Budget Car Rental Reviews

My Story is like so many others for this company. I have never dealt with a more incompetent organization before. Requested a truck. They canceled my truck. They ignored me until I went away. That is basically how it went down. This place is a dumpster fire and had I done the smallest amount of research I would have known it. Do not rent from them.

Was told I’d have a rental car at this location. Had a confirmation number and everything. Get here, the representative greeted customers with an attitude because HE left the door open. Showed piss poor customer service. Didn’t even acknowledge me or look up my case, but proceded to help the ** patrons. The representative stated that although I have a reservation and confirmation number, he can’t help us and didn’t offer any solution. I’m from out of town, no car, it’s 95 degrees outside, and I’m carrying lots of luggage. No remorse whatsoever. Yet, he allowed the ** patrons to rent cars and leave.

I had rented a SUV online. It was a great price for a week for 531.00. If we prepay, there was a difference of almost 200.00 to pay at the counter. I was going on a business trip and decided to take the family on a fourth of July week vacation where I was going. I had spoken to Customer Service right after I made the reservation because I needed to change the time of pickup and return and they were great and modified it at no charge. I drove an hour to pickup the card at the airport which I have done before just for them to tell me I couldn't pickup the SUV because I used a debit card (I don't own a credit card), they said the only way for me to get the SUV on a debit card was if I had flight information. I asked the counter lady calmly what my options were and she said there was a place 10 min away that accept debit card and that I would have to call Customer Service to move the reservation.

On June 20,2018. I rented a U-Haul from Budget. They gave me the wrong size U-Haul and I had to bring back the U-Haul to get the right size I originally asked for. On June 21, 2018 I got the U-Haul that I was suppose to get. Later that night the truck cut off in the middle of driving. About 4 hours later it started back up. On June 23 I called Budget to have a roadside come out. No one showed. I called again and again. Now it is June 24 and I call again for roadside to come. Still no one shows. Finally it's June 25, 2018 and roadside service finally comes to jump start the truck. The providers tell me that the battery is no good. That have me a truck that doesn't work. I call customer service. I am hung up and pass from representative to representative. I ask to speak to a supervisor at 600 pm and I was on hold until 745 pm.

It was automatic transmission Fiat 500L, but the automatic did not work. I had to use it in manual mode, most of the time. Once the transmission failed at an intersection and did not engaged, until I turned the engine off completely and started again. Several minor defects (failed tire pressure sensor, door lock not working, light not working...). The phone for the customer service never answered. The claim I sent for the refund was acknowledged but not answered. It spoiled my vacation in Europe.

Rented a car and Budget overcharged me $213. They said that I had the car for an extra day. I have a bank statement for a fuel purchase at the airport for the day I returned the car. They would not reverse the charges. My total was $399 for a seven hour rental.

We agreed to rent a Ford Focus or similar but got an old and dirty Nissan Versa instead. If a Nissan, it should have been a Sentra. The car was equipped with crank-up windows and a CD drive and had no up-to-date features like central locking.

​I had a horrible experience renting a car with Budget. Initially I booked a car online which was a compact car, and was said Ford focus or similar. I had booked it for 4 days and total amount was around $450. When I went to pick my car, the lady said I have booked a car for a size of Cooper and she upgraded it and gave a bill for $512. But the fun part is when I dropped off my car, the total bill was $580. After charging such a huge amount, let me tell you the car was in bad condition. The seats were dirty and ceiling of car was also greased. If I was paying this much, then I could have easily gone with other company which offered better price or for same $580 I could have rented a luxury car instead of dirty car with other rental company. I called the customer service people and tried to explain my situation. He was very rude and disconnected my call. I am never going back with Budget again.

I didn't ask for any additional service, and I would have declined any offered to me. However, they must have defaulted the form to roadside assistance as desired, because I was charged for a service I didn't know I had. Moreover, it was a bit deceptive and that there was nothing due at the time, so I saw a $0 balance and figured I was fine. Instead, I was billed a week later, so they hid the charge at the time of renting.

I prepaid for my car rental. They accidentally charged me twice but refused to take the charge off of my card. They were rude on the phone, wouldn’t admit their mistake, and were unhelpful. I will never use Budget again. My credit card company will take the charge off but Budget should have. Extremely rude!

The staff was unprofessional. She was in a hurry to get off work so when the young got there he walk me around the truck but he was rushing me. I sign the paper he walk off the truck. Was running. So got in the push start truck and drove off then I got down the street and realize I didn't have any key so turn around. When back they was gone. I called Budget. They told me to take the truck home. Someone would pick it up. So I waited for 2 hours for the tow truck to come get the truck.

We had major hail damage. Enterprise was booked. Budget wasn't and they said they would bill our insurance several times. Insurance was fine with that. Insurance never got a bill, Budget put it all on our card and said they do not bill insurance now!!! They said it was a new guy named Anthony... not our problem! We will be returning the car early and going to Enterprise.

BEWARE IF YOU RENT FROM BUDGET! 1) They charged me for an upgrade when clearly I didn’t have one or agree to an upgrade. When I called about it they agreed, but said they had to charge me anyway and then I had to wait for reimbursement! 2) You must return the car within 29 minutes of your scheduled time or be charged an additional day! 3) I left my garage door opener on visor. I filled out a lost and found report but they didn’t find it, so they obviously threw it away instead of turning it in. Customer Service just said he couldn’t deny that. NOT RENTING FROM BUDGET AGAIN. I WILL SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Do NOT rent a car from this company! If I could give them a zero rating, I would. Upon return of our rental car, we forgot to take our GoPro camera out of the backseat. I understand every customer signs a rental agreement that doesn’t hold Budget responsible for lost items, but they need to hold their employees accountable when something like this is reported and brought to their attention. The rental agreement isn’t a free pass for them to steal! We contacted Budget almost immediately after we returned our car. Getting in contact with someone is a nightmare, but after hours of calling we got ahold of someone.

Booked a car online to be picked up at the West Valley, Utah location, and I paid in full for the rental online. I go to the location at noon and they tell me they have no cars. They say I have to go to the airport. So I go to the airport and stand in line for over an hour only to find out they also have no cars available. I asked the attendant to credit my credit card back and she said I'd have to call Budget and get them to do it. Well, the rental was $159 and change, however, they have a cancellation fee of $150!! What a frickin scam that is. I had no car and they are still charging me 95% of the rental rate. Anyway, I went back to the location in West Valley, Utah as there was an Enterprise Car Rental right across the street from Budget. The gist of the story is I was in and out of Enterprise in 15 minutes and on my way in their rental car... and they gave me a free upgrade to a mid size car. Never ever rent anything from Budget car rental!

Budget Rent-A-Car has the WORST customer service that I have ever experienced! Especially if you rent from the LAX location - you will spend at least 1-2 hours waiting in a line (outside in the sun and heat with all your kids and luggage) just to get to the counter. Then they will say they don’t have the vehicle that you reserved over 2 MONTHS AGO (No sorry or anything!)! So you will either need to take another number and wait another 1-2 hours to see if MAYBE someone happens to return that type of vehicle OR you can rent another type of vehicle at an additional cost per day. They will not admit that is their fault for not having the vehicle that you reserved 2 MONTHS AGO! So, your hands are tied and they have you backed against a wall.

Budget SUCKS. I was signed up for their FastBreak program - wasn't told I needed to worry about $10/gallon for returning a vehicle 3/4 of the way full...Guess how much they charged me when I returned my rental? $113! Apparently the vehicle needed 10 gallons to be considered "full" AND they charge a RIDICULOUS amount of money per gallon. Is the fuel MADE OF GOLD??? Here was a direct quote when I attempted to contact the company via their complaint department: "Our records indicate the vehicle was showing returned with 10.00 gallons under a full tank. A fuel service fee of $9.99 per gallon was applied in accordance with the notification on your signed rental agreement."

I was renting a car from them for 6 whole months because I'm a traveling nurse and needed a reliable car in a hurry without being dedicated to a long term loan. I always prepaid online, as it is much easier. I'm also part of their fastbreak program and long term loyalty program where you earn free days, which I never ever got. Anyways, they came and took the vehicle from me stating that I did not pay for a whole month. How is this POSSIBLE? It is on my account showing it is paid for up front. Are they blind? The recovery agent said that there is nothing he can do, so he took it.

I believe I was tricked into purchasing car insurance at the Budget car rental at Denver International Airport. I had prepaid for my rental months in advance and had declined all insurance and add-ons. When I went to pick up the car, I told the employee that I did not want the extra insurance. I never rented a car before, so I took in good faith what their employee told me to do. The screen that I was told to sign was very small and hard to read. I was told to sign the screen in order to rent the car, I left confused and felt like I had been totally taken advantage of. But I didn’t want to cause a scene and was in a hurry to get on my way. After I realized what had happened, I called Budget. They said I had agreed to the extra insurance by signing and that is should have read the fine print. I ended up being charged $259 for something I did not want. I think it is deplorable how this company takes advance of its unsuspecting customers.

Using my Costco membership, I rented a car online for pickup at rental agency on Gillespie Street in Las Vegas. I had requested a Toyota Avalon, a very nice vehicle. When I finally reached the front of the line the reservation clerk told me they had run out of Avalons. Why did they not reserve it for me as requested? The gal was quite pushy and seemed very hurried. She said she had another vehicle that she wanted me to rent, a Nissan Rogue, and as she wrote it up she stated that it was an upgrade to the Avalon. Give me a break! Looking up the value of these 2 vehicles I found the Avalon sells for around $37000 and the Rogue $26000. I was very disappointed in this transaction after having time later to review it.

It was the Memorial Day weekend and I had already booked a car using my Costco membership. I didn't take my confirmation because I know people can look up my information using my ID. The lady at the front desk (San Jose Airport) told me that my rental was for one day, when I had clearly booked it for 3 days. I don't know what she was hoping for, but once I told that I booked it through Costco, she was able to magically find the rental. Then she asked if I would like insurance, because collision + liability comes to less than $100 but wouldn't give me a real value.

DON'T RENT FROM BUDGET/AVIS BUT IF YOU MUST... READ YOUR CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN!!! Look for Loss Damage Waiver fees. Watch this video - it is a great example of what you are in for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSk7mm9cmZ8. I rented and prepaid for a rental car with Budget via their website in February 2018. When I picked up the car, the agent (Zach @ PHX airport) asked me if I wanted additional coverage. I said no. I was charged for the additional coverage. I called customer service 800 214 6094 and spoke to Aydee **. I explained that I never wanted the additional coverage. She said I signed for it on the contract. I said the agent (Zach) asked me and I said no. I signed what I was told to sign. Why would he have me sign for coverage when I said no. Aydee said she believed me but I signed it so I must pay it. Aydee did refund 50% of the insurance cost. This is poor customer service at best and trickery at worst.

First off the rental agent was totally customer-unfriendly, WITH attitude. When I picked up my minivan and got home to pack, I found that lowering the seats revealed tons of dirt on the bed of the minivan. It took me 20 minutes to vacuum, but I didn't phone to complain to the unfriendly sod, which, in hindsight, I should have. On returning the vehicle the same staff member took one glance inside the van and complained that he could see dog hair (my dog hardly sheds, so there was very little). He gave me the option to take it away to be cleaned (which I wasn't going to do at 17:30 and pay an extra hour's rental after having driven 300 miles). So he charged me $75.00 PLUS attitude. Amazing they never complained about the bird crap on the outside.

September of 2017, I took grandkids and two of their friends and my daughter on a cruise for the grands graduation and birthday celebration. I have also been dealing with lots of medical issues including cancer. Because I don't fly, I made reservations for a van to travel to and from Florida for transportation purposes and I also thought it would be good to see other places together. We picked up the van from Maryland, drove to Florida and I was able to see my family and their friends enjoy their first cruise experience and with me! After the cruise, we were taken back to Budget via their driver from the cruise port and was told that we couldn't rent their van that I had already reserved. They said my credit did not go through. That blew my mind because there it was Sunday, every vehicle at other places were booked and we had to be back in Maryland by Tuesday.

I rented two 15 passenger vans from Budget Rent-A-Car in Union Station in Washington DC. When I got there they had gave away one of my vans. I had to sit and wait an hour and half before I got my rental. Then fully understanding that I would return the Vans after they closed they didn't have any instructions. I returned the vans kept the keys because I wasn't sure if someone would steal the vans if I left keys in the van. I returned the keys and then to only find out the Budget had charged my credit card over 500 even though I prepaid for the vans a month before I picked them up.

If I could give a negative amount of stars, I totally would... Rented a car in Charlotte, NC at the airport which was only location open, when my transmission went out in my car and drove it back home to Spartanburg to return it. Was told the charge for returning to different location was an extra $70 (plus the $40 daily charge x 2). When I returned it to this Spartanburg, SC location, Kendall was checking me in, however something was wrong in their computer system and he was unable to do so. He said it was telling him "rate not available" and had to call customer service. I looked around the office while I waited and realized how "janky" this office looked completely empty, dirty and unkept so I had a feeling a bad experience was on the way...

My family and I were on vacation and rented from Budget. We used our air miles thinking we would only have to pay for gas. We ended up paying way more than expected and when we started talking to other people, they paid less for their rental from Budget! Then on our 2nd last day of the trip, our rental car broke down and we spent 5 hours trying to get a replacement car. When I was on the phone with their emergency roadside assistant they informed me they do not bring the replacement car to us. We would have to get it towed to a dealership then go to Budget and arrange for another car. Explained that we were on holidays, we did not have time to go through all of the proceedings that they were telling us. She informed me that this was their policy and there was nothing that they could do.

I have been renting from Budget every week this year for business purposes and each time I rent I enter in my reward number. Apparently all my rentals have been cleared from their system except one of the most recent. I have emailed this company many times and each time I get they are sorry and cannot help me. I feel this is ridiculous because I have rewards through an airline and they were able to update my past flights as long as I provided the ticket number. I will continue to fly with that company but won't continue to rent from Budget due to the fact they are not even willing to assist me with my situation. I travel every week and each time I need a car, my business will be going elsewhere!

I placed an on-line reservation for a Budget rental car at the Dublin Airport. Was never asked my age. When I arrived at the airport Budget told me I was too old to rent or drive a Budget car. Age limit was arbitrarily set at 75 (I am a Marathon runner and a healthy 83). Was told that this exception was explained under "full terms and conditions," linked but not printed on the reservation confirmation.

Set up an appt. a week in advance on a moving truck. I got an excellent price for a two day rental. They sent me a confirmation number along with the reservation. They called us hours before our pickup time and said they did not have a truck available. Customer service said they were sorry and would try to locate us another truck and would call us back in two hours. They never did. I had to call them back two times and each time said they would call us back. Never did! Don’t trust them when you move cause they will cancel on you and they don’t care. I will never recommend them to anyone. Go to U-Haul. They cost a little more but will keep their appt.

I rent a car 2-3 times a month for business trips and would rather ride a big wheel across the country, before I'd ever consider renting a car from Budget again. I was in a crunch for time and had no choice but to go to the closest rental car place... Budget. Aside from the fact that they rented us a car that didn't run... The "service" as they call it, was hands down the worst I've ever experienced. Let me save you all from an extremely lengthy story... We rented a car, car died, we got stranded (in a different state). After being transferred between roadside assistance, multiple local Budget hubs, and customer service, Budget did NOTHING to help and refused to figure out a way to help us swap for a car that ran... Ultimately, we were left stranded in another state and had to pay nearly $1000 for 2, last minute, 1-way tickets home. DO NOT, under any circumstance, rent a car Budget. THE WORST!

Milwaukee Airport - Stolen property - After an overnight drive with my belongings from Nashville to move-in with my boyfriend, we cleared out the rental and cleaned the car and turned it in the same day I got there. I was exhausted having had little sleep and completely forgot that I left some very (expensive) property in a semi-hidden storage compartment in the back of the SUV I rented.

For ANY renters that have limited dollars available on your credit card, you very well may get screwed? Did you know that when you use your credit card to “Pay Now” for a Budget car, you are in for a surprise? If some reason Budget declines your transaction yet you provided your correct credit card number, you won’t get a Rental Confirmation ie... you don’t get your car rental, YET Budget posts the payment with your bank and the purchase comes off your available credit? They’ve done this to me a number of times where for example, I may only have $1000 of available credit on my card and I go to rent a car using the Pay Now feature. If the Pay Now price is $750 and I enter my CC information, Budget gives a message that CC transaction was declined. Yet I immediately checked my bank online and Budget has pulled the $750 from my CC leaving me only $250 available on there. Yet I don’t have a rental confirmation ie... NO Car.

I'm a single mother of 6 children who chose budget to relocate my family to California. We were extremely so excited about this trip but because we were given a truck they was not inspected and actually, didn't even have a full tank of gas. The employee that gave it to us at the Avis/Budget truck rental location in Austin, Texas on Research Boulevard gave us $40 and told us to go fill it up, that should have been a better flag! I was so excited for our trip that I didn't give it much thought. Well it was giving us problems and I was broke down after losing power a few hours later putting our lives in danger as the check engine light and other lights it broke down on Highway 10. It turned out to be a disaster, nightmare and traumatic event in our lives.

We prepaid for a rental for our vacation, to be picked up in the city that we LIVE in. The ONLY Budget location within 50 miles is at the airport. Our bank was immediately debited $400 and we were sent the debit card policy. We met every part of the policy (over 25, good credit, etc) but did not have a “return flight ticket” because we live, work, and own a house in Roanoke - where the vehicle is located. We get there and the CSR refused to run our card as a credit card - although every other business does so. He gave us a “Customer Service” number that would put us on hold and then sound like an agent was picking up. The phone would then disconnect. We tried for over an hour to get an actual CSR on the phone. Dude at the airport wouldn’t call his direct manager.

Rented a car for a week from Budget at Akron-Canton Airport. When I picked up I was asked if I wanted the ‘total protection package’ with no further explanation. When I saw it TRIPLED my bill, I DID NOT sign the agreement, I asked her to take it off. I signed a contract for $305, but she went ahead and held $900 anyway. Money I needed for my vacation 1200 miles away. 1-800# customer service and email contact service was absolutely no help AT ALL. They just tell me to turn the car in where I rented it. Hard to do in Ohio from Florida. Of course the counter at CAK Airport doesn’t answer their phone. Wonder why?! I’m thinking all they get is complaints. Screwed my whole vacation up. Extremely unhappy. Do not ever rent from here!!!

We paid for a van a month in advance. We went to pick it up and was told it isn't there yet. Rick told us that it was in Kentucky about 30 miles away. We asked if we could go pick it up? He said yes. We got to Kentucky and then was told that Rick lied to us. There was no van. They gave us 2 vehicles instead of the 12 passenger van we paid for. The trip took longer. Worst vacation ever thanks to Budget. I will NEVER rent from them again and I would advise everyone not too.

Rented a Premium car. When we got to airport they had only 2 cars that I would not call a premium but a full size. Neither car had heated seats. Being myself and my domestic partner both have back issues and we had a 23 hour road trip we really needed the heated seats which now we were forced to upgrade costing us more money. The only other car they had for us to upgrade was a Chrysler 300. The car was filthy, covered with bug kill and the inside was filthy. When we addressed this with agent they said they roughly clean it and do not detail them. We took the car because we needed to get on the road... I had to pull in a wash and have the car cleaned inside and out... I felt filthy just being in the car... Will never rent from Budget and suggest other don't...

Came to return my rental 2.30 before flight and was waiting to be picked up to the terminal for 35 minutes, as time getting short was there 3 more families returning cars. No one from the staff did care about it. After this I found out they was standing on the other side smoking and drinking coffee, this is not the first time, but this time was too much. Never again.

I would give them 0 stars if I could. So I made a mistake when I booked a car regarding the dates when the car would be picked up and when it would be returned. I discovered the error after arriving at the rental location. I was told there were no cars available, and that there was nothing they could do. I had to cancel the reservation and go somewhere else because I needed a car immediately. I was charged $50 for the cancellation. The customer service agents I spoke with, and there were several, were rude, disinterested, and unwilling to help. It was a joke trying to explain the situation to them.

After renting a Dodge Ram pickup truck from Salt Lake City International Airport for 2 days. I parked the truck on a public Street and at 1:30 in the morning a high-speed chase involved the rental truck and my personal vehicle. I woke up to a crash and police sirens in front of my house. The vehicle being chased crashed into the back end of this Rental Truck and pushed it into my personal vehicle.

I reserved a car online the day before my trip. I paid almost 200$ for the car. I am supposed to be driving from Denver to Aspen. When I got to the counter the woman said I couldn’t use my card for the deposit, that it wouldn’t take it for some reason. Didn’t explain why and turned me away. I did have the 200$ for the deposit and my card worked perfectly fine on their website to reserve the car. I am so confused why it won’t work now. Her advice was to call the 1800 number for a refund that will take almost a week to get back and told me to walk across the street to Enterprise to see what their policy is.

I prepaid for a car rental to save a considerable amount on a budget car rental. I had a delayed flight and informed them one day early with no adjustment to the cost. I got to the counter first thing in the morning to get my car. I told Cindy at the Albuquerque airport that I didn't want any of the extras that they offered. I got the printout with a fee that was less than my prepaid. Come to find out Cindy pulled a fast one and is trying to charge an extra 500 dollars for something that my insurance company or credit card would cover. Hope they don't think I would rent even a scooter from them ever again. Lost a longstanding customer BUDGET!

Hopkins Intl Airport Rental Location - We made an emergency reservation through Priceline for a midsize SUV. The car we requested was "unavailable" when we arrived. The desk agent offered a upgrade since the car was unavailable. Having rented cars many times, we know that sometimes this is done if there are inventory issues. Having used Priceline successfully many times, we know that you pay your negotiated price and the transaction is basically complete. We took the car, which was larger and more cumbersome than what we even wanted, but it was available. The agent never mentioned any associated fee, and we had no reason to suspect one, as the reserved vehicle was unavailable and this replacement is common practice in the industry.

I needed to rent a car for a few days while my car was being repaired. The clerk, let's just call him "slick" asked if we were going to take out their insurance. We let him know we called our insurance and was advised we were covered for rental cars. "Slick" then stated there was a coverage that was 7.95 we said "no", then he stated a coverage that was 5.00, we said "no". Then he stated a coverage that was 11.69 a day and commented, "You know your own insurance probably has a $500.00 deductible, this would cover that." We assumed he was talking about the 11.69 fee. He never stated any other dollar amount. I said, "Okay". Well I found out when we took the car back why he did not mention that charge was.$30.99 a day! Almost the same amount of the daily car rental! Why in the heck would we do that when we had coverage and the additional insurance ended up costing almost as much a deductible.

We rented a car for one day 24 hour period and was told the price would be one thing and when we got the bill on my credit card it was $180 more than what we had agreed on. When we inquired about the overcharges they said it was due to bringing the car back one hour late which was never mentioned to us as to an exact time they wanted the car back. They also overcharged us for insurance by 61.98! Do not rent from Budget Rent-A-Car. They are very deceptive in their business dealings.

I had reserved a 16' foot truck a week prior to our move, into our very first purchased home. We had set up pickup approx. 45 minutes out of the way as they had no inventory anywhere local to us (for the size vehicle we needed). We hired several people to help us complete our move. It took a lot to manage the plan for the day in order to meet our time crunch. A friend drove my husband to the location to pickup the truck. He arrived and there was no truck. The representative let him know they had one truck available about an hour away from this location and the complete opposite direction from our move.

I am in need of car today, 04/28/2018 because I have multiple events going on today. I booked through an agent via phone and to start with the agent was very rude at 8:30 am CA time. I keep telling her to bear with me as I am driving and trying to give credit card information and it seems she doesn't care. All she need me to do is be gone and go on with her life. I am all exhausted in trying to get a supervisor. So I got hold of another customer service (honestly, I think the customer service relations with this company needs to be revamped. So finally, I had my daughter dropped me off at the hotel where the location of the Budget Rental is located.

After a delayed flight arriving to a foreign country... I got the car I booked online which did not hold the baggage as promised, was given a dirty car seat and then had to wait in line once again to get a slightly bigger car for more than double the price. Went from about $250 on the website to an extra $360 = $610 total for a bit more hatch space. Was told I could not take off the insurance for the new car "it comes with it" and with a hungry 1 year old signed trusting that I couldn't do any better. Emailed customer service to get answers - nothing can be done because I signed. Enterprise is so much better - rented with them the month prior.

Budget made me sign a contract with an insurance while I already had an insurance from rentalcars.com (the website I booked with). I was rushed into signing this more expensive insurance while it was never verbally mentioned to me. Customer service is a joke as they will just ignore your e-mails. Be careful or stay away from them.

I rented a car in Orlando Florida, airport location, and drove it to West Palm Beach FL near airport location. I called them after dropping my car off, because I had left my coat in the floor storage in back seat compartment. I was told, I should have checked the car before I left. They could not help me. I called back a week later, because friends, were telling me that doesn't seem right, that they would, say something like that to me. So, I called again, this time I was put on hold, the customer service person (a lady this time, was very nice) she checked on car, said it was, already rented for 2 weeks.

Rented an SUV that they put a plug in the tire that we did not know about and of course that caused us to get a flat within 24 hours. One month later they charged us $573.44 for repair, roadside, administrative costs. I called to dispute and they would not allow it. WORST RENTAL COMPANY OF ALL TIME. This was only one of my issues with them... they also overcharged us originally and would not refund us, also the car was dirty and had pieces broken on the interior.

6 weeks after renting from Budget I received an email claiming they found a chip in the window and I was going to be charged 55 for this. When I picked up car I signed a damage slip noting the damages. I left my paperwork in rental when done by mistake. I let them know it was on their damage slip I had signed. They responded with show us the paperwork. So they never checked their paperwork before contacting me and when telling them it was already there they still didn't check the paperwork. Instead I had to go down to Budget and hope it was there.

While arranging a trip to New Orleans I received a quote for a rental from the New Orleans Airport location through the airline. The quote was for $318.17 and included a request for a GPS. When actually paying for the rental the charged price was $412.34. After returning from the trip I disputed the extra charge and was given the run around with Budget claiming that I was quoted the $412.34. Finally, after sending them copies of the original quote four times (to different people that I was routed to) they acknowledged the $317.18 but said that the extra charge was for the GPS and other fees. I filed a complaint through BBB to which Budget continued to deny any wrongdoing. Ultimately they said that they considered the matter closed and that I was charged appropriately. Check BBB for documentation.

I used the Budget Rent a Car to make an online reservation. I hit submit and the transaction did not go through as, according to the website, I had entered the wrong credit card information. I re-entered the credit card number, submit it and the transaction processed. My credit card, AMEX, informs me of all online transactions.

I recently rented a car from Budget Rental, Denver International Airport. After I returned the car and returned home, I checked my credit card statement and noticed that I was charged a re-fuel charge for a full tank of gas. I filled the tank in Brighton, CO 20 minutes from the airport. I wonder how any people are getting ripped off from Budget if they don’t check their account.

I prepaid for a rental on Feb 22 for $260.88 and when I went to pick up, there was an issue renting due to debit card policies. It has now been nearly 2 months, multiple phone calls where I got the run-around from various "customer service" reps telling me to wait anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks. Needless to say, I've received nothing. This is fraudulent business!!! Not providing the service that's been paid for and refusing to return the money is called stealing. And it's illegal. Case: ** Reservation: **.

I received a coupon rate from Budget for $485.28 for a 10 day rental. When I went to pick up the car they said they had 1 Ford Edge on the lot but it had a Navigation system that I didn't need or request. They wanted to charge me an extra $100 for the 10 day rental for the upgrade. I told them that I did not need the Nav system and did not want to pay for it. They told me I would have to dispute this with the billing department. I received my final bill which stated that I had agreed to pay for the upgrade. Not true! I tried calling customer service for 45 minutes and kept getting disconnected.

After nightmare with Enterprise still unresolved! Budget is a dream, rented a car 2 weeks under 400. No hassle, reserve online, arrived, showed driver's license, handed me keys. A breeze!! Stress free. A++. Budget meets your budget. :)

Went into the Budget on Holcomb Bridge Road on 4/11/18 at 8:30 a.m. to inquire about a car rental and the gentleman didn’t even have a copy of the requirements and told me to go to another location for a rental because he didn’t have what I needed. He also stated that he would not call the other location for me, so I’ve decided to go to Enterprise where they pride themselves with excellent customer service.

I rented a car from the Seattle airport to drive home. I was told to drop it off by 2:30 the next day. I dropped it off at 2 pm, but they were all closed at 11 am because it was a Sunday, and anything dropped off after closing is charged an extra day. I called customer service, but not only did George ** not care, or even TRY to help, he got rude, threatened to charge me even more, and claimed that he had no supervisor, or boss to refer to. I can't even know if that's his actual name and number or not.

The rental of the car was all done online via pre-pay as they offered the best price. The car we we're supposed to get was a Chevy Malibu or similar, what was supplied seemed smaller but we weren't driving much so it wasn't too big of a deal. Their computer system was down, so they had to write up all agreements by hand. They gave us the option to purchase gas or have them fill it (their price was 4.99 a gallon I believe). We chose to fill the car before returning to the airport and it only had 7/8 of a tank when we left, which the agent pointed out to us. We were billed after returning the car for "fuel expenses" of $16.31, the car was filled within 5 miles of the airport.

I left my husband and my handicap placard on the visor of the Budget rental. When my husband went back to retrieve the placards he was given only his. When he questioned my placard he was told, "Oh I thought you only wanted that one." REALLY??? So my husband made the guy go back to get it. He asked for our phone number and said go to the gate at the Orlando airport and I will get the placard. He called us to say he got it and would mail. Three weeks later still no placard. Budget sent me a claim stating it was never turned into lost and found and the guy who I called claimed to have given it to them. He proceeds to text me a phone number to get through to Budget -- Dish TV phone number.

4 people in front of me, I waited 34 minutes to check in. After checking in I had to wait 45 minutes for a valet driver to bring me my vehicle. Complained to check-in desk but they were completely useless and VERY unsympathetic! HOW DISGUSTING!!! Rent a sled dog team next time you're in the Jacksonville Airport instead of these buffoons!!!! At least you'll be greeted by a happy smiling face. SHAME ON THE JACKSONVILLE AIRPORT "BUDGET" RENT A JERK OUTFIT!!!

Worst customer service. When the location is closed, they shouldn't allow drop off. Else they should have the facility to see when we dropped off. On top of that they cannot charge both late fee as well as one day rental charge. Worst rental car services in the market.

On a recent family trip to Florida we arrived at the Budget Rent-A-Car counter at Tampa International Airport on time. The line up was horrific and it took over an hour to get our car. The excuse was they were very busy and it was taking a long time to clean and prep the larger SUVs and vans. Too bad! They know the confirmed rentals and therefore, should have those vehicles prepared in advance. I have never experienced this with National, Enterprise or Hertz. To add insult to injury. We filled up the car, before heading to the airport, but still got dinged for 1/8 tank. ($23.00 charge!!) Plus the airport fee was not included in the estimated extra charges, but was on the final bill! Never had surprises like this from the competitors. Not really "budget" at all.

We had a confirmed reservation at Budget, Fort Lee, NJ location. Came to pick up the car (on time!), were told they ran out of cars and we better search for the car elsewhere. Budget representative did not try to help, refused to call other Budget locations to locate available car for us. We tried calling Budget Central Reservations, where representatives told us that their system is down for undefined period of time and they can't help us either. As a result, we had to cancel our plans, got stuck without a car with three kids in tow and nowhere to rent the car till Monday morning (since every other rental around us is closed on Sunday). "Great" service, Budget. Never again...

I had reserved a small SUV in advance of our trip at the Greece NY location. On the day we were to Pick-up our vehicle they told us it wasn't available until the next day. We were given a # to call ourselves. We did and were told if we went to the ROC location we could get a full size car for the same price. When we arrived at the airport we were told there was no car available and given a # to check back that afternoon. We had prepaid and now we're late getting on the road to a wedding. I ended up renting the vehicle we were supposed to get from Alamo for twice the amount but they were very accommodating and saved the day!

Upon picking up a reserved rental through Costco in AZ, there was a 45 min wait. Budget's computers crashed. I was asked if I wanted insurance to which I replied no because my car insurance covers rentals. When I returned the car they added on not only insurance but a fee for loss damage. The fees ended up costing more than the rental. Again, I DID NOT agree to those extra fees. They charged me $450 for 4 days. I spoke with several people who were so rude and would have nothing to do with making this right. I stopped payment on my Visa for the extra fees and paid the rental fees. They have been sending me threatening letters since Dec. I finally paid the fee off to get them away from me. What an awful company. In reading other complaints, this is commonplace for them. They should not be able to get away with this.

Due to incorrect information given by Budget representatives on more than one occasion, my accumulated partner airlines miles account was reduced to zero. Budget said sorry but that there was nothing they could do about it. After forty years of loyal patronage and several frustrating months of trying to resolve the issue with Budget, I have decided to never use Budget again. I would rather walk. There are plenty of other reliable rental cars companies. I would recommend you use them. It's not worth the risk.

When I picked up my car the gentleman was trying to get me to buy all this insurance and I said no. His last one he said just covered the car for $35... Most people just get that. So I said well I have my own insurance and I bought insurance through Expedia so I didn't need that. He said, "Well for $35 you can't go wrong." In a weak, tired moment I said ok. Less than 10 hrs later, the next morning I looked at the contract and realized it said $35 per DAY. I immediately called customer service and spoke with oscar and he told me nothing could be done until I turn the car in. I kept asking if there was absolutely nothing that I could do to get this insurance off and he said no, not until I turn it in.

Received a letter in the mail, 2 weeks after we rented a car from Budget, that they are charging us $75 extra for cleaning service, because they discovered sand on the floor/carpet. I requested photos, which I have included here. The sand is nothing that a standard vacuum cannot deal with. Very disappointed in their customer service! Person on the phone, told me that they could have charged me $250, as you have to return the car exactly as you received it. The way we returned the car was normal wear and tear for a rental of 6 days.

Several months ago I filed a complaint against the manager, Mohamed **, of the Burnsville, MN location. I recently reserved a vehicles online through carrentals.com. I went to pick the vehicle up not remembering he was the one I filed a complaint against. Instead of Mr. ** ensuring I had a better experience than the last time that led to my initial complaint, he abused his authority and use it to retaliated against me. He downgraded my rental and lied about it being the same vehicle size for the same price. Then he gave me two filthy vehicles. My kids' vehicles are cleaner than these cars. Then when I found a vehicles that was clean he lied and told me that it was another customer's.

I had a horrible renting experience with Budget Rental in Oakland international airport. My reservations was for 1200 noon, March 24th a Saturday, and to return Sunday the 25th! I arrived at 1200 and sat in line for a hour, couldn’t get a car immediately and ended up leaving by 130! When I was driving at 35 I felt shaking in the wheel in the luxury vehicle I rented. I got on the freeway and the shaking became worst at 65 mph. I Didn’t have time to take the car back so I went home while calling roadside service! The 1st agent gave me the wrong drop of information to return and get a new vehicle in my city, by telling me a address that wasn’t in my state! So I called again and was disconnected twice so I started getting names and badge numbers.

I had reserved a car online and had a confirmation number. When I arrived from my flight to West Palm Beach airport location, there were many online waiting with 2 at counter to "help." The one older lady employee rudely stated she would be leaving because she had been there since 6 am working. That left one gentleman at the counter. She stared that if we all wanted quicker service that we should take the courtesy shuttle from the airport to another off site location because there were many more who could help us, and it would be quicker! What a deception! I took the shuttle (along with many others who had also wanted at the airport location) and once inside, saw that there were several working at counter...but the line there was much longer.

This company sucks and rip off. They require you an enormous deposit of 500 U which is equivalent to $617.28. Car rentals normally require a deposit of $200.00. To lure a customer, they asked you to put a small amount of reserve deposit for a car rental. Once you made a reservation, they asked you to block in your credit card 500 Euro. Bad business for Budget Rent-A-Car.

Waited over 2 hours in-line. Asked deliberate irrelevant questions in order to add things up on the bill. Paid for mid-side and went out to garage and car was not there. Was given a compact car by attendant. Frustrated at 1:00 am in the morning to start vacation. Will never use Budget again. Horrible Service.

I had the same experience as most other reviewers. I stood in a line of about 25 people (I took a photo and counted) for an hour to check in at the airport location, then I had to wait outside another 1/2 hour with two small children for a car to be brought around to each those same 25 people. The desk has over 8 kiosks but only 3 are staffed and one is dedicated for a fast break marketing gimmick which makes everyone else in line wait even longer. The delay forced us to be unable to drop the car off before closing the same day which caused inconvenience and additional overnight parking expenses. As is typical in the industry, upcharging was aggressive, but Budget really seemed unethical about it.

My husband travelled to Hartford, CT in February. I rented the car online through Southwest Airlines. The original quote, all inclusive, was approximately $200. When my husband arrived at the counter he was told he was a day early but they would accommodate him. The clerk asked my husband if he wanted to upgrade and he said "yes" BECAUSE she told him it would only be $18 more a day. When he signed the contract it was for over $580 and he assumed this was an estimate. When he arrived to drop the car back to Budget we were charged $585.02. Even if we were charged an extra day for being early (though he also returned it a day early) this is an outrageous fee. My husband has written directly to Budget and they basically said, "you signed the contract." We are disheartened by this experience and would never rent from Budget again. We will also continue to push for remuneration from Budget.

I had reserved a midsize vehicle. After a counter delay due to lack of available cars I was given an economy (compact) car and my contract stated midsize. I questioned the representative who assured the Ford Fiesta was a midsize vehicle. After having trouble with the size of the car I tried to upsize at another office where I found out the Fiesta was NOT a midsize as I had been led to believe. I was given a smaller car than I was charged for! BUYER BEWARE. I will forever avoid Budget and will tell whoever will listen they should do the same! An attempt to get charges changed at the issuing office after much argument resulted in a paltry 10% managerial discount because "there was no way to rewrite the contract."

7923 West Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. Multiple customers complaining at the same time. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. Team members mumbling disparaging comments about customers in their presence. Conflicting information from the different team members. Information that does not coincide with the website terms and conditions nor the T&C on the reservation confirmation. Team member contradicting her own information during the interaction. Team members smoking in front of the building in plain view of customers and my family and I are non smokers. JUST TO NAME A FEW ISSUES.

Budget rental West Palm Beach. Giving this company one star is way too much. We rent a car 6-10 times a year and not ONCE was there not massive wait or problems even with a FastBreak card. Their system is ancient and it takes forever to check in or out. The staff is beyond useless and their customer service is terrible. There are ALWAYS at least 3 frustrated customers asking to see the manager (which is also useless) when we are there. Can’t wait to buy a car so I don’t have to deal with them ever again...

We rented a Budget car through Costco (free additional driver). The rental line happened to be 40 or 50 deep and slow. I was waved over by Mark as my turn came. He found the reservation for a intermediate, which would be ample for our 2 pieces of luggage. Mark however insisted that we would not be happy and did his best to upsell me to a larger vehicle for an additional $40 a day (more than double my quote). I insisted the car was fine. Then Mark started on the extra insurance. I told him I had 5 million liability as well as the Platinum card coverage. Reluctantly he moved on to the tank fill up prepay etc. You then don't sign a document but a signature pad as the accept/declines scroll by.

After waiting in the Costco line way too long (there were two lines in Vegas airport rental, the regular line was same length but had 6 agents, Costco/prepaid line only had 1 so it didn't move, made customers very angry) they did not have a car available, at 10 am when rental was set for 830 am pick up. The agent kept leaving the desk to look for a car, for a long time. She tried the hard sell of insurance that cost as much or more per day than the rental. She told us this is Vegas, you are responsible for the days the vehicle would get fixed, in addition to our deductible, more threats. Warned us a penalty if we smoked in the car.

I had written a review of my experience with Budget, which was not a good one. However, I was contacted by their Customer Service dept and they refunded my account and apologized for the inconvenience and problems I had encountered. This was the resolution I was looking for and therefore I will upgrade my review to a more positive note. Thank you to Budget customer service for their prompt reply and for their willingness to resolve the problem.

Booked and paid for a standard car in advance. Went to pick up the car and was told they didn't have it. I would have to take a smaller car. Agent said I was lucky to get a car at all. I'm 6'2" and 240 and too large for the small car. Budget Customer service wasn't much better, offering only to credit the price difference after reading responses from a script. When I said I was going to post a review, she insinuated maybe she wouldn't send the credit.

Very disappointed. I reserved a car in January 2018 for a trip our family of 7 adults were taking in March 2018. Paid for car in full at time of reservation in January. I was told we were getting a Dodge grand caravan because I told them a Pacifica was too small and the caravan was confirmed. The morning before we were leaving I called to confirm the caravan and the woman said, “Yes a caravan is reserved for you for tomorrow.” I received a call back later that day asking if I could come in and pick up the car a day early at no extra charge because they were running out of cars and she wanted to make sure we got the caravan before it got rented out beneath us. An hour and a half later my daughter and I made the trip to the rental shop and when we got there we got the paperwork confirming the car and when I looked at the type of car it was listed as a Pacifica.

I booked a reservation with Frontier Airlines. At the time of reservation I was given the option to book a car with Budget Rent A Car. I booked a car and was given a price of $110. I had a printed confirmation in my hand with the number. They said the number on it was not good enough. I printed it right off the Internet from Frontier. I also pulled it up on my phone. Neither were good enough for them to process are rental for the weekend.

If there was a zero star rating, I would give Budget a zero. I will NEVER rent with them again. Their prices seem to be the best, so that's probably what draws people in. But in the end, it's a big hassle and they get away with money you shouldn't owe. My husband and I prepaid for a rental car online. We drove 15 or 20 minutes to the airport to pick up our car that we reserved, and were told they didn't have the type of car we reserved, and the car they offered us would cost an extra $300. My husband asked them why the computer let him book a car when they didn't have any cars left (side note - other car rental websites tell you when a certain type of car isn't available at the branch you're searching!).

I prepaid then when I went to pick up they told me I was not able to get the rental. I called for my refund. They told I would get a full refund. A week later nothing so I called back again. They told me sorry for the misunderstanding they were going to process it. When I called another 5 days later is when they said it was processed incorrectly so they had to send it again so give it another 3 days. Day 12 and still no refund... I got a rental the next day and paid so they got more out me than they should have. So now I have to file a complaint with my bank.

I rented a Nissan Versa for a week I prepaid. When I got in it the seat was too far back so I tried to pull it up and it was broken so I had to drive home barely touching the gas pedal because I'm so short. My boyfriend ended up fixing it. The customer service representative didn't even go outside and go over the car with me for dents or dings or anything like that. She just handed me the keys and sent me on my way. I returned the car one day early after prepaying for a week. Called customer service and asked if I could get a refund for the extra day and they told me know it's in the contract that the customer cannot change the contract. There are no refunds. I will never rent from this company again!

On March 5, 2018, I picked up my rental car in Colorado Springs. I reserve a Jetta, they gave me a Nissan Altima. The car was dirty inside and outside. Tire pressure is low, which means it uses more gas. The car needed service yellow triangle with an exclamation mark is lit up. Another one which shows in the image (not sure what it is) uploaded is lit up. When a person spent $348 on a rental, I expect it to be at least clean.

I have a complaint about very poor customer service and possible fraudulent behavior by Budget CSR's at the Denver airport. On March, 8, 2018, I arrived at the Denver airport Budget car rental area. The reservation was already paid for through Travelocity. I was asked about an upgrade, which I did agree to at $5.00 per day of my rental. I was asked if I wanted to purchase insurance, which I said I did not want to purchase. I was asked to sign a waiver stating that I did not want the insurance, BUT it turned out to be a document stating I DID want insurance, which was charged to my debit card, essentially cleaning out my checking account leaving me with no money for my business/leisure trip. This was my first experience getting a rental car, so I was not sure what to do. I contacted my mother since she had a lot of experience with rental agreements.

This another company that can't care less about the customer. There is no sentiment or understanding here. Everything is based "on paper" or "corporate" decisions. Go somewhere where they value you as a customer and understand needs. I rented for 2 days, I did not receive the agreement right away because they had some technical difficulties. The guy in charge told me that to add an extra day I will just have to pay up to 118.00 (original two days $77). I called and they said it was fine to add the extra day for that price. Then I go return and I get hit with an extra 90 dollar charge.

I would give less than 1 star if I could. I would not recommend anyone rent a vehicle from these crooks. I reserved a car from the SLC Budget at 235 W, 500 S. Not only did they not have the type of car I wanted, but they ended up providing a vehicle with expired registration. I had to spend an hour waiting while they drove to the airport to get updated tags. Secondly, I had the misfortune of riding over a nail. The person helping me said it was an easy fix. However, I got charged for a brand new tire and the shipping of said tire from New Vegas. Plus a $50 administrative fee. I imagine that extra administrative fee is just added to steal just a little bit more from me. It costs $10 to $20 to repair a tire. Budget stole over $200 from me. Never do business with Budget.

Worst rental car experience ever. I am 53 years old and average two trips a year so I have a great deal of experience vacationing. First off dealing with a secondary party such as Expedia or Priceline will get you a better price but almost guarantee lousy customer service if you need it. In this case I made the reservation and put my husband's name on it. I was the additional driver and it was put on my credit card. My husband ended up arriving to our destination several hours before me so caught a ride to condo with other travelers in order to leave the car for me. When I arrived they would not let me take the car until he signed for it. Would not work with me, said it wasn't their contract. It was Priceline's. Called Priceline and they said it was Budget's contract... My husband had to take a 80 minute cab ride that cost 160 dollars back to me.

Rented a Budget car online to be picked up at Reagan Airport (DC) on 02/25/18. There were no lines (8:00 a.m. - Sunday). The rep got us all set up quickly. I made it clear that we needed NO added insurance. Also, she recommended that I choose the gas tank option in which I would not fill the tank up before returning the car because they charged a gallon price very close to the public price in the area. So, I agreed. We didn't end up traveling as much as we had planned, but I did put some gas in the tank prior to a 200-mile round trip. When I returned the car, the tank registered between 1/2 and 3/4 full. In that sized car that meant that the gas fee should have been a bit less than $20.00. Checkout was fast and we received a paper receipt.

I rented a car from Budget and returned it in the same condition with a full tank of gas. They refuse to refund the deposit they never said they were deducting from my account. When I contacted them on numerous occasions including reporting them to BBB their response was generic saying they refund at the time of return. When I called them they told a different story saying it would be refunded 5-10 business days. Each phone call I was told a different number of days. One month later - NO REFUND!! Do not rent from them!!

Left new jacket in back seat of rented vehicle. Notified Budget location the next morning! Told to fill out lost and found report and informed I would be informed every 3 days of status! Completed form and submitted! Contacted customer service 3 days later. Was transferred to different agents 8 times! Each agent informed me that I was transferred to someone who could not help! Over the next several days I attempted to find a customer service rep. or ANYONE that could help to no avail! Budget/Avis has the WORST customer service department that I have EVER encountered! Never use their services again and highly will recommend that others stay away also!

After pre-paying for our rental car, as we always do with rental cars, it said that our total would be $700 for 1 month. Once we got the car we realized that was not the total and with “extra fees” we're being charged double this price of $1400. Rather than marketing your cars at a low price I would prefer if I were told the actual price so I can go with another company that has a car for a BUDGET price! Rip off company!!!

My car broke down and needed repair. The repair took longer than expected so I had to extend the length of my rental a few times. This for which Budget charged $10 each extension. I paid $632 to rent a compact size car for 10 days. When I returned the car they charged me an additional $60 as a late fee. If I requested an extension and was charged each time I did so, why would you then charge me a late fee upon return? Horrible, no customer consideration at all. That was my first time renting from Budget and it is sure to be my last, back to Enterprise this customer goes!

Had reservation for Phoenix rental last weekend. Had to stand in line for ONE HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTES to accomplish paperwork. ONLY 3 AGENTS on duty at 8:00 on a Friday night! Then returned car five hours EARLY and was told by agent that I was entitled to a refund or credit but would have to go back to counter upstairs. Did so and 35 minutes later was TOLD I WAS LIED TO and they would grant no refund. Totally unacceptable customer service.

Rented SUV at Bangor airport, paid in advance 355.00, went to pick up rental and they said they could not be able to rent the car because I didn't purchase the rental with a major credit card. In 2016 I rented a car and did not have this problem using the same card. Budget Rental wake up. Not everyone wants or needs credit cards. If you care at all about customers at all go back to the way it was in 2016. We were happy about our trip then that had no stress at the airport. Avis rental was able to help us. Budget after they had my money could not. I called customer service after I returned from our trip. Customer service in Mexico they could not help me. An American lady called yesterday to explain they changed their new policy. 2-28-18.

DO NOT PREPAY FOR YOUR RENTAL AT BUDGET RENTAL CAR!!! I made the mistake of modifying my rental with BUDGET and it said on my receipt that I had a (refund) amount due me within 7-10 days of returning the vehicle. I called to see when the refund was going to be issued and they said there wasn’t going to be a refund. Their reason was that I returned the car early which early to them was from the original prepaid rental date. I made the rental for 3 days originally and modified it the same day for 1 day so I could get a refund instead of getting charged a $50 cancellation fee. I never get charged for returning a vehicle early, however, they said if you return the car before the ORIGINAL prepaid date you forfeit any and all money you would have gotten charged had you kept the original dates. TOTALLY RIDICULOUS and what a scam!!!

WOW WHAT A CRAZY BAD EXPERIENCE. We rented a car to be picked up in HNL airport. Picked up our bags and hustled to the Budget counter only to be met with a line that went out the door and down the stairs. To state the other car rental companies had maybe 10 people in line at the very MOST. My husband waited in line almost 2 hours to get our car. They had three people working at first then one left so down to two. There was a couple at one station that were disputing their billing amount so really for one hour it was only one and he could have cared less if he worked hard and then we had to find our car in a huge ramp. I will NEVER rent from Budget again even if the price is good. When we rented in Lihue we were in and out of Enterprise in 20 minutes paperwork and all.

Prepaid for rental of a car with Budget at Nashville Airport. When I picked up the car, it had a cracked windshield. Pointed this out to Agent, who marked it on the rental agreement. When I turned the car in at Memphis airport, I filled out a report indicating that the windshield was cracked when I rented it. Now Budget is charging me $184 to repair the windshield. Don't rent a car from Budget - they are thieves.

I prepaid for a car rental on 2/14/18 for the dates 2/17-2/19/18. Unfortunately, I discovered later that I would no longer need the car rental and cancelled the same day, 2/14/18. However, Budget still charged me a $50 fee! I could understand if the cancellation was less than 24 hours of the reservation date, but I cancelled several days in advance. Budget charged me for doing nothing, and I was penalized for prepaying in good faith. As a result, I will NOT be renting from Budget in the future.

Prepaid for our car, got to Tampa airport and they were OUT of cars! At least 150 people were stuck at their mercy waiting for vehicles to be brought in! They acted like this was no big deal. We waited at least 2 hours after landing to get a car. Meanwhile, all the other rental companies were well stocked.

Booked and paid for a VAN in January. Got to the airport February 10th, 2018 to pick up the VAN and we are told that we booked it thru a 3rd party and it wasn't a Budget contract. Third parties are Orbitz, Kayak, Hotwire and anyone else that is not Budget, but they all make contracts for Budget. No VAN and the 6 of us (all adults) are standing there with our luggage asking how we can get the VAN and just go. We can't, we are offered an economy for $200 more than what we paid for the VAN, did I mention there are 6 of us?

I prepaid for a 3 day compact car rental from Orlando Airport. Cost-$142. Fair. When I had to extend my rental due to my elderly mother being hospitalized and requiring surgery, I called both the main Budget Reservations AND the Airport location. But, everything was not fine when I returned the car when I said I would. Total price charge for 1 week compact (an added 4 extra days) was $667. Budget’s response was “this is a valid charge”. Not in my mind. This was not a vacation trip, money is tight in my world and I feel that Budget totally ripped me off and took advantage. I will never use them again and recommend others beware.

We prepaid for a van to transport a team, however, the van, although booked and paid for with a school CC, could not be picked up by our coaches that would be driving it. I tried to ask why it was not possible for them to pick up the van and there was no reasonable answer. Since it was impossible for me to pick up the van, I had to cancel the reservation. We had to pay a $50.00 fee and Amie the rep I spoke to was not helpful in the least. Horrible customer service and lack of understanding for our issue. Our community will all hear about this and Budget will never get the schools or my personal business ever again. I hope the $50.00 was worth it!

There is no mention during pre-paying of having to give a second card and a hold of over $200 more dollars for renting a vehicle with your company. I regret not using Enterprise as usual; no wonder your rental was considerably less than theirs when I was researching for quotes. I will definitely be writing in to AARP about this since I went through their system to rent from you guys. Also their phone system is either messed up or you intentionally train people to pretend to not hear customers when calling in as I called nine times due to this tactic.

Tampa Airport Budget Car Rental - Waited in line for 45 minutes to pick up our PREPAID luxury SUV rental. Agents very poorly trained. Manager came out from back - saw huge line of customers waiting and didn't assist his staff or any customers. Manager's name is Matt and he was an arrogant jerk. Received car with warning light for low tire pressure. Gas tank not completely full. Will never rent from these bozos again!

We reserved a tahoe to be picked up on a Friday at 9:00 am. They confirmed by text the reservation at 9:00 Thursday morning then at 2:45 that afternoon called to tell me it wouldn’t be in until 12:00 on Friday. So my $400 rental was going to be late messing up the timing of the trip and all they could say was “too bad!” They told me I could drive to Charlotte to pick it up myself if I needed it sooner! When I contacted the 1-800 number the nice person on the other end told me they may not even have my rental and that sometimes the previous renter has not brought it back yet! Rent from anyone else, the savings are not worth the risk of not getting the rental.

Despite having a contract stating that my rental was paid in full, I was charged an additional $166 upon turning in the car. So in short, I was forced to pay double for a GPS (that was old), and charged $45 for fuel even though the car only needed 8 gallons. I was also forced to take a vehicle that I did not want. I reserved a nice car, but was told it was unavailable upon arrival. I'm not sure if they know what reservation really means. Bad business Budget. Never again. There are way too many other rental companies to choose from...

Had minor damage to rental (cracked oil pan). Filed claim with my personal insurance. Budget refused to provide repair bills with ins co. Said they do not deal with claims. Charged my credit card $1000 and said I would have to be reimbursed by my insurance co because they do NOT deal with insurance companies. Took them over 2 months to send me the repair information so I could officially file the claim, although I had informed my insurance on 11/ 25/17 which was the date of the accident. Got the information from Budget on 2/2/18. Would give all zeros for service if possible.

After landing in MCO airport Orlando Florida, we proceeded to pick up our prepaid car at BUDGET. Worst experience ever. The staff works in slow motion. When we arrived at the Budget rental, there was a line of at least 35-40 people. There were 5 staff working in a snail's pace mind you. But the three of them decided to take breaks. Unbelievable, now down to three workers. None of them seemed to care at all that there was a huge line! Then to make it worse another worker decided to take a break, two left!!! We ended up getting to the counter 2 hours later. When we finally got our paperwork done we were sent across the street to pick up our much awaited car. We had to drag our luggage all over the parking lot to find our car. No one around to help you out.

The line at the Budget Rent-A-Car moved at a snail's pace and the line kept growing as I waited for my car. I waited 2 hr and 5 minutes to pick up a car that had been prepaid. Although this was unacceptable, I really feel sorry for the people behind me! Seems like all management can do is apologize. Let's help management out: DON'T RENT FROM THIS PLACE.

I recently booked a 6 day vacation through Expedia which included a terrible flight with Spirit Airlines, and an even worse experience with Budget Car Rentals. This was supposed to be a joyful reunion with my family whom I haven't seen in about 7 years! I had a car reserved with Budget at their Logan Airport location and was "greeted" by a racist counter associate that tried to sell me every conceivable upgrade possible. I declined and accepted the basic reserved vehicle. Mind you this was Jan. 6th, single digit temps. with a wind chill effect.

Met our son in Florida for a weekend. His airline was arriving before ours. Reservation for car was put in his name. He is 24 years old. We were told by a Budget customer service agent since he was active duty military under 25 years old that he would NOT be charged extra for the car (under age of 25 years old are sometimes charged extra) as long as he shows military ID and had a credit card in his name. He was charged DOUBLE of what the reservation email stated. We have called Budget four times since and are told something different every time we call. Not sure who to call or who to believe. Very dishonest company. I am so disappointed.

On December 22, 2017 we arrived at the Budget rental counter to pick up a minivan that had been reserved since July. We stood in line for over 1 hour because they only had one employee working. We were finally assigned a vehicle. When we arrived at the designated space, the vehicle was a VW Beetle. So we went back to the counter. After getting another assignment, we walked around the van but didn't see any problems. The following morning we got back in the van only to be alerted that one of the tires was down to 16 pounds of pressure. Of course we stopped at the first station to fill it up at our expense.

I needed a rental car quickly after my car died. Enterprise needed a credit card which I was not able to give at that time, I asked if they could just use my debit card but they turned me down, and lost my business. I called Budget, who told me they could run my debit card to perform a credit check, and then use that. They held a car for me to pick up the following morning. Everything worked out great, we got an SUV that was in perfect condition, clean inside, etc. The Customer Service (Chicago, IL) was excellent. Dropping off the car was just as easy as picking it up. No crazy charges, no questions, no hassle. I would definitely use Budget again!

I was returning to Charleston SC on January 4th 2018 after a family vacation after being delayed by a freak snowstorm, Charleston airport was closed and we had to spend the night in Atlanta. We were able to fly to Myrtle Beach SC on January 5th 2018. I have been a customer of Budget since 2000 and have rented lots of vehicles over the years, I picked up a Ford Explorer at Myrtle Beach airport for a one way trip to return the car on the 6th to Charleston airport and pick up my car that was left in Charleston airport parking, after getting back to my home in Johns Island SC that night the temperatures dropped into the teens and made all roads impassable.

I had to travel to be with my family when my father was very ill and in the hospital. I booked my rental (in Charlotte, NC) through Expedia. The car interior was extremely soiled (looked like someone had urinated on all the seats), called to report, they were very apologetic; stopped at a store, returned to car, wouldn't start. Called roadside assistance with Budget, they dispatched someone, but charged me - seemed terrible since I was already paying for the car. Wrote a complaint, they responded (my recap), "Gosh we're sorry we didn't meet our own expectations, we're not going to give you any compensation, but thanks! Your complaint will help us improve". Rotten car, rotten service. Won't use them again.

I Booked car in advance and paid the amount. But when I reached the destination there was not small car for which they offered me an SUV. Later they asked me to sign the documents, I thought it was a free upgrade but they charged me lot for that without giving proper information. Now they refuse to pay back as I signed the documents though the mistake was from their end. This is not expected from someone like Budget.

Rented vehicle 12/22. Returned vehicle 12/27. While at the airport gate waiting to board flight I realized I forgot my diamond ring in the car cup holder. Immediately contacted budget to notify at which time I was informed the Raleigh Durham location would be notified. We (husband and two daughters) got home and still had not received email/VM notification. I called customer service back at which time I was informed the location would not be alerted for two days. My heart sank. I knew I’d never see my ring again and I haven’t. Now every 2-4 days I get an email informing my ring still has not been found. UTTERLY RIDICULOUS.

They need to change the company name from Budget to Reservation Failures. Why in the hell would someone go through all the time and effort to reserve something to have it not be there when you arrive. You take months to plan, you finally arrive, and there is a ** worker at McCarran who says “I don’t know what to tell you, we don’t have any cars to rent you.”

I recently rented a car for my son for 8 days through the airline. The price was reasonable. My son had to extend his trip by 2 days and Budget is charging him more for those 2 days then for the 8 days. When he originally called to extend he was told a different amount. I will never use Budget and will tell any and every one I cannot to rent from them.

I initially rent a car with 7 days, prepaid it, then did a modification to shorten it to 5 days (2 days later in pickup date), which reduce the total amount of cost, the difference is about $180. There is no warning said anything about modification to cause an overpayment is not refundable. Also check out FAQ it clearly stated prepaid reservation can be modified, any overpayment will be refunded after agreement is closed. After 1 week of waiting, I called Budget customer service ask for the refund status. Surprisingly they said it's not refundable for any prepayment! They want me to check out their terms & conditions. I did, it says "early return" is not refundable but it's not my case!

My recent rental car experience with Budget Rent-A-Car was nothing but a total disappointment. STAFF AT FRONT DESK: Totally unprofessional, rude, and inconsiderate. Their total focus is not to win you over but to rip you off! CARS: Old fleet of cars and most are in bad shape mechanically. Two cars both with same problems. CAR INTERIOR: Dirty and filthy outside and inside. One can smell strong cigarette smoke and had weird unbearable odor. Forget about cleaning. No one even takes pride in getting it presentable say vacuuming the vehicle, check windshield wiper condition or windshield liquid or other fluid, etc.

Be very careful when you're picking up your vehicle. This company (and Avis - they're the same company really) will try to load you up with all sorts of unnecessary add ons when you pick up your car, even if you've already made all your choices and submitted payment beforehand. The area in the Dayton terminal is very loud due to the close proximity of the baggage claim area and though the customer service rep we encountered was very friendly, she also talked and laughed so much that it was distracting and it was also hard to understand everything she was saying due to the noise. We ended up accidentally agreeing to very expensive additional insurance coverage, that actually cost more than our round trip tickets to Dayton! We didn't realize that we were signing to pay an additional fee - we thought we were signing to pay what we'd ordered online.

I arrived in Pittsburgh on Christmas eve 2017 with a reservation my brother made on Expedia. The bill was $292.87. I am a Hertz guy, yet dad was in a fight for life and this is what I got. My birthday was a week earlier, I renewed my license online, and realized before the flight I needed something that said I had a valid license. I got the local police station to give me a letter after checking it out with the state.

I write this letter in regards to my extremely UNPLEASANT rental experience on Monday, 12/18/2017. This was our first rental experience with BUDGET. My Son-In-Law is ACTIVE MILITARY and gratefully embraced the BUDGET MILITARY DISCOUNT. Upon the arrival of himself and his wife to receive the vehicle; they were met with a ridiculously unwelcome reception by a lady at the Murrieta BUDGET named Tiffany (at least that’s the name the woman gave) at a facility being renovated, and no clear BUDGET signs whatsoever.

I reserved a rental for 8 days on August 31, 2017, for a December 22nd pick up at Orlando International Airport. I prepaid in on 8/31 and scheduled my pick up for 1:00. I entered the line at Budget at 12:30p.m. for a 1:00 pick up. There were approx 9 pickups ahead of me. There were 4 Customer Service Representatives working when I entered the line (for about 15 minutes) then 2 went on break. Then one came back an hour later and there were 3 working for the 3 hours I waited in line before my rental was ready. I could see the employees coming in and out of the break room from the line (which looked as though it was shared with Hertz). There were 3 customers that were brought ahead of the others in line so we continued to be pushed back in line as others that never got in line were accommodated.

Worse company to deal with. They overcharge without even letting us know. We call to ask why. Answer from all three representatives were all different. So not only they couldn’t answer my questions, they overcharge my account.

I rented a car for a week because my car was totaled and they insisted it was going to be around $214 with a $200 deposit that you would get back which was fine. I return the Car and I get charged $880!!! I could've put a down payment on a car for that! I called and they showed, “Oh no there was an error on the bill and it'll only be $414.” I was fine with that. I look at my account and sure enough they take out $880. I keep trying to call and I'm getting nowhere. False advertisement, they lie, and they rob people not caring about anyone's situations.

Booked a car from Budget in West Palm and returning to Orlando. Estimated charge 228 from Saturday to Thursday. I arrive in West Palm and go to pick up car. They go thru the questions, insurance, gas, gps, etc. then flash up on the screen for me to sign the estimate and accept the car terms. $405.00 is the new estimate, Seems the reservation I had with and Estimated charge of $228 did not include the mileage (yes for some reason is not unlimited and not calculated out like they did at the airport). I am driving from West Palm to Orlando was KNOWN when I booked the reservation, why wouldn't you use the same calculation on the Reservation estimate??? Oh... I know why... Because no one would booked it. They did offer me an unlimited mileage car at $170.00 per day cause it was last minute. Refused to call the Manager or Supervisor for me. Left the airport in an Uber. I will NEVER rent a car Budget again!!!

The employees were polite, however perhaps even THEY didn't realized my total was going to be more than DOUBLE the "estimate". When I made the rental reservation my "estimated total" was $132 for a three day rental of the most "economic" car available. When I picked up the car I was given an amount of $160. I thought "OK, a few bucks more than I originally thought, alright..." At NO point was I told that this was ON TOP of the $132 I had already paid. I would NEVER have rented a car for $300 for a THREE DAY TRIP in a VW Bug.

I wrote a letter to the President of Budget and he actually forwarded me to someone else, that gave me the third degree! I'm in the process of a new job and he's calling me all throughout the day. No message was left nothing and then stopped calling me at all. It's below... you are more than welcome to read exactly what I wrote. I will never rent from them again, and their company is the worst in customer service I've ever encountered. If I could give it no stars I would!! I am writing to you simply because my concerns were ignored, jeered and dismissed at the standard level. I have been in customer service for over 20 years. Most of those in the hospitality industry, so I am aware that some levels of lack of service do occur, however the level I experienced was absolutely unacceptable.

They will charge you for this and that but when you ask specifically what the charges are for they give you different reasons each time. They basically lied to me about a monthly rate because they wanted to take more money out. They charged me 2200.00 for one month and a week. They are rude and outright refused to let me speak to a lead agent.

We rented a car in mid-October from Budget. Several days into the rental a low tire air symbol showed on the dashboard as we were on our way to a destination about 25 miles away. We held our breaths as we returned from the party to our hotel, It was now about 10:30 pm, but we called Budget, told them the problem and they said they'd send someone out to put the spare on (which they did). Still the same dash-board symbol the next day - but had to go about 20 miles on the spare - took care of business there and found a Budget office that was close by - got there and it was closed. Tried to call 2 other locations - no answer. Tried to call Budget main number, was on hold for 20 minutes, told us there was no open Budget office other than Tampa Airport location - 20 miles away in opposite direction.

I set up a car rental reservation online at Budget.com for a Mercedes GL 450 Premium SUV at a premium price. After entering payment information and confirming the reservation process, I received a confirmation email stating that my rental of a Ford Mustang convertible was confirmed. I immediately called Budget. The representative told me he had fixed the issue and confirmed that my reservation was updated to show a Mercedes GL 450. I then received an email stating that my reservation had been changed to include a Mercedes E350 which is a car/sedan.

As a triathlete and getting a discount with USAT I have been renting from Budget for several years and for weeks at a time and at least three times a year. Once I received a car that smelled like paint and we had to ride with windows open the whole week, another time we waited in line for close to an hour, but that is nothing compared to what just happened. Renting from FT Lauderdale FL airport. The guy started going down all the extras which I was saying NO to then he stops and says, "Ok just basic", which I took as YES just car rental. We left the airport to head to Key West and looked at the rental receipt because the guy never even said the total to us, first clue. I find out it is more than $200 what I was quoted and I know taxes weren't that much. He had put down daily added insurance. So we called them right back while driving and was told they would take it off once we returned the car.

I rented a car on December 7th 2017 from the Tulsa International Airport. The guy at the counter tried to get me to get the extra insurance, I declined it and explained I have full coverage on 3 vehicles of my own. He told me he took it off, I believed him. He said initial, initial, initial and sign. I did, he gave me the keys and I walked out to get my car. When I got to the car I looked at my receipt and noticed the charges were $309. They were supposed to be $112. I immediately called customer service and explained everything to the lady. She told me not to worry that the fee had been removed and the extra charges were for a $200 deposit on the car that would be fully refunded when I returned the car.

I rented a car and ended up having to put it in someone else’s name. I had already prepaid so I was told I would get a full refund. They refunded me 50$ the day I canceled and told me to wait 7 business days to see the rest, which is fine. Well now I’ve waited over a month and still no money. When I call, customer service is so rude and unprofessional. After the 3rd call trying to resolve my issue I asked to speak with a manager who told me I would have my money that week. After not receiving my money I called back yet again and they informed me speaking to the supervisor prolonged my refund and it wouldn’t be here for another 10 days. No one was helpful or tried to actually resolve my issue. I would never recommend or use Budget or any of its affiliates ever again!

I know it's not possible to always get the car you reserved but this is ridiculous. Reserved and pre-paid for a Subaru Legacy (or similar) car for a winter visit to Providence. Snow was in the forecast and we really wanted the All Wheel Drive of a Subaru or similar. I specifically asked when arriving at the rental counter for the Legacy car, but not available. Ended up with a total piece of crap Jeep Patriot, a cheap junky front wheel drive 4 cylinder car that looks like a Jeep, with no options, just a base model.

We were in LA for a couple of days and rented a car from Budget. The car was fine (smelled a little musty) but the experience was overall good until after we returned the car. Our daughter's phone with her student ID got left on the shuttle bus to the airport. I have now called over 350 times in 48 hours. No one ever answers the phone, or returns any of the messages I have left. I have spoken with Customer Care 5 times. All they say is how they apologize for the inconvenience but cannot do anything to help. There is absolutely NO customer service. Only rent if you know you won't need anything from them because you won't get it. I will NEVER rent from them again.

Overcharged, Dented Car, Poor Service, Did not review terms and services thus resulting in charges that could have been avoided and staff that smelled like **. I had rented a car from Budget Rent-A-Car that spanned between XX/XX at 9am - XX/XX at 10pm. Firstly, the car was not ready when I arrived at the counter. It was not until a half hour after the agreed upon pickup time that I was handed the keys to my rental. This was extremely inconvenient and resulted in me missing my flight and causing the undue hardship of having to drive 500 miles to my destination. Upon leaving the entity, I was obviously in a hurry.

My fiancé and I were taking a trip to Miami Florida and were picking up the rental car at the airport, firstly the representatives at the airport were talking on their own cell phones about personal subjects while “helping” customers. Secondly nowhere in the rental information when we called to get the rental reserved did anyone tell us there had to be a hold on any card credit or debit but different amounts depending on which we used. Also any hold has to be on a card with the renter's name only... After having an issue with this the representative could not help and suggested I call customer service while standing at the counter. Two hours later we finally get the vehicle which has a maintenance required light on on the dash as well as squeaking brake pads, the radio doesn’t work and the car was dirty. I tried to call customer service once again and had no luck on telling them anything. Needless to say will NEVER use them again.

After flying all day with my four children ages 8 and under we arrived at Budget car rental only to be told that the Luxury SUV we had prepaid for was not there. In fact they didn’t have any 6 or 7 passenger vehicles. I was irate. I called Expedia the site I had booked through and they kept telling me all they could do was refund my order leaving me stranded 2 hours from my destination. Budget admitted to me it was their own fault but didn’t offer me any real solutions except to take a 12 passenger van. What a joke.