Budget Car Rental Reviews

I said the price was too expensive and asked if they have any discount or promotions going on and the guy name "Quang" just hanged up on me without saying a word. Terrible customer service and attitude.

Arrived to find 6 employees at stations behind the counter and not a single one took a customer. Two were laughing together. After 7 minutes one helped the person in front of me. After 5 more minutes I asked one woman if she could help me and she very curtly informed me she would let me know when she was ready for me. Finally a man took me. It was awful service. I'll never rent from Budget again.

My original reservation was for El Paso, Texas. The day of the reservation I had to change to Albuquerque location. The dates of the reservation did not change however I was charged double because they said the locations differ. I have called but your customer service several times and unfortunately their customer service department is outsourced and no one listens or cares about my charges. All they say is there’s nothing they can do. I think it’s asinine that I was charged double the price because of a pick up location change. Despite my several calls and complaints nothing has been done and for this reason I will never rent from Budget again.

I had a pleasant experience with Budget in LA. I had reserved a mid size vehicle for travel while in NOLA but when I got to my car it was a Toyota Corolla, way too small for my 6'6" 300+ pound fiance. So I went back and the clerk named Jerrel was very kind and accommodating and fixed me right up with a standard SUV which was much more accommodating. Also, my phone died while travelling and she got a charger and let me charge my phone so I could have some service til I got to my room. I didn't expect that type of help! I will definitely go back!

Picked up car at DTW (Detroit Metro Airport) Sunday 23 December 2018. Drive about 20 miles, stop to buy some things and noticed that the front tires were bald and a large bubble near the rim on front left tire. Call customer service, they say has to be returned to DTW for exchange and they will issue a voucher for a free car the next time I rent. Dangerous situation but got the car back. Talked to a rep and she says, "Stand over there and we will get to you." Nothing after 15 mins, stand back in line behind 20 others. About an hour later finally get another car. Returned car on Dec 27 full of gas. Got home and noticed another charge for $70. Called customer service again, the charge was for gas. Now I have to send them the gas receipt. Got a voucher for $30 off my next rental. No way never again will I deal with Budget.

I rented a car from the Logan International Airport on 12/24/2018 at 5:30 pm and returned it on 12/26/2018 just around 6:30 pm. I called them up to inform them that due to several accidents on the way from New Jersey I will be little late (although I started much earlier but I got delayed). Normally other car rentals let go of little delay but they charged me 122$ for the delay and they wouldn't let go of it. This racist ** guy at the front desk won't even talk to me. Just printed me out an itemized receipt. The customer care was of no help either. Absolutely worst experience. I will never rent a car from them ever.

I reserved a car in Asheville, North Carolina. I had called them the day prior to my arrival to confirm that the SUV that I rented had 4WD. They assured me that it did. When I arrived, I was told that they did not have a 4WD SUV in the “class” of vehicle that I rented, and tried to charge me some exorbitant rate. I stuck to my guns and the gave me an “upgraded” vehicle for the same price. The challenging part of this came when I returned the vehicle. The day I was due to return the vehicle, we had a severe winter storm. All the flights leaving Asheville had been cancelled. When I called, the day before, I was told that the rental car agency never closed and that I needed to return the vehicle that day or I would be charged an additional $330.00. I reserved a second vehicle from them through Hotwire, a 4WD Yukon, for $160.00, the night before, for a one way trip to Tampa, just in case we were snowed in the next day.

Worst experience of our entire life for rental car. This car company deserves negative stars. Miami cruise port shuttle never came, was in line at cruise port for 1.5 hrs. See pictures below with > 100 people waiting for shuttle. We called customer service 2x and was given a phone # for local office to ask ETA for shuttle. We called local office x3 and they never answered. After 2 hours of waiting for shuttle, we decided to Uber to the local office. After arriving with Uber to local office, we had to wait in line for 4 hrs to get a car. They had 2 office staff only, that at times were yelling at customers in Spanish. Called customer service an additional 3x while in line, I was told to go to another downtown location, which if we choose to do so, will be in our own cost for transportation to get there and there is no guarantee the new location will have a car for us.

My rental car with Budget had a bad battery from the factory. In fact, it died TWICE while renting the car for 5 days for a total of 2 hours lost. Not only did they NOT offer to compensate me for my time, but they actually charged me $60 to have their roadside assistance come out and help. When I explained to the technician that came out to help me, he told me it's a known scam they run in order to get as much out of people as possible. They offer their own roadside insurance, but if you decline it then you get stuck paying. But what they DON'T tell you, is that you're covered FOR FREE through the car's manufacturer warranty.

Absolutely do not rent with Budget. I rented a car for a 3-day weekend in Vermont, after prepaying online more than a month in advance. Upon returning the car (a bit before my "due" time), I handed the keys and paperwork to the employee at the Budget desk in the airport (instead of just dropping the items off in an unlocked box, as I had seen other customers returning their respective items). I asked him if I needed to do anything else and he said "no."

I received a confirmation for a rental but when I went to pick up the car (at 11:30 pm) the representative told me the email confirmation was a mistake and the said, "If you want the car, it is now four times as much." I ended up going to a competitor and paying full price. Budget thinks they can throw out bogus quotes and you will get stuck. Sorry never again Budget. Consumers beware.

I had a last minute trip come up during the holidays. I usually use Enterprise, who I've never had an issue with, but I decided to try Budget and save a few dollars (big mistake). My trip ended up being canceled the same HOUR I made and prepaid for the rental from Budget. I did not need to prepay. I only did it to save time at the counter. So I was not getting a better rate for the prepay. Due to Budget's prepayment policy they charged me a $50 cancellation fee even though the reservation was just made and the reservation was not for another 3 days.

On a recent trip to Chicago in early November, I had prepaid a minivan to transport disabled relatives of mine. The initial counter interaction after arriving at the brand new car rental structure was great. Had my reservation in hand, said the vehicle requested was on floor-row-space. I signed away and left. Found 1 blemish larger than 50c piece, notated at gate and left.

I got to the destination country and Budget rental company didn't have the car I reserved. I would not recommend this company to anyone. I was stranded on a country without car. It took me less than 10 minute to call someone else for a car which I spent more money. Stay away from Budget and look for a different rental company.

I was in Dallas Airport at Budget Rent-A-Car desk. The clerk tried to cheat me in several situations. I had a long trip of 20+ hours from China, and I said I just wanted an economy car for 5 days. He continuously provided me luxury SUV car, with all the fancy (and very expensive) not useful optional. When discovered that he gave me a fraud, I came back to him asking for, again, an economy car like Nissan Versa or similar. He cheated again, at the end he gave me a SUV car or similar with very high price. I just gave back my car the day after, then rent another car with a more honest behavior. Unfortunately, the Budget rental car charged me euro 455 on my credit card just only for 1-day rental. This is a fraud. I’ve been travelling around the world for business purposes for 5 years, and this is the worst situation happened to me in renting a car. A brand like “Budget” should be reliable and help the customer instead of exploit and cheat him.

Rented a vehicle from Budget in Birmingham Alabama, December 2018. Booked my reservation through Costco Travel which offered me a second driver for free. Budget Rent-A-Car refused to give the extra free driver, even though the reservation clearly stated it. Overall unacceptable experience. When I contacted Budget Customer Service, they could not help me because the Budget Rent-A-Car in Alabama is privately owned. Avoid Budget!!!

We rented a car in September and was asked if we wished to pay for the tolls upfront, we said no we would pay at the booth. On returning home we received an additional charge for Toll booths. I phone from UK and they said that they could see what had happened but I would have to contact head office for the refund. They gave me a phone number that you could not use from the UK. I then emailed, but no response, I emailed again and finally got a response saying I would need to take it up with the toll booth company - how does that work? Budget made the mistake and left the toll system on and tell me I have to claim the money back from the Toll company. I emailed back again and pointed this all out to them.

First time using Budget, as the pickup location was close to my hotel while in Dallas. I prepaid for the rental so that I wouldn't have to worry about it when picking up the car... or so you would have thought. When I arrived to pick up the car, I was told that I needed the last 4 digits of the credit card I used to make the reservation (which was never mentioned previously). I didn't have the card on me and they would not rent me the car. I called customer service and they refused to provide me the card info, and would not cancel my reservation without basically paying the full cost of the rental.

Absolutely terrible and corrupt business practices. I went to pick up the car and the older lady kept telling me my card was declined even though I had already pre-paid and they had my card on file, she insisted I keep putting it in the chip reader. Turns out she actually doesn't know how to use the machine and kept ripping my card out too early. Then she tells me they require you get gas within 3 miles of the airport- THERE ARE NO GAS STATIONS WITHIN 3 MILES OF THE AIRPORT. I reached out to customer service and they told me that the 3 mile rule was not true. What kind of scam are they running?

I booked a car from Dublin Airport from Budget. They charged me with $5700 as "HOLD" and said they would release when I return the car in its original shape. After my trip, I returned the car. And I was told that the car looks fine but hold will be released in a few business days and not right away. It was not released for a few weeks so I called Budget from my home country (USA). The representative said that she needed my bank's fax number to send a release form. I called my bank who that it was odd. So I called Budget again while my bank was waiting on another line. This time Budget tells me that that office of Budget is "privately" owned so they cannot help me and I will have to just wait or call them myself. Stay away from Budget and be safe!

Budget Rent-A-Car at the Orlando airport overcharged my credit card because they added insurance after I told them I did not need it because we had full coverage. They also did not have record where I said I wanted the insurance. I will be disputing with my bank but when I called the rep to tell them it was a mistake he responded by saying, "Nothing can be done once it’s charged." I had to pay 275.00 for a 4 day rental due to the fact they added the insurance and charged 5.00 for gas after we returned the car with a full tank. They try to overcharge because you are at a popular site like Orlando. Stay away from Budget and tell your friends to do the same. Go to Enterprise - much better customer service and they do not cheat you out of your money. Be aware if you go to Budget.

ON Aug 17, 2018 rented a Skoda Octavia from Riga LATVIJA airport, Budget Rent a Car location until Sept 3, 2018. I travel extensively around the world and rent cars biweekly. Dropped off car before they opened on Sept 3, documents and keys in dropbox like usual. 3 weeks later noticed a $934 charge on my credit card in addition to the $757. We agreed for the rental. Upon contacting them they claim there were no documents and chipped windshield. Since I placed keys and documents in same envelope, I knew it was a lie and I regularly take photos of cars before I drop them off just for this instance. I provided them with photos of the car with perfectly fine windshield and received no response. I lost $934 and all confidence in Budget Rent a Car. Avoid this location and Budget Rent a Car at all costs.

Please use Enterprise or someone else. If you ever have an issue with Budget they will not respond, they will never put you in touch with a manager, they will not explain your bill. They will just raid your bank account. So I had a car towed (my fault) meter expired and I immediately called them, no help, run around and the tow company would not release the car to me because it was a rental so a $160 tow bill turned into a $1,700 rip off and Budget was part of that. That took the money and have not given me a receipt. I've called numerous times, tried to reach management and have had no luck, they put you in elevator music and in circles you go many, many times.

Rented a car FROM BUDGET for 2 weeks - noticed there was a flashing light on dash. The rep. had no idea what it was. Took the car home (6 miles) and looked the warning up - had something to do with tires. Called Budget to return car but they were closed. Took car back the next morning for them to fix warning but they didn't. Returned defective car - BUT BUDGET STILL CHARGED ME FOR THE 2 WEEK RENTAL (OVER $350.00). Stay away from crooks like this!!

Today's date, Nov. 20th, 2018, and on Oct. 21th, 2018 I booked a 15-passenger van, which was scheduled for pick up on Nov. 21st, 2018. So being my normal self, I called this location to ensure everything was good to go for a morning pickup or an early pick up. However, to my surprise the first response I get from the location is, "we are sold out!" I informed them I had booked this rental one month in advance to avoid this specific scenario. It's unbelievable they didn't even try to call me or let me know. I still don't understand how a company can do this to a customer. Of course, their only response was to call customer service. ARE YOU KIDDING ME... I have 14-people at my house waiting for our trip upstate in less than 24-hours... I knew I shouldn't have tried this One-Star location!!! Avoid if you can.

I rented the car through Hotwire for one day @ $49. When I returned it, I was late for about an hour and a half. The rep. went outside to check the car in. She came back and immediately processed everything and printed the receipt without saying a single word to me. I looked at the bill to find out that I was charged about $110 which is more than double the original price! I asked her why?! She referred me to another rep. which she deducted about $17 for whatever she said about the mileages being under 70 miles. Then, I asked why the ~$93?! She said because I was late.

On April 6, 2018 we rented a car from Budget at Will Rogers World Airport. That night there was a hard freeze in Oklahoma and the windshield was covered with a thick layer of ice when we awoke. We defrosted the windshield and drove approximately 20 miles to Norman where our son was living. We parked the car and went inside to visit. After several hours, we went back outside to go to lunch, and noticed a large thin crack in the windshield had appeared while we were visiting with our son. We called Budget and reported the crack. They assured us there would be no charge as the crack was weather related.

Rented a car for 4 days prior to arriving in Savannah at the airport. Approximately 119 x1 week plus taxes etc total 172. Upon arriving at the desk I said to the agent I wanted to keep it likely for the weekly rate which she proceeded to charge me for... Except she did not change the number of days which was from the 29th thru the 2nd. She told me if I was going to keep it for the full week just call that Friday. Meantime the credit card I gave her was breached and my bank closed the card for reasons just stated. Oddly enough the only place the card was used was for the car rental. My husband and I tried all weekend to reach the Budget at Savannah even calling customer service main number who gave us a back number to call and never being able to reach Budget!!! No answer the entire time we tried.

I booked a car by Budget 3 weeks ago, it was my first time booking. I paid 102 for two days, and I checked the same date and the same car in other car rental companies and I found much cheaper for 77.55$. I asked for a refund and they refused as the prepaid reservation you have to pay 50$ cancellation fee. Make sure not book by Budget as there are much cheaper companies to book from.

I rented a car for one month (which was my second month), but after about two weeks I bought a car and wanted to turn the rented car back. The person in the office said she cannot do anything because the booking was online, and gave the number of the customer service, the customer service person said this is the company policy not to do any refund for the online booking, and he cannot do anything to help?! And the reason for that, some people will use the one month discount then turn the car back. I told him clearly, it is ok not to refund the full amount and remove the discount was applied (still can have more than 150 $, as there are almost 2 weeks left), as I don’t need the car anymore and any refund would be good for me! But still not doing any help.

We booked with this company 1 month ago. We had to wait 1h before receiving our car. We get an economic despite we booked and paid a compact. We had to try 2 cars before being able to put our bags in it. They said we had to accept the economic or the booking would be cancelled. We left the car back 2 weeks later. It was clean and the agent told us everything was alright...but we just received a letter saying the car was full of sand and we owe $150. They made a mistake in the return date so it might even be another car of another booker.

My girlfriend hit some luggage on the freeway that ended up belonging to a renter from Budget. It took them over two weeks to even get them to do anything, and the person who represents Budget was so rude and condescending. In the end, Budget is refusing to take responsibility for the damages, so now we have to take them to court to get the damages repaired. I hope someone from Budget reads this and corrects Michelle's attitude. I have never been talked to so rudely by a so called professional, and my overall take away from having to deal with this company is that I will NEVER be a customer of theirs. I couldn't even get anyone on the phone to handle this and it took them two weeks to even respond to a voicemail, just to tell me to kick rocks.

I rented a vehicle from a Budget in Houston, Texas for a work meeting that I had to attend three hours away. I had rented before from the location twice and had one negative experience prior- but decided to give them another chance, as we all have “bad days” and they were the most affordable. When I picked up the car, it was not cleaned- appeared to have just come from a road trip and had a bad smell. I notified the rep and he advised that he would make a note so that I wouldn’t be charged for any smell damages to the car as he had noticed them too. I wasn’t exactly pleased but I had the car for one day so wasn’t trying to be very picky. I immediately drove the car home and parked it.

THEY SHOULD HAVE A ZERO STAR OPTION. I AM SURE I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO AGREES. I went to Fresno to rent a car to SFO in June. They gave me a Mitsubishi Lancer. I was on my way to SFO when the tire blew out on the 120 in Manteca. I called roadside assistance. They told me it would take them 1 hour to get someone to swap out the tires then I'd have to drive back to Modesto to get a different car. So I told them I can swap out the tire myself then go to Modesto Budget. I got to Modesto Budget. They inspected the car, gas, and everything. They cleared me, had me write an incident report, and gave me a Kia Soul. The rest of the trip went smoothly to SFO.

I have rented a car from Albany NY to JFK Airport and was not told that they will be charging me "one way fee" of $200.00. Rent agreement was for $140, but when I dropped off the vehicle they charged me extra $200 for dropping off. I called customer service and they basically told me that I have signed the agreement and that next time I should read before I sign. Thanks for much Budget. I will never rent a car from you!

This morning I reserved the rental from Budget Rent-A-Car for this weekend and within 30 min I have to cancel my reservation because of the sudden change in my travel plans. I did not modify the reservation because my new dates are unknown, and I know I won’t know my new dates before this weekend (when I am supposed to get my rental).

Worst car rental company EVER. Somehow their incompetent attendant who checked me in at the Phoenix airport failed to mark the car as returned, and I was told by their "customer service" that it showed that the car was returned two days later on October 12th. This is impossible as I was on the 6 AM flight out of PHX that day.

I will never rent a car from Budget again, They did not honor my reservation. I recently travel to Quito, Ecuador and I made a reservation with Budget. I included a Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI), and at the counter in Quito, that insurance appeared as medical insurance (which I asked to be removed). Although I present my reservation. The employee denied that I had included an SLI and tried to sell me one. I thought "I" made a mistake and accepted to buy it. I mentioned him "few times" that I needed only the third party protection (liability o SLI) because my American Express covers the rental car in case of a collision (LDW).

My sisters and I decided to rent a van we could all ride together to surprise our sister for her birthday. I have never rented a car before so all new to me. I picked van did my walk around like the guys told me to. Left in rain and picked my sisters and nieces up got on the road has we had 11/12 hours to drive. We want to have a day just spend with her. we drove in rain and fog. About 4:30 in morning I hit three raccoons instead of going in ditch. Keep in mind we are 700 from home. We stop to eat them check the damage which we then find the three tires are bald and the driver's back tire had wire showing 90% around the outside. We realize we were lucky we didn’t blow any tires.

Budget charged my credit card for a parking ticket associated with the rental car I had even though I have never been in the state. All attempts to get the charge reversed have failed. It is impossible to contact anyone with any authority. This company is an expert at giving the runaround. I provided copies of credit card statements and toll charges with the vehicle's license plates demonstrating that I was in California on the date of the ticket, but they still charged my credit card. I called and emailed about 10 different departments and was given different information each time. Even though supervisors indicated they would research and call me back, no return phone calls were ever received. DON'T RENT FROM Budget unless you enjoy frustration and poor customer service.

No one told me to call the local number.

I rented a car at Pensacola Florida airport 9/30/18 and had prepaid the full amount. When I picked up the I was told there would be an additional $100.00 hold which would be refunded/released when I return the car on 10/6/18. I looked at my account on 9/30/18 and they had indeed debited my account $100.00. Today is 10/12/18 and I still don't have my $100.00 back. I called two days ago and they said they would expedite the payment. I called again today and they said they never "took" $100.0 that they just put a hold. He offered to start an investigation but I have to give my bank statement to prove they actually took the $100.00. DON'T EVER RENT FROM THIS COMPANY. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!!!

If I can rate this location 0 then I would. Mez was nice but wasn't able to help. Told us to call their national line where they can easily make changes but we were sent back and forth by them. The girl that helped us doesn't seem to know anything. Made us pay for the winter tires which was an all season tires with a M+S symbol. Go to other rental places they might be more pricey but worth all the trouble that I have experienced. We had a much better experience with Avis across the street, only tried them cause it was cheaper but not worth it AT ALL. Will not come back especially not this location.

I rented a car in Las Vegas for 2 days, I paid daily insurance. The battery broke down on the second day. After 5 times car stopped on the road, I called company and asked to replace it. They did. When I gave new car back I went out with a check for $ 147, the same price as at the beginning, at home I found out that $ 543 was removed from my credit card. After 3 weeks of calls and emails with the “Budget” company, they told me that the money was withdrawn for a tow truck, as they did not find a breakdown. How can I prove now that the car was broken? Crappy company - what else to say. Make sure you do not use their service.

I was completely robbed by these crooks. Picked up a car at Orlando Intl. but had to wait in line for over an hour to reach the counter. These guys were the only ones with a line a mile long. Upon looking at the charges it amounted to almost $200 to rent a car to drive to Tampa. I am underage and was expecting the $30 surcharge and also prepaid for gas. However, quoting me forty dollars when booking then asking for two hundred dollars is ridiculous. Not to mention the associate I had to deal with was completely oblivious to how unhappy and fed up I and every single person on line was. I would have rather dealt with a computer. I am never using Budget ever again.

There should be a "0 star" category. This company charged an additional $30 after the total car rental payment had been submitted. In addition, they placed a $100 charge as a hold for incidentals!! We are senior citizens and were treated as second class citizens by the customer service lady at the Fort Lauderdale airport.

I've used several rental car companies may times before, so I am aware of the "extras" that can quickly add up. However, our experience with Budget Rent-A-Car at the Dublin Ireland Airport was "exceptional." I reserved a car using Budget online and received a quote of 292.85 euro. When we arrived at the counter we were presented with a contract that totaled 715.60 euro. Shocked at our new price, we asked the gentleman, James, behind the counter why our quote was so much less. He said he wasn't quite sure, but that if we wanted our car we would have to pay the 715 euro. He circled a few 800 numbers on the contract and suggested we call them for more information. We were told we could dispute the charges later if we wanted, but that the price was the price. As our entire trip relied on this car, we reluctantly paid the 715 euro.

I was told by customer service when placing a reservation that it was easier to pre-pay. I did and my money was taken immediately only to be told at the rental location that I was unable to get the vehicle because I didn't pass a credit check. A credit check was never mentioned previously. My money was only partially refunded and I have been told that it will take an additional 5-7 business days although it has already been a week. Customer service is incompetent and rude. It also took forever to speak to someone and nothing was resolved. Do not do business with them! I will NEVER refer anyone to them or speak positively about this company.

I have worked very hard to eliminate all debt and thus obtaining a zero credit score. When I was over $200K in consumer debt, I could rent from them. Now, they won't allow it. They took the money online just fine to reserve the vehicle, but then they do a credit check when you get there. A CREDIT CHECK AFTER YOU PAID FOR THE ENTIRE RENTAL! Of course I am not "credit worthy" because I am not trying to borrow money. I paid for it in full ahead of time. That was the whole point. Their competition has logical hoops (prove of employment and residency). I'm fine with that, but a credit check when I'm not using a credit device? Asinine!

Budget never filed my insurance claim and charged me almost $700 for a windshield. They didn’t not reverse the charges and told me it takes 3-5 days to receive a itemized receipt to submit to my insurance company. This should have been done on their behalf, all insurance information was given on the day of return. They did not contact me regarding making a withdrawal and took my personal money. Customer service is incompetent and rude. It also took forever to speak to someone and nothing was resolved. Do not do business with them!

My experience was horrible. My sister, her bestfriend and I booked a car online because their website specifically stated they accepted DEBIT cards AND credit cards. I needed a car due to my sister graduating in Florida Sept 22 2018. We get there, she takes my debit card & then says she can't use it because it's obviously not a cc so at that moment I was CONFUSED! I told her your website says u take debit & credit cards and she just looked at me then said, "yeah, if you can pass the credit check." So I was relieved and kindly gave her my ID & debit card again. I watched her SCAN MY DEBIT CARD, NOT MY ID, DIDN'T GIVE HER THE LAST 4 OF MY SOCIAL OR ANY INFORMATION, (ALSO SHE DIDN'T automatically pull it from anywhere because I didn't have to supply my social for booking the car) so she scan my debit card and handed it right back to me saying I didn't pass the credit check.

I rented a car in St. Petersburg FL the afternoon of August 30, 2018. I returned the car to the Clearwater International Airport at 6 am September 1, 2018. I looked at my bank account on September 25th only to find they took out $250! I called the St. Pete office where I rented it and the man said he couldn’t even find me in his system! I called back and spoke with someone else a few minutes later that found my name/confirmation number and he said they charged me for “dirt”. When I dropped it off at Clearwater nobody was working so the men in charge of all rentals told me to park the car and drop off the keys. I did. I received NO call or nothing in writing explaining why they were taking the money from me. The customer service manager is looking into it and needs proof from them to why they took out my money. I’m sure they have rented that car a few times since I dropped it off Sept 1st. I have filed fraud charges on that company. Renters beware!

I made an online reservation for a week rental two weeks before p/u. Then I got a confirmation # the day before reminding me that my car was reserved for me the next day. When I arrived they told me they didn't have any cars. What a big waste of time they are...

I rented a car Sept 10th. Returned it sept 15th. They were suppose to refund my deposit of $100.00. It's been 15 days and 3 case number, 5 phone calls and still don't have my money. This company is a thief. People never rent from them. I will be posting and calling Better Business Bureau. I will not stop contacting everyone to make complaints until I get my money. Mad customer.

Horrible customer service, I was on the phone today trying to resolve an issue, and from 2 pm to 5 pm, I was disconnected 5 times in the first hour, then from 3 to 5 pm, every single customer service rep I had was rushed, talking too fast to understand, either disconnected me or transferred me to another department or back to the original department that had transferred me to them, and in between, I was disconnected another 3 times.

I was supposed to pick up a rental car on 9/22/18 at 3pm from San Luis Obispo Regional Airport. The personnel at the counter assigned me a car Nissan Versa and charged me $55.27 for 1 day rental and $200 holding amount to my Visa credit card. Then, she asked me to sign a Rental Agreement which I did. Instead of someone taking me to the car, she just gave me the keys to the car and asked me to go on my own to an unsecured parking lot (opened, no fence) with no attendant. Usually, I understand there would be someone checking the car with me for any dents or damages prior to driving off the car. In this case, no one was accompanying me.

I rented a car in April and months later in August a $250 charge popped up on my credit card. When I called Budget to see what the charge was for they said it was a cleaning charge but couldn't give me any other information. The man on the phone was very rude and not helpful at all. I asked for pictures and explanation on what I did in 2 days that required so much cleaning that costed $250. I wanted proof and they couldn't give me any other explanation except for that I signed the contract and told me that I should have vacuumed and cleaned the car before returning it! So, make sure you get your rental detailed before returning it to them. I will NEVER do business with or refer Budget to anyone ever!

I rented a Tahoe in Bellevue Wa drove the vehicle to Phoenix Az. Vacuumed the vehicle out and removed trash etc... Before returning vehicle to Budget. August 5, 2018. Then September 19, 2018 (50 days later) I happened to notice a credit card charge for $75 from Budget Rental Car. When I called to find out what the charge was for I was told mud on the floor. I am the type of person who believes in leaving things better than I get them and take pride in being clean. I usually do business with Enterprise car rental. But this time I was enticed by a rate that was slightly less than Enterprise. I will never do business with Budget again. 1) $75 cleaning fee unjustified. 2) Charge to credit card with no notice. 3) Customer service was horrible at pickup and drop off.

So I booked my car through the website airportrentals.com. For some reason this website does not include the age fees into the price they give you, so my total at booking was $255 for 4 days. When I came for a pick up my total was $366 which is a $100 dollar difference, and I asked why and the lady at the counter told me because of the BOND. I told her I called your company a few days ago and asked about it, she told me there is no bond for a credit card. And then she realised that was an age fee. I was shocked, because I had $345 on my credit, and I couldn’t take the car. I was not prepared for that, and the website gave me the wrong total. I was in the middle of nowhere without an opportunity to rent a car.

Do not rent from this company. The website rates go up as soon as you confirm the reservation. Then when you show up the rates go up again 2 1/2 times the ORIGINAL rate for deposit purposes. Then you may not get the car you reserved like we did. We booked it 2 months in advance and still did not get what we reserved. How much more notice do they need?

Beware!! If dropping off your car in Chicago on the weekend they close their inner city drop offs at noon (no one mentioned this when we picked the car up). Your choice is to bring it back Monday morning and pay over $200 extra. When we called to find an alternate drop off they twice sent us to a non existent location. Worst car rental experience ever! Guess that’s why they’re call Budget???

Worst car rental experience EVER at this particular Budget office. Back to Enterprise we go. The car I was renting came in at 11:50am and the office closed at 12 noon. The Budget/Avis employees at this location were extremely lazy and did not clean the car AT ALL because they wanted to go home for the day. The car smells horribly, and the smell transfers to our clothing every time we use the car. The smell is either cow or horse poop. Not kidding here. We are guessing it was used on or near a farm? We called to secure a replacement vehicle, the 800 number is not helpful, nor are the lazy employees at Budget in Englewood.

I had to rent a car last minute at LAX. I was in a hurry, as I had to get to a meeting two hours away. The desk employee at the front told me the price I would be paying. Keep in mind this is on a Sunday and it's after Labor Day weekend. I also heard others complaining of the same thing. Well, I asked the employee what price I would be paying and he said $567. I checked my bank account this morning and they removed $631. I know it doesn't sound like a large difference, but it's more than what I was quoted. Now, when I return the vehicle I have to take this up with someone and I don't really have the time. Not only does Budget take advantage of you when it's last minute, but then they add on additional expenses without your consent. PLEASE, rent from another car rental company! There are a several out there that will take better care of their customers.

They lost cars in a flood apparently and they tried to downgrade us without telling us - and without taking money off. We specifically paid more money for a larger vehicle WEEKS in advance. We would have been totally understanding if they had called to explain ahead of time that they had problems with vehicles due to the recent floods. Nobody ever called or explained anything and just expected us to downgrade for the same price. We complained and got what we paid for/reserved but we had to wait an hour for them to find the vehicle. The employee literally wandered around the parking lot mindlessly for an hour.

The lady at the desk that work for Budget at 6721 E independence she is rude to customers and she is not to be trusted. When we rented a car last Saturday she was very rude to us and unprofessional. She was pushing us around like we work for her. She is not to trusted. I told her after she gave us the car that she did not check how much gas in the car. I told her it only had 3/8 in the tank so she said bring the car to her from the parking because she did not want to walk. After that she got in the car she recorded the fuel but she refused to tell me how much she recorded. I kept asking her to show me. I felt that she was very unprofessional. Please see that lady to be replaced by a better person. And on the day of the return she is closed and the website said it’s open. She did not leave any info on where to drop the car prior to our arrival.

When picking up the car at the Fort Lauderdale airport, the agent asked if wanted the insurance, we declined. It wasn't until we found the receipt days later that we realized the insurance they charged us incorrectly almost tripled the cost of the vehicle (from $138 to $373)!!! When I called customer support to report the problem and ask for a refund, they said there is nothing they can do because we signed the contract. Seriously? As if anyone actually READS the contract!?! I trusted that what we told her was what was being charged. Won't make that mistake again. And won't be renting from Budget again...

I rented and returned a vehicle to the Helena MT location of Budget. Realized when I got home that I had left my camera flash in console or on seat of the vehicle while removing all my luggage to leave. I called the office immediately and spoke to the desk attendant I checked in with (they have no lot attendant). He said he would go look for the flash and call me right back. I waited a day and then called back several more times over the next two days and spoke to two other agents who asked for all the same info about the rental etc. I finally called and connected to the original desk attendant who said he looked in the vehicle and did not see the item. He did not say when he looked. It was definitely left in there because I pulled it out of the vehicle console when gathering my bags to leave and would have put it in my carry on because of the battery.

My drop-off was today for 2pm in Raleigh by Triangle Town Center Mall. There is a hurricane coming but not wanting to get charged for not fulfilling my obligation in my paperwork, I drove 45 mins from Henderson with the dad following me in the pouring rain and wind to drop it off. It was open online and some places are still open today so I went. There is no drop off box. I run in the rain to the doors because all the lights are on. The doors are locked. I leave the car (as it states in my paperwork, with a full tank) and the keys tucked away inside (as some locations allow you to do so and I know that because I drive their rentals very frequently and have been loyal to this company).

Waited 2.5 hours for a car in Boston on August 11, which had only a quarter tank despite the rental agreement stating it was full. Tires were bald and driver's seat was not adjustable so the driver had to recline to drive. Traded the car in Portland, Maine, on August 18 and was stopped by a policeman in New Hampshire who said the car's registration had been suspended because of an unpaid toll in Maine (which happened before we rented it) and it was not legal to drive.

I rented a car in Fort Myers Florida which was prepaid for at $277.83 on August 5, 2018 to be returned on August 11, 2018. The salesman at the counter offered me an upgrade. I asked, "How much?" He said $35.00. I said, "A day?" "Yep," he said. He even wrote down on a little piece of paper the number $35.00. Being late at night and tired from flying I signed the papers and little do I know I initialed $35.00 per day upgrade which now brought my car cost to $525.16. It was like buying a house with all the papers to sign so I stopped reading them, dumb on my part but I trusted him. What a mistake.

I was charged for gas for the car that I rented even though the car was returned with a full tank! The charge that they had on my credit card was for more than the rental itself. I didn't even get an email that I requested upon the return of the car for the final cost instead I seen the outrageous charge on my credit card. In order to get the charge taken off I had to send them a receipt of the gas that was put in just minutes before the return of the car. Is this how they screw people these days?!? If I hadn't checked my credit card charges which I am sure most people don't they would have made a killing off of my car rental.

For the second summer in a row I rented a car at Budget's Hanover MA store for my 6 week summer stay in Massachusetts and for the second time I was very impressed by the level of customer service I received from Joseph **, Agency Operator. This little store is extremely busy but managed to deal with me and the other customers with efficiency and respect. They gave me an upgrade at no extra cost and when I decided to stay an additional week, Joseph extended my rental at a very competitive price. The staff at this location made me feel they appreciated my business and Budget offered me excellent value.

Despite taking care when I booked the confirmation had the wrong collection time on it. I e-mailed and got no reply. The call took over half an hour for a 20 second conversation telling me it was my problem. They seemed to get perverse pleasure by fobbing me off telling me to call a European office who just bounced me back. They kept the deposit for weeks too.

Highway Robbery at O'Hare - Reserved a car using American Airline Miles for a nine day visit. Got there at 1 a.m. after 1 seven hour storm delay in Atlanta. 40 people in line and one guy working. (I had been up for 25 hours at this point, coming from Europe.) Couldn't make my voucher work, promised it would be fixed by time I returned and put his phone number on the contract. Of course it wasn't fixed when I returned, manager took contract from me, did some stuff on a computer. And said it was fixed. Gave me a barely readable receipt. I had to catch my flight. Read paper when I got home, she changed NOTHING.

Car seats were dirty and stained. No other car in its class available. An upgrade vehicle smelled like smoke, combined with the deodorizer placed in it. A premium was not clean either. Rude manager!!!

Waited 45 minutes to get a car at Budget in Jacksonville. Took car out of garage and noticed that the gas gauge was 3/4 full. Took picture of odometer and gas gauge at the time I noticed the problem. Returned car and had to wait 15 minutes to check the car in. Figured for the hour I wasted I would submit a claim for the gas disparity. Budget saw no reason to reimburse me for the gas as their records indicated it was full. I was really going to go through all this trouble to get $14? Never experienced anything like this before; complete indifference about the inordinate wait and fuel issue. There are many other rent-a-car counters at JAX. Pick one, anyone; you'll be much better off.

Rented a car in West Yellowstone and asked if I could return it to Bozeman and would there be a charge. I was told there be no charge by three different agents only to have my card charged for $275 one way rental. Called customer service and it was a valid charge - of course it was. Should have read the reviews first - walk before you rent from these people.

August 1, 2018 picked up car at the rental desk at Frankfurt International Airport. They did not have the C class Mercedes I had booked, only an E Class - of course for more money. I agreed because the trip was with my 14 year old nephew (a car fanatic) and wanted something safe on the Autobahn. The process of standing in line took 45 minutes. To get the car itself took close to another 30 minutes. The car was located in the Budget/Avis area among many other black cars in the dark garage. It was packed in with other vehicles where you could only open the driver door, and was pulled in right up against the wall. It is not possible to walk around the car (or any of the cars for that matter) to check for damages. It was difficult to back the car out of the space due to the overcrowded pick up area - less than 20 feet between rows of sedans - and required two people to move the car out of the space.

I reserved a Crew Cab XLT Ford or similar pick-up truck. I arrived at Beaverton Oregon, location 10385 SW Canyon Rd, and saw a Ford XLT Crew Cab 4x4 on the lot. I was 4th in line, and the couple in front of me had the choice between a Chevy double cab pick-up, or the Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab. The male employee gave the couple a choice between the two, and they chose the Ford F-150. I assumed they had another crew cab onsite, but wrong. First mistake I made was ordering online with Budget, You just don’t know what you’re going to get.

The CSR at the 800 number DO NOT know what they are doing. On two separate occasions I called and my mother called to verify no credit check was needed with a debit card as long as proof of flight was shown. BOTH reps advised NO CREDIT CHECK IS DONE! After a hectic flight with a sick 9 year old, a shuttle ride to the rental at Fort Lauderdale airport which is crazy, and a 30 minute wait in line for the car we were told... "I'M SORRY YOU DIDN'T PASS THE CREDIT CHECK," AFTER I ALREADY PAID! When the manager came over to address the situation he said the CSR inform people of the wrong information all the time but there was nothing he could do.

I reserved a car through my American Airlines credit card because it looked like a good deal. I arrived at the rental area on August 18 after a three hour flight and was told that since I was 9 minutes early I would have to pay a different rate (higher by about $100). I disagreed with that so the representative told me I would have to go to a different booth to talk to the supervisor on duty. So I went there and stood in line for about an hour. The supervisor told me that it was changed back to the original rate and gave me a car to drive. We returned the car to the airport with a full tank of gas and flew back home. I was looking at my credit card statement and saw that Budget was charging me an extra $50 than the amount I thought I was going to be charged.

We rented 2 cars from Istanbul Airport (IST) in the 3rd week of August. We picked up 2 SUVs and one of them was a Peugeot 3008. We had just started our for about 80 kms and the car started giving us signals of overheating. We were stuck in the middle of the highway near Bursa for about 4 hours. The reason - Budget team did not service the car properly and did not fill in "Ad-Blue". The team did not even care to inform us that we need to fill this - although I am sure this should be part of their car service before it has been given to a customer.

Budget came through with a credit of $44.90 after I wrote to their customer care. Budget made good on this transaction, but I shouldn't have had to go through this many channels to correct a simple mistake I made. Their telephone service staff needs more latitude in dealing with customers.

We rented a car in Ft Lauderdale Florida from Budget after comparative shopping. One of us is an attorney and the other a college professor so we pay attention to what we are told and read the contract. When our credit card bill came we discovered hidden fees that increased our bill by 30%!! NOT the bargain they publish. Go elsewhere. To Budget- buyers want to know what they are getting. Fool us once and never see us again. Be transparent with us and we'll come back as loyal customers.

I prepaid for a car online with my Visa check card and it went through fine. When I went to pick up the car, they said that they had to put a $100 hold on my card, but could not take the card that I used for the reservation because it was a check card. Since I had no other card, I asked for a refund, but they withheld a $150 fee. I paid $150 for literally nothing! I never received a car. How is that anything else or other than theft?

I booked a rental car online for JFK pickup with Budget and I was charged the whole amount on my debit card. On reaching JFK after traveling whole night, I was shocked to see about 100 people in line at their office. There was a also a notice about using debit card - they needed proof of return journey. When my turn came the rep told me about, checking my credit history - since I didn’t own a credit card. I was not told this when I reserved the car. After standing for 2 hrs I was refused a car. There were many others who were refused because of the same reason. I just went next door and rented a car from National - it took me 10 Minutes to rent the car - the rate was high because I didn’t have advance reservation. But their customer service was excellent - they also gave me an upgrade to an SUV at no extra cost. Budget has lost a client for life. National/Alamo has gained one.

BUDGET (Fraud) CAR RENTAL: OMG what can I say. This is really annoying and horrible rental car services. Their customer representative are rude and don't have manner to speak with their customers. They don't have a proper internal communication for proper management and services to their customers. They charged me twice without my concern and they literally stole my money. While calling them stupid customer rep hanging on my face. Moreover, I am budget fast-break customers so they have my credit cards details and they literally charged me for not renting a vehicle. They are acting like a thief and that is not cool as a customer with my money. I think I should pull out my card information from stupid and fraud Budget Rent-A-Car.

They have competitive pricing, and the process is simple and clear to reserve online. I kept getting an error that my reservation was not processed and that my credit card number was invalid. Double checked my bank and there were no holds. Attempted 4 times to reserve and received the same error. Ended up speaking with a representative online who was able to process the reservation for my with the online price, but 'pay at counter'. I received confirmation, but noticed I had a second confirmation for one of my attempts online.

I did a prepaid in Budget's website mind you I’ve been renting from these guys forever. First time I did the whole prepaid thing. Got them to get the car. The RUDE budget rep advise me it was going to be 100 additional to what I paid. I asked when did this start. She advised me smartly for as long as she has been working there. Never paid an additional deposit because I always pay at the counter. Called to get an explanation. Everybody rude. All my thousands of dollars I’ve given Budget I WILL NEVER AGAIN!!!! Lost a wonderful customer today.

This is the worst rental car place at this airport. I rented from 7/10/2018 through 8/24/2018. To check out my vehicle that I had reservation for it took 45 minutes. The people at the counter are so unorganized, I am a Fastbreak customer, it was not available either time I went to this location. I returned the car and was not able to get my receipt at that time, I was promised an email receipt. Here it is 5 days later, 2 calls to their customer service, I still do not have my receipt to close my account. The customer service are of no assistance, no one can make any decisions or take any action, and these are supervisors. This is the worst customer service I have experienced from any company. I would not recommend Budget to anyone, and I had used them many times before.

Horrible customer service. I reserved a Jeep 5 weeks in advance at ORF international. On the reservation it said 2 door or 4 door. I needed the 4 door, so a couple business days after booking online I called the direct number to the counter to request the 4 door. But it transferred me to the Budget national phone line. I went ahead and made my request and they sent me an email to note my request. While I was on the phone with customer service she suggested I call the pickup counter directly to confirm they got my request. So I had her confirm the phone number. Gave them a couple more business days and tried again. And got transferred again. I go through all the bs again to make my request for the 4 door Jeep. Then he tells me he can see where I made the request before but would do it again. Had no answer about why you can't get through to the counter.

We prepaid for our vehicle and despite that, a car in the class we requested was not available. I had to suggest that the guy call around to find the car in our class because instead he wanted to give us something MUCH larger (we paid for an SUV and he wanted to give us a Ford F150 truck or a small car). We were traveling with luggage and a child in a booster seat so neither were appropriate. We eventually got an SUV brought from another location but it delayed us considerably. When we returned the vehicle, it cost us much less than the prepaid amount but they don't return that to you which I think is horrible. It's made all the worse knowing I prepaid to save the hassle. We were travelling from Seattle, WA to San Francisco, CA.

We rented a car in Klamath Falls Oregon and it had scratches on it. The girl would not come out and document it. She refused then 2 months after we get a bill for over $300.00 for damages. This is terrible when the agency refuses to document that we did not make these scratches. They were on the car before we got it.

Dear Avis-Budget car rental, you are negligent and abuse of your powers. You are charging me for damages I was not responsible for on your car. You sent me a moot document with no proof of what I am being charged for. When I contacted you to let you know no damages whatsoever occurred during my rental period, indicating that I am filing a complaint at the Better Business Bureau and specifically put in writing that I do not authorize you to charge my card, you went ahead and did just that in less than 24 hours. Who gives you the right to do that? This is abuse, I didn't damage your car. I want my $200 back because I never caused any damage.

They may cheat you with car rental rewards. Please be sure to add the reservation in your account (Fastbreak) before returning the vehicle otherwise the rewards for your reservation will not be added. I was told that points can be added after reservation is over by one of the rental location associates but when I tried to do the same I was not able to. Customer support said this was my mistake and she didn't help me in adding those rewards for that one week of reservation. I am not sure what Budget is gaining from not adding these points later? I would request budget to add points for the expensive reservation I had with them and also make it possible to add rewards for past rental for other customers.

Dear Budget Rent a Car, Please allow me to share my experience with Budget's LAX location regarding my rental from August 09-12, confirmation number for a full size car. I booked this reservation through Costco, where I generally choose Enterprise because of their excellent customer service, but decided to try Budget Rent a Car. I flew in from Sarasota, FL for my mother’s funeral in Riverside, CA, set for Saturday. I had been working a full shift all the way up to leaving that Thursday morning at 3 am to fly to Los Angeles. The flight was very smooth and on time. I had set my reservation for 10 am just in case I was running late from the airport. The drive of the Budget shuttle was outstanding in her customer service skills and helpfulness. That part of the experience was outstanding.

Last May I went to Italy. I was heading South from Rome, so I rented a car from Avis-Budget at Fiumicino, here in the US, and prepaid the rental, noting a time I thought was close to the time I could be at the rental car desk in the airport. Well, my flight, on United Airlines, was late arriving in Rome, and then our luggage was delayed in arriving. By the time I made it through customs and to the Avis-Budget rental office at Fiumicino, I was 1 hour and 15 minutes later than I had noted on my original reservation. Because I was late, my prepaid reservation was canceled, and Avis-Budget had taken my money, and I had nothing to show for it.

The Columbus airport operation seemed in disarray when I tried to pick up my rental from the Fast Break counter. The agent was running around trying to find cars for the 10 or so people in line at this supposed premier customer service desk where my car pick-up experience was to be quick and convenient. After about 30 minutes in line, I finally got to the window of the booth and was told that the category of vehicle I had reserved was unavailable and I would have to instead drive a gas-sucking V8 Nissan Titan pickup. Not a great experience at all, Budget!

At the counter, a girl ask me if I mind taking a Jeep instead of intermediate 2/4 door car that I had original booked because no vehicle is available. So I ask her if there's a upgrade charge and she actually respond "NO". But in the contract she type in the extra charge for $75 which I didn't see and I signed it. But what is worst is that they now charging me additional $241.00 for a chip on the windshield which it wasn't there when I return. Even the lady who checked the vehicle in say everything was good. This is the first time I rent from Budget and will be the last.

I made a reservation for a rental car. When I got to the counter, they told me they had no vehicles for me except a specialty vehicle which was a $30/day upgrade. Be careful, they do not stand behind their reservations and they do not try to accommodate you in the scenario I was in. The employee at the counter told me that if I didn't want to pay for the upgrade, I would need to go to a different rental car company. I was at an airport, so there were a bunch together. I went to Hertz and they also did not have a full size rental car, but gave me a free upgrade to a small SUV. Regardless, since Budget put in a bad spot and I was at the counter, of course I got the highest rate which was $50 higher than the cost for my reservation that I had with Budget. I called Budget customer service and they had no solution to help me. Very, very unprofessional way to conduct business.

If you ever want to rent a car, stay away from Budget. I made a reservation with the Budget Car Rental office in Ocala Florida 1 WEEK ago, I went to pick up car today as reserved. The agent informed me that there were NO CARS available. This is a car rental business and they have no cars for people who reserved one? The agent told me he was expecting returns some time today and he would call me, SOME TIME TODAY, (10 hours later and still no call)... forget about being on a schedule. I made my reservation on Expedia and the agent said he couldn't call me because Expedia deletes phone numbers. I tried calling them a couple days before reservation date to confirm, but got a recording that "All agents busy helping other customers" and was put on hold for 30 minutes before I hung up.

Ok we were lied to. He said to, "Get gas from us," and we believed him. On top of the prepaid we were charged 193 so the basic car was 450 for 4 days. The prepaid is bull. They say it's coverage. Never again. Budget/Avis is terrible crooks.

I rented a car from Budget Rent-A-Car on Poydras in New Orleans Louisiana taking a trip to Columbus Ohio. They knew I had a 14hr drive. I was going home for good news and bad news. Nonetheless I'm on my way. I'm driving. I get to Mississippi. I hear a noise that sounds like a seat belt noise but I have my seat belt on so I noticed that a few lights was on when I looked at the dashboard. So I'm still driving though I call my dad. I tell him its lights on the dashboard keep flashing and something is making a seat belt noise. He say pull over. Read him what the dashboard say. I read it and took pictures as well. The lights was PSI driver's side. Read a number and so did the passenger side. So my dad said I need air so I went got air nearest place. Next the light comes on saying change oil soon.

Customer service agent said to get one in case of someone running a shopping cart and causing a dent. He said: "Be very very careful." No one inspected the car with us upon leaving their parking lot, no papers signed, no walk around the vehicle to identify any dents and believe me there were many. We are extremely disappointed. So much for renting a luxury vehicle. Shame!!!

I got charged some made up 21.5% "Sales Tax" in Arkansas where the real tax is actually 10 or 11%. The pre-booked car wasn't ready and got charged a hidden $16 fee when handing the car back because they didn't ask to see my fuel receipt despite returning it full. What looked like a $60 car hire became $110 including their made up taxes. Other, better car hire companies are available.

I rented two vehicles from Budget for an extended family trip in Colorado. I wish I hadn't. First, the lines at Budget's Denver airport offices were long -- I waited 1.5 hours in line before getting my cars. Then, when I finally got to the Budget employee, it became clear that my initial reservation with Budget bore little resemblance to the deal I would be given. Budget rented me different cars from those I reserved and charged me a higher base rent for one of the cars. They also charged me a 30% higher "concession" fee than Budget had promised when I made my reservation on-line. Budget promised me two child safety seats in one of the cars but there were no seats provided. Budget charged me a $34.99/day "loss damage waiver" which I did not approve, and finally there is Budget's special fuel deal.

Communicating with Budget Car Rental was a nightmare. From the time we began our rental at the airport in St. Louis on June 12, 2018 and were confused by the instruction to take the gray car when it was actually a black one and left our two suitcases in the parking lot, our ability to communicate with Avis by phone or internet were impossible. We arrived at our destination in Nauvoo, ILL, 3 hours away and discovered we had left our luggage in the parking lot in St. Louis. I attempted every form of communication to confirm that our luggage was accounted for and failed. I found no means to talk to anyone. I did file a report to inform Budget of the loss. The next morning, I left Nauvoo at 6:00 a.m. and drove to the airport in St. Louis. The people at the front desk were busy, but another employee was willing to help, found my luggage in the back room, handed it over to me and I returned to Nauvoo by noon.

Reserved an small economic care (4 door Ford Focus or similar), driving to Wisconsin, wanted great gas economy, but when I went to pick up the vehicle I was giving a Nissan Titan V8 which more than tripled my gas expenses. The person working the rental at the Mississippi location in Aurora CO was not friendly or helpful. When I asked where the car was he just pointed to the door and said maybe 100 yards that way. Didn't even tell me what color the truck was. Upon returning the truck to Milwaukee, after hours, I was charged $1235. I called and Budget stated that Milwaukee had not yet checked in the rental. I dropped the rental off on 8/4/2018 and Milwaukee didn't not check the rental in until 8/12/2018. Also on 8/12/2018 I was finally reimbursed the $1235 that I was unethically charged. Will never recommend this company to a single person not even my worst nightmare.

Rented a car from Budget, Denver Int. Airport and the vehicle had 4 horrible tires. 2 so bad that the threads were coming through. Turned the vehicle in and complained and was told by their employee that she had been hearing this complaint for days from other renters!! We drove 450 miles with 4 bad tires on mountain roads with no guard rails and we could have been killed!! Called Budget and was told no manager was available but they would call me back in 48 hours. CRICKETS. No callback. I am pursuing this further as I don't want to see anyone get injured from these unsafe rental vehicles.

I was charged over $60 from the original base rate of $175.20. As a courtesy, I called to modify the pickup and return times to by a couple hours each to be precisely the time instead of the standard 12 pm. After not being able to adjust times on the Budget website, I called and spoke with a Budget representative who gladly changed the times but never mentioned it would change the base rate. Furthermore, there was never any notice of a rate change whatsoever during my failed attempts to adjust the pickup/return times on their website. Lastly, to add insult to injury, the up-charged car I received looked like a wreck literally. It had a very sizeable dent in the passenger door and had severe hail damage over the entire car. Also, the inside of the windshield was so dirty that it was hard to see out of when the sun was low on the horizon.

Picked up a car, gave me a Ford Ecosport. It had a need service, need oil, light on worse part then sunroof is bad. Does not close right so air and noise all day. We took it right back in. They said, "Oh that means we just serviced light will go away." We also complain it is very small inside, seat belts too short and my 6 foot nephew can't fit in it. I'm 5'5" and touch to roof. They said, "Come back tomorrow. We will change it. Call direct number provided."

I made a car rental reservation with Budget Car Rental at the Omaha NE airport, listing that my flight arrived at 11:45 pm. The counter, offsite location and kiosk all close by 9 pm. No answer at the customer service number. My family and I found ourselves stranded at midnight in a car rental parking lot in the middle of a trip. Why do they take reservations they have no intention of fulfilling? I had to use another car rental agency, pay more, but at least they fulfilled the service of providing a rental car. The agency I switched to said they get complaints and business from disgruntled Budget customers regularly about this issue. If this is how they treat customers, Budget won’t be in business much longer.

I rented a car through Costco that went to Budget for 8 days at LAX in May 2018. When I got to the airport to pick up the car, I was asked about extras, specifically towing, Insurance and liability. With each question I verbally said no and the representative then said to initial on the signature pad which I did. I assume that what I was signing was correlation to my verbal no. However, to my surprise when I received my bill when I returned the car, there was an extra $353.45 in charges for these unwanted extras.

Made reservation over 2 weeks ago, when I went to go pick up my truck the truck I reserved wasn't ready. They said they will have to call around to see when they can provide a truck for the reservation. Manager called 2 hours later and didn't have anything to offer. After all his day wasn't messed up at all. By this time I was able to contact U-Haul and get what I needed. Cost about $100 dollars more but U-Haul went over the top to try and help fix the problem. I feel like customer service manager would have done something to help for the inconvenience from their mistake.

BEWARE - Budget Car Rental intentional charge extra and afterwards lies about it – even when documented to them – don’t use Budget Car Rental. It’s a scam business on all levels. I prepaid USD 787.16 and Budget Car Rental afterwards charge me USD +111.97 extra and even I got less than what prepaid. Budget Car Rental at the counter plus their customer service have seen my Budget Car Rental prepaid receipt on two child chairs. Budget claims I just prepaid for one chair though documented on their receipt I prepaid for two. The lady at the counter said I should write customer service if any complaints and done so and customer service claims the same even when shown them the prepaid receipt with two chairs prepaid, why they documented charge and steals USD +91 too much.

My daughter and I both, reserved and prepaid for vans for a family trip to Niagara Falls on 7-28-2018 for 8 am. We arrived just a little before 8 am and there was no vehicles. The worker called and they said our vehicles will be there before 9. No problem we waited. 9 goes by then 10 goes by still no vehicles. As we are waiting we watch other people come in for the same thing. They say the same thing we did, "why would you let us reserve a van was there are none available?" Now it's 11 am still no vans. Mind you we had rented a house in Niagara Falls that is NOT REFUNDABLE.

I am totally disgusted with Budget at this time. I was charged $79.04 for fuel service when we took the time at 4:30 in the morning, before going to the Orlando airport, to fill up the tank. Now, because some incompetent employee did not even check the fuel level and I can't produce a receipt, because my husband paid cash and lost the receipt, I'm penalized. Budget is horrible and I'll make sure to spread the word. I paid $85.00 for my group to get a ride from the pier to the Miami Airport Budget rental place, because Budget didn't provide a pick up. Although, the gentleman who helped me at the pick up counter was accommodating, I waited on a ridiculous line for more than an hour and didn't get the vehicle I reserved way in advance, but ended up with a pick up truck that was a gas guzzler, because that's all they had. Then they had the audacity to call me a liar and say I didn't fill up the tank and charged me $79.04.

On 7/26/18 I rented a truck from Budget to move a Summer program out of the school and into storage. I typically rent from U-Haul because I'm usually am doing both summer programs and the U-Haul rental is close to one of the program. Since I was only moving one on July 26, I pick a Budget because it was closer to that program and the Storage unit. When I got to Budget I told them I was tax exempt, the lady said that on truck rentals they did not have an area on the computer to enter the tax exempt number, only on car rental were they able to enter tax exempt. She then told me that all I would have to do is call customer service on Monday, explain that I was tax exempt and they would return my tax to me.

I made a reservation on last Tuesday July 24th and I used the prepay option because it was saving me money by not having to pay at the counter. I get to the counter. Everything was fine until it was time to pay a $100 deposit which I was fine with. I give them a card to do so and because I’m using a debit card instead of a credit card to pay for the deposit they have to do a credit check in order for me to use it. No one told me beforehand swiping my card that there would be a credit check so it got declined but only because I have a freeze on my credit so it has to be unlocked before anyone can pull my credit. If I would of been told about their “policy” I would have made sure everything was in order before they swiped my card.

We rented a car July 26, 2018 @1:40pm to July 31, 2018 @ 12:00pm. We returned the car early on July 30, 2018 @ 10:30 am. We prepaid for our rental. At pick up the car was just brought in clerk. Took less than 10 minutes to clean it, leaving dog hair and dog smell on car. At pick up I asked if we returned early if we would be refunded the $$. Clerk said, "Yes." At time of pick up car was on 3/4 tank of gasoline. We returned car on July 30, 2018 @ 10:30 am. With a full tank of gasoline. Clerk said she would have manager call me when he came in between noon and 2 pm.

I rented a car to be picked up at El Paso airport. I reserved a Kia Soul or similar vehicle on my reservation. I was told by the desk clerk, a Toyota Yaris was the same size... Uhhhhh no. She would not budge and this is the car I was given. 2 miles from the airport, an airbag malfunction sensor is blinking. I call the desk and tell them this and I am told to call the "breakdown" number.

Beginning of rental: waited a long time in line for a pre-reserved pre-paid vehicle. During rental: when I was driving my vehicle an indicator comes on saying that it needs an oil change. This is approx about 72 hours after picking the car up and driving 200-300 miles (Salt Lake City, UT to Jackson, WY). I should not have to see such things on such a short rental term nor be worried about needing any roadside assistance. I spent about 35 min on hold (while driving) to chat with "emergency roadside assistance" about this. During driving the vehicle I pulled over to a campsite to stop at a bathroom and went through a pothole (driving slowly - less than 10 mph). The pothole is by definition lack of road-maintenance at the campsite road - I was not "offroad".

I rented a car from Budget in Madeira for 29 days and asked about an additional driver for the 5 days my wife would join me. I was given a price, which I considered high, and a form to fill in with her driver's license information if we decided to use this option. I never agreed to this option, nor returned the paper with my wife's info. At the end of the rental period, I returned the car clean and full of gasoline. After inspecting it, the agent said everything was fine and my contract was closed.

Saturday, July 21 at noon was my first experience renting from Budget. Confirmation **. Someone needs to make it right on my credit card. Why did I and 25 others have to stand in line (for me it was 2 FULL HOURS) to get our PRE-RESERVED cars? Did a supervisor not see the volume of business coming? Obviously not and did not staff appropriately. What a way to treat customers. No explanation. No apology. No discount. The other rental agencies were getting a good laugh. From what I could gather, This seems to happen a lot at Budget/Avis. Some people bailed and paid more just to get out of there. Those of us who booked because we needed the lower price paid more by paying with our time and inconvenience. I will post again something positive if there is a credit issued to me. Stay tuned.

Really disappointed in Budget car rentals... They offered me a 30% off coupon. However when it was applied the base rental price jumped from 192 up to 251. Some discount plan they have. If I hadn’t been in a rush I would have went with another company. Will however be the last time I rent from Budget Car rental... To add to I ended up having to change my pick up time by a couple of hours later in the day. They charged me 26.00 to do so. Claiming their prices change minute by minute. NEVER AGAIN will I use Budget Car Rental. The only reason they get 1 star is I have no option for 0.

I rented a truck from Budget in Warwick RI and was never told that an EZ pass was in the truck or how to turn it on or off. I subsequently paid all of the tolls in cash and did not get receipts because I did not need them for my records. However, Budget charged me $56.50 for tolls that I already paid and would not reimbursed me since I had paid them in cash and had no proof. I was told it was in the agreement, I should have read it!!! I believe that the associate at the location should have told me about the ez pass and also showed me how to turn it off and on. I would never recommend this company to anyone.

I am writing this in regards to my experience with Budget rentals. My daughter rented a 2018 Ford Flex from Budget, as she was driving back through Kansas City, the window pillar on the driver's side blew off. It was not from any damage on her part, just a faulty window pillar. She was honest with them and explained that it had blew off while she was driving. So now they have sent her a bill of 240 dollars for this window pillar. I called Ford and they said this was common on some Ford products. Also if the windshield had been replaced, someone may have not attached it correctly. I have rented numerous cars from Budget, this is nothing more than having a consumer pay for their parts for their rentals that could not have been prevented.

Seems as if no one cares about what I had to go through. I reserved a car online and was able to make and pay for a reservation. Went to Budget where there was a really long line with only 2 workers. I stood in line for almost 2 hours just for the rep Curtis to tell me they were sold out and I wouldn't have transportation! How unprofessional and why was I able to book online without them having no cars??? Also calling customer service wasn't better! They just transfer and don't offer any type of compensation. How would you like it if you were left stranded??? Then I have to wait 7 days for a refund? Wow! This was my first time using Budget and will be my last!

Needed a FULL SIZE pick up to move my son home from college. Reserved a FULL SIZE truck from Budget - they advertised an F150 XLT Crew Cab or COMPARABLE. I realized maybe I would not get an F150 - but at least a FULL SIZE truck - Chevy - GMC - Nisson Titan - Toyota Tundra - didn't matter. Made the reservation weeks in advance. Confirmed the reservation. Tried calling the rental location at least 10 times on the day of the reservation to confirm they had the truck but was only given a recorded message that my reservation was ready to go.

A prepaid rental reservation number ** was canceled because it was paid (2 months in advance) with Debit card and a minimum score of 700 was not attained. The U.S. average is 687, according to Equifax. I understand this is policy. But it does exclude around 75% of population from renting a car with you with their debit card. The issue is that, multiple calls to Budget national number to go over this policy was never explained to me, on two occasions I was told that a $100.00 hold and license documents were all that was needed. As a person with a slightly lower than 700 score because of a disability and not employed I certainly would not have booked the rental and paid in full two months in advance if I knew and I purposely called to verify the requirements for this reason.

When I rent a car I ALWAYS get COMPLETE FULL coverage for it. When I went to get the rental, I stated clearly that I wanted full coverage. Yet, one morning I noticed a crack in the car's windshield. The Budget employee that received the car was very kind, he checked my reservation agreement, and assured me that it was not a problem considering my coverage. YET 2 MONTHS LATER I SEE A CHARGE FOR $215. I called them and they said I didn't have that kind of damage in my rental insurance. NEVER AGAIN WILL RENT AT BUDGET.

I have never had such a bad experience with any car rental company. I researched and paid for a "Rav4 or comparable" known as the intermediate SUV class. I was given a Toyota C-HR, which compares far better to a Corolla than a Rav4, literally every measurement is closer to the corolla. I crammed my family of 5, four backpacks, one deployment bag (USMC veteran) which is a little larger than typical luggage, and a stroller into this compact car and we went on our way.

I made a reservation to rent from Budget and had to cancel more than 6 days out due to an injury to a family member. I remember reading a statement about a $50 fee which I confirmed from my email stating "If you need to cancel 24 hours prior to the scheduled pick-up time..." But I am almost 7 days out! I can respect inside of 48 hours or day of... but a week out? So basically Budget just hustled me for $50 bucks and lost a customer forever... Real good business model.

Transparency and honesty must be the foundation in any and all reputable business transactions. This was our first and it will be our last time doing business with Budget Rent-A-Car. We were mislead by a "pre pay" charge and later bombarded by a series of extra charges. We should have walked away, just like the couple next to us did, however, we were informed that since we had already made the "pre payment," it would still be charged on our credit card. We felt pressured, uncomfortable, blindsided and taken advantage of. The Budget representative, at the San Jose, Costa Rica airport, Mr. **, seemed bothered by our queries and was condescending. Certainly, not the qualities required in a professional customer service setting. The whole experience was very disappointing, to say the least. And, as if the whole ordeal was not bad enough, our credit card was overcharged. This is unacceptable!

I have never had a worse customer experience in my life than I've had with Budget rental today. I set up this rental car for my boss (Confirmation **). The location (4555 N Keystone Ave, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States-(ID3)) was completely unresponsive and did not answer their phone over 20 times. We requested a pickup, and they never showed up. My boss was finally able to get through to them, and they were rude, then put him on a hold which disconnected after 10 minutes. After multiple call-backs and multiple disconnections, they refused to serve him. Meanwhile, I could not get through to the location and was continually transferred to the corporate customer service line. The corporate service line over and over told me I needed to call the location - an impossible task, as I could not get through to the location.

Rented a car in Brindisi. Refused all extra costs. After 2 weeks holiday brought the car back. 1 week later received an invoice for additional costs. Though I refused everything, the extra page was now signed with something that looked like my signature but wasn't. Extra costs 288 EUR on a rental price of 133 EUR. Pure criminals there. Do not rent your car here.

Rented car in Denver. Checked it in when I was done. Budget employee looked at car. Signed off on car. No damage. 1 month later they send me letter. It has damage. Looked at estimate and pictures. Holy cow. It needs bumper and fender. There's no way I did this or the Budget employee missed it. What an scam. Steer clear of this outfit. What a rip off. On top of that I booked car 3 months in advance. Got there and I was told that car was not here but I got this car for $10.00 extra. When I took car back they charged me a extra $10.45 a day. RUN RUN RUN.

Car rental was fine, but upon return to Hungary we received a mail by post, that three times administration cost will be deducted from my credit card within 14 days for traffic rules violations, unless I cannot prove that the claims have no ground. I requested details five times in order to check what could happen. I received twice an automated Dutch mail; the other three times nothing. After 126 Euros was taken from my card, on the Budget website an invoice became available. (Not sent by mail!) From this the only thing I could see that I was fined three times within 15 minutes, but nothing about why and by exactly whom. (Only a limited characters of the authority’s name is displayed on the invoice, not enough to identify)

Be aware when searching a rental car in Canada that you're not re-routed to a US website!! I got a great price but it was US dollars. Plus calling the 1-800 Nanaimo, BC number after hours gets re-routed to the US, so you think you're calling Canada. Very misleading!

Long story short. We confirmed and paid over 4 months in advance for an SUV Elite for 11 days as we were traveling with friends to SC and back. We postponed our trip to the latest we could because the rental facility did not have our rental in and only had a smaller size SUV which would mean less space for luggage (space). We ended up picking up the smaller SUV at 5:45 pm because ours never came in and was told if we wanted the one we reserved, we would have to travel to Bradley Airport to pick it up. At this point we did not have time to go to another facility to pick up the larger vehicle and our friends had to find alternative transportation. I asked for a refund in the difference of the vehicle and was told that I would have to wait until the transaction was complete and we returned the car.

My husband and I have used Budget Rental for as long as I can remember. Recommend them to our family and friends. I gave 48 hours notice to cancel due to me having to get hospitalized for a chronic lung disease and I’m not able to go this weekend with my girlfriends. I was going to be in the hospital to get IV antibiotics. They said I have to have my paperwork for my cancellation. I am suppose to pick the rental up on Thursday but not going into the hospital until Friday morning. The gentleman on the phone said that if he does not have the paperwork by Thursday night they are charging me $150 for last minute cancellation notice.

I rented a car on internet for 24 hours from Michigan to Chicago, the car was Ford or similar and the cost 138$. When I picked up the car in Waterford and the man said, "I have better car with same price (on the phone he said to other people no more cars for rent) and I accepted his offer. The address to drop off at the Chicago airport was incorrect (I have confirmed that address by email). For 30 minutes late (time to change the location with the traffic at O'Hare Airport) they charge one day more. Finally total cost for rent was 392$. After 2 hours at phone our final bill was 328$, this price for 24 hours and 30 minutes. It was unacceptable but there was nothing I could do. It was a BIG mistake to rent a car from Budget. Never again!!! They are thieves and unprofessional.

I was rented a car at 7/8 tank of gas, took a photo of the level, and returned at the same. Then got charged for not returning on full but I returned how it was given to me which is how it works. They also rented me a smokey car which caused me to get a sinus infection. The employee blew me off and told me where the exit was instead of handling the situation. Disgusted with these scammers, and demand a full refund for my awful experience!

We had a terrible time with Budget in Deer Lake Newfoundland. We had pre-paid a two week rental months in advance of our trip. Our flight from Montreal was canceled, causing us to arrive a day later. We tried to call Budget in Deer Lake and there was no answer. There was no response to our voicemail. We called a main number for Budget and were told that if we pick up our PRE-PAID rental one day late we are breaking the contract. Our only choice was to cancel the reservation. This makes no business sense whatsoever. It was already paid for. We were able to get a car with Hertz, and it turned out to be cheaper than Budget. Budget did nothing for us but add stress to an already stressful travel day with their nonsensical policies. Never again. We had used Budget for years, but no more. Hertz was outstanding in taking care of us.

I am writing in regard to our experience with Budget this past week. We had a reservation that we had made online prior to our arrival in FLL on 7/1/18. We normally use Alamo at that location, but Budget had a great deal on Costco, plus a coupon for our car size (intermediate SUV), which was hard to pass up, so we thought we would give Budget a try. I mean, how bad could it be, right? That was our first mistake. Upon arriving to the car rental facility, we noticed already a huge line at the Budget counter (no other lines at any other counter, other than maybe a couple of people here and there). We waited and waited and waited.

Ottawa Airport Location - I returned the vehicle on time, with a full tank of gas and reasonably clean. Despite the fact that there's nothing in the rental agreement prohibiting pets they have withheld the security deposit on the basis that there was a little dog hair in the car (this is a car with a leather interior and my dogs had been in the back seat for less than an hour). One would presume that they vacuum the cars between customers so it's a pretty safe bet they incurred no out-of-pocket incremental expenses... If I have to I'll take this to court, maybe if there are enough of us a class action lawsuit would be in order.

We were told that we should use their toll responder in the car and we would be billed for the days we used it and it would top out at $19.95. We were billed $34.00 because we also had to pay for the tolls. The people at the counter lied because we said we would just pay the tolls ourselves and they assured us that using the car responder would be cheaper. They did not tell us we would also be responsible for the tolls. Employees are misleading people.

I rented a car at 220 East 9th St., New York, NY, 10003, Budget car rental branch office, during the period: 15 March – 20 March 2018. On the contract I signed it was specified “Please return the vehicle with the same fuel level as you received it”. I got the car with fuel tank almost empty. When I realized, I contacted telephonically the Budget Customer Service about, and was replied that releasing a car with empty fuel tank is now a normal procedure. I returned the car anyway with more fuel quantity than received. Notwithstanding it, I was charged of 48,45 Euro for the fuel. This is incomprehensible and illegal.

Returning a POS, my wife who was visibly hurting from a backache from the POS car seat, arrived just before 0900 and representative (Rosario) opened door and my wife asked if she was open and she responded very rude "No" and left to get her breakfast a few doors down. She returned, closed the door and waited until a few minutes after 9 am and opened the door then asked "are you ready" very sarcastic and my wife replied if she was. She was rude & making faces the whole time she did the paperwork, even answering the phone to chit-chat while we waited.