Budget Car Rental Reviews

We called the local office in San Diego this morning to see if we could drop the car off closer than the airport and they said we could but when we arrived they informed us they had a $300 drop off fee. This is crazy considering that we have a 26 foot moving van and are now having to drive another 1/2 hour to the airport with this huge van to drop off the car. We travel a lot and rent cars often but we won't be using Budget again. The fee is just unreasonable and it's terrible customer service. I'll be sure to tell everyone I know about how bad they are.

We got a quote from Budget for a rent car for a vacation. At the end they charged our credit card an additional $240.00 for up charges. They said we picked up the car at the wrong location. We called them when we got credit card bill. They said there was nothing they could do. On Budget's website, on their Reserved Rate Promise guarantee states "Budget promises that the car rental rate on your Budget.com reservation is the rate you'll be charged". What a bunch of liars. Do not trust Budget. Their words on their website are meaningless.

I prepaid for a reservation in January for a wedding in Philadelphia in May. When I arrived I had to wait over an hour in line to get to the reservation counter. They asked for my original card, but I couldn't provide that last four digits because my credit card company had sent me a replacement card with different numbers. They cancelled my original contract and the only thing they could do was offer me a walk in rate. It was more than double. I was asked if I wanted insurance, which I said NO. I was charged for the insurance anyway, and when I tried to call to complain, I was given a case number and said I would be charged the original fee, not the walk in fee.

NEVER use Budget!! Picked up a prepaid car at DFW airport. Michael at the counter gave us a Ford Explorer and said no upcharge, no charges were to be added for getting this SUV. Two days into our vacation I noticed $184 in charges extra being processed on my credit card. I called and the representative said I signed to upgrade and if I wanted to change vehicle after we were 500 miles away. I called after our vacation and the rep said I would get a refund. Never saw it. I called again and said it was "denied." Unbelievable thieves and very fraudulent!!!

I was wrong. The fee paid in San Francisco was for leaving the car at another place than we had left it, not for Emergency Roadside Service. Sorry.

I rented a car at the Monroe Louisiana airport. Hours after returning the car I received a call asking if I had lost a coin purse. Turns out my Louis Vuitton wallet had fallen under the front seat. The person checking/cleaning the car turned the wallet in to the service counter. Manager Victor ** returned the wallet to me via FedEx 4 days later. What an awesome team!!! I will definitely rent from Budget again.

Short answer to this type of situation is unbelievable. When the office at Austin airport was impossible to reach we were forced to drive back to airport to rent a second car for a journey from San Antonio to Dallas. Yes this did save us a drop off fee of 300.00. Seriously!!! First car was covered with scratches and a serious step down in "full sized" standard. The second car was covered in bird **. Have been sitting in the budget parking lot for an hour.

Upon return of the vehicle I rented to the BHM airport location, the clerk went out and proceeded to go around the car inside and out. Since I had incurred no damage, I was fine, but she came in and proceeded to tell me I would have to sign a damage form. I refuse to take responsibility for something I did not do. I feel this clerk is trying to pad this location's bottom line with fraudulent claims. I will spend whatever amount of money, time, and resources to make sure my card is not charged. Budget at BHM has no idea how angry I am.

This is regarding a rental contract for Rafael ** - Booking# **. February 16th, I had a very unfortunate experience at Budget Rental in SNA. My friends who were visiting from Brazil paid for his rental car and insurance online through American Airlines third party service (AA.com). Their contract was not honored. They arrived at the airport and David told them they needed this particular type of insurance and told them it was very important that they buy it. They were told the other insurance they had purchased (which was Allianz Global Assistance, through AA.com) wouldn't protect them. This more than doubled their cost. (It went from $300 to more than $600). For a Brazilian this is close to 1800 reais (more than a months salary). It is unbelievable to me how someone can take advantage of someone in such an unethical way. It really tarnishes the Budget name.

I ordered via the UK site a group B car for pickup at Charlotte, NC. I was given a Kia Soul which it turns out cannot take two suitcases in the trunk as it is too small and therefore does not meet the terms of my rental agreement. I made a complaint at the time but was essentially told "take it or leave it buddy". I sent a complaint to the UK site but received no reply. I conclude that this rental company doesn't care a damn about customer service.

If I could rate ZERO stars I would. We rented a car, specifically opted out of additional insurance services and signed a contract. The final bill then arrived with an extra $231 US added with a claim that we requested it, and the contract had a "check mark" at that point - likely added after we left the counter. This almost doubled our bill, and 5 phone calls and hours on hold to try to rectify it met with condescending ignorance and absolutely no effort to correct this theft. Be very careful if renting with this company, or better yet, AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

We went to San Juan, Puerto Rico on this one week family trip (6 people). We booked a Ford Explorer ahead through AMERICAN AIRLINES website and they advise to make it either from Avis or BUDGET. PRICING was OK online but things changed when we arrived to San Juan. The car we booked was not available and gave us a Dodge Journey, we barely fit, had tiny roaches, mosquitoes and the pricing was $80 higher without additionals (pre paid gas, booster chair, GPS, etc). On top they held $200 security deposit that we will get back in 10 business days. I showed my booking details trying to make customer service understand but did not help. Apparently it is what it is with them. Then my question will be why bother booking or getting an estimate if they will charge and give you whatever they want... Very disappointed!!

Stood in line for 1 hour with 2-3 workers. Can't understand know what time flights are coming in, why there are not more workers. While other rentals had many workers to move the lines along. Rented my car through Southwest knowing a price. Got there, filled out all the paperwork and he mentioned that I don't need to bring the car back full tank, that whatever we have left in the tank they will subtract the difference in gas that they put in and we would get a credit. I thought, "Hmm OK, this must be something new they are doing. Fine." I told him I do not want the insurance for we are covered under our own. He told me to go through and advised me what to check and sign in the applicable places. I left without reading my paperwork. Mind you never having any problems in the past.

"Sorry for the delayed response" is Budget's favorite line and it also comes only after many repeated emails. I booked a car at Budget Rent-A-Car, Perth, Australia... They charged me for what they claimed was for a non-returned GPS unit. When I sent an email complaint, it got replied after weeks. Then each further communication will take at least a week. My emails were even blocked. Looks like the complaints department is only functioning to set you to slow death in the hope that you will give up. It's been 2 months now and no solution or correspondence from that cheap folks behind the scene. Never going to deal with them anymore.

I made reservation two months out for an SUV to be picked up at the Salt Lake City Int'l Airport. Upon arrival at the Budget rental desk, the person assisting me was extremely unfriendly and showed absolutely no emotions. She asked for my reservation pick-up time, found me on the list and proceeded to tell me that I have reservation for a small car. I immediately told her that's incorrect, that I reserved an SUV (larger car). She insisted that I am wrong - at which point I pulled out my online reservation confirmation and showed her the car I reserved. She proceeded to ask her co-worker at the counter something in a foreign language. YES! Foreign language NOT ENGLISH right in front of me!!!

I went today to pick up a minivan that I had reserved for a family vacation. I had paid in full at time of reservation several days prior. When I told the clerks my name they told me they had an explorer for me... I have an Explorer, I needed a minivan for this trip. I declined and they offered every vehicle smaller than a minivan... none of which would work obviously. After searching they finally found one at the airport which is 36 miles away from the location I am at and 45 miles away from my home from which we are leaving.

I returned my vehicle over 2 weeks ago and paid in full with my debit card. They are holding 2 deposit that equal over $300 dollars on the credit card I used to reserve the car. I keep getting case numbers and different customer service reps and different emails to send my credit card statement to. I am so frustrated!! Just give me my money back!!!

I had to place my vehicle in shop for repair. I went online and called to reserve vehicle and called to get final reservation confirmation 2 weeks prior to dropping my vehicle off to be repaired. I asked what I needed to bring. Valid driver's license, proof of insurance, debit or credit card and a utility bill with my name on it. I gathered my requested information. Went to pick up car with my information from insurance company that they were to call for proof of payment.

Never use Budget!!! They are just thieves that will try and take your money in every possible way and overcharge you without even seeing on what. I will make sure to tell my story in every possible forum that no one will do the mistake I did and use Budget. I rented a car thru Budget at Larnaca office airport, I rented it for 3 days for the amount of 370 EURO.

I rented this car from Priceline, for 12 days, paid with credit card in full, 34 dollars a day. With buying tank of gas and taxes, came to 694. On my AMEX, but gave them my Visa for the gas and I extended 3 days, they told me 265 for the extra three days and I agreed. Dropped it off, rushing to my plane, did not look at the receipt. Sitting there I had freaked out, they charged my credit card 3,825 dollars. So far, 10 phone calls, no one can do anything, tried to tell me that because I changed the Priceline it went back to list price. Yeah right! Well I hope the credit card company protects me. I really am not sure if third party like Priceline is a good idea, but they did answer phone and told me they would look into it. But takes 10-20 days. That is crazy.

I rented a car at Budget's LAX location on 2/12/14 in order to attend an engagement party for a friend. I flew into LAX from Albuquerque, NM, and I spent two nights in a hotel in Burbank. When I arrived at Budget to pick up my prepaid compact car, I was told that no compact cars were available and I would need to wait for a different car that was being washed. I received a small SUV that was still completely wet from having been washed. As it was already nighttime and dark, I didn't notice anything was wrong with the vehicle. When I returned my car to the LAX location -- less than 48 hours after I rented it -- the Budget agent checked the car and gave me a complete okay. It was a very sunny morning and any problems with the car would have been evidently noticeable.

On 6/5 I rented a car from the Philadelphia Airport Budget rental office after a flight was cancelled with no flight out of Philly in sight. My goal was to drive overnight to CT so that I could get home as intended for work despite my cancelled flight. Upon driving on the highway for about 15 minutes I realized that the car seat was wet and had soaked through my pants. Upon realizing this I attempted to call the Budget rental office but could not get through to anyone for about an hour. After trying over and over I finally reached a representative in Philly who told me that she would not deal with this situation and I should discuss it with the New Haven, CT office where I was to drop the car. I drove three hours in a wet seat, pants soaked through. In the a.m. the seat was still wet, causing me to have to sit on a towel so that I could go to work and not get wet.

My wife Sheila ** rented a ford explorer on 5/19/16. Returned it on 5/24/16. The level of unprofessionalism displayed at this location was shocking. When we got there a female rep walked around the vehicle. Found no fault. She then open the car door and insinuated she smelled smoke, she started sniffing the air inside the vehicle like some kind of bloodhound. Then started taking pictures from under the car seat with her smartphone claiming she took pictures of ash. We've been charged over 550.00 because of this allegation and one that there was an unauthorized driver. I vehemently deny this, and did so before.

Beware of this company. Proceed with caution if renting from this location. Budget Rental has really dropped the ball on the management of this location. Had a reservation scheduled for pick up. Called ahead to make sure vehicle was ready. Was told by manager Yolanda that our truck was not available. Our house was packed up (beds, everything) and we had friends who'd arrived to help load on their day off. Asked about a solution and was told that there was nothing she could do for us, sorry, etc. I explained that, like Budget says on their phone greeting, we also record customer service conversations (to keep the record straight & perfectly legal). She immediately began to backtrack and offered a replacement in another city. However, its a Saturday, traffic is bad, and I was not going to have someone drive me to another city just so I could pick up a truck that they neglected to stock at this location.

I rented a vehicle trailer as well as 24' truck from this site for a cross-country road trip. The entire experience was absolutely awful. The trailer was given to me with a completely bald tire and 8 PSI (50 PSI is recommended). After returning to exchange the trailer, 3 out of the 4 trailers on the lot had either completely flat tires or huge chunks out of the tread - a blowout waiting to happen. It was only when I pointed these things out that the manager allowed me to pick my own trailer - the 1 and only safe trailer available. Next, the truck broke down twice in three days. The first breakdown was 2 hours into my drive, when the truck overheated, lost acceleration, and lost the anti-lock brakes system. A mechanic came and addressed the check engine light but was unable to fix the anti-lock brakes, so now I was driving a 24' truck and vehicle trailer across the country (through rain) with no anti-lock brakes. Wonderful.

Budget service is very bad ripoff. If you like to find out rent a car from them, location 6001 Duke Street, Alexandria. Customer relations is waste of time.

I rented a car from Budget in Sacramento. 3 weeks later, I got a Budget Toll charge for $27.00 for a trip on the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. The toll charge was $7.25. Budget charged me $19.00 for the convenience of covering the toll charge. Evidently the Toll Gates are no longer manned by humans. It's some type of automatic charge that is added unless you know in advance and prepare. I did not know I was going to SF when I rented the car. If Budget really wants to help the customers, please post a large sign (like the fuel option) explaining that there is a charge in Tolls now until customers become aware of the new process.

We prepaid for a LINCOLN MKS rental car for April 5 through May 9th with pick up and return at Green Airport, Providence, RI. The car was returned 2 hours before the return date, with no problems being reported to my 82 year old wife, who came to visit her 101 year old mother. On returning home on May 10, 2016, my wife, Marie **, noticed a $30 late return fee had been charged. After calling Budget they indicated they would correct their error. Instead, no action was taken by Budget to return the late return charge.

A traffic accident happened on my way returning my car. I called the store about my situation, and the manager told me to return the car next day, which was impossible for me to do since I had a flight next day 6 AM. I implored him to wait a moment (I was only 3 kilometers away from the store), however, his reply was "It's Friday evening. Everybody want to go home." Just when I tried to say something else, the manager hung up my call. Total arrogance and rudeness. When I got to the store, only 10 minutes past 6 PM, the store had been closed and of course nobody was there. I was so stressed at that moment because I had to return the car before flying back to Japan! I called Budget customer service in despair, and thank god the reservation service was still alive. I was told that my only choice was to return the car to Melbourne Airport, which finally cost me another 100 dollars.

My wife went to visit her mother in Pennsylvania in 2011. She rented a car from Budget to get her from the airport to her mother's house (approximately a 50 minute drive). While visiting, she parked the car out of the way in a grassy area so as not to be in anyone's way and to protect the car from any type of damage. I called my insurance company prior to renting to confirm coverage and to let them know as they required this. During the term of the visit, a thunder storm came up. In the house they heard a loud crack of lighting and the car started flashing its lights and blaring the horn.

This place is such an incredible ripoff. They quote prices and then the bill is never what they say it would be. I am so sorry I rented from them. Do NOT use this company for car rental needs ever.

I have never written a bad review in my life, but I now understand why Budget has 1 Star. Marissa at the Phoenix airport was useless and her manager Marvin ** was no help. I would strongly recommend any rental car company besides Budget. Booked online through a representative, they booked and charged me 2 cars and Marissa refused to cancel it for me even though it was their mistake. Overall the service was unacceptable and they will never receive my business again.

We found renting from Budget Rental of Atlanta Hartsfield Intl. Airport to be a very demeaning experience. We arrived at the Budget Rental counter at 10:30 PM and were told there was no record of us renting a car. The agent acted upset that we were there (never cracked a smile nor greeted us). Fortunately we had a copy of our booking. He still acting as if we had done something wrong and had us take a car which was far bigger than the minivan we had booked. He said that the cost we were being billed of $800 instead of the $500 on our booking was just the added airport taxes. This turned out to not be true. We would have gone to a different rental company at this time except that we were tired and outside at a counter in the garage and did not want to start looking for another company. Even our porter could not believe how we were treated. Judging by our experience we wonder if this may be a practice of Bait and Switch.

Read all fine print when renting from BUDGET. They have a practice of not including the insurance cost in the "estimated TOTAL" so the number you see on the agreement is only about half of what your FINAL bill (TOTAL) will be. This is deceptive and if not discovered, you will be liable for the increased charge. DECEPTIVE PRACTICE from a SHADY company. This is the first time I have used BUDGET and I only used them because they are associated with Southwest Airlines (who I love because they don't deceive their customers). Enjoy Budget! You got me once but NEVER again. I don't think this business model will hold up, but that's just me!! Shady, shady, shady!!! Shame on you Budget!

Recently rented an auto from the JAX Budget group. After a few days the battery went completely dead. As this being a new 2016 car with only 9,000 miles on it, and driven normally there should have been no reason for this to happen. But Budget policy is, they don't care if it's your fault or theirs YOU have to pay to get it recharged. Their backup is you should have taken out the insurance policy (which one?) that the young front desk representative didn't or "forgot" to fully explain. A sucker once, but not a fool twice, stay away and go to another company that's willing to work with its customers if it's their fault...

Purchased a rental car through Budget, using points. The car cost $216.48 for 8 days total. We were expecting to have to pay insurance, which we signed for at $19.99 a day. We told them that we needed to have two drivers on the vehicle, which they added (they never mentioned a cost), and asked us if we preferred to start with a full tank, which we agreed to. Once we dropped off the car, there was nothing for us to sign or anything. We asked what we were being charged for, and if we needed to sign consent and she said no, just the gas and insurance. We left. What a mistake.

After arriving home from my trip to Florida I reviewed my invoice from Budget Car Rental in more detail. I found a $25 charge. I inquired as to why I was receiving this charge and was told it was for satellite radio. When I was offered additional services I declined everything except the gas. I asked them to remove that charge as I did not request the satellite service. They refuse to remove as I signed the agreement. Unfortunately, I did not take the time to thoroughly review the charges while I was standing at the airport with my two young children. I assumed when I turned down the extra services that they would not sneak in extra services. I am very disappointed that a company is allowed to treat their customers like this. Terrible, terrible customer service. What a way to scam a customer. I had to give them one star to submit this review, but they don't even deserve the one star.

After posting on the Facebook page for Budget car rental, I received a message from customer service. I emailed them all of the details and pictures related to my rental. Today, I received an email stating that they are crediting my account for the cleaning fee and the extra day I had the vehicle. They, also, stated it was likely that I was late returning due to the fault of the company. I am very pleased with the resolution they provided.

Walked in to Budget at CVG and asked for cheapest car they had. They gave me a car that was a couple level upgrade for the lowest price because that was what they had available. I returned it early and was gouged for $131/day instead of the $15 quoted. Never again will I consider Budget. Customer service was rude and not helpful at all.

I rented a car from this location and was charged higher than the price I was given when initially rented the car. Upon returning the rental, the customer service agent, Tanisha, was rude and spoke in a condescending tone when I asked for clarification. I have always rented cars from this location for business and personal usage. Never again, I will take my business elsewhere.

We rented a car through our travel agent in the UK and were told there were no further charges. After our return from the USA we received an undated invoice with a further $95 charged to our credit card for PEP (whatever that is!). I emailed Budget on 1st April and after about 10 days, with no reply, I phoned and was given a 'ticket number' for my complaint and told it would be dealt with within the next 10-15 days. I emailed again last Monday, with no response and telephoned yesterday and was told yes it should already have been dealt with. He was not sure what PEP was but thought it was for an extra insurance (which we had not asked for). He said he would email me immediately to confirm our conversation. 24 hours later I am still waiting.

Rented a car in Las Vegas and was misinformed and bullied by agent. Told we need to add a 147.00 charge required in Las Vegas because of drunk drivers. Never rent from them again.

The woman at the counter at JFK was nasty and lied like a con artist. I had reserved a small car and then requested as to how much it would cost to get a minivan or SUV as we had a lot of luggage. The woman quoted me a higher rate. I then looked on Budget.com and found a lower rate and told her about it. She said she was quoting me the Priceline rate for upgrading. So I suggested that I would book it on Budget.com to benefit from the lower rate. She then rudely told me that if I did that she would make me wait an hour to get the van and/or SUV.

I rented a car and when I picked it up they didn't have it and I had to rent a more expensive car. After a week when I returned the car the price they gave me was $350.00, but the lady that was there told me that it was $829.00. I told the lady at the counter in Wilmington NC Airport that they lie to the people and then come up with all these hidden fees.I will never rent a car with this company and of course will never recommend this company. I consider that they should be investigated, because they give false information in the internet and also to the people. If you decide to rent a car with Budget, think it twice. You don't want to get a surprise with all the hidden fees!

I rented a car from Budget Rent a Car in Jacksonville, FL. I returned the car on 4/11/2016 and today I got a letter from them stating that there was excessive sand/dirt in the car and they are charging a fee of $150. I have never heard of this.

We rented a car for a day. When we returned it we didn't put gas in. It had a half a tank so we figured just let them fill it but didn't realize they were going to charge us 9.00 a gallon. I understand it might be higher but that's highway lottery. I will never go to Budget again. That's wrong and that's taking advantage of people.

Unbelievable, but the female counter service rep treated me like a bum or homeless person. My long hair and severely casual clothes prompted her to judge me inappropriately and embarrassed me in the so-called"fast-break" line (of which I am a member). The Ford Focus I paid for in advance was not available. She never apologized, but instead flippantly instructed me that no cars were available and I was to have a luxury car instead (which I abhor). I paid for a smoke-free auto. The Lincoln smelled like an ashtray. I was sick with a severe headache for the entire trip because of the awful stink.

Rented a car from Orlando. Went to their counter at 11:54 am. Agent directed us to the wrong spot, we walked about 5 minutes and did not find the car. So the agent says, "Oh I forgot the lot is under repairs, its actually in a different spot," so he sends us to a different spot another ten mins away. He does not make any such notes in our record. We return the car at 12:30 the following day in Fort Lauderdale. The agent there tells us we are good to go, no extra charges. When we check our Credit card account we have been charged an extra 45 dollars - when we call them, they tell us as a courtesy they are returning half of that amount. COURTESY! When it is entirely their fault, they think they are being courteous. A waste of 2 hours on the phone over the past week. Never renting Budget again!! Clearly THEY ARE THE ONES ON A BUDGET NOT THE CUSTOMERS!!

This company offered me insurance which I verbally declined. I explained that my own insurance covers me so I did not need their protection. It was extremely busy and the representative tried to push other products which I also refused. He has me sign two places on a very small electronic screen for the "rental". I've never rented a car before so was unsure the process. When I looked at my bill after the rental I see that they billed me for the insurance which over 3 days is almost $100. When I called to explain they told me that I initialed by the insurance so they wouldn't refund. This place totally takes advantage of consumers and should be fined or closed down. I have a witness with me that heard me decline insurance and they just want their money.

We recently rented a car from Budget in Honolulu. After we had returned the vehicle and were at the airport we discovered that my husband had left his phone in the car. We immediately called Budget and were told that the car had already gone back out and that no phone was found in the vehicle. When we got home I tracked the phone and found out that it was in fact still in the vehicle. I immediately called Budget back and was assured that it would be picked up from the hotel the customers with the rental car was staying in and sent back to us if I provided a UPS Label.

So we rented a truck for one day and returned it the next day and they did a quick check over before we took it. My husband just needed one for one day for work as he had his truck for service. No one else other than him Sat in the truck and when he went to return it and as they were looking thru it, my husband noticed there were some dog hair in the back, which he didn't notice before and he didn't even open the back doors. So he advised the lady that there were some there. So the lady got him to write a statement to let them know that the hair was there which had no clue about and she said it was just standard procedure, so he signed and came home and 4 weeks later we have a bill sitting here for 262 for the dog hair that they had to get cleaned.

I prepaid Budget Car Rental with my Debit/Credit card at least 8 days ago. The Budget charged me the pre-paid me & sent me a confirmed reservation numbers with no issue. On the day of rental, Budget reception clerk refused renting me the pre-paid (pre-charged) reserved car because of failure of Credit Card Checking, which I paid and officially confirmed reservation? Budget forced me to cancel my reservation. The worst part, Budget charged me $25 instead full refund. No more Budget/Avis. Budget just lost valuable customer for good.

I prepaid online for a standard car. The example given was a Buick Verano. When we arrived, which was 15 minutes earlier than our reservation time, I was told they didn't have any cars left in that category. We were given the choice of a Jeep Compass, which is not similar to a standard car, or we could upgrade to a luxury car for more money. Normally the Jeep wouldn't have been an issue, but we rented the car so my 94 year old mother could travel to her favorite restaurant. She is unable to get into the Jeep due to a recent fractured hip. I will not be renting from Budget again.

Budget Rent-A-Car has old cars for rent. They provide for my trip a Kia Soul 2014 with 34,000 miles on it. When I called to make the complaint about it the customer care Manager said, he can't do anything about it. His tag number is **. I can't recommend Budget Rent-A-Car. The customer service is terrible and the cars are old. Definitely the best rent a car in USA is Enterprise.

Budget/Avis Rental Car: If I have a confirmation for a particular TYPE of car, why can't you honor that?? It's not an "upgrade" to me when I need a compact car to be given a huge ** gas guzzling SUV and then be told "Sorry we don't have any compact cars here." You have my email - you have my cell phone # - yet no heads up that you can't accommodate me. It totally ruined my vacation. If you are reading this and trying to decide on a rental car company - DO NOT USE BUDGET OR AVIS!!! EVER!!!

We chose Budget randomly after looking at several car rental rates, there were several issues related to our rental. We went from the airport to the car rental area and took a ticket which was #78. Their customer currently being served was approximately #30 so we waited almost 1 1/2 hours to get to the counter. We felt the agent who helped us was "pushy" with trying to get us to add additional costs like insurance. We had already checked with our insurance company regarding coverage. At the desk next to where we were standing, it sounded like another couple was experiencing the same thing and finally said they were leaving to rent a car somewhere else.

Budget Rental Car - I felt so discriminated by Budget Rental Car. It was at 11:00 PM on Sun 4/17 and there was no other customers there. I reserved a compact car at Budget Rental Car in Vancouver for $25.00 a day. When I was at the counter, I asked the agent if they do a one-way drop off to Seattle. The agent said only Alamo does it. I told him that is probably why I have a reservation with Budget while I am in Vancouver and have to switch to Alamo when I go to Seattle next week.

I had a very similar experience in being charge WAY more than the quoted price. I rented a car about two weeks ago. We arrived near midnight our time... I was exhausted. The clerk was very aggressive in upselling. She mentioned that we could buy insurance for only $30 since our personal insurance coverage likely didn't cover rentals in another country. I turned to my wife and said, "I bet we are covered, but for $30, it might be worth it." The clerk added it to the contract and pointed to the places I needed to sign and initial. I didn't have my reading glasses on, so I couldn't read the fine print in the contract.

I decided to rent a car for my trip in Mexico. Unfortunately, I made the mistake to choose Budget. When I arrived to pick up my rental car I had reserved, my car was not available. Budget had given my car away! The company did not have any other car to replace my reservation. I was very disappointed with the service. Why does Budget allow to reserve and will not honor that reservation? I had to pay a cab to transport our family. I ask to speak with a manager and was told to call the (1-800) number. NEVER RELY ON BUDGET FOR YOUR RENTALS. VERY UNRELIABLE COMPANY.

I did pay in advance $276 for one day rental Mercedes E350. Drove 25 mile to Dallas Love Field Airport to pick up the car. Found out it's nothing but Mercedes C300 - compact, very small for my size. They lie to me and embarrass me for my relative wedding event! End up call their customer service with bad attitude from billing department with coverage on bills. Billing Department arguing with bad behavior. Mr. ** will never ever use Budget even if it's free. Watch out people from over-billing!!!

I made a simple request when picking up my rental car at LAX (Budget Rent A Car). I was going to have the car in my possession for 9 days and wanted to split the charges between 2 credit cards. (4 days on my personal credit card for personal use of the vehicle and 5 days on my corp AMEX for business use). Imagine the scenario where a waiter at a restaurant brings the bill for you and your friend and you ask him to "split" the charges... Easy enough, right? I was told by the agent at the rental counter that this could be done when I returned the car. When I returned the car, the outside agent gave me a slip and told me that I would need to take that slip inside and request the split of charges. Inside, I am told, "We can't do that". What? I was told you could... "No, we can't' do that". I had to catch the shuttle to catch my departing flight, so I took my bill (all charges put on my corp AMEX) and called Budget Rent A Car customer service from the shuttle.

I left my rental vehicle with Budget trusting they were every bit as good as Enterprise in providing same day receipts. I had a flight to catch and couldn't wait. Instead, it's taken a week and a half to receive a receipt only to find that they charged me a full tank of gas at $8.47 cents a gallon for being one gallon shy of a full tank. The only answers I've received is "not our problem", "that Budget location (SLC) is privately owned so we have no information" and "I can't," "I'm unable," "I won't" and "I need to redirect you". I've had 16 phone calls and not one person was even remotely helpful. I will never use this company again.

I originally went through Priceline for a rental rate. All the rental car companies were pretty competitive in price, so I choose Budget. What a mistake that was. While at the counter I asked for the best insurance to cover the CAR. What the counter rep heard was "pile on all the insurance they offered". The process was a series of check the boxes on a screen with pages of small print. Their printed contract is small print. After rejecting a Toyota Camry that smelled badly of cigarettes we were given a Toyota Corolla and told it was the same class. After reading the small print and all the added personal liability insurance, I called the office and was told it was a misunderstanding and a supervisor would adjust the rate. Upon returning the car, I was told by the supervisor, "Sorry you checked the box". Would definitely not recommend Budget. They puffed my bill.

We returned a rental car at Orlando airport. No problems were noted and were no damages to the vehicle. However about a month later we received a notice from Sedgwick claims telling us we owed $2223.43 for damages to the car. WOW. We called Budget and got runaround and finally referred to Sedgwick. After many calls, emails, and complaints we finally received a letter from Sedgwick stating the claim was closed. No explanations or apology. I was incensed and called Budget and asked for an explanation. Nothing. I then requested some compensation for all the hassle and again nothing. What a pain in the rumpus bumpus. What nasty business and fraudulent way of dealing with paying customers. I can't help thinking some less able person being stuck with this bill. I plan a complaint with the NYS attorney general and hope to warm others of this outrage. Dirty business! Beware!

On the date of Nov. 23, 2015 at the Budget Rent-A-Car, 1010 Webster, Houston, Texas 77002 near downtown Houston, Texas, I rented one car for almost three week weeks and was charged a total of $ 540.90. For you own good DO NOT use any Budget Rent-A-Car, the employees were very rude and were standing around talking, as they has customers to be waited on.

March 2016, Sea-Tac airport. Had reserved a compact car for 10 days. I was expecting a Hyundai little 4 door, when I got up to the desk to get the rental, I was met by a super nice young representative who informed me that Budget had a brand new 2016 Toyota Prius "and with only $8.00 more and with only 4 miles on the odometer". So with her wonderful customer service, I said "sure, sounds good." She then proceeded to tell me how to "start" this little car. Now I have never driven a Prius but she (the wonderful service agent), explained how to get the car started. So when starting the car, again, never driven the Prius, I had a little difficulty and Budget did not have the owner's manual. Even the car, duh! So I get to the car, see there are stains on the front and back seats, the odometer read 19,548.8, NOT 4 miles "only". First time I have ever used Budget and (for me) the last time. Too bad, so sad.

Back in late November 2015 my husband went to pick up a car at the Budget location on West 49th street in NYC. A guy by the name of ** offered him an upgrade for either $40 or $100. We normally do upgrade for $20 or $40, so he agreed to the $40 upgrade. Since we had a $100 gift certificate, they took it and applied it to the rental, but somehow this unscrupulous guy charge us $156 for an upgrade. My husband signed the paperwork not realizing that he was being charged $156, instead of $40. Now, they are ready to send the account to collection because we are refusing to pay the difference.

We were told in Orlando that state law required us to have the insurance. We declined because we are covered by our Visa card. He refused to give us the car that we had reserved until we called over friends to bully him right back and he gave in. I will not tolerate this again, and will never pay over $700 for a week's intermediate car reserved 7 months in advance. We did not get the discount we were promised if we prepaid. Horrible on all counts. I'm still angry.

I have reserved several rental cars with Budget Rental Cars of Southern Utah. Every single time I go, there is a problem getting a vehicle. Either they don't have ANY vehicles at the designated pickup time, or they offer you something completely different than what the reservation is for. Yes, I have been stupid enough to keep coming back, but after today, NEVER AGAIN!

I booked a rental car through Car Rental 8 for a 158.00 for the week. The car company is Budget at McCarron Airport in Las Vegas. Our plane landed at 8:05 am on March 19, 2016 then shuttled to pick up the car. The line at Budget was huge. All the other car rentals didn't have lines just Budget. After an hour we finally made it to the counter. The lady was pretty friendly. She told us the computers are down and they have to do everything manually. She try to get us to buy insurance which we told her we have State Farm and we didn't need it.

I rented from Budget in Palm Springs from Dec. 25, 2015 to Jan 5, 2016. The vehicle was dropped off at San Francisco airport. At Palm Springs I was offered a truck that was full of dents and scratches. I returned to the rental desk and was told "not to worry about it". When I returned to the truck I noticed the windshield was also cracked! I refused the vehicle. After much time I finally was offered an acceptable vehicle that I drove for the 12 days. I returned the vehicle UNDAMAGED to Budget in San Francisco as per the contract.

I rented a economy size vehicle from the Fargo Hector Airport. The vehicle had stains and dirt in it. When I complained the staff were very disrespectful and rude to me. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone, due to the fact that they also have a lot of hidden fees and charges for unnecessary things.

Customer service here is lacking. If you want to be treated as a bother for using them, this is your place. My experience was all the employees I came in contact with were mad at life and had no interest in customers. Then to top it all off they charged me for not driving the car far enough. $14 for 25 miles.

So frustrated! Budget Rental charged us an additional $400.00 for our car rental for insurance. We actually declined it on the website when we made the reservation through Priceline and then again when the agent asked. Unfortunately, I made the reservation and talked to the clerk but he asked my husband to sign/initial the receipt since he would be driving. My husband thought it was all set and didn't realize they added the $400 extra charges. There was a line of people waiting and the clerk was pushy and said to sign... here, here and here!!! When we dropped the car off and received the receipt for $998.00, we told him it was wrong (was quoted $523) and the attendant told us to talk to a manager upstairs. Of course there were no managers available (all in a meeting) and they were supposed to call us within the hour (never received a call).

I rented via a third party website, got a confirmation and a quote which included unlimited mileage. The Budget location did not have a vehicle type I requested, did not honored the quote, and charged me $270 for a single day car rental (based on mileage). Needless to say they charged my credit card with what they called authorization charges for a large sum of money without an advanced warning. The customer service was unapologetic. The worst rental experience I have had.

Visited the desk at and was served by Yolanda. I specifically told her that I did not need any additional insurance. I didn't check the small print and signed for the daily accidental damage cover. In addition they converted the charge from US$ to Sterling with a 3% fee. Be warned look at the small print. They just keep saying tick accept on the terminal. Check the document before you leave. Would not use them again.

OMG!! Wow!! WHAT A RIPOFF!!! So I booked online for $36/day unlimited miles from their 1701 W. Exp. 83 location McAllen, TX (doubles as the airport location). When I p/u car the price went up to $76/Day. $25 extra per day for taking it out of town. Do not believe them when they tell you not to worry about returning it right on time and that you won't be charged for extra day. (BS). They charged my wife's credit card even though she specifically said she DID NOT authorize for the extra day and her name was not on the contract. The worst customer service. When we tried talking to the manager he was Rude and very Unprofessional. These people take the cake. Their unethical business practices are beyond belief.

We rented a car in January. When returning it nothing was said about the condition of car. A month later we get a letter stating that there was excess sand in the car. There was not. They are charging our credit card $150.00. I called several numbers for Budget on March 1 and no one has returned my calls. What constitutes excess? We always leave cars clean when renting. And are they allowed to keep my numbers of credit card on file?

I previously made a reservation as I was attending a funeral in another state. When I arrived and requested the car, the agent just said "we do not have any vehicles now and do not have any idea when any will become available." He suggested I call customer service because he couldn't assist me further. I did contact customer service which took a long time for an agent and she recommended another location but it was too far for me and I was already late to start my trip.

I believed I had a reservation for a car for a week. They couldn't find the reservation. So they saw the opportunity to STICK ME. They tried to charge me $1200 for a week. Gauging **.

I will never rent anything from them. They are liars. Made a reservation for a compact car, went to pick it up, they had none. Very inconvenient for me. They told me to go to a competitor and would pay the total cost of the rental. Of course, when I turned in the final receipts in that's not what happened.

Vacationing in Belize. Make rental through RentalCar.com. Get to the car pickup at airport in Belize and was told that Budget would not accept Visa's damage loss coverage and that I had to pay $180 before I could take the car. No way to fight it. Budget says that the Belize branch is not their problem and no, I couldn't get a refund. Then the car was not as promised in the rental agreement. "That's all we have. Take it or leave it." This company is the poster child for poor customer service and deceptive practices. Screw me once, never again. Or anyone else that I can warn!

I can tell Budget truck rental does not care about their customers. It seems not only do they have they don't keep maintenance on their equipment but their customer service is equally inadequate. Budget customer service just likes to transfer you to someone else while you hope that someone will eventually cares enough about your issues to do something. You know because the car transporter you rented almost caught on fire and a truck won't fill up with gas because there was previous damage. You never find that person they don't care. They just refuse to let you talk with their supervisor and hang up on you. You're forced to talk to 8 people by the time. You speak to customer service who refuse to do anything until your burning car transport is picked up and the account closed out. I recommend you never use BUDGET unless you really feel as though you deserve some kind of punishment.

We are vacationing and made reservations 10 days ago for a mid-size car as we had 4 passengers. We paid in advance. When we arrived we were told all they had was a 12 passenger van and we would have to wait at least 30 minutes for a different vehicle. We had someone waiting on us and reservations for lunch so had to take the van. Why make reservations if they are not going to hold what we reserve back for us. I could understand if we just showed up when we arrived. It was quite embarrassing. We use Budget every time we come to Florida which is usually 2 times a year and have only had this problem one other time. That was in June of last year in Venice, Florida and the vehicle was smaller than we reserved. We had to squish in. Really hoping this is not a pattern.

We rented and expect a 7 passenger SUV for a trip. Obviously each person carry at least one luggage. The pic and the info in the receipt showed us an Expedition (NOWHERE in the receipt said an equivalent or something like that). When we get there they gave us a Toyota Sequoia, that might accommodate the same amount of people but NO ROOM in the back whatsoever, only one luggage and 2 bags fitted in there. We have to spread the luggages in friends' cars and buses.

I reserved a car at McClaren Airport location Las Vegas. I had a reservation for a car since December 2015. I Show up, NO cars! And they charge the full rental to your CC. A convention was in town and that took priority. Don't rent from here!

I would never use Budget Rental ever again! We rented a car because my son was in an accident. Per the police report my son was 100% not at fault. We were told my cc would be charged $50.00 for a hold while everything was figured out with the insurance co. While going through the process my card was charged 3 times within 2 weeks without notification. The amounts varied from $150 to $814. I asked numerous times if there are any issues please call me and I will help figure anything out. Not one phone call came from them just me following up why they kept charging my cc.

It's simple. I booked my car online for a certain amount of money. When I returned the car, I didn't catch that they charged an additional $16.34 upon return. A "signature" is apparently not required, and therefore a charge cannot be disputed. Talk about **. My credit card company could not even do anything about it. I will never rent from Budget again, and I hope others will reconsider before booking with them in the future. It's stealing from customers, and somehow they are able to get away with it??? Nah. Last note, with these bad reviews, I hope this damn company is brought to its knees and out of business sooner than later.

Ok... So to start. I first dropped off a truck, one way from Las Vegas to Torrance. At the time I made this reservation, I also made a reservation for 7 days later to pick up a truck for return from Torrance to Las Vegas. When I went to pick up the truck, was about 45 minutes late for pick up (I know, my fault for being late), the truck I had reserved months before had been rented out about 20 minutes earlier. As the guy working the counter continued to tell me over and over (not exaggerating) how it was my fault for being late... Over and over, I kept asking, does customer service not exist anymore that someone couldn't pick up a phone to call to find out if in fact I was stuck in traffic, etc.

After going above and contacting someone higher in the company they investigated my issue and I got my whole refund. The gentleman that I spoke with was a help but said that it boils down to being a miscommunication. I disagree with that but I am happy to say that I got my money.

My daughter's car died just as she was headed to work, so we needed a quick rental. No available cars at another place, so we wound up here. Told them our situation, that we needed a two day rental. They were very friendly, quoted us a rather high price. I got them down to a reasonable price by getting rid of all the extras and insurance. Never once did they say that the price was per day. When my daughter dropped it back off, they had charged me twice what they said it would be! I was very clear that I wanted a quote for two days. Obviously the quote was per day when we got the receipt. I will never again use Budget rental again, and will always book online first with any rental company. They told us they only had one vehicle available, but we could not see what was on their computer. They gypped us good. I call them crooks. Don't use this company!

We had reservation for a small Buick at LAX. When we arrived to the rental desk with our reservation, we was informed that our car is not ready and we have to get a different car and pay more but they will discount us on the upgraded car. We have refused and ask for the car we requested. The guy at the desk was nasty and told us it will take up to 1 hr waiting. We said it will ruin all our day with the appointment. We had ask if he can rush the car receiving so we wouldn't be late. We refused again for another upgraded car and decided to wait. He ask us if we want to insured the car and we answer "no. We have 1miliion liability from our business as we are in the transportation trucking moving."

While talking on the phone with the rental employee in January 2016, I asked about the insurance coverage. I asked the employee if everything was covered, no matter what happened to the car was it covered, he said yes. A non-alcoholic drink was spilled on the front seat and we just left the car and nothing was said at that time to us by the person checking us in when we returned the car. One month later, I received a letter saying my credit card was charged an additional $250 for removal of the stain. I contacted Budget and they said that damage to the inside of the car was not covered by the insurance. I said why didn't they tell me that when I rented the car. They said more or less to bad and that the charge would not be removed. DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET, OR IF YOU DO, GET IT IN WRITING WHAT IS COVERED AND WHAT IS NOT COVERED.

Rented a car from Budget and went to pick it up. The person behind the counter wanted to upgrade us to another car for an extra $6.00 a day so we declined and told him we want the car we rented. He went on wanting to sell us tire insurance which we thought ridiculous since the tires came with the car and it's Budget's responsibility that they should be in good condition.

I rented a small car and they offer me one for the same price but bigger. Of course I asked if it was for the same price and they said YES. After this and knowing it was for the same price I agree, well, they ended up charging me double, and now they said I accepted the upgrade!

Was not given the car I reserved, was charged a gas service option that I did not ask for, was charged .22 cents a mile even though I had unlimited mileage. I was asked if I wanted supplemental insurance, I declined but was told I had to initial next to it on the paperwork, turned out when I initialed it I accepted the insurance and was charged $72 for it. When I tried to dispute the charges after receiving my bill, I was told all those services were rendered so I could not get credit for any of them. Sales rep was very pushy and abrupt.

Had a car rental reservation from Budget at RSW airport - arrived and 25 people in line. After 30 mins and not one customer being helped I asked what the problem was and they said, "We are out of vehicles." Really with computer reservations and no vehicles for customers in line with reservations in hand. Being 8 pm and knowing that RSW is a smaller airport there was no way I would even get a rental by midnight.

Rented a car from Budget Fort Lauderdale Airport through Fast Break service and drove to Key West and returned the car 3 days later with a full tank and gave them the receipt for refueling just before I returned the vehicle 2 miles away from airport. It took Budget over 3 days to finalize my contract and send me a receipt and now I find that Budget Key West Airport is trying to rip me off by adding a fuel service and claiming that the car had the fuel at half. They charged me $77 dollars for fuel service!!! That doesn't even make sense since the car I rented has a fuel tank capacity of 15 gallons and fuel in Key West was around $2 so refueling would cost $15 for the price of gas so whatever the FEE is the total shouldn't reach $77.

This letter is intended to bring to your attention the complete lack of customer service and utter failure in the process for renting a vehicle at the airport Budget Car Rental location in Kahului, Maui. My husband and I travel frequently and always reserve a rental car. On a recent trip to Maui we reserved a vehicle from Budget for 2 weeks. Upon arriving at the Budget location on January 30, 2016 at approximately 5:15 p.m. we were amazed to see the entire front of the building congested with people waiting to pick up rental vehicles. There were easily 200 people waiting for vehicles. We were told by those waiting that we would need to go inside and get a number. After obtaining a number my husband was advised by the location manager, Vinnie, that it would be an approximate 45 minute wait. There were approximately 92 individuals in line ahead of us.

Reserved a Mid-Size car from Budget using Priceline - when I arrived at counter at DFW the agent "Vernon" never asked if I wanted upgrade - his spiel was "I have a nice car for you" - that was it. The price was different from what I reserved but I figured it was some type of Airport or city taxes. Yes it was buried in the contract I signed but after a long flight I don't know of anyone who reads the rental agreement word for word. We take for granted the Rental agency will honor our reservation as we made it.

I made a reservation online to rent a Minivan for 12/5/15, to move from my college dorm to my home state. When went to pick up the rental I was told the rental was reserved for the following weekend instead. Apparently if a vehicle is not available for the time requested the computer system defaults your rental date to the next available date. I told the agent I need a Minivan today and asked if anything was available. The agent said, "No," and suggested I call customer service. I called customer service and made arrangements to pick up a Minivan rental at a different location. I traveled to the other location and picked up the vehicle. Once my travels were completed I attempted to return the vehicle at the out of state location specified on my original reservation.

I made a car rental reservation with following details: Budget Standard SUV Chicago (MDW) Reservation dates Sep 4, 2015 - Sep 9, 2015 Itinerary # **, Confirmation # **. As you see I booked a standard size SUV but when we reached to Budget Rent-A-Car they said they don't have any SUV but just standard sedan. So I had no choice to take one sedan. I was advised to call next morning to see if they have any SUV available. I called many times to facility and to the manager directly but no one responded to my call. They did not refund any money so I ended up paying 3 times more than average price.

We rented a car from Richmond Airport. Could smell air freshener but the next morning the car reeked of cigarette smoke. We were traveling to Florida and checked for Budget locations so we can exchange cars since that is what Budget Rent-A-Car customer service told us. Note that Budget Rent-A-Car claims "smoke-free" cars. This is a violation of their contract to me. We cannot find a car comparable to what we paid for and most locations will not answer the phone. I have asthma and this is a health risk. We spent much of the day with the window down so we wouldn't have to breathe the cigarette smoke.

We took a red-eye and arrived in Newark NJ very early in the morning Feb 13, 2016 the coldest day of the year in NJ. The lady behind the counter gave us a car that was at the end of the parking lot. We walked to the car in freezing cold, loaded the luggage and kids sitting in the car. Then we realized there was no key in the car. I walked back to the office. The lady and her manager Mike ** did not say a word of apologies. They offered two other cars in the parking lot which I had to walk in the cold again to look at. No one in Budget cared to help. Mike simply said "Someone stole the key last week, it's not our fault." When my wife complained, the lady behind the counter screamed "You are not even the renter, you have no right to complain," meaning my wife's name was not on the contract!! I don't understand how Budget survived as a company with this kind of attitude. I will never rent from Budget again, even it's free.

I rented from Budget in October in Portland Oregon. I drove it to Bend Oregon one way and left it in a garage overnight. I returned the vehicle 2 days later. They are now trying to say that I owe them $1,000. I even had the gentlemen returning sign the waiver at the end with a written statement NOT TO CHARGE me.

I spent over an hour on the phone booking a car rental in Iceland. The person that I was speaking to stated a certain price and when I finally got an email it was much higher. In addition to that, the country was incorrect. The whole experience was a waste of time and the employees are completely incompetent. I am very disappointed and will not book with them again.

I rented a car from Budget for a 4-day period. After coming home I noticed that I was charged for roadside assistance which I had declined. My first call to Budget resulted in the customer REO "negotiating" with me to refund me 2 days of the fee. I did not accept since I declined the coverage. My second call to customer service was a horrible experience. Mario was rude and laughed repeatedly at my pronunciation, refused to allow me to speak with a supervisor and basically said "There's nothing you can do." I WILL NEVER RENT FROM BUDGET AGAIN.

I rented a vehicle from Budget through our company reservation system. At the airport I told the guy that my company has covered all the extra insurance so do not put any of those on me especially one that cost about $30 per day (I didn't remember it's name at that moment) and he said only the very basic ones would apply. I then signed the contract according to his instruction without careful reading and questioning - my usual way dealing with car rentals as I use them often.

I had reserved a car which I do monthly to visit my husband. My car won't make it. I booked online through Hotwire. I wanted to contact my local St George office to ask 2 question. After 3 days I have yet to speak to my local store. The first day the number was busy all damn day. So I called the 800 number, talked to some call center in god knows what country, just to be given a number in SLC 400 miles away from me, which was also busy. I tried for two days, always ended up in the stupid 3rd world call center repeating my issues 10 times just to be told ** that had nothing to do with my call.

The car I reserved had not been delivered. I chose an alternate vehicle and completed the rental (paperwork AND payment) after which the rep discovered that that vehicle was also not on the lot. I settled for a third vehicle and was given a discount (5%) and my total was $154. I drove my daughter to report for the military and it took longer than expected so I extended the rental for an additional day. I was charged an additional $185 (for a total of $339) and I was charged for TWO extra days. When I called customer service, after dealing with a rude rep, I asked for a supervisor and was told that she didn't have one.

I Rented a car from Budget through rentalcars.com, where they offered a small SUV for around $500 for 5 days in Los Angeles which I prepaid. When I arrived at the Budget counter I asked for a bigger SUV and they offered an upgrade and lead me to believe that with the upgrade my rental would cost about $785 in total, which would be fine. Finally I was charged the initial 500 and also another $785 extra which they now say it was the cost of the upgrade and the extra insurance. So what I thought would be a $500 rental ended up costing me more than $1200. The people at rentalcars.com tried to help and claim this extra charges but Budget refuses to help claiming I signed a contract and accepted the extra cost. So now there seems I can do nothing. I WILL DEFINITELY NEVER AGAIN RENT FROM BUDGE. Worst experience in car rentals ever.

Rented a car Seattle when I flew home over a weekend to visit my family. I was charged $175 for a cleaning fee because my little puppy left a little bit of fur on the seat. I protested the charge as it could have been done for $20. I warned the company if they proceeded to charge me I would never do business with them again as it was an outrageous fee. My dog didn't really leave a big mess and I could have vacuumed the little fur he left, but I didn't have the time. I will never again do business with this company for such an outrageous expense. All rentals get vacuumed and washed anyway after each rental. This was unnecessary.

Do not rent from these people. They will cheat you. Your billing will not match your reservation confirmation breakdown, they added insurance on my bill without my consent. Pure daylight robbery, I was charged $69 extra to have double insurance on their car. I have always rented with Avis for years in and outside the US with no billing issues. I rented a car from these Budget people when I booked flights from Dallas to LAX through Southwest airlines and sounded convenient. Alas, the convenience is not for you to enjoy but for Budget to suck you in their deceptive rental agreement that they can use to siphon extra dollars out for your hard earned income. So if you are renting here go ahead but bringing an attorney at your side to go over the terms on the paperwork is highly recommended. Because that front desk person who gives you the rental is probably going to have you sign up for the most expensive 5 or 7-day insurance policy.

I booked a car from Budget on Travelocity on 1-23-16. On 1-24-16 I called and asked them to change the date from 1-29-16 to 1-30-16. At Budget at JAX on 1-30-16 they informed me the date was note changed, and that I would have to pay for the extra day. Wanted me to pay about $140 for a one-way to ATL. They're crazy! I went elsewhere.

I attempted to book a reservation online. I entered all of my reservation information in, provided my credit card number and was given an error notice that my card was not accepted. I tried again, checking all of my numbers very carefully. Same error code. I then called my credit card company and was told I had been charged not once, but twice!!

I booked through Budget for a one day rental. I used a discount code on the back of my airline ticket to get up to 25% off. The total cost came to $59 if I paid in advance. So I did. When I arrived at SFO to pick up the car, I was greeted by Vincent **, a very rude person. I wanted him to know that I had already paid for the car as he did his thing behind the counter however he never acknowledged what I told him. Finally when he did say something besides ask for my license it was to tell me I would be charged an extra $24 because I was an hour early picking up the car and that I had told him 3 times that I had already paid for the car.

I rented a car and declined the insurance. I put no more than 30 miles on the car and the front tire shredded going down the freeway. I called for assistance. They said it would be an hour to hour and a half. I told them never mind I will change the tire myself and bring the car back for either a different car or a new spare. They gave me a new car. Month later got a bill in the mail for 25.00 roadside service and 169.23 for vehicle repair costs. I called and requested a review of what happened and they said it would be pushed to a different department which I never got a call back.

I booked a reservation via Budget.com. The site was advertising a special on the Ford Escape (or similar) for the same price over two weeks as a full-sized car. I clicked on it, clicked through the pages OK'ing my selection and got to the payment page, which offered a pre-paid price of $398, and I entered my credit card information and approved. The last page came up saying I was approved and I would have the Ford Escape for two weeks. BUT the follow-up confirmation email only had me getting the vehicle for six days for a different price. I tried to straighten it out in person, but they were absolutely unhelpful and said I had to call the 800 number because I was a "pre-pay".

Budget cars look cheap ($12/day and up) compared to Hertz ($24/day and up). But the hidden gotchas are: Extremely high rental charges (minimal + liability) of $48/day. Crappy dented, scratched car with no hub caps, 60,000 miles, squeaky brakes, no power lock/windows - individually lock all doors - broken radio, no USB etc of course. A digital gas indicator with bars which drop from full down within 10 miles. So on return they claimed only 7/8 full and charged $3.70/liter = approx $14/gallon (when street prices are $1.10/liter) for a total of $40 extra. A 5 day car rental of an old car cost $360. Checked with Hertz - same insurance, new model car would have come to $250. Avoid renting from Budget. It is anything but "budget" and gives you all the experience of staying in a roach motel.

On January 8th, my friend and I rented a car from the Budget Car Rental for 11 days to drive around Costa Rica. When initially signing the contract, we specifically asked for the lowest insurance package they would provide, the LDW package. Whether it was due to pure deception or miscommunication because of the language barrier, I was charged with paying for the insurance package that includes not only the LDW, but also their PAE and SCI package. A package that is around $500 more than what we had planned on spending.

I reserved a Full Size SUV weeks ahead of time, but when I arrived, I was told none were available. I was informed Budget would give me a "free upgrade," but found the last person's receipt in the car and they were charged half of what they charged me. The car I was then given did not match the vehicle on the paperwork, so that had to be changed and more of my time was wasted. The car had not been cleaned since the last renter and the last person's receipt was even still in the car. That is know how my "free upgrade" actually cost me double what Budget charged the last person. The gas tank was not full and the window washer fluid was empty. All the floors and the backseat were covered with white road salt. I really cannot think of any more ways Budget could have done a bad job.

I made a reservation for a rent car back on November 2015. The reservation was from 12/20/15 until 01/09/16 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We were supposed to get a Full Size Chevy Malibu or similar make. The first day we went to pick up the car the agency did not get a car for us, so they gave us a Kia Picanto mini, (this car was so small that our baggage did not fit in there) stating that they will provide us the car we rented by the end of the day.

I rented the car in the Little Rock, Arkansas Budget service site. I had asked for a car comparable to a Ford Fusion. At the time of pickup no cars were available and I was given a Dodge Challenger to drive. The following morning, very early, I drove to Dallas and parked at the hotel. Next day I noticed in the that the passenger side rear tire appeared to have almost no tread on it. Customer service was contacted. They stated the only location to return the car was to DFW airport, which I did that afternoon.

I had terrible experience with them. I rented a car during the summer for about 50 days and paid fully. When I returned the car at Los Angeles airport, they kept me waiting for about 45 minutes and told me that, "You owe us $250." I showed my reservation documents and convinced them that the car was prepaid. They had a bug in their system which was only showing the payment for one month, not for 50 days. I was about to miss my flight. I returned home and kept receiving letter that, "You owe us."

We prepaid for our rental car over 2 months ago. When we arrived at the counter they had run out of cars. They didn't try to assist in finding another rental - just "sorry there's nothing we can do."

I wrote a complaint to Budget after $640 debit on my Amex credit card for additional options selected by Budget agent in Miami airport without being informed. Recently I have been refunded by Budget. I appreciate Budget Customer Service.

I reserved a standard car (Chrysler 200 or similar) 11 days in advance for a trip to Dallas. Upon arrival, on my reserved date and time, they had 'no cars' available and only had SUV's. They said they rarely have cars available at this location. I asked about another location and they said they had already checked and that there were 'no cars' available at any other locations either. Since I had made plans with my daughter in Dallas that evening, I had no choice but to take one of their 'gas guzzler' SUV's, only got 20.6 MPG.

On December 2015 I rented (booked) a mini van on Budget Rent-A-Car of Miami Collins Av, and when I arrived there, they did not have the car for me, for my surprise in the store had three more customers with the same problem. The attendant told me that some another customer was going to return the car in one hour and told me to wait. With no choice I waited, but the car did not arrived, by the way he was gambling with my time because he could not guarantee that.

I phoned Budget to inquire about adding a driver. The customer service rep kept asking for detailed information. I only wanted to know a yes or a no and he hung up on me! Hanging up the phone on someone is the rudest thing you can do to anyone, let alone a customer. Good grief Budget!

We booked a rental for our trip to Phoenix months in advance. We found out a few weeks before our flight that it would be delayed 3 hours, so we called to change our pickup time. We were told not to worry, our car would be there, and we would still have 24 hours to return the car. When we arrived at the Phoenix airport an additional 2 hours later due to further flight delays, Brian, the rep we dealt with, told us not to worry, we would have 24 hours to return the car (so 3 pm instead of the original 10:30). So (after an hour wait in line) we got to our car to find it to be a compact SUV, meaning we had to drive 2 hours with luggage on our laps! Since we were already very late, we didn't try to get it switched (and wait another hour!) So we returned the car at 12:30 the next day - only to find the location in Tucson closed at noon!

I booked and prepaid a full-size car rental using Budget website. Everything seemed okay until I arrived to the airport in Ponce, PR. After having to wait 2 hrs due to an alleged computer malfunction, I was advised that the only cars available were compact and that they would get the type of vehicle I ordered the next day. Moreover, I was assured by the employee that the manager would be calling me the next day to arrange the vehicle exchange. The next day, 12/25, I received no call from Budget. I called the local office and the person who answered stated that she was not aware of the issue and said that no manager was available and furthermore they had no vehicles available. I submitted a formal complaint to Budget online and 5 days later I received a boilerplate response stating that they are investigating.

12/18 I prepaid for a car rental with Budget for a discounted rate. On the day I dropped off the car my credit card was charged an additional $258. I called Budget and they stated I agreed to additional insurance. I said, "No, I did not. Please send me documentation showing where I agreed." I received the additional insurance documentation via email (promptly) and the signature was not mine. I called customer service back and they stated, "Since you used the service we can't give you a refund." I see below in many other complaints this is what they are doing. I called my credit card to dispute the charge and told them this was fraud. I will be calling their corporate office 1-800-525-7521 on Monday. Maybe if a "Class Action Lawsuit" if filed against Budget this won't happen to more people. BEWARE OF USING BUDGET.

I left my scheduling book in my rental when I returned it and called customer service immediately to see if they could retrieve it. I spoke with Raven who was very nice and called me back when she found my item. I immediately went back to Budget and retrieved my book. My mother gave me an envelope containing a some cash to help me with some finances, and I put in my scheduling book. I checked that the envelope was still there when I picked up my book but it wasn't until I got back to home when I found out my mother gave me $1,000. I was short $400, and I gave Raven $20 for retrieving my book but at the time didn't realize they had already stolen 40% of my gift. I am disabled and ill making me unable to deal with this situation at the time. The Budget employees of Boston Logan Airport are nothing but conmen and thieves. I would stay far away from this business in the future.

I reserved a rental car thru budget at the Ontario California airport. I paid for it weeks in advanced with my bank debit card. Had no issue. Was told over the phone that when I arrive to bring my D.L and debit card. Which I did but when I got to the counter with my husband and 2 children they tell me that they need to run my credit. Once they did they then say "sorry but you don't have good enough credit to rent one of our cars", at that time I'm pissed. I prepaid for the car that I can't get now and my kids, husband and myself are stranded in Ontario. They wouldn't give me my money back. I had to call their 800 number talk to 4 different people to get my money refunded to me and then told it takes 5-7 business days. WHAT. So you're telling me I prepaid for a car I don't qualify for.

First of all, Budget and Avis are the SAME car rental company. Rented a car in May for a week in Honolulu while on vacation. Paid almost $500.00 for 7 days but figured everything in Hawaii was a little bit more expensive... Oh well. On day four, family and I went out to eat and returned to find our car would not start. The battery wasn't dead, but apparently the key fob or the anti-theft system wouldn't allow the car to start. It would've been nice if I had TWO keys, but that was never an option I guess. I was on the North shore about as far away from my hotel and Honolulu as one can get and had to call the 800 emergency number. Long story short, they brought me another car, took the non-starter and we continued our vacation. When I turned in rental at end of vacation I asked if everything was in order and if there were any additional charges and was told no... Everything’s fine.

I rented a car for two weeks and rejected all add-ons when they were offered to me at the check-out desk. I even prepaid for the rental six days prior to picking up the car. When returned the car, I was charged an additional $119.59 for the Road Safety Net ("RSN") option. I told them I did not accept any of the add-ons offered, but they told me they "checked their records" and said that I did accept the RSN. THEY ARE LIARS AND SCAM ARTISTS. So far, Budget has ignored all my follow-up emails. I am contesting this with my credit card company.

I made a reservation to rent a car, called back to change and was quoted a different price since I would be returning it 27 hours earlier. When we returned the car, we were charged the full amount. When I talked to Budget about the cost, they said I was charged the full amount because I had the car for 8 hours our second day. Wrong - will never rent from you again.

I book my car and when I went to pick it up I check my bank account and they had charged me 3 times for the same rental. I ask them why and they had no answer. They assured me it would be refunded in 5 hours. That was a lie. It has been two days now and still my money has not been returned. I usually rent from Enterprise and have never had a problem. Do not rent from Budget. If you do, be prepared to get ripped off in one way or the other.

Made a car reservation with Budget Rent A Car. The day before pick-up of car, received a call from the Budget Rent A Car manager saying the car was not available and offered an unacceptable replacement vehicle. They wouldn't even give a discount for the inconvenience. I will NEVER use Budget again. Poor business practices. If you commit to having a vehicle, and I have a confirmation from them, you should deliver.

We rented a car from Budget. My husband inspected the vehicle for damages at the time of pick-up as best he could as the vehicle was parked in a darkened airport garage. On the way home the tire pressure light on the dash came on. The car was handling fine, so we finished the short distance to our home. My husband then check the tires, which were much easier to see since the vehicle was now outside. One of the tires had a large gash in it and the rim had a rusty dent, in the same area.

I rented a car from Budget rental car on 11/16/15. Once I got in the car and was at my destination I notice the tire indicator light was on. I called roadside assistance as directed when you get the car. Roadside assistance came out, changed the tire and left. At no time was I informed that I would have to pay for a new tire. Upon returning the car, I let the desk agent know what happen and I received a discount for the inconvenience. Two weeks later I was charged for that service and I have yet to get a receipt. Each time I have called I'm directed to another department that does not handle this. It has been over a month since I returned my car and still have nothing to show for the extra charge. NEVER EVER RENT WITH BUDGET. THEIR CARS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE ARE BEYOND TERRIBLE.

I cannot begin to express my displeasure at the outright fraud on behalf of Budget in regard to the above rental. I booked a rental car through Hotwire and was quoted $213 dollars for the 8 day rental. When I showed to pick up the car, I was informed that there is a mandatory insurance of $191 and the car would not be released without these coverages.

I was told by my elite credit card that Budget offered better deals on rental cars thru them, but found out this is not true unless you contact them in advance. I had a car repair that was going to take a day or two so I went to Budget and they informed me I would not get any type of good rate without advance notice. I just needed the car for one day and to me, one day meant that I could return the car at any time the next day as I can when I rent with Enterprise.

I made a reservation online. When I checked in at the airport I was asked to add several items. I verbally declined extra insurance. I stated I am covered by my personal policy, roadside assistance (I have AAA) and a larger vehicle (I was told it may snow so I should get an SUV. I stated to keep the mid size.) I went through the screens (can't remember the exact wording, but there were no prices for anything on the screen). When I returned the car I had an additional charge of $86.97. When I called the 800 number I was told that I signed the screen and the charges stand.

I missed a flight from Dallas Love Field to Albuquerque on 11/10/15 and rented a car to drive back. The Budget Rent a Car employee Bobby who rented me the vehicle didn't tell me about any return period grace time and told me I was "covered" for insurance and then charged me for liability insurance etc. without asking me or telling me it was optional. I hit some traffic and was checked in at 7:23 pm, the arrival time printed on my rental agreement was 6:55 pm. My original charge was supposed to be $238.98 for a one day, one way rental. The employee named Sarah at the Albuquerque airport where I returned the car charged me for another day bringing my total to a whopping $433.36 for a one day rental.

I had been a victim. I had been stolen. On December 9th 2015 I called Budget Car Rental in Nashua, New Hampshire. One of the employee that work at this location, led me to give my credit/debit card information with the understanding that it was only to secure the rental. But he said that no amount would be charged on the card unless I came down personally to the store and sign the contract, and confirmed the transaction. I had this conversation over the phone around 2:30 pm and I was supposed to come down to the store to see the car at 5:30 pm that same day.

While in Louisville I rented a car from Budget for three days travel. On the 3rd day the car broke down, so I contacted Budget and they dispatched their towing company and picked up the car. Next I receive an additional charge for $773.56 for extra days rental not used. Have tried to contact Budget but they keep referring me to their different departments without results. Their reps are very rude. Stay away from Budget Car Rentals.

We have rented cars with Budget 8 times, for a total amount of $1,400. The first time we rented a car was on the 25 of September and it was for the day, and we encountered a major problem. The doors of the car locked automatically when we closed them. As we informed one of the employees at Budget downtown Flagstaff, we were locked outside of the car, with all the car papers as well as our personal belongings in the car. The engine was on, and we were unable to do anything. We therefore called Budget, asking them for help. The person on the phone, wouldn’t send anyone to help us out since we wouldn’t give the reservation number (knowing that I had repeatedly explained that all the papers were locked inside the car). At the end of the call, the employee informed me that they were going to send someone to open the car for us, and that it would take around 30 minutes.

I made a reservation to pick up the car at a location. I called to confirm and suddenly was told that my reservation has been canceled/dropped by the system. Apparently, that location had a big demand so they just dropped my reservation since they made more demands than the offer. It'd have been worse if I went there and find out that there is no car available. I was a bit luckier to call and confirm. They didn't even care to notify me that my car reservation was canceled by them for no valid reason. This business has NO place in the car rental market and consumers should avoid them and punish their bad practice...

We returned our rental car in excellent condition. Had the inspection upon the return and the woman inspecting the car said everything looked good and have a nice day. Thinking everything was fine until our credit card was charged 150.00. for excessive sand in the car. We never went to the beach! There was probably some normal gravel from the street/pavement. We called to complain and they said they will send our complaint to the accounting department. 2 weeks went by we checked again and they said no they are not reviewing it, and they never had record of our fist phone call. So we will be taking this to the Attorney General's office because this is fraud! The thing I regard most is not reviewing all of the reviews of Budget prior to renting our car because I would have never rented from them! They have terrible reviews. So protect yourselves. Theirs initial prices are lower but they get their money at the end. Beware!