car rental rate of USD 77.95, I had to pay USD 191.09 due to the optional insurance that was tacked on.Emotional grief arguing with sales person who is out to try to make a quick buck and branch supervisor who is rude and equally unhelpful out to cheat unsuspecting customers. I was attending a seminar in St Charles at the time, and I didn't have the time to risk a two hour return journey to see if they would cancel my rental. I feel cheated, as I was put in a position where I had no choice but to take out the insurance premium even though it was CLEARLY OPTIONAL.However,he refused to rent me the car without adding on this OPTIONAL items. I shall never be renting from Thrifty again.

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