Alamo Car Rental Reviews

Alamo deducted the $3000 supplemental insurance from the damages to the car which would have been covered under the liable insurance company's policies and tried to force us to pay for the "non-covered" charges. The insurance we purchased covered the drivers of the car, not the liable insurance company and they should apply the $3000 in coverage to our out-of-pocket costs, not deduct it from the covered cost of the damages to the car. Also beware, when they offer you "full coverage" it's only $3000.

The customer service that my wife received in person and the customer service that I received over the phone was the WORST ever example of customer service that I have ever received in my entire life. I have dealt with a lot of dirtbags and businesses, but this takes the blue ribbon for the dreadful category. Is this normal for Alamo? I have rented numerous vehicles in my lifetime, never from Alamo, AND NEVER AGAIN. In fact I have 2 pending reservations with Alamo which I will be cancelling tomorrow and going with a different rental company. I will be sharing my experience with whomever will listen and wherever I am able to post it and leave a review of your company.

I have never ever accepted their insurance or any other companies insurance but this time when I declined it that guy smirked which made me feel a bit concerned. I get the car and it surprised me this was the first time I rent a car and they didn't give me a slip to document and damage on the car before I drove it off. With all my other rentals I’ve gotten a “Ready to go” slip. This time the girl in the lot handed me the keys and said to check for any dents bigger than a golf ball and let her know if I saw any. I briefly looked around the car and saw none. Drove off to the wedding at a country club and came back Monday night.

As I returned the car the rep had two other people signing paperwork. He comes to me and says “I will be right with you.” After about 15 mins and me waving the guy in effort to give him the keys and head home to sleep he comes over, pulls his flashlight and starts scanning the car literally in every spot. He goes to the trunk and says “oh no, we definitely need to report this one” (a scratch on the top of the trunk). I told him the girl had told me to check for any dents not scratches. He didn't care and said it was my responsibility to check the car for any damage. It turns out the two people before me were filing damage claims too! I got upset and told him I did not agree! After him going back and forth between me and the other two customers, another car came and he started filing a claim with them too!!!

I told the guy I would file a complaint and he said "I'm doing my job." If they would have done a full inspection like he did before I took it they would realize those scratches were already there! 2 weeks later I get paperwork to pay $500!!! On a $80 rental!!! I am furious and trying to dispute the charges and they won't answer my calls but through email they said. "We've made our decision and you are responsible..." this company is a complete rip off!!! Does not care for their customers and instead aim to falsely accuse the customers who chose to decline their coverage to fixed their damaged vehicles!!! Take pics of any rental you get from them!

I was extremely disappointed with the management of the Denver Airport site and further Alamo policy of this “DRIVE HAPPY DEAL” package which I can only describe as a bait-and-switch. I have been an Alamo insider member for only a couple of years now after many years of being a Hertz Gold member but will reconsider the move. What I thought was a discount provider in Alamo has turned into a large aggravation for me.

And when she put on line again she forgot what I was holding for and she told me she will call me back. She never did. I call after 30 min. The same thing happen. They told me they going to call me for sure. They never did. And called back after hour and half. She was like, "Go ahead and file a report for lost and found because they already rent the SUV again." Instead of making it easy on everybody and get it for me in the beginning. They are the worst, the careless people and worker I ever deal with.

Original Review: Jan. 29, 2018

We booked our car and GPS by our travel agent in Holland. When we left the desk in Orlando, I asked if the GPS was in the car. It was not, they gave us a box with a GPS. We signed for it, we thought it was a deposit for the box. And now you charged us 304.44 Dollars for using the GPS. We did not asked for this TravelTab Adventurer, only for a GPS. Which our Travel agent already paid for. The rental car was super, only this 304.44 dollars gives us a big headache.

Went back outside to get the Avis car and spoke to Mr. ** again who offered to arrange for adjustments for the difference. He said sent him a copy of the transactions (which we did Nov. 11 and Jan. 24. We have had NO acknowledgment from either date. Poor service and does not feel good to be taken advantage of by poor customer service. Be warn folks, there were three of us in the same fix that night.

We sent the info and they answered again the last days of our rental saying that the category we requested was available and that we “chose” to take the suburban: We chose a car we did not fit in and had to bring the luggage in our laps! We chose a car that was 3 times more expensive. We wrote the same day and instead of answering immediately so we could make the change, they needed more than 10 days to analyze the case??? I think they are cheating customers so they can charge more! Stay away from Alamo and stay away from Economycarrental!!!

So, once again I called and was then transferred to a different company at the airport where I used the rental. So, again I called back to customer service. The lady who answered the phone acted in a very unprofessional manner. Ex. First thing was when she answered the phone it wasn't, "Hello, Thank you for calling Alamo. How may I assist you?" It was "this person is calling again haha" after I responded, "Well. Yes I am calling back." I haven't spoken to the person I am in need of speaking with, She then raised her voice at me, (which made me more irate than I already was) talked over me and cut me off.

It was one of the worst customer service experiences I have had. I do understand having people call about being overcharged as I am the General Manager of a Fitness Facility. Things happen and if I were to act the way she did to me, I would be asked to leave IMMEDIATELY, there are no exceptions to this behavior. WILL NEVER RECOMMEND OR USE AGAIN. IF YOU VALUE RESPECT THIS IS NOT THE COMPANY TO USE.

We just wanted to get to our condo and relax so we drove on. Parked the car, which is in a covered parking lot with a pillar on the driver's side. Pulled car in, popped trunk. Didn't even look at the keys until we went to go home. Pull into the now extremely BRIGHT parking garage. Instantly the employee asked what did we hit? Apparently, if you got down on your knees with a flashlight, you could see a long scrape along the bottom panel of the car. We drove NOWHERE. If we hit that we would have known and there was no way it was from any other car because it was so slow to the ground. So, enter Claudia. I will say in my 30 years of dealing with people and traveling the country between my husband's work and mine I have NEVER met anyone that is so unprofessional and condescending. Here are the things she (at first) told us...

1. She said that they were understaffed and couldn't possibly look over every car as it goes out of the lot (although, there were a few standing around doing nothing and not to mention only 1 way to get out). 2. We obviously were going to the airport to catch our flight so my friend asked what would happen if we just walked away right now and called back with information and she informed us that she would be sent to collections. 3. She gave us a number to call to get the driver's insurance info, but since it was Sunday they were closed. My friend explained that she will get the insurance on Monday and call back. However, on the report she wrote that the "customer refused to give insurance". She asked to have that wording changed and the manager at the time (Justin) said that he is unable to change the wording.

4. She told us to our faces that she believes we would sit there and lie about hitting something. Which in the grand scheme of things the cost will probably be close to $500 and why in the world would we risk missing the flight of four of us which was well over $800. 5. I informed her that I will never shop at Alamo again and she just rolled her eyes and said "that's fine, you can do whatever you want to do". Which is true, but obviously not something you should tell your customers. So then we asked to talk to the manager, and he came out. We started explaining the conversations that we had and she just instantly was defending what she is now saying she did NOT say.

After reading just a few of these reviews I can see that that is just how Alamo works and they don't care because there is always fools that will get their cars. Now we are waiting a week for the claims report to come back from them stating the extent of the damage after they do a examination and look at video cameras to see if the cameras can see the marks on the car before we had it. So, unless you are looking for a completely LOUSY way to end your vacation and wanting to get victimized and talked down to in a rental car garage I suggest you take your business elsewhere. It will be worth the extra money you spend to stay away from these condescending thieves.

Original Review: Nov. 14, 2017

Picked up car at 9:30M 10/14/17 with 2-day rental. Due to flight cancellation returned car early 10/15/17 at 7:30AM. Called Alamo asking about credit. Was told it would take 4-5 days & was given amount of credit. After 1 week called Alamo. Told to call Expedia who called Alamo who claimed no record of our call. Expedia explained policy says no credit given if returned early with 2-day rental. Asked where that was written. Was told "somewhere". It is not written on our rental agreement. Everything else was fine, but disappointed in Alamo for lack of info on their agreement & claiming no record of our call. Expedia just shrugged. Forewarned for next trip.

Original Review: Nov. 12, 2017

We received a vehicle with numerous damages and poor mechanical maintenance at Alamo at LAX location. The vehicle was a high mileage, Chevrolet Traverse which I asserted at the airport employee, had damage and scuffs all over the vehicle, however, there was no inspection or walk around despite my claim. I took proper care of the vehicle and ensured it was returned in the exact fashion I received it. I have time proofed pictures to prove previous damage. This car was not taken care of inside and out, (interior was also missing floor mats and smelled musty) and it should not have been on the lot to begin with.

The manager at Alamo said to us that we would hear from them within 7 days and if not, everything is okay. However it took weeks until we received a claim letter that requested our insurance policy and/or credit card number without a claim amount attached. I am beyond frustrated with Alamo. Lastly, the manager at this particular location was extremely rude and aggressive when I inquired about proper vehicle proper maintenance schedules. She simply repeated, "I've doing this for 15 years," over and over again. Which is simply irrelevant to the facts on hand.

Then he started lecturing how easy it is to be in accidents and how this insurance will save me a lot when (not if) I get into accidents. At any rate, he had to reprint the form without the insurance and repeating again that he warned me and I did not listen. This took place at around 10:30 PM after a 10 hours flight and I was really tired. Because of his tactics It took me more than 15 minutes to get the car... which is normally around 5-7 minutes with other car rental companies. He made me feel that I am bound to be in trouble when (not if) I get into accident without Alamo additional insurance.

I only found this out after I was charged an additional $82.32 the day after I returned the vehicle. I had only used half a tank so I ended up wasting quite a bit of money on gas, in addition to the forty bucks for the extended protection that I was directed to sign up for. If Alamo is going to offer free upgrades they need to let the customer know that that will also increase the cost of the prepaid gas. I feel the agent, although quite nice and helpful, engaged in questionable tactics to maximize the amount of money the company got out of me; an $80 rental ended up costing me twice that after all was said and done. That being said, I will not be renting with Alamo again; although none of this was illegal, it was still unethical and sneaky, and I believe their agents capitalize on airport pickup customers being tired/jet lagged and take advantage of that.

I never hit anything with the car, never ran through a pothole or anything else. Now they send me photos of damage to the car that was not present when I returned the car and they expect me to pay for it!! DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE AT ALAMO!!! THIS IS A SCAM!! They are trying to get me to pay for someone else's damage, maybe even on a different car!!

We went to look for the car to make sure the car was cleaned out. Not even ONE HOUR they had the tires changed, cleaned, and MOVED to another car rental lot called National! They have thousands our cars but they were in some rush to get rid of our car as fast as possible. We found the car but still nothing in it. Now they tell me that they don't have my stuff and they can't do anything about it! How is that possible?

They are responsible and they are thieves. How can you rent a car without being able to trust them? Don't rent at Alamo. They are thieves and they will take advantage of you and take no responsibility for their employees. I know they stole my stuff and won't give it back knowing exactly who worked on my car and who actually took it. They need to take responsibility and fix this problem or I will make sure that everyone knows what a scamming car company they truly are!

From our room I call the roadside assistance number in hopes of arranging an early morning swap or other assistance. Was told they could only arrange for a jump start but I should call back in the morning and, by the way there will be a 70 dollar charge. I am a little upset now but decided to just wait till morning and call AAA a reliable source for roadside help. They came quickly and saw the problem. The battery was covered with corrosion, the cables were caked with corrosion. The technician had a difficult time but was able to get the car started and test the battery, it had to be replaced and would not restart the car again.

As I said we drove from Anaheim to Las Vegas, Then drove about 12 mile to a restaurant for dinner, then back to the hotel. The car had only enough fuel to go +/- 40 miles. I was on the phone to the roadside helpline explained my situation after a search gave me address where I will pick up my replacement car. Drove to the location, which was an Enterprise desk in a hotel lobby, to find they did know I was coming and they purportedly had no cars to replace mine. All the time the car is running, I turned off the AC to conserve fuel and began the longest phone tag session I had had in many years. By this time the binder questions by the agent were getting to be irritating. Started the call and had several disconnects so some back and forth. The agent said he would search, I asked to call the desk of the location to ensure there was a car.

After 3 more callbacks the agent informs me that the only car your company, the biggest with the largest inventory in the industry in Las Vegas could get me is a 15 passenger van! I am an 79 year old retire marketing and CRM executive, my wife is a few years younger, we are sitting in car about to run out of gas, no AC and you offer a this or nothing offer of a replacement 15 passenger van. I asked the agent, "Is this some kind of sick joke." I then said, "I am going to replace the poorly maintained battery and I want to know how I get reimbursed for the expense," he said I have to talk to my supervisor, several minutes later he said she said they cannot authorize the reimbursement, I asked to speak to the supervisor who said she could not authorize the purchase of a new battery.

It is now 11:25am, three hours into the ordeal caused by your lack of proper maintenance. If anyone looked at the car between rentals and did not the corrosion on the battery of test a battery on a 2016 model heavy electric using car should not be in the business., I purchased the new battery, had installed. Elapsed time 6 hours on Tuesday and 3 hour on Monday. I finally spoke to a Louisa at the 800 number for the Anaheim location, she told was not in the Anaheim but she noted the file so that I would get reimbursed.

Your company with many employees. If you cannot empower them to make decision based on the situation to help a customer then you are seeking failure. The lack of maintenance caused and my wife unacceptable levels of stress ruining a long planned for vacation. Expenses we should not have had and overall dislike for your company.

The choice for vehicle transportation are broad and wide.The traveling public can UBER from the airport, MAVEN from the hotel to their business meeting and ZIPCAR to dinner. Lots of choice over the car rental option. You're the biggest in the industry so why worry this old guys rent twice a year, we don't need him. Your poor maintenance could have put mine and wife’s life in danger. What if when we arrived in Las Vegas we chose to visit Red Rock Park, stopped in one of those away from the road spots and the car would not start in the 18 degree sun, what then? What will you do, in all likelihood nothing. But my options are still open to me.

To make things even more confusing they first charged everything in the nation's official currency the Hungarian Forint and then immediately converted this amount to Euros. When asked why they are doing this, the response from the counter clerk was; "I do not know, everybody in the car rental industry here does this so." Upon returning the car the receiving clerk examined the car for accidental damage with surgical precision. Unfortunately for me, somebody, probably during the last few days of my rental must have touched the right front corner of the bumper, leaving a few barely visible scratches in the paint. Needless to say nobody left me a note regarding this incident. Therefore I didn't even notice the damage. I was informed that the damage will be examined and I will receive an e-mail regarding the extra cost.

After 5 days not having received this e-mail I've tried to contact the agency on the phone w/o success. So I went to their office at the Airport, requesting an invoice spelling out the total cost. The invoice I've received is very complicated, charging several extra taxes and fees and again first they charged in Hungarian Forint and then transferred those amounts into Euro. First; they have overcharged me for the actual rental with approx. $48.-, secondly the charge for the barely visible paint scratch was $829.-.

Seeing the rental overcharge I've showed the clerk my original rental agreement, stating that all taxes and fees are included in the quoted price. Also I've tried to talk to her about the very high charge for the minor accidental damage. Her response to everything was that she cannot do anything, because she is just a low level employee here. Upon this, I've requested to talk to his boss. She said that the boss is not here until later and she cannot reach him, but she promised that upon his return her boss will call me. This never happened. The next morning, prior to boarding my plane to return home I went by at the Alamo office again, same thing; different clerk, no boss present.

Following my return home I first contacted Expedia.com regarding the $48.- overcharge; first I was offered an Expedia.com coupon worth $48.- against any future travel expenses. I refused this and after a lengthy bargaining session with a supervisor I was told that maybe I might receive an actual monetary reimbursement, if I provide the required documents for the case and wait until a determination will be done that I am entitled to a reimbursement, although the original Expedia.com rental agreement asks if there were any overcharges and offers reimbursement if it was so. So much for this.

As to the $829.- damage charge; first I thought that the extra travel insurance I've purchase prior to the trip will provide coverage. Not so. The only remaining hope for a reimbursement for this is the VISA supplemental insurance, as I've used my Visa card for this rental. Again, I provided all the necessary documents for my case, as requested and now I am waiting for their evaluation and remaining hopeful.

The lesson from all this; BUYER BEWARE! In my opinion in some European countries - Hungary is definitely one of those - the rental operators, even though they are franchisees of mostly US rental car companies, operate as this would be the "lawless (old) Wild West" probably without their franchisors being aware of their dishonest methods of doing business, or if they are aware of this, they do not care.

The result; a customer like me will have to provide the necessary time and effort to find a possible redress, if any. While the crooked local car rental operator continues to do his business undisturbed using questionable methods and taking advantage of the mostly foreign travelers, who arrive at the Airport jet lagged and have among others a language disadvantage and are unfamiliar with the local customs, therefore they are easy pickings. I respectfully request Alamo Corp. to investigate and control their foreign franchisees, that their operations will use the same methods as the mother company uses here in the US.

Original Review: Aug. 20, 2017

My husband went to visit his daughter in Florida July 5th, he rented a car through Alamo, (Alamo is the rental company that we always use.) I had two upgrade emails from Alamo stating that I have a FREE upgrade. We rented a Hyundai, they did not have the car that we reserved so they gave him an Altima, when he went to turn the car in on July 10th, they charged him $133.00 for the upgrade, 1st of all they didn't have what we reserved, 2nd I had two emails with free upgrades. My husband showed them both emails. I sent Alamo the paperwork showing that I should have not paid the $133.00. Never heard anything back from Alamo. As far as I am concerned Alamo stole $133.00 from us. We usually go on vacation twice a year, always renting a car.

I would advise anyone reading this not to rent from Alamo, they are thieves, no customer service. When my husband went to turn the car in, about 4 blocks from the airport, he carried two suitcases, he is 70 years old, they refused to drive him to the airport. What kind of people are these. Like I said please DO NOT rent from Alamo.

Alamo’s website states that a valid driver’s license is all that is necessary and I see no other requirements for licensure of US drivers. I had a license that was accepted by a federal agency, a state agency, the department of motor vehicles no less, and two other car rental agencies. The only place I have had trouble with my license was that day with the Alamo manager. I had a valid contract with Alamo that they broke without reason. I suspect they had no cars to rent me and the manager was trying her best to avoid honoring my contract. Because Alamo did not abide by its contract I was forced make a last minute rental. This rental was for a lower level car from another agency at several hundred dollars more than what I had agreed to with Alamo.

Honestly, I would have taken the loss and dealt with it had the manager and staff been polite and provided a good reason why they would not accept my license. The staff was rude and condescending in an uncaring and unprofessional manner. I have pictures of my license from the day of the event and can provide these to Alamo upon request, but I do not feel comfortable posting these online. I expected more from Alamo, and I recommend you avoid this company even when it appears to be the affordable option.

Our car was to be returned on July 17 and I called Alamo to extend the car for 2 days and to eliminate the second driver. I was told I couldn't remove the second driver that I had to keep that on for the full term of the rental even though that second driver would be gone. We debated that to no avail. My daily rate with taxes was $30.44 per day per my contract - or for two days, an additional $60.88. The #800 operator told me that with the additional charges the total amount would be $306.96 or an additional $122.33. I attempted to debate this with the 800# operator but was getting nowhere and having a very difficult time understanding her as well. I tried to tell her what my daily rate was and what my charges should etc. Hopeless. She didn't have that info on her computer. Really??

I later called the 800# back and tried to talk to a manager. Then I was told I had to talk to the drop off location manager. I called there and was told the manager was "on the other line" and was told one would call me back. I called again. I explained the whole issue again and was told at that time that to take off the second driver I had to personally go to an Alamo office to take the party off. I was never told that by the operator who told me a second driver could not be removed once added to original contract. I waited for the manager to call back. Nothing. I called the return Alamo office and I was told to call the originating office in Tampa. Tried 4 or 5 times and the lines were busy. Called the #800 number to speak to a manager... nothing. I was told someone would call me back that they were working on my bill. I have never received a return call.

I checked my credit card bill today and sure enough there was the overcharge. No one ever contacted me. I have disputed the charges with my credit card company and they said I would get a refund but I was also told that Alamo was already paid so I guess as credit card consumers we will all get a share of the overcharges while Alamo is isn't out any money. It was a total mess. Alamo corporate office has no concern for the customer once they get our credit card. They gave me a complete runaround. I have spent a few hours trying to get it rectified thru Alamo corporate office.

I called Alamo and notified them of my situation and was told that I can return that car and exchange it. After we discussed the matter among ourselves we decided to be on the safe side with my sister medical condition we better head back to Cincinnati. Less than 24 hours we were back at Alamo. The manager there inspected the car and told me is the only carpet that is wet but he could not determine the reason why. He refunded me three days and he told me he will refund the day the car was used once he talked to corporate and finds out more about the reason. 2 days later He called me and said that it was determined that I should get my full refund. He said he processed it and I should see it on my card in 7 to 10 business days. 2 months passed by and no refund. I called him and he seemed surprised that I still did not receive it. He asked me to give it couple more weeks.

I got busy and never checked on it again. In March we decided to rent a car again. At Alamo desk the same supervisor saw me and I informed him that I have never received the refund I was told. He apologized again and he told me that he will not charge me for the rent that day. I thanked him and I left. On JUNE 2017, 10 months after my original rental, I received a letter from Alamo and a voicemail claiming that I owe them $14,637.59. First I thought it was a joke. I called that supervisor in Cincinnati and he was about to faint. He kept telling me he does not know what happens, he could not even give me an explanation. He said probably they had done another inspection at a higher level and made their decision.

The paperwork shows that the car was sold by Alamo in an auction on September 2016. I was never notified by anything until 10 months later. I contacted the attorney general in the State of Kentucky and I am in touch with BBB. Three attorneys are lined up now to take my case because they told me this is a clear case of fraud. I will keep you posted on my progress. This is not only sickening but pure harassment. PLEASE DO NOT RENT FROM ENTREPRISE ALAMO OR NATIONAL.

I usually rent a car at the Alamo Atlanta location around 12 am and return the car around the same time. Being that 12 am is the extremely slow period, they may only 1 or two people working the desk. Over a period of time the Alamo staff started to recognize my face at the counter, and in the garage where the cars are rented and returned. The problem I started having at the Alamo Atlanta airport location is that the overnight staff (who are desperate for commission) started to hate the fact that I never upgraded, or added any extras like pre-pay gas, insurance, roadside service, etc to my reserved price. Over time the same night staff that I see every week, or every other week started becoming unfriendly with me, and the young girl at the counter would never greet me with a hello, thank you, good bye, and would simply not respond to any questions I had... She basically ignores me.

On 07/16/2017 at 3:30 am I was returning a 1 day rental Camaro I rented the previous day, and since I really needed the car for an extra day I decided to go ahead and make another online reservation for a premium class car at the same price. The car I had was having problems with steering so I was not going to hang on to it for an extra day. When I got to the Alamo rental car counter the same young girl who I see every time was asleep at the counter, and when I said hello to her, she recognized me and looked pissed that I woke her up. She knew I was not going to upgrade, or take the extras, so she sent me on my way to the garage knowing I was going for the Camaro. In the garage I was stopped by a guy who was radioed by the young girl at the counter, and he told me if I wanted the Camaro I have to upgrade...

I explained to him I get the Camaro all the time under the premium class and that there is no sporty class section on the reservations site for the Atlanta airport location. He ignored me and said, "Let me show you all the premium cars" knowing I always get the Camaro... I then ignored him and walked towards the Camaro and he went back to greeting people returning cars. As I got in the Camaro and started driving towards the check out booth in the garage, a girl was also radioed by the young girl at the counter and she proceeded to tell me "Oh, it looks like you have a premium... if you want the Camaro you have to upgrade... I can do that for you right now?" I have rented the Camaro as a premium, and have checked out of the same garage over 5 times, with the same girl. However, now I see they are all working together to run a harassing scam on me.

I told the girl to reverse the charge on my card, and that I wanted to speak to a manager. When I spoke to the manager he of course sided with his employees and said that the Camaro not having a classification at the Atlanta airport location on the site is an issue that they are working on. When I told him that I am a loyal customer and that I feel disrespected by his staff, and that I was going to call Alamo about this location... his exact answer was "Well I guess you will be talking to me again, cause I am over this entire airport location and I deal with complaints" I will never use the Alamo, at the Atlanta airport location again!

As I finished speaking with the manager. I want to warn people that use the Alamo at the Atlanta airport around 12 am - 3 am when all the flights have stopped coming in, that the workers there are underpaid, and make little to no commission, and are unprofessional, unfriendly, rude, and will work together to scam you for the upgrade. Also, the general manager on duty at that time who is named Deandre is hopeless, and cares nothing about your business, or loyalty with Alamo Rent A Car!

I asked her if she could email me a copy of this and she said, "No they don't do that." 1 day later I get a charge for 470.00 which sent my bank account negative and now receiving overdraft charges. I immediately called Alamo in Destin again and this time I receive Yolanda which is Duree boss. She says explains that she don't know why Duree said that they can't email me things. I explained to her what has happened and she says, "Well, the only thing I can say is when they charge your card if it came back negative she must of charged you the full amount," and they have no control over it. The system automatically does this. Which makes zero sense?

Since I already paid for the car the only thing I should of been charged for was airport taxes and the key would of been cheaper to FedEx. I then ask her for corporate number for a solution and she gives me a 800 number and its customer service for sales. This staff is less than incompetent. I googled corporate office myself and they are in St. Louis, it's 314 number and I will be calling tomorrow morning since it's holiday? I can't believe the blatant lies of this staff and wonder how many people have been treated like this. This company needs to be sued for their dishonesty. I know for a fact they lied to me because I HAVE RENTED FROM ENTERPRISE FOR YEARS NEVER AND WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT REVERSE ANY FEES. Enterprise returned my deposit fee every time. Alamo in Destin was a horrible company and I will never rent from them again or their staff!

I asked him why? When I verified last night, I was told it was only the cost of the car for a deposit in which he told me it was actually a 250.00 deposit on top of the car rental price. When I contacted customer service to ask them, they told me they didn't know anything about Alamo's deposit policy for that location and they were sorry? Seriously?!? I called and verified THREE TIMES to make sure! Not only did they lie to me, but I had to walk out of there without a car. Will NEVER do business with them again!

Every time she "authorized" my card, the money left my account. Upon turning the vehicle in after one month of having it I was given a bill for the full amount ($997). I asked the "manager" Mike why I was receiving a bill for the full amount as I had already paid up to this point with the exception of 1 week. He advised me I was not being charged twice but that the previous amounts that I paid were only authorizations and had not come out of my account. Hmm... then where did that $800 go from my account?

I asked Mike why these charges had already come out of my account & explained that I didn't know why I was getting billed for the full amount... I only owed for one additional week!!! When I asked him to give me the difference between what it already been "authorized," he replied with "why is this so difficult for me to explain this to you?" I didn't have an answer - I figured that's what they paid him to do there...?? I asked him to get a calculator and deduct the amount of my weekly rate from what I've ALREADY PAID. We were finally making some headway... so I thought. Today I look at my checking account and see that I have an $823 debit from Alamo. This is EXACTLY what I was afraid of. "Mike" vehemently assured me that I would not be charged TWICE. Thanks Mike.

Initially when I called the customer service rep "Yvonne" that I had been dealing with, she could sense that I clearly wanted answers from her. She wasn't feeling up to it so she gladly passed the buck and transferred me over to Mike (even though she that was "polite" enough to authorize my card over and over and over again for RANDOM amounts, thanks Yvonne). This information was given to me by my BANK -- would you want people who you trust with your credit/debit card information randomly authorizing charges on your card? I didn't think that went on...??

When I asked "Mike" AND "Yvonne" why I was being charged twice and I was told to "call my bank." I asked both Mike AND Yvonne what protocol was for this -- to which no one had an answer. "Mike, you work in customer service, right? It's your job to resolve issues like this, right?" He replied, "Call your bank on three way - just call your bank." In addition to interrupting me countless times, wasting my time and lying to me, I'm also out $1900 instead of $950. Luckily I put the remaining week on a different card. I will NEVER, ever use these scam artists again. UNLESS THIS SITUATION SOUNDS APPEALING TO YOU, I URGE YOU to consider ANY OTHER CAR RENTAL COMPANY. Being charged double and treated like garbage is going to be tough to top. CONSUMER BEWARE!

I immediately called Alamo and was told that the records stated that I had returned the car to Seattle on Sunday, June 11th - not possible, since I was in Chicago attending my first granddaughter graduation from high school on Monday, June 12, 2017 at 6 pm. I was a flight to Phoenix at 5 am on Tuesday, June 13th. I have spoken with Cindy, Leah, Sandra, Manuela (supervisor) and their solutions are UNACCEPTABLE!!! NO MANAGER EVER CALLED ME!! The problem was they charged me before the contract was ended and that sent my account into a tailspin. Since then I have received a credit of $68.46 from Alamo.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE and does not fix my negative balance!! I want to be made whole. I want that charge of $269.52 to get reversed FROM 6.11.17 and then my bank will reverse all the $36 overdraft fees that keep piling up. I have started a fraud case against Alamo because they are accepting responsibility for their error. I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN AND WILL TELL EVERYONE I KNOW!!!

I have sent Alamo/Enterprise Rent-A-Car this information and all they do is send me is the original 160 dollar bill!! It appears to me that they keep trying to fob me off, meanwhile they gladly grab whatever 'extra' amount they can off your credit card when you take the car back. This is the third time I have visited the US and I have never expected to pay this much just to rent a mid-size car. AVOID Alamo at all costs!!!!

When I got home (UK) they took over 900 dollars out of my account £722.00. They don't want to do anything about this as said I agreed to upgrades and break down cover. I CLEARLY declined all upgrades but the dishonest Alamo rep added them anyway. He could see we were fed up of being there after a 9-hour flight with 3 children and a 3 and a half hour wait trying to sort the car. So got us to sign on the dotted line and told us a pack of lies. NEVER AGAIN ALAMO.

Yesterday, I get a letter overnighted by FEDEX from the damage control center. They want info on the damage "I" caused to the vehicle. Seriously? So I called the damage control dept, explaining my story. She said, "There's no claim appearing to be filed yet"... YET? Then why am I filling this out??? Anyhow, I have answered their questions on the letter and faxed it and the pictures back to them. I don't know what the outcome will be but guaranteed, I AM DONE WITH ALAMO RENTAL!!! As for any rental, take pics before you drive it off the lot. I also wondered, if the damages were already there and they filed a claim with other renter's insurance company for the damages, why weren't the damages repaired? Where did the money go they may have received for those damages each time they filed??? WHAT A SCAM??? BEWARE and take pictures before you leave the lot!!!

Our rental car was all prepaid and we didn't upgrade our car and didn't buy any additional insurance and things when we reached the counter because I have already bought a car rental insurance from Expedia for $60. The guy at the counter told my husband where to initial and sign and said it will be $215 total and it's around the same price as what I had paid to Expedia for the rental car. So I said to myself in the head that's sound correct to what I paid and thinking that's the receipt for what we have prepaid. Two days after the trip ended, we found the charge on our credit card from Alamo for $215.

I called Expedia and Expedia called Alamo to find out what the charge was for and they said we bought insurance from them. I am not a fool to buy the insurance twice for the same damn rental car because I know I already bought one from Expedia. When I looked at the letter sized receipt that we got from Alamo I see that he charges us for all those extra Comp and Collision and things we didn't asked for and was NOT mentioned to us. Never once did their staff mentioned anything about extra charges on our receipt that we didn't asked and what my husband was signing for.

I am so speechless as to how their staffs think they can just add additional things as they pleased and not mention it to the customer and charging customers credit card. This is called THIEVING. I found it strange that the guy didn't mention anything about insurance and upgrade to the vehicle in the beginning and should have trusted my gut and pay attention to the paper he was giving to us to sign. Customer service on the phone is bad too. Many times we contacted Alamo on the phone and they response is they will call us back the same day. No calls and now we called they said our case is closed. How can you close the damn case when you never first contacted us and it was not resolved. What a bunch of thieves and reaching their own conclusion without contacting the customer for once.

The case is now reopened and still we have to contact them first. Up to now there is no refund or credit from them yet because we cannot reach to someone who can actually help us and resolve this damn **. BEWARE OF ALAMO. I WILL NEVER RENT A CAR FROM THEM AND WILL NEVER RECOMMEND TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I would give zero star because they don't even deserve one! Sign, One really pissed off customer that will never return to do business with you!

However, on Jan 19, 2016 our credit card was charged by Alamo car rental company in full amount. Due to this charge, we called ALAMO once again and we spoke with the ALAMO representative (We have his name and ID on file). He ensured us that the money was returned back to our credit card and we should see it within couple days. In fact, our money had not been returned. So we called our credit company which helped us to return our money and our company sent us an official letter that this dispute had been successfully resolved.

However, one year later we got a phone call from the collecting company that Alamo requested to collect money from us. We explained the situation to the collector who called us but she said that they have no control over Alamo. After that we called our Credit Company and the representative told us that the Credit Company has no control over Alamo as well. All what the Credit Company could do for us was to send us all the official letters they used to communicate with Alamo. The Credit Company representative suggested us to submit an official complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to seek the protection against such companies as Alamo. At the moment, it looks like the consumers are not well protected and this must be changed. We would never use ALAMO again.

Original Review: April 30, 2017

On April 19, 2017 I rented a car at Sanford International Airport in Florida. Several days later I was glancing at my contract and noticed the contract was stamped "return empty". Since I did not authorize this charge I called your customer service department to report my concerns. I was told that they could not help me with that issue and I had to deal with it at the local branch. I told them that I did not want to do that and that I wanted to file a complaint during the call. At that point the phone agent hung up on me. Upon returning the car to the airport the Alamo employee who checked me out and asked me if I had any concerns. When I told him about this issue he became defensive and he stated that he didn't do it and it was not his problem. He then told me that If I had any concerns I needed to go talk to the manager.

I have two simple questions for Alamo Car Rental. Do your agents get commission for selling prepaid gas? Is it required to get the customer's authorization for said charges? If the answer to these questions is "yes" this is tantamount to stealing. There are companies in the news right now that are facing serious fines and negative publicity because of this exact type of predatory behavior. Alamo employees are breaking the law and stealing from customers with unauthorized charges! Beware!

He then walks back, pulls out his phone and starts snapping pictures (he had the volume turned up so we could hear them being took). She tells him to stop. She then hands me the keys to my rental and I leave. I get down the road & stop at a store for a drink & notice the tag on my car expired well over a month ago (March 2017). It's April 28th! How was this not caught? I call, they tell me to bring the car back so they don't get in any trouble and they will replace the sticker. I got there at 2pm to rent the car and at 5:30pm! They still have not been able to locate the sticker so the woman tells me she is going to put me in another car so I don't have to wait any longer & will print new paperwork showing the return time for 5:30pm rather than the original 2:30pm due to me having to come back & wait. The car I originally got was very nice but when switched to another it was very much so a downgrade!

I decide I'm going to rent the car longer than originally planned even still so I call & speak with a man asking if I should bring it back & rent another or will it be the same to just keep it longer. He tells me with insurance and everything included it would only cost $51 per extra day. So I tell him that's fine that's what I will do. I also informed the man I would be late returning the car & he told me it was fine & told me the total cost. I asked him if he was sure that would be my total taxes and all and he said yes. I returned the car & the man checked it & told me everything looked great (the car was much cleaner than when I rented it) & handed me a receipt which was WAY more than I was told. Hundreds actually! So he tells me he will leave the account so I can go in & see what's going on.

I walk in & see an older ** woman ducked down behind the counter. I ask her if she is with Alamo. She gets very upset (apparently she was eating but I didn't see she was eating behind the counter). She slams the lid of her Togo box down & says, "Yes I am what is it?" I apologized for interrupting her eating & tell her I can wait which she informs me, "It's too late now. What do I need". I tell her I had a question about my receipt & give it to her. She looks at it & tells me that's what I owe. What's the problem. I tell her that's not the price I was told by the man on the phone prior to me bringing the car back. She tells me, "Well that's what you owe". She was beyond rude rolling her eyes & having a ton of attitude. Worse than I've ever experienced anywhere! I tell her OK I'll call and speak with someone tomorrow about it in which her response is, "Do what you want but you still have to pay this much".

She charges my card the amount plus there's still a hold on my card for way over the amount! I tell her I need to rent another car & she looks at the clock, laughs & tells me, "It's reservation only, you got a reservation?" Of course I didn't that's why I asked her for another car. So she tells me she can't help me therefore I have to walk out of the airport and book a reservation then come right back in. When I come back in she gets even more upset because she's on her cell having a personal call. Clearly she had been talking about me & tells the person on the phone, "The dumb ** is back. I'll call you right back". She says, "What now. Let me guess you booked a reservation?" I tell her "Yes ma'am I did." She gets on the computer to confirm it and while she is putting in the information I apologize to her for upsetting her by interrupting her dinner.

She rolls her eyes and says, "Wait a minute. I can't take this credit card." I ask "Why not." It was the exact same card I rented with last time and the exact same card she just paid my bill with but all of a sudden they couldn't take it? She tells me it's a prepaid credit card and can't believe they took it before. Then gets on the phone and calls the manager to "prove to me she's not just declining my card because she didn't like me". Just being extremely loud so everyone could hear her and trying to cause a scene. It was by far the worst level of customer service I have ever in my life experienced! It's truly sad Alamo's ratings are down this bad due to this type of customer service & them trying to rip people off.

It's pitiful Alamo as a brand doesn't seem to care who they hire or how their employees behave. Why not respond to all the customer complaints like you care about the customer (the one who keeps the business going) which will in turn bring more business rather than people spreading the word they will be treated horribly and charged way more than promised. I would be quick to respond to customer complaints and make sure I wasn't employing people that were hurting my business.

When we got back we explained to AAA. They said it "should be ok". We got a bill for $228 and change for a new tire that "lost $17.68 in value" and .7% of a day. They patched it we are sure and charged us for a new tire. Besides that, it was a brand new car, tire was a Michelin which I am sure was under warranty! They are the biggest crooks I have ever met and the rudest customer service on the phone. Shame on you Alamo for charging a 33 yr veteran with MS for something that "just happened"! Trying to make money on the disabled! Don't use them people. They are also a part of Enterprise! Don't use any unless you want a big surprise at the end!

Although my pickup appointment was supposed to be on April 7, Delta cancelled most flights that day and I was rebooked to April 8 arrival in Seattle. I called Alamo the morning of April 7 and advised them I could not pick up the car until April 8. Are you ready for this? I was then told, it would cost me an extra $80+ to use that car one less day. Working on commission. NEVER AGAIN ALAMO.

UPDATED ON 05/08/2017: I received a reply to my review from Carol at Alamo with a link to their "Lost & Found" list. I traced a lost GPS on the date mine was left in the rental car, filed a report with all reference numbers etc, but received a reply from Alamo stating that they have not found my GPS!! According to their list, all the items which are not claimed within 2 months are donated to charity for sale. The GPS listed as lost on the same date I lost mine is still on the list (not been claimed) so it would seem logical to me that this would be sent to me as a replacement for mine and I am contacting Alamo to this effect. Also as an aside, Alamo have records of all cars rented and must have contact information, therefore it would be simple for them to contact the renter by email regarding property left in the car after return.

She filled out an accident/damage report and I wrote 'SCAM' on it. Their Damage Recovery Unit sent a request for insurance company information with a threat of billing me for (ghostly) damage repair if I failed to do so. Last week (4/4/17) I emailed Enterprise corporate headquarters (owner of Alamo) about the scam and have not heard from them. This didn't apply to me, but they are also running a windshield rock chip scam. Watch out! Never again with Alamo.

In addition, National Car Rental (who the reservation was made through but operates under Alamo at the specific location) is being entirely unhelpful. They are refusing to issue a refund. I will be advising my company to switch our large contract away from National Car Rental and not to use Alamo ever again. The specific location that is lying and stating I did not return the GPS is Alamo Rent A Car - CHILE. Tell you friends. Tell your family. Tell the world. This company steals from their customers and provides horrible service. It is illegal to charge someone for a service or product they did not receive. In the end, this will end up costing them way more than $477.73.

Finally I got to leave. Get out to the find car. Find out I got this big jeep which I ask for Nissan. I didn't have time. I was late as it was for his tardiness. It took more gas and very disappointed. So when I got back I told the person who was there I was very upset and I would call talk to manager. So it's been 1 week tomorrow. I called 3 or 4 times and I get same run around "They will get back to you." Poor customer service. I will never rent from them again. I hope people will be aware. Stay away from these people. They don't care about their customers. I travel a lot and I will never go to them again.

She just kept saying like we were stupid "well of course, you're going to pay the 131.00 and then the 179.00." I said "That's not what he stated and we even said 179.00, that all he said yes." We said "It must be a good discount from the airlines", he stated yes. Also they called us 2 days into the rental stating they didn't know what car we had, could we please read the numbers off the car. Does this sound like a company that knows what they are doing. I will NEVER rent from them again.

2 Days Later it proves that Michael ** from Alamo Rental Car Sea-Tac Airport is a total liar. Most of the employees working for Alamo rental car don't have a clue on what they're doing so I advise you to think twice before renting at Alamo Rental Car. I don't think Alamo have a clue on why the ratings for their company is at an all-time low. This company with such a big name is one of the worst rental car companies in Washington. Research the Google reviews before you wind up in a bad situation with Alamo.

The customer service was terrible. They laughed in our face and said there was nothing they could do. It was very frustrating. I've put a tremendous amount of time into this trying to get it resolved. The only thing I want now is to make sure that this does not happen to anyone else. Every customer should stand there and read what they are signing. Do not trust Alamo. You must read the fine print. No matter how tired you are, or how many people are on line behind you. Their word is not good. I've rented from other companies and they will have you sign something showing you declined additional insurance. I think that is a much better procedure than the way Alamo does it. I would not recommend Alamo Rental Car.

Original Review: Feb. 4, 2017

Online I had an estimated cost of $136. When I went to pick up the car I told him, my insurance covered the rental and I did not need additional insurance. He said I needed the insurance in case the car was unusable due to my fault. I would have to pay $50 a day out of my pocket. My daughter who was with me said "Mom I don't think it is an options". The clerk just smiled and nodded his head. Our bill was $319.00. I have checked with me insurance and my insurance fully covered that car. I feel like this is a total scam on your part and you encourage your employees to say this and react this way. We are coming to PA with 30 people for my son's wedding in March we will be renting at least 5 cars. There is no way I will recommend Alamo. In fact I will discourage anyone from renting from you. Loved the car, lot services was great. But I feel totally scammed and will never recommend or rent from you again.

A few days later I called Angie from the Charlotte Alamo counter, she acted like she couldn't believe such a thing could happen but acknowledged that the reservation was in perfect order. She said she would review tapes from that night, speak with the employee, gave me her supervisor's number (Matthew), and said she would call back. Matthew called back and said the employee denied everything and it was his work against ours. Later Matthew called again and acknowledged seeing the tapes and there was unquestionably a turndown, he would have would speak with his supervisor.

A few days later, Dean called and said there was no was he would do a financial reimbursement but offered coupons for future rentals. We turned those down as unacceptable. Have called Matthew's office several times and left messages, he has not called back. Have spoken with Alamo customer care 6 times, each time I have to retell the story and each time the rep says they will email the Charlotte district management that we are not satisfied and would like to escalate the complaint and hear from someone. This has been going on for 3-4 weeks, no calls or emails. Terrible and disappointing experience and have no desire for anymore dealings with Alamo, coupons or not.

Original Review: Jan. 2, 2017

I arranged to rent a car from Indianapolis airport. When I returned the car I had the extra key in my purse. Why they didn't call me immediately is unknown so I could take it back while there. When I got to Florida I called them first thing the next morning. The representative took my information and said someone would call to let me know where to mail the key back to. I never heard back so I called again. This representative told me to mail it back to the airport location. I was back in Indiana so I told him I would take it to the airport so I made sure it got to the right place. The manager was not a professional person to deal with at all. More like a rude high school kid. He said that they had to tow the car and new key made so I would be charged for it. When I told him I was instructed that someone would call me back he shrugged his shoulders.

When I got home I had a letter in the mail about being charged so I contacted the number and they said someone would call me back and the high school kid at counter booth called me. When I told him again that my first contact told me someone would call me back with the address he pretty much called me a liar and said they would not do that. I rent cars frequently and have not felt so discriminated in all my life and this has been very upsetting. I will never recommend any of the three companies in the Enterprise Holdings.

After a few times where she was placed on hold or had to listen to automated directions, she actually got a live person, someone called Latasha from the Houston call-center. Latasha was our savior, a sort of air-traffic controller, who stayed with us for over half an hour, talked us step-by-step to the Alamo return center, in no hurry at all. She appeared to know the lay of the land of the city like the back of her hand and her calm temperament added to her knowledge of her city helped some tired and stressed travelers deal with rush-hour Houston - we will for sure be renting from Alamo again, and all because someone called Latasha truly went above and beyond - job well done!

The manager at the Philadelphia airport location, Jason ** flat out refused to help me, even after he admitted that as manager he has the authority to make an exception, but policy states that the person picking up the car has to present a credit card. Never did he say he wasn't authorized or it was out of his control. Then he refused to give me his manager's information because "they'll just tell you the same thing and they're off for the weekend - it's Christmas Eve"... what a horrible human being with no compassion whatsoever. How nice that he and they can enjoy their holiday with their families... so now Ryan will spend Christmas alone, his grandfather who is in the hospital will not get to see him, nor will his other grandparents or family.

THEN I called back to tell them to give the rental to the next person in line since it's paid for - at least someone can benefit from this mess... nope. Can't do that, they have to cancel the reservation, even though it wasn't made with a cc but non refundable points. Way to go, Alamo and your exceptional customer service representatives. I will try to enjoy the festivities of the next couple of days and do look forward to spending time with the rest of my family. My email has been sent. On Monday, will you help me out by letting Alamo know what their employee Jason ** did to our Christmas??

After our trip I tried to call reservations. They said they cannot refund me and that I had to call Priceline since we booked through them. Priceline said that Alamo charged my card and would need to issue the refund. According to my CC statement Alamo was in-fact the ones to charge my card. Priceline was good enough to work with them to get my card refunded, but it was $10 short. So I called Alamo a 2nd time to explain the situation. Turns out the Alamo rep at the desk when we picked up the car did not cancel our previous reservation but rather marked us as "no show" which comes with a $10 fee. I was put on hold by the rep on the phone so she could get a manager to issue the $10 refund.

After a minute on hold another Alamo rep picked up the phone and treated the call as a new person. Turns out the first rep put me back into the hold queue so I now had to go through all the steps again. This was now technically my 3rd call with Alamo. This new rep was very disrespectful right from the start. I explained the situation again but unlike the first lady this one was looking for any excuse to get me off the line. She refused to get me a manager and told me I had to call the Alamo location I rented the car from. When I kept at her about how I have been bounced around already she actually hung up on me.

I called the location I rented the car from and finally found someone that was helpful. I was told that they were unable to refund the "No show" fee to my original card we pre-paid with, but they could put it on my wife's card we ended up using. In short, Alamo's cost and car quality was fine, but their employees are idiots looking for any excuse to not have to deal with customers.

To be certain, I avoided Enterprise in all subsequent dealings. It worked for me for until Enterprise acquired Alamo. I cannot tell you how upsetting it was to be denied my car rental at 11pm PST on a Friday that began at 4 am Eastern. The manager gave me an 800 number to call, and promised I'd have a car the next day if I explained the situation to Corporate. I called the number in the morning, and found out that it is only a line for information collection and it would take days to get a response. Four days later, they have not contacted me. My vacation has been a disaster so far, as I had no car the first day and a half while working to clear my name. I finally had to take a bus 100 miles to borrow a car from a kind relative. Maybe today, the last day of my vacation, I'll have the opportunity to take a scenic photograph... Final word, don't rent from Alamo, Enterprise or National if you want a car.

They were both nasty and rude and also took me outside in this 49 degree New York weather and had me wait outside for 2 hours for no reason. I'm frustrated and angry about what went on. My Thanksgiving was reunion. I came there with a plan to use the rental to visit my family's houses. Also my grandmother that lives in Long Island who is dying from cancer, and I can't even do that. Thank you Alamo and Economic Bookings for Ruining Thanksgiving and wasting my time.

Upon my return: returned vehicle at 4:17 pm, waited for the shuttle bus back to the airport, flight at 6, boarding at 5:23. 4:36 shuttle arrived, passengers got off, my daughter and I were ready to board and the driver says "oh, I'm not going back to the airport", and turned away. I asked "Is there another one coming soon?" She said "probably in a few minutes". 4:55 next shuttle bus arrives, passengers get off (there are about 25 people now waiting with us). This driver also says he's not going back to the airport and gets in and drives off.

Now, let me make this clear, both buses drive about 50 feet away, park and get out and walk into the building. 5:07 the third bus shows up, many other customers are irritated. I board the bus with my daughter (age 3) and place my stroller (in a bag) along with my small carry-on on the floor (we are second to get on the bus). The driver (Colette) grabs my stroller from my hand and says "those need to go on top". She pulls the bag from my hand and hits my daughter in the mouth. My daughter starts to cry and hold her mouth. Collete merely asks "is she okay?" but continues to put the stroller up and helps other customers who are more concerned with my crying daughter than she is.

After all passengers board, Collete asks if my daughter is ok or if I need to talk to a manager. It's now nearly 5:15 and I say "no, can we please go. We have a flight to catch." Colette, then wastes more time and makes an announcement asking if anyone has left anything in their cars, sunglasses, luggage, personal items, etc. People are looking at her with amazement and asking me if my crying daughter is ok. We will never rent from Alamo again.

After returning the car and almost missing my flight home, they wanted to charge me for the spare tire as well as the flat ones that I had bought (which I had to fight with them and wasn't charged). 3 days later they charged me a extra $185 for damages that weren't there after I left the car with them. After disputing the charges they hand wrote the charges on a duplicate slip that they had me sign when I rented the car (not knowing that that's what they do to burn you after you leave). My credit card company after disputing the charges back charged me for the fees since I had signed the empty slip when I rented the vehicle.

So going forward to this week I visited again 11/01-11/04 with my brother. I advised him to not rent from Alamo due to my past experience, so he rented from National but over there it's the same firm. We rented a pickup this time as to not have any issues with tires etc. and 2 of the tires on the rental were bald with another one in front with very little tread on it, it was brought to their attention and they said "don't worry there is a spare and we will fix it should you have an issue." We also did a thorough inspection before leaving and told the attendant about all the damages noted and he didn't check off what we saw only about 10 percent of the dings and scratches etc.

When we returned it they began to thoroughly inspect all the scratches and dings that they were told about and they added a few more which coincidentally came off when rubbed with a cloth. After telling them that we will call Alamo and had them on the phone they said "no worries there will be no extra charges." I complained about my experience to Alamo after my first incident and they dismissed it and I never heard anything else from them. They have the worse customer service that I have ever encountered and it's nothing but a scam to take every customer's money while patronizing their establishments and their country. I will NEVER recommend them or ever spend another dime with Alamo. Just my.02, had to share my experience with them. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!!

Then 3 weeks later I get a call from Alamo that there was damage done to the car. There was no damage on the car when I dropped it off the day earlier than I was initially suppose to. They are saying that the estimated damage is $520.00. They now just want the money back from the drop fee. I canceled my CC after I got the message on my phone. They are running a very bad business. I've seen more bad reviews than good. They go back to 2012. I would advise people not to rent a car from Alamo.

Following the incident I received a call from Alamo in which the agent stated I would have to pay half of the claim. The agents shouted in a hostile voice and said, "You will get your bill in the mail and no further questions." When I asked if I could speak to another representative, then the woman (Talonna **) hung up the phone. I did learn one thing from this process, that this is not a company fit to handle its customers as there is very poor customer support and the staff in many ways beyond unfit to be doing what they do. Sad to have to write such a poor review but I can only hope that no one has to go through this type of ordeal.

Original Review: Sept. 29, 2016

I rented a car for 10 days and my CC was charged over $3000.00 US and the regular price is $600-$700US. I have been trying to get this resolved for 3 weeks and I am bounced around with no resolution in sight. Can someone help me recoup my money.

When our bill came in it was $925.80. So I called customer service and spoke to a Natasha that handed me over to a supervisor Linda. She gave me a reference ** and said management from the Seattle branch would contact me. I waited 2 weeks and called back. I spoke to a Stacie which handed me over to a supervisor Dionne. She spoke very low to the point that I said I could not hear her and asked for her to speak louder. She continued to still speak low other than when she found the need to tell me to speak lower. After explaining my concern she simple said there is nothing that could be done about the card not swiping even though it swiped several other time in Seattle and that they would not and could not promise me Canadian currency in the USA. I then asked why I did not get a call back from the first call that I made that I have a reference # for. I asked several time and her response was there was nothing that could be done.

I feel it was very unprofessional for Dionne to respond with that answer and when I requested to speak to someone else she simply said, "Write into our head office and rambled off the address." My advice to you all is if you have to rent from them through a third party make sure if you have problems at Alamo counter you contact your third party before signing any other agreement because once you sign Alamo customer service doesn't care about your concerns.

I was almost ready to accept this, that is until we were told that they magically had a car for us... great news!! And it almost made me happy, that is if it weren't for the fact that the people who are running that place in San Antonio are Liars. We had a car... yes. Our problem was solved... yes. Then as we go out with the lady to get our car, the guy working the lot, throws his hands up and says "I thought we were telling people we didn't have any more car?" and stormed off!!! I can not describe to you the outrage that I observed from the rest of the families but I assure you that I'm sure your company lost all their business, and I guarantee you I will never trust your company again. Anyone who tries to rent a car from here is a fool!!

When we reached our destination we called an Alamo nearby. They were extremely friendly and accommodating. They were puzzled at the extra charges and the woman was so sweet that she reversed all charges! Then upon returning to Tucson, my card was then charged again for the extra driver. I saw no notice in the contract about any charges for extra drivers. I have rented vehicles before with multiple drivers and have never been charged before.

Pointed out that the Dodge Charger was a rear wheel drive vehicle not noted for having good visibility out the rear and has a 37-foot turning radius versus the Ford Fusion having front wheel drive, good rear visibility, and an 18' turning radius. Did not feel for my situation that the vehicles were similar. Also complimented them on the Chevrolet Traverse which is AWD, bad rear window visibility, great side view mirror and backup camera but a 40' turning radius. Not a bad vehicle but not great for what I was doing and something I would not have chosen to rent. I also told them if the Dodge Charger was the vehicle listed as the one I would be given for the class I chose I would not have chosen that contract. When you look at the site for Alamo and a few others they do not list what they include in a class but only give one example.

Camden ** has told me they are going to refund the upcharge for the larger vehicle and refund me the fuel fill option so I could return it with any amount of fuel. I still plan on returning the vehicle fully. I just want what I reserved and nothing more. I retract my statement that I would not rent from Alamo. I will still consider them in Portland Maine. It is a shame they do not have the option of skipping the counter in Portland Maine and going to straight to your car. I appreciate Camden's help.

Original Review: Aug. 28, 2016

I have rented from Alamo twice to my recollection and both have not been pleasant experiences. I will not be making the same mistake again. I rented a few years back in Denver, Colorado. I had made a reservation weeks prior to arrival. While standing in line I noticed that it was taking a long time to process the customers and as I got closer the reason for lengthy time was their upselling the customer from insurance to getting the fuel tank fill option to a different vehicle to additional features such as a GPS or child seat. Since I was aware of this when I reached the employee I was brow beaten on each item. "Would you like to buy our insurance?" I was ready for this... I had called my carrier and they had gone over my vehicle insurance and was told I was covered just like my own car. "No, I do not want to buy additional insurance." They brow beat on this for a bit and moved on to the next item.

"Do you want to upgrade?" Here they got me... we were driving into the mountains and they convinced me the car I was renting would not do well in the mountains. I bit and upgraded to a vehicle with a larger engine. Then they got me to purchase the fuel refill. When I went to return the vehicle I looked at the final bill and it was much higher than they told me at the counter. I fortunately had the time to stand my ground and wait for a manager. My up charge went from $400 to $280. I thought job well done on my part but also realized that everything they sold me was not necessary. The vehicle I had originally rented was the same one I saw all over the place driving up the mountain. No need for a larger engine. The hard to find gas prior to returning the car would have been easily solved at the huge gas station right before the airport entrance. I thought... I will not rent from these people again.

Fast forward several years and the fog of time. I had made a reservation through Hotwire a couple of weeks prior to arriving in Portland Maine. We had gotten up at 4 AM to catch our flight and everything went smoothly until we reached the line for rental cars. It was HUGE... like THANKSGIVING huge on a Friday arrival with no major holiday. In all fairness all the lines for all the rental cars were just as long. I stood in line for over an hour... feeling bad... then looking behind me at the twelve other people and then feeling lucky I was as the spot I was. It was taking forever to get to the counter and when I finally reached the counter every other line for every other rental agency had somehow processed all their customers and my line was still HUGE. When I was next in line I realized and remembered why I should not rent from Alamo. The upselling... they were upselling. This is why the line was so HUGE.

It was my turn... "Would you like to buy our insurance?" NO. Then "Are you sure you know what you are doing? Why something could happen and they would take your first born child..." I do like my first born but not the second so I figured if it came to that I would hand that child off and lie bout the birth order. Wanting to throw a carrot to the agent I said, "I will take the fuel option" hoping that they would be happy with this and they were. Then they told me the Ford Fusion was not available and the only choice was a Dodge Charger. I had rented the Dodge Charger from another rental agency and hated it... rear wheel drive which caused problems when driving on wet roads, hard to see out of the back due to the roof design and a terrible turning radius. This coming from a guy who would drive anything but hated the week I had the Dodge Charger. I know why they are in the rental fleet. NO ONE WILL BUY THEM.

Here I am thinking that once again I am stuck in a Dodge Charger and it is raining to beat the band. I grit my teeth... "Do you have anything else?" I ended up paying another $140 to upgrade to an SUV. Now mind you that is not an unfair deal. However... it is not what I had reserved weeks prior. My 4 AM brain took over as I signed over another $140 to rent a vehicle I would have never chosen... except under duress. I could have gone to other rental agencies but I saw a number of people who had not made a reservation be rejected because the other rental companies could not accommodate them. They were now behind me in an even more HUGE line that had twenty people. The SUV I was offered was nice but it is too big... hard to get out of the driveway of where we are staying (which is a narrow drive) and the vehicle has a poor turning radius.

Well I will not rent from Alamo again and neither should you. Cannot return the vehicle to the airport to try and swap out to the Ford Fusion I thought I was getting because where we are staying is four hours from the airport. I saved $13 on the weeks rental over the other agencies. So I guess I am only down $127 for a vehicle I did not want. Note the rental agency was selected through Kayak which showed HOTWIRE with the best pricing. Final Note: When I think back on this experience I felt mislead. Did all the people behind me not have a reservations? Because if they did their choices were a Dodge Charger or something larger. The agent never offered a smaller vehicle over the full size we had reserved.

I have been looking for the past 2 weeks and cannot find a cheaper rate. So I decided I would book with Alamo at that $430 rate knowing I would get an additional 5% off for Insiders. So I tried to book it and it wasn't taking off the 5%. I emailed once again and they said there was an issue and they are working on it for me. Still haven't heard back and now the rental is up to $457. What a bunch of bs this is.

I called Priceline and was told they would straighten it out. I called Alamo and was told it was a mistake and the amount would be returned in 3 business days. Ten dates later, it hasn't been returned, and no one at Alamo or Priceline can tell me what the charge was for or why it was charged when I returned the car. I called Priceline today and was yelled at by the woman who took the call. I was told that if they charged me, I owed the money and had better pay it. The one bright spot was that when one of the workers at the car return saw us struggling with luggage and medical devices and told us to wait as he would take us to the terminal. He did so and helped us with the luggage.

The second issue is with the cleanliness of there cars. I didn't notice how gross the interior when I got the car as my flight was late and I was tired. Today I returned the car that had stains all on the inside. Gross!! I can't have business colleagues in that category. I did inform them of this on return. Also there were no mats.

I explained this to the counter person who was rude and basically blew me off saying that was what I had agreed to. She had no answer when I asked why they didn't specify that trucks were included in the promotion. I told them I could not use a truck, that I needed a car. She said I could have a car but it would cost me $89 more. I said no and asked for a refund on my already charged credit card. I was told I'd have to take that up with corporate.

She refused to let me speak with a supervisor, and then said she could give me a car for $49 more. She again had no answer when I said "if you have the car to give me at a higher price, why can't you give it to me at the price I contracted for." I took the car because I had to leave and didn't want to pay for the car twice and then have to deal with the hassle of trying to get a refund later. The rental ended up costing me $400 for a week, the same amount as my flight from Florida to Boston. I looked up what that rental would cost me for this week (2 days after my week ended) and it was $223. How can a week make that much difference?

When I went to pick up the car, the agent in the garage had no idea what the counter person did. He didn't even know what car to give me. He eventually said "oh, just take that car over there," which was a Chrysler 200. The car was filthy, the seats were all stained, I had to stop the car to clean the inside of the windshield because it had horrible glare because it was so dirty, and there were papers on the floor. This car had obviously never been cleaned when it was last returned. I will never rent from Alamo again! You shouldn't either.

When approaching this new upgrade the car I had been convinced to upgrade to was parked next to the car I was now being offered! In the event I took the complimentary upgrade and went to exit the garage. Driving round to the exit I noticed the model of car I had pre-booked. It was a Dodge Grand Caravan (think Ford Galaxy on a few steroids) which is amply big enough for a family of 4. However I was in a rush to collect the keys to the villa so left the garage and drove to pick up the keys and on to the villa. In the morning I went back to Orlando airport and downgraded to the car I had pre-booked. The guys in the garage could not have been more helpful and they refunded my $350 that I had paid for the upgrade.

At that point a new invoice was provided which explained I could return the car empty and it was covered by the "fuel service option". First thing... you don't need this and it will be cheaper for you to refuel before returning the car (it will be cheaper). On returning home I checked my credit card bill and found a charge of $221 rather than the $66 I was expecting. I then phoned Alamo and explained that at no time was I told the sat nav would be an extra cost (I was expecting this for free as Alamo couldn't offer me a car with a built in sat nav). To be fair Alamo did, eventually, return this money to my credit card but I just feel as if they were trying it on every time you interacted with them.

I certainly wished I had found this site and checked up on Alamo before flying. This is the first review I have ever left in over 50 years of holidaying and hope it allows others to look out for some of the tricks Alamo try and pull when you pick up a car from them.

UPDATED ON 08/12/2016: Quick update from my last review. Checked my credit card bill today and found I had been charged $34.30 for tolls whilst in the USA. When I took the car I was told that it was a maximum of $19.75 for the duration of the rental and I have one of Alamo's flyers confirming this. I have been in contact with Alamo again... Watch this space!

I want you to investigate on this immediately and take action asap to avoid further legal action against the company. I want all the video recordings and I will gather all evidences as well and put an end to this SCAM. Send me a reference number immediately for this case. Let me know if you need further information. You will be on social media as well as the news for this SCAM soon and all your associates are liable for this fraud. TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY!

I was a little confused as I thought we had paid for an SUV a jeep big enough for two adults and two children plus our four cases. When I questioned him on this he confirmed this was not the case and I needed to follow his advice. It seemed like he was really helping us out. A little dazed from the whole encounter and tired from the flight I pondered all of this over on the drive to the Mystic Dunes Resort. 600.00 dollars gone for the upgrade from our holiday spending money. It continued to play on my mind so I wrote to Abbie our very helpful Kenwood member of staff to ask for some advice and also for confirmation on the car we had booked. I was horrified when she wrote and confirmed I had booked and paid additional for a SUV jeep described by Alamo in their literature as a "Grand Cherokee" when I had booked the holiday 8 months earlier.

We are now taking this up with Kenwood Travel and Alamo Car Rental. I saw when writing this review (the first review of this nature I have ever written) that Alamo received an overall rating of just over 1 out of 5 from 572 reviews. I am not surprised. Please please be very careful when dealing with this company and don't allow them to do to you what they did to us. I have also written to trading standards in the UK on the basis of their mis-selling behavior and a lack of corporate integrity and professionalism. We may well end up having to chalk this one down to experience but that won't prohibit us from sharing our experience with as many people as possible to save anybody else being exposed to the same thing.

Then she proceeded to tell us that they are booked up anyway and that we can go to Avis or Budget because they may have cars available, which we did and the customer service there at Budget couldn't be any better or more professional and we were able to get an upgrade to the car we had originally booked from Alamo at no additional cost. Plus Budget car rental could not believe that this woman her name is Kylie would not let us change the number of days to our reservation, this is not standard practice in the industry. So Alamo lost a sale that day and her rudeness and total disrespect to her customers, treating us like we were a piece of ** is disturbing, then we found out that she was the manager of this car rental place. Not good, not good at all. I mean she does not smile to greet people, makes no eye contact, and absolutely unpleasant.

They walked me out to the lot and said "take your pick..." 60 cars in the area I paid for and the keys were inside already, I checked out at the gate and I was off. On the way back I was so scared of hidden charges. I filled up the tank before I showed up, they have valets pick up the car as soon as you get back on the lot. They quickly inspected the car and handed me a final receipt for the original 42 dollars I paid in taxes previously. Completely blew my mind how painless and cheap it was. $146 dollars for a week unlimited miles, and 42 dollars in surcharges, no deposit, no hidden fees... I honestly am totally in awe of the Orlando sanford airport Alamo staff, bravo! If you seriously believe that every good review here is fake, you can feel free to search for me on Facebook, I'll gladly reassure you... Cheers. :)

So, Alamo the company earns a few stars, Alamo at Chicago Ohare airport, not so much.

Original Review: July 19, 2016

Why are people jerks for some short-term minor gain? The rental agent lied to me. He said I could not pay cash on Illinois toll roads but you can. You can even pay online after the fact. After I returned the car they added almost $10 to my bill for gas fillup even though I filled up the tank a mile from the airport.

I sent the mail and a picture and the information on us and our rental. No response until a few days later saying. Well, thanks for renting but we did not find your GPS??? So what that is basically saying is either they have thieves or they didn't believe us or they did not even bother to check. And this is not the first time. This time the item was more expensive. Why bother contacting Lost and Found if nothing is even being put there. Sorry but I am just upset that after being nice I get a piece of garbage response after days saying thanks but 'see ya later'.

What happens if the car rents tomorrow? I just feel there should have already been a phone call to me letting me know that they have our items. I would think they would have cleaned the truck some time today since we turned it in at 12:30 this afternoon. I am very concerned about this and would like for someone to call us and let us know that they have our items. I know for a fact that our items were left in that truck on accident. I want to be able to communicate to someone at the Omaha Alamo location about this ASAP.

The truck is still there. It's as simple as walking out and getting our items out of the truck and turning them in to lost and found. I will pay for any shipping costs to have my items sent to us. The truck rental was under my husband's name, Scott South. If anyone can help with this, I would appreciate it very much. As far as any help given to me by Alamo in regards to this... it's pretty much none. I just cannot believe that you cannot get a hold of the people at the Alamo Counter in Omaha Airport. That part is disturbing to me. Somebody please help me get my items back.

I will not do business with Alamo again and if I am renting a car it will be directly at the counter and not via an online promotion because they refuse to make changes to online reservations without charging you massive fees to do so. My request was simple: change the drop off location of a rental vehicle. $300 fare increase. A rental car that cost me $300 to rent for the week now costs me $600. "Promotions" are really sneaky and end up costing you more in the long run. Avoid Travelscape promotions and I highly recommend avoiding Alamo and Orbitz also.

I asked, "Where is the Rav4?" She said, "There was no Rav4 and you can only have Chev Equinox so take it or leave it." Later I figured it out why she would not give us the Rav4, because someone just returned a Chev Equinox so she wouldn't even bother to give us another car, the Chev equinox is unwashed so it is very dirty inside and outside, it also has very smell inside. The worse thing was the car has only half tank of gas, but we were told to return the car with full tank. So I have to went inside the building again and ask them to fill the tank. I wasted anther 10 min for that. Because the car was unwashed and it has only half tank of gas, I knew someone just returned it and Alamo just want to get rid of people ASAP. The worst part is about the rude and careless attitude of that female employee, she did not like questions at all!

When I asked her if we can get a Rav4 instead, she pointed at my girlfriend's father and said, "he is the one who rent the car" (She means my name is not even on the list so stop asking question and shut up.) I was here to make her day easier because my girlfriend's father cannot even speak English, but her action was very unprofessional. I understand Alamo is known for its budget price for rental car, but I do not think any business can treat people with such an awful service. Alamo, you just lost a consumer forever, and I will tell everybody I know about this, so they may think twice about using your service.

Update: After I wrote a complaint letter to this business and they wrote back, they said would be more than happy to discuss this situation with the renter’s daughter and they would get in touch with renter’s daughter directly. However, 14 days passed, NO ONE called or email us about this. SHAME on you Alamo, you are such a liar!