Budget Car Rental Reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Budget Rent-A-Car is deliberately putting fraudulent EZ Passes in their cars to deliberately bill consumers out of millions. Check your credit card. After a warning I reviewed mine and noticed repeated tolls even one single toll for 18.00 being charged to my card. It was a huge fight to get receipts from their toll department, I had to even get a supervisor on the line but when I did I had proof and demanded a credit (let's see if I get it). The biggest joke is, I paid top $ for an average car. Over $600 for just 6 days and they even charged me an extra 19.75 on top of that for an EZ pass that didn't even work. Several times I was even stopped at toll booths and demanded payment because the pass was not properly registered to the car. One toll guard even warned me about Budget and their latest scam. Sorry I wasn't watching my card but 2 months later they are still slamming my card for fraudulent tolls.

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!