Complain about a product or service

Enterprise Rent A Car

Enterprise didn't get to be the largest car rental company by accident. There are lots of customers who've had good experiences but quite a few who've had problems.

• Billing Disputes
• Unsafe or Defective Cars
• Charges for "Damage" to the Car
• Happy Customers

Some other recent complaints ...

Arnold of Pasadena, CA June 23, 2009

I have exchanged four different cars from Enterprise due to lack of maintenance of each car.

1st Car/Chevrolet Aveo. Interior light didn't work. The car thermomter gauge was at 3/4.

2nd Car/Kia Rhondo. Steering was horrible. It need power steering fluid. Everytime I would turn the steering wheel it would make a noise and it was difficult to steer.

3rd Car/Kia Optima. The brake tail lights didn't work.

4th Car/Chevrolet Malibu. They called on 6/23/09 to swith out with another car because they said that they were going to sell the Chevrolet Malibu.

At each exchange I waited an average of twenty minutes.

Neha of CHICAGO, IL June 23, 2009

Enterprise is one of the most unprofessional rental car companies I have dealt with. I was in an accident and my insurance provides me rental car coverage while my car is in the shop. Since their tie-up is with Enterprise, they set up a reservation for me for 6/22.

I live in the city and work 40 miles out in the suburbs. The city location closes before I can get back and the suburban location did not have any cars on 6/22. The person there told me at 5pm that he didnt have anything right now. He has 2 cars coming in the following day that he could give to me. In any case, he said he will look for something and then call me back. I never heard back from that person at all. I tried calling at 6:15pm - only to find out that they have closed. I had to wait until 7:30 for someone else to come and pick me up.

The following day (6/23), I called up the suburban Enterprise once again at 8am and was told to call back at lunch time and he will have someone come and pick me up. At lunch time, he told me that he did not have any car to give to me. He would have a Ford F150 truck come in at 5pm. I told him that I am uncomfortable driving the truck - he said that is the best he can do. He told me that he will make some calls to find out what he can do and he will call me back in 10 mins. I didnt hear from that person for the next 2 hours. I called back to find out and he told me that nothing has changed. I said that if this was going to be the case, why didnt he tell me something different the previous day?

Why does Enterprise advertise "free pick up" when it does not provide this service beyond a certain distance. (I was told that there are cars available in the city location - but they cannot come and pick me up).

Overall, an extremely frustrating experience dealing with them. I am never renting a car from them again and will make sure I pass the word on to all my colleagues and friends.

Mary of Durham, NC June 23, 2009

On 6/12/09 I rental a small car for 2 days. I returned the car on Sunday. They are closed on sunday so I had to use the drop box. You park the car any where on their lot and drop key in slot. On Wednesday, 6/17/09 I called them to find out how long it takes to return my deposit and I was told that the car I returned was damaged and that my deposit would go towards repairs. I was not called. I ask to see the car and was told that the car was tsken off the lot for repairs and since I refused to take their extra insurance I would be liable. I have my own insurance why should I pay 29.99 per day for insurance. They could not find my forms, they calim it was fax to main office and then lost. This place is rip off. He said that even if the damage happen after I parked it since I didn't take the insurance it's my responsibilty.

Tracy of Houston, TX June 3, 2009

I rented a Chevy Malibu on March 25 2009. I did not need a big car, just a car as my vehicle was not working, I was selling it for parts and searching for a new vehicle. I called the store first to ask about the availability of compact cars and was told they were available and to "come on in". I asked if I could use a debit card instead of my major credit card and was told I could and it would not be a problem. I had a neighbor drop me off at Enterprise where I encountered Amy who told me that all of sudden they were out of compact cars so I would have to rent a larger vehicle if I needed something that morning. I felt forced into it but I was the plaintiff in a hearing that morning and had to get a car and get to court.

I offered my debit card for the rental and was then told I needed to fill out some form and have a utility bill for proof of residence (who carries utility bills around all of the time?). I made the split second decision to use my major credit card and told them that it would be temporary and I would be back with the bill so we could switch to my debit card. I was told that it would be no problem to remove my credit card once we switched the two.

Approximately a week into the rental, Micah from the store called me and told me that they sold the Malibu and I would have to pick up another car that day. (I found out a week later that that was false and he rented the car to personal friends who wanted that specifically) I had the misfortune of renting a Prius at that time. The made out a new contract with virtually no information on it and at that time I asked to remove my major credit card from the account and use my debit card instead.

At this point, I had been paying ahead for the rental so I had no balance. I was told by Amy that the only way they could remove my credit card was to charge the card and then refund the charge back. I became upset but she was firm on that. (I found out later that this was another lie perpetrated by this staff) I took the Prius and continued to pay every week so my credit card would not be charged. At one point, they said I had a very large credit on hand and that I wouldn't have to come back for a few weeks and they would call me when I needed to pay again.

I did not hear from them until this past Monday when Amy very rudely stated to me that the contract was over 60 days and they were supposed to close them every 30 days and that I needed to come and pay them 1434 immediately as this is what had been authorized on my card! I was livid at this point. I had just gotten out of the hospital after nine days and was not understanding why they had not contacted me and how they thought they could just authorize nearly 1500 on my credit card. I called my credit card company and cancelled my card and asked that a new be issued.

I called for the store manager several times with no return phone calls. I offered to pay the rental charges with my debit card if they could prove the charges although I felt misled and mistreated at this point. He stated that he could not give me a "statement" and that my daily rate was on my contract. Well, the "contract" that they were so rushed to give me had virtually nothing on it, just the car type, no fuel information, no damage information either. I left the keys with my assistant and told them to come get their car.

I am fighting the charges and really don't know what to do about this. They lied to me three times and misrepresented their practices to me. I am not a "car renter" and this is only the second time I have had a rental. When I contacted Enterprise corporate, I went through the story and at the end the operator said in a very menacing manner "are you saying you're not paying us?". He wasn't concerned about how I was treated or my complaints. I feel exposed and helpless.

I don't feel that their lack of contact should result in penalties for me. And I further feel that the reason I was lied to about the removal of my credit card is because they knew I had a high credit limit and they could charge/authorize whatever they wanted. I will never do business with Enterprise again.

TYRANNE of WILMINGTON, DE June 22, 2009

I rented a car on June 20, 2009 from Enterprise Rental Cars. It was a Toyota Corolla. After driving the vehicle, I found that the brakes were faulty and the car was shaking while driving. I promptly returned the vehicle a few minutes later and asked for another one. The second vehicle was a Toyota Prius Hybrid. After parking my vehicle in front of my apartment for approximately 30min, I discovered a boot on the car. After making numerous calls to the Booting Company and to Enterprise corporate it was discovered that the vehicle had previous tickets from February 2009 that was past due. However the branch I rented the car from was now closed. I called the PHILA airport Enterprise, I spoke with a mgr there who said they could not provide me with another vehicle but assured me that if I paid the Booting Company, I would be reimbursed on Monday June 22, 2009.

Today, Mon, June 22, 2009 the Enterprise branch I rented the car from refuses to pay the money I paid to the booting company in the amount of 220.00. They will not give me any type of discount or compensation on the vehicle I have now, or any discount for future rentals. The amount of time that I spent on the phone between Enterprise and the Booting Company was several hours. I needed to go out of town for an emergency and as a result felt obligated to pay the tickets. In addition, I was late because of the situation incurred.

I have called and spoken with numerous representatives at both the local branch Enterprises and the Corporate Enterprises to no avail. I would like the money returned immediately and not applied to the cost of the rental as I have already put down a 400 deposit for the rental. In addition, I had to borrow the money from my Fiancee to pay for the tickets. She put the charge on her credit card because I was assured the money would be returned Monday, June 22. Enterprise has not been willing to work with me or settle this in a manner pleasing to both sides. Now, I am trying to reach them just for a fax number to fax over copy of receipt of payment, and they are currently refusing my calls.

Linda of Woodbridge, VA June 9, 2009

I will never do business again with Enterprise Rental Car and i will advise anyone who plan to do so be careful.The dispute involves Enterprise taking 500.00 out of my account without my permission or approval.This car was authorized and paid for by Allstate Insurance Company.Enterprise claimed that the car was damaged and deducted 500.00 from from account. When i rented the car Enterprise told me they need the card for twenty five dollars for gas and ID only.I gave them my debit card with the understanding that there would be no other charges on the card.I returned the car with a full tank of gas-i would get my twenty-five dollars back-i signed.

Instead they used my account to take 500.00 for damage that they would not allow me to see or tell me the shop where it was at.On the contract the area was crossed out refusing insurance,and the area where they have the fine print giving them advance and prior permission or withdrawal privileges. Enterprise withdrew money from my Social Secuirty disabilty account which is suppose to be illegal-no one is to take money from the account without written authorization. Enterprise is known to do this with others-something needs to be done about this!

Kathy of Green Valley Lake, CA May 27, 2009

I was referred to Enterprise Rental cars by by insurance after my daughter had been in a car accident. I was given a referral number so all charges were to billed to my insurance. When they asked for a credit card I told them this and I was told that nothing would be charged to my account it was for reference only. The next day a 50 charge appeared on my account. I was told this was a deposit and would be returned. My insurance settled on 5/11/09 and I called and requested the car until the 5/19/09. I was told it would be an additional 200.

When I dropped the car off I asked them to take the 11.45 I owed in gas out of my deposit and paid the 200 in cash. I was told it was no problem. Now I have an additional charge of 11.41 to my credit card. When I called to inquire about my deposit I was informed that my balance was actually 261.41, and they had used my deposit and charged me an additional 11.41.

Everyone that I dealt was rude and not helpful. The employees that work in the Redlands office were continously on personal loud phone calls calling their friends 'crimminal'. A very ugly environment. I will never deal with this company again and will advise my insurance company and everyone that I know of the unethical sneaky service.

Tony of Fort Drum, NY May 27, 2009

In December of 2008, I rent a Mazda from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. It was late in the evening and I originally requested an economy vehicle. I caught a taxi to Enterprise. While completing the rental agreement, I was told that the economy car was no longer available. They sweetened the deal by offering me a more expensive vehicle at the original price I was quoted over the phone. I agreed, thinking it was a good deal. The car had just been washed and it was still wet. Again, it was evening and we continued on to the walk through of the car. The car inspection was done in a dimly lit one car garage and it looked flawless.

The rental associate informed me that there were, "several dings" on the car and that he had already noted them on the paperwork. We then completed the rental agreement and I was on my way. Upon returning the vehicle, I was informed that there was a dent on the driver's side of the car. I assured them that I did not cause any damage to the vehicle and signed an affidavit as well. The associate I spoke with told me that, "if I was being dishonest in any way that I would face criminal charges." He repeated this statement at least three or four times before he allowed me to sign the incident report. He told me that if I had nothing to do with the damages and no accident reports were filed by the local law enforcement, I would not be held responsible for the damage to the vehicle. He also told me that I would receive a phone call from their damage control department to investigate the car's dent.

I waited for weeks and never received a call. A few weeks after that I received a call from a Mr. Dean, claiming that I owed Enterprise 1,300 for damage repairs. Next I received a letter from Dean stating that they were prepared to take legal action against me if I did not pay for the damages.

What they do not know is that one of my best friends is an employee of said company and he told me how their scams work. The district manager is responsible for all unreported damages to their vehicles. The manager in turn finds some sucker and pins the damages on him/her. The sucker files a claim with their insurance company and only end up paying at the most half of the total cost. I refused to pay one red cent for damages that I did not cause and I will not take this treatment.

I have been a loyal customer of enterprise since I was old enough to rent vehicles. In rentals alone I have spent two or three times the amount that they are attempting to sue me for. They sent me an itemized list of repairs. There were windshield wiper nozzle replacements, fog lamps and a front bumper. I think that this is a despicable way to treat their customers. I would not refer my worst enemy to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. If I am forced to pay said amount I guarantee that I will do just as much damage through word of mouth any time I hear someone considering to rent a vehicle from them.

Dean continued to call for about week making threats, so I went in for legal advice. My attorney asked me to gather some pertinent information such as; previous rental agreements on the car and documented photos (before and after shots). When I confronted Dean and requested this info he refused and told me to just call my insurance company and they would take care of it.

In closing, I would like to say that I am thoroughly offended by the way I have been treated by Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company. I have been reduced to a sucker, a hoodlum, and a common criminal. No, I am an American Soldier. One that is full of honesty and integrity. I live to protect the rights of the American people and when stuff like this happens I loose faith in justice. This is just so wrong.

Edgar of los angeles, CA June 5, 2009

3rd time I rent a car with you, and your service is so bad. 1st car bad smell of cigarretes. 2nd overheat, and 3rd today charge me too much for a few hours and got a bad car with noisy breaks. I just want you to take away my name from your client list, 'cause I wont rent any more cars with you.

Levi of Saint George, UT June 2, 2009

Levi from Saint George, Ut I wanted to pay for a rental car on behalf of my girlfriend who is about 4 hours away from me in Provo. I called enterprise to make the arrangements and ran into a problem. Justin, "the manager", told me I couldn't do it over the phone but that I had to phisically go into the office to put everything under my name. I couldn't do that so we hung up and I got to thinking that I should be able to do the same thing at my local enterprise.

I called back and spoke with another manager and he told me I could do that but they just needed to fax down some paperwork to my local enterprise location and I needed to have them make a copy of my driver's license as well as my credit card with a written authorization stating that my girlfriend could charge the amount owed to my credit card. So I got off work early to catch them before they closed and they told me they hadn't received a fax. The manager at my local enterprise told me it would be fine to just fax a copy of my driver's license and credit card along with the written authorization up to the Provo enterprise. So I did that and everything was supposed to be taken care of along with the reservation. The only thing my girlfriend would have needed to do at this point, was to go to the enterprise in Provo and take care of all the paperwork.

The next evening, I get a phone call from Justin (the original manager I spoke with) telling me that he wasn't going to be able to follow through with the other promises made by the other three (two of them being managers) people I'd spoken with the day before and that he'd told me I couldn't do that to begin with. He told me I couldn't pay over the phone. He didn't say anything about not being able to go to my local enterprise and taking care of everything there. Why wouldn't I be able to do that? Isn't it the same company? I didn't think this was a franchise here. Anyway, I told him the other three people told me I could do that. He that he told me I couldn't do that yesterday. When I opened my mouth to try to understand where the issue was and to explain the whole situation that he seemed to misunderstand, He gave me an attitude and said, "sorry, I'm not going to be able to help you. Thank you. Then he hung up on me! I couldn't believe it...I called him back and asked to speak with his manager. He told me he is the manager.

I asked if I could speak with his other manager. He asked "is this Levi again. I said yes, you hung up on me. He said "well I just don't have time for this". What!? This guy is the manager and he doesn't have time to do his job? I have never in my life been treated worse by a customer service representative! I couldn't believe this guy is a manager! Do they hire just anyone off the street? Customers are always supposed to be treated with courtesy and respect. I needed for him to hear me out and help me to understand the reasons for all the descrepencys between everyone I'd spoken with at enterprise. I wasted a lot of time and effort trying to get this resolved. The least he could have had was some courtesy, respect and patience for his customer! How unprofessional! I will never again use enterprise. There will always be an alternative. I will also always direct others away from this company. I have read about so much extortion and scams this company has pulled on other customers. I really feel like I got off lightly.

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