Budget Truck Rental Reviews

I called the location where we reserved the truck and he was very helpful (Evanston Il), he looked around and found a location not far that had numerous trucks available (location by ORD). While I am giving Budget a one star (Primarily due to Sergio, the Inventory Manager in Colorado) the managers in both locations were extremely helpful in assisting me to secure a truck. I do not understand how Budget, a large truck rental facility, retains an individual like Sergio to interact with customers. I travel quite a bit. I will not rent trucks or cars from Budget moving forward. In addition, I am notifying my company of the situation as well.

Budget is saying that I have been legitimately charged an extra 142.59 for turning in the truck on Sunday 9/1 (after I was told I could keep it until Tuesday 9/3) and customer service actually hung up on me twice. Anyone else moving should really consider just paying the extra money because it will end up costing you extra in some capacity if you use Budget rentals. This company is truly horrible and unprofessional.

After we loaded the truck and hit the road, it became apparent very quickly that none of the wheels were balanced or aligned. The trailer would pull one way and the truck the other causing the beginnings of “death wobble”. If we drove over 65, the engine sounded as if it was metal on metal scraping, so we couldn’t even drive the speed limit the majority of the time. Our 12 hour driving day became a 17 hour driving day. We checked the trailer tires multiple times and it seemed to be losing pressure, but ok the first day of our trip from KC to Vermont. The next morning, one of the trailer tires had lost enough air to need to call budget for roadside service.

We called the 800 number as instructed. We needed them to fix the flat and give us an extra day with the rental as the amount of time to get service was going to knock us a day off schedule. They said Goodyear would be out in 1.5 hours to change the tire. (AAA couldn’t change the tire on the trailer with my boyfriends membership.) Customer service said they couldn’t change the contract and we’d have to call our origin or destination of the rental to get the contract changed. Both the origin and destination said they couldn’t do this and we needed to call customer service. When we said we had been directed by CS to call them, both said they’d call their “boss” and get back to us. So far crickets. It’s been an hour and a half and we are definitely not making our destination today. It’s another 10 hour day in a regular car. Most likely with this death trap, it will be 13 if they actually come and fix it.

Two weeks later I opened my credit card statement to discover that Budget had charged me a $75 no pick up fee. This time I did contact the customer service number and I discovered that they actually have a number on their menu dedicated to "If you have been contacted about your truck availability" obviously this is a regular problem. They did refund the $75 no pick up fee. I would recommend that you follow their own advice and use one of their competitors.

Finally at 1:45pm help arrived. The fender of the trailer had to be cut off as it was rubbing the tire and could cause the tire to blow. The repairman made the truck go to the nearest exit to complete the repair as we were in an unsafe location for anyone to work on the truck. My Husband drove from South Florida and arrived at the same time Budget’s help arrived. Aliyah at the location we rented the truck from said we would be reimbursed ‘gas, lost wages and full cost of truck.’ We have not been reimbursed. Company transfers you to multiple people and none are helpful. Stay away!

I received the $26 to my bank but not the other $125. I called and spoke with someone who said he was a manager (Mike badge **) who was very rude. He said that it could take 5-7 days from August 4 which would be the 13th of August. (Clearly he can’t count) I told him that it was not acceptable and he said “Well we're not getting anywhere. I’m putting you on hold” and left me there for over 3 hours until I finally hung up. I now have called back and asked for the manager and am told there is not one there at this time. Save yourself the trouble don’t rent from them. It is not worth the $15 you would save.

He eventually called and said, very shortly, that they never guaranteed me a truck--just the rate, my reservation was canceled, no trucks available, and then hung up. Now I have wasted time taking off of work as well as the people I asked to help with the move and I have to pay double getting a truck from a different place. DO NOT RENT from them, it is not worth the stress. I wish I could give no or negative stars on this review.

With enough pressuring, he finally agreed to call around and eventually found a 26' truck in Netcong, about 14 miles away. That was the poor part of our experience with Budget Truck Rental. Now let's discuss the young women at the Netcong location. Friendly, helpful and very courteous. She had the truck ready, gassed up and with adequate DEF to make the 500 miles round trip. With lost more than an hour in the confusion but made it to Boston and back almost on schedule. That was the good part of our experience with Budget Truck Rental. Maybe the guy in Denville could take lessons from the young woman in Netcong?

When we dropped the truck off and this was discovered we were told that the truck never should have been rented to us low enough on def that we would have to worry about filling it. It was negligent on the place we rented it from. I spoke with claims service and explained this, they said they would note it on the claim. I asked if that means the claim is going to be reviewed again? She told me no, it’s already been review, the wrong fuel was in the tank. Don’t risk the chance of being set up for failure with no opportunity to defend yourself. Don’t rent from Budget, it’s not worth the savings you get initially.

They honestly couldn't have cared less and it was my problem not theirs. OK, I called customer service and was told someone would call me back within 2 hours. When I received the call back I was told that Budge just send me a cancellation email because they didn't have any trucks available within 50 miles until Tuesday. This was Saturday morning-moving day. The customer care rep couldn't have cared less either. No apology, nothing helpful whatsoever. This was my first time renting anything through Budget and it will be my last.

This was a Saturday morning when everyone is moving. Where am I going to find a truck? I called Penske. They had a truck in the area, I got the truck and was able to make the move, although with a MUCH later start and I had to make two trips because it was a smaller truck. Renting from Penske was a very smooth process and the reps were so nice and helpful; the complete opposite of Budget. Again, if I could give -5 stars for Budget I would. It wasn't just the fact they didn't have my truck or hadn't notified me, both reps at the rental location and customer service had the worst, I don't care about anyone or anything attitude.

Years have passed between each interaction, but this last one is ingrained in my mind NEVER to do business with them again. One other time the truck was not available after I made a reservation. And another time they overcharged me by not applying the discount, with a lot of back and forth to get it resolved. Very unprofessional. I do not normally write reviews, but I could not let this go. There are other trucking companies that have are reliable with terrific customer service.

I then returned the truck to the rental office at around 6:00 pm and left the key in the "after hours" drop box. The next day I went to the office and informed them about the water in the truck and my inability to use the truck to move my household goods. I was told to call the corporate office at 1-800-462-8343 to request a refund. I spoke to a customer service rep, Gabriel, and a manager, Michael, both of whom refused to issue me a refund.

The first thing in the morning (8am local time on 6/9/2019), after verifying all gauges on the truck looked back to normal, we jumped back on the road on our way to Las Vegas, Nevada. About 3 and a half hours into this second leg, the oil pressure gauge began to drop slowly, so we got off the highway and pulled into the nearest gas station to see what the problem was. Upon stepping out of the truck, we noticed that there was oil dripping from the driver side wheel well adjacent to the engine, oil had splattered on the driver side steps, oil had splattered all along the driver side of the truck the full length of the truck, oil had splattered on the vehicle trailer we were towing, and finally but definitely not least, oil had splattered all over our personal vehicle that we had been towing. When turning the truck back to the "on" position, the gauge for the oil pressure PSI read "0".

At 11:30 am (local time in Holbrook, Arizona) I called the Budget Truck Rental - Roadside Service number to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible, as we had a tight schedule to maintain. I was told by the operator that helped me, that I would be receiving a text message keeping me posted on the timeframe(s) of when to expect service to be provided. The first text message came through at 11:33 am with reference #**, stating that a local vendor was being "located and assigned shortly". At 12:21 pm I received a text message that ETA for the vendor assigned was 118 minutes (roughly 2-hours). By 2:30 pm I had yet to be contacted by anyone, so I called the vendor directly, to get a more accurate ETA. I was told that they were still an hour or so out from getting to us.

By 5:00 pm local time, the vendor finally showed up, took a look to verify that the oil had been drained out as we explained, took a look under the hood, filled up the truck with oil, and suggested we followed him back to his shop in Winslow, Arizona (41 miles west of our current location) for further examination. Once his in-depth examination concluded (roughly 6:30 pm local time in Winslow, Arizona), and after being reassured that there was nothing wrong with the Budget Rental Truck engine, we ventured out onto the highway once again.

After an hour on the road, and feeling immensely uncertain of how the rest of the drive would go, we stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona, for another unplanned overnight stay. Upon verifying that all gauges were once again in a normal position, and the oil PSI was double verified to be good, we hit the highway on what we hoped would be our final leg of this not-so-fun journey. Luckily we were able to arrive 4 hours after leaving Flagstaff, Arizona, without any issues.

Although arriving safe and sound, there were multiple issues that did not sit well with us...

5. the uncertainty of whether or not we'd be able to complete our cross country trek.

At the end of the day, the saying is very true...you get what you pay for. The better deal isn’t always the better plan.

When we told her she should be calling since they shouldn't have rented my truck out she proceeded to act like a child and ignore us. They required me to give a credit card number when reserving so how is that not a guarantee of a truck?! We were lucky a U-Haul dealer was just down the road and matched their price. It did knock us back over 2 hours though. Customer service told me they'd try to find me one but it could take 2 hours - I advised her all their offices would be closed in an hour and she said, "that's our policy" and "the best I can do". When I told her I wanted to file a complaint she asked what the girl said and I told her. She said, "ok that's our policy". Someone needs to school Budget on customer service. I will NEVER rent a car or truck from there.. no matter what the "savings"

Once they call you to tell you there aren't any trucks available after all, you are forced to call around looking for a new rental where the price is outrageous!! So you are either forced to stick with them for a later date or book at an even higher rate. I ended up using them with a delay of 3 Days, loss of work wages as this move took me into the work week, as well as loss of money on the hired help to load. I called to get compensated in some way and they offered me $30.00. WHAT A JOKE!!! I said that is unacceptable asked for a Manager who in turned apologized and said the most she could refund me was $75.00.

This is a horrible way to conduct business. I seriously just got off the phone with that manager and told her I was going to leave a review Adrianne - 7/3/19 @ 10:40am. BUDGET YOU NEED TO FIND A BETTER WAY TO SUPPORT YOUR CUSTOMERS! Most of the world lives paycheck to paycheck and to have you come in with false confirmations and bogus customer service... you should be ashamed of yourselves!! By the way my confirmation #**.

We were stuck in a remote area of North Carolina for two days, almost all of our furniture and belongings were damaged by the movers that Budget finally sent (after much agony) to transfer our belongings to a functioning truck, many pieces in our family over 6 decades and irreplaceable, making it even worst was the fact they were all my late mother’s belongings who recently passed away. We were made to pay for our own hotel, all expenses, missed work, had to pay our dog sitter for additional days, as well as the movers we didn’t make it home in time for. We then had to pay for the movers to unload the truck again, having to wait until they were available again, as well as several additional charges throughout this nightmare, resulting in thousands.

Avis Car Rental, who is associated with Budget (AVIS BUDGET GROUP) has done absolutely nothing to resolve this and to top it off charged our card that we used only to hold the reservation, as well as my Father’s credit card who had paid for the truck rental... talk about double dipping! We have spent thousands of dollars, countless hours spent almost daily on this nightmare with no resolution. By far, we have experienced the worst customer service ever through Budget and Avis. The employees clearly have no interest other then collecting a paycheck and doing the bare minimum to obtain this. For a publicly traded company that answers to shareholders, we are absolutely shocked!

To sum this up, we returned the truck as provided to us, spoke with both an employee and the manager, having to make several calls and explaining all, making sure to reiterate the fact that Budget ensured us multiple times that we would not be charged, and refunded for our out of pocket expense through their Corporate Office. Despite this, we were not only charged, but charged significantly more and on the wrong card!

We called Affordable Equipment and Sales on several occasions only to be told that there was nothing they could do, even as we sat stranded for hours on the side of the road, which then turned it to being stranded overnight in a near deserted area. Once we were told the truck would have to be replaced and nobody knew when that would happen, we called Affordable Equipment and Sales back yet again asking that they extend the reservation until this was resolved and since we wouldn’t make it back now in time for the movers we hired to unload the truck, and had to not only pay for that but then rehire them for their first available but later date.

Keep in mind, we were directed to contact Affordable Equipment and Sales to accomplish the reservation extension at no charge by Budget Customer Service, yes, the same customer service that asked us to “hop” a 16’ box truck with no brakes or emergency brakes to the nearest “motel”. We were told by the Manager at Affordable Equipment and Sales that we needed to pay additional money to extend the truck rental despite all of the delays we were caused from the faulty dangerous truck they provided us, and what had unfolded because of their negligent and dangerous error.

When we realized nobody cared at all, from this third party rental establishment through Budget management, we agreed to pay since our hands were tied at that moment, at which point we were then told when offering yet another credit card, (which shouldn’t matter, because they clearly charge whichever card they want, or both in our case) “I actually can’t extend the reservation, you need to call Budget’s 1 800 number”. To add insult to injury, Affordable Equipment Sales and Service provided the incorrect credit card to be charged, resulting in our card being charged that was only suppose to hold the reservation. In addition, they also provided the card that was provided for payment to be charged too, so both were provided to our drop off location (Avis in Princeton, NJ) BEWARE & BE SAFE!

I guess he was trying to make me feel better by saying we were not the only people he had to call to cancel their reservation, stating he had a bunch of other people to call with the same news. I told him that didn’t make me feel better, it made me feel worse because they didn’t just overbook by a couple of trucks, they overbooked by a bunch! He also said our “reservation” did not guarantee us the equipment, it just guaranteed us the price! I told him that is ridicules, what good does a price guarantee do me if they don’t have the equipment to rent me?

After getting nowhere with Sean, I asked him to have his manager or supervisor call me because this was completely unacceptable. Awhile later someone else with Budget called and told me Sean had been correct in cancelling our reservations, and told me the same things he had told me. I explained this was two days before a big move with moving crews lined up at both ends and canceling on us just two days before the move was putting us in a very difficult position. I asked if they could drive trucks in from another location or have us pick-up from somewhere else?

Both of them told me they didn’t have a single truck available within 300 or even 400 miles of our rental location. Neither of them offered compensation or assistance of any kind for the predicament they were putting us in. I have rented a lot of trucks and cars in my lifetime and this was by far the worst experience ever, I will never use Budget again! Fortunately for us we were able to scramble and find the equipment we needed with Penske Truck Rental! Penske was fantastic, great equipment, and excellent customer service. I highly recommend them!

We now call to explain our situation which is now extending our lease 4 days totaling $457, driving an additional 16 hours, missing at least a day of work at our new jobs (that's if we drive 16 hours and pack the remaining items in the same day). They would only comp us $40. When I asked to speak to the manager, Adrian the so called "head of corporate escalation team" was rude, disrespectful and claimed she was the highest we could go. I managed to find the corporate number and turns out she has a boss. My husband and I are actively calling everyone including the president of the company. I will NEVER use them again. I will ensure that NO ONE I know uses them. They are terrible! THE WORST COMPANY EVER!

Customer service was absolutely useless in trying to find a solution for us during our issues, and was unwilling to compensate us for the additional cost of another cross country drive with our personal vehicle. They offered us $90 total for compensation, which doesn't come close to what we'll spend on additional moving costs (plane tickets, double gas, wear and tear on vehicle, time missed from work, etc) solely due to Budget's errors. I would never recommend using Budget if you are moving - they are not reliable, responsible, or willing to fix their mistakes.

Issue one: We as a group and specifically Dr. Beverlee ** of The Jasmine Charitable Trust, were not allowed into the Budget Truck Rental on Warwick Blvd in Newport News at 7:30am on June 17th 2019, with Service Dog Nora, who is for stability and other medical alerts for Dr. Beverlee. The employee Cynthia’s exact quote was “Uhuh I don’t like dogs.” Dr. Beverlee **, informed her it was a service dog and that she was allowed anywhere in buildings legally under federal law and the woman still refused us entry. So a disabled woman was sitting on the front concrete stairs of BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL on Warwick Blvd in Newport News for over 2 hours in the heat because of ignorance and idiocy.

Second issue: The “Boss” Jennings was horrifically rude to not only my mother in law but to the rest of our group. He asked my fiancé, who is disabled and my brother in law who is also disabled to help him unhitch the broken car trailer by hand with no jacks or anything from the truck. I was sitting on the concrete steps outside because he wouldn’t allow us in with the service dog, see issue above, and my response was “No, you are not going to make two disabled men lift that trailer” to which Jennings replied in the most horrifically rude tone “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to her” referring to my mother in law. This sparked a reply of “You will not talk to me that way” by me and my fiancé stating that his attitude was out of line. He continues to berate me and my mother in law with rude comments to which I stand up two steps below him and he proceeds to yell at me “I am the boss” and points to his shirt and gets really close to me.

He was aggressively leaning over me on the top step and was inches from my face when I tell him to “Get the hell out of my face” to which he gets more physically aggressive and steps closer and continuing to yell that he was the boss and no one was going to tell him what to do. My Fiancé told him to back off and for me to walk away so I didn’t get hurt so I did and Jennings final remark to me was “Yeah that's right walk away, you better do what he says” in a mocking and belittling tone. I walked away and sat in my car due to my upset.

This was one of the most unprofessional and disgusting displays of management I have ever seen in my life. This owner Jennings should NEVER be allowed to interact with any customers. I will be filing a report to the ADA about how he denied a service animal and caused an elderly disabled woman to sit on concrete stairs outside in the heat for 2 hours. I also will be contacting corporate about his aggressive and inappropriate actions. Please SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

After 4 hours of waiting and calling, nothing was resolved, Budget was incredibly rude, and we ended up having to go get the same truck we tried to pick up 4 hours earlier then drive another hour out of the way to get a trailer! They would not even give us a little compensation or discount even though they caused us an incredible amount of stress and a total of 6 hours delay in our trip! Other truck companies were all booked or we would have canceled with Budget. They took advantage of this situation. Do not ever use this company.

Once I got the truck and got everything loaded, I started off on my long drive. I was driving through the Appalachian mountains when it started to get dark. I turned my lights on and to my surprise they did not work. The lights were so dim that I could not see anything. I had to sweat out the rest of the drive only able to see two feet in front of me. When I called to notify the company I was met with a very unprofessional and angry employees. This is the worst company in America and maybe even the world. I would suggest paying the extra money for a different company. Believe me you will not regret it.

I told this person I wouldn't be using Budget at that price. I ended up just loading what I could into my car & leaving the rest. When I look at my card statement I see a $50 "no show fee" from Budget. I'm like what the hell? The system spit out my reservation multiple time @ $303. When I checked my email Budget somehow CONFIRMED one of the reservations @ $303 that it told me to contact customer service on & I was charged a no show fee. I see this as a form of fraud as I wasn't expecting an email/confirmation for that $303 charge that wasn't avail. at that price.

Upon arriving to the other location, the staff was rude and unprofessional, equipment was out of stock and cost increased. When I tried to get the prices placed in writing on the date of reserving the truck, I was told I had to contact customer service myself. In speaking with a rep I found out the location rep was responsible for making the call. Customer Service authorized equipment and inconvenient refunds and claimed the case will be noted. I was instructed to call in after returning the rental truck and any rep will be able to process the refunds. I contacted customer service, and to no surprise, I was given the run-around. Notes could not be found, and when I requested contact information for upper management the rep claimed not to have the information. I submitted a customer experience/situation claim but I will not hold my breath as I expect no change in the company's service.

I started work in Morgantown two weeks before I actual moved. So the day before the move, the plan was for my driver and I to fly back to Chicago, pick up the truck at 9 am the next morning, get the truck loaded by 1-2 PM and hit the road. Then, while we were waiting on our plane back to Chicago, I got a call from the location saying they might not have a truck until 11 am the next morning. I explained my situation and said that I really needed the truck at 9 am so my movers wouldn’t have to reschedule. She said she would work on it. In the meantime I made two calls to Budget customer service and they escalated the issue to an Chicago Inventory Management. I waited until the next morning when I woke up at 7 and still had no word from anyone.

I called the location back and the man simply told me they were CLOSED!!! For the day because the manager had an emergency and they had ZERO trucks. My response was promptly “WTF!?” So I called customer service back again explaining the new issue and the man escalated the issue directly to the inventory management manager. I get a call about a half hour later (it is now 9 am, my originally scheduled pickup time) from the inventory manager himself. He asks “Is this Jonathan?” I say “Yes” and he says “We’ve cancelled your truck reservation.” My immediate response was “Excuse me? You don’t even know my situation and you cancel my truck outright instead of rebooking for this weekend?!” He says “Yeah, we don’t have to talk to you.” My final response was “You’re a **!” and I hung up.

Long story short, I had to go to Milwaukee on an Amtrak train with my driver an hour later to pick up a Penske truck for almost twice the amount of the Budget truck rental since it was the day of the move. My movers were kind enough to work with me so I got the Penske truck loaded at about 6 Pm and we had to stay at a hotel near Indianapolis and are on the road as I type this. Moral of the story: Don’t use these **! They don’t care about you! They just want your money. In fact, I believe they should be boycotted and put out of business so the decent truck companies like Penske can take their market share.

I told him we drove from Az to Ca to pick up some furniture. What did he expect us to do now. I asked him when a truck would be returned as we were there until Monday, there was still hope. Nope, he said the people who had the truck decided not to return it until Wednesday (which was my return date). Went back to my sisters and called Corporate Office. Received a call from Corporate this is four hours after what was supposed to be a 9 AM pickup, (after our help had left). When they did call back our help had left so we were stuck. No apologies, these people could have cared less. I will never use these idiots again.

Now we have to make another trip and find another rental company because these people are incompetent. They couldn't take the time to call and say, "Hey there is an issue with your truck.." Not a dam word... Never again. I then get a call around 4PM asking when I was going to pick up my trailer from someplace I never heard of. Just unbelievable.

I called multiple times to document exactly where the trailer was located and I was told I would be able to contact customer service at the end of our move for a refund. We got to St. Louis, MO and broke down once again. This time, the truck wouldn't start. I called Roadside Assistance and waited three hours for a mechanic. He was able to start the truck, but told us the starter was faulty and if we turned the truck off, we likely wouldn't be able to start it again. We luckily made it to our location without any more problems. Every time I called customer service or Roadside Assistance, I was on hold from anywhere between thirty minutes to over an hour. There were two occasions where I was on hold for over an hour, only for someone to pick the phone up and then immediately hang up without saying anything.

After we dropped our truck off, I called customer service to get a refund for the trailer, since we were not able to use it. I didn't inquire about them refunding us for the truck even though it broke down, I didn't inquire about the extra gas we had to spend driving our car unexpectedly, I didn't inquire about the extra hotel costs we were forced to have because these delays gave us an entire extra day on the road, I didn't inquire about the extra money we had to spend in food - just the trailer. I was told I would have to wait a week or two because there was an open investigation on the trailer we left behind for damages (the tire that blew). I was told once the investigation was complete, they would notify us if we would acquire ADDITIONAL FEES for the equipment.

I waited and called multiple times, only to be told they were not able to help me. I then put in a dispute with my credit card company because I was not getting anywhere with Budget. I called Budget during the dispute only to be told they were no longer able to talk to me until the dispute ended. They told me if I ended the dispute, they would further assist me with a refund. The dispute ended with my card (it was ruled in their favor) so I called Budget to try and resolve the issues again. I was put on hold many times, I was transferred from person to person, I was given many different number to call, but ultimately, I was told because my credit card ruled in their favor, they will no longer look into refunding us. I am completely appalled by the lack of customer service and the horrible quality of their products. I will never rent from Budget again.

This long story is more for my benefit, but those that are curious: I made my reservation 3 weeks ago, and the day before I am scheduled to move I call the pick-up location to confirm we are all set, only to be informed that they do not have the truck I need. I'm instructed to call their customer service line to have them look through their inventory of available trucks in my area. Customer Service (CS) apparently doesn't have access to the "inventory" - it's all managed by the mysterious "inventory manager" that is only allowed to contact you, not you contact them. CS apologizes for my inconvenience, informed me my matter will be "escalated" and they will call me back within 15 minutes or 2 hours.

I call CS back 15 minutes before the 2 hour mark because I'm starting to get antsy, and wanted to know the status. CS informs me: "You still have 15 minutes left to await a call back from our inventory manager, if you don't receive a call, then you can call us back to check on the status." I ask why can I not be directed to the "inventory manager" now, it's only 15 minutes, as well as how does it make any sense for me to call customer service back, only to have the SAME conversation? Admittedly, I am terse and frustrated at this point, so my tone is not so sweet, but instead of understanding from the CS rep, I am getting attitude in response to my questions.

My questions are valid: where is my ticket? Why can't I speak with the "inventory manager" (or whomever) to get a realistic understanding of if I can get the truck I need? Why do they not have information on if my ticket is even being worked on? I will NEVER use Budget again for a truck rental purely based on their internal operations not being transparent or well understood, but also because their "bedside manner" for customer's needs not being met is grossly underwhelming.

I called service who told me the truck is available now 3 hours away the next day, a 6 hour round trip, and a $30 discount. Then, we get the truck on the road 3 hours and it breaks down. We had to wait hours for someone to come out and fix it. Because of this delay we asked that we drop the truck off later in the day to accommodate for the break down delay, they said no, they would charge $85 plus "additional fees". I will never do business with this company again. I don't see how this company is still allowed to do business after all of the customers they have completely screwed over. So, I'm out hundreds for movers and lost work. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to have to speak to this company.

We proceeded to call the place we rented the truck AA Party and Tent Rental in Ft Worth and they told us we’d have to call Budget roadside assistance. We immediately called RSA at 4 pm to explain what we found and that it was too dangerous to transport this trailer anywhere and we’d like a new trailer (this took 30 mins total because their constant holds were long). They told us they’d call us back shortly with an ETA on something.. by 6 pm we hadn’t heard a word back so we called to check and they STILL had no answer for us but told us since everyone closed at 6 pm it was even harder to find a trailer or part. In the meantime I called customer service 'cause we should’ve been on the road at 3 pm and no one had a sense of urgency or sympathy for their unmaintained trailer!

I spoke with a gentleman who had such a thriving accent. I didn’t get his name but he incredibly rude to me about me being upset and saying I had to pay over $600 for the bundle but $120 for just a trailer that should’ve never been on the lot to rent and that we’ve been waiting hours for help and he basically said, "Don’t know what to tell you!" So I asked for a supervisor and he put me on a 1 minute hold up .This disconnect my line!! My husband called back very upset and got the rep Max ID #** who was very kind and apologized for our treatment and experience. He then placed ya on the phone with supervisor Marco ID #** who further showed great service and told us we would be refunded for the trailer once the truck was returned at our final destination and GAVE us his ID # and name so we could get back into contact with him for any further help.

After that we received a call from Budget RSA saying, "Sorry we can’t help you till tomorrow" on a part which was crazy to us because we explained at 4 pm we turned in our apartment keys and had no place to go! We had been sitting outside in our cars with 3 cats waiting for assistance WAY before a 6 pm closing time and BUDGET couldn’t get us a part in 2 hrs before close. They told my husband “well you’ll just have to get yourselves a hotel room.” HOW DISGUSTING!! No sympathy for their faulty trailer that should have never been out to rent! We then asked for a supervisor and we got Pam who refused to give us an ID number. Kept RUDELY speaking over my husband that was trying to explain our situation and she kept repeating “Sorry everyone. Closed at 6. Nothing we can do.” I can’t even describe the nastiness this woman had.

When we asked for her info she said “I'm the only Pam here. They’ll know who you’re talking about” in a sarcastic tone. We ended up having to pay over $100 to find a pet friendly hotel and told Budget we wanted a new trailer the next day and that we would call as soon as they open to get the process going. We spoke to them at 730 am the next day and by 830 am they still hadn’t found a solution. Finally at 915 am they told us our request for a whole new trailer was denied and that they would send out a mechanic with a part that would be to our old apartment (where the trailer sat) before 10 am. Sadly the mechanic (Joe) wasn’t there until around 11:15 am but he was incredibly nice and fixed the trailer and couldn’t believe we were even rented out this trailer to begin with. By the time he left we connected the trailer and had to pull up the car onto the trailer in an absolute rainstorm so we were soaking wet. This didn’t help our situation!

We then are on road for about an hour when I noticed (I was driving behind our truck) that bolts were flying from the trailer and I then saw the back left wheel to the trailer in a completely wobble! I called my husband immediately and we had to make an emergency stop on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. (Imagine has we not caught the damage on the trailer hitch!!) We then proceeded to wait on the side of the road from 12:45 pm to 5:15 pm with 3 cats in our car in the middle of a storm waiting for RSA meanwhile customer service pretended they didn’t know who Marco and Max were when we called and asked for them and then we have been promised TWICE now to hear back from Josh the supervisors, supervisor and we have yet to hear anything.

They sent Joe all the way out to us to fix the tire hub and he was disgusted yet again with the trailer we were given! The own mechanic!! He said they clearly have neglected to inspect and repair all this old damage. Budget put our life in danger multiple times and no one cares to call us back or show sympathy! We had to cut our trip short into Houston to stay with my family because my cats got very carsick from the stress and were throwing up. :( PLEASE do not rent from Budget. This has been the biggest mistake of our lives renting with them. We are a military family and we have been treated with such disrespect and carelessness and it shows in the photos we have!! BUDGET STILL WONT CONTACT ME and at this point will be speaking with every social media site and legal team.

The following morning my helper showed up and we began to load the truck. It wasn't long before we noticed the left rear of the truck showing signs that the truck tires were looking like they were low on-air pressure. My helper looked at the tires and kicked the tire on the inside and said “you have a flat tire”. Therefore, only one of the tires was holding all the weight on the left rear. The flat tire was not detected until weight was applied, thus more than likely, this was flat when rented and did not go flat on the 12-mile trip to my home. After learning the inside tire was flat, we called the help line with Budget Truck Rental and they said they would have someone out to fix the tire within about an hour. A repair truck from Bridgestone arrived and confirmed that the inside tire was flat.

At no time during the conversations with Budget Truck Rental hotline were we told that we would be responsible for this cost. We just thought that Budget Truck Rental was making good on a maintenance item. If we had known that Budget Truck Rental was going to charge us for this tire replacement, I would have done more to document the event including pictures of the truck and flat tire, which was replaced. Perhaps not telling us until after the truck was returned was intentional.

When the tire work was completed, we were on our way, and the trip went as planned and in a few days we returned the truck and trailer to a location in Bradenton Florida. The truck then was checked for damage by a Budget Truck Rental agent and there was none other than what was originally noted. To our surprise, about 2 weeks later, we received a letter from Sedgwick indicating that we owe Budget Truck Rental $358.03 for the damage to the truck which was for a new tire and labor and a $50.00 administration fee. We found it unreal that they would try to stick us with the cost of a brand-new tire in exchange for a flat worn out tire. When we called Budget Truck Rental about this letter, they said they couldn't help us, that the matter was already being handled by Sedgwick and it was out of their hands.

After a few calls to Sedgwick, it was clear that they were trying to make a case that we damaged the truck even though the truck probably had a flat tire when I picked it up, as there was no appearance to detect, since the outside tire was supporting the weight of an empty truck. Sedgwick continued to say that our contract states we are responsible for any damage to the truck and I explained that a flat tire is not damage and that it was something that should have been taken care of with truck maintenance. The final call was made by my wife because I was getting too upset and have health issues. There was no resolve, but they no longer hounded us.

Now again, to our surprise, we get a letter dated April 20th from Viking Client Services who now is the debt collector for Budget Truck Rental. We sent them a letter certified stating why we didn't think this was a damage issue, as much as it was a maintenance issue, and I haven't received anything back from them yet. My guess is they will do everything they can to bully us paying this claim. Since we now have these claims from Budget Truck Rental I decided to check online to see if there are others with complaints similar to ours, and amazingly there are hundreds of complaints against Budget Truck Rental, many like the one that we experienced. I firmly believe that Budget Truck Rental puts trucks out that are not safe with the idea that when something breaks or wears out it will be in the hands of one of their customers who they will assess the cost for repairs.

This is outrageous and it needs to be addressed before people die by taking out a truck with maintenance issues. Had I not noticed the low tire on the left which turned to be one tire flat, the trip could have been disastrous having only one tire on the left rear side. If this tire would have blown out, I might not be here to tell this story. I hope that this matter can be resolved, and further people can be protected from this unethical business practice by Budget Truck Rental.

Finally got truck unloaded, filled the tank as far as I could, cleaned the cab, swept the truck, folded the blankets, drove a couple of blocks to the facility she in her same rude way told me it wasn't full enough. The only thing I could have done to prevent this was push the truck back. So she charged me a filling fee. Which I went out of my way to try to prevent. The gauge said full. She said not full enough. That's the way I picked it up. I didn't understand but couldn't do anything. Then she refused to check the rest of the truck. Back, materials rented so I'm sure I'm going to get charged again because I believe she's crooked and a scammer. Never again. I'll stick to U-Haul.

When I asked if I could trade it in on another vehicle, I was informed that this was my only option – take it or leave it. I had to take it. The truck had almost 200,000 miles on it and it obviously had no shocks left as every rut in the road sent bone jarring jolts through my body. And when I finally got on the highway and had to go at posted speeds of 65-75 mph, it was also obvious the transmission was on its way out. I live in the mountains so a 6% uphill grade was almost comical as the poor vehicle struggled, going into overdrive and almost sending me through the windshield when it shifted out of overdrive.

When I returned the truck I made sure to fill it with gas and the gauge read “full” when I left it after hours. The next day when I called to make sure all was well, I was informed that the gas was low and I would be charged for that ($30) and the gas. When I argued the point, I was instructed to take it up with customer service and given their number. I also mentioned the condition of the vehicle and the response was “yea, we’ve heard about that several times before – you should report that to customer service.”

So I called customer service about the gas charges and was told I had to take it up with the company that had rented me the vehicle – classic runaround. But finally, after much time and finagling, I got the $30 fee waived. I then looked at my credit card to see what the actual charge had been only to find I had also been charged $50 for a “no show” on another reservation that I never made! $50!!! When I spoke with another customer service person I explained that I never had another reservation and that I had picked up and returned a truck already. I was told the fee could not be waived until I had the reservation number. As I never made the reservation, I did not have a number. Duh!

Finally it was discovered that an incorrect telephone number had triggered the mistake and my money was duly refunded. And by the way, when I mentioned the condition of the vehicle, it was completely ignored. Their concern for the safety and well-being of their customers is apparently only reserved for what is in our wallets. I am glad I used a credit card and not a bank debit card so I could have recourse had it not worked out. I felt that my card was just being debited right and left carte blanche. There was never any definitive pricing up front so the final bill was always a mystery. I was just to leave my card number with the rental company and they would charge it as they saw fit.

My questions are these? Why isn’t that vehicle retired or relegated to local moves only? And why was I supposed to report it to customer service – isn’t that the rental company’s job? Why didn’t someone contact me about the gas to give me the option of filling it myself before just charging me the fee? It was obvious from my return paperwork that I thought it was full. And now some other poor person is trying to deal with the same vehicle and the same sketchy rental company and customer service. If I could note a zero rating I would. I’ll never rent a Budget vehicle of any kind again. Fool me once…

A few days go by and I noticed I have bites all over me. They keep getting worse and we have a exterminator come by to check out the problem and sure enough it is BED BUGS!!!! He confirmed they had to have came from the moving truck. Which I'm not shocked. It being in the state it was when we got it should have been a huge red flag for us. Customer service says they can't do anything because I agreed on the $60.00 compensation. This is the worst experience I have ever had with a moving company by far.

The Roadside assistance lady asked us for some code on the keypad. My boyfriend gave her the number on the keypad but she insisted that the number was wrong so I took the phone and gave her the same number and she kept saying the number was wrong so my brother in law read the number to her as well but she still insisted that the number was wrong. So I offered to gave her my conformation number but she refused to help us and she started saying my boyfriend was being loud with her so she handoff on us.

At this point I'm angry and frustrated. Now we have to start over. Long matter short two hours later my boyfriend got a roadside assistance lady on the line that told us she was sending somebody to help. We waited later on in the evening before we had somebody came and fixed the tire but he couldn't do anything about the speed that was consuming more gas. We left to continue our trip. The next day the tire on the driver side busted and take away the gas cap. Now we're fighting to get control of the truck to save our lives and the rest of the drivers on the highway at this moment. We finally stopped and called those fools and explained our situation to them.

OMG This time around the wait was longer than before. They got somebody to come in the night. The guy came and told us that he can't do anything with the truck at that point. He asked us to manage with the truck and followed him 10 miles back to his garage so he could used his bigger machine which we did. He fixed the tire and told us that he couldn't do nothing much about the gas tank cap so he put some ring around it and taught us how to use it. We had to put plastic around the mouth because we were spending too much on gas.

Only for us to reach by the grace of God and returned their truck to the designated area and their saleswoman had the nerve to call my phone talking about I'll have to pay for the gas cap. After making me to spent thousand plus just on gas and making us suffer for days and I also paid for insurance as well. This is the worst company I've ever dealt with. Please don't rent from Budget. Is there any way we could sue this company? Could somebody please give me a answer.

While that was happening, I called where we rented it from and they told me that they couldn’t do anything for us and I would have to call Roadside Assistance. So, I called them and waited ten minutes to even speak to someone. When I finally got someone on the line, she told me she would send someone out to take a look, I told her that we would be needing a new truck since this one wouldn’t even move. She told us that they have to look at it first and hung up abruptly. We waited on the side of the exit for 2 hours before I got a call that a tow truck was coming to get us. During this time my husband was trying to call customer service line but after 30 minutes on hold he gave up. The tow showed up about 40 minutes later. He asked us where we wanted to tow it to.

I called Roadside Assistance once again to find out where they wanted it towed. After 15 minutes on hold before we actually got to speak to representative, she told us we would have to tow to a hotel since their offices are now closed. This is three hours or so after our initial incident. I asked if they were going to pay for that and she said I would have to submit a receipt afterward. While the conversation was still going on, she hung up on me. The tow driver was still wondering where to tow it to, we told him to tow it to budget. We had to pay a $400 tow! We didn’t think it was smart to tow it to a hotel with all our belongings in it and no lock.

We also didn’t want to have to tow it twice. We didn’t want to stay in a hotel. We didn’t plan any overnight bags since we planned to be at our destination before needing that stuff. We get to budget right next to a Uhaul that was still open, so we went and rented a Uhaul, and switched all our belongings at 8:30 at night after the sun had already set. Uhaul was amazing, they priced matched and gave us a better deal that what we got in Budget and reassured us of their policies were something to happen with the truck. Budget had awful customer service! Absolutely no policies in place to deal with this whole disaster! This was one of the worst experiences I have ever had happen to me and I just want to help someone else avoid this whole disaster! DON’T USE BUDGET!

As I was leaving I asked which truck was mine and he said I would find it, "It's the only 16 footer out there." When I looked, they were all backed in so I guess it was up to me to find it on my own. At this point I was late, had six people waiting for me. When I got in the cab it was dirty, had food and trash and broken glass on the seats and floor. The truck had 90,000+ miles and was the roughest riding suspension - the shocks had to be original equipment - laughed at the "cushion ride" claim on the side of the truck. I could feel every bump like I was riding without tires. Worse rental truck I have ever had. Some items were damaged in transit. When I returned the truck he asked me to toss him the keys, never came out to see if it was fine and I left. Rude, unprofessional, I could go on but you get the picture. A total disaster. The corporate office offered me a $40 credit, like when you get a free dessert from a horrible meal. Losers.

The owner proceeds to let me know that he is not responsible for the truck. What!!! We have to call the budget hotline to have a tow truck dispatched. Another 2 1/2 hours go by. In the meantime, my son, daughter-in-law, their belongings and pets have been stranded for 8 hours. They finally tow the truck and then inform my son that they cannot get another truck until the next day. Are you kidding. We are in Virginia with our grandchildren, whom have no extra clothes, toiletries or personal items. It takes them most of the next day to reload another truck with their belongings before my son can even attempt to leave fo Virginia.

Finally they get to Virginia 36 hours from their original eta. We begin unloading the truck to find that the truck had profusely leaked rainwater onto most of their items, some of the things were broken in the transfer from one truck to another. I called customer service so many times to only be told “we are sorry for your inconvenience “. We rented the truck for 3 days, Thursday-Saturday. Only used it 1/2 Friday and had to have it back on Saturday morning by 12. We get to the drop off place in Roanoke by 11:15 to find no one there. What???

So I call the number in the door, the owner answered to say he closed early. I told him that according to our contract and his business hours, he was scheduled to be open until 12. I explained we had to have the truck back so we could settle everything up. My husband and I were scheduled to leave Saturday, but that didn’t happen. The owner of the drop off place told me that he could close any damn time he pleased. Omygosh. Needless to say, don’t ever rent from Budget.

We were shown to our truck, which too, was filthy inside and covered in long white dog hairs, all over the seat/floor/and dashboard. The gentleman gave us Lysol wipes to wipe it down. He then showed us how to “jimmy” the key into the ignition because “sometimes it acts funny”. I had no choice but to take the vehicle since the movers were set to come and I was moving from NJ to another state that same morning.

We got the truck to my apartment (which is like a 3 min drive from the location) and it was loaded up by the movers. As soon as we got back in the truck, the low tire pressure light was on, we went to a gas station to put air in the tire, but that did not work, so we drove back to the location. The gentleman was not there so I called roadside assistance, they came like an hour and a half later and changed the tire, which put us 2 hrs behind schedule for our long 6 hr drive.

I paid nearly $1,000.00 for that rental and when I called customer service to let them know of my terrible experience all they offered was a measly $60.00 refund, when I asked for the claim to be escalated the guy stated at most he could offer $100.00, I stated that was unacceptable and he transferred me to a "supervisor" that was useless and refused to assist me any further or provide information for anyone else, he kept stating "There is no one else, I am the only one. This is all I'm offering you". I'm reading all of these reviews and I notice this is standard crappy "business as usual" for Budget Truck. Ridiculous! Worst company ever. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM!

I am stressed out and I regularly see doctor. I can't sleep nights. I have all documentation and police report to prove that I was victim of fraud. Please help me. I need to resolve this issue. My name is Erkin ** and my call back number is ** and my email address is **. I've been talking to my attorney and there is a possibility to take legal actions because I have emotional condition and all this effects to my well being. Please I'm begging. Someone help me. I'm willing to pay this just I want it to disappear.

We ended up staying in the hotel, Saturday and Sunday evening because finally Sunday about 2pm they said they finally had approval from the Supervisor and would need to find a truck from Inventory then they could replace the truck. By then it was Monday before we got the truck and it was at 1:30pm. Remember we needed to unload the 12ft and re-load (16ft) what they brought us, not a 12 ft. So the movers to assist did not arrive until hour later and we we're not able to leave until 4:30pm that Monday, March 18th. Understand the original contract said the truck was due back to be dropped off on Monday, the 18th at 9 am. However the truck was broke and no replacement yet. I constantly called to find out when it would be due back since it was delayed because of being down.

They said to just drop off when you're done. Therefore, dropped off on Wednesday morning and that resulted in an additional $222.80 for BEING LATE!! WTF- SERIOUSLY?? So I called to dispute that they were giving me refund of that because the late was not my fault, however I was trying to dispute the TOTAL charges, the charges I paid was $318.30 to rent and then late charges of two days, then hotel etc. THIS IS VERY BAD BAD BUSINESS- I've spoken to level 2 Supervisor and they have no "CUSTOMER SERVICE" for anyone in any situation! F- Budget~!

I call and submit my comments and they indicated they would take care of me and they rely purely on customer complaints of their vehicles because they do not actually do mechanical checks of them. They offered a 10% discount which was garbage and here we are. Budget does not perform maintenance on their vehicles unless someone goes through the near death experience and lets them know their vehicle is unsafe. Budget wants your money, doesn't a rats about your safety. The other thing that’s absolutely absurd is these guys had the audacity to tell me they rented this truck out already. Someone is going to get hurt with the Budget mentality. DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET.

He told me he was only delivering the message and could not do anything about it. I told him that I would like to speak to a manager or supervisor. He said there was no one there but he would call his manager and inform him of the situation. I called back a little less than a hour later at 5:13pm to see if the manager was back in the office since he had not called me yet. The same person I spoke to said he had not returned but that he would call and text him to make sure he got the message about my truck not being here on time the next day. I called back at 6:01pm and was told again that the message was given to whoever it was needed to be given to but I did not get a phone call.

I finally called the Budget National Reservation Hotline around 7:03pm since the local office had already closed to try and get this resolved. I spoke with a Reyna ** who was singularly unhelpful. I fully explained the situation to her and she said that there was a truck available in Sun City which is only 129 miles away through some of the heaviest traffic in the U.S. I told her that this would not be ok and something else needed to be done. She told me that I would have to contact the office where I was going to pick up the truck (the one that was already closed), and speak to the manager (the one who had not called me back as of almost 3 hours now) and have him try and do something.

I asked her if she had the manager's personal cell or home number to get in touch with him and she said no. I then asked her that the only way to resolve this was to call a branch that was already closed, and speak to a manager whose number I did not have and that she could not give me, that this was the way to fix this to which she said yes. Well to my credit I kept my cool after this Catch-22/Kafkaesque answer I got. The only bright spot about this whole mess was a Budget worker named Fabricio who called about a 8:16am Tuesday morning and said they would have a truck ready at 11:00am. He told me he felt badly about a customer being treated this way and somehow he was able to come up with a truck.

This is after I had already called the movers to change the time and get charged a penalty for "cancelling". I was able to finally pick up the truck but I have to say the amount of stress and trouble I had to go through to cancel then get my movers back, plus the delay in start time for me to get on the road to Georgia was unbelievable (half a travel day). This was definitely one of the worst cases of customer service I have ever encountered with a nationwide business such as yours. I will definitely not be recommending Budget to any family or friends and will definitely be going out of my way to tell them my horror story with your company.

What can we do to help resolve the situation?: Give Fabricio a raise or a promotion. I don't know how to resolve this as I've never run into a situation like this before. I would think paying for the "cancellation" fee or refunding some of the cost of the truck would go a long way in helping this situation. Quite honestly, I can't remember the last time I have been this angry with a company. Who calls the day prior to tell someone that their moving truck will be 6 hours late?! I haven't even done my Yelp review yet as I will be turning in the truck Tuesday the 12th.

On Feb 22, 2019 I came in to pick up the truck and carrier. Inspecting the truck and carrier I told the gentleman that the tire on the driver’s side back was bald spots and he stated that the other tire on that same side front also had a bald tire spot. He looked and stated that the tires where special heavy duty with extra tire so there was no need to worry. I stated to him that we were going across the states to GA and once again he stated that no worries that we wouldn’t have any issues.

They did fix the lights on the trailer due to the fact that the running lights weren’t working. He checked the car to make sure it was secure and I asked about the chain in the back. He stated it wasn’t needed and it was secure. I asked him about the other trailer and he stated if I was going to California that he would let me take it. It had a slow leak tire. Again, I asked about the tires and he assured me that they were special tires and NO WORRIES.

On Feb 24, 2019 appx 5:03pm after I stopped for gas and inspected the truck and trailer that I found that the 2 driver side tires where displaying metal. When I called and gave the information, I also stated to her that it was freezing weather and that I had my elderly mother so we needed help as soon as possible. All information was given and she was transferring me to customer service when we got disconnected. We finally got a call hours later saying that repair would be out 90 minutes. They finally came and I was told when he looked at time called was 7:46pm. They finally arrived and was finished after 10pm.

Turned on and off the truck due to the fact that on low it was so hot and when you turned it off it was immediately freezing. My mother who is elderly got sick. The next day went to fill and once again had metal showing on the other side. Called and again was down for hours. Both Good Year repair guys said that carrier should have not been left off the yard.

Both stated that the trailer would have not passed inspection and was surprised that your company knew that the tires were bald that would even allow it out. I asked them about what your employee said about being special tires. He said that there was no such thing and that you would of known that. Both companies stated the exact same thing. I left messages and was told someone would get back to me and no one did ever call back. I am accusing you of misrepresentation, failing to keep your equipment safe for public use. Violation of state laws and public safety. Please file a complaint with DMV in your state, Consumer affairs with the state and federal government. This company needs to investigated.

After exchanging a few words with the clerk I left... As I walked out she asked me if I wanted to cancel my reservation… Really? While driving home I passed a U-Haul Truck Rental. I stopped in and 10 minutes later drove off in a 10-foot box van, the same type I ordered from Budget. This my second experience with Budget, one worse than the other. My advice... let the buyer beware, Budget is the absolute worst.

My wife went out and asked her, "Could you please take time to take care of us?" and she answered, "No! I won't." as she hugged and kissed the "customers" ahead of us, before they drove off in a small moving truck. When she finally came back in, after a total of 40 minutes of waiting, I presented her with my reservation information. She then said, "I don't have a vehicle for you." I asked if she had a larger vehicle we could use at the same price, as is stated in the Budget Terms and Conditions. She said, "That [expletive] ain’t gonna happen!." (There were a 12 foot, 2 16 foot and 1 24 foot trucks in the parking lot.)

My wife asked, "So you don't have a vehicle for us, but a 'walk in' could get one?" The agent responded, "So, I guess minding your own business isn't a thing anymore?" My wife asked, "Isn't good customer service a thing?" The agent responded, "I hate dealing with people when they're little [expletive] like you! You need to get your [expletive] out of here right now!" I told her, "I'm not leaving here without a vehicle!” She then dialed 911 and reported that there were 'trespassers on her property'!! She told the police that she had a "family emergency" and had to close the office, but "these people just won't listen!" She started taking photos of my wife, yelling, "This will be in the police report!" So, my wife took a picture of her! (attached)

She went on raving, calling us names using foul and insulting language. I called Budget Customer Service number to report what was happening. The Customer Service agent said he would find us another vehicle in the area at the same price as the one I reserved, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the agreement. But later stated that there were no vehicles available in the entire Hampton Roads region! The police arrived, and told us that the agent was within her rights to tell us to leave. So, we exited the building, but stayed in the parking lot, and waited for 20 minutes. She did not leave the building! I escalated my complaint to corporate "Customer Service”, who did not respond.

I finally had to call them, I asked for a written apology, and a free one-time rental as compensation. The response was, "I'm sincerely sorry. This should not have happened. But I don’t think you understand that we do not guarantee availability of trucks, we will not send you any form of correspondence, and we do not offer any form of consolation, or compensation to dissatisfied customers." Repeated over and over and over, a little louder each time.

Once I left the shop I discovered the headlight was burnt out, the defrost didn't work, the windshield wipers were shot and the cab leaked water from all of the rain I had to drive through. When I called customer service to complain they offered me $50.00 to compensate me. They told me that since I didn't call roadside assistance and wait for them to come and fix things that should never have been an issue in the first place. They couldn't do anything further. I thought U-Haul was bad but Budget is actually worse. I would not recommend renting from them unless you have a lot of time to waste and you don't mind driving junk.

Truck is still in snowbank now - 10 days later. They said I could call their tow dept and they would pull it out of snowbank but we would STILL have to drive it to the facility - where the tow truck comes from. They swapped trucks - gave me one with bald tires - and expect us to drive it without chains in snow and ice. VERY STUPID PEOPLE AT THIS COMPANY. Now will file small claims and consumer protection papers. They might have screwed all of these other people on here but not me.

Spoke to a man that said only Fernando can assist. Told me to call him tomorrow. I said, "Leave him a message to call me." He did not call so I left another voice mail. Still no call. I called again and Fernando actually answered! Fernando when I finally got him on the phone said first it was empty, then said no 3/4 full. Then said he put in 8 gallons. He did no such thing. I have receipt. Asked if he had cameras, he says yes, I said check it for someone stealing the fuel.

I told him, "You need to refund me my money." He said he can. I need to call the 800 number. He is not able to reverse charges. On my word really. What a run around. This is plain fraudulent and very bad customer service. I called the number. They say they can give me $40. I said no I want all of it refunded. He said I have to call the store and put me on hold. Came back. No answer, "I am sorry. You have to go to the store." I said, "No you need to get my card credited." In the end he said I need to email this email. I expect a reply within 48 hours max.

In the meantime I have filed a dispute on my American Express. I will also be sure to rate your service as well as the location and budget as a whole online. These ratings are used to determine services we all seek. The originating store had an ok one but I will post this there as well as it is a Budget issue!!! I am very upset that your customer service people do so little and leave it to the customer when clearly there is an issue with your location employees! Shut them down!!

Called Roadside Assistance at 7:30 am on the 14th of January. They stated they were unaware we had not been helped. They did send a man out who suggested that the fleet had several mechanical issues. He was not able to repair the truck and would call for a tow. I called Roadside Assistance back and they said they would have a truck delivered within an hour. At 12:45 pm we received confirmation that a truck would be delivered in approximately 2 1/2 hours. Keep in mind we are past the return deadline at this point. I was assured there would be no extra charges for late return on the 15th of January by customer service. The truck finally arrived at 6:00 pm on the 15th of January. We made it back to Maine with the final load at 11:30 pm.

I had to call out from work on the 14th due to the breakdown. My rate of pay lost for the day was 187.00. I had to make two trips from Massachusetts which had I been rented to correct size truck would not have happened. I had to make arrangements to get the truck back by 9:45 am on the 16th to a location 30 minutes away from me. The whole thing became a nightmare.

Luckily, while we are standing at the door evaluating our options, the operator comes cruising in and says we are lucky he got in early this morning, he usually does not get there until 9:00 AM. He says, "What are you doing here?" We show him our email reservation. He says, "I do not know anything about that and we do not have any trucks available". He goes and checks his "system" and swears there are no reservations on his "system". We show him both confirmation emails, he is sorry, he says he knows nothing about the reservation. So we go away with no truck. Luckily U-Haul had one truck left that morning and they could help us out. And for a finishing touch, 3 days later I get a $50 charge on my credit card from, guess who, Budget Truck Rental, for a "No Show" charge. Outrageous!

I checked the lights and found the parking lights and running lights to not be functioning. My wife went inside to address the agent and her response was, "What do you want me to do?" She called a maintenance man named Nelson and he proceeded to tell us that it was normal that this is not a commercial truck and there are no lights. I have rented many trucks so I knew it was wrong. Then the left fender on the car dolly was hanging by 1 bolt. Nelson told us that it would be ok. After getting tired and losing time and a phone call to customer service, we headed home to load.

I called customer service after I arrived home and they told me there is a problem with the lights and they connected me to roadside assistance. They sent us a company at 10 o'clock that night. They did find that there was an electrical problem and it was repaired. We now had running lights and parking lights. But we were delayed from leaving due to waiting for roadside assistance.

The next day (10/30/2018) when I went to load the car on the dolly all the tires were extremely low and one tire was to point of almost flat. I called customer service and it took roadside service 3 hours to come out. Upon inspection there was an issue with the tire and it was replaced. Also upon inspection the tires on the truck and trailer were 10-15lbs. low.

We finally were able to leave and head to Vancouver, Wa. While riding through Georgia in the rain, the passenger side windshield wiper arm literally fell off. Fortunately I was able to immediately exit the highway and pull in a gas station. I called roadside assistance and 2 hours later both wipers were replaced and I was back on the road.

Maintenance seems to be lacking heavily with your company. It is posted very clearly in the cab of the truck that the truck is to be serviced every 6000 miles. Well this truck upon me taking the vehicle had 110,000 miles. The last time the truck was serviced was 102,000 miles. If your trucks were being serviced properly the issues that I encountered would or may not have happened. All of these issues are Safety Issues. I am concerned that safety is not important to your company. I feel as though you put my wife and I in danger.

I called about the headlights because of the poor vision at night. The lights are very yellow. The visibility at night was beyond unsafe. Roadside assistance had someone come out and adjust them. That did not fix the issue. Headlights over a period of time get old and lose their brightness. These headlights were so old it was frightening at times. I called Budget again in New Mexico and they set up for a company to come out. Well the company that called me was rude and told me that they weren't coming out to replace them. And they never did.

Finally after arriving in Washington and unloading, apparently the front right corner of the truck was leaking and my dining room table (wood) was soaking wet and damaged. I filed a claim about that. I would think that all vehicles should be cleaned. The inside of the cab was so nasty and dirty, it makes me wonder how you guys can send out a vehicle like that. And then it was ants everywhere in the cab. I had to purchase Raid in order to get rid of them. I have attached a picture of the towels that I used to clean the inside of the cab. The towels were new when I started.

In closing, Budget made this move just horrible. From the terrible customer service, to the safety issues, to just the lack of customer concern. I have been told that I will be compensated for all these issues. What I don't understand is that you guys take your money instantly after the completion of the reservation but have the nerve to tell me to wait 5-7 days for a response. I think that is unfair. I think your lack of concern for the customer is very evident. Budget put my wife and I through a terrible move. I have used you guys many times and won't ever use your company again. I am asking for a substantial refund. I believe in all fairness that I deserve that for what your company put us through. Put yourself in our shoes as customers. I look forward to your response.

Fast forward to when I have the truck... the smell in the truck is BEYOND awful. I firmly believe it is the worst thing I have ever smelled. It was like a mix of mildew, diapers and a dead animal. The odor attached itself to EVERYTHING in the back of the truck, as well as the cab, which I was driving in for about 25 hours! One can imagine how frustrating this was, especially considering my circumstances.

I alerted Budget's Customer Service division as soon as the smell become too much to bear, and they put a note into the account. When I arrived at my destination, the smell was too potent on some of my items (especially clothing) and I had to throw several things out, which is a clear loss of money due to Budget not maintaining their equipment.

On top of all this, I returned the truck a DAY EARLY in my destination city, and was told there would be an extra charge for that of about $100. I did not understand and they said they were adding the fee for the last minute change. I explained that doesn't make sense, as my initially planned drop off location was not open on the day I returned the truck (Saturday) and wouldn't be open until Monday. I did not want to leave the key in a drop box, as I needed to explain to an employee the smell and show them. I called customer service immediately after drop-off to get compensation. I was unable to until "the reservation was closed". I called seven more times and they said every time that the reservation was not closed.

When my reservation was FINALLY closed on Wednesday (four days after drop off), I was able to discuss compensation options with Customer Service. I expected at least 50% considering the terrible conditions and loss of property. They offered $25. That amount doesn't even pay for 2 hours worth of gas. It was less than 5% of my total cost for the truck. I politely asked several times to multiple levels within customer service for a refund of the bogus $100 fee they stuck on me and ideally a little bit of money to replace my lost property. Their customer service managers were EXTREMELY curt and even after explaining my diagnosis, were extremely apathetic. At one point they said "After giving your situation extreme consideration, we do not believe any compensation over $50 is legitimate". They said that. To a cancer patient whose life they made miserable and whose property they ruined.

I am writing this review to hopefully persuade everyone reading to NEVER use Budget. I don't want to grandstand, but no one deserves that level of apathy and rudeness, let alone one going through cancer treatment. Budget will never see another cent from me, and with the way they treat their customers, I can only pray they go out of business.

After I get the truck towed to our storage facility we had to rent a U-Haul truck to get our remaining stuff from our home. While at our storage facility I parked both trucks back to back so no one would get into either truck to steal our stuff. Budget then had our U-Haul truck towed out of their way even though it was not in their way whatsoever and ended up doing over $15,000 worth of damage to our personal property inside the U-Haul truck and has never even tried to contact me. I have left multiple multiple multiple messages and no one has ever contacted me and they always give me some kind of running around every time I call their office. This is been going on for 6 months and I'm fed up then to top it all off when we got our bill they charged over $1,400 for a truck we never used and deducted from our bank account without our permission.

Oh and tire pressure light was on the whole ride. Refueling was triple what I had expected to pay-I have made the same trip with Uhaul and Penske four times before-but the truck has over 120k miles so I guess I should have seen that coming. Drop off location was incorrect. Found out when I went to an empty building and called their customer service. Then when I expressed all my grievances to an employee and asked for a supervisor, the rep was rude and said no one was available.

After driving all way from Asheville NC to Rossville GA. realized that I had no tail lights, no brake lights or turn signal on right rear. I called customer service to request money back on insurance since I was NEVER told that I could decline it. I signed the insurance paper with the understanding that I had no choice. The manager at customer service said because I signed it accepting the insurance. That they would not refund my money. I told him the only reason I signed was because I was told I had to.

I told him that I knew the phone call was being recorded & that I felt they owed me the insurance back, after all they had lied to me just to get me to take the insurance. I told him I was also recording the conversation. He said he didn't authorize me to record & hung up on me... If they was truthful & not deceiving & lying to sell their insurance...he would have cared about being recorded. SO RENTERS BEWARE. Budget should not even get a 1 star review.

I send the following demand back to the third party budget contracts with which explains our situation in more detail: "We take exception to the forwarded documentation of claim by your firm and further reserve our right to an equitable adjustment to recover cost incurred but not limited to loss of moving expenses, loss of equipment rental time, loss of beneficial use of rented equipment, and further considerations as allowed by laws of the State of Florida. So glad you contacted me. I was contemplating what we should do about the defective tire that blew out on interstate I-75 causing a delay in our travels and aforementioned losses incurred by my family. As indicated to you on the phone we only made it out of Naples Florida about 80 miles and the defective tire provided by Budget shredded to pieces nearly causing a multi-car pile up, as stated we barely made it off the travel lane where we sat for 2 hours inches from truck traffic.

Your firm is basing the subject claim on a tire repair bill as no one from Budget in Waynesville has any issue or has incurred any cost or cost of inspection, in other words the receiving Budget facility did not incur any inspection concerns. You do know it was a faulty tire that blew out on the interstate and that my disabled wife was forced to sit in the tow vehicle for two hours, she cannot walk, was unable to use a restroom or move out of harm's way. She was emotionally affected by this defective equipment failure which we shall address as our claim progresses. Please have your client retract this claim and order an immediate inspection and recertification of all vehicles currently leaving the Naples Florida operation. Your client in Naples deemed this vehicle safe to operate by signature and allowed the vehicle to leave the facility with defective equipment."

After talking with their roadside assistance "hotline", I had no way to believe that Budget was going to be able to get me a new truck in a reasonable amount of time late on a Friday in the middle of an area that was not largely populated. Wait 1 or 2 days or take the matter into my own hands? Fortunately a Home Depot was in the previous town 10 miles away and they rent Penske trucks. After a $40 Uber ride and Home Depot stays open until 8:00 PM, they had an identical truck for rent (with less than 20,000 miles to boot). Problem: It was over double the amount I had already paid Budget. You have to pay it.

I wrote to Budget and they would reimburse me for the amount of the Budget truck rented in Dallas. They would not reimburse me for the more expensive truck I was required to rent because their equipment was old and faulty. I eventually wrote the CEO of Budget / Avis group. I never had the courtesy of a reply email, call or letter. So, two issues with Budget: A: Old equipment being put on the road to consumers that faces the risk of failure on customers, B: Poor customer experience to try and make things right with the customer. I will always share my experience with Budget and only rent from them as a last, last resort.

Upon arriving to the pickup location, we felt pressured to purchase the insurance on the truck. It was not struck to my attention that it was a good idea until our review of the truck and our walk around. The truck right from the start was beat up pretty good, more than your typical rental truck and nothing like I have seen before. The rear was bent, support bars were busted, the license plate was also missing, only a small corner still attached. There was mud caked all over the steps and fuel tank area, the cargo are was filthy! Not dirty, but downright filthy! There was a puncture through the cargo wall to the outside. The cargo door rail was also busted! We did not have much of a choice given our time frame etc.

When I got into the cab it got even worse. The interior smelled awful, it looked like something literally exploded in the cab, stains all over the headliner, the seats, dash, floors, door panels were nasty! The steering wheel was sticky and the console was held together with tape!!! Upon arriving to our location we started to unload the truck come to find out the cargo lights did not work, so it was very dangerous for us trying to unload with no lights, the load shifted as the truck rides rough, so it was very scary trying to ensure neither of us got hurt and unloaded safely. We only had a 277 mile trip to make, the fuel said over 440 miles till empty. We stopped at 194 miles to put fuel in $60 worth, did not even give us a half tank. We drove the other 80 miles and put $40 more in the tank, the fuel cut off at the pump as if it was full. Upon getting back on the road it showed only 3/4 of a tank.

I was furious! Our card was maxed for our daily allowance with our personal bank, we could not put the last quarter tank in upon drop off. Today We just got a charge for $82?! For what I am guessing the be the 1/4 tank. The turn in contract shows the fuel level on pickup and fuel level on drop off and they were very close to the same mark. We did our part, we took the insurance, we put the fuel in, and the whole time it was fighting against us. There must be a way Budget Truck can make this right. It was unacceptable the condition of the truck they rented to us. I even took it upon my self to ask for someone to contact us on our contract during the turn in.

There was mud caked all over the steps and fuel tank area, the cargo area was filthy! Not dirty, but downright filthy! There was a puncture through the cargo wall to the outside. The cargo door rail was also busted! We did not have much of a choice given our time frame etc. When I got into the cab it got even worse. The interior smelled awful, it looked like something literally exploded in the cab, stains all over the headliner, the seats, dash, floors, door panels were nasty! The steering wheel was sticky and the console was held together with tape!!! Upon arriving to our location we started to unload the truck. Come to find out the cargo lights did not work, so it was very dangerous for us trying to unload with no lights, the load shifted as the truck rides rough, so it was very scary trying to ensure neither of us got hurt and unloaded safely.

We only had a 277 mile trip to make, the fuel said over 440 miles till empty. We stopped at 194 miles to put fuel in $60 worth, did not even give us a half tank. We drove the other 80 miles and put $40 more in the tank, the fuel cut off at the pump as if it was full. Upon getting back on the road it showed only 3/4 of a tank. I was furious! Our card was maxed for our daily allowance with our personal bank, we could not put the last quarter tank in upon drop off.

Today we just got a charge for $82?! For what? I am guessing the be the 1/4 tank. The turn in contract shows the fuel level on pickup and fuel level on drop off and they were very close to the same mark. We did our part, we took the insurance, we put the fuel in, and the whole time it was fighting against us. There must be a way Budget Truck can make this right. It was unacceptable the condition of the truck they rented to us. I even took it upon myself to ask for someone to contact us on our contract during the turn in.

An hour later I still hadn't heard anything. I had friends and family scheduled to help move that day and couldn't wait around all day. Tried calling several times, but kept getting a message that all the Representatives were busy and to call back later. Finally got a callback, and was told they're sorry, but they didn't have a truck. I asked about getting the deposit back and they said it was only charged to my account after picking up the truck. Wish I had checked these reviews before renting from Budget as I see this is a common occurrence with them. Won't be renting from them again. Fortunately U-Haul had a truck available last minute even though it cost more money. Had to rent a smaller truck and make two trips because that's all they had available. Really disappointed in Budget.

On Thursday I called again, this time to ask if I could have the truck keys picked up earlier in the day and return for the truck after hours to avoid cutting into my work schedule. I do not recall the name of the man I spoke with, but he was very short and rude. In an angry tone he informed me that the truck needs to leave the lot with me when I pick-up the keys. I understand that, rules are rules but there's no need to be nasty about it.

Friday comes around and I leave work early knowing that I will have a 45 minute drive to Lodi, NJ as a result of their previous inventory issue. I arrive at the designated location at 5:11 only to be told by Kim that there is no truck available for me and that someone should have called me. No one called me! There was a truck sitting on the lot just like the one I reserved. When I asked if I could take that truck she informed me it was reserved for someone else for the following day. I told her this was unacceptable and that it needed to be resolved because I need a truck and have a reservation. Kim stated she would contact her manager to see what could be done. In the 40 minutes I stood there watching her click away on the computer, I thought she was trying to resolve the problem at hand. Little did I know, SHE DID NOTHING.

After standing that long with my mother and disabled son I asked her for a follow-up since I knew the office was closing. All she had to say was there is no truck available and I could call the 1-800 number to speak with inventory. I was astounded and not in a good way. I asked again that she give me the truck parked in the lot, and yet again she refused because first she stated I could have it for a few hours and need to bring it back before Saturday morning (It was now almost 6pm on Friday), then her story switched to I cannot have it at all because it needs to be serviced after hours and then given to someone else.

How is it that I made a reservation which was first changed to a pick-up location 45 minutes from my house resulting in me losing work time, paying tolls, and using up gas to drive all the way down there and back to NY. How is it that my reservation was then not honored, but someone else's reservation for the following day was set in stone and could not be moved. To make matters worse, no form of assistance or reasonable accommodation or attempts of were made. She offered me a van that wouldn't even fit my couch. That is useless! I am a single mother with a disabled child, I am scheduled to move tomorrow morning at 9am (friends took off from work to help me), I have to be out of the house otherwise I lose my $1,800 security deposit, I lost work hours to pick-up my reserved truck from a location that was arranged by Budget's inventory manager, and I DID NOT get a truck.

I am 13 hours away from needing to move since I am moving over an hour away from my current home, and I do not have a truck. Friends changed their entire schedules to help me and my son. This process was stressful enough on its own, but this is ridiculous. I am infuriated and disappointed beyond words. I am not a cryer and this company has managed to bring me to the level of tears. When I called their 1-800 number I was told that they "apologize for the inconvenience". INCONVENIENCE?!? This is not an inconvenience, this is a disaster! I was told the best they could do is send a request to inventory to call me regarding the issue and it could be anywhere from 15 minutes to the following day at 10 am.

It is now nearing 9pm on Friday and NOTHING! I did not receive a call at any point in the day or previous days informing me that my truck will not be available. Instead I received 6 confirmation emails. When I mentioned this to customer service I was told they cannot confirm a truck will be available, they can only confirm the price and that it's written in the fine print. This is the worst rental company I have ever come across. I am disgusted with the way they handle (or in this case don't handle) over-booking issues, customers, etc. There is no customer service, only disappointment, frustration, and loss of money. I was supposed to have a moving truck over three hours ago and I have nothing. Budget is a disgrace and I will NEVER work with this company again and strongly urge others to avoid them at all costs.

This forced their system to charge me for two days instead of one. After 3 hours of being on the phone, the only solution offered was for me to rent the truck for two days and then call next week and request one day be reimbursed. Even though my original reservation was for only one day. I am currently serving active duty in the US Air Force and me and my fellow service members move frequently. At this current moment I would not recommend any service member to ever do business with Budget Truck Rental after my experience today.

Then, after returning the truck to this Knoxville location, I was told customer service would help me and compensate me within 3 business days. I called customer service, they said 5-7 business days. It's now been 11 days and I've heard nothing!! I was just transferred from person to person for an hour until I heard from an answering machine they were closed. BUDGET HAS BEEN A TOTAL NIGHTMARE. Negligent to the damage their truck could have caused. Terrible customer service and they keep lying to me. They say they want to take care of their customers and I keep being assured that I'll be reimbursed, but then I hear nothing back from them. What a terrible, dishonest company.

already was happening with this truck. When I returned the truck the man at the counter said he could not do anything and to call customer service after 48 hours so that the rental would be in their system. He did say he was going to take the truck out of service and have it checked out but he saw that the check engine light was on and suggested that maybe it was an electrical problem.

This was very important to us and reassuring because if someone else drove this truck and was harmed or hurt someone else we'd have to live with it. He also said he was not going to have me sign the credit receipt due to these problems. Since then we were offered only $30 for our terrifying experience, then $39, and they weren't going to give a dime more back. We knew we should have taken pictures or video's but when you're in a situation like that you don't think of those things. We just wanted to get back safely and in one piece for our Grandson to be born the following day. This horrible business must think that getting $230 is worth the bad press they will get. I'm wondering if the corporate office ever hears the complaints, or cares, if so how do they sleep at night. Like I said go somewhere else, clearly they don't care about your safety! I gave this shady operation 1 star because I couldn't give it zero.

We found out a few hours into our drive that the tow dolly they gave us was defective. One of the wheel straps was broken, which meant we had to stop every two hours to re-strap the wheel. What was supposed to be a 15 hour drive took well over 20. And worse, my car slipped through the defective straps, denting my door, potentially damaging the underside of my car, and causing us to wait two hours for roadside assistance to help us remove the car from the trailer.

While this was all bad enough, I have to say that my experience with customer service was worse. I spent hours on the phone with a representative, only to be offered $20 for my inconvenience. This person was rude, unhelpful, and unable to understand the story I was communicating. After weeks of speaking with other customer service representatives, they increased the offer to $125. Considering I paid over $900 to rent their defective equipment, and to drive 3 hours just to pick up equipment that they failed to reserve, I find this amount entirely insufficient. Aside from my terrible moving experience, I have now spent hours on the phone with customer service and filing insurance claims to get my car fixed. (I purchased tow insurance but Budget is, unsurprisingly, making the claims process as difficult as possible.) In short, moving is stressful enough; don't add to your stress by using Budget.

I called Budget customer service and after a series of questions were answered I was told that I would receive a call within 15 minutes about another truck. One of the questions asked was about how far would I drive for another truck. I specifically said 10 miles and that I WOULD NOT go to Claremore, which would have been about a 30 minute drive. I received a call about an hour later saying that they had made a reservation in Claremore!!! We ended up renting with Penske and will NEVER, EVER even attempt a rental with Budget ever again.

The yoke burst from its frame and fell on the hwy. We had to spend 2 nights in Barstow, have our contents moved to a different truck & waited on Budget to find us a new truck for 6 hours. Was on the phone for hours trying to get in touch with towing & talking with Budget Customer Service. I was given the runaround with customer service again and again; telling me that I needed to talk someone else. IT WAS A FREAKING NIGHTMARE. I will NEVER use Budget Truck Rental ever again!!!

I was 1100 miles (18 hours) from home, and this guy strong armed me into picking an "optional" coverage that I didn't want nor need, to rent the truck. I spoke with the truck rental manager Morgan ** at the Las Vegas store, and explained the situation. She stated I was correct, in not having to have the optional coverage. Morgan stated that she would be filing a complaint about the situation, and she has heard many complaints about the Dallas dealers. I called customer service on 8-10, and was told to call back the next day. I called again on 8-11, and spoke with an agent, then I requested to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor Angel offered me a $30 inconvenience credit. I am not looking for a $30 credit, I want to be refunded the $275 optional coverage that I was forced to take. In order for the dealer to give me the truck that I rented.

Then I wake up a couple days later to find out they overdrafted my account $50 for a no-show when I actually DID show up and told them to cancel my reservation and they agreed without any additional fee so I threw a fit trying to contact them. Took me forever. Couldn't find my reservation number. Got on the phone with Gabriel who was a complete ** and did not help me at all. Finally got on the phone with a nice lady named Mary who helped refund the amount but it will still be five to seven business days until I will get it and I will have to pay overdraft fees!!! Do not rent a truck from them! 20% discount is not worth it. Go to U-Haul. They are amazing!!!

There was no walkthrough of the previous damage or a note taken about how disgusting the interior was. The guy on the phone simply told me that because I had paid the outrageous $100 insurance fee that I wouldn't be responsible for anything. (I'm curious as to what happens to those that don't buy the insurance and there are previous dents all over the truck...) The guy then texted me a picture of the computer screen with my rental information. I should have known from this that my experience was going to be awful.

During the drive to my location we drove through a rainstorm where my dad (the driver) was drenched in the cab of the truck from a very obvious leak. When we arrived to the destination and started pulling out my items, both my couch and mattress (which were positioned towards the front of the truck near the cab) were soaking wet and had obvious stains. We took pictures of the couch but were unable to take a picture of the mattress since it was white. However, you could squeeze water out of the mattress and even when we had it rested on the back of the truck trying to determine what to do with it, it left a huge puddle behind.

I contacted the claims department (assuming that I would need to meet with someone in person to look at the damage) and was told I would hear back within 48-52 hours. I did not hear back from them until an entire week later which at that point, I no longer had immediate access to the couch and mattress. When the woman from claims finally called me and I explained the situation to her, she told me that they would likely not be able to do anything about my items without pictures (I did have just the picture of the couch). I explained to her how impossible it would be to take a picture of the mattress being as it is white the water was not visible however, to the touch it was very evident there had been water damage. If I had met with a claims person in person (which clearly this company avoids any in person interaction) then they would have been able to feel the water damage. She ended the conversation by "disconnecting the phone call."

In email, I told her just to proceed with the claim with just the couch since that is the only thing I had photo evidence of and I just received word that the claim could not be processed because the truck had been inspected and there was no leak. I am not sure how this could ever be possible being as that my dad was soaking wet from the drive and I have picture evidence of the couch receiving water damage. Moral of the story is I will NEVER do business with this company again and I highly recommend you stay away as well unless you want to deal with awful customer service and potential damage to your items.

I was so done and hung up. Lady from Fulton Ave calls. Says they have our truck and it was transferred to them??? I picked up truck and we have it loaded. Go to shut everything then this ** happens, hydraulic lift gate stops working. I call Budget roadside on hold for 2 1/2 hours, transferred to person to person, hung up on, put on hold, customer service comes on 45 mins later, "Hello who you holding for," puts me on hold again after demanding supervisor and it still continues! Waiting 4 hours, stranded with two minors and a one week old infant. I was told I would be contacted with roadside assistant and hour later still nothing. I can't wait to write corporate!

First night we land in Monroe, Louisiana when we got up to head out we noticed the trailers right wheel is flat and so I call Budget. I am informed that they have a roadside service and we need to contact them to get the tire fixed. Over 1 hour passes and a few calls later and we are told that there are others before us and they will get to us. 3 hours later the repairman comes and replaces the tire. What set me off was that Budget was the next exit over from where we were and it took 3 hours to get someone to fix the right tire. So we finally get on the road and we are 58 miles east of El Paso, Texas and I hear this loud sound look in the back and I can see smoke, lots of smoke so I pull over and as I get out my sister yells out there is a fire on the auto trailer.

She grabs all the water we had and she goes over to put out the fire on the trailer hauling my 2018 Jeep Wrangler. This time it looks as though the left tire on the auto trailer has been torn and caused by a blown tire. We are 78 miles from the Arizona border heading west on I-10 and 58 miles from El Paso, Tx., and the reason I know this to be fact is I was literally parked under mile marker 78 west bound. Anyway so I call Budget again and again I am told I need to get ahold of their roadside service. Now when we called the first time I was told it would be approx 40 minutes but I then started thinking about the first truck I originally was to pick up and the engine light being on and then the flat tire yesterday so I thought this is some sort of sign.

I decided to look at all the tires on the truck that was pulling my car and the 2 front tires were completely bald and one was showing tread, so I called them and said they needed to replace those as well. They told me it would be over an hour before they would get to me and the previous call I was told 40 minutes. It was not until 3 hours later that the repairman came and he fixed the 2 front tires. He then told me he could not fix the left tire because even thought the tire was popped it was in fact the axle that snapped and caught fire. Now it is 104 degrees and My sister, my dog and myself are extremely hot. We both were suffering headaches due to the heat in the desert and it took 3 hours to get to us. So when the repairman said he couldn't fix the axle we are told to wait with the truck so that nothing happens to their truck.

We again call Budget and the roadside service and again we are told multiple wait times. I said I felt we had priority over other callers due to the fact we had already waited 3 hours and the issue still had not been fixed. One time we called and they hadn't even called it in to dispatch after we made several calls. We were told we had to get back in line and wait our turn. Now by this time I am livid, boiling with rage and have a headache and my dog is vomiting because of the heat. Finally someone came out again and it was another 3 hours in the desert. 6 hours in total in 104 degrees in the desert. The man that came finally towed my car and told me to drive the truck and trailer to El Paso and I was even angrier because we were less than 58 miles from El Paso and they thought of their trucks verses human life or that of an animal.

So we get to another motel in El Paso and the tow service tells me and my sister that he will be back later that night or the next morning with another trailer and we can be on our way. We have really bad headaches and now diarrhea and we go to bed and the next morning the tow service guy calls and tells us that Budget decided to have the auto trailer welded back together and when it was fixed they would bring it to us so that we can leave. So I called around and found another Budget rental with 10 miles and they had a replacement trailer and all I had to do is call Budget and let them know. I call and they tell me that they will not approve that trailer and that they will fix the one that snapped and I would have to take that. I told them absolutely not! That would never happen after all that had occurred with this trailer.

So I had to rent another trailer to be delivered so that the tow service that Budget uses could properly hook it up and we could be on our way. We finally made it into Arizona and I called to talk with them over all that has transpired and I felt refunds/compensation should be offered. I was told they would give me $250 off the truck and pay 1 trailer $99. I told them that was an insult and that they thought more of their truck and little to none on life. I paid over $4,000 plus and they felt that 2 lives and an animal was only worth $350. I also will post this on Facebook and ask everyone to share because all they care about is money and nothing more.

So drove with one good light to see. Placed strap on car tire on dolly because it came off again. Started down road and turned on air conditioner no air. It's 90+ outside. Pulled sun visor to cover eyes from sun and it fell off and hit me in the head. Drove 1200 miles with windows open and received a sunburn face. Got home and realized the strap holding my brand new car was completely gone from dolly. Contacted customer service and their reply $ 200.00 off $1400.00 rental of a 1/2 functional truck and $ 106 for dolly. I told them no this was a nightmare and I believe 1/2 refund is appropriate. They refused. They do not maintain their trucks. Also I had to buy windshield wiper fluid because there was none in the truck. If you rent you need to be aware they don't care. You are on your own.

So we contacted the “emergency” number that indicates to “contact in case of emergency/life or death situations” that we received upon booking, and we got a pre-recorded message stating that they are “closed for the day, contact us during normal work hours.” This is a disgrace, and strike number two. We contacted the police and they completed a report. We finally got a hold of someone from Budget, whom was spewing policy, saying that there’s nothing that this company can do for us because it’s “after work hours,” and told us to ask the police to contact a tow truck driver. (Strike number three).

The police did contact a local towing company, and to add salt to the wound, there was absolutely no hotels/Airbnb’s available within a two hundred mile radius. The kind empathetic police lady contacted someone she knew locally in a small town in Idaho called “Rupert,” and got us a room. She was an angel. We were literally going to ask the police if we could stay in their jail overnight because it was either that, pay over a thousand dollars for a taxi, or stay on the median next to the freeway in the middle of nowhere with our kitties.

That was yesterday night. This morning, while speaking to a Budget representative, she told us that they will get another truck, have professional movers move our stuff from that truck that this company gave us in order to play with our/other civilians’ lives or serious bodily injury, and that the truck will come to us by 4:00 PM today with our stuff inside. We booked hotels, movers, and other appointments after we received this information that Budget “assured” us would take place. We contacted Budget around 5:30 pm today, and we’re told that no one had moved anything, and that now the truck won’t be ready until tomorrow.

We had to purchase clothing, food, toiletries, cat supplies, amongst other things because our stuff is in that truck that Budget promised they conducted preventative maintenance on. We had to cancel our hotel stay, purchase yet another hotel stay here in the middle of nowhere Idaho, cancel our movers, book movers for the week me which is an additional $145 fee, and we had to literally change our apartment lease due to this, which costs money, that goes without saying. Budget Truck Rentals have lied to us more than this administration, and we’ve suffered physically, psychologically, and monetary wise. This all actually happened and is 100% truthful. I cannot comprehend how this company is still in business.

I received a response from ["CS rep 1st name only given"] 7-23-18 that I am hoping you have access to after I have made calls, emailed, and then filled out an online form. I want you to be aware of how a customer (since 1997) feels now as the result of his response so that you may better train individuals in the future. First off, insinuating that we lied about not having any AC for a 1,000 mile trip with no apology was insulting, at best. The claim it had not been reported is, in fact inaccurate (reported on the 8th to both the mechanic and the dispatcher when the truck would not start that, "maybe it is a short related to the AC that has not been working either").

The mechanic (who was a really good guy) informed us that the reason for the delay in repair was due to "not receiving approval" hours upon hours after the initial call. Being broken down in the fuel aisle at a truck stop in the middle of the night with pets and teenage girls left us with no other safe option than waiting over 8 hours in a hotel; to hear that the only reason it will not be refunded is due to an arbitrary definition of "overnight," still remains unbelievable to me. The repetitive mention of how "well-maintained" and dependable the fleet is was a further slap in the face for people who drove through the hottest states in the country with no AC during the month of July and broke down in a truck stop only 5 hours from destination (then to find out the time lapsed was because the poor mechanic could not get approval to do his job to fix the problem).

Further offending me, by saying that "we would not offer a full refund..." when that was not what I asked for. I asked for what was absolutely and completely right by refunding our hotel expenses and discounting the rental for not having AC; which I will add would not have been at a loss for Budget because we even turned the truck in two days early. To be honest, your customer service representative sounded more like he was trying to avoid a lawsuit than do what was right. The disingenuous response only made me even more disappointed in the experience. Especially after figuring in the company (even if my hotel had been refunded) still would have come out ahead due to the fact the truck was turned in early to be paid for a second time by another customer.

My request was anything but unreasonable and I have to say I am sadly surprised by the lack of empathy in the response to our situation. Hopefully he never has to travel over a 1,000 miles with children, pets, everything he owns, and after driving for 13 hours with no AC be left at a truck stop, not knowing what to do because no one will approve repairs.

Furthermore, upon trying to submit this form I tried the only number in "CS rep 1st name only given" email, my confirmation number, and a combination of both only to repeatedly not be able to use any of them which means I have to again contact someone to even submit this response. Also, we were told by the mechanic the batteries shorted due to improper grounding of a recently installed alternator-"well-maintained," "dependable" trucks. The unnecessary stress to everyone (including pets) was exacerbated when we found out Budget did not make it right, as I kept telling everyone they would. After 21 years of using Budget-will never use again.

Three weeks later I received a bill for $341.32 for replacing the trailer's tire. I called stating that I purchased a waiver to cover any damages, however I was told that this was not covered. I asked customer service if a headlight, radio, light or A/C stop working am I responsible too? No answer was given, just that I'm responsible for the tire because it seems that a nail caused the damage. I have pictures that there was no tire left only the rim, so how they determined that it was a nail driving on the highway that caused the tire to blow. I'm taking legal action against Budget, they should provide the customer with well maintained truck for the safety of the customers. Never use them again.

WOW. What do you know... The guy has a 26 foot truck parked on the side lot. WTF? Why? Why would he say he didnt have a truck, couldnt get a truck, would not go to GA to get a truck and had called all over FL and no one had a truck? And then 24 hours later HAS a truck parked on his lot? I ended up having to pay more than 100.00 MORE for the truck I got because BUDGET is just wrong!!! Seriously. I will never...and I mean not ever, use Budget for anything again. Not trucks, not cars, not anything. This is the worst service I have ever experienced in my entire life. Is the system that flawed that you didnt know there would be a truck there for me? Anyone considering Budget for their truck needs... Please go to Penske. They will bend over backward to get you what you need and make sure you have it when and where you need it.

Further, my refund was promised on 7-3-2018 and still no credit to my bank account. Finally, the support staff on the telephone line were rude!! He was confused because there were two confirmation numbers associated with my reservation because of the 16' promised truck and the 12' provided truck. I had to repeatedly explain this, talk about frustrating! Then, he took the position that I wasn't entitled to a refund because "at least [I] had a truck". Because of Budget I had to pay friends to move the larger items in their truck which inconvenienced them and cost me more money. Then it didn't have a ramp so I had to pay a few men from the neighborhood to come pick up the heavy stuff since I couldn't use the Dolly to roll the heavy items into the truck BECAUSE it was so small it didn't have a ramp. One thing after another this company! And, now I have to chase down my refund.

The manager never called me. And the original lady I spoke with never offered an apology even after I mentioned that I was picking up a hospital bed for my husband. I immediately filed a complaint to Budget online asking for help and I needed a truck as they promised and about 5 or 6 days later I get an email saying that by the time they received my complaint it was too late to get me a truck for the day I had needed it.