Budget Rent-A-Car

I rented a Mustang from Budget Rental Car from Friday to Sunday. When I picked up the car, it was not cleaned but I figured I would just wash. I returned the car two hours earlier than I was supposed to on Sunday. My credit car was adjusted for the quoted amount. After three days, I noticed online that $54 was charged on my card from Budget Rental. When I called them to inquire about the charges, they quickly gave the operations manager's, Joe, cell phone. He returned my call and said the charges were for smoking in the vehicle. I advised him that I do not smoke and no one was in the car smoking. He said there was an ash on the floor in the back. I advised that was impossible. He also said there was an oily substance on the dash and steering wheel like someone tried to cover up smoke.

They refused to refund my money and I was told by the operations manager that this was a Christmas gift because they tried to take the entire $254 charge. I have requested pictures but anything can be doctored to support their claims. If I would take the time to fill up the vehicle and bring it back early, why would I leave it dirty? I still had two hours to clean and air the vehicle out. This car was returned at the Budget Rental Car, Middletown Airport, Harrisburg, PA.

The car rental was from April 26-30 with itinerary number **. The $150 cleaning fee was for maybe 12 little dog hairs. I use a blanket for my small white dog in the back seat. I also go to gas station and vacuum the back seat and floor. This caused two checks to bounce and two $36 overdraft fees. The Budget cleaning fee actually cost me $222. I would like you to get involved with a full refund. Much thanks. The airport code is PIE.

I rented a car from Budget Rent-A-Car (5344 Airport Hwy, Birmingham, AL 35212) on May 12, 2012 at 5:22 pm using my business check card. Well, I went to New Orleans and back with the vehicle on May 14, 2012 at 11:10 a.m. I was told that if I brought their car back and it was not on a full tank, then they would charge me $7.49 per gallon. So of course, I filled it up with $60 the amount that the car took to fill it up before I brought it back. Upon returning the vehicle, one of their agents, whose number is **, came out, checked the car inside and out, made sure the gas needle was on full, and then completed my bill.

The receipt that I have says, "Time and miles 111.70; 13.95/day, SLI $27.90, $7.49/gal gas; $0.00, 1.92dy, TaxRcvy $3.84; Enrgy $.70/Dy, Surchg 10%, $11.69." All of which gave a contract total of $156.53. I was there with the agent when she checked the car, so I know when she did my receipt I owed nothing extra. However, on the 18th of May, a charge for $183.49 was added to my bank card. I called the company and spoke to Mr. **, the operations manager, and he informed me that the car was missing 4 gallons of gasoline and they took that from my account. I told him that I had my bill and that his agent had checked the car out before I left. He said he was not there and couldn't verify what his employee did. I was told that he was not going to refund any funds because he had the car checked by his maintenance department and they wrote that it was 4 gallons short.

I am thinking one of his employees filled up their personal cars with the extra money. So now I am disputing the transaction with my bank and refusing to pay this because I know I filled the car up. Mr. ** refused to give me his boss's number or their corporate headquarters' number. To everyone, please don't use this company. They are the worst company you can rent from. This was my first and last time renting from them. I will be renting from Enterprise from now on.

I'm very very dissatisfied with how the agent went through the check-in so fast and I was charged with something I didn't want. First of all, the box you sign your name is outdated and you can't write your own name. It's just another company that is trying to nickel and dime you every chance they get. I used Priceline and expected to have done all the paperwork on line and to get there to have no surprises. I was wrong and when I said all I wanted was liability insurance, they placed the third party insurance in there and never explained properly. I live in the state I rented the car and didn't need that unwanted extra cost. It's just the fast talking and their ability to cram the extras at you. Another complaint of America taking advantage of hard working people of this great country. Shame on Budget.

Budget Truck Rental Wiped Out My Debit Card - I am disabled due to extensive cancer surgery and I have a 24-year old son who is disabled due to Crohn's Disease and injuries he received in an automobile accident. I receive Social Security Disability Benefits but as of now, my son's disability benefits have not been approved. In July 2011, my son, my husband and I moved from Alabama to Florida. On 8/18/2011, my husband domestically abused me and left me and my son with nothing. My husband returned to Alabama to live with our oldest son. He took all the money we had and even took my medications and my son's medications with him.

We tried to survive in Florida because we had nowhere to go. We lived without electricity and water for a couple months and the landlord did not want us living in his house after my husband hit me because he was afraid my husband might return and damage his house. During March 2012, I talked with a friend in Alabama and she offered to help myself and my son move back to Alabama. She also said she had a basement in her home in Shelby, AL that she was trying to convert to living space and that we could rent that space to live in.

So, on April 3, 2012, (when my Social Security Disability Benefits were automatically deposited on my Direct Express debit card that was issued to me for direct deposit of my Social Security Disability Benefits because Social Security would no longer be mailing out paper checks. There have never been any other funds from anyone deposited on the card), I went to a facility in Lynn Haven, FL and rented a Budget Truck to move back to Alabama. I rented the truck for three days for what the fee I was told would be in the area of $300 (I cannot remember the exact amount). I was told by the representative at the facility that this price included unlimited mileage. I gave them my debit card to pay the fees and took the truck to the home in Youngstown, FL and we began loading the truck to move to Alabama.

I was told by the representative at the truck rental facility in Lynn Haven, FL that the drop-off destination in Alabaster, AL (Rafiki Mini Storage 201 9th Ave. SE Alabaster, AL/Phone# 205-620-6748) would not be open on the return date of April 6, 2012 due to the fact that this date was Good Friday. However, they said that I could return the truck to the Alabaster, AL location by putting the keys to the truck in a wooden drop box. They told me they could not put that drop off location in their computer because it would not let them, due to the fact that the date was Good Friday and the facility would be closed, but the representative in Lynn Haven, FL told me they had documented manually that the truck would be taken to the facility in Alabaster, AL. So, my son and I loaded our belongings in the truck which was very difficult to do by ourselves due to our disabilities. My friend in Alabama had something she had to do and could not come to Florida to help and we had a neighbor in Florida who had said he would help us, but then he had some unplanned thing come up so he could not help.

Loading the truck was a slow process with just myself and my son doing it, but we got it loaded and headed to Alabama on the evening of April 5, 2012 and arrived in Alabama around 2:00 a.m. on the morning of April 6, 2012. We just went to my friend's home and left our stuff in the Budget Truck, got some rest and then rented a storage unit in Columbiana, AL to unload most of our belongings into it because my friend did not want her home to be cluttered with boxes of our belongings. After unloading the truck, we headed toward Alabaster, AL to return the truck. I did as I was instructed to do by the representative at the rental location in Lynn Haven, FL and we parked the truck so it would not be in front of any openings at that storage rental facility and put the keys and a copy of the paperwork in the drop box.

After moving expenses, I had very little money left. I have a cell phone which ran out of minutes a few days after we moved into my friend's basement and I could not afford to purchase additional minutes. My friend has no landline in her home. So, I thought my nightmare of living in Florida where my son and I were barely surviving was finished. I stretched what little money was left after the move to help buy groceries and purchase medications for myself and my son. On April 29, 2012, my friend loaned me $25 so I could purchase some minutes for my cell phone.

Two days after April 29, 2012, I listened to a voice message on my cell phone telling me that the moving truck had not been returned and that there was a warrant for my arrest for theft of the truck. I called the phone number which was for the customer service representative with Budget Truck Rental and had to leave a voice message in which I explained where the truck was taken on April 6, 2012 and in that message, I also explained that my cell phone had been inoperable since April 10, 2012. Later that day, I got another message stating that my paperwork indicated that the truck was supposed to be returned to a Birmingham, AL facility and not to Alabaster, AL and that they had not located the truck and that messages had been left earlier in April, 2012 that I had not responded to. The representative seemed to not understand that I could not respond to messages I never received since my cell phone was not functioning during that time.

I did not get any other calls from Budget Truck Rental until May 2, 2012. On that date, I had to take my son to the doctor and when I checked my phone after his doctor's appointment, I received another message from the representative stating that the truck had not been located and that if they did not get a return call from me by the end of that day, there would be an arrest warrant filed. Again, the representative stated that the Birmingham, AL facility had not received the truck even though I had told them in my previous message that it had been returned in Alabaster, AL. I returned the call and left another message stating I had returned the truck in Alabaster, AL and that they needed to contact the rental facility in Lynn Haven, FL and confirm the fact that I had been told that I could return the truck to the Alabaster, AL location even though that location was not open on April 6, 2012.

I never got to talk to a person. All I could do was respond by leaving a voice message because when you called, a live person never answered, the phone call just went to voice mail. I did not receive any other phone calls from them after May 2, 2012. My Social Security Disability Benefits are direct deposited on the Direct Express debit card on the 3rd of every month. On May 3, 2012, I went to withdraw money off my card to pay my friend rent for living in the basement area of her home and to purchase a few items my son and I needed. On Saturday, May 5, 2012, I went to a local grocery store. When I got to the cash register and tried to pay for my items, I was told by the cashier that her cash register screen said there were insufficient funds on my card and I could not purchase the items.

I left the grocery store and called the Direct Express help line to find out what happened to my money. I was told that my card was overdrawn in the amount of $2100.39 and that Budget Truck Rental had forced a charge on my card on May 4, 2012 and that they were the cause of my having no money and for my card showing this huge negative balance. I called Budget Truck Rental only to find out that their office was closed but would be open at 8:00 a.m.. on Sunday, May 6, 2012. I have been extremely upset and have cried ever since this happened in the grocery store.

My friend did not agree to support me and my son when we moved here and after crawling through the month of April, 2012 with no money and borrowing money from her, I know she expects my son and myself to be able to pay rent, part of the utilities and purchase our food and necessities without being a financial burden on her. I guess everyone in the world knows that friends become ex-friends if they think you are trying to take advantage of them. I called Budget Truck Rental again on Sunday morning, May 6, 2012 and actually got to talk to a representative. The representative told me they had charged all this money to my debit card because: (1.) When they finally found the truck, it was in Gardendale, AL, (2 ) when they located the truck, the gas tank was not full, (3) they were charging for usage of the truck for 20 (twenty) days and (4) the truck smelled like dog.

I have no explanation of how the truck was in Gardendale when they found it. We dropped it off in Alabaster, AL. They did not tell me if someone had the truck when they found it or any other details about it being found. We had also put fuel in the truck before we returned it in Alabaster, AL. I had no need, whatsoever, to keep a Budget Truck for twenty days. I also have no explanation of why it smelled like dog. When I told the representative that the facility in Lynn Haven, FL had told me it would be okay to drop off the truck in Alabaster, AL, she said my contract stated I was supposed to drop it off at a location on Crestwood Boulevard in Birmingham, AL and that she would have to contact the facility in Lynn Haven, FL and talk with them concerning the fact that I was stating they said I could return it to Alabaster, AL.

She stated that the facility in Lynn Haven, FL was closed on Sunday and that she could issue no refund of my money until she talked to them. I had told them previously on two occasions what the facility in Lynn Haven, FL had told me about dropping off the truck. Instead of investigating on these previous occasions, they obviously never contacted the facility in Lynn Haven, FL and just charged this enormous amount to my debit card taking away every dime I had to provide housing, utilities, food and medicine for myself and my son until the next deposit of my Social Security Benefits on June 3, 2012. And not only that, but I have this huge negative balance on my debit card of $2100.39.

I am desperate. I have no family that can help me financially and my friend cannot afford to support me and my son. I left messages for the representative at Budget Truck Rental several times trying to tell them where the truck was dropped off and the details about what I was told by the facility in Lynn Haven, FL. Obviously, it was easier to just wipe me out financially than to call the facility in Lynn Haven, FL. I am not healthy and neither is my son. Stress makes the symptoms of his Crohn's Disease worse and I feel like I am going to have a heart attack. I thought that when we got back to Alabama that we might actually be able to make it through a month without having to worry about being homeless, living with no utilities and having no money for food and our medications. I desperately need someone to help me get this matter resolved as soon as possible. I do not know what will happen to me and my son if it cannot be resolved. My husband abandoned us in Florida, to live or die, and never looked back and as of today, has not offered one time to help us financially.

P.S. Today, Monday, May 7, 2012, I contacted Budget Truck Rental again. Still, no one had contacted the rental facility in Lynn Haven, FL to confirm what I had been told by their representative concerning the fact that it was okay to drop off the moving truck in Alabaster, AL even though that location would be closed on April 6, 2012. I went through the same information I had given them on multiple previous occasions to only be told by the customer service representative that the charges forced onto my Social Security Disability debit card were legitimate and that there was nothing they could do and would not be returning my money. She even told me that the drop off location in Alabaster, AL did not exist.

I asked to speak to someone at a higher level in the company and the customer service representative was reluctant in forwarding my call and again stated there was nothing she could do. Finally, after the third time in telling her I needed to speak with someone else, she transferred me. I do not know if I was transferred to someone at a higher level in the company or not. I had to go through the whole story again. I told her that I had gotten advice from a lawyer who my sister knew and that he said it was illegal for them to force these charges onto my Social Security Disability debit card.

She asked me if I had told the representative in Lynn Haven, FL that the card I was using to pay for the truck was a card used only for the deposit of my disability benefits since the Social Security Department of the United States no longer issues paper checks. I told her I had not told the representative that information. The representative asked me how I wanted to pay for the truck rental and I gave him my Direct Express debit card since my Social Security Disability benefits had just been deposited onto that card on that date, April 3, 2012. He did not ask me about any details concerning my card and I did not even think about saying anything about my card. I knew the $300 was on my card to pay for the truck. I could not move from Florida until April 3, 2012 because I had no money until that date to rent a moving truck and I never even imagined I would be sitting here in this situation.

I have no credit cards and do not even have a checking account because paying fees for a checking account would be an expense every month that I cannot afford and I really do not have enough money that I need a checking account. When I get my disability benefits and pay rent, utilities, buy medicine, pay for doctor visits and buy food, I am basically broke and many times have no money during the last week of the month. She said I was supposed to call the place where I returned the truck to verify that they had the truck. I was not told to do that by the representative in Lynn Haven, FL.

At this point, I do not know what to do. All I know is that I crawled through three weeks in April, 2012 with very little money due to moving expenses thinking there would be light at the end of tunnel when I received my disability benefits on May 3, 2012 and then end up standing at the cash register in the grocery store on May 5, 2012 and find out that all the money on my debit card was gone and I could not even purchase groceries. This is not just about fees for a moving truck. It is about the survival of myself and my son until June 3, 2012. Obviously, the customer service representatives do not document the phone calls when you call them because I have to start at the beginning every time I call them. I am sick, my son is having a flare in his Crohn's Disease because of this and I do not feel like sitting on the telephone and having the same conversation over and over again. The last representative I spoke with at Budget Truck Rental today said she would research my situation "as a courtesy to me". So, it does not seem like my situation is of concern to them.

Update: I have been calling Budget Truck Rental since 8:00 a.m. today (May 7, 2012). I just called them again at 1:20 p.m. They said someone would be returning my call later today and they could not talk to me right now because there were busy with other incoming calls.

My husband rented a car online with his card. Upon picking up our rental car, he noticed he had forgotten his credit card. Once it was our turn (We arrived right at 9 am, and there was only one guy and he had 3 other guests in front of us.), he never answered the phone as it rang off the hook. When my husband gave them my card instead, the guy said he couldn't take it. He said it would have to be the original card he had placed on file. He noted he could make any changes that we would have to call the 800 number or do it online.

The online website did not allow us to make that change, and when we called the 800 number, we were placed on hold and were never able to actually talk to anyone who could help us. If he can't change anything, then I understand. But then, get us in touch with someone who can. My husband had to get back in a taxi to our resort to get his credit card to be able to get our rental. Not only that, when we returned, he didn't even have the courtesy to let us back in front of the line. He made us wait all over again! He apologized to my husband, but it was neither genuine nor could he even care! I will never use Budget again. I used to use them every time I rented cars, but I will never waste our time and energy on them again.

I rented a car in Medford, Oregon at the airport. I drove the car less than 50 miles. I picked the car up at 10:00 p.m. They told me to drop off before 10:00 that Saturday. I went to the airport, no one was around to look at the car or take the keys, so I asked at Hertz. They said they were gone for the night. I left that morning at 4 a.m. I went to go drop off the car and get on the plane. I filled it with gas and again dropped the car off, but no one was around so I parked the car. I spoke with the agent next to the office; they said they never come in that early. So that I do not miss the flight, I had to leave the car keys at the counter. The car was not checked.

Next day, I received a bill for $250.00 smoking charge (I never did) and an added day rent. I called an agent at that Medford Branch, **. He said sorry and took off the charge. Next day, I called the card, charge back on, spoke to ** again. He said let me send you a picture, he sent it with ash on the seat. But those were grey seats and not black, like the car I rented. I sent ** an email with no charge listed, but was only told by corporate office that they will not remove the charge. So let it be known, Budget will take credit card info and without some person to check the car, you will be charged whatever and you will pay. Stay away from Budget.

I just rented a car for the weekend. I needed to go from San Juan, PR to Humacao through the Turnpike. I was instructed not to use the R lane for toll charges, so I used the other lane. I was charged $11.30 for a toll that was $1.00. There is no way you can avoid the charges because you have no choice of declining the usage of the car's transponder. I was willing to pay the toll with cash (I have the PR Highway Toll card) but Budget does not give you this option. Be aware of the charges for the transponder, it is based on the entire rental car period not by how many times you use the toll road.

I had made a reservation for a luxury car for my 80-year-old uncle. The total contract price was $218. When my uncle arrived at Budget, the car was too big and he requested a smaller car. The agent then sold him every extra possible. His total for the smaller car went from $218 to $378. My uncle was never very financially adept, but at 80, he really doesn't seem to understand finances. I made the reservation to avoid him being taken advantage of, but Budget still managed to extract almost an additional 75%.

I was told I changed the right front tire with a different tire and wheeled the car had before. If somebody that works at Budget missed it from maybe the previous person that rented the car, then it's not my fault. I was told that they have to pay, so they charged me $246.13 and I did not do anything to the car. I have the receipt and I have to pay cash - my debit car did not have enough money to cover the charges. I refused to pay, but it was late and I had to get to the airport at 3:00 am. I want my money back - it is only fair. That was at Budget in Costa Rica. I did not sign my invoice. I had pay full insurance coverage on the car. It was on 03/25/2012.

I hired an "all inclusive" car through Expedia for our holiday in Orlando. The company was Budget Rent-A-Car Orlando located at the international airport (MCO). My deal was indeed all inclusive but I was not told that the agreement contract I was signing up had two additional insurances (something to do with personal injury and possession cover). Both of these were optional and apparently now they say I have sign for these. Upon my return, I saw a bill for 238 US Dollars. I phoned the company. A member of the staff explained the charges and when I protested, he was ready to refund half of the fees. I declined his generous offer and I am now disputing this with my credit card company.

I don't know whether I will get my money back, but I wanted others not to put down their initials without reading the rental contract, no matter how tired. I had left my house at 9:30 am and got to the airport in the early hours of US Eastern time, with my children. I wanted the car and get to my accommodation. Future Budget customers, please beware as many commission based pick pockets, which speak very polite and seem to be working for Budget Rent-A-Car Orlando airport.

I rented an economy car (first and last time) online from Budget Rental Car at the Fort Lauderdale airport. When I arrived, I was told the car I was reserved was not available. I was then told I would be given a Ford Mustang free! I agreed and then was shown an amount on the right hand side of the invoice - $45.00. Since I wanted the insurance, I signed. Later on I realized the grand total for the car rental was on the left hand side of the invoice - $83.33. When I talked to the customer service rep about the invoice, he said he meant to say " free upgrade" and that since I signed the invoice, there was nothing he could do about it. I told him he failed to explain anything on the invoice and blatantly lied to me about what I was getting. When I asked him who I needed to talk to about this problem, he said, the manager. I said, "Fine. Where's the manager?" His response was that he was the manager. I then asked for his supervisor's name. All he said was Stephanie and he didn't know her last name.

Belfast airport with Budget car hire, they demanded a deposit of 1100 for the hire of their car because according to them, they only hire new cars. We then dealt with another hire desk, Europacar, at the next desk and they hired us a car at the same rate with only the standard 250 deposit and surprise, surprise, it was a brand new car of a higher specification. Has anyone else had this type of excessive charge from Budget car hire?

My husband went online to the Budget.com site to rent a car for a week. The site offered a pay now option for the rental car for a week. This is the option my husband chose. We flew into Baltimore and took the transport bus to the rental site. Once we arrived at the rental site, my husband went to the Budget counter to take care of paperwork for the rental. The gentleman at the counter pulled up the account and told my husband that we had to put up a $200 deposit. My husband has an excellent credit rating and we have never been told we had to do this by any other company. I went to the counter to see what was going on and then immediately ask to speak to a manager. The manager came out and said that we would have to put up the deposit in order to get the car. I told her I would have to see what was available on my credit card since we had used my husband's for airline tickets and the car rental. I called and found out my available credit and went back to the counter to talk to the manager.

One of the men at the counter had been standing there earlier while we were trying to get this situation sorted out and he did not want to wait on us. He said he would go get the manager. The manager made us stand and wait for her to come speak to us for 20 minutes. I informed her of what I had available on my credit card. She said, "Well, we have to have something for a deposit," that their cars are like $20,000 cars. I told her I had $100 on my credit card available that was all I had. She said she would use that to help us out. I was infuriated. She was not helping us out in our eyes. The Budget.com site did not say anything about needing a deposit for the vehicle. I expressed this to the manager and her response was that was just how it was. This was the first time we rented through this company and I can guarantee it was also the last. This is not how you do business especially when people have traveled a long distance and pre-paid for everything just to be told they have to pay more.

Misrepresented Optional Insurance as Mandatory: The manager at the Budget Olive Branch, MS location is a white male, bald in top of head, about 180 lb, beard and mustache, and is about 50 years of age. I filed a complaint with a CSR concerning the misrepresentation of optional insurance, rudeness, haste, and the manager's lack of professionalism. Furthermore, this manager contacted a Shirley at a Southaven, MS location and defamed my character, committed slander, and in effort to conceal his mischief created a pact to lie. I will never use Budget again.

Budget website shows a "truck for a buck!" offer. But when you try to submit online reservation, it would only return an error and prompt you to try again or call the location directly. I called the location and they have the truck, but would not honor the offer and said it's online only. I do not see a clause that it says online only. I called customer service and got redirected 4 times and ended up with the US call center. They tried to redirect me back to the location. So an offer too good to be true? Indeed too good to be true.

I rented a car from Budget via a US website in October 2011. I picked up the car in Italy on October 21 and returned it on October 31. I paid the bill in full and was billed 10 days later for an additional charge, which I assumed was for a GPS ordered at the time of pick up. Almost four months later, my Visa was billed an additional $58 without explanation. My credit union needs copies of the contract, which I no longer have. Thus, I get stuck with an unexplained charge without seeming recourse.

My wife rented a car online. She received a confirmation number. She drove my son's car to him in Providence RI when she went to the budget rental counter to return home. They stated they could not rent her a car on her debit card because of her credit score! She did not take her credit card with her because she rented the car on line using her debit card. They would in no way rent her the car. My wife is 50 years old she has a great driving record. What does her credit score have to do with her driving. On the debit card, the charge would not go through if the money was not in the bank. This practice is wrong and they should not let you book online if that was the case. She went to Enterprise. Thank God for a great company like enterprise, she was able to get home with no problem. I will never use Budget ever again.

I booked a Peugeot 107 from Travel Jigsaw, and on Saturday, 22nd October 2011, I collected the car from Budget Car Rental at Stanstead Airport. A total of $146.10 was deducted from my bank account, which was to cover insurance for one day and 18 pounds sterling, plus vat, and 100 pounds for petrol, which was refundable once car was returned full of petrol. The amount refunded was $71.65, which was well short of the deposit I paid for petrol. I brought back the car full of petrol. I rang your office, inquiring why I did not get the full refund, and I was told there was damage to one of the wheels.

This is totally incorrect. I was the only driver of the car, and I did not, at any stage, hit the wheel against anything. My nephew who is a Garda, had another car rented out, and we both dropped our cars back at the same time, and we checked the cars for any scratches or marks, and we also checked the wheels of both cars, and there was absolutely no marks on them. I must emphasize that there was no one from Budget Car Rental on site to check the car in our presence, and when we arrived at the check-in, we were just told to leave the keys on the desk by a member of your staff, who was dealing with another customer, and we were told our deposit would be refunded.

Also, on booking the car from Carhire 3000, there was a charge of $29.75, which I opted for, and this was for excess damage. This is confirmed by the details on the booking voucher below. There is no way the money should be deducted from the petrol money. I totally disagree that there was any damage to the wheel of the car, and I request a clear detailed photo of the damage allegedly done to the wheel. I am extremely unhappy with the charge, and being left short urgently needed money, and the inconvenience caused by your company.

I had an issue with this rental that I picked up at the Las Vegas McCannan International airport and when I called the rental location, I was told by a rental agent to call back and ask for a manager named Lucy. I have called and left numerous messages but nobody has called me back. I picked car up from the Fastbreak aisle and drove to my hotel which was less than 10 miles away. I called the location the next day and informed them that the car I rented was not full and that it had a quarter tank of gas. I was transferred to what I assumed was a manager's voicemail but never got a call back from any manager. The day before I returned the car, I called back and I was told I either had to make sure the car was full when I returned or I would be charged a refueling fee of $7.99/gallon. I guess as a Fastbreak member, it is very unreasonable to assume the car I am renting should be full of gas.

Meaning, I drove 67 mile on my three-day rental and ended up paying for $44.80 worth of gas for a Chevy Impala. I guess my next letter should go to GM for manufacturing vehicles with horrible gas mileage according to budget. It's not that I can't afford to pay for this and I don't even want to be reimbursed for the fuel. It's just that for a town/city which is so big on customer service and runs mostly on the hospitality industry, this was just a horrible experience to an otherwise great weekend in this great city.

I reserved a rental car on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2012 to be picked up on Feb. 14, 2012 at Pensacola Regional Airport. When I arrived at the airport to pick up the vehicle, the woman working the counter came up with all kind of excuses to not rent me the car. I was told by her that I would have a $200 deposit on top of the original charges of $40.62 to rent the car which I was perfectly fine with and she told me that I had to pass an Equifax credit report.

I don't know about you, but most Americans can't pass an Equifax credit report for the score that Budget is looking for. I did not give written authorization and I did not sign my name to give authorization for this report to be run. I was never told about all these hoops I had to jump through when I made the reservation. I feel that their business practices are wrong in the way their customers are being treated. I have been put way behind in my schedule because of these so-called rental policies which include running credit reports for car rentals. I will never use Budget Rent A Car again.

I rented a vehicle from Budget on a Wednesday and was given a red Ford Focus. On Friday, that vehicle had an engine shutter to the point where the vehicle would gyrate when stopped and when you try to accelerate, it wouldn't immediately. It would just sit there as if it had stalled and then move on its own time. I called to complain and request a new vehicle and was told to call other locations myself and find my own replacement.

After explaining that was not acceptable and would not happen, the agent on the phone at the 33 Avenue and 26 Street NE locations in Calgary reluctantly said he would find a vehicle and call me back. After 30 minutes, he called back with a vehicle on the other end of the city and I agreed to go get it myself. Once in this second vehicle, a white Ford Fusion, and on the road, I was getting a grinding noise from the steering wheel with even the slightest movement and a burning smell from the driver's front wheel. It was later told to me that the vehicle blew a power steering hose and not that recently either.

After calling and complaining for the second time in one day, a blue Ford Fusion was delivered to me. This vehicle, by the grace of God himself, was safe to drive. When I needed to extend my vehicle, Budget as a whole meaning from the management at the location to their call center in Florida, to their local management team had no interest in doing anything to adjust the bill or be assisting in nature with my extension.

They're sole concern was getting my credit card info so they could increase my pre-authorized amount. They even went so far as to tell me they have no record of me having any trouble with any of my vehicles. I escalated this through many levels of their management and all to the same "zero" result. They have no qualms giving out unsafe, unreliable death traps as long as your credit card info is ready to be charged. They have no consideration for the fact these are men's and women's and children's lives they're showing disregard for, all for the all mighty dollar.

My mother-in-law passed away yesterday and lived a couple of days longer than expected. My brother-in-law, wife and daughter flew in from Lubbock, TX and rented a car from Budget at DFW airport. They tried to call Budget and extend the contract for a couple of days longer because they needed to stay longer in Denison (N. Texas) where my mother-in-law lived. They could not extend the contract without returning the rental car to the airport for inspection! They had to stay at a hotel room at the Hyatt Hotel at DFW to keep from paying Budget penalty rates! They returned back to Denison the same day my mother-in-law (my wife's and brother-in-law's mother) passed away! Thank you, Budget, for the experience! I guess we will never do business with Budget again!

I paid for my rental car online at Hotwire and pick it up in JAX, FL. I was told that the auto only costs $5 more max for the total of 17 days, but I was charged $5 per day. Now I have to pay additional $101.05, which is so wrong.

I was careful to verbally decline the LDW coverage at the counter when renting a car for one day in in Las Vegas recently. I was also careful to return the car within the 26 hour timeframe that the paperwork clearly stated was allowed (including a 2 hour grace period). However, when I returned the car the next day, 24 hours and 20 minutes later, I was unpleasantly surprised to notice that not only had they deceptively charged me for the declined LDW coverage, they actually charged me for two days of coverage. Apparently, somewhere in the fine print (though I haven't found it yet) it notes there is no grace period for LDW coverage. If you keep the car for one minute over 24 hours, you get charged another $25.

Of course, a quick scan of the paperwork quickly turns up verbiage stating "rate is good for up to 26 hours," clearly implying that this includes the LDW coverage. When I raised the issue, they pointed out that I had initialed a box indicating acceptance of LDW coverage. Shame on me for not reading the paperwork carefully enough. I guess I trusted the woman at the counter to fill in the form based on my verbal responses to her questions. After some discussion, they did credit me for the extra day LDW coverage but I was still left to pay about 75% more for the one-day rental than I had anticipated. One expects such misleading tactics from sellers of used cars and snake oil but not from a major US corporation.

When I rented a Ford Escape at Phoenix, I was told by the sales person that the cost per week including all taxes and fees is $184.50. I foolishly expected the tank filled in return because the price per gallon quoted was $3.099 per gallon. The taxes were added upon return of the vehicle. I took my own GPS but was told a GPS came with the car. To me, that meant at no cost, however, $99.50 was charged to my card for GPS rental. And it was a piece of Garmin.

Total fee came to $814.41. Never again. Being a disabled Vietnam vet on a very fixed income, I can't afford to get taken like this. We need a bill introduced to force all rental agencies to disclose all charges before the rental is out of the door.

On Dec. 26, 2011, my husband and I picked up our Honda Sonata from the Logan Airport Budget Car Rental. There was minor damage on the right bumper that we documented and time stamped with our phone's camera. We drove the car until Dec. 30, 2011 when we returned the vehicle in the identical condition in which it was when we drove off the lot. Today we received a letter asking for information about the damage to the entire right side of the vehicle. There were no damages incurred by us at all. How can protect our rights? Our credit? Our money? What can we do? This is fraud. This company's practices should be investigated.

It's the second time I have had issues with Budget at this location (Alexandria, LA Airport). For your information, I spent over $3,000 on car rentals in 2011. It's not my first time renting.

I was paying the way to a conference for 3 couples. I reserved a car and a van on Priceline. I figured everything was good, until I got to the Budget counter at the airport. They proceeded to tell my card wouldn't go through and that I would not be able to rent a car. Quite a surprise, being 1,000 miles away from your home and having no family in the area with 2 other couples. Thanks, Budget, for all the help.

As my blood boiled, I just went to the counter next to Budget, National Car Rental. Of course, not an ounce of trouble. It cost me $100 or so more dollars, but I would have paid more for the excellent service at National Car Rental. Budget is a joke, and do not rent a car from them.

My daughter made reservations online with Budget rental while she was still in Afghanistan. When she flew back home to PDX Budget refused to rent her a vehicle because she was under 25. She was stuck at the airport. She is a two-time veteran and has a credit score over 700. This is how Budget treats it war veterans. I will never support a business that will not support its vets.

I reserved a 10ft truck in Billings, MT. When I called to move the pickup date, I was told they did not have any 10ft trucks, only 16ft. They also said they would only charge me for the price of 10ft truck. I was nervous to drive a 16ft all the way to Missoula in the winter. When I arrived to pickup the truck, I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the truck and should have paid more attention when the Budget rep was showing me the inside of the truck. She turned on the ignition and said the truck was full (the dial was on the F). I should have compared it to the folder as it had another line after the F to indicate full tank. Also, the windshield and inside of truck was dirty.

On the 6-hour trip to Missoula, I had to stop for gas several times. At each gas station, it was difficult to fill the tank as the nozzle kept releasing and it took 20 minutes to fill the tank. The gas station attendant said that the Budget truck's intake pipe is at the wrong angle and the nozzle cannot fit in correctly. After we arrived in Missoula, I realized I would need at least an extra day or two. I called the Budget rental where I picked up the truck (I was told when I picked up the truck, if I needed any extra days, it was cheaper to call them than the drop off location). I was not sure if I needed one or two days and told her two days. She did not say anything about no refund on days not used.

When I received my charge card bill, I was charged for two additional days. I called customer service and they were rude and said I should have read the terms and conditions online when I reserved the truck! When I returned the truck at the drop off location in Missoula (I had gone to a gas station close by and filled to the exact amount as I had in Billings, right on the F), at the drop off location the attendant said it was not full and showed me where the needle needed to be on the gas gauge. I had to rush to another gas station and return before the deadline. This was an additional $22. I will never use Budget car or truck rentals and will make sure the word is out. They should not be in business.

I rented my car through HoteWired and paid $37.27 on Jan 6, 2012. It turned out to be Budget which I had already. I had a very unpleasant experience with a few days earlier. I rented the car for 1 day. At the rental desk, the woman asked when was I returning it. I told her I was set up to return it the next morning but that I was trying to leave that same afternoon and showed her my itinerary leaving later the same day. I was able to make my flight that afternoon and there was some old woman working for Budget/Avis that took my car keys and all of my rental agreement and gave me back nothing

What happened next was I noticed on Jan 9, 2012, my checking account got a charge of $144.80 from Budget for additional charges.

I called Budget for an estimate on a 10 foot truck rental. The customer representative gave a reasonable price and I made a reservation.

When I went to the pick-up location to get the truck I was told that they did not have a ten foot truck available and that they would then give me a sixteen foot for the same price. However, my move was small, and I didn't have enough to fill up a 16' truck and, more importantly, I did not want to pay for gas for such a big truck (about $130 to fill the tank). The representative at the location said "not having the reserved truck happens all the time" and that "the phone reservation representatives do this on purpose to rent the bigger trucks"" I asked him to check on other close locations for a truck with the description I reserved. He checked and said none of the locations within 50 miles had one. Therefore, I told him to cancel everything, and that I was very upset, because I had my move all planned and packed. He then tells me that he will cancel but that I would lose the deposit money.

Unbelievable, right? I know! I told him I would not pay one cent to this terrible, dishonest company. He kept saying that the computer system simply would charge my card and there was nothing he could do. I called and complained until the phone rep told me she would remove the charges. Budget is unreliable and a terrible customer service. Do not count on them for a rental, they are likely to leave you hanging and you are likely to have to change all your plans. Also, after not meeting your expectations, they might charge you for a service they failed to provide.

I rented a vehicle from budget rent a car in Florida from 10/27/11-11/2/11. The rep asked me if I wanted additional coverage & I declined all charges since all of that coverage was already covered in my own insurance policy. She then asked me to write my insurance company down on the pad & sign, which I did. Approving that I declined all additional charges & who my insurance company was, to only a few days later come back to return the car with $200 extra added to the bill. I prepaid everything through orbitz months before. When I questioned the charges, they said I accepted LDW, which i did not, and b/c I signed, I was now in contract. So I left and as soon as I got home, I contacted budget through email. They said b/c of the contract, they would only refund half of the charges. This was their error & I even had a witness with me that heard that I denied all additional charges.

I have now been in a fight with my credit card company trying to fight the charges which they have denied me as well b/c of the contract. Thanks a lot budget. I will never use your services again.

I booked four separate reservations for Budget Rental Cars in Las Vegas, Nevada at a very nice rate using the usually dependable Travelocity service. The rate was so low that my wife and I actually called Budget's 800 number to confirm and they said no problem whatsoever the quoted rate is correct. We later saw the same rate on Hotwire.com and the rate lasted more than one day on both Budget.com and on Travelocity. So all seemed to be well. This was done on or around June 11, 2011.

Approximately seven months later, we (my wife and I) received separate emails from D. ** (a supposed manager with Budget in Las Vegas). These emails were not only curt (to the edge of rudeness) and they stated that Budget would not he honoring our 7 month old reservations because they were too low. Ms. ** contended that a "computer" error was responsible and that she was so sorry for the inconvenience. When I checked my reservations through Budget.com, I found that Ms. ** had raised the prices on all four of our reservations by (on the average) three to five times the original confirmed rate. We called Las Vegas and Ms. ** refused to come to the phone although we had been told that she was working at this time.

When we reported this to budget customer service, they were apologetic but refused to restore our confirmed prices. They promised an investigation. Then Travelocity also was apologetic but promised nothing but, you guessed it, an investigation. So with the first rental scheduled to occur in less than two weeks we are stuck paying over $1000 more than we were promised or we were told that we could cancel the reservations altogether.

So the very next day, Ms. **, still pretending to be a manager, called us at home and told us that Budget reserves the right to rent to whomever they choose and that we were not their type of customer. She also said that if we did not cancel our reservations willingly, they were going to charge us a $75 per rental processing fee. I sent the emails on to budget customer service and as of January 4, 2012 nothing has been settled. They did offer to refund the difference after we completed our rentals. Tell me please if you would trust them to do that after all that has occurred. I don't think I will be that trusting of people who have willingly lied to us, who obviously plan to cheat us, have declared that our business is unwanted and unwelcome and do not do business in an honorable manner. What would you think?

I was overcharged on a 5 days car rental. I tried to talk with the manager to solve the problem but he was rude and did not care to help.

I rented a 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan at Sears Budget Rental, 303 US Hwy 301 Blvd., West, Bradenton, FL. 34205, from November 22, 2011 to November 29, 2011. James, Budget representative, examined the rental vehicle on November 22, 2011, and there wasn't any damage on the lower right front bumper. I returned the rental vehicle a day early on November 28, 2011. Again, James examined the rental vehicle on November 28, 2011, and there wasn't any damage on the lower right front bumper. On December 03, 2011, Avis/Budget Group created a falsified Accident/Incident Report claim (accident date, 11/22/2011). Avis/Budget Rental Car Group falsely accused me of having an accident on 11/22/11 with the 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan to get more money from me. I don't think this is an isolated incident. Avis/Budget Rental Car rip off their customers by accusing their customers of being in an accident. Budget's Vehicle Damage Claims Department requested that I pay for the damage to lower right of front bumper which I didn't damage. Budget Rent-A-Car System, Inc. is falsely accusing of damaging the lower right of front bumper.

I reserved a car over the phone. I called for a pick-up (which they have done on several occasions) and was told no. I had to walk 3 miles in the rain to get there and was then told my credit score wasn't high enough to rent a car. They never bothered to ask if it was ok to do a credit check (which should be against the law). I had to walk another mile to rent from Avis, who had absolutely no problem renting me a car. I'm telling anyone and everyone who will listen about my experience.

This includes many small business owners like me. If another company rents a car for me while I'm out of town, I will not drive a Budget car again. I have driven a lot of rentals in my life so far and this is by far the worst experience I've ever had. Are there any other places in the internet that I can complain to? I'm also going to call the PA Attorney General's office on Monday. How can they get away with treating people like this? I would like to be able to refuse them even the one star that I have to.

I booked a rental for an intermediate car on Budget.com and was quoted a reasonable rate for a 2 week rental in St. Louis, MO.

The courtesy bus was fine, but my first red flag was the customer service rep at the rental desk. The guy said "I assume you're taking the four insurance options" and proceeded to go ahead with printing out the agreement. No! I have full coverage with my CC + travel insurance for the excess. He grudgingly took the options off the rental.

(Second red flag was overall state of the car- lots of miles, stained seats, bad smell, poorly washed etc. But I got over it and assumed this is what you get for the price).

Imagine my shock when I got the credit card statement a few weeks later showing an extra $200 on top of the original rate. After inquiring I was told during the paperwork process, I chose to accept a $10 per day vehicle upgrade fee! The service rep never asked me if I wanted this, nor did I ask about getting an upgrade. Nowhere on my agreement does it mention this upgrade or fee. Currently waiting for a reply with a copy of what they claim I asked for! Disgusted with the service rep and will not be renting from them again.

I rented a car in St.Louis on Thanksgiving day returning the vehicle the next morning on Friday. 14 days after returning the vehicle, I was slapped with an assessment fee of $250.00 for "excessive sand/dirt in the interior of the car". Later, I was told it was "detail fee". No possible way. When I called the customer service number (as directed by the document I received), I was referred to the St. Louis branch of Budget. After being put on hold four times and speaking with as many people, each person trying to send me back to the main customer service number, there was no resolution. I relayed that the fee was subjective and arbitrarily imposed without proof. One person was dismissive and told me if the car was dirty, I would be charged. Another person asked me if I had been smoking (not) in the car and that would be the reason for the fee.

What am I being charged for? Sand, smoking, dirt, a cadaver in the trunk? Which is it? The letter I received says "excessive sand/dirt in the interior". Okay, show me the dirt and sand. I have requested time stamped photographic proof of the accusation. The St.Louis branch said that they will send photographic proof. After which I will need to contact the main customer service number. I contacted the main service directly after the St.Louis commitment to send the photo evidence to find out what phone tag sequence I need to take. While very helpful, the customer representative relayed that it was the St.Louis branch's responsibility. Merry-go-round.

My wife and I rented a Nissan Versa in San Diego on 12/4/11. I must say that it was not clean and was a car with over 33,000 miles on it. When I could not get good visibility through the windows, I realized that the car's interior windows had not been cleaned therefore making it particularly difficult to see out of the rear window. The tires were well worn and should have been replaced. I'm not happy with this rental. I have used Budget previously but may not do so again. Outwardly, the car was unsightly.

I believe that Budget is practicing deceptive advertising. They ran a TV ad promising $139 per week for a small SUV. When I called, they wanted 250% of that offer price. Their explanation is that it's only offered at airport locations which I was willing to work with then that it's only at certain airport locations then they admitted that there are no airports in NY State that will honor that program.

I rented a car from Budget Rental in San Diego. A few days later, I noticed one tire had a nail in it. I took it back to get another car. After a few weeks back home, I received a letter in the mail for $129.00. Budget charged me for a new tire. What a rip-off!

I do business with you. And I never had a problem till now. I used my credit card for a car and flight to Chicago and that was for a friend. And he leaves this weekend and he gotten a ride with a family member. His name is Donald ** and I called and told your company to cancel the car and they told they could not do it; so I called my credit company and I was very upset on them saying what said. So if you do want any more of my business, please do not send me a bill. On some, I already tried to cancel. I cancelled my credit card. And I feel you are scamming us Americans. And I'm a veteran of Vietnam. So just cancel the darn car, please. Just cancel the reservation, please. And that is that. May god bless you and you do the right thing.

First I would like to apologize to Mary ** who works with the security group. I spoke with her this morning and in a frustrated moment spoke to her in a manner which was crude and no matter my level of frustration, was unacceptable.

With that said, I am writing regarding RA 267318730. We turned the car in and found that the amount that the young man was quoted that morning on the phone was off by an additional $355. Upon investigation we were told that the amount was for a repossession fee because the car was over a month in rental and a new contract needed to be signed.

During the time we had the vehicle, I spoke with two individuals (returned one of the calls as a message had been left). Both of those individuals sounded as though they were from the Middle East and they didn't understand me and I didn't understand them. They asked if we were going to keep the vehicle longer and I affirmed that the young man's vehicle had not been repaired and he required the vehicle to get to his drilling job in Oklahoma. In addition, the individual who was driving the car had spoken to several individuals regarding the increased time he would need to have the vehicle.

The morning of the day we were to return the car, I received a call from one of your local contractors who was responsible for recovery of the vehicle. I again explained that the young man was on his way home from his job in Oklahoma and we would return the car that day. He asked that I call him when that had occurred, which I did.

In addition, I found an additional $60 charge outside the already $2000+ I had paid pending on my charge card. I have called the bank and disputed this charge as there is no explanation for this amount and was not included on the final billing.

I make a reservation for Budget rent-a-car for the country of Ireland. When I reserved the car online, the price in Euros was 170.10, which coverts to US$228.02. I had the car for a week and I added insurance which was 37.63 in U.S. dollars, plus I was charged because I didn't have time to fuel the car before I went to the airport and they charged me US$110.60 which I think is outrageous.

But nonetheless, the total should have been US$376.35. My total ended up being $621.59! How did it go from $376 to $621? I got charges extra for some APT surcharge, a road fund, something called EXW, something else called V.A.T. and another thing called P.A.I.! I think this is ridiculous because these charges should have been included in the first price. I chose them because I thought they were the cheapest. What they don't tell you is that it doesn't include everything and that's how they get their customers by raping them in the long run because they can. I think there should be something done about this. It isn't right to lure you in with a reasonable price and tack on unnecessary charges after you already rented the car. I will never rent from them again!

Budget Car rental is a real cheating company with extremely bad customer service. I rented a mini van in Vancouver, BC downtown location for one day on November 28. When I reserved online, it showed total $22.81 after tax. I drove 199 km and filled over 25 liters of gasoline. When I returned the car, the location manager Ashton ** took care of me. He said the gas tank is not full. I told him the tank was not full when I got the van. I only drove 199km and filled over 25 liters gas. It should be enough. However, Ashton does not care. I eventually paid $95.45 for the rental (not the $22.81 when I first checked online).

The manager Ashton ** is the worst manger I ever see. I think he meets the unhappy cheated customers every day and he gets used to this situation. He does not care what the client says; he does whatever he wants with very rude attitude. Budget is a real cheating. Bad customer service company. Try to stay away with it.

They overcharged me! I pre-paid at $171.63 for my rental and they wanted to charge me an additional $265.00, like "what's up with that?" I took the car back to them the next day and complained. They insisted that they would fix it. I listened and trust that they would.

What they are doing is being really nice and friendly and telling you that they will take care of you as they have you sign the computer screen. When you return, you will see the bill. Read everything twice!

We rented a car in San Francisco and had a change of plans and dropped off the car in Fresno instead of San Francisco. Budget sent us a bill that was triple the amount quoted and said that since we dropped off the car in Fresno, our rate was no longer valid and they charged us the highest rate possible for the car. We want other consumers to be aware that rather than a drop-off charge, like other rental agencies charge, Budget takes the opportunity to gouge the customer for the highest amount of money possible.

First time I rent with them. So I made a pre-payment to get a better day rental. So $122 was charged to my card. On the agreement, a total estimated of $196 would be the rent. I returned the car. Then I discovered they charged me the full amount plus the prepayment. A total of $307 was charged for 3 days. Their customer care webpage sucks.

Budget had the worst customer service I have ever experienced. Not only did it take over 20 minutes to speak to a representative, but when I did talk to one, he did not speak English very well and I could not understand a thing that he said. He eventually hung up on me. When I contacted another one, he disregarded me and what I needed. He was very rude and clearly disrespectful to a customer.

Nowhere on my rental confirmation, or contract does it state I would be charged $0.40 per mile in addition to my daily rate. It mentions taxes and recovery fees, but nowhere does it indicate that there would also be a $0.40 per mile fee during my rental period. It is fraudulent that this company can get away with failing to clearly disclose this fee, which can add up very quickly. It spells out the additional amount of taxes and other fees, but never indicates there is a $0.40 per mile fee. What was most infuriating was the snotty customer service representative that said it was "my fault" (when should a CS rep ever flat-out say it's "your fault", some serious re-training needs to occur there), for not asking more questions at checkout about additional fees.

I already complained to customer service about overcharge on a full tank for a truck returned this Saturday only to be called on Monday that it was not full! Our nephew filled it with less than one gallon—truck was on an incline. Unbelievable. They would have charged us $30. On top of that, the Clute Tex agent asked our nephew to take the keys and go get the gas. My nephew isn't even on the contract. Customer service told us that if the dealer allowed someone to drive the car and an accident occurred, the dealer would be responsible. Yes, sure—on an open contract in my name! What a joke. We spent two hours dealing with this and another $10 on a gas can and $3.30 for gas. Budget is ripping off customers. My suggestion: take a photo of the gauge, mileage gauge (ours had 7 additional miles on it), and truck before turning it in. We will never rent with them again!

I've been charged for 370 Euros for rear bumper replacement of Nissan Micra. The damage was a minor tear (5 cm) found at the lower right corner on the rear plastic bumper (I assumed that I missed it during check in or during night parking). Nevertheless, the reverse sensors showed no sign of obstacle at all. So, I assume this damage was already there, covered by paint and by a minor push it was open. This kind of minor damage should not cost more than 30-50 Euros to fix. But the company "decided" to replace the whole rear bumper and charge me outrageous amount.

Last winter, we were making plans to visit Albert and British Columbia in September 2011. Since renting a car is the best way to discover the parks, we compared the rates of the different car rental companies. After comparing the different offers, we concluded Budget's price was the best. On April 27th 2011, we made an online reservation through Budget Switzerland for a Group W SUV with 4WD. The total price for the three weeks was confirmed to be CAD 1,585.00 including unlimited kilometers, all taxes (HST, location fee) and excluding CDW/LDW.

On September 9th, we arrived in Vancouver and happily went to the Budget counter at the airport to pick up the vehicle. The clerk at the counter greeted us and verified our reservation. We were informed that no standard SUV with 4WD was available, but we could go for a Ford Expedition or Ford Excursion. We declined due to the size of the car. The clerk offered us an upgrade to a Volvo SUV with AWD informing the cost would be CAD 79 per day. Never was it mentioned that this upgrade was an additional CAD 25 per day. Had we been aware of this fact, I would have rejected the upgrade.

The employee insisted that we were not allowed to drive to Alberta and that the car was being tracked, and insurance would not be covered and we would have to pay a daily penalty. The Vancouver Airport Station Terms allow for cars of group W (SUVs) to travel to Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan for an additional charge of CAD 10.00 per day. This point was not mentioned when the reservation was made.

According to Budgets Swiss website the terms and conditions the three western provinces (Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) are included as an integral part of the contract and not only British Columbia. So this kept us from going to Alberta, although it was included in our travel plans.

On September 30th, after three unforgettable weeks visiting British Columbia, the car was returned to Budget at Vancouver Airport. At the counter, we were given the invoice. To our surprise the amount was a total of CAD 3,384.72! That was CAD 1,118.82 (excluding CAD 680.90 for insurance) more than the original reservation amount. Besides the upgrade plus HST other items: ELI, PAI, PEC, VLF/AC Tax Recovery and Energy Recovery Fee were included. These items were never mentioned in the confirmed reservation of CAD 1,585.00.

This was the first time we rented from Budget and we are upset that our invoice amount exceeded the original confirmed reservation by CAD 1,118.82. We emailed a complaint letter to Budget on September and to our disappointment, Budget has not had the decency to even acknowledge receipt of our complaint. One thing is certain, never again shall we consider Budget. We will also tell our friends and coworkers and report this to the Better Business Bureau.

I was duped into getting insurance. I told them, "No." But they put it on the agreement and I initialed it. They pressured me constantly about upgrading at the counter but I did not do that. But the insurance thing got by me. This is very crooked.

Yet another "insurance fraud" case against Budget! I used AA Advantage Miles for rental, picking up rental in Milwaukee, WI. I clearly twice stated I was the only driver, no insurance, I had my own, and I would refuel before returning the car. There was never a mention of how much their LDW would cost or I would have caught it immediately. I signed their form without seeing that the agent had added the charges. I called and complained when I arrived home, the CS rep offered 1/2 credit on the unwanted LDW. What a total rip off of a senior citizen, the agent totally heard me and understood I refused their "extras" then added it in any way to boost her sales quotas. Shabby way to run a business, Budget!

I sent a letter to Budget. I got no reply. I had a corporate account as I rent two-three times monthly. Please be advised, remove me from your mailing list and cancel my corporate account and Fast Break. From this point moving forward, I will no longer rent cars from your company. I recently rented a car at LAX Fast Break. Due to an emergency in another city, I returned the car to another airport. I was charged $484.00 over the quoted amount. This will never happen again. I will not rent from your company. And I will make it my top priority to advise everyone that I come into contact with, in the many cities that I visit, to never rent from your company. The ridiculous excuses I was given at the returning site make your company a total joke. And finally, my colleague rented from a different car company at LAX the same time as I did. But my colleague also had to return the car to the same city I did on the same day, and was charged nothing extra.

First, Budget did not give me the kind of vehicle secured through Orbitz. When I checked in with the Budget at the Albuquerque airport, the Budget representative coaxed us into accepting "an upgraded vehicle" which, he represented, would be at no extra charge. That was not the case; instead, he doubled our expected cost for the rental car.

The Ford Explorer 4WD which we were given had not been serviced in quite some time. The oil light came on before we exited the Budget airport parking lot but your attendant at the exit told us that the oil light wasn't a problem, to go ahead and the vehicle would be serviced upon return, so we proceeded on our trip. Little did we know the other issues ahead of us due to Budget's negligence--issues that endangered our safety on the road.

Driving to Taos, another light came on at the dashboard of the vehicle that indicated an issue with tire air pressure. We got out, looked at all tires and saw no obvious problem--possibly a low back tire. As we tried to make it to a service station, we had a blow-out on the front driver's side tire which was no fault of ours but due to an over-inflated tire.

When the blow-out occurred, we tried to call Budget's 24-hour service number for help but to no avail. After hours of being stranded in the dark, on a mountain road, we finally secured assistance on our own without any help from Budget. We paid out of our pocket for the service and provided documentation to Albuquerque Budget from the serviceman who fixed the tire. He deemed that the blow-out was caused by over-inflation--no fault of ours.

When we finally reached Budget's 24-hour emergency number concerning the matter, Budget's only concern was that we would not be reimbursed any of our out-of-pocket expense for the tire service. After numerous and exhausting dead-end calls to Budget, a company that I now rank as the most inept and least customer service oriented company on the planet, we finally received another car without a doughnut tire for the remainder of our trip--but we had to demand that!

Now, Budget is demanding that we pay for the tire--over $200! Conveniently, they're billing us the same amount of money for the tire that was eventually refunded to us after I reported Budget's overall piss-poor service to the New Mexico Better Business Bureau. Budget states that we declined their insurance and we are contractually liable to pay for the tire. Budget should not be without contractual liability in providing an appropriately inspected vehicle to insure that Budget did not act with reckless disregard to customer's safety by putting us in a totally unsafe vehicle.

On October 10, 2011, under confirmation number **, a reservation was made for car pick-up and return at Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida. Date to pick up was October 14, 2011 at 3pm. Payment was made with Delta SkyMiles in cash; all was paid in full prior to pick up. Between the time the reservation was made and the pick-up, my credit card was stolen. Consequently I had it canceled.

I did have a temporary card from the company of the stolen card however Budget would not help us. I offered an open ended check, a call to my bank, etc. but all went to no avail. I am one of the very few now who doesn't have a credit card. Budget kept my SkyMiles and payment with no refund, and by the way, I did not get a car either. The whole experience was absolutely the worse I have ever had with a rental car company.

I might add that on arrival the Budget clerk advised me that all information would be done in order and then proceeded to offer me more expensive cars with GPS, insurance, etc. I told him several times I wanted what I had rented without all the bells and whistles. His response was, "everything will be done in order". The long and short of it all is I will advise Delta and my friends not to participate with Budget in any way, shape or form. The only helpful human I have dealt with was the afternoon manager at Budget; he was very apologetic.

On August 5, 2011, my son and his girlfriend rented a small car from Budget Rent-A-Car Roanoke, VA (airport). My son used a credit card in which I am also a co-signer. They returned the car on 08-08-2011. When the car was returned to Budget, I was told by my son that the car was checked by the company's personnel and nothing wrong was found after the inspection. During their 3 days rental, my son and his girlfriend sat in the front seats and never used the rear seats. A few days ago, in October (more than two months after the rental), I received a threatening letter from a claim company under the name of Khoury Alternative Claims, representing Budget Rent-A-Car, billing us for the damage of the rear seat belts (the receipt reads "replaced all rear seatbealts and shoulder harnesses"). The bill was for $1,114.73. The bill reads: Physical damage $534.77 - anticipated loss of use (4 days at $119.99) $479.96 and administrative fees of $100.00. Total of $1,114.73.

Their letter suggested that if they do not receive payment, they will send us to a collection agency which will ruin our credit history. In addition, Khoury Alternative addressed their letter to my husband when the rental was done by our son. I explained to Budget, in one of my many telephone calls to their office in Roanoke - phone number (540) 3662436, that my husband had an open heart surgery in July 14 and in August 5, he was still under hospital care so he was unable to do the rental. After searching for the credit card bill, I found out that the letter was inappropriately addressed to my husband. In addition, none of my phone calls to Budget Roanoke were answered even though I left multiple messages for their manager.

I consider this to be an incredible situation. Anyone could be on this situation that we found ourselves into. Budget can claim any damage and charge anyone, anything. By the way, the total amount of the rental was less than $80.00 for a 3-day rental, but they charged on their bill $479.96 for anticipated loss of use of 4 days or $119.99 per day. They waited two months to let us know of their claim for damages to the car. The car was repaired one month after on 9-6-11. In all this time, we were never contacted. After about 40 years as a car owner, I can say that I never had to replace one seatbelt on any of them. This is a very hard to believe claim, having to replace two seatbelts and shoulder harnesses!

I am appalled at this situation since first of all, the car was returned with no damage in the car where nobody sat on the rear seats. "Damage to the seatbelts to the tune that it requires replacement of all rear seatbelts and shoulder harnesses" points out to a definitely very bogus, incredible and fraudulent claim! To me, this is a clear fraud. I now feel nervous to rent a car, not knowing if they will be able to bill me for some unknown damage that I did not cause. This claim is so bogus and has no real base. As a family, we have used Budget for a long time but right now, I lost all confidence on this company after this incident. I require a company's investigation of this claim. I require an immediate answer to this email.

I returned your Nissan rental car, on July 1st 2010, in perfect condition with a full tank of gas and I verified full levels of oil and critical fluids. I properly returned your car's key and completed your exiting paper work with your agent that same day. Then to my astonishment, 9 days later, I received a phone call not from you but from a third party representative named Emmale ** from Purco Fleet Services, telling me that there is $1,200 worth of "hail" damage that all of a sudden appeared on your Nissan rental vehicle. I can't help in finding these claims to be highly suspicious and deceitful.

If this "hail" incident is truly my responsibility, I will honor fixing that vehicle, but first there are troubling concerns about your motives, methods, perceptions and Budget's policies. I expect any prudent and reasonable persons or business, with integrity, to answer these legitimate concerns before I pay this bill: Why was this "alleged" damage not reported on my exiting paperwork when I checked out that day? Why did you or a representative from Budget not immediately call me about this incident? Why did you or a representative from Budget not call me at all? (All calls confirmed by cell phone records). Why have you not responded to my emails? Why are you using a third party to act as a non-eyewitness and liaison to this event when you were the one who initiated these proceedings? Why do you "professional" representative of Budget, deny conversation of help and direction? Why do you withhold the name of the person or persons who "inspected" this vehicle? Therefore, what questionable qualifications and experiences are you hiding for these vehicle "inspectors"? If this incident is truly my fault, why was I not allowed an opportunity to fix it? In our initial phone conversation, July 12th, 2010, you mentioned there had been "hail" storms in South Dakota for the past 6 weeks.

If this is true, Budget must have a fleet of "hail" damaged vehicles sitting at the Rapid City Airport car rental, non-covered, parking lot. Doesn't Budget carry vehicle insurance for these unforeseen circumstances or does Budget still assign arbitrary damage claims to innocent customers? How many car rental contracts, of the Nissan in question, were issued after my exiting paper work to the vehicle repair shop? Why has it taken 10 days, after my request on July 11th, for Purco Fleet Services to fabricate these damage and documentation papers?

In the interest of motive, honesty, transparency and good old-fashion customer service: I would like to see the repair bills for all these "hail" damaged Budget fleet vehicles during the period of my rental agreement including the Nissan(I find it hard to believe that a "hail" storm single out your vehicle in question). I would like to see the certificates and experience qualifications of all vehicle "inspectors" involved with this Nissan. I would like to see original dated photos of this "hail" damaged Nissan. I would like to see original dated photos of this "repaired" Nissan. I would like to see original dated photo of the current vehicle mileage at the time of repair. I would like to see the other non-biased bids for vehicle repair. I would like a copy of my rental agreement. I would like a copy all paper work concerning the repairs to this vehicle. I would like a copy of all rental agreements and damage claims to this Nissan during the 6 week period of "hail" you claim had happened (You may omit or censor customer private information).

I understand Budget wanting to protect their vehicles, properties and investments. I appreciate any valued business wanting to protect their vehicles, properties, investments and customers, but not at the costs of misperceptions, falsehoods or fraudulent policies.

Please respond to these queries, by email or letter, before July 26, 2010 5:00 pm MST so payment is not delayed. At the end of this required response time, If you have not given reasonable honest answers and the required materials stated from above I will initiated criminal investigations of Budget's fraudulent and deceptive business practices starting with, and not limited to, the United States Federal Trade Commission, National Insurance Crime Bureau, The Better Business Bureau, and the syndicated televised Get Gephardt Program.

There was a Budget moving vehicle at my place of work at Victoria carwash and the driver was very rude - he would always shake his head at my co-workers and me. He was doing this because we were parked in his way and he wanted us to move. We were simply doing our job by parking in our reserved parking spots. He then proceeded to harass our customers about moving out of his way which thus made our customer mad, he was just trying to get in his vehicle. These actions could have possibly made our customer not feel as welcome or as happy towards our carwash. I felt this was inappropriate behavior whether he worked for Budget or was a consumer of their vehicles, these actions would make me avoid use of your vehicles. He was mid 30s driving your truck #82825 at 4:08 pm October 7th. I just wanted to bring this to your attention. Thanks.

What a rip off! I went to Kelowna, BC. Budget Truck and Car Rental. They quoted $34. I used the truck for an hour and ended up with a bill for $50.00. And they call it "Budget", with hidden charges galore charged for the 14-kilometer journey. Overall, I'm very disappointed with "rip off car and truck rental". It is a bad business model based on greed.

On 9-24-11, we went to the Budget in Las Vegas. My daughter had pre-rented the car, although I usually do it. I think that is why the person felt they could pull a fast one on her. Laura ** told her that she had to buy "Loss of Use" insurance. My daughter declined, but Laura insisted that she had to buy it.

When presented with the papers to sign, the price of the rental went from approximately $210 to over $400. At that point, I was called over and I said, "Absolutely not." I then asked our friends who already had done their rental with another agent to check their papers and see if they were charged for that. All of the insurance boxes simply said "declined" without any argument from the agent.

We then went to the counter where my daughter was now waiting for the people Laura had taken and had asked her to step aside while we did this stuff. As soon as the papers from the other rental were shown to Laura, she started with, "You misunderstood me. I wasn't really saying you had to take the insurance." I really would like to know the proper government agency to report this to. I thought these car rental insurance scams were done!

The other side of the coin needs to be looked at.

I work for Budget Rent-A-Car. These complaints are so normal for what normally goes on. Here's some important info you need to know that's often complained about. First of all, please remember, rates are often on a strict 24-hour clock from the time of pick to time of drop off. For example, you pick up at 3 pm, you would need to drop off at 3 pm the next day. Otherwise, another day's charges often applies. Before you leave, carefully check you car for damages. Because saying "I didn't do it" will not cut it upon return. You can argue with the attendant all you want, but it will get you nowhere usually if you don't report damages before, and not after you leave. Also, taking your argument out on a customer service rep about not having your car doesn't help, because they are not the ones that control the company's inventory. Usually, this is done by upper management.

Sometimes we are even told by managers to give out minivans as substitutes. It is because we are over sold on certain car classes, only yet to hear a customer complain and say "but this isn't what I reserved". Often times when this happens, the agent's hands are tied cause they really don't have anything else. Usually it appears you're pretty much guaranteed a vehicle of some sorts at minimum, even though it's not a vehicle you expect. If you think about it, you're not owning the car. You're just renting it. And a mini van for example still gets you from point A to point B just fine. If you really do have a gripe about your vehicle, it's best you take it out on upper management, cause again the vehicle inventory is controlled by them, not the employee.

Another bad Budget episode. This time, in San Francisco on 9/3/2011. Once again, we had a Priceline prepaid reservation. We were ready to decline all coverages, including LDW once again and we're ready to pay extra special attention to this item during our rental experience, having been burned defrauded by your Tampa office in July. We arrived at the car rental service center (I'll refer to this as CRSC from here on in) at approximately 12:30PM on Saturday, September 3, 2011. What ensued was chaos. The lines were horrendously long for Budget car rentals; so much that I called the Budget toll-free number to ask if we could pick up a car at a different Budget location with our Priceline reservation, but was asked to call Priceline directly. I couldn't get through to Priceline.

We were traveling this time with a party of four. Approximately 4 hours after we arrived at the CRSC, we were given a rental car. That's more time than our flight time from Milwaukee to San Francisco. My guess is that there were at least 500 (at 2.5 people per reservation) people in your line waiting for cars, and with every train arrival, more people lined up after us. After at least 2 hours of waiting, one of your representatives handed out $25.00 discount coupons on car rentals, but it didn't apply to prepaid Priceline reservations. He estimated the wait at about 40 more minutes. He told us that they moved 500 cars off the lot to make room for the huge influx of incoming cars that they expected back in on Tuesday. Due to the immediate demand at the CRSC, they were shuttling those cars from a lot 1.5 miles away back to the CRSC. Who is in charge of inventory at this location? Why didn't you have enough cars? This is basic inventory management. We waited and waited. We even offered to help shuttle cars, anything to get the line moving.

As I said, it was chaos. People talked about selling their spots in line. People told the crowd that the Budget was lying and had no cars. We feared that we wouldn't get a car at all that day and we would be forced to find a hotel for the night in a strange city, losing our hotel reservation and infringing on our prepaid car rental reservation. Once at the counter, our service person offered us an Equinox for $20.00 per day more. Shouldn't you just give me the next car available since 4 of us have been waiting 4 hours? Funny that with no apparent rental cars in inventory, the agents were still upselling. How can you do that with no cars? We offered $5.00 more per day for an Equinox if she could produce it right then. She looked doubtful and informed us that she'd still wait for a full size which is what we rented. We waited and waited. She offered a Jeep Liberty, which we took out of pure exhaustion but no mention of the $5.00 (total $43.10) additional charges we had offered for an Equinox only, not a Liberty. Again, shouldn't you be handing out any types of cars at this point as they come in? Upon returning the Liberty, I was asked to sign for the additional $43.10 in charges, not at the time of rental. Ugh!

I rented an SUV on 9/13. Prior to pickup, I was told the gas gauge wasn't working on the SUV we wanted so they were getting us another one. I ended up picking up what I thought was the working SUV about 4 hours later. An hour into my trip on the highway, the gas gauge suddenly dropped and I was out of gas. A month later, I was charged $55.00 for 3 gallons of gas that was brought to me by who told me they were the rangers. Mind you, I had 2 infants (4 months and 19 months) in a hot truck on the turnpike. This was the worst experience and would never rent from Budget again.

I called to reserve a car and asked if visa check card is acceptable and the answer is yes. When I showed up to pick up the rented car, I am told that anyone other than Alaska residents can use a visa check card. That is discrimination! I am seeking legal action!

I would like to follow a case about Budget Car rental because it caused loss of money, time and it caused my family and parents lots of frustration and stress at one of your local branches in Calgary. (**)

We booked a car from Sep 15 to Sep 29, for a total cost of $350 (we have the confirmation emailed to us from budget) and when we showed up to pick up the car they mentioned that they don't have anything available that day, so they apologized (the name of this guy was Marvin) and told us to come back on Sep 16 to get a car. We said okay and we made sure that our confirmation number is the same and we should pay for Sep 16 to Sep 29, so it should be $350 minus cost of one day rental.

Today (Sep 16), we showed up to get the car but the manager of the branch charged us a total cost $375! And when we asked to look at our emailed confirmation about the $350 rental for Sep 15-Sep29, he refused and said, "I won't look at your email on your cell phone." He acted and behaved very badly, as he had issues with our country or something! Obviously, we didn't get a car from them, as we asked for the same price of $350, that we booked yesterday and we did not even had the car yesterday, so it should less than 350! It caused loss of money and time (2 days) and also emotional and physical problems (as my mother cannot walk and we really needed a car) for us (my parents and my wife were there at the branch too!

We are going to pursue this case from you or from the court, as it caused lots of problems in 2 days, for us. I have the emailed confirmation and the confirmation ($350 from Sep 15-Sep29) and the one that the rude manager printed for us today (for $371 from Sep16-Sep29). The one thing that the manager told us when we asked for our car that we booked for $350 was that he does not see us as customers! This is not how the customers should be treated. I will provide you with the confirmations and documents and we also recorded some of the conversation.

Same story as I have seen over and over. I came from Europe to Phoenix, and I rented a car from Budget on September 11, 2011. When I returned the car I was shocked to find out that I had been billed for LDW insurance.

I clearly declined all insurance. The clerk apparently failed to note the refusal of the LDW insurance and I did not notice this at the time of the rental. Whether this action was intentional on the part of the clerk in an effort to commit fraud or simply an inadvertent error remains to be seen.

I signed the rental agreement presuming that they merely needed my wet signature never expecting that these were additional charges. This is really bad practice in their business. This company is forcing their employees to make commissions in selling insurance.

I would give this negative star if I could. They were not transparent with their pricing fees for insurance coverage, costing me almost $400 in insurance cost for a week's rental. It was twice as much as the rental itself. The agent that helped with the car did not explain the choices or prices clearly. The agent told me that the high cost was just a deposit and would credit back to my card. I truly feel that I was scammed. By reading some other reviews, I see that I am not the first, and sadly not the last either.

On September 10, 2011, my wife and I rented a Chevrolet Equinox during a trip to Hawaii. Upon arriving in Kailua-Kona International Airport at the Budget counter, I was informed of all my options regarding LDW (Loss Damage Waiver). The receptionist was helpful in explaining to me that LDW covers the vehicle for damage and loss of use, but did not explain what is not covered. Upon leaving for our hotel, I noticed some scratches in the rear right corner of the vehicle and advised the receptionist of these damages. She said to mark them down, but do not worry, that those scratches would have been covered anyway. She, again, never explained what is not covered.

On September 12th, the key fob got wet and was unusable. Of course, it was my mistake, but I thought to myself that it would be covered by our LDW. Her failure to explain what LDW did and did not cover is a complete misrepresentation of their coverages and misleads their customers. She explained to me, over the phone, after the incident that she specifically said LDW does not cover damage to the key fob, even though she needed to ask her manager if it was covered by LDW after I called Budget to notify them of what happened. To me, that was an outright lie. This company is underhanded, tricky and only wants to use their customers for a higher profit no matter what the consequences are to their reputation here in Hawaii. Never use them!

Beware the hidden fees and shop around to avoid 'gotcha' charges.

I reserved a car rental at the Budget Nashville airport counter for 8/25 to 8/29. Confirmation #38xxxxxxxxx. I paid $168.84 online via a credit card. I was dropped off at the airport to pick-up the car. After completing the paperwork, the attendant informed me that $200 was needed as well on a credit card "for incidentals". This was not made clear in the initial online reservation.

I am only recently employed after a long time out of work, and I shopped for a while to find an affordable option to rent this car. I struggled to have enough money to afford the rental to take my daughter to boarding school (where she was awarded a 4-year, full ride scholarship). I needed a larger car to transport her new school stuff. It is a stretch to afford even this, but I can't deny my daughter this life-changing opportunity.

The surprise imposition of an additional $200 holding charge to my account was beyond my means. There just wasn't enough money against my credit limit to afford this. I have only 1 credit card. My debit card likewise didn't have enough to cover this charge.

I offered to pay the $200 through a combination of $100 on the credit card, $85 cash and balance on the debit card. This was refused. My gripe now and at the counter was that this charge was not clearly advertised. The attendant would not take another person's credit card that agreed on the phone to accept the $200 holding charge.

Frankly, this policy of a hidden charge sets a potential customer up for a deeply humiliating experience and is likely (and did) elicit colorful language on my part. The utterly false "I understand" boilerplate repeatedly offered up by the attendant only enraged me, as it was clear that they neither understood nor cared about my circumstance as a customer.

After pausing for a moment to control my anger and fight back tears at the situation I now found myself, I arranged for my transport to return to the airport and put the charge on his credit card. This person was also annoyed by the situation and said as much on the phone to the attendant. Several minutes later, the attendant informed me that they would not rent the previously arranged contract despite the impending arrival of another person to physically sign for the $200 charge.

This seemed vindictive to me. I was told that the reservation would have to be cancelled online. I did not have access to internet (no smart phone or laptop with me). When I protested, the attendant threatened to call airport security to have me removed from the premises, despite the fact that I never physically threatened anyone.

I removed myself to the seating area in an attempt to collect myself. A lawyer, who witnessed most of this interaction at the adjacent Avis counter, came up to me and explained that he was appalled by my treatment and offered to vouch that I was not threatening anyone. He let me use his laptop to cancel my reservation. At this point, I hoped to still rent a car with another company. The very slow airport internet finally allowed me to cancel my reservation, where I was treated to a $50 cancellation fee.

However, the temporary authorization of the $168 would stand for up to 7 business days, thus denying me the ability to rent from anyone else. Budget has stolen $50 from me through the cancellation fee, when I was forced to do so by the staff's refusal to rent to me. Budget also temporarily stole an additional $118, tied up in temporary authorization, preventing me from renting from a competitor.

I never made my original destination that night to pick up my daughter and take her to a high-school football game with her former classmates before leaving for school the next day. She was in tears, I was in tears and two other people were inconvenienced by this policy and the refusal of the attendant to complete the transaction after I arranged to meet the unreasonable conditions. I eventually arranged for another person to rent the car for me the following morning through a competitor.

There was no disclosure by the renting agent about the rental CUS FAC CHG of $10 and 11.11% concession recovery fee of $12.48. Thus these charges are dubious and conciliatory in nature to the customer.

The car was fine. Prior to returning the car on 8/29/11, I stopped and filled up at Valero Gas in San Diego. I purchased $34 in gas at 6:16 in the morning. I ran the pump until it stopped and then put approximately 40 cents more to round off to $34.00. I got in the Suzuki and drove off, noticing that the gauge did not register full. I wasn't about to go back for more gas.

I drove directly to Budget, returning the car to the walking check-in person. I also told him that the gas gauge did not register full and told him the above story. He said it was okay. He checked me in, and away I went. I had no reason to leave the tank short 2.2 gallons.

I believe that this is Budget's way of nickeling and dimeing unsuspecting customers to make a profit. Unless I am credited for the 2.2 gallons, I will gladly take my business elsewhere.

My experience with Budget at this location was very good, until I got the additional charge, which I feel is an error. I paid the full bill when I turned the car in. I even turned it in the day before it was due to be returned with about half a tank of gas left. I had paid upfront for a full tank of gas, which was a gift to Budget. When I returned to Florida, I got an additional bill for $59.64 . I do not feel that I owe this amount so I would like a refund.

I registered my car online and got quoted $349.99 for the car rental. When I got to the facility, the person asked me if I wanted additional services, gas prepaid, insurance for the car, etc. However, I stated, "No thank you. We have it covered under our own insurance." They had me look through a small TV window. I was told to read the fine print and sign, which I did on the same screen. Upon return, I was rushing to get the car checked in September 9th. It was raining and the workers did not have a means to help cover me. He took a picture of the serial number and stated, "We have to give you credit on the gas because I had filled it prior."

I was in a rush to catch my plane to find that the $349.99 jumped way ahead to $794.46. I was on the plane but once I got to Miami, I called to get the price reduced to its original record. I noticed the additional charges that were unauthorized. I called customer service and complained of the outlandous way of treating their customers. This was a trick, not a fare call, and I will never ride the budget again. I receive $149 credit, but I will still be going forward with my decision.

Our experience with the Budget Rent a Car franchise, owned by Steve Antrim of Sioux Falls, SD, was dreadful! The car was fine, but the way they structure their billing system is horrible. We rented for one week but kept the car for only 4 days and 6 hours and dropped it off before they opened. I called Budget Rent a Car that morning, after they opened, and one of their employees said we would pay a lower rate. After getting the bill, the information was incorrect and we had to pay the full week. We were presented with something which was wrong and Budget Rent a Car does not stand behind its employees.

When picking up my rental, I deny any additional options. The agent then had me sign on an electronic monitor. I didn't realize until I was turning in the car that he had marked down that I wanted additional insurance which is an additional charge of $127.73. As soon as I returned home, I called to have that charge removed but I was told that it wouldn't happen since I signed for it.

This is a scam! They said that they would take half off, but I refused to even pay half considering I never agreed to anything additional.

I will never use Budget or Avis again and I will warn everyone I know about their evil tactics.

I rented a car from Budget on July 16-29, 2011. I recently received my credit card bill and it appeared as though I was billed twice for the car rental. When I called to inquire, I was shocked to find out that I had been billed for LDW insurance.

I had a prepaid Priceline reservation. At the rental counter, I clearly declined all insurance. The clerk apparently failed to note the refusal of the LDW insurance and I did not notice this at the time of the rental. Whether this action was intentional on the part of the clerk in an effort to commit fraud or simply an inadvertent error remains to be seen. I signed the rental agreement presuming that they merely needed my wet signature on the Priceline paperwork, never expecting that these were additional charges.

I reserved a car through expedia with my flight. Rented the car for a week, noon to noon. They gave me the car 2.5 hours early but failed to tell me that the week rental ended 2.5 hours early. A $380 bill turned into a $520 bill. I got the number of the branch manager and after repeated calls got a hold of her. I explained my situation and that my reservation said the car was due back at noon. She said that there was nothing she could do and charged me for an extra day. She was a broken record - sorry sir there's nothing we can do . . . No understanding or empathy for the customer. I'll never rent Budget again.

I am writing concerning a problem, a very big problem with Budget Car Rental Tamuning, located at A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam.

As I was leaving Guam at 7:50 am on Mar 27, 2011, I arrived at the airport at 5:00 am. Immediately upon arriving at the airport, I go to turn in the key for my rental car. When I arrived at the counter, there was no one in attendance to accept the key. Since it was early and no one was at the counter, I then went to check in my bags. After checking my bags in at 6:00, I went back to the rental car checkout counter and again no one was there to receive the keys. I waited for over an hour and 30 min, until 7:30, to turn in the key, to no avail. I waited as long as I could before my plane departed but still no one showed up to receive the key and neither was there a visible drop box to leave the key secure. Therefore, I left the key on the counter and ran to the security check point to board my plane. I have the airline boarding pass to prove I left on March 27.

It was not until April 22, 2011, while checking to ensure the rental charge had been satisfied that I noticed $1,942.20 was debited from my account by Budget. Because of my military duties, I sent my first email to Budget on May 5, 2011 inquiring about these charges. I received a reply from Budget on May 6, 2011 informing me the car has not been checked in. My first thought was why did it take more than a month to discover one of your cars was missing when I only contracted the car for one week. I sent a response back on May 9, 2011 explaining what happened and that it was unprofessional for no one to be manning the counter and that I had no choice but to leave the key on the counter. I never received a response from Budget on my May 9th email which, by the way, is not a good way to do business. It seems strange to me that anyone besides someone who worked at the rental car agency could know which car to take or the location of the car.

While disputing and awaiting a resolution and response on the $1,942.20 taken from my account, another charge of $2,736.95 was taken from my account on Jun 3, 2011. I tried to call repeatedly when those charges was taken, with no one answering the phone. I then sent another email on May 16 and did not get a response until May 21st stating they had found the car and that a police report will be emailed to me as soon as it is made available to them. This does not seem correct because if the car was found, a report should have been sent to resolve the case. As of the date of this email, I still have not received a police report.

To date, your company has behaved in a very unprofessional manner. You have taken exactly $4,679.15 from my account without bothering to contact me to ascertain what happened to the car nor did your company take into consideration what impact taking this much money from me will have on my financial situation or what other bills I may have to pay. Because of your unethical conduct, my house is in danger of being in foreclosure, my car is in danger of being repossessed and my government travel card has not been paid which is putting my military career in jeopardy.

This issue needs to be resolved and my money returned to me less what I actually need to pay for the original week I contracted. In hindsight, I could have handled this situation differently. I could have taken the key with me and mailed it back but as I have not been in such a situation before, I was not able to think. On the other hand, with people traveling locally and internationally, someone should have been manning the desk, which makes your company just as liable.

This issue has taken 4 months to resolve. My finances are in chaos. I am getting charged bank fees left and right due to your company's actions. As I am in Korea, I am appealing to you to give me my money back and resolve this issue. This matter is being handled unprofessionally by your company. You took my money on two separate occasions as if your company bares no responsibility or liability. Questions should be asked on your company's part, why did it take so long to know this car was missing as I only reserved it for a week? Why was I not informed immediately instead I was informed of it a month later when all my personal information was given at the time of the rental? Why was I not interviewed by the police. I was the one who rented the car so how could an effective investigation be conducted without me being questioned? Why was my money taken before a police investigation was conducted? Why was the money taken prior to resolution of the case?

I need a quick resolution to this matter. If not, I have no other option but to seek legal recourse plus damages. I am not threatening your company. I am only looking at the facts as I have presented them and anyone, even a court of law, can see I am a victim here. I gave my credit card to rent a car with the understanding, the car would be checked for damages, and to insure the car was refilled and then my card would be charged only once to satisfy my rental contract.

In addition, if this is not resolved as quickly as possible, I will launch a campaign throughout the Military and the Civilian Sector so this will not happen to anyone else. I do not want to issue threats but I seem not to have any other recourse. I do not wish to damage or hurt your company's reputation but I will do my best through letters and the media if need be to get a quick resolution. This whole situation is being handled shabbily. Your company, as a whole, is not to blame but the rental car people in Guam is not very cooperative.

Please help me resolve this issue.

Adrien **

There was an incorrect charge placed against me. I reserved a vehicle online with an online receipt that said Toyota. At the Budget-Rent-a-car location in Burbank for $116, an agent stated they needed a credit card but that it would not be charged as I said I would be able to pay the vehicle with cash once it's returned. The clerk was unable to find the Toyota keys so instead, I was given keys to a Hyundai Accent. I noticed a bit of shaking when I entered the freeway which stopped immediately upon entering. However, I didn't worry too much as I attributed the shaking to the condition of the freeway entrance's pavement. After work, I started making my way to Vegas. It was not until I was in the middle of the desert, where there's no cell reception or traffic, that I realized that the shaking wasn't the road but the car's steering wheel that was having serious problems. I deduced that the shaking occurs only at highway speeds, above 65mph.But, I had nothing but traffic to work and until I reached the desert so I was not able to discover the defect. It being too late and not being able to call anyone, I preceded to Vegas as there were other vehicles on the road. Luckily, I made it safely.

Prior to leaving Las Vegas, I called the rental place in Burbank to explain the situation. I was then referred to the 800 number because they couldn't help me. I called the 800 number three times and was given the run around (e.g. wrong dept., "let me check" and subsequently disconnected). After spending about two hours trying to get help I called one last time and explained my story again. At this point it was getting dark and I was concerned for my safety driving through the desert with a car that had mechanical problems. I asked if I would be able to drop off the car at a Budget in Vegas. They stated "yes" I would be able to do this. I asked if I needed a confirmation number or to speak to anyone else as this was not the location where I originally picked up the vehicle from. They checked and confirmed no further action was needed, as long as it's a Budget I should be able to drop it off with no issues.

When I arrived, I checked the car in and let the clerk know the situation and that I had to book a flight because no one was able to assist me in the situation. The clerk mentioned "so do you want to talk to the manager or check out" I told him I would have to speak to the manger at a later time as I had a flight to catch. He did not seem concerned about the vehicle having issues but he was trying to rush me out. He rang up my car and did not mention the amount and I asked if he had already charged it to my credit card he said yes as they have it on file. I received a receipt for the $116. (Note: I'm pretty convinced they rented this vehicle out to another customer and didn't look into the mechanical issues it had, possibly putting another customer's safety in danger.)

During this entire ordeal no one ever mentioned additional charges being made. Even my receipt read $116.00. According to their website they advertise "No Surprise".

Well the following day I received a $1,547.00 surprise charge for dropping off my vehicle in Vegas in addition to the $116.00 for the rental. That's not including how much I had to pay for my flight ticket, which is $188.00 due to this situation I was put in.

When I spoke to the manager, Luis Uz of the Budget Rental at Burbank, not only did I receive sarcasm, but he was condescending as well. I explained everything to him and asked him to put himself in my shoes, his response to that was I wouldn't drive a car all the way to Vegas if I noticed it was an issue. I explained to him the shaking occurred briefly and stopped, I wasn't concerned at the time because I thought it was the road at the time. I asked if maintenance and checks were done on their vehicles. His response was "we cannot decommission a car and let it sit for two days not being available." I asked how he knew their vehicles were running fine and safe and I was amazed and shocked at what he responded with. He stated "we won't know unless the customer reports a problem to us" then they will decommission it till it's resolved.

So I guess as a consumer it's my responsibility to serve them as a crash dummy and wait for something to happen before anything is done. He continued to argue that I "did not give them a chance to correct the issue" yet I called in four times to get it resolved, I even called his office and nothing was done.

Every time I spoke to representatives they spoke to me like I wasn't their problem and passed me along, no one was focused on the car issue or my safety but focused on getting me off the phone. After this extremely stressful and shocking conversation he finally agreed to look into it and would contact Vegas. He stated unless they believe the car is not drivable, I would have to pay the $1500 charge. I let them know my priority was my safety so that was the reason I booked a flight and did not take that car. He stated he would then call me that day or the next day. I asked him if he also wanted me to speak to Vegas or corporate or if there was anything else I can do on my end. He said no wait for my call.

After 2 days and 2 messages the manager finally contacted me stating that there was nothing wrong with this vehicle according to their office in Las Vegas, which led me to believe he was either lying to me, or they drove the car in street traffic, which does not trigger the problem. During my stay I did mention it to a friend who drove with me down the block and she said, she too experienced the issue. But it must have been our imagination, as the dealership according to the manager "wouldn't gain anything from lying about the car working". Really? I see a gain of $1616.00. To add insult to injury he gave me an option of negotiating 50% of the $1,500 cost. How do you figure I owe them when they provide with a faulty car and every attempt in trading it out failed on their part and lack of accurate information played a huge factor in my decision. I believe I exhausted every option. This was supposed to be a vacation, instead I'm here dealing with a cost that totaled $1,851.00 for transportation due to the failure of them maintaining their vehicles. This should have remained at a $116.00 cost with a functioning vehicle. This is Toyota all over again. It will take a disaster before they will be willing to admit they're at fault. They still refused to take responsibility and give me my money back!!

I had just left a vacation home to go and get some food. It was about 15 minutes from the house when I had to pull over because both rear tires went flat. It was in a residential area with a gated community and no shops.

AutoVantage defrauded me of $228.84 over a fourteen month period. Budget rental cars gave my credit card information to AutoVantage without my consent. A class action settlement of $25 million was supposed to shut this scam down but it didn't.

The tricksters are continuing to defraud the country.

I rented a car for vacation in Hawaii. A small rock chip was noted on the windshield when I turned it in. Then 2 weeks later, I got a bill for $500 for replacing the whole windshield! I was ticked about that, but still turned it over to my insurance and to Visa, to have them cover the $500 (no way I was paying for it.)

Then I started getting letter after letter from Budget, asking where their money was. I would call every time to give them all the insurance claim information - the adjusters name, phone number, claim number, etc. Still - more letters. I'd call every time and go through Budget/Avis's horrible customer representatives.

I eventually got a letter from Budget saying they were going to turn me over to a collection agency! I called Budget and they said that they hadn't received the money from Visa. Visa said they sent a "release" to Budget, but hadn't received it back yet. I finally got a Budget representative to admit that they had the release, but hadn't sent it back in yet.

So essentially, they're threatening to turn me over to a collection agency because they haven't returned paperwork to Visa to get their money.

Back on May 9, I reserved a rental car online to be picked up at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Because we were leaving the country a few days after needing the car, we were only taking debit cards. The website clearly stated that they accepted debit cards but that they could place holds on the funds needed for the rental, which was not a problem.

Upon arriving at the airport location, the woman informed us that they were out of the mid-size cars, which we had reserved, but she could give us an upgrade to a Dodge Ram or Mustang for almost the same price. We agreed, after all, we needed a car and they didn't have what we requested. Upon giving us the total, she swiped the debit card, looked at it then said she couldn't rent to us with us using a debit car on a luxury vehicle. I kindly asked if they had anything cheaper to which she replied, "We can't rent to you, period."

They were refusing to rent us a car because we were using a debit card, even though the website clearly stated we could. When I explained why we didn't bring any credit cards with us, she simply said, "Sorry, try another company. Good luck."

So we're supposed to be stranded in a strange city with no car! Without an explanation! So my husband and I went down to Alamo Rental Cars, who were happy to rent us a car using our debit card.

I rent a car in Orlando. They offered me an upgrade and I said no because I'm on a budget with four kids. We talked and the contract ripped and he had to reprint. He had me sign an ATM type screen with no data in it and advised me that he just got a car which I can have and it's much nicer. I thanked him for this. I dropped off and ran to catch the plane. While on the plane, I saw that I am charged an extra $350 plus tax. I called them and I was advised for an upgrade. I explained to the counter person that they flamed me with conversation and that they put them in without my knowledge.

I told him that I did not want to pay for an upgrade. That person submitted my request and got a call later which I turned down as I signed for it. I asked for a supervisor to call but I received no call.

On July 11, 2011 I made an online reservation to rent a car from Budget Rent A Car. My reservation was for 6 o'clock. I got to Budget at 6 o'clock and my car was not available. The girl working at the front counter told me they did not have my reservation on file yet and sometimes it takes 30 minutes to an hour after the scheduled reservation time for reservation to come through their system. I then waited 30 minutes after my 6 o'clock reservation before I asked if they could check to see if my reservation had come into their system yet. It still had not.

At this point I asked if I could cancel my reservation and just rent a car without one. The woman told me they were currently out of cars and were only offering SUV's so unless I wanted to pay for an SUV it would be best to wait for my reservation to come through. To make a long story short my reservation was made for 6 and I was not in a car until 8. That was 2 hours after my car was supposed to be ready. Come to find out the reason why it took 2 hours to get this rental car was not because my reservation had not come into their system but they did not want me to have an SUV for the car price. So they were waiting for someone to return a car before they would rent me a vehicle. Instead of telling me this they lied to me.

So I finally get in my rental and on my way. Once I got my rental car to my hotel I noticed that the headlights were not working. I did not think much about it at the time I just assumed that the headlights were not turning on because it was still day light. The next day I drove to Texas during the day light and once I got there I just parked the car at my hotel and did not drive it at night. The next night though I did need to drive my car at night and the headlights still did not come on. The parking lights and the bright lights worked but the dim lights did not. I called the emergency roadside assistance number because the Monroe Louisiana office where I rented the car was closed. I was then informed that corporate could not help me out or send me a new car because the Budget in Monroe Louisiana was not a car of the corporation which left me stranded in downtown Austin Texas without a ride. So I was forced to take a taxi to my hotel.

The next day was my day to return home and have the car returned. When I got to the Budget in Monroe I let them know the headlights did not work and I was stranded in Texas and corporate told me it should not be a problem for them to refund me one days off my bill because they were not able to send me a working car out. I was then told that they were not going to refund me any money because I did not call them to inform them the head lights were not working. To which I responded with you were closed when I needed a new car and I was bringing the car back today so what was the point in calling?

They told me that it was not their fault the headlights did not work in the car they check all the cars before they rent them out. I know they did not check the car before they rented it to me because it had just come in. Four other people then came to the counter to put in their opinion on why I should not get one day refunded back to me. This one man who worked there asked me if the air went out in a home I rented would I expect money off my rent just because it went out. To which I responded YES too. Needless to say all I got refunded from my $335 bill was $10.99. So I filled a corporate complaint and when I was filling the corporate complaint they also assured me they did not understand what the problem was with refunding me one day off my bill which was all I was asking for. I am waiting now to hear from someone that working in higher management in the Budget Corporation.

When I accepted the vehicle, its fuel showed a full tank. I drove approximately 16 miles to pick up my family and the gas gauge suddenly dropped half way between 3/4 and full. I returned to rental place, and showed manager what had happened. He told me to go 1/2 block to the gas station and fill it up; and when I returned the car and brought in the receipt, he would reimburse me. It took 6 and 1/2 gallons to refill it to a full tank. I returned the car after closing and left the receipt along with the key and other papers as instructed. I have called him twice and gone to his location twice. The girl says he is not there, but she will give him a message. The car was returned in 6/18/11. It is now the 14th of July, and he has made no contact. It is not the money but rather, the fact that I do not like to be lied to. If no reply comes, I have other resources.

They told me how much a full tank would cost if I bought it upfront, plus tax. I agreed. When I got the bill, the price for the tank was higher, and they charged me 2 service fees plus 2 taxes -- 1 at 11%, another at 11.5 % -- on top of the hold bill. I called the airport and they basically told me, 'too bad'.I asked for the main consumer department number and they said I was wasting my time. But, I called anyway, and she was right. The main office didn't even give me a chance. They said, 'too bad'. I said that I was going to call my credit up; and they said it wouldn't matter, and they didn't care

They tried to force me to tack on LDWs, which are clearly and plainly stated in the contract, on the wall posters, and on the website as OPTIONAL. I even called the toll-free number and had the CSR from Budget's national home office tell the desk that LDWs are NOT a requirement for a 16' truck--unless you are a commercial customer. The ignorant clerk still insisted in spite of everything and said that I won't get a truck without an LDW, even though I had rented the same 16' truck only 17 days earlier without the LDW.

Inane and stubborn customer service makes this location. I would stay away from this in the future.

We first rented from you last March. We had a very stressful experience. In the end, everything was addressed and corrected and we even decided to give you another chance, which brings me to today.

Let's start at the beginning. We arrived at the Whitehall Budget Location in Ohio and to our surprise, the door was locked and no one was there. There was a sign on the door that said "Processing cars call a phone number given." When I called the number, it seemed to be someone's cell phone number, which went to voice mail. I left a message asking where everyone was because it was now 12:16 pm and I was supposed to pick up my car at 12 pm and no one was there. A few other customers joined us so my husband decided to walk around to the back to see if anyone was there. He found the processing area but no employees. We waited a little longer and then several cars came rushing into the parking lot....the staff had finally arrived and opened the doors. Keep in mind that the location supposedly opened at 8 am.

He processed our reservation. I informed him that I didn't see any Fusions in the parking lot and if they were at the back being processed. He said no, that they only have an Impala ready. The only Impala in the parking lot I saw looked like a customer had just returned if after a rough ride--certainly not like one that was ready to be rented out. He advised me that indeed was the one he was referring to. I refused the car. I called your sales department and spoke with Kelly.

I informed her of the situation and she graciously agreed to contact the nearby Budget at CMH Airport and gave me new reservations there. We left that location, got to the airport location. Of course there was a long line so we waited and waited and waited and waited. Finally, our turn at the counter. We were given coupon voucher as a courtesy because of previous issues we have had in March. On the vouchers, they had my husband's name. On the new reservation Kelly placed, she put it in my name. The girl refused to let us use the vouchers because of this. I asked if she could just put the reservation in my husband's name; she said no, that I would have to call reservations back. I went to a bench and proceeded to call Kelly back to let her know the current situation. She asked me to request that the girl behind the counter just switch the name of the reservation to my husband's. She told me no reservations have to do that. Kelly asked to speak with her and after their chat, the girl finally agreed to do the change.

After she got off of the phone with Kelly, she told me to get into the back of the line. I was like...wow, seriously?! She ignored me and proceeded to help the next customer in line. By this time, it's past 1:30. I was fuming and steaming. My poor husband, who hadn't gotten off of work until 5 am this morning and is due to be back at 3 pm this afternoon, is nearly comatic. I bit my tongue and waited in line AGAIN behind three customers.

FINALLY, it's my turn AGAIN and this time we got the manager. He processed the reservation, forgot to apply the coupons but quickly corrected it and proceeded to hand us the keys to a Ford Fusion. We walked out to the parking lot. I was thinking finally we got what we should have gotten at noon, although now it's well after 2 pm. We got to the car, very nice and very pleased. It had a sun roof, pretty red color and looked like it just had gone through the wash. At the back, there was a white arrow point down to the lower right side panel where someone apparently hit it. At this point, we just documented that along with other scuff marks along the bumper, soiling and dust on the interior and just know it's just not worth anymore of our precious time or mental energy to go back inside to request another one...we just took it.

My poor husband has been at work 12 minutes now. The plan had been to pick up the rental car at NOON so he could come home and take a nap before another long shift. No such luck. He barely had enough time to change into his work clothes and grab a quick bite in order not to be late for work. He probably won't get off until 5am in the morning again. Our anniversary is tomorrow (7/2) and we're supposed to be taking our first trip alone in five years without the kids. It's a seven-hour drive. We left at 6 am. I'm sure he'll sleep the entire way there now. This is not a great way to start off our anniversary weekend.

We're very disappointed at the lack of care and concern by certain employees of yours today. That Whitehall location needs a makeover on both the establishment and the employees. Very unprofessional. The customer service staff at both locations need to be retrained on customer service. The entire day we were made to feel as if we were burdening them with our presence. We weren't greeted with smiles of hello-how-may-I-assist-you-today but with annoyed looks of what-do-you-want.

You're immediate attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

On 6/27, I received a letter stating that we're going to be billed for $125 for the interior damage to the vehicle. We rented a vehicle for one week and did not drive it much, just to drop off my daughter off at school and back home. We are sure that we did not cause any damage to the outside and the inside of this vehicle that special detailing to the vehicle. My wife and I don't smoke. We have a 12-year old daughter that sat in the front seat when my wife dropped her off to school. We did not eat or drink anything while we had rented the vehicle. We had the rental car for one week total and did not put more than 200 miles during the rental. I think that Budget was giving the wrong information about the states of the vehicle after we dropped it off. There is no way that the interior was damage.

My husband and I rented a car for 1 week from the Budget Rental in Nanaimo, BC. We had a walk around before renting it. While on the ferry, a delivery truck had its passenger long narrow door come inadvertently open and hit our driver side mirror; it did not sound like it hit the door at all and we were both stationary so would have been difficult for its range of motion to have accomplished hitting both. No damage could be seen by us or the ferry employee.

We turned the car in, Budget did a walk around and saw no damage and signed off on the car. (We did take other vehicle's license number but don't see why they should be involved either now that no damage was confirmed at rental site.) Now, a full week later, they are saying the drivers' door has scratches and needs to be repainted! They state car was "dirty" and it could not be seen. This car was not driven in any high dirt or mud environment so makes no sense. Of course it is ridiculous with a signed off walk around also. Angry that we even have to be harassed by this shenanigan at all. It has not been settled yet. Will not rent from Budget again and we go to Nanaimo frequently.

On May 14th, 2011, I made an internet reservation for a Group C rental car from Budget Car Rental at Heathrow airport in the UK. The rental was quoted at GBP 217.13. I picked up the car on May 27th and returned it on June 6th. Towards the end of the rental period, a piece of the car's plastic trim must have fallen off the passenger door. There was no accident, no one hit me, the car was not damaged in any way whatsoever - the trim must have fallen off the car while I was driving.

When I returned the car I explained what had happened, fully and naively expecting that it would not be an issue. Instead, to my horror, I was told I would be charged GBP 110 for the loss of the plastic trim. I complained there and then but had a flight to catch back to the USA and so could not afford the time to work out the matter. On returning to the USA, I immediately contacted Budget's customer services in an attempt to resolve the matter. My hopes went unmet and I was informed curtly by email that the damage was my responsibility and that the charge applied.

On June 8th GBP 481.46 was taken from my account by Budget. The original quote was for GBP 217.13. With additional charges for an extra driver,a pre-paid tank of fuel (which I do not believe saved me any money at all, as promised by the sales person, and indeed may well have cost me money), and the GBP 110 charge, the total should have been GBP 452.61 - a discrepancy of GBP 28.85.

I immediately informed the people with whom I had emailed of the discrepancy and asked for at least the GBP 28.85 to be reimbursed. Instead, they clearly refused to believe me, emailed me a copy of the receipt, and stated, "as you can see from the rental contract it does state 452.61." That was on June 9th. Today is June 16th. I have written to Budget repeatedly in the intervening time asking for clarification of why they have taken excess money from my account and asking to be reimbursed. As yet the only response I have received apart from automatic out-of-office replies and automatic "we will respond as soon as we can" replies, is one email from a customer services representative, stating, "I have forwarded your complaint onto Budget Customer Services and have asked them to reply directly to you." Needless to say, I have heard nothing from Budget Customer Services. Needless to say again, I will never be using Budget or Avis Rental Car companies again.

I originally reserved an SUV for 6/3-6/6/11. The morning of 6/3 my fianc and I went to pick up rental and the representative, who was a middle age black woman and lacked any type of professionalism, repeatedly stated that she didn't want to be there and on several occasions used profanity (ex: I really don't want to ** be here this morning). If we weren't already running late we would have left and went to another rental place. She offered us an upgrade of $5 a day for the Dodge Grand Caravan and $10 for the Tahoe which we took the offer for the Dodge.

We were there for over 45 minutes. On 6/6/11 my fianc and daughter returned the vehicle and the rep did not do a walk around with my fianc nor did my fianc think to ask for one. 10 minutes after my fianc left I received a call from Budget local office stating that I needed to come and fill out an accident notice because there was a dent on the left front tire well. She (Budget rep) stated that she noticed it after she pulled the van into the garage to have it washed and then pulled it back out.

I automatically assumed it was someone from my neighbor's house that accidentally backed into the van as they were backing out of their driveway. My fianc and I pulled into the Budget parking at the same time and the dent was noticeable from at least a car length away. So I am stuck wondering why if this dent was there, and that big when the van was dropped off, why did the rep, my fianc and my daughter not notice it then?

So then I am wondering if maybe the rep could have done it moving the van. And since my fianc didn't realize to request a walk around prior to his leaving, I had to report it to my auto insurance. I also notice that there was a $100 that was charged to my debit card and was told that the $100 is a hold and would be refunded to me less any additional charges. Which I was assuming would be no more than $30 due to the upgrade of $5 per day. Then on 6/7/11 I again checked my back and not only is the $100 still pending but now there was an additional charge of $62.22 for a total of $162.22. I called the local office that I got the car from and was told by a man with a Middle Eastern accent.

I asked his name and couldn't understand what he said. He said that he would look into it and call me back in a couple of minutes. I waited for 2 hours and then called him back. He stated that the $162.22 was that amount of the upgrade and that there was nothing in the system showing that I was offered only $5 a day additional. I asked for the corporate office number and was giving customer service and was told the same thing. When I became upset she stated that she would call the manager at the local office and call me back. I have yet to receive a call back. And I am still out $162.22. I am totally disgusted with Budget Rent a Car and their so-called "customer service".

I am a USAA member and asked them about the discount rate offered for the members that is stated on USAA website. They told me they don't give discounts but gave me a 10% discount being what I thought was "nice." Then when I got the bill they charged me for additional coverage which I specifically said I didn't want or need. I didn't realize it at the time I signed the contract because of all the codes on the paperwork. So I told the manager that there was a mistake, that I told them specifically I didn't want any additional coverage on my car. He gave some BS reason for adding it in, and making it sound like I got a good deal anyway so I shouldn't complain.

Those people conned me. And they did so intentionally and they try to justify it with some BS rationale that apparently made sense to them. Then I checked my credit report and it turns out they checked my credit, without telling me. Apparently it's their standard procedure when someone uses a debit card which makes no sense at all. It's a federal offense if someone looks up my credit report without my permission, and how is it is legitimate when companies do it without disclosing this fact to the consumers?! When they check your credit report, it affects your credit score. How is this standardized practice? It's outrageous that corporations can just get away conning and scamming consumers. Budget robs you blind and faces no consequences. I don't think there are any legal remedies for me because I stupidly signed the contract without taking my time to read through. I just hope other people won't be scammed by Budget in the future.

I am in need of a car rental each week until year's end. I called Budget (along with other car rental companies) and got a quote from Budget on Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC. The manager, Yonas, gave me a quote and I accepted. The reservation was made. When I returned the car, I was charged a different rate. The next time I rented, the same thing happened. When I called Yonas about the problem, he told me he was busy and would call me back. Needless to say, I never got a call back. Extremely unprofessional! This company allows its employees to lie and say anything to get business. I wouldn't rent from them again, ever!

Apparently Budget and Avis have merged. Mergers are all about greed; upper management makes grandiose deals and concessions without taking into account how they can be implemented, and all heck breaks loose. I know this from being a computer programmer and seeing, time and time again, this form of stupidity and power-grabbing in action.

As a Fastbreak member, and having chosen their prepay option when I reserved, I should be able to grab the keys and go when I pick up; and drop the car and keys off, and say goodbye as soon as they've checked the fuel level. My recent experiences at Budget are nowhere near this. On my latest rental, there was no one manning the Fastbreak line. I had to wait 15 minutes just to get to the counter, and then it took an incredible 23 minutes longer to get the car, even though I'd prepaid.

When I turned the car,and the required gas receipt in (because I'd driven less than 75 miles), I was told the charge would be $24+. Luckily, I'd recently reviewed my reservation and knew it was supposed to be $18+; else I'd have said okay and left. However, that $24 wasn't the total it was balance due after prepaying the total! Arrrgh! After quite a long time, it was determined that since, on check out, they'd given me a larger car than I'd asked for (which of course often happens, when that's all they have), they wanted to charge me for an "upgrade" totaling more than twice what the total should have been.

Budget used to be a pleasure to deal with but now they're just more Corporate Crapola.

I rented a minivan from Budget Rent a Car of Orange County (at the John Wayne Airport), back in March 2011. This week I received a letter from an attorney that I owed approximately $600 for damage that was done to the van.

When I rented the van, I did the normal walk around (along with the 5 other people that were with me) and saw that there was damage to the vehicle. I filled out there piece of paper, took it to the desk and had the employee sign off on it. She said to turn in the paper when I returned the vehicle. When I returned the van, I turned in the paper and the man that checked me in walked the vehicle and acknowledged that I turned in the paper and saw the damage that was done prior to me renting. He charged my credit card for my rental and I was done.

I believe they are scamming people. I am ready to take this to the top. I made several calls today to Budget and could only reach their corporate Customer Service Center who documented my complaint and said someone would be in contact with me. She also mentioned that sometimes when they don't know who damaged the vehicle, they will send it to everyone who has rented the car in the last 6 months. Can you say scam?

I had confirmation using a debit card, but the agent at Islip AP would not rent me the vehicle because the card was a debit card. I had to pay $100.00 for taxi fare. Finally, I rented a car from Avis (which is Budget) and paid with the same debit card when I returned the car to Islip AP three days later.

Hidden charges are not disclosed at desk and counter signed as accepted by customer. Specifically, the RSN charge (a lost key replacement service). My wife was swindled by Budget into paying $113 for a service she didn't want or agree too. I asked for refund from Budget, they refused saying it is customer responsibility to find hidden charges, challenge them and strike them from contract. What kind of customer service is that?

Use Dollar, Hertz or National, they do not cheat customers.

In 2010, I rented a 2010 Mercury Milan from this location. During that time, I was in transition of moving to another city. When I applied for a job at a company, I was informed that my DL had been suspended and that it had been since March of 2010. I was completely unaware of this because I hadn't received any correspondence regarding this.

When I learned of this, I immediately contacted Budget Rent A Car at 1-800-GO-BUDGET and informed the phone operator by the name of Reuben, that I needed him to make the necessary reservations with roadside assistance. I wanted them to pick up the car from my new home address and that it needed to be picked up that day because I was being picked up by family and I would be out of town for several months. I also informed him where the keys would be. Reuben gave his word that he'd have someone retrieve the vehicle. I also explained to him my reason for needing it to be done this way due to the suspended license. I wasn't comfortable driving and didn't want to assume any responsibility for any accident, etc.I thought I was using my best judgment by notifying the company directly. The company may have even tried contacting me but again, my phone was off and also where I was the cell reception wasn't/isn't that great.

I returned back home a couple of months later only to discover the vehicle still in the drive way. Reuben had not honored his word. I made 2 additional phone calls and was told that (1) We can't find a contract (2) We'll have someone pick it up and we apologize that this wasn't done. It appears, I was getting some reps abroad because they didn't seem to understand me very well. I was unable to contact the company where I rented from because my phone was cut off due to being out of work so I had to call the toll free number available. The last 2 times I called the company, I was placed in the queue for a little over an hour each time and disconnected on, as well being placed on hold for a period of time. The experience was very aggravating and stressful.

I rented a car for 2.5 days. I picked it up on Saturday and returned it on Monday evening. When I rented the car, it was near the closing time. So, the owner rushed us out and didn't even look at the car (I was in a rush too so I just signed and got on my way). When I came to return the car, they told me the rental is $200, instead of the $90 I was told because I'm 23. But weeks before when I made the reservation online, I asked if there was a charge and was told no. The owner and his employees were absolutely no help and were very rude. I showed them the email from Budget customer service and he said it's a fake, unbelievable. I will never deal with this company ever again and would never recommend it to anyone.

I rented an SUV for the Christmas holiday from Budget Rent-A-Car at the Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport location on the evening of 12/21/2010. Due to winter storms on the east coast, my return Southwest Airlines (SWA) flight from BWI on 12/26 was cancelled, and the BWI airport was closed to air traffic. I was not able to book a flight home from BWI until Wednesday evening of 12/29. As a healthcare professional scheduled to work from 12/27-12/31, I needed to return home as quickly as possible.

I was able to book flights for my family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on SWA with no change fees incurred. I attempted twelve times to contact the budget office at BWI by phone between the afternoon of 12/26 and throughout the day on 12/27. This action was based on a conversation with a 1-800 budget corporate customer service, who stated they were not able to assist me with changing the reservation, and I must call original budget office. It was particularly interesting as the SUV rental was booked online at Budget.com.

I have cancelled two new SUV rentals for early 2011, and I will not be using this very non-customer friendly rental car company in the future! Renters, beware!

After booking a car rental through Expedia, we went to pick up our car rental from the airport. I've rented several times before from Budget and I've never had them tack on this LDW fee. When I asked the service department over the phone, she tried to make up some lie about how it's part of the insurance, that I requested for it to be on there. After I told her I read that it wasn't mandatory to have this on my rental, she then just said that it was my fault for not catching it sooner.

My original rental agreement was for 77 dollars through Expedia. Although my insurance company does cover rentals, I thought it would be better just to purchase the added insurance coverage. When I asked the clerk that was there when I picked up the car, he said it would come out to 35 dollars. I asked several times if it would only be 35 dollars for the entire duration of my trip, and he said yes. I'm now stuck with an additional 25.99 dollar a day fee that they tacked on. It's because I couldn't see where they had added it and the clerk never once mentioned that there would be such a fee on my rental.

This is my first time renting a moving truck from Budget and will be the last. I've reserved a rental and was told the terms were a flat fee of $79/day and 99 free miles included. Yet, when I returned the rental, I was told that my reservation only reflected 21 free miles and their system showed the same information.

This company charged me $30 for an extra 36 miles and all the representatives insisted that my reservation never stated 99 free miles. I spent over 1.5 hours on the phone with the company's rep and supervisor and the situation was very poorly handled. I'm so glad that I had kept the reservation email to prove that I was right.

There are plenty of rental companies out there and how you treat your customers do matter. Needless to say, I will avoid Budget at all cost in my future rentals. And for others, please make sure you keep all papers so that you can have proof for these types of companies.

We had a nightmare dealing with Budget on a truck rental. Here are some numbers that will actually get you people. The corporate office number is ** and the legal department is **.

Don't just leave comments on here. Call and complain to them. The customer service number is worthless. You need to call direct.

I rented a car at the airport on the 13th of December and returned to the location within 19 hours on the 14th of December. The total mileage driven was 118 miles. Prior to the return to the airport, I gassed the vehicle up about 10 miles from the airport. It was $15.83 and more than 5 gallons, which was about right for the Chevy Cavalier that I had. I made sure that the car was full by topping up (as I wanted to make sure that the gauge will show full when I return the vehicle).

I returned the car and specifically pointed out to the attendant who accepted the return that I gassed up and the car is full. The attendant read the gauges and recorded the readings, walked around the car and accepted the return. About 5 days later, I received a letter in the mail telling me that they had to add another 3 gallons of gas in the car, and at a price of $7.98 cents per gallon I was charged an additional $23.94. This was billed to the credit card that I used to rent the car.

I contacted the rental location and they hung up on me when I demanded to know how they were allowed to charge me additional amount after a completed transaction and there is no possibility that they suffered any loss.

I then contacted the credit card company to dispute the charge. After a written complaint to Budget, they reversed the charge. I am now demanding that they explain to me how it was possible to add 3 gallons of gas into a car that was full. There is no physical way to put in 3 gallons in the vehicle after I ensured that it was full.

On the 2nd of October 2010 I arrived via a cruise ship to pick up a one-week rental from Budget at Cape Canaveral. On returning to the UK I was charged over $220 for the rental. I had prepaid on booking the car. When I contact Budget customer services it took over 10 days to get a response that the charge was an under 25 charge. I am 41 years old! When I queried this they had to do further investigations (another 10 days). I had to provide evidence of my age and state in writing my dispute. I am a Fastbreak customer. Budget's loyalty (ha ha) scheme! So they already know this. I had provided everything on renting the car, but it was my place to prove they had it wrong. Where is the service in that?

It took over 2 months for me to recoup my money. Whilst this was all happening I received a toll charge through Budget, $13.75. I have never driven through without paying a toll. I have been driving in Florida for over 11 years. I know the roads and what I have to do at a toll! I decided to include this second dispute in writing with one of my letters. This was completely ignored and only the refund of the $220 dealt with. On calling the customer services in the UK, I was told that I should have known they weren't dealing with the second error! Customer service at its best!

I was then sent a web address, which I cannot use as I don't have a US driving license. I contacted their customer service and surprise—they couldn't find the transaction. So they requested more information. Today 29th December, I have received an email saying they cannot help me. Their company did not debit me and I am to contact a number in the US. I have contacted my credit card company who are writing off the money and giving me a refund. They will not contact Budget as it would cost them more money to follow the process than it would to refund me from their own pocket.

Whilst I'm grateful to my CC company, how many times does Budget get away with this? How many other people have been charge and as there are so many barriers to getting a refund given up? I have been using Budget consistently for at least 5 years and will never rent a car from them again. I went back to the US in November and used both Enterprise and Dollar without any problems.

I returned my rental car to Fort Lauderdale airport on December 10, 2010 with full tank of gas. I was charged $67.99 for refueling service charge. Now, they asked me to provide receipt. It should be customer's responsibility for this type of error.

I rented a vehicle through them and all was fine for a month. But when I went back to renew, they would not renew which was fine. But due to their negligence they took out the total twice, causing my bank account to be put in negative standing and it has never been in negative standing.

They did this on 12-11-2010 and it is now 12-14-2010 and I still am having problems getting this fixed because they were supposed to fax a paper to my bank but they did not. Then they were told of the specifics that had to be put on the fax which the customer service gentleman understood. He even told the bank representative what the form was, but again, he did not do it correctly so the fax was no good.

I rented a car online one month prior to the date needed and received an automatic upgrade due to a recent rental. When I arrived to pick up my rental, the guy gave me a compact car. I kindly asked if this was a compact and he told me no. I called Budget 800 number right then and they told me it was in fact a compact car. I returned to the desk and told the man that he was incorrect and that I wanted a different car. He rudely told me no, he had nothing else for me. I told him I would come back the next day, which was after I was already supposed to have left on my road trip. I went on my way and early the next morning, before I returned the car, I had a flat tire. I contacted the 800 number, who never answered the call three different times.

Here I am a woman, alone with a flat tire and no road side service that is advertised on your key fob. I finally had to pay someone to change my tire. I immediately returned the car and picked up another car. I explained to the new employee the situation and he gave me a different car. No perks or apologies, just another car. I left the town with my young daughter and started my road trip to Florida. As I was driving, a light came on the panel. I had no manual in the car so I had to stop and call to find out what to do. I waited 1 1/2 hours trying to get a hold of someone so that I would not mess up your car and when I finally got a hold of someone, they told me to go immediately to exchange the car as the tire pressure was incorrect. I tried to fill the tires to the correct pressure and within a few minutes, the light came on again.

The closest Budget that the representative could find was 1 1/2 hours away from me in Atlanta airport. So now, I have to drive a car with tire issues and find Atlanta airport and exchange this car. I should already be in Florida. Many hours wasted. So I am now looking for the airport and have no clue what is around me in Atlanta so I did not fill the gas tank; second car now and the first one was full. I got another car and head on my way. Unbelievably, within 30 minutes of leaving Atlanta airport, the tire pressure light came on again in this 3rd car. I am in total disbelief that a car company this big cannot maintain its vehicles. I called the company again and waited and waited. So I filled the tires and tried to continue on. This time, the light stayed off and I have to continue all week to check the pressure to make sure my child and I are not once again stranded.

I left Florida to return to Tennessee and when I arrived in Murfreesboro to return the car, I was shocked to find out that even though the car repair issues were Budget issues, I am now being charged over $60.00 for gas. Really. So the young guy at the counter said he can do nothing to help me but give me a $30.00 credit and maybe that will soften the blow of the extra charges. I am stunned that this is really happening to me. I had my attorney contact the company who rudely argues that I am the problem and should never return a rental car not full of gas. Did she realize how ** that is when I have already been stranded and stopped twice with car issues and no road side service or personnel to answer the phone? What kind of customer service is this?

So now, I have been reimbursed the gas fee and I have been told but of course not received a $17.00 credit. I believe that I should be reimbursed for the unbelievable hassle and hazard this company has caused me. Believe me, this is not going to happen to me again and I have spread the word in many ways. If you cannot take care of your cars, at least take care of your customers. No such thing has happened. Budget rent a car is the least reputable company I have every dealt with and I will be pursuing this until it is resolved.

I rented a car yesterday at 8 am to go to Seattle to watch an NFL game. Originally I was thinking of renting another car (Volvo v40) but the car they gave me looked like old and the trunk never opened so I decided to change for a Fusion instead. It was a great car and excellent customer service of the person at the counter, but that excellent experience with the car and the customer service changed completely today when I decided to return the car since I finished my trip despite of the fact that I rented the car until tomorrow morning. After the inspection, they told me I will be charged with 300 dollars as a deductible for a chip on the windshield. That chip is as tiny as a pen point in a piece of paper.

already there or not. The manager told me that that car was brand new and that wasn't true. It was with 450 km, therefore it's not new. Upon reading and researching a little on the internet, I found that I'm not the first person who have the same problem with that Budget at that location. That sounds as a cheat and suspicious like Mr ****** on this site. Please let me know what I can do. I'm not the first person who have this problem with Budget at the YVR airport. Pretty much for this company. it is the same thing if the car has a tiny chip on the windshield or if you completely destroy the car. They say I'm covered by their insurance but I need to pay the deductible.

Not serious. But, I have found on both times I needed Budget, the owner to be unpleasant, unhelpful **** near rude. His reputation with 25th St. Automotive (car repairs) around the corner, who "sends" me to Budget, seems to be the same. I'm going to ask the repair shop to drive me elsewhere in the future, when I need a rental car. There's no need for this!

The supervisor named Rodger ** was no help in a situation of a prepaid Hotwire rental. I only had cash for the deposit and my daughter had a credit card, but he wouldn't take that. We were going to school and had six suitcases in the heat--I'm a cop. I didn't want to steal the car. He could have helped us, and we had to catch a cab to D.C. for $75. I deposited my cash, and took a bus back to the airport the next day just to get the car. He was rude, condescending and racist.

I was attempting to rent from Budget using a coupon sent to me by a local wholesale club. The agent I spoke to politely let me know that their system was not accepting the coupon code. The gentleman offered to transfer me to the customer service department, which I accepted. At customer service, I explained the issue. The representative claimed the coupon was not valid for what I was attempting to use it for, though no where on the coupon did it state any restrictions related to my intended use. I asked why they distribute coupons that they have no intention on honoring, to which she responded, giggling, "That's all right. Thank you," and promptly hung up.

Please help investigate this issue.

I reserved a car through Budget Rentals for a pick up and return to their airport location in Phoenix. The agent quoted a rate of $266.45 for the size car I reserved. He then asked how I wanted to pay for it. When I told him I wanted to use a debit card, the rate jumped to $400 for the same car and same rental duration. The company requires an additional charge for using a debit card to cover the cost of a credit check. I told the agent that I didn't think that was legal and that I would pay cash instead.

Given the recent government rules changes, I find it hard to believe that Budget would charge customers an additional $149 to use a debit card vs. using a credit card. A debit card is a withdrawal from a checking account and not an addition to an existing credit card balance. Is there a federal office/bureau where I can file a complaint? I really think Budget is ripping off its customers.

At the end of July, my husband flew in from Iraq on two weeks leave. We own a home in Kentucky but neither of us have been living in Kentucky since he is a deployed member of the US Army and I got sick had surgery and had to live with friends in VA to recover.

He was given short notice, so I flew to KY as he was flying. He arrived first and rented a car since our car was in VA. We had a lot to celebrate as he was home for two weeks and it was our tenth anniversary and neither mother knew he was coming. We drove to St. Louis, Mo where my husband's mother lives. She's been ill and has had a rough time while he's been gone.

We got pulled over by the police for no reason whatsoever. It was super-hot and we had a car stuffed with food for our anniversary dinner and an elderly sick mother-in-law that insists on being a busy body. He stopped us because the tag looked strange to him. After he ran the plates, he said the tags had expired in May.

The sticker on the plate had been faked. He wrote my husband a ticket. Now we got the total run-around. We were mistreated, left on hold, hung up on, and brushed aside. We were treated rudely by the St. Louis Budget. After a call to corporate, we got a new rental and our trip went on. We drove to Ohio to see my mother and then back to KY to relax at home for five days before we both flew on the same day the seventh of August. We were told to turn the ticket and mail in information to the Budget manager and the ticket would be paid.

Well, the ticket hasn't been paid and they are issuing a warrant for my husband's arrest. He can lose rank and get in all types of army trouble, not to mention our insurance going up, etc. If my husband loses rank, we lose our home and our way of life. He works hard and it's hard to have an anniversary together in ten years and this is the third one we've had together. Please help.

I arrived late at night at the Las Vegas Airport and went to Budget Car Rental where I had made a reservation for a car. Both my wife and I were extremely tired and listened to the "customer service representative" give his talk about insurance. He gave me three options and not one of them was I didn't have to take his insurance. I initialed and walked out to the car. After getting into the car, I told my wife I think I made a mistake there and she thought so, too.

I have never taken any insurance because I am covered by my own. Told her we would take care of that when we returned the car. Another mistake. At the end of the trip, I complained to the same customer service rep and he said they are instructed to never mention the option to take no insurance. Typical salesman scam. Moral: never take insurance or prepaid gas at a car rental.

I rented a car at Orlando airport and was asked by the representative if I only wanted the basic insurance. I found it strange, to say the least, that they assumed I wanted insurance when I said nothing to that effect. Even though I verbally and non-verbally declined all insurance, I later found out I was charged for it anyway. I called to complain and was told it would be my word against the word of their own representative. Yeah, that's fair. Gee, I wonder how that would turn out? Talk about zero customer service!

Their argument is that since I signed for the car, I have to pay. Unless you work for the car rental agency and you are an attorney, there is no way you could decipher their form. Even their customer service agent thought I had signed using a machine that discussed everything. When I said that was not the machine I used, there was no response. They must have decided they don't need any more customers. I will never rent from them again!

My coupon was not honored by Budget Rental Car at BWI Airport. My coupon was for a 3rd free rental day, when renting for 2 days on the weekend. When my coupon was not honored, I wrote a letter and had an initial response which stated: We will not honor your coupon because, as stated on the coupon, the rental has to be picked up on Thursday by 12 noon. That was the initial ridiculous statement, as the print I sent back to them stated, that the rental period was 12 noon Thursday, at the earliest, and 12 noon Monday, at the latest. Upon speaking to a higher official, Budget stated that they would not honor my rental, for various other reasons, which were never fully explained.

But eventually, the person, Mr. Hampton agreed to give "something". He decided to refund $19, or a portion of the coupon value. I guess after trying to find reasons not to honor it, the manager decided that although the company was wrong, on every level, including the knowledgeable staff working for Budget Rental Car, BWI, there should be something done. One half of the coupon value does not satisfy me, and I'm regretfully seeking damage for this awful service company in Baltimore.

The disrespectful conversation that I had with the manager only infuriated me more, because I assumed a manager would be equally concerned about all the mistakes made by counter staff and customer service reps, as any small dollar amount of this coupon. I was wrong. This manager didn't even give me the respect of attempting to properly pronounce my name. He continued to mispronounce, although I corrected him on 3 occasions.

The Baltimore location does not care about service or repeat customers. To this date, I have not even received the $19 they agreed to refund. I would be happy to answer any further questions about this case.

I rented a car from Dulles Airport for 1 day. They did not take me to the car to inspect it, they just told me what row it was on. I returned the car to Waldorf, VA. There was no one at the office so I dropped off the keys in the night drop. I called the next day to make sure they checked it in, the guy I spoke to was extremely rude and told me he didn't have time to do it and to call back later. I called back and he told me there was a charge to drop it off. I told him that nowhere in my contract did it state that and he told me if I had rented from him then I would have known. I want it refunded. He said to call customer service which I did. Customer service told me I had to call the office I dropped it off at, I said I did and he told me to call you and that I did not wish to speak to the man there, but she transferred me there anyway. I called back and a lady told me that they do not charge a drop fee, but looked it up on the computer and it said drop fee, so she assured me it would be refunded within 7-10 business days. It has been a month and I have yet to see the refund.

I have recently had this experience and I think it's important to advise Accenture employees on. I recently rented a car from Budget/Avis Rent-A-Car (one and same I have learned). I found good rates by using some coupons and was happy with the rate. When I arrived at the airport rental agency, I was offered 2 cars (the car I rented was intermediate and advised it would be similar to a Pontiac G6). I chose my car as a Malibu, thinking they were in the same class. Never was I instructed this was an upgrade. I signed the contract with my initials without realizing any of this. I had just finished a 28.5-hour flight from Perth, Australia.

When I returned the car 1 week later, on time, full of gas, I noticed it was $100 more. When I questioned the return processor, he said I could see someone in the office. Unfortunately, I had a flight to catch. I called a few days later, though, with my confirmation number and the initial email reservation. I was told I had agreed to the additional charges by initialing various locations, though it was never communicated as an upgrade. I have traveled for 15 years renting frequently and have never had this happen. Budget refused to budge saying, too bad; I should have known my base rate. I have encountered a few other Accenture people having this issue with Avis who owns Budget.

I went on-line and rented a car trying to use my prepaid debit card. I confirmed my reservation. I made my reservation from a Budget in Florida. When I landed at Newark Airport from Orlando on August 27, 2010, I was told at Budget that I could not get a car using a debit card. That I had to have a credit card. I told them I don't have a credit card. So I asked them for my money back because they took $271.00 from my debit card. They told me that I could not get my money back, unless I went online. I told them how was I supposed to go online to cancel a reservation, if I don't have a computer. I just came off a plane.

They employees got rude and disrespectful. I asked to speak to a manager, who gave me a number for customer service. I called customer service and every one of the people I spoke to, told me to call someone else. I went back to the Budget counter and explained how no one wants to help me and that Budget is stealing my money.

The assistant manager Jim ** leaned over the counter, as if to attack me, because I asked for his name. He told my husband and I to move away from his counter. I explained that I'm not moving, until I can speak to someone who is willing to give me my money back. I told him I was stranded in Jersey, and I had to get to New York. He told me that was not his problem. All I wanted to do is for them to refund my money.

After an hour I finally spoke to someone in customer service, who was so nasty, and she was in Ohio. Her name was Heather. She stated I'm not helping you, and hung up the phone on me. Finally, 30 minutes after that, I got someone on the phone who stated they will cancel my reservation, and I had to wait for 14 days to get my money back. I asked them what was I supposed to do being stranded in New Jersey.

Finally I left the airport and had to spend $100.00 on a cab into Brooklyn, NY. When I got back to Orlando on Sunday August 29, I emailed Budget because corporate refused to speak to me. Then on Sept 1, 2010, I got an email from Budget that stated, they are going to charge me for cancelling my reservation. I wrote them back, how am I getting charged, if Budget refused to give me a car. I didn't realize that I couldn't use my card to rent a car. All I wanted from the beginning was my money back, so I could get into Brooklyn.

Every person I dealt with in Budget was nasty and disrespectful. Especially assistant manager Jim **, when he leaned over the counter in an intimidating fashion. I had to spend a hundred dollars on a cab ride from Newark NJ to Brooklyn, NY. I spent $210.00 to rent a car for one day, and Budget stated they will not give me the full $271.41 that they owe me. So I am out $581.41 and I'm on a tight budget. This trip ended up putting my family is dire straits. we will be late on our bills this month.

I was told by the Budget rental person that if I prepay for a tank of gas before hand. I can bring the car back empty of fuel and they would charge me for a full tank of gas, it sounded reasonable. I then asked the rep that if I filled the car full of gas before I returned it do I get this money back. I was told of course I will get the money back. I also asked if if it is only 1/2 full what will happen. The person at budget said I only will pay for the gas that I use. I use 1/2 I pay for 1/2. I returned the car full of gas as there was a gas station 1 block from the rental place.

I told the lady behind the counter that I already filled up the car 10 seconds ago so she will not need to fill it up. She said too bad for me, that I already paid for a tank of gas and I will still be charged for a full tank of gas even when I brought the car back full of gas. She then turned into a real difficult person and said that I signed the contract and she again said too bad. I could not believe this person or the way I was treated very unprofessional. So I would like to warn everybody out there that do not prepay for a tank of gas at all. I cannot believe that this is Budget rent a car policy to out right be crooked the way they are and outright dishonest. This is not a way to run a company at all.

we booked our hire car through a third party, My car hire for the rental company Budget, we booked a 7 seater and received a 7 seater no problem, however the car was faulty and extremely dangerous to drive, the break pads were completely worn, we managed to get to our villa and immediately called the company to complain to receive a replacement car.

So firstly the car supplied by Budget to us was completely unroad-worthy. So this car should have never been given to us or any other customer in the first place. Secondly, Budget car service guarantees to provide us with a replacement car within 6 hours if there is a fault with the car which they did not, it was 2 days until we got another car from Budget and then they only gave us a 5-seater which was no good as we needed a 7-seater, we spent 3 days on the phone to Budget to sort all of this out, we only had a weeks holiday so it completely disrupted and ruined our holiday.

Thirdly they had the cheek to charge us over 70 Euros for fuel, when we replaced what was in the tank as it was given to us. When we returned the car they checked all of this and said it was fine, and did not say anything about the fuel or additional charge. We should be compensated from Budget not be sneakily charged!! Now they are trying to say we only ordered a 5-seater car and when we arrived to collect the car they upgraded us for free to a 7-seater because 6 or us turned up so they had no choice, which is funny because we traveled separately from the airport so only four of us went to collect the car so they have completely lied.

I am appalled with Budget Car hire, they cannot say they offer a professional service when they act like cowboys and try to lie there way out of their mistakes! We are still fighting this complaint with Budget so I still don't know what the outcome will be. Budget Customer service is terrible. They take a month to respond and are plain rude! Do not rent with Budget Car hire! Completely unsafe car supplied to us, which was extremely dangerous. Completely disrupted our whole holiday. We should receive compensation!

We rented a car for 24 hours to drive around the island for $69.95 a day. This was the 3rd car we had rented on the 3rd island while on a cruise. We got stuck in road construction and expected a normal $15.00 hourly rental fee like Thrifty had been charging. To my surprise, we were charged $52.47 for the extra hour.

What a rip off and obviously a franchise praying on the cruise ship tourist. Another family we rode in the shuttle van with was also furious because they were charge $150.00 for being 2 hours late with a minivan. The gentlemen said they paid. Needless to say, this one dealership has caused both myself and the other family to never again rent from any Budget / Avis rental place ever again and to forever recommend to everyone they never use them either. I also intend to notify the cruise line about the predatory practices.

I returned the car and left a cell phone in the car. After 10 minutes, I realized my mistake and went back but the car was gone. I filed a report of lost cell phone. Jenny called and stated they found it and I gave her an overnight FedEx account number to send it to me. It has been 7 days and I still have not received it. Now my personal property is gone with vital information and I know they had it in their possession.

July 4, 2010, I rented a car for a week and while driving the car I had a flat tire. The tire could not be repaired therefore I was forced to replace the tire. I need to know when I will get reimbursed the $90.28 for the purchase of this new tire. Both front tires on the vehicle were in very bad shape though I did not realize this until I had a blow out. When I returned the car back to the rental office I was told to fill out a Vehicle Damage incident report which I did and provided a copy of the sales receipt for the tire. This is the second letter I have written. Will someone please respond to my request?

I rented a car this weekend from Budget Rental Car at the Newark Airport and I was not very satisfied with my experience at all. When I picked up the car, I was 50 minutes early to pick up the rental. I gave the representative my name and she pulled up my reservation. At this point in time, she did not explain to me that if I picked the car up earlier, then I would be charged for a full day rental. If this was the case, I would have surely sat down on a bench and waited the 50 minutes. This makes no sense to me at all.

She should have explained to me the situation and let me know that would incur extra cost by picking up the car earlier. She also asked me if I wanted a bigger car and I told her no that was fine with whatever my rental agreement had on it and that would have room for my luggage. When I got the bill after I rented the car, I saw that there was a discrepancy in the price I had to pay vs. the rental agreement. After calling in the customer service, they did refund the price difference for the upgrade I did not ask for. This is a case of really bad customer service and I feel like she was trying to pull one over on me and not disclose any extra cost I would incur. I am now very upset with my experience.

I booked online for my elderly Mom a 4X4 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the rate of $325 dollars, including insurance. Mom dropped the vehicle off, and the charges had increased to $575. She has been taken advantage of by Katy, the desk clerk. All arrangements had been made online for $325, then Katy added $250 and padded the bill.

This is wrong to take advantage of an elderly traveler. Mom was also placed in a Ford Flex; the original agreement was for a 4X4 Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar, not a Ford Flex crossover. Risa, the manager, was not helpful and have contacted the district manager Remi to discuss the ripoff that happened.

While planning a long-weekend vacation with my cousin to visit a family member who lives in Palm Coast, Florida, I decided that instead of making a 9-hour drive (each way) and be completely drained by the time I got there, I'd fly from Birmingham, AL (where I live) to Jacksonville International (the nearest major airport to Palm Coast), rent a car there and only have to drive the last 80 miles. I wasn't looking for any big luxury car or SUV -- merely something enough to get me the 80 miles to Palm Coast and back, so their least expensive compact car would do just fine.

I made a reservation through Budget.com. I do not have a major credit card, but I do have a MasterCard debit card linked to my regular checking account. I used this to make the reservation and had no problem. I knew I'd have to use my MasterCard debit card for final payment as well. According to the terms and conditions at the time of reservation, if you use a debit card as payment, they'll put a hold on funds of between $400 and $500, so I kept this in mind and made sure that I had more than adequate funds in my checking account to manage this. It also said that a credit check at the time of rental would be performed to determine credit worthiness, but I assumed this only meant they'd check to see if I had sufficient funds to cover all their charges. I was wrong.

I got to the airport, went to the Budget counter, handed over my license and debit card, the agent entered all the information into his terminal and went off to get the keys to a car. When he came back and checked his terminal, lo and behold, I was refused rental of the car because my credit isn't stellar and because I don't have a major credit card. I had just flown into Jacksonville, had a round-trip itinerary vouching for that fact and it showed I'd be flying home two days later.

I'm way older than 25, have excellent insurance (State Farm), have a valid driver's license, have an excellent driving record, and more than enough funds in my checking account to cover all potential charges, yet nothing could get them to provide me with a rental car. The only help the guy offered was "you can check one of the other agencies, but I'm pretty sure they all do the same thing."

To me, this is a completely ridiculous reason to refuse to allow me the privilege of renting a car to two days. Suddenly feeling completely helpless, mortified (not to mention humiliated), I moved (upon the suggestion of the Budget agent) to the next counter down -- Thrifty -- and they did the exact same thing.

The more sympathetic Thrifty rental agent directed me toward the National Car Rental, saying he was pretty sure that they didn't do a credit check. I moved on down the line and sure enough, all the National Car Rental agent wanted to see was my round-trip itinerary. Not only did National not put any extra hold on funds in my checking account, their rental agent was much more professional. Beyond paying slightly more than I had anticipated, there was the feeling of humiliation I felt standing at that Budget counter.

We rented a car at the Salt Lake City airport after reserving a standard car online. The online reservations system said that a standard car holds 5 people and 2 small bags, 2 medium bags and 2 large bags. It does not give size in inches. We arrived with our 2 friends who accompanied us on the trip. They tried to give us a Mustang 2-door car. We had 4 25-inch bags and 3 small carry-on bags. No way would that fit. Next they tried to give us a Dodge Charger. The bags would not all fit in the trunk. We would have had to have a 25-inch suitcase between 2 people in the back seat for a 6-hour drive.

No way. Then, after my husband and his friend talked to the person on the garage about just paying for a day and canceling the rental, we were given a Ford Edge. It did hold everything very well and was very comfortable. However, we were charged twice the rate we were supposed to be paying for renting the car for 9 full days, turning it in by 10:34 am on the 10th day. I consider that bait and switch-saying you will get a low rate and then providing an unsatisfactory product for more money.

I made a car booking in May 2010 for July 15/7/2010 with Budget Rent-A-Car with Jordan as the car agent. I was promised to pick up my car at 15.00. The person came at 16.30. I was supposed to pick up a car category of Mitsubishi Pajero or a similar one. They gave me what is available and they downgraded, not upgraded me for a Hyundai Elentra and it was incredibly unsafe to drive with a lot of noises while driving. They promised to change it the next day, Friday, 16/7/2010.

On Friday, they gave me a Hyundai Sonata a model of 2006 and it was extremely unsafe to drive and the speedometer reading was 120,000 km. The rental period is 24 days and also the car has a huge smell of petrol coming out inside it so when you come out of it, you smell like the petrol station itself. Please take immediate action.

On 6/19/2010 we rented a Budget Rental Car for two days in Anchorage, AK, agreeing to return the car with the same amount of gas as received. We refueled the car with slightly more fuel then received with just a couple of miles from the return location (airport). Subsequently Budget charged our credit card $20.00 for two gallons of gas claiming the car was not filled. We contacted the office in Anchorage and faxed them our receipts which they now claim they never received. We have invested six phone calls trying to get this resolved.

This would appear to be a scam, just think if only twenty percent of Budget's rentals are charged an additional gas fee how much extra income this would generate. Why not just fill the gas tank and require it be returned in the same state? Loss of twenty dollars, loss of over three hours spent on phone. We are retired but have places to be and things to do.

I have been working with Budget Hungary more than 3 years and I was very satisfied so far. However, I rented a car again for 4 days between 28 June and 02 July 2010 and I got the car with basic insurance which my responsibility is around 450 EUR. When I returned the car, they realized a small scratch on the front bumper lower part and they told me that they can not give me invoice now as they have to see the cost of this damage. It was so small the cost can be maximum 40-50 EUR but I saw they did charge 110 EUR for this damage. I called the downtown office in Budapest and the lady on the phone told me that she can send me only the invoice. I told her several times that I need to talk to the guy who made this invoice but she refused my request and hung up the phone. I do not accept such amount for such a small mistake. Otherwise, I will rent a car with full insurance next time and I will return the car wrecked up.

On 6/11/10, I rented a Hyundai Accent from Budget Rent-a-car at the Farmington airport in order to attend a continuing education seminar in Albuquerque. I left at 6am on 6/12. Two and a half hours later, I was a half hour from my destination when I was pulled over for speeding (80 in a 70). The officer asked if I knew that there were no license plates on the car. I said yes, but that there were temporary tags in the window. He informed me that the tag was a Demonstration Permit that is given to dealers to test drive cars (they aren't supposed to leave the area of origin, so I was never supposed to leave Farmington with it) My contract states my destination as ABQ, so Budget knew where I was going.

The officer asked for the registration and insurance. I checked the glove box and found only the owner's manual. The officer informed me that I was driving an improperly licensed vehicle and was illegally driving without proof of insurance and registration. He wrote out warnings for these two charges. Then he had the car impounded and towed. Police dispatch was trying to contact Budget and I was able to get Ashley from the Farmington office on my cellphone. I gave the phone to Officer *** who informed Ashley of why the vehicle was being taken. The towing report states the reason for towing was due to lack of registration and insurance.

I was stranded over 150 miles from home. After repeated phone calls to the Farmington Budget office and to their corporate roadside assistance, I was finally told after 4.5 hours that no new car was coming and the rental agreement was terminated. I was on my own to get back home. I have only one friend in Albuquerque and paid him to get me home. I missed my CEU seminar and a baby shower that evening. I've complained to the corporate office starting on 6/15, but as of today, the Farmington office has ignored their inquiries. The ultimate injustice however, besides being abandoned far from home, is that on 6/28/10 Budget charged my debit card $626.37! I discovered this on 7/8/10 when I was balancing my company's checkbook.

I was overcharged for an extra day. I told them about it and was told I would have to contact the main office. There's been no response back. Overcharge was $66.00.

Our experience with your corporation has been a complete nightmare. We rented the car out of Salt Lake City Airport with the understanding that it would be $30.00 a day if we returned the car to the airport. If we did not return to SLC, then we would be charged $185.00 per day. On Monday we were on our way driving back to SLC, a five-hour drive, when we called to confirm the drop off spot. It wasn't until then that we learned that even if we did drop it off in SLC, that the outrageous $185.00 rate would still apply.

Instead of continuing on with the drive, we back tracked to Idaho Falls and left the car there. At least at this Budget station the employees were courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. However there wasn't much they could do. The manager Sherry (SLC) was completely unscrupulous in her business ethics, even resorting to charge us even more to drive the car back, appalling even the manager at the Idaho Falls station. I have come to learn that this is an independently ran Budget operation who has a mile-long list of complaints. I'd hate to think that is acceptable to your corporation's principles and would like to think that some compromise could be negotiated. Please get back to me as soon as possible.

With less than 18 hours notice, Midtown Auto Care called to say they would not have my Budget rental truck the next day due to overbooking. I had confirmed with them my reservation the previous week. Thus I was very upset and stressed to hear this news. The only option given me was to rebook with another Budget truck provider via Budget's customer care people. They had nothing within a commuting distance of my home in Manhattan.

I was left with no reservation and no help from Budget. I have the loading dock at my new apartment reserved along with hiring moving loaders and unloaders at both locations. Now I am in a state of flux and have no idea if I will be able to move tomorrow. No compensation or recourse was offered or given when requested (I suggested they pay for a cab fare to their Jersey City or Staten Island locations to pick up an available truck). I am very upset that having a reservation did not work with Budget. I am more upset at the very, very short notice given as to no truck being available at a local location. This may result in me losing my move-in time slot and fee at my new apartment, losing the deposit for hired help to load my truck, etc., etc..

I am being charged fees for things that are not in my contract and that I was not informed of. In addition, the local representative has sent me on a wild goose chase to track down customer service that he said could help me. When I called them to complain, they told me that only the local branch could help. Very sneaky and not helpful at all. They even admitted that this fee is not in the printed contract I receive, but it is part of their policy and cannot be waived. It is a total scam! Do not rent from Budget. Use a company that is upfront about their fees and charges. This rental ended up costing me a lot more than I had intended.

I received a reservation confirmation for a 2-day rental for $73.52. Upon arrival, the attendant asked me if I wanted an upgrade, which I declined. She still tried to give me one, but I again declined. So I was told that the final price would be $73.52. I returned the car at the scheduled date / time in the same condition, including a full tank of gas. Their computer system was down, so they did not give me a bill at the time. However, upon returning, I see that my credit card was charged $90.63. I have been overcharged $17.09.

On May 13, 2010, I reserved a moving truck from Budget Truck Rental on their website. I received an email confirmation for the pickup of the truck in Lehigh, FL, on May 25, 2010. The email confirmed a price guarantee of $116.00 for 10 days, with unlimited mileage. The drop off location is in Caldwell, Idaho. On May 21, 2010, I called Budget Truck Rental customer service to change the pickup date to approximately one week later, and was told by customer service that they had no record of the above mentioned reservation. The price had now gone up to over $1,200. Since Budget was denying they had ever given me the first guaranteed rate, and raised the price substantially, I decided to look into other options.

The following day, May 22, 2010, I called several U-Haul locations, in regards to installing a hitch on our car, and pulling a small trailer. At 8:10 AM, May 22, 2010, I called to cancel the reservation with Budget Truck Rental, as they were not being honest about what had obviously been a mistake on their part, in guaranteeing such a low rate. Two hours later, at 10:01 AM, I received another email from Budget Truck Rental, confirming that the truck was reserved, and at the originally quoted rate and dates! I called my wife to see if we could make the original dates work, if Budget was willing to honor the prices quoted, and we agreed.

At 10:16 AM, I once again called Budget Truck Rental customer service to confirm the latest email I had received, and once again, was told they had no record of it. The representative I spoke with transferred me to a female supervisor, and I explained the situation to her. I was told by this person that if I had received the rate quote from their website, and had confirming emails, they would honor the price. However, she said since it now showed as cancelled, I would have to call the pickup location, and rebook the reservation. I was told to pick up the truck under the new reservation, save my emails, complete the trip, and they would honor the quoted price at the drop off location. At 10:53 AM, I called the pickup location and re-booked the reservation.

On May 25, 2010, my wife and I picked up the truck from R and T Rentals in Lehigh Acres, FL. The rate was now $1,512.94, but I went ahead and signed the contract, since I had been told Budget would take care of it at the drop off location, after the trip was completed. On June 2, 2010, I dropped the truck off at Beckham Collision Center in Caldwell, ID. I explained to the agent what I had been told, showed her the emails, and she called Budget Truck Rental. Budget denied ever having such a conversation with me, and said since I signed the contract in Florida, that was the price, nothing they were willing to do, end of story. I was deceived and lied to by representatives of Budget Truck Rental. I believe they should do as they said they would do, and honor the price guarantee confirmed on May 22, 2010. I was charged over $1,300 more than the price "guarantee" I was given, when I reserved the truck.

This is my letter to Customer Care Department of Budget Rent-A-Car:

Our recent visit to Vancouver, which was to be a birthday celebration and my final treatments for cancer, turned out to be an unpleasant experience with BC, Budget Rent-A-Car. Please review in bullet form the several disappointments we encountered with our rental reservation and car rental. Feb.23rd, I made our flight booking with Air Canada and noticed they had a link to your website which I made our car rental reservation for the week of May 15th to the 22nd.

Confirmation # ** was for an intermediate car, Pontiac G6 or similar at $160.00 for one full week ($245.88 all inclusive). We were informed this car in not available in the Vancouver, airport terminal upon arrival! Misleading! Upon arrival on May 15th, I presented a copy of my rental confirmation and my driver's ID. The sales clerk proceeded to ask my common law husband his driver's permit and his platinum credit card. Having reserved under my name, we wished to transfer the principal driver to his name as I was not going to drive the car for personal health reasons.

The sales clerk, Josh then informed us that they did not carry this model we had reserved. He then told us we would be getting a Volvo instead. We then asked him how much more would this cost and both Jacques and myself understood his response of $50.00. So we considered that from our initial $160.00 to $210.00 for the week this was fine. We also presented a coupon from RCI for a $35.00 discount which he kept without explaining where the deduction would be applied on the contract. His manager confirmed to the sales clerk it was valid, accepted. No one ever took the time as to where it would be applied!

Afterwards, the sales clerk proceeded to offer us extra insurance coverage. Normally, with our Platinum credit card, we would not need this extra coverage. However, Josh said it did not apply In BC and we had to take the extra insurance. We are going to contact the credit card company and also the BBB in Vancouver regarding this law. We were then rushed by Josh to initial all documents quickly as he told us there was a line up and he didn't have time to explain. We were told to read the documents afterwards.

Later that evening, we discovered we were going to be charged for an extra $70.00 for an additional driver, me! We also found out that we would be charged an additional $175.00 for the upgrade instead of $50.00 as mentioned. When we returned the car on May 22nd to the rental return area, the young man at the receiving area went directly to the windshield and told us there was damage in the windshield. So my husband and I looked at the damage on the left side of the windshield on the passenger's side. Barely visible as it was like the size of a pin head!

The manager on duty, Mike S. told us they would add an additional $1,000.00 charge on Jacques credit card for repairs. They responded this was not covered by the additional insurance they said we had to purchase a few days earlier. We were told to claim the costs from our insurance company in Quebec! This car was new and barely had more than 800 km! My husband requested that Mike the manager come back out to see the windshield but he refused to go back.

Today, we left messages at the claims department in BC and have had no response as of yet. We are looking into contacting the Better Business Bureau of BC as we feel we have been mislead and overcharged for a one week vacation car rental that was suppose cost $245.88 and turned out to cost us $1,657.97 + $116.11 total of $1,774.08. Furthermore, the customer service by the staff we received at arrival and upon return of the vehicle in BC was the worst we have ever experienced to this day. Our perception of the sales staff was pushy, in a rush just finalize as many transactions as possible and they had no time to explain and this at all levels of management. We will wait to hear back from you by the end of this week before taken further measures. We were taken for a ride with extra charges, ex: upgrade from $50 to $175 and the so what windshield damages charging over $1,116. We left many messages and faxes no reply.

I used Costco Travel to book a one week rental at the Jacksonville Airport. When I picked up the car, I had to carry a booster seat and luggage out to the garage. I was driving 2 hours away to the beach for vacation. I noticed after I left the airport that the fuel gauge was only registering 3/4 full. Also, the booster seat was in very poor condition; the fabric was not attached to the plastic at all. I decided to deal with it. When I returned the car a week later at the same location, I noted that the car was 7/8 full. I also complained about the $65 charge for the booster seat and told the man at the counter that the seat should NOT be rented out again. He completely ignored my comments, charged me over $18 for gasoline refill, and was basically very rude. I also spoke with the so-called "supervisor" who was no more helpful, and lied and said his computer was down. These two men were the rudest counter persons I have ever had dealings with. I will never rent from Budget again. Their names were James and Damion. Overcharged; ignored; treated rudely.

On May 8th 2010, I rented a truck and vehicle carrier from Budget Rental cars in Lanham, MD. When I arrived, the clerk at that location informed me that the trailer for my vehicle was not the right one. So they brought a truck with trailer intact to the front and told me this is your truck. I went home, loaded the truck without removing the trailer and started on my trip to Texas. Within 20 minutes of driving, I heard a bang and it became very difficult to steer the truck. I looked in my rear view mirror only to see the vehicle carrier with my car flailing from side to side and slamming up and down and into the rear of the truck I was driving.

When I eventually stopped, I exited the truck to inspect the damage. My vehicle was leaking fluids and the front bumper was missing a piece. The trailer became unhitched and slid underneath the truck damaging my vehicle. I also noticed that the inside rear passenger tire was torn wide open and that the tires were crack, aged, and bald (no tire tread). I took pictures of the scene and the tires, as well as my vehicle damages. My wife who was 10 weeks at the time called the roadside assistance department for Budget and was given an ETA of 45 minutes to an hour. This was 6 pm.

At or about 6:45, I called again to check on the status of my wife's call and was told they had no record of any incident involving the vehicle that I mentioned in my conversation. They took another report from and gave me an ETA of one hour. At or about 7:50, a tow truck arrived, not to fix the tire or to bring a new trailer, but to assess the damage on the trailer and truck. The first comment that the tow truck driver made was that the Hitch and ball were not compatible because the hitch hook up was bigger than the ball on the truck. He informed the roadside rep of that in front of my wife and I while on the speaker phone with Budget. Yet the rep still maintained that it was our fault. 5 hours later a tire truck arrived to fixed the tire and my car was towed to a lot in Laurel, MD.

That night I had to check in to a hotel because my wife was cramping and spotting. I was supposed to start a job that Monday, but I was not able to because of this incident. At this point, I still have not started because I was put on hold status. My car is still in Maryland at a dealership being repaired and Budget refuse to have it transported to Texas. I was told to buy an airplane ticket and to pay for a cab from the airport to the dealership. So basically, I am to drive from Maryland to Texas, use my money after I paid 1400 dollars to use a truck to transport my vehicle in the first place.

On May 27th, I called the 1-800 no. for Budget to reserve a truck to go out of town. He asked me where and I told him to Detroit, Mich. After he took all my information, I asked him how much would it be, and he quoted $188.94 and I would end up paying $380 for the total trip. I went to pick up the truck on the 28th of May at 1:16 pm. I asked the lady when she told me the amount that have to be put on my card about how much will it be. She asked me where was I going. I told her. She said that she didn't know, I asked her to give me a question at how much it would be and she told me she couldn't take.

I wanted to bring the truck back the next day, but because she said that they close at 12:00 we couldn't and they didn't have a drop off. But if they did, it would be a extra $10. She asked if we wanted to purchase cover for the furniture. I asked how much were the pads. She informed me that they were $1 apiece. When she asked me about insurance, she told me it would be $23.95. She didn't say that this was for 2 days. She informed me that for additional driver, it would be $10 again. She didn't tell me that it would be for each day. I believe that she didn't give me enough information it was as if all she was interested in was renting the truck.

The total bill came to $694.50. I believe if she had given me more information, I would not have taken the truck. I feel that this was too much money for really one day. I called the 1-800 and spoke with a customer service person. I explained the situation to her and I told her I feel that more information should have be given, and I feel that if they had informed me, I would have taken the truck. When she started get a little nasty, I asked to speak to a Manager, and he was a polite nasty person. I asked to speak to someone over him and he informed me that he wasn't going to give me another person, because what he was telling me was what it was going to be.

I told him that I have the right to speak to someone over him, and he told me that he was not going to give to any other person, to just pay the money and because no one was going to change what he had said, that I should have read the contract. I informed him that it wasn't in the contract. He told me that if it wasn't in my contract then it was in another, because they have different contracts. I told him how was I to read the contract on what he was telling if I didn't have it. He changed the subject and told me to just accept the amount and stop complaining.

I feel that they weren't fair and something should be done. I don't have money just to give away, not for a one day rental. I will never rent from Budget again, because I don't feel they are fair, and they are high with no free mileage at all. Next time I rent a truck, I will get more information and if it doesn't feel and sound right, I will not take it.

My mother and friend talked with different rentals. The young lady said we could get a Ford or Chevy at a very low rate. Since they had already checked everything out, I gave her my insurance card and she put in for full coverage. I did not get the car I wanted, instead I got a Prius, no key car. I did not want it but ended up with it. They did remove the insurance coverage but the car was returned a full day early and I still had to pay for the original charge which was over $400. The worse of it is they put it through on my credit card which they were told not to do. I went to visit my 95-year old mother and was upset the whole time because the young lady did not listen and when I returned the car, the man didn't give me a chance to talk. I filled the gas tank and found I was charged for gas. This experience has proven to be a very stressful time. I truly hope something will be done to keep myself and others from having their vacation ruined. I'm very doubtful I will be able to return to Florida. Financially, it was a disaster.

I rented an economy car for 5 days (May 7-May 11) for a contract price printed through the internet for a total charge of $162.83. When I returned the vehicle, the rate magically increased to $246.73. No explanation was given for the increase other than what was quoted was an estimate. They would not credit me the difference. During that same time, I also rented an identical car from Enterprise at a total rate of $134.14. Both were during the same time and pickup place. Both were identical in all aspects other than Enterprise didn't have an economy class car and upgraded me to a Chevrolet Tahoe at no additional charge. Renters, beware of Budget's ethical practices. Rent from this company at your own peril.

I rented a Volvo at YVR and conducted an inspection with Sanjay. I did not notice any damage. Upon return, the agent identified a tiny paint chip that could barely be seen with the naked eye. I would not have noticed it before taking the vehicle out and I am confident it was missed by both myself and Sanjay, as it was tiny. He moved very quickly through the inspection. I was dealing with Sanjay again when I checked in. Although I had signed a contract on Friday, I was asked to sign another contract on Sunday and was expected to take his word for it that it was the same. While I did read the contract when I signed it, I could not recall with 100% certainty on Sunday which clauses I had agreed to and which I had not. Accordingly, I preferred to rely on the original contract instead of signing a second version. I was told this was being done to expedite matters for my claim and I was pressured to sign it even though Budget has the original signed copy. I do not believe it is reasonable to ask customers to sign another contract based on their memory of what they signed in the first place.

Obviously, travel is a rushed experience and one should not be forced in this era to memorize what they sign and be asked to duplicate it later based on a verbal representation that it is accurate. Sanjay was extremely unprofessional, rude and raised his voice at me. He said that "your memory must be very poor". As a frequent business traveler, I will never use Budget again which will mean a loss of thousands of dollars for Budget. Sanjay should not be dealing with damage issues as he was taking it very personally and thought I was accusing him of fraud when I was simply expressing my desire to defer/rely only upon the contract that I actually signed instead of a memory based copy. I was highly insulted and offended by Sanjay's lack of professionalism. I also dispute that the damage occurred while I was in possession. I will not rent with Budget again and recommend you discuss proper customer interaction and professionalism with Sanjay.

We rented a pickup truck (Budget) through Orbitz online services. With this online reservation, the option to choose Deluxe Rental Car Damage Protector was offered. We opted for this added insurance on the rental truck. Access America billed our credit card and took money for a policy that that we have now found out does not cover trucks. We never received any confirmation, or denial of confirmation of the insurance coverage, even before the actual transaction (picked up the truck) took place. The truck was involved in a minor accident and, so, they knowingly took our money even though they do not cover pickup trucks, which is what we rented. Is this not fraud? We are now having to turn this in to our company Insurance carrier and having budget biting at the bit for the repairs to the truck. In the mean time Access America took our money and have no intentions of refunding our money or paying the claim. This does not sound like a company that is operating on the up and up, and actually seems to be practicing some very questionable (illegal) practices. If this is legal then we as Americans are in trouble.

I will never rent another Budget truck or even a car! Budget is responsible for this action and will not do a thing about it. I rented a 24' Budget rental truck (Vehicle # 558374) from 21 South Mini Storage (Dealer # 313260), McCall Road, Rincon, GA 31326 on Thursday, 12/17/2009 with a destination to Mississippi. At the time of the rental, the Budget rental truck was inspected by my self and Brandy an employee of 21 South Mini Storage. The Budget rental truck had 83,561 miles on the odometer, and the fuel level was checked and marked as full.

However, Brandy did advise me that the fuel gauge did not work properly and showed me how to check the tank fuel level manually. This information was not documented on the Budget truck rental agreement. I also paid for an auto trailer to tow my personal vehicle to my destination, but Brandy advised me that they didn't have one at the location she worked at and couldn't find one at any of the surrounding Budget rental dealers as well. I advised her that we were going to North Augusta, SC to see my children before we headed to Mississippi. She said she would check in that area to see if she could locate one for us.

Brandy was able to find an auto trailer for us at a Pep Boys in Augusta, GA, and we decided that I would drive the Budget rental truck and my mother would follow me in my personal vehicle until we were able to pick up the auto trailer. After we picked up the Budget rental truck, we drove it no more than 20 miles or so while it was being loaded and it stayed parked at the location we were staying while not in use for loading purposes.

On Saturday, 12/19/2009 at approximately 11am, we checked out of the motel we were staying at and started heading towards North Augusta, SC to see my children for a little while and then pick up the auto trailer to start heading towards Mississippi. We started heading towards North Augusta, SC and about 30 miles into traveling, the Budget rental truck stalled on me and I had to coast it off the main road. Once I got it off the main road, I tried a few times to restart the Budget rental truck but it wouldn't restart.

The Budget rental truck broke down at the Highway 67 exit off Interstate 16 East nearby Brooklet, GA at approximately 12pm on 12/19/2009. I immediately contacted Budget's Roadside Assistance department to advise them of the situation, and the representative I spoke with took down all of the information and advised they had paged an emergency roadside assistance serviceman in the area and that he had been dispatched out. The serviceman, Larry **, contacted me about an hour or so after the initial breakdown advising that he would be there in about twenty minutes to assist. When he arrived, he immediately could tell that regular gasoline had been used in the truck instead of diesel fuel.

Larry advised that the Budget rental truck would have to be towed to his shop, so he could drain the fuel and replace the fuel filter in order to get it back in working condition. He towed the Budget rental truck to his shop, and we followed him in my personal vehicle. We arrived at his shop at approximately 4pm, and he advised that it would be several hours before the Budget rental truck would be ready and recommended that we just get a hotel room for the night.

Since our clothes for the trip to our destination were in the cab of the Budget rental truck, my mother climb into the truck cab on the passenger side to retrieve her change of clothes for the evening. While getting down from the Budget rental truck, she missed a step and felled out of the Budget rental truck. She hit her head on the door and felled on her left side of her body and head. She complained of difficulties of breathing and serious pain on the left side of her body under her arms and around the breast area. I immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital and advised Larry that I would contact him later to check on the status of repairing the Budget rental truck.

I went back to Larry's shop after my mother was discharged from the ER to check on the status of the Budget rental truck, and he was done with the repairs at that time. I asked him if we could leave the Budget rental truck parked at his shop until I was able to get some help there to assist me with getting my mother back to Mississippi, since she was not able to ride in the Budget rental truck due to the injuries she obtained from falling out of the Budget rental truck.

He said we could leave the Budget rental truck parked at his shop until we were able to leave and parked the Budget rental truck in a secured location. I obtained a copy of his receipt for the work done on the Budget rental truck with the odometer mileage documented. At the time of the Budget rental truck breakdown, the mileage odometer had a reading of 83,612. I had only driven the Budge Rental Truck for a total of 51 miles since the vehicle was checked out.

Troy ** (brother), Kenneth **(uncle), and David ** (my mother's pastor) left Sunday, 12/20/2009 afternoon from Mississippi to assist me with getting my mother and the Budget rental truck to Mississippi. They arrived later that evening and had to check into a hotel room for the night. We all woke up the next morning, ate breakfast, and decided that it would be best not to pick up the auto trailer and just drive my personal vehicle back since we would have to go about 2-3 hours out of the way to pick it up, and I would just come out to visit my children in a few weeks when I had to come back to Georgia to finalize some personal business.

We picked up the Budget rental truck at Larry's shop on Monday, 12/21/2009 around 10am to start heading towards Mississippi. Since the Budget Rental Truck tank was completely drained and only $46 of fuel was put back in, I had to put in the additional replacement fuel.

The following additional expenses were incurred by us due to the breakdown of the Budget rental truck, and we are still waiting on medical expenses that my mother incurred. I hold Budget Rental Trucks fully responsible for the additional expenses incurred as well as liable for my mother's accident. She had to visit the ER in the area the accident occurred and her primary care physician and the ER twice in her home town.

If the Budget Rental Truck didn't break down, we wouldn't have gone back into the cab of the Budget Rental Truck to obtain clothing for an overnight stay, and my mother wouldn't have fell out of the Budget Rental Truck. My mother has 3 broken ribs that occurred as a result of the truck breaking down. I will be sending Budget Truck Rentals the medical statements from the medical facilities as we receive them. I expect Budget Rental Trucks to resolve this matter for us in a timely matter.

Please feel free to contact me on my cell phone if any other details are needed. My mother's injuries and having to pay for expenses are not my responsibility. Also, I'm not responsible for having to get someone to travel to where I was located to help drive a vehicle since I had my car and the Budget truck.

Well on the receipt it shows amount still do. So I email them again. They told me to turn in my credit card statement as proof of payment because they cannot show a zero balance when you use a credit card to pay, unless you prepay. I sent them an email back telling them how absurd that sounded and to please let me know for sure that this is their policy.

I rented a car to go out of town on business and accepted the 2-day car rental. Once out of town, I found that the vehicle would be needed for a week so I called and extended my contract. Not a problem at this point. I returned the car to PIA as scheduled and received my receipt and that's when the trouble started.

My receipt states I paid $100.00 in fees and taxes. A energy recovery fee of $3.29, what kind of scam are you running Budget? Tell the consumer some more about paying for energy recovery fee, that is a bogus way of collecting money from the consumer and the states attorney general is investigating this. The lady I spoke with at customer care said it is in the contract I signed, yes it is something that was not read or agreed on. I don't want to pay your light bill budget, I have my own light bill to pay.

Then there is an additional $59.49 charge for airport rental fee, what the heck is this about? Does Budget condone the scam of charging the consumer an outrageous fee like that because the car was rented from an airport? An additional fee of $11.90 car rental tax is being condoned by Budget Car Rental System. On top of those fees was another fee of $28.00 for a surcharge fee. Yet another fee or tax Budget Car Rental has agreed to stick the consumer in the back with.

So after speaking with Cyrstal-7840 and getting no satisfaction about the fees and taxes Budget Car Rental System allows to be imposed on the consumer, I contacted the PA States Attorney Generals Office and spoke with them. Pennsylvania AG office is going to investigate the situation with Budget Car Rental System and send me some paperwork to fill out. Maybe we can get this consumer scam under control where it won't continue happening to the consumer.

No physical damage occurred from this but the economical damage to my bank account was in the red because of the additional $100.00 in fees paid above the sales tax and rental agreement.

On March 12, 2010, I rented a "Standard SUV" (Rental# 587439252) because my best friend and both our girlfriends were going on a weekend ski trip to Mammoth, Ca. I have to admit that I did make the reservation on Orbitz to get a better deal than directly with Budget. However, before I made the reservation, I called all the rental companies that offer deals through Orbitz and asked each of them whether or not their SUV vehicles were either 4WD or AWD. All the other companies told me they do rent 4WD or AWD, but cannot guarantee me either.

When I called Budget at their LAX location, some guy told me "All of our SUV vehicles are either 4WD or AWD". I said, "Are you absolutely sure, because I'm taking it to go skiing?" And he said "Yes". So I then went to Orbitz online and made the reservation with Budget. When I arrived on March 12, 2010 to the LAX location, there were no problems. I once again asked the lady at the counter (ID 55282) "Are you sure this is either 4WD or AWD because I'm taking it to go skiing and there's snow". She said, "Yes, I'm absolutely sure".

I drove off the lot and went home to get my things. I took a look at the vehicle (Ford Edge) and didn't see any markings on it that said 4WD or AWD. I thought to myself "Don't all 4WD and AWD vehicles say somewhere on the body that they are 4WD or AWD"? I looked in the glove box and there was no manual or anything to ID the vehicle as such. So, I called the Budget LAX office again just to be sure. I gave the vehicle ID to the woman on the phone and she looked up the vehicle and said "Yes, I am absolutely sure it is an AWD vehicle".

At around 11pm on March 12, 2010, the 4 of us in our group drove past Bishop and onto Mammoth on route 395, into the high Sierra Mountains. Surely enough, it started to snow on the road. About 15 miles outside of Mammoth, notices were posted that chains were required, but snow tires and 4WD or AWD vehicles are OK.

So I pushed on and the road was packed with snow. I didn't go over 20mph, but noticed that the SUV was swerving and sliding as we drove into this blizzard. We finally made it to our destination, but this was after slipping and sliding all over the place. The next day when we went to the ski lodge parking area, the guy working there told me that the SUV I had was not even AWD. When we arrived back to LAX on March 14, 2010, and I returned the vehicle, I complained that it wasn't either 4WD or AWD and that Budget had told me on 3 occasions that it was. The manager came over and said, "I don't know who told you that....sorry", as he lightly chuckled like he didn't even mean it. He gave me like $20 bucks off the rental.

I wonder what someone's life is worth to this company? They'll tell you anything to get you to rent a vehicle from them. Our lives were put in danger because they don't even care what they rent to you. All 3 times I either asked or called about the SUV being either 4WD or AWD, I specifically told them I was taking it to the mountains to go skiing. They are absolute scam. Our lives were put in unnecessary danger all due to fault of Budget Car Rental. They sent us into a snow blizzard in a vehicle that they misrepresented as OK for snow. We slipped and slide all over the road.

We rented a car from Budget when one of our family cars had to go into the local dealership. We told them it would be a couple of weeks. When the repair kept getting pushed back by the dealership, we called and told "Jason" we'd need the car longer. He always said "no problem". Then I began getting threatening letters from Budget accusing me of stealing the car. I would call "Jason" and he said he'd taken care of the problem but the letters continued to come. We received three altogether. When we returned the car after eight weeks, we didn't complain about the rental fees.

But, then I received a charge from the corporate offices of Budget Rent A Car for the costs of the return receipt letters they sent me. This shows what poor communications there are between the corporate offices and their rental offices. When I disputed the charge, Budget had the charge run through again. This shows flagrant misuse of confidential credit card information. Beware. You may received unapproved charges from Budget also.

I reserved online based on the rate of $22.99/day for an economy car to reduce headache. When picking up at Portland Airport, I was asked what kind of car I wanted, I told them as long as a Japanese car. I was then given a choice between a Toyota Camry or a Nissan. I picked Camry. Big Mistake! Apparently, Camry was in a different car group and cost $39.99/day.

After the trip, I wrote an email to Budget customer service about the rate difference. Customer service indicated that I agreed to an "upgrade." I told them I was asked to choose between two cars. Anyway, a lesson learned: say no to anything they offer when you pick up your car.

I went online to search for a good price for a rental for a week. I got on Budget's website and it looked like an okay price, $230 and some change for a week. I paid for it online that Saturday for pick up the next day, or so I thought. I went in on Sunday and picked up the car. The customer service lady said, "We have the following car (don't remember the name of the car) for you, is that okay?" I said sure (not really thinking about it).

When I looked at the receipt, it had two different columns of prices. On the left, it said $207 and on the right it broke down prices for a week, a month, etc. I asked her about that because I put $230 and change on my credit card. She said she wasn't sure and said not to worry about the prices on the right side because it wouldn't apply to me that the $207 and change would be the price that I would be paying. So I initialed where she told me to initial and went on my way.

Well, I ended up returning the car a day early so I asked if I could get some money back. I was told that since I brought in the car past 10am (That's when I took the car off the lot a week prior was at 10am) that I would still be charged the full amount for a week. Then I got a receipt from the attendant in the parking lot showing a price of $162 and change. I went inside and I asked her why was it that I had a total of three different prices and which one would I actually be paying for? The customer service lady said that the only one that I wasn't going to pay was the $207 and change but that $230 and change and the $162 and change would be charged to my card. I asked why.

At this point, she had to get a manager because she couldn't explain to me why so many different charges were involved. The manager told me that I made an "upgrade" to what I originally reserved or "pre-paid" for online. I told him that the customer service lady I dealt with never mentioned that I was upgrading. My fiance asked the manager to show us on the receipt where it shows that we upgraded. The manager circled some numbers on the left side of the receipt and circled another set of numbers on the right side of the receipt.

That was their proof that we agreed to an upgrade! The customer service lady never mentioned or reviewed any of the things that he circled and to make things worse she said that the other prices did not apply to me! The manager was not helpful at all until I broke down. He then decided to cut the last charge in half. I'm not ungrateful but I still ended up paying over $300 for a rental that I originally thought would be only $230 and some change!

We booked a one-day car rental a month ahead of our trip, to be picked up at the Fort Lauderdale Airport and dropped off at the Miami Airport, where Budget has a free shuttle to our destination: the Port of Miami. After a 45-minute wait in line at Fort Lauderdale, we got our car. But the Budget representative changed our drop-off point to the 8th Street location, saying that it was closest to the port and also had a free shuttle. When we dropped the car off the next day, we were told that there was no free shuttle.

Based on the fact that a Budget representative using misinformation left us without the expected transportation to the port, I reminded the employee "Milton" that Budget had a legal responsibility to help get us there. His answer was, "So? Go tell it to your lawyer." He would not even let me use Budget's phone to call a cab. A later made a phone call to Budget's poorly named "customer care" line. This resulted in a rude and dismissive representative who basically told me the same thing - Budget had no legal responsibility. If I had a problem with that, I should call a lawyer.

I have just received the "sneaky check" scam, where cashing the check allows some unknown company to bill my credit card every month for something I didn't order or want. On further checking, I found that Budget rent a car is the company providing my credit info to a third party! I haven't rented from them in over a year, and of course never will again! My question is how do I get my debit info out of their records? Isn't this illegal for them to sell it to a third party?

If you rent a car at Budget Rent-a-Car on-line, make sure that you read the fine print and make sure the site gives you the reservation dates that you selected. I just reserved a car for March 27- April 4, 2010 to drive our family to DC for Spring Break. When I received the confirmation email 2 minutes later, it showed that I had reserved the car for 1 day on Feb 4 which was the next day and a school day for my children!

When I realized what I had purchased, (I already gave my credit card #) I immediately called the customer service number on the email, and the rep said that since I was canceling the reservation within 48 hours of pick-up, I would be charged a $75.00 cancellation fee! I was shocked! I reiterated that I had just made the reservation 5 minutes ago. There is no way that I could give them 48 hours notice, further, it was their on-line system that changed the dates on my reservation. Apparently when I used the back arrow to change some details on the reservation, it reset the dates to a default date. I asked to speak to a manager and called their corporate office and they also confirmed that this is their policy. The corporate office said the 48 hour cancellation policy is the policy of all the car rental locations at the Columbus Metro Airport in Columbus, Oh where I had scheduled pick-up. Finally, I asked her to change the reservation to March 4, which she did, and I called back and canceled.

After a lot of emotion and argument, they did cancel my reservation, but they should have been trained to offer me a viable solution to this problem. There usually needs to be an exception to every policy and it felt like I was being held hostage. As a result, I will never use Budget for car rentals again. I will avoid picking up rental cars at the Columbus Metro Airport, and I will tell everyone I know about my experience. People remember how you make them feel much more than what you actually say or do.

I recently rented from Budget and was promptly sent junk mail enrolling me in a Healthsaver program for $150. After calling the Healthsaver company, they told me that Budget gave them my name, and that I cashed a check and agreed to the service. I know for a fact that I did not do this, and suspect that they fraudulently enrolled me in a worthless program. After several conversations with them, my membership was cancelled and I was (allegedly) refunded the $150.

This is not your problem. However, the fact that you sell my information to this kind of company really makes me angry. This morning, I spoke with Amanda from customer care. She told me that I had no recourse with Budget except to remove my name from their mailing lists, which she did. Amanda then informed me in a rude manner that there was nothing to be done, and nobody else that I could talk to at Budget. This is very bad customer service, as you all know. Right now, my only recourse is to make sure that neither myself, or my company ever rents from Budget again. If this does not get your attention, then I will know that the company really does not care about it's customers. I would appreciate it if this message could be passed on to the chain at Budget, and I am really curious to see if anyone there cares for their customers.

A Budget Agency Operator screamed and canceled my contract all for being thorough! Bugdet complaint no. **. On Sunday January 30th, we made a reservation for a car rental for pick up on Monday (Feb 1st) morning and bring back February 28th . We wanted the Mazda but we were told by Mr. Shahnawaz that he could not guarantee the car. Nevertheless, on Monday morning when we went to pick up the car, Mr. Shahnawaz (the agent operator) was behind the desk and as we asked for the Mazda he informed us that he did not have it but showed us another car. The car he showed us was dirty inside and out. The outside was so dirty by a mixture of mud and dried up snow that I did not know how I would be able to see from outside the back and rear windows.

When I asked him to please clean it, he became very rude and defensive and said he would not clean the outside of the car as it was very cold but would clean the inside. I thought that this was a strange reply since he had an inside garage and was able to at least rinse the windows from the outside, in order to be able to see clearly while driving. Anyway, I did not make a fuss and figured at least if he would clean the inside, I would take it to the nearest gas station and just wipe clean the outside of the windows with those handy squeegees they have.

When we went back to the counter to sign the contract, I asked Mr. Shahnawaz when he would have the Mazda back as this is the car I really wanted. He rudely replied that he cannot look at it now as he has too many customers to deal with and that I should call him later. I was surprised at this man's reply however, did not reply in return. I signed the contract that he provided but he then gave me one of those small car diagram paper to sign, which if signed proves that he gave me the car in the condition it states and any damages thereafter are my responsibility. The car diagram showed no dents or scratches whatsoever to the car (not one pen mark from his side).

I found this odd for a car rental especially since it was not a brand new model. Also, as mentioned the car was so dirty on the outside, how would anyone be able to see if there were any dents to this car prior to my rental. I told him that I did not want to sign the diagram as the car is so dirty I cannot verify that there are no dents or serious scratches to the car. He did not reply and waited for me to sign the diagram paper. I signed it but, next to my signature stated that I was unable to see any prior damages (if any) due to the car being so dirty. He then proceed to take the document from me and tear it up while screaming at the top of his lungs that if I did not want to sign it, just to say so and not to state any comments on the document.

He proceeded to take me to the back to show me the car once again but then changed his mind and said I was too much of a headache and much to my disapproval canceled my contract. I felt all eyes on me by other customers at this establishment. I was embarrassed by this whole ordeal. I feel my rights as a consumer were violated and disrespected. All I was doing was being thorough and for this I got punished and refused a car rental. Consequently, I had to take my husband out of work and have him drive me to the airport to rent a car from Thrifty.

In addition to the humiliation I felt, it cost my husband and myself loss of time from work and gas mileage to the airport. This was a no win situation on my side. I was left with two choices: sign a document only to pay someone else's damages thereafter and get a car rental or don't sign the document and no car rental. Shahnawaz cannot get away with doing this to the consumer.

I rented a car at LAX on the evening of December 3rd, 2009. In less than an hour on Highway 101, the car's front left tire blew and at the same time the alignment went. This nearly killed me since the car could not drive straight and with the highway speed, it was about to cross the separator. I managed to steer the car to the shoulder on the right and called Budget. It was going to take several hours for the towing car sent by Budget to show up. I called a nearby towing company to take me to a nearby hotel while I wait for a replacement car to show up.

They replaced the car three hours later. However, now they are insisting that I have to pay for the damage, which I think is clearly the result of poor maintenance. I demanded a proof and document of the maintenance of the car. I demanded a proof that the tire was checked to be in a good condition when it was rented out. The claims guy said I have to first prove that I was not speeding since tire blowing can happen as a result of speeding. He said if I am not willing to pay, they will have to bring collectors and tried to scare me.

I was so tired of having to talk to a different person each time and having to recall the scariest experience of my life while I am pregnant. I gave the insurance contact information and my policy number. But I still cannot let go of the thought that this was poor maintenance issue and they should be responsible. If I died, would they have still requested that my husband pay for the damage in the car? Do I have no right as a consumer to see what kind of maintenance they did to the car?

I booked a flight and car through Orbitz. At the airport budget counter in Indianapolis, IN, I was told they did not have a mid-size car I had requested and paid for. I was told they had a Rav4 which turned out to be a small SUV. I was not told it was an upgrade and that I would be charged $20.00 more per day. I signed the contract thinking I was just signing to leave with the car. Now Budget has charged me $306.65 on top of the $404.45 I paid Orbitz. If I had wanted to upgrade, it would not have been a Rav4 but a nice large sedan. I feel I have been taken advantage of and have no way of proving it. I will pay $711.10 instead of the $404.45 I had agreed to.

Be extremely careful what you sign with Budget Rental. I, a senior citizen, rented a car from the Fort Lauderdale Airport on January 2, 2010 and specifically told the clerk that I did not want insurance. She acknowledged this, a little sarcastically, and then had me initial and sign the form. I later found the cost for insurance on my credit card.

The customer service rep was obstinate that it was my fault. The law is on their side but what kind of organization will hear you refuse insurance and then have you initial for it. I believe this is a pattern as there was a similar incident in El Paso, Texas a few years ago in which the company relented. This time no. I would not rent anything from Budget from this time onward and consider them to be deceiving crooks. I lost the cost of insurance. The amount was only $29 but the action was despicable.

Budget Rent A Car confirmed a car reservation for me overseas, providing confirmation number, rates, car type, etc. Upon arriving to pick up my car, I was informed that there were no cars available, and that the local company had no information about the rental request. A conversation with Budget headquarters pointed the finger back the other way, claiming they had no responsibility, even though they had issued the confirmation number. As I relayed this story to colleagues, they informed me they had experienced the exact same problem. The local company had no information about the confirmation, and Budget took no responsibility.

Building up heat internally. This increases resistance in rolling and reduces fuel economy by up to five percent. Handling becomes sluggish, losing steering precision significantly and reducing cornering ability. The build up of heat and the flexing can lead to mechanical damage and, ultimately, tire failure. The life of the tire is shortened by as much as 25 percent.

The absolute main cause of tire blowouts is low tire pressure. A tire riding along under inflated means more pressure is being put on the sidewall of the tire, eventually causing the tread to wear uneven and the tire to possibly explode. Most tire blowouts happen with trucks because they carry heavy loads, but it can happen to cars too. Heat along with low tire pressure is a deadly combination. The easiest way to prevent tire blowouts is to maintain proper tire pressure at all times. You can do this by checking your tire pressure every other time you fill up with gas. You can find the manufactures suggested tire pressure and ratings on the sidewall of all tires. And make sure you keep a tire pressure gauge handy in the glove box, the gauges at most gas stations and truck stops are not always accurate.

If you are driving down the interstate and you feel your truck or car pulling to one side or the other, or if you feel the vehicles handling to be mushy or non responsive, please pull off the road and get to the nearest filling station and check your tire pressure. The bottom line is Budget Truck rental rented me an unsafe truck to drive long distance that included three mountain passes. My safety as well others were placed at risk. The delays in dealing with safety issues and misrepresentations about the truck capacity by Budget have cost me and I expect to be reimbursed.

Moreover, I was only scheduled to miss a week from work, not two weeks which put my position in jeopardy. Once back, I had to return to work immediately and begin making up for an additional week of work, recover from bronchitis as well as try and find help unloading the truck, as my family was no longer available due to work and other commitments. My family had been available to help but when the weekend of my scheduled arrival came and went (Friday 11/13/09) they were no longer available. To make matters worse, it was Thanksgiving weekend.

What's more, Oregon is not like California. You cannot find day laborers everywhere, as you can in California. That is why assistance from my family was crucial and being delayed by all the safety issues with the Budget truck caused me a multitude of problems, which included a delay in returning the truck to Budget. I was finally able to find some local landscapers that I had to pay to unload my belongings.

I told the yahoo at the desk that I did not want insurance and that I already paid for it through Orbitz. When my credit card bill arrived, the scam artist known as budget had charged me $313 more for insurance. They do this all the time. Avoid at all costs!

I rented a car on November 23 to drive to Atlanta for the Thanksgiving holiday. I took my two dogs with me as I usually do. I covered all seats with sheets and towels. The car was due back on November 30th but I brought it back a day earlier, on November 29th, since I didn't need it any longer. I cleaned the car out good, went over all seats front and back with a large lint roller just to catch any dog hair. I checked the car back in at the Ft Lauderdale Airport, an employee and myself went over the car, checking the interior, the gas gauge and the exterior for any damages. He printed me out a receipt using a hand held computer and told me thanks for renting with Budget.

A week later, I was checking the charges on my credit card and found where Budget had charged me $105.78 for a "dirty" car. There was no mention of this when I checked the car in and had it been dirty, I had a whole extra day to clean it. After two days of trying to reach someone in charge of addressing this issue, I reached a rude young man by the name of Jamal ** who explained the charges by saying I had excessive dog hair in the car. The customer service rep at the 800 number told me that when the rental agency makes such a claim, they have to have substantiating pictures. I told Mr. ** that I wanted to see the pictures of the "so-called" dog hair. He told me he had mailed me a letter notifying me of the extra charge, I told him I never received it. He said he would mail it again.

In the meantime, I received two letters from Mr. **; one dated December 2, two days after I returned the car and was charged the excessive fee for the cleaning, and another letter identical to the first dated December 9th. I just happened to be checking my credit card status that day and saw where now Budget had charged me again another $105.78 for the same charge, dated on 12/9. I attempted to reach Mr. ** several times over the two day period and finally reached an "Anthony" who stated Mr. ** was on vacation. He told me he could probably resolve the issue for me and asked for my information. He told me the second charge was obviously a mistake and he would reverse the charge. I told him I wanted to see those pictures of this so-called hair, that I have the right to see them. He said he would email them to me and also get back to me regarding the reversal of the charges on my card.

When I didn't hear from him for a week, I called back. He told me he had been busy and that when he tried to email me the pictures, the file was too big and it wouldn't go through. So I told him if it's that big, email them half and half. I've never heard from him again, even after leaving several messages asking him to resolve this matter. If Budget does not resolve this matter, I am going to court. This is nothing but a scam and I have read pages of complaints against Budget for doing people wrong. I just wish I had read them before I rented from them and I will never rent from them again.

The check engine light came on and the vehicle felt sluggish we almost broke down. Here my family is in a foreign country with a vehicle that we do not feel safe to drive.

Report the problem when I turned the vehicle in to Budget no just to one person but two two employees. One of the employees wrote on my rental copy where they saw the engine light visibly on, and wrote side notation. Did not want this vehicle breaking down for the next family! Huge safety issue.

Followed with with someone at the corporate office and the vehicle was never checked out and re rented 4 times in the last couple of weeks, the problem was never addressed and the vehicle was never serviced after I returned the vehicle according to Budget's executive corporate office. Robert Salerno CEO's spokes person.

So much for Budget keeping their vehicles safe for a family.

The check engine light came on and the vehicle felt sluggish we almost broke down. Here my family is in a foreign country with a vehicle that we do not feel safe to drive.

Report the problem when I turned the vehicle in to Budget no just to one person but two two employees. One of the employees wrote on my rental copy where they saw the engine light visibly on, and wrote side notation. Did not want this vehicle breaking down for the next family! Huge safety issue.

Followed with with someone at the corporate office and the vehicle was never checked out and re rented 4 times in the last couple of weeks, the problem was never addressed and the vehicle was never serviced after I returned the vehicle according to Budget's executive corporate office. Robert Salerno CEO's spokes person.

So much for Budget keeping their vehicles safe for a family.