Budget Truck Rental Reviews

I called Budget's 1800 and was told by several people they were helpless until the truck was turned in, but one lady told me, “Since you have to make more trips, you can turn it in later than 5.” Huh. With no ramp, loading large appliances and furniture was excessive labor. What started to be a generous estimate of 35 miles turned into 3 times that mileage because of the trips. All because what was done wasn't what we reserved. We had to leave behind a couch, two large bookshelves, a dresser and a vanity. No boxes or bags made it either. We actually have to rent another truck to move these items. The truck was returned the evening of the 9th. She was charged another day of insurance, and mileage. The gentleman I spoke to took off the excess mileage, the extra day of insurance, and charged her for the truck she got, as opposed to the truck she reserved.

However, no attempt was made for restitution of the things we didn't get done because of YOUR time constriction... and the size of truck you gave us. She's 22, makes minimum wage, and paid $150.00 deposit, plus the ins., truck rental and mileage all in good faith, and was abused as a customer. The man I talked to actually told me if I had rented a dolly, we would not have had to dead lift the fridge and the other large appliances. We thought we would have a ramp and had our own hand truck. We thought we could do the move in one trip. We thought we would have room for everything... We were treated badly, rudely and dismissively... and repeated attempts to recover her deposit are futile... excitement of her new apt was nonexistent by the end of the day. The store itself is chaotic, disorganized, and reservations mean they will "do their best”. EPIC FAIL.

Budget would not send out another truck. My dad had to rent another truck (from U-haul) and had to leave the broken truck as Budget would not extend the time on the other truck to be returned. By the time dad got a new truck, loaded it and got on the road, he had spent two days. To make the time, he got to AZ behind schedule making the other truck late. Budget then took $12,000 out of my dad's account (he only had $15 in it) for not getting the truck back on time and not fixing the other truck he was forced to leave on the side of the road, now making him severely overdrawn. Budget is the worst place to rent a truck from. They are not an honorable company, who leaves their customers stranded and do nothing to fix the mess their faulty truck caused. I truly hope my parents sue the crap out of this company.

I went over the list of things we had and what storage unit they were in at her facility. She explained the truck sizes and with her guidance, we decided on a truck. She also saw the items that were in my storage unit and saw the truck while we were loading it. There was no explanation of weight concerns either during our initial conversation or when she saw our storage unit with our goods in it. When I arrived to pick up the truck, the agent stated she thought the reservation was for the next week, but she had a truck that we could use. We got the truck and drove it approximately 50 yards to the storage closet to load our items into the truck.

Driving away, my husband realized that the truck's steering wheel was way off. We called Budget customer service and they told us to bring it into a dealer the next morning. One day delay in getting back to work. The next day, we took it in to the dealer who fixed an inside (dually) flat tire, but couldn't get the truck up on a rack because it was too big. We called Budget again, who told us to take it to another repair shop the next day. Two days late getting back to work. The next day my husband drove it (very carefully and slowly) an hour away into Grand Rapids for repairs and I followed in our car. We waited till noon when the service man told us there were 4 bad ball joints on the vehicle that were repaired. We went on our way - my husband to Mississippi and I back to Muskegon.

Twenty minutes later, I got a call from my husband stating the vehicle was driving all over the road and he was having a hard time keeping it on the road. It had almost flipped at one point, but he could not drive it any further. It was raining inside the vehicle because it was so leaky and there was a rain shower. I met him in Holland, MI where we again called for assistance. After explaining the situation, they had us drive to the truck stop and get the vehicle weighed. We did and faxed the info into them. They said they couldn't read the fax and it needed to be resent. We resent it. They said it was too dark and needed to be resent. We asked if we could read the numbers to him. He said no, he had to have the information in hand.

We took it to a Staples and had it re-faxed. Again, we called and he stated it was too dark and couldn't read it. I asked him what more they wanted us to do. We were already 2 days late and needed to get on the road. He stated to have it scanned and emailed to him. We did not have access to a computer or a scanner, so we took it back to Staples which could not do that either. I called and Budget told me to just read the information (3 hours into trying to get the fax to him). When I read the weights, he laughed. Now this is the fleet manager. He laughed at us and told us there was nothing else he could do because we were overweight. We called their customer service line, who seemed empathic, and put us on hold to see what they could do.

A few moments later, she got back on the line and stated she had just spoken with the fleet manager. She could not help us any further. The best she could do was to give us a new truck, which was located in Ludington, MI and we would have to drive to go get it. I told her, "No, thank you. I had lost faith in this company." After having to hire assistance to move our goods from one truck to the other, we returned the truck to the same place we rented it with a warning not to rent the vehicle out and that it is a dangerous vehicle. U-Haul to the rescue again! I love U-Haul! U-Haul provided us with a safe truck and we completed the move (3 days late to work).

Now this is where the real trouble starts! Budget refunded our truck rental cost. A few weeks later, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau about the situation and requested reimbursement for days lost in wages, gas to go to Grand Rapids, the cost of assistance to move our goods from one truck to the other and the cost difference between U-Haul and Budget. Budget's response was to blame us for the problem due to weight issues. They agreed to reimburse our faxes and weight ticket, which we did not follow through with providing the receipts. It wasn't worth dealing with Budget any further.

A few weeks later, we received a bill from Budget for damages to their lemon of a dangerous truck! We have spoken with them on 3 separate occasions and advised them of the whole situation. We requested that the bill be dropped. They declined. I have asked to speak with someone higher than the person we spoke to earlier, but have been declined. We have told them we are not paying for their damages and they should have sent a thank you to us for doing their work getting their vehicle fixed. Now they sent a letter stating they are going to refer us to an outside agency to collect the bill of $981.78.

Anyhow, I called the number and they told me they would contact an inventory manager to see if they could find anything for us in the area. I got a call an hour later from an inventory manager named Steve that they didn't have our truck or trailer in the area and there wasn't anything they could do, but if we wanted to, they had one 3 hours away we could go pick up! As we expressed to him that we are military and in the middle of a PCS, he said he didn't care and doesn't normally deal with the customers and there wasn't anything they could do for us. I was appalled! Steve couldn't have cared less about our situation or helping me. Steve also told me that they found out a few days earlier that they wouldn't be able to meet our reservation and that I "should" have received a phone call earlier.

When I told him I didn't get a phone call that they couldn't fill our reservation, he said that the manager was on vacation, that's why. That's not how you operate a business. Steve was the 4th person I spoke to with Budget (locally and nationally) who expressed they couldn't help us and there wasn't anything they could do. This is absolutely not how you operate a business in any way on multiple levels. I am also sure that customer satisfaction is a top priority and I was shown the complete opposite of that. I am very disheartened to know that a company couldn't care less about their customers' needs and specifically the needs of military personnel. I would like all military personnel to never trust Budget for their move!

After spending hours trying to find a new company to rent a truck and auto transport trailer from, which we should have been using to move by the date we were supposed to for the military, which thus delayed our move by an entire day - costing us time and money, we then went to U-Haul who were beyond helpful and price matched. They got us into just what we needed. U-Haul price matches! U-Haul was incredible, had more selection and more equipment, and was able to help us right away! They also had amazing customer service! Budget could learn a thing or two from U-Haul! Never will we rent from Budget again. They are a horrible company who promises it all and delivers with nothing!

Budget called me to say they were sending someone else who would be there in 90 minutes and could fix the tire. I spent 5 hours on the side of the road and all I was told by budget was "Have a nice day." This vehicle should never have been rented out; clearly, it was not inspected. In addition to the mechanical issues, paint was peeling off, graffiti was spray-painted across the side, and the visor was broken so that it hung down into the windshield. When I called to voice a complaint, only after escalating was I offered a 35% discount. It was clear they just did not care. I would not recommend anyone ever rent from them.

He told me that that was my problem. The tank isn't full when the fill safety clicks. (Why do they call it a fill safety?) He essentially said, too bad. I called Budget Corporate and complained, but they said they couldn't help me because the guy was right, the truck isn't full when the safety clicks. I offered to fax her the manual for the truck model, which says do not overfill the gas tank, stop when the fill safety clicks and directed them to this site http:**. They refunded my $30 (though it still hasn't reached my bank account as on 1/31). Also, even though the $236.92 cleared from my bank account immediately, the $230 hold hasn't been released as of 1/31.

I informed the gentlemen on Wednesday at the call center, that I have movers showing up at my house at 7pm, and I have no truck to be loaded. He stated he was going to contact the inventory manager and see if I can get a truck from another location, which all the other locations for Budget are incredibly out of the way and with gas prices, it's not fair I have to pay more money to drive to an out of the way location. And if that is the case, I would have made my reservation for that location instead. The customer service agent then stated that because of the late time, I might not get assisted until the following morning. I informed him that this was unacceptable as my movers were scheduled for 7pm. Consequently, I had to pay $140 to the movers for showing up and not being able to move my items because I had no truck! Now, I am unable to get movers back to my home until after February 1st because they are booked.

I waited and at 12 noon today 1/17/2013, I had to again call the customer service number and asked that I speak to a regional manager regarding my issue, because the day was half way over, and I did not receive a phone call. The agent stated. “I was on the phone with corporate,” but would not give me any additional information to speak with anyone other than her. A gentleman named Paul called me back an hour later, from telephone number **. He called and had a demeanor as if the issue I was having was irrelevant, and I had to tell him what happened, because he did not ask. Then he started to tell me that he just spoke to Melissa at the location, and that she said she was there. I then rebutted him and said, “No, she was not as I have a witness who was waiting there with me. No one was in the office from 3:45pm and onwards.”

So then in a rude voice he said, “Well, what do you want me to do?” What do I want him to do?! You have an irate customer on the phone who was relying on your service, and all you can do is attempt to have me a truck today! I'm sorry, but reservations are made for certain days for a reason. If I had the luxury of hiring my movers any day of the week, I would have not made a reservation, which was continually adjusted to ensure it would work for me and my movers. So without even being able to move, I am out $140 and extremely stressed, because the Inventory Manager did not want to assist me or make this situation better. So I am writing a letter to the Better Business Bureau, so others can be aware of how Budget treats their customers when it was the location’s fault with workers leaving early, and management leaving customers in the lurch.

At this point, I will not be using Budget for my move because I would hate to have to fork over another $140.00 for movers when obviously Budget is not a dependable truck rental place. The irony of it all, had I made a reservation and did not show up, Budget would have charged my card immediately for a cancellation fee. I am also forwarding my review of your company to as many Internet sites regarding companies' ill will towards customers.

A week before I needed the truck, I started calling my local lot, only to be told "We are still looking for a truck for you and will call you back". With no call back, I called two days later; it was the same story, except that they told me a "reservation specialist" from Budget would call me. There was no call. Two days later, I called again and was told to expect a call from the specialist. They finally called me the evening before I needed the truck and told me they didn't have one locally and that I would have to drive 70 miles to get one, and that it would be available 2 hours after my movers were scheduled to start loading it.

After telling them this was unacceptable, the specialist suggested I do business with someone else. He did promise to call me first thing the next morning to let me know if something turned up. Local U-Haul took excellent care of me and cost me $100 less for a larger truck and all the pads, dollies and so forth. I received my credit card bill and was shocked to find a $50 charge for not picking up my non-existent truck! I called Budget and they did refund the $50 (actually I won't know for 5-7 business days) but when I tried to get someone higher than a "floor" supervisor to complain to, all I got was, "I'll try to have someone call you". I wish I had checked out the internet prior to trying to rent a truck from these folks. Looking at the number of complaints, I am not alone in my frustration.

I managed to get them to take off my $30 refuel fee, but they charged me for the gas required to fill the truck which they claim was an additional $100! So I wound up spending over $200 more than I "budgeted" (sorry for the pun). On top of all of this, while driving the truck, the metal ramp fell out the back of the truck and I had to pull over after hearing an obviously loud scraping sound. Luckily, it did not fall on a car behind me. I was so freaked out driving the larger truck already and just wanted to get to my destination that I simply threw it back in the truck and kept on driving - which was my mistake again. Since I did not call roadside assistance, Budget did not believe that it happened and only offered me a modest 15% discount on my overall rental.

I have never dealt with a more miserable-sounding customer service staff in my life. They laughed at me, ignored what I was saying, interrupted me and hung up on me. Please, for your sake, do not use Budget. They will charge you extra and rip you off. Listen to the reviews.

An hour later, it overheated again. Waited two more hours for service. As we were waiting, we realized that the truck had not been serviced (sticker on truck). When we called the store that we rented the truck, we were told that he accidentally gave us the wrong truck because it had not been serviced. When the mechanic arrived, he checked the gas. We had just put in $140.00 and asked for our receipt because he said that someone had put in regular gas, not us! He drained all the gas and we then had to put in $140.00 more. Finally we got on the road and the truck ran fine. We had to get a room, pay the extra gas, take off work the next day - a total of 22 hours to go 600 miles.

Then they had the nerve to charge us $64.00 for not filling it up, which we did but when we went to drop it off, no one was there to check in the truck. They did credit us back this fee. When we spoke with customer service, they said they would only give us back 20% of cost. I told them that was unacceptable so we are now in dispute with them. Probably will be going to small claims court.

I went on our trip 600+ miles away. When at the last refueling, I noticed that one of the wheels on the trailer was completely gone! I was shocked and felt blessed that we didn't wreck or cause a wreck. I called Budget's 24-hour roadside assistance. It was 3am. Two hours later, a mobile tech came out and said, "I don't have what's needed to repair this trailer." I was upset because I explained everything in details when I called. We lost the entire wheel (tire, rim, 3 studs and all 5 lugs). Then, the tech left. Budget did nothing! We sat all morning with an unsafe trailer and no timeframe given as to what and when they would fix it. Only to be told, "Ma'am, it's Labor Day and Budget Rental is not open today." My response was, "What? You rent trucks and equipment that are on the road 24/7 along with 24-hour roadside assistance. I don't care what day it is. If you have equipment on the road, you (Budget) don't get a holiday!" I was hot!

Around 9am, Chris ** from Budget roadside assistance called me and said, "Ma'am, did you have anything inside of the vehicle being towed?" Shocked, I repeated his question, then said, "Yes, I had a few changes of clothing in the car." He quickly said, "You are in breach of your contract and we will not repair it or swap out the trailer." I was livid and said, "Give me a damn break! Are you trying to make it seem that a few pieces of clothing inside of the vehicle being towed caused that tire, rim, studs to fall off of that trailer?" He said, "I'm just telling you what my maintenance manager said." We went on and on. I asked for the maintenance manager's name and was not given it. I was livid after this call. We had no recourse other than to repair the trailer. We did so with the help of a few "auto angels" as I call them.

Needless to say, even though I called corporate, Budget has done nothing! There was not even a return phone call from corporate! Once you pay and sign on the dotted line, you are screwed should something happen. They expect you to honor your end of the contract, but they do not stand up to their end! They are not members of the Better Business Bureau. I wonder why. I will continue to air this story. I have written up a story that I am sending to the Atlanta Journal, The Virginian Pilot, the local paper in Anderson, SC (where the "auto angels are), The New York Times and Consumer Affairs. This is a ridiculous way to handle a business and if no one makes the public aware, Budget will continue to screw the consumer.

I get back to the Budget office by closing and I was informed that since I did not put gas in the truck, I could not check out. I stated to the terrible customer service person that I would pay the $30 extra; I just needed to complete the transaction. This was a horrible agent. She never looked at me. She just kept telling me they were closed and nothing could be done about my situation until tomorrow. When I asked to see a manager, she stated that I could talk to the manager tomorrow.

She would not check me out, and really did not give me a satisfactory reason why she could not check the truck in - I was in the office before they locked the doors. I was very upset that she had $260 of my funds, and I had other things that I needed to do with a portion of those funds. I did tell her how unacceptable her customer service skills were, and to my surprise, she told me to get out of the office or she would call the police, I invited her to do so.

After a few seconds, I knew this was a bad situation and requested my paperwork back. I then gave her the keys to the truck. I then said that this was the worst customer service experience ever, and I told her I would be talking to her manager the next day. This person did not appear to care, so I moved towards the door. But she had it locked and I could not leave. When I told her to open the door immediately, she just stared at me for about 20 seconds as if to say, "you cannot leave until I allow you to leave." It was a clear abuse of what this employee saw as power over a customer. I will never use Budget again, and I will also let others know how bad my experience with Budget rental in Savannah, GA on Abercorn was on Saturday, August 18th.

We then immediately called Budget Truck Emergency Roadside assistance and they assured us we would be back up and running in under two hours. However, we (a friend of mine and I along with my pet cat) waited along the interstate for over three hours before roadside service arrived. It took the service person over six hours before the truck was finally started and this was after using two cans of ether starting fluid. During the duration of the service call, we received no calls from Budget Rental Truck to insure we were satisfied with the service or to provide accommodation for the length of the service call.

With three and a half hours travel time left, we chose to not make an issue with the time or duration of the service call or to request overnight accommodations be provided. We finally reached our destination at about 4 am on Saturday, May 26th. That morning, we received multiple phone calls from the local budget office requesting our truck be returned by noon for a scheduled rental. We obliged and emptied the truck and returned it full and swept out rather than request an extension of contract due to the 9 hour breakdown. Following this trip, we contacted Budget Rental Truck and followed their instructions for getting reimbursement for the $354.10 payment we made for the Roadside Service but failed to get a response until June 6th. At that time they stated that the charge was valid and no refund would be made. With further formal complaints to BBB and upper management we have still received no reimbursement.

I was involved in a bike accident. I was hurt and 2,600 miles from home. This is the attitude I had from Budget. Another well known company rented me a truck gladly and even helped me to load it. The Budget rental trucks are out of my reality and they lost my business even before they actually had it. Now reading these reviews, I was blessed to not have rented a truck from them to begin with.

I waited over 3 and a half hours in 105 degree weather not being able to turn on the truck to get AC for a tow truck to arrive. I had to rent a hotel room as a child with asthma was having great difficulties breathing and our animals were dying (literally). When the two driver looked at the truck, he told me this was normal for a diesel engine and explained that the truck was just hot. The next day the truck ran fine for about 2 hours then started doing the same thing.

Finally, when we arrived at our destination, we were 3 hours later due to the truck not being able to drive at speeds above 45-50 mph. The next day, when I returned the truck, the oil PSI was maxed out again and the check engine lights flashed. All in all between hotels, missed flights, delays getting to our new apartment, the person traveling with us to unload had to book a new plane ticket home, hiring people to now unload the vehicle, etc. it cost me over $1,000 extra. When I called Budget to speak to customer service, they told me that this was all my fault, that I didn't know how to drive a truck and would reimburse me 20% of the rental cost, then tried to get me to say that was a fair settlement and that I agreed that would be my compensation. I am now waiting to hear from "upper management" and should be thankful that no one was hurt from "my" not knowing how to drive a truck.

The auto technician reported the following conditions with the vehicle: The air rod was replaced, the wheel bearings were almost completely worn out, and he couldn't believe we got as far as we did without losing the wheel on the highway. The vehicle was very dangerous and deadly on the Interstate. Also, the brakes were also worn out completely, and the fluids were not checked prior to renting us the vehicle. After being put out in a hotel and delayed our travel, we finally proceeded to our final destination. When we returned the vehicle, the manager at dealer 286558 could not believe what happened. She explained that this should have been caught at the other dealer during inspection prior to renting the vehicle. Nevertheless, I called customer service, and they did not resolve any issue. I am not satisfied with your customer service support and supervisor, and I feel that more should have been done.

During March 2012, I talked with a friend in Alabama, and she offered to help myself and my son move back to Alabama. She also said she had a basement in her home in Shelby, AL that she was trying to convert to living space and that we could rent that space to live in. So on April 3, 2012, my Social Security Disability benefits were automatically deposited on my Direct Express debit card that was issued to me for direct deposit of my Social Security Disability benefits because Social Security would no longer be mailing out paper checks. There have never been any other funds from anyone deposited on the card. I went to a facility in Lynn Haven, FL and rented a Budget truck to move back to Alabama. I rented the truck for three days for the fee that I was told would be $211.70 which included unlimited mileage. I was told by the representative at the facility that this price included unlimited mileage. I gave them my debit card to pay the fees and took the truck to the home in Youngstown, FL, and we began loading the truck to move to Alabama.

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

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

My friend has no landline in her home. So I thought my nightmare move to Florida where myself and my son were barely surviving was finished. I stretched what little money was left after the move to help buy groceries and purchase medications for myself and my son. On April 29, 2012, my friend loaned me $25.00, so I could purchase some minutes for my cell phone. Two days after April 29, 2012, I listened to a voice message on my cell phone telling me that the moving truck had not been returned and that there was a warrant for my arrest for theft of the truck. I called the phone number which was for the customer service representative with Budget Truck Rental and had to leave a voice message in which I explained where the truck was taken on April 6, 2012 and in that message, I also explained that my cell phone had been inoperable since April 10, 2012. Later that day, I got another message stating that my paperwork indicated that the truck was supposed to be returned to a Birmingham, AL facility and not to Alabaster, AL and that they had not located the truck and that messages had been left earlier in April 2012 that I had not responded to.

The representative seemed to not understand that I could not respond to messages I never received since my cell phone was not functioning during that time. I did not get any other calls from Budget Truck Rental until May 2, 2012. On that date, I had to take my son to the doctor; and when I checked my phone after his doctor's appointment, I received another message from the representative stating that the truck had not been located and that if they did not get a return call from me by the end of that day, there would be an arrest warrant filed. Again, the representative stated that the Birmingham, AL facility had not received the truck, even though I had told them in my previous message that it had been returned in Alabaster, AL. I returned the call and left another message stating I had returned the truck in Alabaster, AL and that they needed to contact the rental facility in Lynn Haven, FL and confirm the fact that I had been told that I could return the truck to the Alabaster, AL location even though that location was not open on April 6, 2012. I never got to talk to a person.

All I could do was respond by leaving a voice message, because when you call, a live person never answered and the phone call just go to voice mail. I did not receive any other phone call from them after May 2, 2012. My Social Security Disability benefits are direct-deposited on the Direct Express debit card on the 3rd of every month. On May 3, 2012, I went to withdraw money off my card to pay my friend rent for living in the basement area of her home and to purchase a few items my son and I needed. On Saturday, May 5, 2012, I went to a local grocery store. When I got to the cash register and tried to pay for my items, I was told by the cashier that her cash register screen said there were insufficient funds on my card and I could not purchase the items. I left the grocery store and called the Direct Express helpline to find out what happened to my money. I was told that my card was overdrawn in the amount of $2100.39 and that Budget Truck Rental had forced a charge on my card on May 4, 2012 and that they were the cause of my having no money and for my card showing this huge negative balance.

I called Budget Truck Rental, only to find out that their office was closed but would be open at 8:00 A.M. on Sunday, May 6, 2012. I have been extremely upset and have cried ever since this happened in the grocery store. My friend did not agree to support me and my son when we moved here, and after crawling through the month of April, 2012 with no money and borrowing money from her, I know she expects my son and myself to be able to pay rent, part of the utilities, and our food and necessities without being a financial burden on her. I guess everyone in the world knows that friends become ex-friends if they think you are trying to take advantage of them. I called Budget Truck Rental again on Sunday morning, May 6, 2012 and actually got to talk to a representative. The representative told me they had charged all this money to my debit card, because 1) when they finally found the truck, it was in Gardendale, AL; 2) when they located the truck, the gas tank was not full; 3) they were charging for usage of the truck for 20 (twenty) days; and 4) the truck smelled like dog.

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

Instead of investigating on these previous occasions, they obviously never contacted the facility in Lynn Haven, FL and just charged this enormous amount to my debit card, taking away every dime I had to provide housing, utilities, food, and medicine for my self and my son until the next deposit of my Social Security benefits on June 3, 2012. And not only that, but I have this huge negative balance on my debit card of $2100.39. I am desperate. I have no family who can help me financially, and my friend cannot afford to support me and my son. I left messages for the representative at Budget Truck Rental several times, trying to tell them where the truck was dropped off and the details about what I was told by the facility in Lynn Haven, FL. Obviously, it was easier to just wipe me out financially than to call the facility in Lynn Haven, FL. I am not healthy and neither is my son. Stress makes the symptoms of his Crohn's disease worse, and I feel like I am going to have a heart attack.

I thought that when we got back to Alabama that we might actually be able to make it through a month without having to worry about being homeless, living with no utilities, and having no money for food and our medications. I desperately need someone to help me get this matter resolved as soon as possible. I do not know what will happen to me and my son if it cannot be resolved. My husband abandoned us in Florida to live or die and never looked back. And as of today, he has not offered one time to help us survive.

My 24-year old son, who is disabled due to Crohn's Disease and injuries received in an automobile accident, and myself, who is a victim of cancer, were moving back to Alabama after trying to survive in Florida since 8/18/2011 on our own after my husband domestically abused me and abandoned us in Florida. We barely survived but had nowhere else to live until my sister said we could rent the basement apartment in her home. We moved, returned the truck to the Alabaster, AL facility and I did not think about it. Due to the expense of the move, I could not purchase minutes for my cell phone, so my cell phone has not worked for almost three weeks. I put some minutes on my phone on 4/29/2012 and today, 5/1/2012, I get a message from a representative of Budget Truck Rental that the truck I rented was not returned to their Birmingham, AL facility (which I never said anything to the rental agent in Lynn Haven, FL about returning it to Birmingham, AL because that is about an hour away from where we were moving) and that they had filed a stolen vehicle report on the truck and that a warrant had been issued for my arrest.

I called the agent back at their 1-800 number and left a message concerning the fact that the truck was returned to their Alabaster, AL facility on 4/6/2012. I also mentioned in the message that my cell phone had no minutes until 4/29/2012. The representative called back and left a message stating that the agent in Lynn Haven, FL had said I would be returning the truck to the Birmingham facility and they had been looking for it in Birmingham, AL and had tried to contact the facility in Alabaster, AL and could not make contact with them. She also stated in her message that she had left me several previous messages on my cell phone that I had not responded to even though I had told her I had no minutes on my cell phone until 4/29/2012. She said she would continue trying to make contact with the rental facility in Alabaster, AL.

Due to obviously no communication skills of this company with their rental facilities, almost one month after returning the truck, I am accused of stealing the rental truck and told there is a warrant for my arrest. I want some kind of justice for the mental agony they have caused me do to this situation on top of all the other life issues I am having to deal with.

I was connected to customer service, and after another 10+ minutes of phone wait, I was promptly disconnected. Consequently, the moving crew that I had hired and unable to use cost me $150 as well as a wasted evening and a following day off from work, which is another several hundred bucks. So typical of the ever-floundering American work ethic--less than mediocrity is the best that one can expect.

We finally made it to our destination a day later (with hotel cost now). Then we dropped off truck 2 days earlier, and of course, there's no credit but a charge for not folding the 12 moving blankets used! This company is such an underhanded/swindling group of people I have come across. Do not do business with Budget (I was told the bill was going to be reduced to Baird's Auto Care in Normal, IL , only to be charged full price!).

We were not reimbursed for the windshield washer fluid we bought. I left a note explaining why the truck was not full at the drop off and attached it to the keys. This was a drop off in Bangor. We called the person we originally rented from and the person in Bangor where it was dropped off. The first one told us to call the other one. When we called the drop off person, he told us that it should have been full and to file a complaint with corporate. Terrible customer service. I have to rent a truck at least two more times. They lost a lot of business from us and from anyone else I will tell about what happened.

On 8/22/11, my wife and I arrived to our new place in Milwaukee just ahead of our friends that were driving the truck. It turns out the truck wouldn't make it to the final destination, it had overturned just a few miles away from the house, on the I-94 E to US-41 N ramp. The Milwaukee County Sheriff Department responded and coordinated the clean up. Both of my friends suffered some injuries and were taken to the ER by my wife and I. The Deputy on scene wrote the driver a Failure to Keep Vehicle Under Control citation (8/22/11), which has since been amended to a Parking Where Prohibited citation by the Milwaukee County Court (11/8/11).

The number I called the first time didn't answer so I called another in the area. The person on the phone said that they have worked for Budget for 15 years and didn't know of one in that location then why it is on their website but said that they had my reservation but I would have to drive about 30 miles to pick up the truck! I said no way, there is a U-haul place right around the corner! I called U-haul and they beat the rates of Budget and said they didn't understand why I would choose to go with them in the first place. So, giving Budget a week and 1/2 notice, I cancelled the truck.

After moving to NC, we went to return our U-haul and filled up the gas. I checked my account and found that Budget had charged me $50 for not canceling within 48 hours! It was a week and a half notice! This was on Monday, 12/5/2011. I called and they said that they would reimburse me my money but that it might take 3-5 days. Well, it's been 7 and still no money. That was the last $50 that we had. With moving expenses and the like we are broke as I am sure most people are after moving. It's Christmas and we are trying to borrow money just to eat and put gas in our car! I don't know what to do!

The woman at the Wall, NJ location couldn't have been nicer, and she called the Budget business office on Wednesday, November 23. 2011, to let them know there were no trucks for my pick-up date, and clearly, nothing was done on their end. I was advised to call the 800 number to let them know of my situation. In the end, I spoke to 7 people, including 1 manager, Josh, and there was still no resolution! The one place they told me to call was closed by the time I was able to get the number (12:30 on a Saturday)!

I did get a call after I'd cancelled my order with them! I waited 5 hours for them to help me, and finally, I had to go with U-Haul. Thankfully, my experience with U-Haul was simple and straight forward.

I paid the deposit and even purchased the insurance for the move to Suffolk, VA.

I returned the truck after hours on Saturday with a full gas tank and a gas cap in place. When I received my final bill, I was only given back a partial credit on my deposit. When I called customer service at the Rental Location, the agent was rude on the phone, and was upset that I did not return the truck earlier in the day on Saturday. She told me that someone was waiting for that truck. I explained that I was under no obligation to return the truck until later that night. At this point I was informed that I was being charged for a missing gas cap.

I informed her that I was absolutely certain that the gas cap was in place, because I remember tightening it. You have to turn the gas cap numerous times for it to be locked into place. She accused me of leaving it at the gas station. As a former Marine and a current United States Navy team member, I was upset that she was questioning my integrity. How could the truck remain full of gas if I filled up 35 miles away and did not place the gas cap on?

I explained that the cap must have been stolen, she said that this I would have to call corporate. I called and the claims department said they could not help since it was already charged to my credit card. Customer service said there was no way to prove the gas cap was stolen and would not refund the cost. What is the point of purchasing the insurance if they will not honor their commitment? I really believe that an individual was inconvenienced when they stayed open later to accommodate the lady waiting for the truck that I rented. They even had to drive her home that night. I think because of this, someone removed my gas cap just so they could charge my credit card extra money. Just to make sure I wasn't crazy I also checked with the place where I filled up and there were no gas caps left at the pump that day or the next day.

Customer service claims the truck uses more gas than receipt I have. She called Clute, calls me back and says it is 4 gallons short. What choice do we have? We will have a family friend put gas into truck. We rented with Budget for the first and last time. This is fraud.

On 28 Sept 11, we received a phone call from Budget Corporate office asking if we still had the truck. Of course, we did not, and told her that it was returned on the 17th as requested by the contract, full of fuel. On 11 Oct 11, there was an additional charge of $59.37 from Budget truck rental three weeks later from the day we dropped it off. We went to this location and was directed to speak with Matt **, who refused to present himself and only sent a clerk back to let us know that there was nothing he could do about it. She explained that there was a $30.00 fee for filling it up and $29.37 worth of gas they had to put in it. She also stated that it was not checked in until 28 Sept 11 and that they were not charging us an overdue fee--which is 11 days after the initial drop off.

On 14 Oct 11, I called my bank and filed a dispute claim. On this very same day, I also called Budget Corporate office and talked to "Frank" who said it looked "fishy" and he could not even begin to figure this out so he would reimburse the $59.37 that very day. As of this date, 19 Oct 11, we have not received anything back from Budget Rental. Our bank has given our money back on our dispute claim, but not Budget. It is not our bank's responsibility to "eat" this money. Budget Truck Rental owes this reimbursement.

I called corporate and spoke to Trina. She was neither shocked nor helpful. She just stated that they would call around and it could take up to two hours to see if there is a truck in the area. Gina from the U-Haul pickup called back and stated that the other people do plan on picking up the truck and that she will cancel our reservations without charging a fee. It is just too bad that we are out half of our day to move. Now, we are racing to find a U-Haul truck, and we are monitoring our bank account for a fee!

The man working at the Budget counter at the pick-up location said he was sick of dealing with Budget, since they apparently do this "all the time". It became obvious when we went to a local U-Haul dealer. We found out there were six people ahead of us that had the same thing happen to them, all of whom were Budget customers in the Twin Cities metro area. I was unable to speak to anyone at Budget that could explain or even try to help us out. All I got was: "I'm sorry for your inconvenience. You can go to our website and make a complaint there." It's kind of hard to do when you're not sitting at a computer and you need the truck now, and you have people waiting to assist with the move that took time off work for something that was planned 3 weeks in advance! After the move was completed and we got back into town, I tried to call again to file a complaint. I got the same response. I went to the website and left my comments. I have not even gotten so much as a phone call or an email from the company. I never received one prior to the move, either to let me know there was no truck available. I would encourage other folks to look elsewhere for a rental truck, and stay as far away from Budget Truck Rental as possible. I will be contacting the BBB and my local news media to ensure this unreliable company isn't given the opportunity to put any other people in the situation we were thrown into. It's disgusting that a company like this is even in business.

I went back online and again searched for the 10' truck and found that there was one and several other trucks at the original location which I could rent. I called the reservation line and spoke to Gus. The truck, instead of the $29.99 original cost would now cost $59.99, but twice I asked and twice I was guaranteed by Gus that if I reserved the truck it would be at that location in the morning for me to pick-up.

When I called customer service and spoke to a supervisor I was told that it does not work that way. I could make a reservation for any truck at any location. That reservation does not guarantee that the truck would be at that location and or that a truck would really be available. I asked why it took so long to figure out that a truck would not be available at the original location he said that's the way it works. They waited until it's too late to find another truck anywhere else, then tell you to drive all over the earth to get the truck you reserved. If I wanted to pay double the amount of money, I could get it at the original location. I will never use Budget again, and I would never recommend them to anyone.

I was stuck there because there was no truck and I had to scramble to find another truck in town--on my own. Luckily Uhaul had a truck, but it was three times larger than what I needed, and much more expensive. But I didn't have time to wait for a smaller truck. This was moving day. Thus, it cost me nearly $200 extra plus the time wasted at Budget Plus and the stress of driving a much larger truck by myself.

available for me. She confirmed that I would not be charged but guess what? I was charged.

I will never use Budget again, since apparently a reservation means nothing to that company. I am furious that after all of this, I was charged anyway. I just called to reverse the charges and so that is taken care of. However, I am completely dissatisfied with this experience and will tell everyone I know not to use Budget.

They just sent me an email now (after lodging a complaint) with no excuse and gave me a coupon code for 25% off my next rental. I find it completely insulting.

We reserved our truck on July 14th for Saturday, August 27th. I called on the first of that week and confirmed our reservation for a truck on Saturday morning at 8 am. I asked if I should call back again to re-confirm 24 hours a head, and Alex said that I did not need to do that.

I called on Friday to find out what time they opened the office and was told it was 8 am. Then, he said that we were on the waiting list. I said that is not acceptable, we have your confirmation that a truck would be ready at 8 am Saturday. They said that it did not matter; we were still on the waiting list. They said they would call later in the afternoon if a truck became available. By 2 pm, they had not called, and my husband called them. Each time we talked to them, they would never take the reference number. Once again, they said they did not need it, only the name. My husband gave them his name, and they said that yes, they had a truck and it would be ready at 8 am, Saturday.

On Saturday morning my husband got there before 8. They let him in and said they did not have a truck but maybe they could have one in the afternoon. Really? My husband does not have a temper, but the staff person had an I-don't-care attitude that he was upset. This we-don't-care attitude cost us time, money, and stress that we did not need when moving. Do they really get away with this?

On the day of pick-up, approximately 6 hours before I was to get the truck, a phone message was left for me that no truck was available, that they had checked the other area facilities and there were no trucks available. They also said that I could call their inventory control number and then said I was to "have a nice day." I immediately called the inventory control number and was told they would call in a few hours. I told her that was unacceptable and that I had minutes not hours. They did call back in about one hour to tell me there was no truck within 50 miles. So I called U-Haul and had a truck scheduled within 1-1/2 hours.

I then called the inventory control number and advised them that I had an email from Budget verifying my reservation and that it said if I cancelled with less than 48 hours they could charge me $50 on the credit card used for the reservation. I asked if Budget was going to pay me $50 for the 6-hour notice, he said probably not and gave me the phone number for customer service. I called customer service and asked the same question and was given a definite no. Needless to say, I will never use Budget again and would never recommend this company. If they will not honor a reservation, why should they have a reservation service?

First, I had to go all the way to Illinois to pick it up. Second, I was rushed in and out the location, with a lot of unanswered questions. I asked about the insurance and was just told every kind of damage was covered. Third, I asked if the truck has been checked over, naturally they swore it was.

In the end, I had to fill all of the fluids, which is not my job. I damaged the roof of the truck and later found out that type of damage is not covered. The location hardly answers the phone and when they do, I get the runaround. Budget can't tell me anything because the pickup location won't close out the rental.

It has been over a month now and I have not heard from Budget nor the pickup location.

My husband and I arrived at the location at 9:00 AM on 8/13/11 and were informed that the location had no trucks available for rent. There were actually three additional customers in line that morning. All four of us were told that there were no trucks available at that location for us and there was nothing that location could do for us.

I left and immediately called Budget customer service. I was informed that they were sorry and a manager would contact me back with another truck location to pick up our rental vehicle. I never received a call back.

I called again about 25 minutes later and was told it would be up to 2 hours until a manager would call me back. I waited 2 hours and did not receive a call back. I even attempted to call additional locations to check if there were vehicles available and was told I needed to contact customer service.

Finally, I decided to contact U-Haul Truck rental, made a reservation online and was able to obtain a truck immediately on the same day. Budget Truck Rental has never made contact with me regarding this issue. I lost time, money (I had 2 movers at an hourly rate of $10/hour), and I was severely inconvenienced.

This was a horrible experience for myself and family and severely threw off our moving schedule. No contact was made with us as customers and no alternatives were offered to help us move. If I had not made alternative arrangements through U-Haul, we would still be waiting around for a vehicle, which is just unacceptable.

When I arrived, a lady named Laurie told me she did not have a truck and had turned the issue over to an inventory manager. She also stated that she had been trying to get a truck delivered for 3 weeks. I told her this was totally unacceptable. I had movers showing up to move my daughter out of her apartment in 3 hours. She had nothing more to say other than she would call me when they found a truck.

I left, waited 1 and 1/2 hours and then called the customer service number for Budget. I spoke with a non-apologetic person who said to me, "We have two hours to find you a truck.” I told this person that I had already waited 1 and 1/2 hours and you had five weeks to have the truck ready for me. You have 30 minutes of your two hours left so find me a truck and call me.

At 11:15 AM, I called the pick-up location and canceled the reservation. Laurie told me I should call Budget and ask to speak to a manager. I told her I intended to file a claim for reimbursement for any difference I had to pay with another truck rental company. After returning from my move across country, I attempted to reach a manager only to be told they were not accepting calls. I had to give them from 24 to 48 hours to call me back.

I am holding my breath, remembering their promise to have a truck. As of August 5, I have not received that return call. I used their website to send all the above verbiage, as well as the compensation request below.

Upon my arrival, they stated that they did not have any trucks, and explaining that trucks break down with a lecture tone. However, the agent Karen had a very fast talking negative tone and reaction to my concern. After I addressed her uncaring comments, I will say Karen did try to make efforts to locate me a truck in another location. Good effort on her part, but I did not have a ride at the time to take me to another location. My overall complaint is with the Company. Not Karen. Yes I do believe that there needs to be a major improvement and better service skills with the agents. Especially under these circumstances when you are left without a truck. However, the system needs to be fixed. If Budget is going to ask for reservations, then they need to be just as eager to notify rental clients in advance that they will not have a truck. Waiting for the rental clients to arrive to tell them is ridiculous. I watched three other customers come in with the same issues and received the same cold response.

A tire blew on I-55 outside of Memphis. I was scared out of my mind since it was rush hour. I called roadside assistance and after being on hold for 30 minutes, I finally got through and the man needed me to get out of the truck and tell him the number on the tire. Are you kidding? They don't know what size the tires are on their own truck? The man came and had me drive the truck to the next exit and fixed it.

Another tire blew the next day on I-40. The lady from the customer service was a lot nicer and apologized over and over. I waited in 100+ degree weather for an hour and a half. After the tire was fixed, I was on my way.

Not 4 hours later, the truck died. There was no A/C in the truck and I waited outside for 4+ hours for the mechanic to tell me the truck was no good. They towed it and we had to stay at a hotel overnight. We were told they would call us at 8:00 AM to let us know when the new truck would be there. It was already 9:00 AM before I received a call. The new truck was filthy. There was a huge wad of duct tape in the back, along with shards of glass. The cab had crumbs everywhere – I was disgusted. They hired a moving company to transfer our things (which resulted in more problems). When I called customer service to ask how the payment would be dealt with, she said there weren't any notes on the account about anything that had happened. It was a full 26 hours before we were back on the road.

That night, I was driving along in the dark with the headlights on and they suddenly went out. Here I am, still on I-40, not knowing if I have tail lights or not, driving to the next exit to call roadside assistance yet again. I waited 45 minutes for the repair man. The headlight fuse had been blown and one of the bulbs was out.

When we opened the back to unpack our things, we realized the movers had put a couple of bookcases in the truck in a way that made them bend and break.

When we finally arrived in AZ, I called customer service to ask for additional days because of the delays. She said of course and granted us an extra 2 days. We dropped the truck off, having filled the gas tank less than 3 miles from the location, and the manager said it wasn't full and he'd have to charge us for 4 gallons. My husband told him to turn it around and we'd go get it ourselves. When he did, he said the needle went all the way to full and it wasn't necessary. Nice try. Then, he said that the truck was 2 days late. I told him we were given the extra time, but he still charged us for 2 days.

When everything was finally over, I called customer service and asked for a refund. The first man I talked to said it wouldn't be a problem. That he could refund the full rental price, plus more for an extra hotel stay, meals, and gas that was wasted not only by the truck, but by my husband driving our car back and forth every time something happened. The only problem was that the account was still open and the manager at the drop off location wasn't there so we'd have to wait until he closed the contract. I called back a few days later, talked to the supervisor who said a full refund wasn't possible and only gave us a fraction of it.

Needless to say, our experience with Budget was a disaster. Moving across the country was stressful enough without having to deal with all of that. Do not rent from budget!

The next day I called the location of which I got the truck from and the person at the location was extremely rude. He began yelling and telling me that he could not replace the truck because they are not responsible for the trucks they just lease them. Upon calling budget they gave me all kinds of excuses I was switched to several different agents and the issue was never resolved I had to find another truck company to move. This is my first and last time ever using budget truck and dealing with this company. I've never in my life experienced such lack of appreciation for a customer. This company may pride themselves on making the move easy but for me it has been a complete nightmare.

We arrived at 7:15am and representative named Chet told us that, “The truck is not ready. It broke down for couple of days with brake problems. I can’t help you because the computer system is down, and I am a new trainee working alone, without supervision. I don't know this area or where our other rental locations are located.” Representative Chet then calls representative Mike for help, and we were told that the automated system called Mr. ** to cancel order due to no available 24-foot rental truck.

At this point, the call was put on conference call/speaker phone, and representative Chet was able to confirm on my cell phone that no call from any Budget Truck Rental location was made, and voice mail was also reviewed by Chet not to contain a message from Budget Truck Rental warning of no available truck.

At this point, Mike was to come in early to deal with the situation in 5- 15 minutes. After 30 minutes later, Mike had still not showed up to work; so, we started to call around to other Budget Truck Rental locations to find a truck. We were told by Jeanie ** at location 420 East Higgins Rd. Elk Groove Village IL. Tel No: 847-437-4075, that she had a truck, and would reserve it for us.

We drove and got there; she said, “You could no longer have it because we did not know it was already rented out for the entire week by a furniture store.” She did not have another 24-foot truck for us.

We headed back to the first location where we started. Now Mike is there, but he has no contingency plan to help us. He provided no support other than a smaller 16-foot truck at the same 24-foot truck rental price, which will now cause further delay because a smaller truck won’t fit everything. We will have to make additional trip; so, we asked for increased mileage-- a no charge to us he says no way.

After three hours time lost, we got a 16-foot truck, but first one is pulled up for us, but found to have a check engine light problem. We can’t take that one; so, they got another 16-foot truck then. Their computers go down again (so he said), he can’t process rental without the system running. We asked him to do hand written contract. He said it can’t be done.

After about another 20 minutes, Mike then goes in and said he will have to do a manual hand written contract, which he just said he could not do. Therefore, after three hours and 41 minutes we get a truck not what we need, wanted, and were promised.

The lack of management skills, training, and customer support was incredible. We cannot understand why all Budget Truck Rental operation problems are put on the customer to solve in order for us to become a paying customer!

The budget manager/owner refused the request, and refused to rent the truck to me. I had driven one hour in the morning rush traffic to find the place. The rental place is located at 619 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring Maryland, 20910. The telephone number is 301-495-5582. Avoid this place like the plague. It was a terrible experience!

Budget should not make reservations for trucks that they do not have available. What should one expect from a company that lacks professionalism and customer satisfaction?

Their professionalism stinks! I am paying all this money for the rental and thinking I'm getting a 10 foot truck. All the while no one calls me and tells me they don't carry the 10 foot trucks at that location. How crappy is that for a business? Then, she told me she has no control over it. They may be, but then why be in the business? It makes absolutely no sense at all! So, I need the truck this coming Saturday and not guarantee! So, is Budget going to pay for the extra gas that I have to put into a 16 foot truck as opposed to what I would have used in a 10 foot truck? I am so irritated. Moving is stressful enough and Budget has made it unbearable.

I rented a 16ft. truck from an office in Boulder, Colorado for a move to the East Coast. When I first picked up the truck, the first red flag should have been the guy's comment: “It's an old truck, but it'll run great”. I should have stopped right there and demanded a better truck, but I didn't, and I regret that. Two days into the drive, the engine began to run hot. I stopped, called roadside assistance to report the problem, and they told me I would get a phone call from someone within a half hour. Ninety minutes later, no call, and so I checked the coolant levels to find that it was empty, filled it myself, and tried to continue on.

I didn't get much farther, and so I stopped and called again, this time demanding that they send someone out in a timely manner. It took four and a half hours from my initial phone call to actually be face-to-face with a mechanic, who told me that the truck had a bad water pump and should never have been allowed to leave the lot. When the mechanic called Budget to discuss the problem, they kept him on hold for almost an hour. By the time the truck got to their shop, it was too late, the shop was closed, and I had to get a hotel room for the night.

The next morning I was told that the truck would take at least six hours to repair, and that Budget would send me a new truck within the hour. The new truck arrived six hours later--no kidding! By that time the old truck was fixed. Still, the folks at the Budget office managed to delay me as much as possible, keeping the mechanic on hold for another 45 minutes just to get payment for the repair settled. Again, by that time, it was late and I ended up getting a hotel room for a second night. All told, the company's failure to rent a working vehicle delayed my trip by two days, and I wasn't going to be able to return the truck on time. I called and asked for a free two-day extension, which I was told would be okay. Turning in the truck was the final insult.

The office closed at 4:30, just as I was arriving. The guy inside literally saw me, made eye contact with me, and turned his sign to closed as I was running up to the door with the key. He would not answer the door when I knocked. Incredibly rude. So I put the key in the drop box and figured that was the end of the ordeal, only to discover a week later that they actually charged me an extra $120 for the two days I was told would be at no charge because of the breakdown. I can't decide if this fiasco is the result of incredible incompetence or incredible dishonesty, but either way it's put me off renting from Budget ever again, and I am encouraging everyone I can to stay as far away from them as possible. There's a reason they're the cheapest, and it's not a good one.

After refueling, I traveled to the destination determined on my rental agreement, in McDonough, GA, filled out the paperwork and dropped it in the dropped box and traveled back down to my old home. On the 12th I received a voicemail that the Budget manager in McDonough had left stating that I'd returned the truck empty. I immediately called to find out what was going on and that's when things went downhill because the manager was irate stating that I didn't fill it up and the money wasn't coming out of her pocket. After trying to get her to listen to me, I was finally able to relay the message that I had spoken to my bank and they had confirmation where I paid for the fuel. There was still no resolution. However, she told me that once I completely relocated and moved to the area to bring my receipts because she thinks the company may have overcharged me for the truck all together and that we could look at the charges.

I called the next morning as I'd scheduled time off from my job to resolve the matter, but when I called her initially we were disconnected.

I called back and she told me that she had already spoken to me several times before and that if I wanted to file a complaint to call the 800 number. I told her that I needed to ask her about the charges on my account she said that she had taken the money from my account, but couldn't pull up my account to tell me why and that I needed to call the 800 number. I contacted my bank to dispute the charges. I also contacted customer service.

The first agent (Theresa) told me that she couldn't do anything until she spoke with the manager and that a guy at the location told her that the manager wouldn't be in until 4pm. She then told me to call back at 4pm but to fax her copy of my documents. I faxed over my original rental agreement, my fuel receipt, bank statements showing the fuel came out of the account, and where they'd debited my account. I called Budget Customer Service back after 4 to see if they'd gotten the fax and if she'd spoken with the agent, however, a rude agent name Kevin answered and was obviously uninterested in my situation. I asked if he'd received the fax and he said it could take up to five days to respond to a fax, and I was trying to verify that the fax came through so I'd know whether I needed to resend the fax or not.

Then I asked for the agent that was helping me with the case, but needless to say, the agent did no more than answer the phone and let me know that he was not going to assist me in anyway. When I got home to check my emails, Budget Level 2 Customer Service sent me an email thanking me for sending in the information, but it appears that the fuel was siphoned. They gave me a rundown of the charges, which didn't total to what the representative told me earlier.

Then she says that they'd overcharged me for the truck so they gave me the $93.31 credit, which was untrue because the credit came from me returning a tow/carrier. They still provided no information as to whether they'd give me my deposit back, return the debited funds back to my account, and remove the other charges as they acknowledge that I did leave the vehicle fueled on their property. That was a $700, transactions to move my items less than four hours away.

We were told that the rental would start at 11:00am on the next day, Sunday since we didn't get it in time to use it on Saturday. Upon attempting to return the truck, we drove through Petoskey 3 times, stopping at the police station and 2 other places looking for the address, as well as calling Budget 2 times. We eventually found the place 3 hours after, we should have been able to find it. It was located in the country without any signs or any way of knowing that it was a Budget place. We only knew to leave the truck there after calling customer service yet again.

Then, upon returning home we received a message that we would be charged for another day since they had actually started counting our rental at 1:18 on Saturday - several hours before a truck was even available. As far as we are concerned, this is theft of $60 since they are charging for a day that we did not receive. We are retired and do not have time and money to throw away. We had to hire people to load the truck even though it wasn't available. We aren't 20 years old and can't load a truck ourselves in the middle of the night to get things rushed through. That's why we paid for a 3rd day but to be charged for a day we didn't even get is ridiculous.

I am waiting to see if they charge my card, and if they do I will need some plan of action, can you help?

Upon calling the newly provided number, the telephone was answered with, "the President's not in, call back later", laughter and hang up. I called back to confirm that the number was for Citgo and the same gentleman informed me that yes, it was a gas station, but that he didn't know anything about it, he ain't in charge of trucks, just gas and I had to call back after 10 or 11 the next morning. I told him that I was to pick up the truck and car carrier at 8:00 am, 2 hours before the person that supposedly handled Budget trucks may or may not be in. I asked him if there was a 24' truck and car carrier there and he said, "No, but we got 2 15' trucks, maybe they'll give it to you for the same price when you call back tomorrow after 11 like I told you", and hung up.

I called national customer service back and told them what happened and the lady said that she couldn't do anything, a regional inventory specialist would call me back by 9:00 pm that night and that she would change the rate code to reflect the original 20% off discount from the USPS change of address packet since apparently, the last coupon that is clicked on the website overrides a manually entered code. I finally received a call from a Robert, who was allegedly the regional inventory specialist at 7:00 am on 5/25, an hour before I was supposed to pick up the equipment and begin my move! In a very degrading manner, this obnoxious idiot then informs me that the only place both items are available are over an hour away, each way!

I asked him if he had checked the Budget in Glen Burnie and he reiterated slowly and demeaningly, "I told you that the location that I just gave you is the only location that has your equipment." Budget had me over a barrel at this point, so I had no real choice but to waste 2 hours traveling to get equipment that was not properly assigned to my location. The new pickup point was Windsor Express in Windsor Mill, Maryland. The contact number that Robert gave me was incorrect and I was unable to confirm with them. I was online trying to get a good street number for them and find out where they were on Windsor Mill. An agent from Windsor Express called me at 9:00 am and demanded that I pick up the truck within 15 minutes since they had no room for it. I told him that I was over an hour away and was trying to get directions after I had him confirm the street address to put in Mapquest. He called me every 15 minutes while I was driving there!

The back metal bumper was smashed, bent and rusted- the damage on the driver's side was so bad, that it blocked the lower part of the loading door. I went in and told the other guy that I needed to talk to the guy with my IDs and that the truck was unacceptable as I thought that the guy with my IDs was hooking the car carrier up to the dilapidated mess and I wanted to catch him before he did.

This after being told by Robert earlier that morning that I had to drive an hour away since that was the only location with both pieces of equipment! I got on the phone with customer service and updated them on what was happening and Aileen in customer service apologized profusely and said she was crediting an additional 5% off for the inconvenience and that the RIS would be notified immediately, since they were not answering their phone when she tried to transfer me, and they would contact me with where to pick up the reserved equipment.

No supervisor was available at 11:00 am EST! and a level 2 would call me back within the hour to discuss with me what had happened. I asked her for the number of either Robert or a competent inventory person and she said that she couldn't give that out, that I had to wait to hear back after they located the equipment, which could be several hours! I asked her to check the location in Glen Burnie, Maryland as they were larger and only 15 minutes from my house and she allegedly put that through to the inventory supervisor.

I tracked down my license and credit card and left, only after I had to threaten to call the police if he didn't return them to me!I still had not heard back from anyone at Budget and stopped by the location in Glen Burnie that I had earlier referenced. Out front were 2 car carriers and several 24 trucks in the back! I stopped and asked if they were available for rent and was told yes! I showed them my reservation and told them what had happened up to this point and they told me to call the reservation number and have them reassign the reservation to that location. I called back customer service and spoke with Janie who needed the whole story from the beginning. She eventually transferred the reservation after telling me Budget guarantees rates, not equipment availability which has to be one of the most asinine comments ever. How can you guarantee a rate for a product that you don't have?

This comment as well as the feeling that I was making her go out of her way while I'm doing several people's jobs for them sent me back over the edge. I requested to speak with a supervisor and was once again told that no supervisor was available and that it was already noted that I was in que to speak with a level 2 and she further informed me that there was no way that I should expect to hear back from a level 2 within an hour (which had already passed! ) and that it is generally 24-48 hours and there was no way to escalate a response. They would call me back when they got to me! The agents at the Glen Burnie location were great considering the total failure on behalf of anyone that I had dealt with at Budget up to that point. They offered apologies for Budget and handled themselves professionally, even as I was screaming at a Janie at this point and were able to accommodate my confirmed reservation with Budget, in spite of the fact that according to Budget's inventory people there were no vehicles available, especially frustrating since this location was: a) less inconvenient than Windsor Mill; b) a location that I suggested that your staff check and c) actually had the equipment that I reserved.

After the transfer, and after doing the rental paperwork in a state of complete and utter disbelief at the ineptitude of "customer service" employees, they began to hookup a car dolly to a truck. When I told them and showed them from my confirmed and printed reservation that it was supposed to be a car carrier, not a dolly, we had to start all over. They showed me on the computer that the system was showing a 2 wheeled car dolly now. Apparently, changed by an inventory manager since a dolly was available in DC, not a carrier!

This is especially annoying to me since the car being towed is my pride and joy and exceptionally well taken care of and I would never consider dragging her with a tow dolly which is why I reserved the full car carrier. They would have sent me all the way to Washington, DC for the wrong equipment again! Over an hour elapsed for this reassignment and hooking up the carrier to the truck after the dolly was removed and customers were returning other trucks. It was now almost 2 pm when I was supposed to pick up my equipment at 8 am- i.e. an entire day was now wasted since no one at Budget could pull their heads out of their ** long enough to actually provide any manner of customer service! When the new rental agreement was printed, there was still no change to the rate and it was actually higher than the reserved price with the wrong discount applied. I was told that they couldn't alter it, that I had to take it up with customer service Level 2, who was allegedly supposed to be calling me back any minute now since it had been well over the hour that Aileen said they would call me back.

The destination location was not open on the day it was to be returned and I was told that there is an additional $10 fee for dropping it off if they are not open, that was never mentioned previously either. I called back customer service and spoke to Frank about the changes, charges and non-call from level 2. His solution was that Budget would have been just as happy to cancel my reservation and leave me high and dry without any way to move, after charging a cancellation fee as to actually help me or do what they were contracted to do! I was also told by both Frank and the counter people that any discounts not in the original reservation had to be put in by a supervisor and that I should take the truck and they will have the issue resolved by the time that it is returned and they will issue a credit back to the charge.

So after wasting a day of moving, everything seemed okay until I got the truck and carrier on the road. While loading my car, I noticed that there seemed to be an impromptu repair to the beaver tail section of the car carrier. The right side brace was improperly tack welded on with unequal length parts, the bolt was spinning and the opposite side was bent so badly that I had to use a sledge hammer to secure the pin into the hole! The truck itself was filthy on the inside and reeked of cigarettes, butt and feet. I was at this point desperate and put behind the 8-ball by them, but I would address that with the supervisor when they called as well. Once on the road, the truck got even worse! I was aware of the body damage that was marked in the front of the truck and sides and I was reasonably okay with it considering the circumstances. Apparently, when whoever hit whatever to damage the headlight and fender, they also knocked the passenger side mirror loose so it rattled and spun loudly and constantly!

The alignment was off and it had a constant pull as well as grinding feel when making low speed turns. This is in addition to non-self canceling turn signals and lights front and rear, inside and out that flickered every time the turn signal was manually turned off. I do not feel that this truck was roadworthy and should not have been sent on a long distance move.

But the car carrier was even worse! Late at night, just outside Savannah Georgia, I checked the jiggling and spinning passenger side mirror. The matchbook shim that I improvised had fallen out and there were sparks coming from the back! I was in a state of panic and pulled off as soon as I could. The car carrier had blown the right rear tire! I called Budget roadside assistance number and was once again given the long wait and poor customer service. Before anyone answered the call, I was already at a motel off of the exit that I was able to limp to at 20 mph on the interstate. When they finally answered, I was told that they needed the equipment ID # and they couldn't do anything via the rental agreement! Over 28 minutes on hold for emergency roadside assistance only to be told that I needed to go find a number somewhere on the chassis that was an equipment ID#.

I did manage to see that this particular piece of equipment was first registered by Ryder in 1991 and apparently had not seen proper service since. When I called back, I was once again left holding for almost a half hour. When I gave them the information that they needed, she said that someone would call me back when they located a mechanic to respond and could locate me and that it would probably be several hours! It was already after 11 and I checked into the motel where the truck was stranded.

I received a call around midnight from the mechanic that the wheel and tire was replaced and Todd, the tow truck/ mechanic, even helped me remove the rubber streaks left on my car from the blown out tire. He was of course, not an employee of Budget! An hour later (1:12am), I got a call from roadside assistance to tell me that their equipment had been repaired. Upon miraculously arriving unharmed in Florida the following afternoon, the chains on the carrier would not release! I did everything I was told upon pickup and the tension chains would not reverse ratchet. I even resorted to the sketchy instructions in the pamphlet that I was given. After 2 hours under the car in the hot Florida sun and moving the vehicle repeatedly, I was able to get enough slack to loosen the chains and release my car.

The non-functioning reverse was noted upon return as well as the half-assessed repair to the beaver tail/ ramp and I was told that it should not have gone out in that condition. Then we got to the truck- when he checked the mileage he said that the tank was not reading full and I began enumerating the many problems with the vehicle, he opened the fuel tank and fuel was literally at the top of the cap. His response to the defects was simply, we'll have to have somebody look at it and I was told that it was only a 2004, but it was probably about to go to auction. Seriously? It seems to have come from a salvage auction!

At this point I still had not heard from anyone at Budget in regards to any of my numerous complaints and difficulties with this transaction. When I asked him about the final charge, he informed me that the charge was put through when I rented it and that the receipt that he gave me would only show a zero balance due, not any credits back from Budget. I had to check my credit card statement for any credits. Sure enough, when he printed my return receipt, it basically said that the truck and carrier were returned and closeout reference # which he told me to give to the customer service person that I was speaking to and once again requesting a supervisor, that not shockingly by now, was not available.

Apparently they don't have any supervisors or Level 2 as I still to this day, have not received 1 return call from anyone at Budget! Also, the length of the truck has little to do with how much it actually contains! Budget has the least amount of interior cubic foot space among the moving truck rental companies! I also sent a written complaint in writing (snail mail) and on their website (feedback). Their response was to email me a coupon code for 15% off my next rental! The email was sketchy looking too. The sender was ABG and the subject was the name of the attachment that ended up being a generic "sorry, you're not happy- please try again later" in XL spreadsheet extension! Avoid Budget Truck Rental like the plague that they are!

At this point two separate Budget employees told me that because it was a Saturday, they could not help me and we would not have a truck until they were able to verify the damage. They also repeatedly assured me my hotel and related charges would be covered. In the end, Budget’s decision was to leave me on the side of the road for two days while they made up their mind. I had a deadline to make and was forced to drive to Nashville, rent a U-Haul truck, drive back, and pay movers to transfer my belongings.

I spoke to a different Budget representative who told me to leave the truck and keys with the mechanic and that Budget would come get the truck or have the mechanic repair. I alerted this representative of my situation and he told me to get another truck and budget would take care of the broken one. Budget has now charged my credit card for over $2000 because they rented me a poorly maintained vehicle. The original agreed upon charge was around $500. I am currently fighting with Budget to erase the over $2000 worth of charges they placed on my credit card.

When we asked how we were expected to move with out a truck, the response was "I can't help you". Had to scramble to find another truck, luckily U-Haul was able to provide one. We are still waiting to see if the charges from Budget are correctly reversed.

I made the reservation for a 16' truck on 7/27 for a one-way trip to Michigan, for a total of $248 with an additional $99 for the tow dolly on pick-up. My husband called the company on 8/3 to confirm our reservation and check on the status of the tow dolly. At first, she could not find our reservation, and once she did she said she still did not have a tow dolly, but she would find one and give us a call back. Again, we never got a call back. My husband called yet again on 8/4, the same woman said yes, our truck and tow dolly would be there for pick-up on 8/6!

We arrived to pick-up our truck at 9:00vam on 8/6 and were then told that not only did they not have our truck, but they did not have a tow dolly either. While they offered us a 24' truck, not only was it not the size we wanted/needed, we could not use it anyway because we had to tow my husband's car.

We ended up having to scramble over to U-Haul because we were leaving at 6:00 am the following morning to move to Michigan. We ended up with a 14' truck (instead of the 16' we reserved with Budget) and had to pay $373.00 for the truck, and $72 for the tow dolly (after price adjustments were made because they felt so bad for us). We are now out an additional $98 that we had not planned on spending, as well as a very, very stressful day that never should have happened.

On top of that, after calling their customer service number and being hung up on once, we were told there was nothing that they could do for us. They did not even try to make anything right for us. I don't understand why if I fail to pick-up a truck from them, they charge $50, but when they fail to have the truck there for me, they do not have to pay the difference for me to get another truck when I need it.

I was pre-planned for a one-way to Silver Spring, MD, so what else could I do but use the 16' truck! To make the long story short, the truck was not up to par for long distance traveling! The air condition went out upon me entering NC. The truck was shaking, vibrating and squeaking the entire trip. The truck utilized an excess of amount of gas because of the many mechanical issues that were wrong with the larger truck that I didn't! I called customer service. First, I talked to Hervary. He said that nothing could be done. I should call roadside, but they don't repair air condition. I had a young child with me that was suffering because of the temperature in the hot truck!

I called the 2nd time, Judith, and demanded a supervisor from customer service. No supervisor was available at the start of customer service call center. I wanted to return truck to the location I chose and was told I couldn't because their lot was full and if I leave it, the truck would be towed away and that would be my responsibility! I had to drive 20 minutes further to return truck at a totally different location! Why would a Budget employee say that Budget doesn't have what customers request days before pick up? Why would a budget representative not accept a rental that was due to delivered? Why when customers ask for a supervisor, they don't receive one? I've been going back and forth with Budget rental since this and receive no measure or attempts for resolution.

When they called me to change days I was given a 20% off coupon by a friend. Now Budget was the cheapest quote of all so I was happy. $689 was the quote for one way and a four day rental (unlimited mileage) so I called the office and talked to a gentleman. I can't remember his name but was the one that called to change times and told him I had a 20% coupon. "Can I use that too?" and he said of course and since they messed up my days he'd use it. So then we'd get it for around $520-50, about $120 less.

So being on disability and very low income, I turned every other offer down and went to get it today and she was not polite at all and totally refused the coupon and even took it and then when they made that reservation and quoted $689 I asked if tax was included and he said yes. So when she started ringing it up, she quoted $744 dollars and took the coupon and refused to used it. She said I could only get one discount and I got it at reservation time so that was it when I tried to state that they said the tax was in that total and she even got a worse attitude. So I just left and told her I didn't like her attitude and that is not what was told to me by the 1800 # or the other gentleman that worked there. And she said that was what it was and I had to accept it.

So I left there and tried to find other arrangements and she called my house two times throughout the rest of the day asking when am I going to get that truck and even when I called in to see if I could just rent a car instead for cheaper. He refused me and said I had to get the truck or nothing and when I made the reservation they told me that if I canceled they'd charge my card $50 but I don't feel they should be able to because they were not very professional first by not even knowing what days they were closed to begin with. And second, if they were only suppose to take one discount at a time then why did that one gentleman say okay when I called to see if II could use that with a 20 % discount for reserving ahead?

So can you please help me get to the bottom of this because now I had to leave everything here in storage and get a friend to drive us there? And now have to come back up here in two to three months to get all my stuff and drive back down there. Twelve hours to get there and that threw off everything. I had already set up and once I left Flint I didn't intend on coming back for nothing and I refuse to let them take any of my money now including a calculation fee! So am I wrong or was I mistreated, meaning were they at right to do those things to me?

I went down to ask if they were looking for someone's house, and the man was very rude and said, "I am waiting for that man right there," pointing at a truck driving down the road towards us. The truck parked behind the Budget truck, they unloaded a box and put it into the man's pick-up. Two of the Budget men drove off in the pick-up with the box.

10 minutes later, they came back and got out of the pick-up. Then the pick-up and Budget truck left, leaving my tree damaged. I am wondering if someone gave out my address? What was in the box? I'm not trying to be paranoid, but we live on a very quiet street. It's just a little odd. But the big aggravation is that they damaged my tree. I called Budget to file a complaint, but there was nothing that they could do. Any suggestions? I got the truck ID number, but it had no license plates at all. Strange.

When asked about our belongings, he gave me the option to take a 100lb TV off the truck (again, 9 months pregnant). As soon as I have the baby, we will be pursuing this full force to make sure they never do this to anyone again. The manager then got offended because we told him we would not stand for this. They automatically charged our bank account for all of the cash in it, and sent a bill for over $900 dollars, and created a bogus damage claim.

Then three days later, I had a flat tire on I-70 in Pa. To make a long story short, we were on hold for over an hour with Budget's customer service. We sat on the highway from 5:00 p.m. until help finally arrived at 10:30 p.m.! We finally were on our way at 11:30 p.m. - six and a half hours later! Budget's customer service is worse than none.

I arrived to the budget rental facility to pick up the truck earlier than scheduled time given that I would need to drive greater than an hour round trip to pick up the second piece of reserved equipment offsite. At the time of checkout, I noticed that I only received 50% of the auto trailer which was originally $100. So, I saved $50 off the auto trailer rental only rather than the entire rental (which I was led to believe). I left the facility with the truck at 2:30 PM and arrived in Yulee with the gas guzzling truck around 3:30 PM.

I called customer service to let them know that there was a tremendous amount of gas used and time invested and the $50 was insufficient and inappropriate. Furthermore, when I arrived in Yulee, the local budget facility there had no idea that I was there to pick up the auto trailer, indicating that he received no call from the other facility and had already rented the equipment to another customer. After making several phone call and another 30 minutes, Budget in Yulee gave me the auto trailer and indicated that he would report the incident to his regional manager. Now it’s 4 pm. I was advised to return the truck and auto trailer 72 hours later before 5 pm to drop off facility.

Upon arrival to the one way drop off Budget facility, we discovered that the place was close. We again called Budget (now completely disgusted) and the customer service reps stated that we were responsible for the truck and all equipment and should drive the trailer back home and return the following day. They stated that I could not leave the truck and trailer without being responsible for it. They also rudely stated (and by the way, the customer service was terrible, as they will hang up on you, are uncompromising and are not willing to compensate for anything) that I picked up the truck at 2pm and it should have been return 3 days later at 2 PM.

I explained that the only reason for early truck pickup was because the trailer was an hour away and I did not have all of the equipment at that time. It was not until the 1600th hour that I had my equipment. I was told that I would have to deal with it and take the key and bring the key back in the morning. I explained that the gas required in the truck was tremendous and I could not afford to drive the truck for another second. Further, initially the customer service rep attempted to have me drive to another location (so I wasted additional gas in the truck). I also informed Budget customer service that as a result of the facility being closed, the truck was full but not topped off. I still received a bill for $43.00 extra for having to "top off" the gas with 4 gallons. Economic damages of approximately $200, time damage which of unknown amount and heat exhaustion while talking to workers.

On Monday, we then received our call; however, we were told that things would not be available until Tuesday afternoon. At this point, we were told that we would receive a discount for the inconvenience. I was given a number for the regional office and was told that we would get a discount of 15%. We started looking for another independent Budget dealer that could fill our reservation. I contacted the 800 number to have them find another location and also discussed the issue of compensation. I was told that they could not discuss compensation on an open contract. I was told that until I had the truck in my possession, they were unable to give specifics on discounts. We ultimately found another place to fill our reservation, but we would not get our truck until 4:30 that afternoon.

The employees at this location were actually driving out on their own to pick up trucks to help all their customers. Ultimately, we lost an entire day of loading the truck, but we finally had a truck. We called the 800 number once we had reached our final destination to discuss compensation, and we were then told that they could not discuss specifics until we returned the truck and dolly. We also verified with the employee that there would not be an after-hours charge at our specific drop location. They took the location number and told us there was no after-hours charge.

After we returned the vehicle, we called again; and this time, we were told that we would not receive any compensation. This employee also hung up the phone on my husband. Also, we found out that the drop location did in fact charge us an after-hours drop fee! Whenever we called the 800 number, no employee would give us an employee number or their extension, and they claimed there was no one above them to talk to. They claimed that everyone was at the same level and that we could talk to anyone about our issue, but there was no boss to talk to and no one in charge.

So I feel that they strung us along and lied to us, because they knew we were in a bind and needed the truck, and they couldn't be held accountable for anything they said. I have never had anything sent to collections before, so I do not know how this will impact me or my credit. I sent a copy of the letter American Express sent me regarding the resolution to the collection agency, but I do not know if this issue is now resolved or if Budget can or will use another agency.

I disputed the charge through American Express. I decided to dispute 15% of the total, because I was in fact given that figure by one person. The claim was initially denied, but I resubmitted with the name and extension of the person who told me 15% as well and the first name of the only other person who gave us their name and who had also told us we would get some sort of discount. The dispute was then resolved in my favor. I was told by American Express that Budget refused to cooperate and so they found in my favor.

Then, on Saturday, April 17, 2010, we received a letter from a collection agency regarding this disputed money. The letter stated that Budget claimed that they had contacted us several times regarding this money and we never responded. This is completely false. Budget never contacted us. American Express had been in contact with them during the dispute process. This is another instance of the company lying to people.

Ultimately, I want the corporate Budget punished, not the local independent dealer. As I stated above, the local dealer went above and beyond by sending employees out across the region to pick up vehicles for customers with reservations that were not being filled by the regional truck distribution center. Also, the employees who answer the phones at the 800 number repeatedly lied to us by leading us to believe that we would receive some sort of compensation.

When my child took ill and was hospitalized, I contacted Budget. They gave option of driving back to original town and returning truck to insure discounted 20% rate. This was not an option with child/second driver in hospital. We extended the days. Numerous Orlando locations and Claudio of Landstreet rudely demanded I bring to another location. I complied and dropped off shortly after closing that day. I was billed an addition $74 plus $1405 despite Dennis of Tulsa location making notes and telling me to phone back after closing to get adjustment.

I am requesting the additional $75 day rate be credited for 12th day and that the 20 percent discount minimum be honored. The fact the truck burdened us is an already stressful situation of climbing over seats and no secure lock. I expect some adjustment. I have phoned Budget for more than 2 hours now and was only told to phone back. I wish to have my bank card adjusted. I called 24 hours before the 12th day added, requesting change of payment; and they did not honor causing a decline on my other card. Each time I phone customer service at 8004628343, I am deferred off to another at 4078502521.

To date, I have spoken with manager Vanessa, Tony in Miami, Dennis and Jeremy, and Olivia in Oklahoma, Judith. I need third party intervention to insure Budget is accountable for their agreement. I have photos of the original state in camera and video of the gas streaming out, etc.

Anyway, I rented my truck and I asked the guy how late they would be open for just in case I drop this off tonight instead of tomorrow. Oh, he said it doesn't matter, just park the truck and put the keys in the lock box, so I did. Anyway, when I filled up the truck at the end of the night, I let the gas pump shut off on its own, then I added a couple more gallons and checked the gauge and it went over the fill spot. Anyway, with the mileage I used and the daily rental came to about $134.19, and also added $44.00 of gas to the tank and bought insurance for $20.64 cents.

Anyway, the guy comes in and somehow squeezes another $8.23 cents in gas in that tank and considered it not full, even though the needle was buried on full. So, they charged me a $38.00 fee for that anyway ended up charging my bank debit card $214.80 cents and I brought the truck back 14 hours early.

Lesson: do not just drop off the truck and leave, wait until they OK everything and charge you. That guy would have never pulled that crap on me if I was there. They are thieves, why do people treat people like this? Why? Just because they can get away with it and make a few extra bucks? I will never rent another budget anything anymore and I will bad mouth them forever. Great Business Budget, oh yea, I just got back from the place I rented the truck to find out where the extra charges came in, I called the man a thief, he squeezes another $8 bucks in the tank, anyone can do that, he must had gas falling out of the tank. Crooks, they stole money from my bank checking account. That’s what happened, and I am done with it now and them now!

On Saturday 9/20/08 while on line I noticed an unauthorized debit on my card in the amount of $234.58 from Budget Truck Rental. I immediately called Customer Service and was told that the charge was due to the truck having been delivered two days late (in reality I delivered the truck 12 hours early) and disputed the charge. After several vexing calls thereafter to Budget's Franchise and Customer Service, I was only offered to meet me half way which I refused as I found this offer unacceptable. It seems that: I was mislead as to the drop box and corporate center status of the franchise location. A large 24' Diesel Budget Rental Truck (parked in front of a small building (this was not a corporate center as advised) on a nearly empty lot is not seen or processed by two Budget Franchise employees till two and a half days later.

It also turns out that the drop box I was advised to use does not exist? and the drop box I used belongs to another business in this small building and the key was not therefore made available till an employee from Title Loans decided to turn in the key to the Budget Franchise - two and a half days later on Thursday, September 18th, 2008. FYI, distance between the two businesses: one wall thickness!

It is my contention, that the events that have transpired are borderline fraudulent. At worse given the circumstances outlined, including the copy of the time, dated and addressed receipt, that my account should be credited of all charges.

$234.58 - sleepless nights - countless arguments with Budget over charges, overdraft fees fight with bank.

After completing the paperwork, he then took me outside to the lot behind the trailer and unlocked the gate where the truck was kept. This was the only truck in the lot. We walked around the vehicle and he pointed on the dents and notated it on the paper. He had me sign the damage form and handed me the keys and asked if I needed to be guided out. I said yes, because this is the first time I've driven a truck this big. I got in and was really nervous but he guided me out and after pulling off the lot, I seen that the gas tank was just a little over a 1/4 of a tank. I called Pablo from my cell phone immediately and informed him that he had me sign for a full tank but there was only a 1/4 tank in there. He said Really?...I'm sorry I don't know how that happened. Don't worry about it, just let them know when you turn it in. I was leery of the situation and I asked was he sure. He said you'll be fine...have them call me if you have any problems, I'm always here.

I hung-up then called back again because I remembered that he forgot the hand truck. He was really apologetic and instructed me to come on back. My father and I came back and Pablo met us on the side with the hand truck. I asked if he could give me any paperwork to make sure I would be cool with the gas and he said, don't worry, you'll be okay. If they give you a hard time, just call me. We packed the truck and hit the road at about 4:30am the next morning. The ride was long but we made it to Atlanta at about 7:30pm on 5/30/08. We unloaded the truck the next day but we didn't finish until after close of business at the Destination Dealer. I wanted to just drop the truck off at the location but my intuition made me want to make sure we wouldn't have any issues with the gas.

Therefore, I waited until Monday at 2:45 (Est) to drop it off. I informed the dealer of the gas situation and they shook their head and said that they'll call the Dispatching Dealer but once you sign for it you're stuck. This let me know this is not an abnormal thing that happens. He said he would call back to Chicago. When he did, they said they didn't remember anything but they would check the paperwork. The guy on the phone also said that maybe it was his brother who rented it out. However, it sounded like Pablo because I was on the line. He came back and said he remembers the hand truck but nothing about the gas.

I became furious and still am. I called Customer Service and they weren't very helpful. They said if the Dispatching Dealer denies it, there's nothing they can do. ( I was speaking with Destiny). I was really upset and I asked to speak to a manager. She said she was transferring me, however, I was on hold so long that I ran out of minutes on my phone. Too make a long story short, they still charged me more than $100 in gas plus a $25 fee and they were not motivated at all about talking to their dishonest employee about it.

The stress over this situation is unmeasurable and cost me NSF fees to cover the charges that we beyond I expected. Damaged my whole families emotional state of being of moving to Atlanta because of the immediate hardship it brought surrounding the trip and extra charges.

When the dealer started it, it didn't start right up but he commented that diesels were slow in starting. He then stated that if we had any trouble with the truck that we should call the 800 customer service line as they were closing at 2:00 pm. At this point, my husband drove the truck to Lowes to pick up some boards and then met me in Rocky Hill. I had arranged for four strong men to help me move the piano. Two of them were paid by the hour and the other two were friends who were nice enough to help me for just a pizza dinner. After they spent approx 25 minutes moving the piano to the end of the condo's driveway, my husband tried to start the truck and it would not start. Everyone of the men took a try starting it. The battery was fine and the truck was trying to turn over but it would not start. After 30 minutes of trying to start the truck, my husband finally called the 800 number and was told someone would come out.

We waited for a repair vehicle to come for about 40 minutes. When the repairman arrived, he was able to start the truck within a minute. He then told my husband and my brother that he was going to write up the repair ticket to state that the idle should be reset as it may be set to low. We drove the truck back to the house and kept it running until the piano was unloaded as we were unsure if it would happen again. We returned the truck back to Wethersfield Rental around 6:30 pm.

Later that evening,while sitting having a pizza, my husband checked his cell phone messages and one was from Budget stating that since the truck started right up, we were responsible for the service call from A&M towing in East Hartford. When we called Budget Customer Service on 5/12/2008, they were RUDE and told us that proper operation of a lift gate truck means that it should be kept running while in use. We were NEVER told this.

When we asked for a supervisor, she was nice and promised a call back within 24 hours. Well, that didn't happen, so I ended up having to make a toll call to get her direct line. Upon reaching her, she was RUDE and said that it was OUR FAULT that the truck didn't start and that the only way she would stop the charges is if we could get A&M Garage to give them a new work order. We spoke to the garage twice and the repairman never called us back.

We are now out an additional $90 plus an extra $20 for the movers. I am not sure how much the toll call was. This is just crazy. If we had known that we were going to be charged, we would have called AAA. I will be disputed the charges with my credit card company.