Budget Car Rental Reviews

I reserved a car rental at the Budget Nashville airport counter for 8/25 to 8/29. Confirmation #38xxxxxxxxx. I paid $168.84 online via a credit card. I was dropped off at the airport to pick-up the car. After completing the paperwork, the attendant informed me that $200 was needed as well on a credit card "for incidentals". This was not made clear in the initial online reservation.

I am only recently employed after a long time out of work, and I shopped for a while to find an affordable option to rent this car. I struggled to have enough money to afford the rental to take my daughter to boarding school (where she was awarded a 4-year, full ride scholarship). I needed a larger car to transport her new school stuff. It is a stretch to afford even this, but I can't deny my daughter this life-changing opportunity.

The surprise imposition of an additional $200 holding charge to my account was beyond my means. There just wasn't enough money against my credit limit to afford this. I have only 1 credit card. My debit card likewise didn't have enough to cover this charge.

I offered to pay the $200 through a combination of $100 on the credit card, $85 cash and balance on the debit card. This was refused. My gripe now and at the counter was that this charge was not clearly advertised. The attendant would not take another person's credit card that agreed on the phone to accept the $200 holding charge.

Frankly, this policy of a hidden charge sets a potential customer up for a deeply humiliating experience and is likely (and did) elicit colorful language on my part. The utterly false "I understand" boilerplate repeatedly offered up by the attendant only enraged me, as it was clear that they neither understood nor cared about my circumstance as a customer.

After pausing for a moment to control my anger and fight back tears at the situation I now found myself, I arranged for my transport to return to the airport and put the charge on his credit card. This person was also annoyed by the situation and said as much on the phone to the attendant. Several minutes later, the attendant informed me that they would not rent the previously arranged contract despite the impending arrival of another person to physically sign for the $200 charge.

This seemed vindictive to me. I was told that the reservation would have to be cancelled online. I did not have access to internet (no smart phone or laptop with me). When I protested, the attendant threatened to call airport security to have me removed from the premises, despite the fact that I never physically threatened anyone.

I removed myself to the seating area in an attempt to collect myself. A lawyer, who witnessed most of this interaction at the adjacent Avis counter, came up to me and explained that he was appalled by my treatment and offered to vouch that I was not threatening anyone. He let me use his laptop to cancel my reservation. At this point, I hoped to still rent a car with another company. The very slow airport internet finally allowed me to cancel my reservation, where I was treated to a $50 cancellation fee.

However, the temporary authorization of the $168 would stand for up to 7 business days, thus denying me the ability to rent from anyone else. Budget has stolen $50 from me through the cancellation fee, when I was forced to do so by the staff's refusal to rent to me. Budget also temporarily stole an additional $118, tied up in temporary authorization, preventing me from renting from a competitor.

I never made my original destination that night to pick up my daughter and take her to a high-school football game with her former classmates before leaving for school the next day. She was in tears, I was in tears and two other people were inconvenienced by this policy and the refusal of the attendant to complete the transaction after I arranged to meet the unreasonable conditions. I eventually arranged for another person to rent the car for me the following morning through a competitor.

I drove directly to Budget, returning the car to the walking check-in person. I also told him that the gas gauge did not register full and told him the above story. He said it was okay. He checked me in, and away I went. I had no reason to leave the tank short 2.2 gallons.

I believe that this is Budget's way of nickeling and dimeing unsuspecting customers to make a profit. Unless I am credited for the 2.2 gallons, I will gladly take my business elsewhere.

I was in a rush to catch my plane to find that the $349.99 jumped way ahead to $794.46. I was on the plane but once I got to Miami, I called to get the price reduced to its original record. I noticed the additional charges that were unauthorized. I called customer service and complained of the outlandous way of treating their customers. This was a trick, not a fare call, and I will never ride the budget again. I receive $149 credit, but I will still be going forward with my decision.

This is a scam! They said that they would take half off, but I refused to even pay half considering I never agreed to anything additional.

I will never use Budget or Avis again and I will warn everyone I know about their evil tactics.

I had a prepaid Priceline reservation. At the rental counter, I clearly declined all insurance. The clerk apparently failed to note the refusal of the LDW insurance and I did not notice this at the time of the rental. Whether this action was intentional on the part of the clerk in an effort to commit fraud or simply an inadvertent error remains to be seen. I signed the rental agreement presuming that they merely needed my wet signature on the Priceline paperwork, never expecting that these were additional charges.

As I was leaving Guam at 7:50 am on Mar 27, 2011, I arrived at the airport at 5:00 am. Immediately upon arriving at the airport, I go to turn in the key for my rental car. When I arrived at the counter, there was no one in attendance to accept the key. Since it was early and no one was at the counter, I then went to check in my bags. After checking my bags in at 6:00, I went back to the rental car checkout counter and again no one was there to receive the keys. I waited for over an hour and 30 min, until 7:30, to turn in the key, to no avail. I waited as long as I could before my plane departed but still no one showed up to receive the key and neither was there a visible drop box to leave the key secure. Therefore, I left the key on the counter and ran to the security check point to board my plane. I have the airline boarding pass to prove I left on March 27.

It was not until April 22, 2011, while checking to ensure the rental charge had been satisfied that I noticed $1,942.20 was debited from my account by Budget. Because of my military duties, I sent my first email to Budget on May 5, 2011 inquiring about these charges. I received a reply from Budget on May 6, 2011 informing me the car has not been checked in. My first thought was why did it take more than a month to discover one of your cars was missing when I only contracted the car for one week. I sent a response back on May 9, 2011 explaining what happened and that it was unprofessional for no one to be manning the counter and that I had no choice but to leave the key on the counter. I never received a response from Budget on my May 9th email which, by the way, is not a good way to do business. It seems strange to me that anyone besides someone who worked at the rental car agency could know which car to take or the location of the car.

While disputing and awaiting a resolution and response on the $1,942.20 taken from my account, another charge of $2,736.95 was taken from my account on Jun 3, 2011. I tried to call repeatedly when those charges was taken, with no one answering the phone. I then sent another email on May 16 and did not get a response until May 21st stating they had found the car and that a police report will be emailed to me as soon as it is made available to them. This does not seem correct because if the car was found, a report should have been sent to resolve the case. As of the date of this email, I still have not received a police report.

To date, your company has behaved in a very unprofessional manner. You have taken exactly $4,679.15 from my account without bothering to contact me to ascertain what happened to the car nor did your company take into consideration what impact taking this much money from me will have on my financial situation or what other bills I may have to pay. Because of your unethical conduct, my house is in danger of being in foreclosure, my car is in danger of being repossessed and my government travel card has not been paid which is putting my military career in jeopardy.

This issue needs to be resolved and my money returned to me less what I actually need to pay for the original week I contracted. In hindsight, I could have handled this situation differently. I could have taken the key with me and mailed it back but as I have not been in such a situation before, I was not able to think. On the other hand, with people traveling locally and internationally, someone should have been manning the desk, which makes your company just as liable.

This issue has taken 4 months to resolve. My finances are in chaos. I am getting charged bank fees left and right due to your company's actions. As I am in Korea, I am appealing to you to give me my money back and resolve this issue. This matter is being handled unprofessionally by your company. You took my money on two separate occasions as if your company bares no responsibility or liability. Questions should be asked on your company's part, why did it take so long to know this car was missing as I only reserved it for a week? Why was I not informed immediately instead I was informed of it a month later when all my personal information was given at the time of the rental? Why was I not interviewed by the police. I was the one who rented the car so how could an effective investigation be conducted without me being questioned? Why was my money taken before a police investigation was conducted? Why was the money taken prior to resolution of the case?

I need a quick resolution to this matter. If not, I have no other option but to seek legal recourse plus damages. I am not threatening your company. I am only looking at the facts as I have presented them and anyone, even a court of law, can see I am a victim here. I gave my credit card to rent a car with the understanding, the car would be checked for damages, and to insure the car was refilled and then my card would be charged only once to satisfy my rental contract.

In addition, if this is not resolved as quickly as possible, I will launch a campaign throughout the Military and the Civilian Sector so this will not happen to anyone else. I do not want to issue threats but I seem not to have any other recourse. I do not wish to damage or hurt your company's reputation but I will do my best through letters and the media if need be to get a quick resolution. This whole situation is being handled shabbily. Your company, as a whole, is not to blame but the rental car people in Guam is not very cooperative.

Please help me resolve this issue.

Adrien **

Prior to leaving Las Vegas, I called the rental place in Burbank to explain the situation. I was then referred to the 800 number because they couldn't help me. I called the 800 number three times and was given the run around (e.g. wrong dept., "let me check" and subsequently disconnected). After spending about two hours trying to get help I called one last time and explained my story again. At this point it was getting dark and I was concerned for my safety driving through the desert with a car that had mechanical problems. I asked if I would be able to drop off the car at a Budget in Vegas. They stated "yes" I would be able to do this. I asked if I needed a confirmation number or to speak to anyone else as this was not the location where I originally picked up the vehicle from. They checked and confirmed no further action was needed, as long as it's a Budget I should be able to drop it off with no issues.

When I arrived, I checked the car in and let the clerk know the situation and that I had to book a flight because no one was able to assist me in the situation. The clerk mentioned "so do you want to talk to the manager or check out" I told him I would have to speak to the manger at a later time as I had a flight to catch. He did not seem concerned about the vehicle having issues but he was trying to rush me out. He rang up my car and did not mention the amount and I asked if he had already charged it to my credit card he said yes as they have it on file. I received a receipt for the $116. (Note: I'm pretty convinced they rented this vehicle out to another customer and didn't look into the mechanical issues it had, possibly putting another customer's safety in danger.)

During this entire ordeal no one ever mentioned additional charges being made. Even my receipt read $116.00. According to their website they advertise "No Surprise".

Well the following day I received a $1,547.00 surprise charge for dropping off my vehicle in Vegas in addition to the $116.00 for the rental. That's not including how much I had to pay for my flight ticket, which is $188.00 due to this situation I was put in.

When I spoke to the manager, Luis Uz of the Budget Rental at Burbank, not only did I receive sarcasm, but he was condescending as well. I explained everything to him and asked him to put himself in my shoes, his response to that was I wouldn't drive a car all the way to Vegas if I noticed it was an issue. I explained to him the shaking occurred briefly and stopped, I wasn't concerned at the time because I thought it was the road at the time. I asked if maintenance and checks were done on their vehicles. His response was "we cannot decommission a car and let it sit for two days not being available." I asked how he knew their vehicles were running fine and safe and I was amazed and shocked at what he responded with. He stated "we won't know unless the customer reports a problem to us" then they will decommission it till it's resolved.

So I guess as a consumer it's my responsibility to serve them as a crash dummy and wait for something to happen before anything is done. He continued to argue that I "did not give them a chance to correct the issue" yet I called in four times to get it resolved, I even called his office and nothing was done.

Every time I spoke to representatives they spoke to me like I wasn't their problem and passed me along, no one was focused on the car issue or my safety but focused on getting me off the phone. After this extremely stressful and shocking conversation he finally agreed to look into it and would contact Vegas. He stated unless they believe the car is not drivable, I would have to pay the $1500 charge. I let them know my priority was my safety so that was the reason I booked a flight and did not take that car. He stated he would then call me that day or the next day. I asked him if he also wanted me to speak to Vegas or corporate or if there was anything else I can do on my end. He said no wait for my call.

After 2 days and 2 messages the manager finally contacted me stating that there was nothing wrong with this vehicle according to their office in Las Vegas, which led me to believe he was either lying to me, or they drove the car in street traffic, which does not trigger the problem. During my stay I did mention it to a friend who drove with me down the block and she said, she too experienced the issue. But it must have been our imagination, as the dealership according to the manager "wouldn't gain anything from lying about the car working". Really? I see a gain of $1616.00. To add insult to injury he gave me an option of negotiating 50% of the $1,500 cost. How do you figure I owe them when they provide with a faulty car and every attempt in trading it out failed on their part and lack of accurate information played a huge factor in my decision. I believe I exhausted every option. This was supposed to be a vacation, instead I'm here dealing with a cost that totaled $1,851.00 for transportation due to the failure of them maintaining their vehicles. This should have remained at a $116.00 cost with a functioning vehicle. This is Toyota all over again. It will take a disaster before they will be willing to admit they're at fault. They still refused to take responsibility and give me my money back!!

The tricksters are continuing to defraud the country.

Then I started getting letter after letter from Budget, asking where their money was. I would call every time to give them all the insurance claim information - the adjusters name, phone number, claim number, etc. Still - more letters. I'd call every time and go through Budget/Avis's horrible customer representatives.

I eventually got a letter from Budget saying they were going to turn me over to a collection agency! I called Budget and they said that they hadn't received the money from Visa. Visa said they sent a "release" to Budget, but hadn't received it back yet. I finally got a Budget representative to admit that they had the release, but hadn't sent it back in yet.

So essentially, they're threatening to turn me over to a collection agency because they haven't returned paperwork to Visa to get their money.

Upon arriving at the airport location, the woman informed us that they were out of the mid-size cars, which we had reserved, but she could give us an upgrade to a Dodge Ram or Mustang for almost the same price. We agreed, after all, we needed a car and they didn't have what we requested. Upon giving us the total, she swiped the debit card, looked at it then said she couldn't rent to us with us using a debit car on a luxury vehicle. I kindly asked if they had anything cheaper to which she replied, "We can't rent to you, period."

They were refusing to rent us a car because we were using a debit card, even though the website clearly stated we could. When I explained why we didn't bring any credit cards with us, she simply said, "Sorry, try another company. Good luck."

So we're supposed to be stranded in a strange city with no car! Without an explanation! So my husband and I went down to Alamo Rental Cars, who were happy to rent us a car using our debit card.

I told him that I did not want to pay for an upgrade. That person submitted my request and got a call later which I turned down as I signed for it. I asked for a supervisor to call but I received no call.

At this point I asked if I could cancel my reservation and just rent a car without one. The woman told me they were currently out of cars and were only offering SUV's so unless I wanted to pay for an SUV it would be best to wait for my reservation to come through. To make a long story short my reservation was made for 6 and I was not in a car until 8. That was 2 hours after my car was supposed to be ready. Come to find out the reason why it took 2 hours to get this rental car was not because my reservation had not come into their system but they did not want me to have an SUV for the car price. So they were waiting for someone to return a car before they would rent me a vehicle. Instead of telling me this they lied to me.

So I finally get in my rental and on my way. Once I got my rental car to my hotel I noticed that the headlights were not working. I did not think much about it at the time I just assumed that the headlights were not turning on because it was still day light. The next day I drove to Texas during the day light and once I got there I just parked the car at my hotel and did not drive it at night. The next night though I did need to drive my car at night and the headlights still did not come on. The parking lights and the bright lights worked but the dim lights did not. I called the emergency roadside assistance number because the Monroe Louisiana office where I rented the car was closed. I was then informed that corporate could not help me out or send me a new car because the Budget in Monroe Louisiana was not a car of the corporation which left me stranded in downtown Austin Texas without a ride. So I was forced to take a taxi to my hotel.

The next day was my day to return home and have the car returned. When I got to the Budget in Monroe I let them know the headlights did not work and I was stranded in Texas and corporate told me it should not be a problem for them to refund me one days off my bill because they were not able to send me a working car out. I was then told that they were not going to refund me any money because I did not call them to inform them the head lights were not working. To which I responded with you were closed when I needed a new car and I was bringing the car back today so what was the point in calling?

They told me that it was not their fault the headlights did not work in the car they check all the cars before they rent them out. I know they did not check the car before they rented it to me because it had just come in. Four other people then came to the counter to put in their opinion on why I should not get one day refunded back to me. This one man who worked there asked me if the air went out in a home I rented would I expect money off my rent just because it went out. To which I responded YES too. Needless to say all I got refunded from my $335 bill was $10.99. So I filled a corporate complaint and when I was filling the corporate complaint they also assured me they did not understand what the problem was with refunding me one day off my bill which was all I was asking for. I am waiting now to hear from someone that working in higher management in the Budget Corporation.

Inane and stubborn customer service makes this location. I would stay away from this in the future.

Let's start at the beginning. We arrived at the Whitehall Budget Location in Ohio and to our surprise, the door was locked and no one was there. There was a sign on the door that said "Processing cars call a phone number given." When I called the number, it seemed to be someone's cell phone number, which went to voice mail. I left a message asking where everyone was because it was now 12:16 pm and I was supposed to pick up my car at 12 pm and no one was there. A few other customers joined us so my husband decided to walk around to the back to see if anyone was there. He found the processing area but no employees. We waited a little longer and then several cars came rushing into the parking lot....the staff had finally arrived and opened the doors. Keep in mind that the location supposedly opened at 8 am.

He processed our reservation. I informed him that I didn't see any Fusions in the parking lot and if they were at the back being processed. He said no, that they only have an Impala ready. The only Impala in the parking lot I saw looked like a customer had just returned if after a rough ride--certainly not like one that was ready to be rented out. He advised me that indeed was the one he was referring to. I refused the car. I called your sales department and spoke with Kelly.

I informed her of the situation and she graciously agreed to contact the nearby Budget at CMH Airport and gave me new reservations there. We left that location, got to the airport location. Of course there was a long line so we waited and waited and waited and waited. Finally, our turn at the counter. We were given coupon voucher as a courtesy because of previous issues we have had in March. On the vouchers, they had my husband's name. On the new reservation Kelly placed, she put it in my name. The girl refused to let us use the vouchers because of this. I asked if she could just put the reservation in my husband's name; she said no, that I would have to call reservations back. I went to a bench and proceeded to call Kelly back to let her know the current situation. She asked me to request that the girl behind the counter just switch the name of the reservation to my husband's. She told me no reservations have to do that. Kelly asked to speak with her and after their chat, the girl finally agreed to do the change.

After she got off of the phone with Kelly, she told me to get into the back of the line. I was like...wow, seriously?! She ignored me and proceeded to help the next customer in line. By this time, it's past 1:30. I was fuming and steaming. My poor husband, who hadn't gotten off of work until 5 am this morning and is due to be back at 3 pm this afternoon, is nearly comatic. I bit my tongue and waited in line AGAIN behind three customers.

FINALLY, it's my turn AGAIN and this time we got the manager. He processed the reservation, forgot to apply the coupons but quickly corrected it and proceeded to hand us the keys to a Ford Fusion. We walked out to the parking lot. I was thinking finally we got what we should have gotten at noon, although now it's well after 2 pm. We got to the car, very nice and very pleased. It had a sun roof, pretty red color and looked like it just had gone through the wash. At the back, there was a white arrow point down to the lower right side panel where someone apparently hit it. At this point, we just documented that along with other scuff marks along the bumper, soiling and dust on the interior and just know it's just not worth anymore of our precious time or mental energy to go back inside to request another one...we just took it.

My poor husband has been at work 12 minutes now. The plan had been to pick up the rental car at NOON so he could come home and take a nap before another long shift. No such luck. He barely had enough time to change into his work clothes and grab a quick bite in order not to be late for work. He probably won't get off until 5am in the morning again. Our anniversary is tomorrow (7/2) and we're supposed to be taking our first trip alone in five years without the kids. It's a seven-hour drive. We left at 6 am. I'm sure he'll sleep the entire way there now. This is not a great way to start off our anniversary weekend.

We're very disappointed at the lack of care and concern by certain employees of yours today. That Whitehall location needs a makeover on both the establishment and the employees. Very unprofessional. The customer service staff at both locations need to be retrained on customer service. The entire day we were made to feel as if we were burdening them with our presence. We weren't greeted with smiles of hello-how-may-I-assist-you-today but with annoyed looks of what-do-you-want.

You're immediate attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

We turned the car in, Budget did a walk around and saw no damage and signed off on the car. (We did take other vehicle's license number but don't see why they should be involved either now that no damage was confirmed at rental site.) Now, a full week later, they are saying the drivers' door has scratches and needs to be repainted! They state car was "dirty" and it could not be seen. This car was not driven in any high dirt or mud environment so makes no sense. Of course it is ridiculous with a signed off walk around also. Angry that we even have to be harassed by this shenanigan at all. It has not been settled yet. Will not rent from Budget again and we go to Nanaimo frequently.

When I returned the car I explained what had happened, fully and naively expecting that it would not be an issue. Instead, to my horror, I was told I would be charged GBP 110 for the loss of the plastic trim. I complained there and then but had a flight to catch back to the USA and so could not afford the time to work out the matter. On returning to the USA, I immediately contacted Budget's customer services in an attempt to resolve the matter. My hopes went unmet and I was informed curtly by email that the damage was my responsibility and that the charge applied.

On June 8th GBP 481.46 was taken from my account by Budget. The original quote was for GBP 217.13. With additional charges for an extra driver,a pre-paid tank of fuel (which I do not believe saved me any money at all, as promised by the sales person, and indeed may well have cost me money), and the GBP 110 charge, the total should have been GBP 452.61 - a discrepancy of GBP 28.85.

I immediately informed the people with whom I had emailed of the discrepancy and asked for at least the GBP 28.85 to be reimbursed. Instead, they clearly refused to believe me, emailed me a copy of the receipt, and stated, "as you can see from the rental contract it does state 452.61." That was on June 9th. Today is June 16th. I have written to Budget repeatedly in the intervening time asking for clarification of why they have taken excess money from my account and asking to be reimbursed. As yet the only response I have received apart from automatic out-of-office replies and automatic "we will respond as soon as we can" replies, is one email from a customer services representative, stating, "I have forwarded your complaint onto Budget Customer Services and have asked them to reply directly to you." Needless to say, I have heard nothing from Budget Customer Services. Needless to say again, I will never be using Budget or Avis Rental Car companies again.

We were there for over 45 minutes. On 6/6/11 my fiancé and daughter returned the vehicle and the rep did not do a walk around with my fiancé nor did my fiancé think to ask for one. 10 minutes after my fiancé left I received a call from Budget local office stating that I needed to come and fill out an accident notice because there was a dent on the left front tire well. She (Budget rep) stated that she noticed it after she pulled the van into the garage to have it washed and then pulled it back out.

I automatically assumed it was someone from my neighbor's house that accidentally backed into the van as they were backing out of their driveway. My fiancé and I pulled into the Budget parking at the same time and the dent was noticeable from at least a car length away. So I am stuck wondering why if this dent was there, and that big when the van was dropped off, why did the rep, my fiancé and my daughter not notice it then?

So then I am wondering if maybe the rep could have done it moving the van. And since my fiancé didn't realize to request a walk around prior to his leaving, I had to report it to my auto insurance. I also notice that there was a $100 that was charged to my debit card and was told that the $100 is a hold and would be refunded to me less any additional charges. Which I was assuming would be no more than $30 due to the upgrade of $5 per day. Then on 6/7/11 I again checked my back and not only is the $100 still pending but now there was an additional charge of $62.22 for a total of $162.22. I called the local office that I got the car from and was told by a man with a Middle Eastern accent.

I asked his name and couldn't understand what he said. He said that he would look into it and call me back in a couple of minutes. I waited for 2 hours and then called him back. He stated that the $162.22 was that amount of the upgrade and that there was nothing in the system showing that I was offered only $5 a day additional. I asked for the corporate office number and was giving customer service and was told the same thing. When I became upset she stated that she would call the manager at the local office and call me back. I have yet to receive a call back. And I am still out $162.22. I am totally disgusted with Budget Rent a Car and their so-called "customer service".

Those people conned me. And they did so intentionally and they try to justify it with some BS rationale that apparently made sense to them. Then I checked my credit report and it turns out they checked my credit, without telling me. Apparently it's their standard procedure when someone uses a debit card which makes no sense at all. It's a federal offense if someone looks up my credit report without my permission, and how is it is legitimate when companies do it without disclosing this fact to the consumers?! When they check your credit report, it affects your credit score. How is this standardized practice? It's outrageous that corporations can just get away conning and scamming consumers. Budget robs you blind and faces no consequences. I don't think there are any legal remedies for me because I stupidly signed the contract without taking my time to read through. I just hope other people won't be scammed by Budget in the future.

As a Fastbreak member, and having chosen their prepay option when I reserved, I should be able to grab the keys and go when I pick up; and drop the car and keys off, and say goodbye as soon as they've checked the fuel level. My recent experiences at Budget are nowhere near this. On my latest rental, there was no one manning the Fastbreak line. I had to wait 15 minutes just to get to the counter, and then it took an incredible 23 minutes longer to get the car, even though I'd prepaid.

When I turned the car,and the required gas receipt in (because I'd driven less than 75 miles), I was told the charge would be $24+. Luckily, I'd recently reviewed my reservation and knew it was supposed to be $18+; else I'd have said okay and left. However, that $24 wasn't the total it was balance due after prepaying the total! Arrrgh! After quite a long time, it was determined that since, on check out, they'd given me a larger car than I'd asked for (which of course often happens, when that's all they have), they wanted to charge me for an "upgrade" totaling more than twice what the total should have been.

Budget used to be a pleasure to deal with but now they're just more Corporate Crapola.

When I rented the van, I did the normal walk around (along with the 5 other people that were with me) and saw that there was damage to the vehicle. I filled out there piece of paper, took it to the desk and had the employee sign off on it. She said to turn in the paper when I returned the vehicle. When I returned the van, I turned in the paper and the man that checked me in walked the vehicle and acknowledged that I turned in the paper and saw the damage that was done prior to me renting. He charged my credit card for my rental and I was done.

I believe they are scamming people. I am ready to take this to the top. I made several calls today to Budget and could only reach their corporate Customer Service Center who documented my complaint and said someone would be in contact with me. She also mentioned that sometimes when they don't know who damaged the vehicle, they will send it to everyone who has rented the car in the last 6 months. Can you say scam?

Use Dollar, Hertz or National, they do not cheat customers.

When I learned of this, I immediately contacted Budget Rent A Car at 1-800-GO-BUDGET and informed the phone operator by the name of Reuben, that I needed him to make the necessary reservations with roadside assistance. I wanted them to pick up the car from my new home address and that it needed to be picked up that day because I was being picked up by family and I would be out of town for several months. I also informed him where the keys would be. Reuben gave his word that he'd have someone retrieve the vehicle. I also explained to him my reason for needing it to be done this way due to the suspended license. I wasn't comfortable driving and didn't want to assume any responsibility for any accident, etc.I thought I was using my best judgment by notifying the company directly. The company may have even tried contacting me but again, my phone was off and also where I was the cell reception wasn't/isn't that great.

I returned back home a couple of months later only to discover the vehicle still in the drive way. Reuben had not honored his word. I made 2 additional phone calls and was told that (1) We can't find a contract (2) We'll have someone pick it up and we apologize that this wasn't done. It appears, I was getting some reps abroad because they didn't seem to understand me very well. I was unable to contact the company where I rented from because my phone was cut off due to being out of work so I had to call the toll free number available. The last 2 times I called the company, I was placed in the queue for a little over an hour each time and disconnected on, as well being placed on hold for a period of time. The experience was very aggravating and stressful.

I was able to book flights for my family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on SWA with no change fees incurred. I attempted twelve times to contact the budget office at BWI by phone between the afternoon of 12/26 and throughout the day on 12/27. This action was based on a conversation with a 1-800 budget corporate customer service, who stated they were not able to assist me with changing the reservation, and I must call original budget office. It was particularly interesting as the SUV rental was booked online at Budget.com.

I have cancelled two new SUV rentals for early 2011, and I will not be using this very non-customer friendly rental car company in the future! Renters, beware!

My original rental agreement was for 77 dollars through Expedia. Although my insurance company does cover rentals, I thought it would be better just to purchase the added insurance coverage. When I asked the clerk that was there when I picked up the car, he said it would come out to 35 dollars. I asked several times if it would only be 35 dollars for the entire duration of my trip, and he said yes. I'm now stuck with an additional 25.99 dollar a day fee that they tacked on. It's because I couldn't see where they had added it and the clerk never once mentioned that there would be such a fee on my rental.

This company charged me $30 for an extra 36 miles and all the representatives insisted that my reservation never stated 99 free miles. I spent over 1.5 hours on the phone with the company's rep and supervisor and the situation was very poorly handled. I'm so glad that I had kept the reservation email to prove that I was right.

There are plenty of rental companies out there and how you treat your customers do matter. Needless to say, I will avoid Budget at all cost in my future rentals. And for others, please make sure you keep all papers so that you can have proof for these types of companies.

Don’t just leave comments on here. Call and complain to them. The customer service number is worthless. You need to call direct.

I returned the car and specifically pointed out to the attendant who accepted the return that I gassed up and the car is full. The attendant read the gauges and recorded the readings, walked around the car and accepted the return. About 5 days later, I received a letter in the mail telling me that they had to add another 3 gallons of gas in the car, and at a price of $7.98 cents per gallon I was charged an additional $23.94. This was billed to the credit card that I used to rent the car.

I contacted the rental location and they hung up on me when I demanded to know how they were allowed to charge me additional amount after a completed transaction and there is no possibility that they suffered any loss.

I then contacted the credit card company to dispute the charge. After a written complaint to Budget, they reversed the charge. I am now demanding that they explain to me how it was possible to add 3 gallons of gas into a car that was full. There is no physical way to put in 3 gallons in the vehicle after I ensured that it was full.

It took over 2 months for me to recoup my money. Whilst this was all happening I received a toll charge through Budget, $13.75. I have never driven through without paying a toll. I have been driving in Florida for over 11 years. I know the roads and what I have to do at a toll! I decided to include this second dispute in writing with one of my letters. This was completely ignored and only the refund of the $220 dealt with. On calling the customer services in the UK, I was told that I should have known they weren't dealing with the second error! Customer service at its best!

I was then sent a web address, which I cannot use as I don't have a US driving license. I contacted their customer service and surprise—they couldn't find the transaction. So they requested more information. Today 29th December, I have received an email saying they cannot help me. Their company did not debit me and I am to contact a number in the US. I have contacted my credit card company who are writing off the money and giving me a refund. They will not contact Budget as it would cost them more money to follow the process than it would to refund me from their own pocket.

Whilst I'm grateful to my CC company, how many times does Budget get away with this? How many other people have been charge and as there are so many barriers to getting a refund given up? I have been using Budget consistently for at least 5 years and will never rent a car from them again. I went back to the US in November and used both Enterprise and Dollar without any problems.

They did this on 12-11-2010 and it is now 12-14-2010 and I still am having problems getting this fixed because they were supposed to fax a paper to my bank but they did not. Then they were told of the specifics that had to be put on the fax which the customer service gentleman understood. He even told the bank representative what the form was, but again, he did not do it correctly so the fax was no good.

Here I am a woman, alone with a flat tire and no road side service that is advertised on your key fob. I finally had to pay someone to change my tire. I immediately returned the car and picked up another car. I explained to the new employee the situation and he gave me a different car. No perks or apologies, just another car. I left the town with my young daughter and started my road trip to Florida. As I was driving, a light came on the panel. I had no manual in the car so I had to stop and call to find out what to do. I waited 1 1/2 hours trying to get a hold of someone so that I would not mess up your car and when I finally got a hold of someone, they told me to go immediately to exchange the car as the tire pressure was incorrect. I tried to fill the tires to the correct pressure and within a few minutes, the light came on again.

The closest Budget that the representative could find was 1 1/2 hours away from me in Atlanta airport. So now, I have to drive a car with tire issues and find Atlanta airport and exchange this car. I should already be in Florida. Many hours wasted. So I am now looking for the airport and have no clue what is around me in Atlanta so I did not fill the gas tank; second car now and the first one was full. I got another car and head on my way. Unbelievably, within 30 minutes of leaving Atlanta airport, the tire pressure light came on again in this 3rd car. I am in total disbelief that a car company this big cannot maintain its vehicles. I called the company again and waited and waited. So I filled the tires and tried to continue on. This time, the light stayed off and I have to continue all week to check the pressure to make sure my child and I are not once again stranded.

I left Florida to return to Tennessee and when I arrived in Murfreesboro to return the car, I was shocked to find out that even though the car repair issues were Budget issues, I am now being charged over $60.00 for gas. Really. So the young guy at the counter said he can do nothing to help me but give me a $30.00 credit and maybe that will soften the blow of the extra charges. I am stunned that this is really happening to me. I had my attorney contact the company who rudely argues that I am the problem and should never return a rental car not full of gas. Did she realize how ** that is when I have already been stranded and stopped twice with car issues and no road side service or personnel to answer the phone? What kind of customer service is this?

So now, I have been reimbursed the gas fee and I have been told but of course not received a $17.00 credit. I believe that I should be reimbursed for the unbelievable hassle and hazard this company has caused me. Believe me, this is not going to happen to me again and I have spread the word in many ways. If you cannot take care of your cars, at least take care of your customers. No such thing has happened. Budget rent a car is the least reputable company I have every dealt with and I will be pursuing this until it is resolved.

already there or not. The manager told me that that car was brand new and that wasn't true. It was with 450 km, therefore it's not new. Upon reading and researching a little on the internet, I found that I'm not the first person who have the same problem with that Budget at that location. That sounds as a cheat and suspicious like Mr ****** on this site. Please let me know what I can do. I'm not the first person who have this problem with Budget at the YVR airport. Pretty much for this company. it is the same thing if the car has a tiny chip on the windshield or if you completely destroy the car. They say I'm covered by their insurance but I need to pay the deductible.

Given the recent government rules changes, I find it hard to believe that Budget would charge customers an additional $149 to use a debit card vs. using a credit card. A debit card is a withdrawal from a checking account and not an addition to an existing credit card balance. Is there a federal office/bureau where I can file a complaint? I really think Budget is ripping off its customers.

He was given short notice, so I flew to KY as he was flying. He arrived first and rented a car since our car was in VA. We had a lot to celebrate as he was home for two weeks and it was our tenth anniversary and neither mother knew he was coming. We drove to St. Louis, Mo where my husband’s mother lives. She's been ill and has had a rough time while he's been gone.

We got pulled over by the police for no reason whatsoever. It was super-hot and we had a car stuffed with food for our anniversary dinner and an elderly sick mother-in-law that insists on being a busy body. He stopped us because the tag looked strange to him. After he ran the plates, he said the tags had expired in May.

The sticker on the plate had been faked. He wrote my husband a ticket. Now we got the total run-around. We were mistreated, left on hold, hung up on, and brushed aside. We were treated rudely by the St. Louis Budget. After a call to corporate, we got a new rental and our trip went on. We drove to Ohio to see my mother and then back to KY to relax at home for five days before we both flew on the same day the seventh of August. We were told to turn the ticket and mail in information to the Budget manager and the ticket would be paid.

Well, the ticket hasn't been paid and they are issuing a warrant for my husband’s arrest. He can lose rank and get in all types of army trouble, not to mention our insurance going up, etc. If my husband loses rank, we lose our home and our way of life. He works hard and it’s hard to have an anniversary together in ten years and this is the third one we've had together. Please help.

I have never taken any insurance because I am covered by my own. Told her we would take care of that when we returned the car. Another mistake. At the end of the trip, I complained to the same customer service rep and he said they are instructed to never mention the option to take no insurance. Typical salesman scam. Moral: never take insurance or prepaid gas at a car rental.

Their argument is that since I signed for the car, I have to pay. Unless you work for the car rental agency and you are an attorney, there is no way you could decipher their form. Even their customer service agent thought I had signed using a machine that discussed everything. When I said that was not the machine I used, there was no response. They must have decided they don't need any more customers. I will never rent from them again!

But eventually, the person, Mr. Hampton agreed to give "something". He decided to refund $19, or a portion of the coupon value. I guess after trying to find reasons not to honor it, the manager decided that although the company was wrong, on every level, including the knowledgeable staff working for Budget Rental Car, BWI, there should be something done. One half of the coupon value does not satisfy me, and I'm regretfully seeking damage for this awful service company in Baltimore.

The disrespectful conversation that I had with the manager only infuriated me more, because I assumed a manager would be equally concerned about all the mistakes made by counter staff and customer service reps, as any small dollar amount of this coupon. I was wrong. This manager didn't even give me the respect of attempting to properly pronounce my name. He continued to mispronounce, although I corrected him on 3 occasions.

The Baltimore location does not care about service or repeat customers. To this date, I have not even received the $19 they agreed to refund. I would be happy to answer any further questions about this case.

When I returned the car 1 week later, on time, full of gas, I noticed it was $100 more. When I questioned the return processor, he said I could see someone in the office. Unfortunately, I had a flight to catch. I called a few days later, though, with my confirmation number and the initial email reservation. I was told I had agreed to the additional charges by initialing various locations, though it was never communicated as an upgrade. I have traveled for 15 years renting frequently and have never had this happen. Budget refused to budge saying, too bad; I should have known my base rate. I have encountered a few other Accenture people having this issue with Avis who owns Budget.

They employees got rude and disrespectful. I asked to speak to a manager, who gave me a number for customer service. I called customer service and every one of the people I spoke to, told me to call someone else. I went back to the Budget counter and explained how no one wants to help me and that Budget is stealing my money.

The assistant manager Jim ** leaned over the counter, as if to attack me, because I asked for his name. He told my husband and I to move away from his counter. I explained that I'm not moving, until I can speak to someone who is willing to give me my money back. I told him I was stranded in Jersey, and I had to get to New York. He told me that was not his problem. All I wanted to do is for them to refund my money.

After an hour I finally spoke to someone in customer service, who was so nasty, and she was in Ohio. Her name was Heather. She stated I'm not helping you, and hung up the phone on me. Finally, 30 minutes after that, I got someone on the phone who stated they will cancel my reservation, and I had to wait for 14 days to get my money back. I asked them what was I supposed to do being stranded in New Jersey.

Finally I left the airport and had to spend $100.00 on a cab into Brooklyn, NY. When I got back to Orlando on Sunday August 29, I emailed Budget because corporate refused to speak to me. Then on Sept 1, 2010, I got an email from Budget that stated, they are going to charge me for cancelling my reservation. I wrote them back, how am I getting charged, if Budget refused to give me a car. I didn't realize that I couldn't use my card to rent a car. All I wanted from the beginning was my money back, so I could get into Brooklyn.

Every person I dealt with in Budget was nasty and disrespectful. Especially assistant manager Jim **, when he leaned over the counter in an intimidating fashion. I had to spend a hundred dollars on a cab ride from Newark NJ to Brooklyn, NY. I spent $210.00 to rent a car for one day, and Budget stated they will not give me the full $271.41 that they owe me. So I am out $581.41 and I'm on a tight budget. This trip ended up putting my family is dire straits. we will be late on our bills this month.

I told the lady behind the counter that I already filled up the car 10 seconds ago so she will not need to fill it up. She said too bad for me, that I already paid for a tank of gas and I will still be charged for a full tank of gas even when I brought the car back full of gas. She then turned into a real difficult person and said that I signed the contract and she again said too bad. I could not believe this person or the way I was treated very unprofessional. So I would like to warn everybody out there that do not prepay for a tank of gas at all. I cannot believe that this is Budget rent a car policy to out right be crooked the way they are and outright dishonest. This is not a way to run a company at all.

So firstly the car supplied by Budget to us was completely unroad-worthy. So this car should have never been given to us or any other customer in the first place. Secondly, Budget car service guarantees to provide us with a replacement car within 6 hours if there is a fault with the car which they did not, it was 2 days until we got another car from Budget and then they only gave us a 5-seater which was no good as we needed a 7-seater, we spent 3 days on the phone to Budget to sort all of this out, we only had a weeks holiday so it completely disrupted and ruined our holiday.

Thirdly they had the cheek to charge us over 70 Euros for fuel, when we replaced what was in the tank as it was given to us. When we returned the car they checked all of this and said it was fine, and did not say anything about the fuel or additional charge. We should be compensated from Budget not be sneakily charged!! Now they are trying to say we only ordered a 5-seater car and when we arrived to collect the car they upgraded us for free to a 7-seater because 6 or us turned up so they had no choice, which is funny because we traveled separately from the airport so only four of us went to collect the car so they have completely lied.

I am appalled with Budget Car hire, they cannot say they offer a professional service when they act like cowboys and try to lie there way out of their mistakes! We are still fighting this complaint with Budget so I still don't know what the outcome will be. Budget Customer service is terrible. They take a month to respond and are plain rude! Do not rent with Budget Car hire! Completely unsafe car supplied to us, which was extremely dangerous. Completely disrupted our whole holiday. We should receive compensation!

What a rip off and obviously a franchise praying on the cruise ship tourist. Another family we rode in the shuttle van with was also furious because they were charge $150.00 for being 2 hours late with a minivan. The gentlemen said they paid. Needless to say, this one dealership has caused both myself and the other family to never again rent from any Budget / Avis rental place ever again and to forever recommend to everyone they never use them either. I also intend to notify the cruise line about the predatory practices.

She should have explained to me the situation and let me know that would incur extra cost by picking up the car earlier. She also asked me if I wanted a bigger car and I told her no that was fine with whatever my rental agreement had on it and that would have room for my luggage. When I got the bill after I rented the car, I saw that there was a discrepancy in the price I had to pay vs. the rental agreement. After calling in the customer service, they did refund the price difference for the upgrade I did not ask for. This is a case of really bad customer service and I feel like she was trying to pull one over on me and not disclose any extra cost I would incur. I am now very upset with my experience.

This is wrong to take advantage of an elderly traveler. Mom was also placed in a Ford Flex; the original agreement was for a 4X4 Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar, not a Ford Flex crossover. Risa, the manager, was not helpful and have contacted the district manager Remi to discuss the ripoff that happened.

I made a reservation through Budget.com. I do not have a major credit card, but I do have a MasterCard debit card linked to my regular checking account. I used this to make the reservation and had no problem. I knew I'd have to use my MasterCard debit card for final payment as well. According to the terms and conditions at the time of reservation, if you use a debit card as payment, they'll put a hold on funds of between $400 and $500, so I kept this in mind and made sure that I had more than adequate funds in my checking account to manage this. It also said that a credit check at the time of rental would be performed to determine credit worthiness, but I assumed this only meant they'd check to see if I had sufficient funds to cover all their charges. I was wrong.

I got to the airport, went to the Budget counter, handed over my license and debit card, the agent entered all the information into his terminal and went off to get the keys to a car. When he came back and checked his terminal, lo and behold, I was refused rental of the car because my credit isn't stellar and because I don't have a major credit card. I had just flown into Jacksonville, had a round-trip itinerary vouching for that fact and it showed I'd be flying home two days later.

I'm way older than 25, have excellent insurance (State Farm), have a valid driver's license, have an excellent driving record, and more than enough funds in my checking account to cover all potential charges, yet nothing could get them to provide me with a rental car. The only help the guy offered was "you can check one of the other agencies, but I'm pretty sure they all do the same thing."

To me, this is a completely ridiculous reason to refuse to allow me the privilege of renting a car to two days. Suddenly feeling completely helpless, mortified (not to mention humiliated), I moved (upon the suggestion of the Budget agent) to the next counter down -- Thrifty -- and they did the exact same thing.

The more sympathetic Thrifty rental agent directed me toward the National Car Rental, saying he was pretty sure that they didn't do a credit check. I moved on down the line and sure enough, all the National Car Rental agent wanted to see was my round-trip itinerary. Not only did National not put any extra hold on funds in my checking account, their rental agent was much more professional. Beyond paying slightly more than I had anticipated, there was the feeling of humiliation I felt standing at that Budget counter.

No way. Then, after my husband and his friend talked to the person on the garage about just paying for a day and canceling the rental, we were given a Ford Edge. It did hold everything very well and was very comfortable. However, we were charged twice the rate we were supposed to be paying for renting the car for 9 full days, turning it in by 10:34 am on the 10th day. I consider that bait and switch-saying you will get a low rate and then providing an unsatisfactory product for more money.

On Friday, they gave me a Hyundai Sonata a model of 2006 and it was extremely unsafe to drive and the speedometer reading was 120,000 km. The rental period is 24 days and also the car has a huge smell of petrol coming out inside it so when you come out of it, you smell like the petrol station itself. Please take immediate action.

This would appear to be a scam, just think if only twenty percent of Budget's rentals are charged an additional gas fee how much extra income this would generate. Why not just fill the gas tank and require it be returned in the same state? Loss of twenty dollars, loss of over three hours spent on phone. We are retired but have places to be and things to do.

The officer asked for the registration and insurance. I checked the glove box and found only the owner's manual. The officer informed me that I was driving an improperly licensed vehicle and was illegally driving without proof of insurance and registration. He wrote out warnings for these two charges. Then he had the car impounded and towed. Police dispatch was trying to contact Budget and I was able to get Ashley from the Farmington office on my cellphone. I gave the phone to Officer *** who informed Ashley of why the vehicle was being taken. The towing report states the reason for towing was due to lack of registration and insurance.

I was stranded over 150 miles from home. After repeated phone calls to the Farmington Budget office and to their corporate roadside assistance, I was finally told after 4.5 hours that no new car was coming and the rental agreement was terminated. I was on my own to get back home. I have only one friend in Albuquerque and paid him to get me home. I missed my CEU seminar and a baby shower that evening. I've complained to the corporate office starting on 6/15, but as of today, the Farmington office has ignored their inquiries. The ultimate injustice however, besides being abandoned far from home, is that on 6/28/10 Budget charged my debit card $626.37! I discovered this on 7/8/10 when I was balancing my company's checkbook.

Instead of continuing on with the drive, we back tracked to Idaho Falls and left the car there. At least at this Budget station the employees were courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. However there wasn't much they could do. The manager Sherry (SLC) was completely unscrupulous in her business ethics, even resorting to charge us even more to drive the car back, appalling even the manager at the Idaho Falls station. I have come to learn that this is an independently ran Budget operation who has a mile-long list of complaints. I'd hate to think that is acceptable to your corporation's principles and would like to think that some compromise could be negotiated. Please get back to me as soon as possible.

I was left with no reservation and no help from Budget. I have the loading dock at my new apartment reserved along with hiring moving loaders and unloaders at both locations. Now I am in a state of flux and have no idea if I will be able to move tomorrow. No compensation or recourse was offered or given when requested (I suggested they pay for a cab fare to their Jersey City or Staten Island locations to pick up an available truck). I am very upset that having a reservation did not work with Budget. I am more upset at the very, very short notice given as to no truck being available at a local location. This may result in me losing my move-in time slot and fee at my new apartment, losing the deposit for hired help to load my truck, etc., etc..

The following day, May 22, 2010, I called several U-Haul locations, in regards to installing a hitch on our car, and pulling a small trailer. At 8:10 AM, May 22, 2010, I called to cancel the reservation with Budget Truck Rental, as they were not being honest about what had obviously been a mistake on their part, in guaranteeing such a low rate. Two hours later, at 10:01 AM, I received another email from Budget Truck Rental, confirming that the truck was reserved, and at the originally quoted rate and dates! I called my wife to see if we could make the original dates work, if Budget was willing to honor the prices quoted, and we agreed.

At 10:16 AM, I once again called Budget Truck Rental customer service to confirm the latest email I had received, and once again, was told they had no record of it. The representative I spoke with transferred me to a female supervisor, and I explained the situation to her. I was told by this person that if I had received the rate quote from their website, and had confirming emails, they would honor the price. However, she said since it now showed as cancelled, I would have to call the pickup location, and rebook the reservation. I was told to pick up the truck under the new reservation, save my emails, complete the trip, and they would honor the quoted price at the drop off location. At 10:53 AM, I called the pickup location and re-booked the reservation.

On May 25, 2010, my wife and I picked up the truck from R and T Rentals in Lehigh Acres, FL. The rate was now $1,512.94, but I went ahead and signed the contract, since I had been told Budget would take care of it at the drop off location, after the trip was completed. On June 2, 2010, I dropped the truck off at Beckham Collision Center in Caldwell, ID. I explained to the agent what I had been told, showed her the emails, and she called Budget Truck Rental. Budget denied ever having such a conversation with me, and said since I signed the contract in Florida, that was the price, nothing they were willing to do, end of story. I was deceived and lied to by representatives of Budget Truck Rental. I believe they should do as they said they would do, and honor the price guarantee confirmed on May 22, 2010. I was charged over $1,300 more than the price "guarantee" I was given, when I reserved the truck.

Our recent visit to Vancouver, which was to be a birthday celebration and my final treatments for cancer, turned out to be an unpleasant experience with BC, Budget Rent-A-Car. Please review in bullet form the several disappointments we encountered with our rental reservation and car rental. Feb.23rd, I made our flight booking with Air Canada and noticed they had a link to your website which I made our car rental reservation for the week of May 15th to the 22nd.

Confirmation # ** was for an intermediate car, Pontiac G6 or similar at $160.00 for one full week ($245.88 all inclusive). We were informed this car in not available in the Vancouver, airport terminal upon arrival! Misleading! Upon arrival on May 15th, I presented a copy of my rental confirmation and my driver’s ID. The sales clerk proceeded to ask my common law husband his driver’s permit and his platinum credit card. Having reserved under my name, we wished to transfer the principal driver to his name as I was not going to drive the car for personal health reasons.

The sales clerk, Josh then informed us that they did not carry this model we had reserved. He then told us we would be getting a Volvo instead. We then asked him how much more would this cost and both Jacques and myself understood his response of $50.00. So we considered that from our initial $160.00 to $210.00 for the week this was fine. We also presented a coupon from RCI for a $35.00 discount which he kept without explaining where the deduction would be applied on the contract. His manager confirmed to the sales clerk it was valid, accepted. No one ever took the time as to where it would be applied!

Afterwards, the sales clerk proceeded to offer us extra insurance coverage. Normally, with our Platinum credit card, we would not need this extra coverage. However, Josh said it did not apply In BC and we had to take the extra insurance. We are going to contact the credit card company and also the BBB in Vancouver regarding this law. We were then rushed by Josh to initial all documents quickly as he told us there was a line up and he didn’t have time to explain. We were told to read the documents afterwards.

Later that evening, we discovered we were going to be charged for an extra $70.00 for an additional driver, me! We also found out that we would be charged an additional $175.00 for the upgrade instead of $50.00 as mentioned. When we returned the car on May 22nd to the rental return area, the young man at the receiving area went directly to the windshield and told us there was damage in the windshield. So my husband and I looked at the damage on the left side of the windshield on the passenger’s side. Barely visible as it was like the size of a pin head!

The manager on duty, Mike S. told us they would add an additional $1,000.00 charge on Jacques credit card for repairs. They responded this was not covered by the additional insurance they said we had to purchase a few days earlier. We were told to claim the costs from our insurance company in Quebec! This car was new and barely had more than 800 km! My husband requested that Mike the manager come back out to see the windshield but he refused to go back.

Today, we left messages at the claims department in BC and have had no response as of yet. We are looking into contacting the Better Business Bureau of BC as we feel we have been mislead and overcharged for a one week vacation car rental that was suppose cost $245.88 and turned out to cost us $1,657.97 + $116.11 total of $1,774.08. Furthermore, the customer service by the staff we received at arrival and upon return of the vehicle in BC was the worst we have ever experienced to this day. Our perception of the sales staff was pushy, in a rush just finalize as many transactions as possible and they had no time to explain and this at all levels of management. We will wait to hear back from you by the end of this week before taken further measures. We were taken for a ride with extra charges, ex: upgrade from $50 to $175 and the so what windshield damages charging over $1,116. We left many messages and faxes no reply.

When I eventually stopped, I exited the truck to inspect the damage. My vehicle was leaking fluids and the front bumper was missing a piece. The trailer became unhitched and slid underneath the truck damaging my vehicle. I also noticed that the inside rear passenger tire was torn wide open and that the tires were crack, aged, and bald (no tire tread). I took pictures of the scene and the tires, as well as my vehicle damages. My wife who was 10 weeks at the time called the roadside assistance department for Budget and was given an ETA of 45 minutes to an hour. This was 6 pm.

At or about 6:45, I called again to check on the status of my wife's call and was told they had no record of any incident involving the vehicle that I mentioned in my conversation. They took another report from and gave me an ETA of one hour. At or about 7:50, a tow truck arrived, not to fix the tire or to bring a new trailer, but to assess the damage on the trailer and truck. The first comment that the tow truck driver made was that the Hitch and ball were not compatible because the hitch hook up was bigger than the ball on the truck. He informed the roadside rep of that in front of my wife and I while on the speaker phone with Budget. Yet the rep still maintained that it was our fault. 5 hours later a tire truck arrived to fixed the tire and my car was towed to a lot in Laurel, MD.

That night I had to check in to a hotel because my wife was cramping and spotting. I was supposed to start a job that Monday, but I was not able to because of this incident. At this point, I still have not started because I was put on hold status. My car is still in Maryland at a dealership being repaired and Budget refuse to have it transported to Texas. I was told to buy an airplane ticket and to pay for a cab from the airport to the dealership. So basically, I am to drive from Maryland to Texas, use my money after I paid 1400 dollars to use a truck to transport my vehicle in the first place.

I wanted to bring the truck back the next day, but because she said that they close at 12:00 we couldn't and they didn't have a drop off. But if they did, it would be a extra $10. She asked if we wanted to purchase cover for the furniture. I asked how much were the pads. She informed me that they were $1 apiece. When she asked me about insurance, she told me it would be $23.95. She didn't say that this was for 2 days. She informed me that for additional driver, it would be $10 again. She didn't tell me that it would be for each day. I believe that she didn't give me enough information it was as if all she was interested in was renting the truck.

The total bill came to $694.50. I believe if she had given me more information, I would not have taken the truck. I feel that this was too much money for really one day. I called the 1-800 and spoke with a customer service person. I explained the situation to her and I told her I feel that more information should have be given, and I feel that if they had informed me, I would have taken the truck. When she started get a little nasty, I asked to speak to a Manager, and he was a polite nasty person. I asked to speak to someone over him and he informed me that he wasn't going to give me another person, because what he was telling me was what it was going to be.

I told him that I have the right to speak to someone over him, and he told me that he was not going to give to any other person, to just pay the money and because no one was going to change what he had said, that I should have read the contract. I informed him that it wasn't in the contract. He told me that if it wasn't in my contract then it was in another, because they have different contracts. I told him how was I to read the contract on what he was telling if I didn't have it. He changed the subject and told me to just accept the amount and stop complaining.

I feel that they weren't fair and something should be done. I don't have money just to give away, not for a one day rental. I will never rent from Budget again, because I don't feel they are fair, and they are high with no free mileage at all. Next time I rent a truck, I will get more information and if it doesn't feel and sound right, I will not take it.

Obviously, travel is a rushed experience and one should not be forced in this era to memorize what they sign and be asked to duplicate it later based on a verbal representation that it is accurate. Sanjay was extremely unprofessional, rude and raised his voice at me. He said that "your memory must be very poor". As a frequent business traveler, I will never use Budget again which will mean a loss of thousands of dollars for Budget. Sanjay should not be dealing with damage issues as he was taking it very personally and thought I was accusing him of fraud when I was simply expressing my desire to defer/rely only upon the contract that I actually signed instead of a memory based copy. I was highly insulted and offended by Sanjay's lack of professionalism. I also dispute that the damage occurred while I was in possession. I will not rent with Budget again and recommend you discuss proper customer interaction and professionalism with Sanjay.

However, Brandy did advise me that the fuel gauge did not work properly and showed me how to check the tank fuel level manually. This information was not documented on the Budget truck rental agreement. I also paid for an auto trailer to tow my personal vehicle to my destination, but Brandy advised me that they didn't have one at the location she worked at and couldn't find one at any of the surrounding Budget rental dealers as well. I advised her that we were going to North Augusta, SC to see my children before we headed to Mississippi. She said she would check in that area to see if she could locate one for us.

Brandy was able to find an auto trailer for us at a Pep Boys in Augusta, GA, and we decided that I would drive the Budget rental truck and my mother would follow me in my personal vehicle until we were able to pick up the auto trailer. After we picked up the Budget rental truck, we drove it no more than 20 miles or so while it was being loaded and it stayed parked at the location we were staying while not in use for loading purposes.

On Saturday, 12/19/2009 at approximately 11am, we checked out of the motel we were staying at and started heading towards North Augusta, SC to see my children for a little while and then pick up the auto trailer to start heading towards Mississippi. We started heading towards North Augusta, SC and about 30 miles into traveling, the Budget rental truck stalled on me and I had to coast it off the main road. Once I got it off the main road, I tried a few times to restart the Budget rental truck but it wouldn't restart.

The Budget rental truck broke down at the Highway 67 exit off Interstate 16 East nearby Brooklet, GA at approximately 12pm on 12/19/2009. I immediately contacted Budget's Roadside Assistance department to advise them of the situation, and the representative I spoke with took down all of the information and advised they had paged an emergency roadside assistance serviceman in the area and that he had been dispatched out. The serviceman, Larry **, contacted me about an hour or so after the initial breakdown advising that he would be there in about twenty minutes to assist. When he arrived, he immediately could tell that regular gasoline had been used in the truck instead of diesel fuel.

Larry advised that the Budget rental truck would have to be towed to his shop, so he could drain the fuel and replace the fuel filter in order to get it back in working condition. He towed the Budget rental truck to his shop, and we followed him in my personal vehicle. We arrived at his shop at approximately 4pm, and he advised that it would be several hours before the Budget rental truck would be ready and recommended that we just get a hotel room for the night.

Since our clothes for the trip to our destination were in the cab of the Budget rental truck, my mother climb into the truck cab on the passenger side to retrieve her change of clothes for the evening. While getting down from the Budget rental truck, she missed a step and felled out of the Budget rental truck. She hit her head on the door and felled on her left side of her body and head. She complained of difficulties of breathing and serious pain on the left side of her body under her arms and around the breast area. I immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital and advised Larry that I would contact him later to check on the status of repairing the Budget rental truck.

I went back to Larry's shop after my mother was discharged from the ER to check on the status of the Budget rental truck, and he was done with the repairs at that time. I asked him if we could leave the Budget rental truck parked at his shop until I was able to get some help there to assist me with getting my mother back to Mississippi, since she was not able to ride in the Budget rental truck due to the injuries she obtained from falling out of the Budget rental truck.

He said we could leave the Budget rental truck parked at his shop until we were able to leave and parked the Budget rental truck in a secured location. I obtained a copy of his receipt for the work done on the Budget rental truck with the odometer mileage documented. At the time of the Budget rental truck breakdown, the mileage odometer had a reading of 83,612. I had only driven the Budge Rental Truck for a total of 51 miles since the vehicle was checked out.

Troy ** (brother), Kenneth **(uncle), and David ** (my mother's pastor) left Sunday, 12/20/2009 afternoon from Mississippi to assist me with getting my mother and the Budget rental truck to Mississippi. They arrived later that evening and had to check into a hotel room for the night. We all woke up the next morning, ate breakfast, and decided that it would be best not to pick up the auto trailer and just drive my personal vehicle back since we would have to go about 2-3 hours out of the way to pick it up, and I would just come out to visit my children in a few weeks when I had to come back to Georgia to finalize some personal business.

We picked up the Budget rental truck at Larry's shop on Monday, 12/21/2009 around 10am to start heading towards Mississippi. Since the Budget Rental Truck tank was completely drained and only $46 of fuel was put back in, I had to put in the additional replacement fuel.

The following additional expenses were incurred by us due to the breakdown of the Budget rental truck, and we are still waiting on medical expenses that my mother incurred. I hold Budget Rental Trucks fully responsible for the additional expenses incurred as well as liable for my mother's accident. She had to visit the ER in the area the accident occurred and her primary care physician and the ER twice in her home town.

If the Budget Rental Truck didn't break down, we wouldn't have gone back into the cab of the Budget Rental Truck to obtain clothing for an overnight stay, and my mother wouldn't have fell out of the Budget Rental Truck. My mother has 3 broken ribs that occurred as a result of the truck breaking down. I will be sending Budget Truck Rentals the medical statements from the medical facilities as we receive them. I expect Budget Rental Trucks to resolve this matter for us in a timely matter.

Please feel free to contact me on my cell phone if any other details are needed. My mother's injuries and having to pay for expenses are not my responsibility. Also, I'm not responsible for having to get someone to travel to where I was located to help drive a vehicle since I had my car and the Budget truck.

My receipt states I paid $100.00 in fees and taxes. A energy recovery fee of $3.29, what kind of scam are you running Budget? Tell the consumer some more about paying for energy recovery fee, that is a bogus way of collecting money from the consumer and the states attorney general is investigating this. The lady I spoke with at customer care said it is in the contract I signed, yes it is something that was not read or agreed on. I don't want to pay your light bill budget, I have my own light bill to pay.

Then there is an additional $59.49 charge for airport rental fee, what the heck is this about? Does Budget condone the scam of charging the consumer an outrageous fee like that because the car was rented from an airport? An additional fee of $11.90 car rental tax is being condoned by Budget Car Rental System. On top of those fees was another fee of $28.00 for a surcharge fee. Yet another fee or tax Budget Car Rental has agreed to stick the consumer in the back with.

So after speaking with Cyrstal-7840 and getting no satisfaction about the fees and taxes Budget Car Rental System allows to be imposed on the consumer, I contacted the PA States Attorney Generals Office and spoke with them. Pennsylvania AG office is going to investigate the situation with Budget Car Rental System and send me some paperwork to fill out. Maybe we can get this consumer scam under control where it won't continue happening to the consumer.

No physical damage occurred from this but the economical damage to my bank account was in the red because of the additional $100.00 in fees paid above the sales tax and rental agreement.

When I called Budget at their LAX location, some guy told me "All of our SUV vehicles are either 4WD or AWD". I said, "Are you absolutely sure, because I'm taking it to go skiing?" And he said "Yes". So I then went to Orbitz online and made the reservation with Budget. When I arrived on March 12, 2010 to the LAX location, there were no problems. I once again asked the lady at the counter (ID 55282) "Are you sure this is either 4WD or AWD because I'm taking it to go skiing and there's snow". She said, "Yes, I'm absolutely sure".

I drove off the lot and went home to get my things. I took a look at the vehicle (Ford Edge) and didn't see any markings on it that said 4WD or AWD. I thought to myself "Don't all 4WD and AWD vehicles say somewhere on the body that they are 4WD or AWD"? I looked in the glove box and there was no manual or anything to ID the vehicle as such. So, I called the Budget LAX office again just to be sure. I gave the vehicle ID to the woman on the phone and she looked up the vehicle and said "Yes, I am absolutely sure it is an AWD vehicle".

At around 11pm on March 12, 2010, the 4 of us in our group drove past Bishop and onto Mammoth on route 395, into the high Sierra Mountains. Surely enough, it started to snow on the road. About 15 miles outside of Mammoth, notices were posted that chains were required, but snow tires and 4WD or AWD vehicles are OK.

So I pushed on and the road was packed with snow. I didn't go over 20mph, but noticed that the SUV was swerving and sliding as we drove into this blizzard. We finally made it to our destination, but this was after slipping and sliding all over the place. The next day when we went to the ski lodge parking area, the guy working there told me that the SUV I had was not even AWD. When we arrived back to LAX on March 14, 2010, and I returned the vehicle, I complained that it wasn't either 4WD or AWD and that Budget had told me on 3 occasions that it was. The manager came over and said, "I don't know who told you that....sorry", as he lightly chuckled like he didn't even mean it. He gave me like $20 bucks off the rental.

I wonder what someone's life is worth to this company? They'll tell you anything to get you to rent a vehicle from them. Our lives were put in danger because they don't even care what they rent to you. All 3 times I either asked or called about the SUV being either 4WD or AWD, I specifically told them I was taking it to the mountains to go skiing. They are absolute scam. Our lives were put in unnecessary danger all due to fault of Budget Car Rental. They sent us into a snow blizzard in a vehicle that they misrepresented as OK for snow. We slipped and slide all over the road.

But, then I received a charge from the corporate offices of Budget Rent A Car for the costs of the return receipt letters they sent me. This shows what poor communications there are between the corporate offices and their rental offices. When I disputed the charge, Budget had the charge run through again. This shows flagrant misuse of confidential credit card information. Beware. You may received unapproved charges from Budget also.

After the trip, I wrote an email to Budget customer service about the rate difference. Customer service indicated that I agreed to an "upgrade." I told them I was asked to choose between two cars. Anyway, a lesson learned: say no to anything they offer when you pick up your car.

When I looked at the receipt, it had two different columns of prices. On the left, it said $207 and on the right it broke down prices for a week, a month, etc. I asked her about that because I put $230 and change on my credit card. She said she wasn't sure and said not to worry about the prices on the right side because it wouldn't apply to me that the $207 and change would be the price that I would be paying. So I initialed where she told me to initial and went on my way.

Well, I ended up returning the car a day early so I asked if I could get some money back. I was told that since I brought in the car past 10am (That's when I took the car off the lot a week prior was at 10am) that I would still be charged the full amount for a week. Then I got a receipt from the attendant in the parking lot showing a price of $162 and change. I went inside and I asked her why was it that I had a total of three different prices and which one would I actually be paying for? The customer service lady said that the only one that I wasn't going to pay was the $207 and change but that $230 and change and the $162 and change would be charged to my card. I asked why.

At this point, she had to get a manager because she couldn't explain to me why so many different charges were involved. The manager told me that I made an "upgrade" to what I originally reserved or "pre-paid" for online. I told him that the customer service lady I dealt with never mentioned that I was upgrading. My fiance asked the manager to show us on the receipt where it shows that we upgraded. The manager circled some numbers on the left side of the receipt and circled another set of numbers on the right side of the receipt.

That was their proof that we agreed to an upgrade! The customer service lady never mentioned or reviewed any of the things that he circled and to make things worse she said that the other prices did not apply to me! The manager was not helpful at all until I broke down. He then decided to cut the last charge in half. I'm not ungrateful but I still ended up paying over $300 for a rental that I originally thought would be only $230 and some change!

Based on the fact that a Budget representative using misinformation left us without the expected transportation to the port, I reminded the employee "Milton" that Budget had a legal responsibility to help get us there. His answer was, "So? Go tell it to your lawyer." He would not even let me use Budget's phone to call a cab. A later made a phone call to Budget's poorly named "customer care" line. This resulted in a rude and dismissive representative who basically told me the same thing - Budget had no legal responsibility. If I had a problem with that, I should call a lawyer.

When I realized what I had purchased, (I already gave my credit card #) I immediately called the customer service number on the email, and the rep said that since I was canceling the reservation within 48 hours of pick-up, I would be charged a $75.00 cancellation fee! I was shocked! I reiterated that I had just made the reservation 5 minutes ago. There is no way that I could give them 48 hours notice, further, it was their on-line system that changed the dates on my reservation. Apparently when I used the back arrow to change some details on the reservation, it reset the dates to a default date. I asked to speak to a manager and called their corporate office and they also confirmed that this is their policy. The corporate office said the 48 hour cancellation policy is the policy of all the car rental locations at the Columbus Metro Airport in Columbus, Oh where I had scheduled pick-up. Finally, I asked her to change the reservation to March 4, which she did, and I called back and canceled.

After a lot of emotion and argument, they did cancel my reservation, but they should have been trained to offer me a viable solution to this problem. There usually needs to be an exception to every policy and it felt like I was being held hostage. As a result, I will never use Budget for car rentals again. I will avoid picking up rental cars at the Columbus Metro Airport, and I will tell everyone I know about my experience. People remember how you make them feel much more than what you actually say or do.

This is not your problem. However, the fact that you sell my information to this kind of company really makes me angry. This morning, I spoke with Amanda from customer care. She told me that I had no recourse with Budget except to remove my name from their mailing lists, which she did. Amanda then informed me in a rude manner that there was nothing to be done, and nobody else that I could talk to at Budget. This is very bad customer service, as you all know. Right now, my only recourse is to make sure that neither myself, or my company ever rents from Budget again. If this does not get your attention, then I will know that the company really does not care about it's customers. I would appreciate it if this message could be passed on to the chain at Budget, and I am really curious to see if anyone there cares for their customers.

When I asked him to please clean it, he became very rude and defensive and said he would not clean the outside of the car as it was very cold but would clean the inside. I thought that this was a strange reply since he had an inside garage and was able to at least rinse the windows from the outside, in order to be able to see clearly while driving. Anyway, I did not make a fuss and figured at least if he would clean the inside, I would take it to the nearest gas station and just wipe clean the outside of the windows with those handy squeegees they have.

When we went back to the counter to sign the contract, I asked Mr. Shahnawaz when he would have the Mazda back as this is the car I really wanted. He rudely replied that he cannot look at it now as he has too many customers to deal with and that I should call him later. I was surprised at this man's reply however, did not reply in return. I signed the contract that he provided but he then gave me one of those small car diagram paper to sign, which if signed proves that he gave me the car in the condition it states and any damages thereafter are my responsibility. The car diagram showed no dents or scratches whatsoever to the car (not one pen mark from his side).

I found this odd for a car rental especially since it was not a brand new model. Also, as mentioned the car was so dirty on the outside, how would anyone be able to see if there were any dents to this car prior to my rental. I told him that I did not want to sign the diagram as the car is so dirty I cannot verify that there are no dents or serious scratches to the car. He did not reply and waited for me to sign the diagram paper. I signed it but, next to my signature stated that I was unable to see any prior damages (if any) due to the car being so dirty. He then proceed to take the document from me and tear it up while screaming at the top of his lungs that if I did not want to sign it, just to say so and not to state any comments on the document.

He proceeded to take me to the back to show me the car once again but then changed his mind and said I was too much of a headache and much to my disapproval canceled my contract. I felt all eyes on me by other customers at this establishment. I was embarrassed by this whole ordeal. I feel my rights as a consumer were violated and disrespected. All I was doing was being thorough and for this I got punished and refused a car rental. Consequently, I had to take my husband out of work and have him drive me to the airport to rent a car from Thrifty.

In addition to the humiliation I felt, it cost my husband and myself loss of time from work and gas mileage to the airport. This was a no win situation on my side. I was left with two choices: sign a document only to pay someone else's damages thereafter and get a car rental or don't sign the document and no car rental. Shahnawaz cannot get away with doing this to the consumer.

They replaced the car three hours later. However, now they are insisting that I have to pay for the damage, which I think is clearly the result of poor maintenance. I demanded a proof and document of the maintenance of the car. I demanded a proof that the tire was checked to be in a good condition when it was rented out. The claims guy said I have to first prove that I was not speeding since tire blowing can happen as a result of speeding. He said if I am not willing to pay, they will have to bring collectors and tried to scare me.

I was so tired of having to talk to a different person each time and having to recall the scariest experience of my life while I am pregnant. I gave the insurance contact information and my policy number. But I still cannot let go of the thought that this was poor maintenance issue and they should be responsible. If I died, would they have still requested that my husband pay for the damage in the car? Do I have no right as a consumer to see what kind of maintenance they did to the car?

The customer service rep was obstinate that it was my fault. The law is on their side but what kind of organization will hear you refuse insurance and then have you initial for it. I believe this is a pattern as there was a similar incident in El Paso, Texas a few years ago in which the company relented. This time no. I would not rent anything from Budget from this time onward and consider them to be deceiving crooks. I lost the cost of insurance. The amount was only $29 but the action was despicable.

The absolute main cause of tire blowouts is low tire pressure. A tire riding along under inflated means more pressure is being put on the sidewall of the tire, eventually causing the tread to wear uneven and the tire to possibly explode. Most tire blowouts happen with trucks because they carry heavy loads, but it can happen to cars too. Heat along with low tire pressure is a deadly combination. The easiest way to prevent tire blowouts is to maintain proper tire pressure at all times. You can do this by checking your tire pressure every other time you fill up with gas. You can find the manufactures suggested tire pressure and ratings on the sidewall of all tires. And make sure you keep a tire pressure gauge handy in the glove box, the gauges at most gas stations and truck stops are not always accurate.

If you are driving down the interstate and you feel your truck or car pulling to one side or the other, or if you feel the vehicles handling to be mushy or non responsive, please pull off the road and get to the nearest filling station and check your tire pressure. The bottom line is Budget Truck rental rented me an unsafe truck to drive long distance that included three mountain passes. My safety as well others were placed at risk. The delays in dealing with safety issues and misrepresentations about the truck capacity by Budget have cost me and I expect to be reimbursed.

Moreover, I was only scheduled to miss a week from work, not two weeks which put my position in jeopardy. Once back, I had to return to work immediately and begin making up for an additional week of work, recover from bronchitis as well as try and find help unloading the truck, as my family was no longer available due to work and other commitments. My family had been available to help but when the weekend of my scheduled arrival came and went (Friday 11/13/09) they were no longer available. To make matters worse, it was Thanksgiving weekend.

What's more, Oregon is not like California. You cannot find day laborers everywhere, as you can in California. That is why assistance from my family was crucial and being delayed by all the safety issues with the Budget truck caused me a multitude of problems, which included a delay in returning the truck to Budget. I was finally able to find some local landscapers that I had to pay to unload my belongings.

A week later, I was checking the charges on my credit card and found where Budget had charged me $105.78 for a "dirty" car. There was no mention of this when I checked the car in and had it been dirty, I had a whole extra day to clean it. After two days of trying to reach someone in charge of addressing this issue, I reached a rude young man by the name of Jamal ** who explained the charges by saying I had excessive dog hair in the car. The customer service rep at the 800 number told me that when the rental agency makes such a claim, they have to have substantiating pictures. I told Mr. ** that I wanted to see the pictures of the "so-called" dog hair. He told me he had mailed me a letter notifying me of the extra charge, I told him I never received it. He said he would mail it again.

In the meantime, I received two letters from Mr. **; one dated December 2, two days after I returned the car and was charged the excessive fee for the cleaning, and another letter identical to the first dated December 9th. I just happened to be checking my credit card status that day and saw where now Budget had charged me again another $105.78 for the same charge, dated on 12/9. I attempted to reach Mr. ** several times over the two day period and finally reached an "Anthony" who stated Mr. ** was on vacation. He told me he could probably resolve the issue for me and asked for my information. He told me the second charge was obviously a mistake and he would reverse the charge. I told him I wanted to see those pictures of this so-called hair, that I have the right to see them. He said he would email them to me and also get back to me regarding the reversal of the charges on my card.

When I didn't hear from him for a week, I called back. He told me he had been busy and that when he tried to email me the pictures, the file was too big and it wouldn't go through. So I told him if it's that big, email them half and half. I've never heard from him again, even after leaving several messages asking him to resolve this matter. If Budget does not resolve this matter, I am going to court. This is nothing but a scam and I have read pages of complaints against Budget for doing people wrong. I just wish I had read them before I rented from them and I will never rent from them again.

I followed up with someone at the corporate office and the vehicle was never checked out and rented 4 times in the last couple of weeks. The problem was never addressed and the vehicle was never serviced after I returned the vehicle according to Budget's executive corporate office, the CEO's spokesperson. So much for Budget keeping their vehicles safe for a family!

Because he couldn't come up with a deposit, they wouldn't let him take the car (that was already paid for). Mr. ** took a cab to the hotel and called me. I told him that I would go to the bank Sunday morning (thank goodness, our bank has weekend hours) and deposit $100. He could then go back to the airport, they could swipe his card, hold a deposit and give him the car. They didn't tell him how much the deposit would be, but I couldn't imagine that they would want more than $100. I mean the only reason I could think they would want a deposit is if he returned the car without gas or something because as I have said, the rental car was already paid for the entire length of the trip.

Sunday morning, I deposited the money. Mr. ** took another cab back to the airport, two cab trips totaling $70, which he had to take out of his food budget. Mr. ** was going to ask them to reimburse him for Saturday, since he had paid for that day and not used it. When he arrived at Budget, they told him that if he had a credit card, the deposit would be $100 but if he was using a debit card (which he was) the deposit would be $200! That was their policy. (I didn't have any more money to deposit.) Not only that, but since he didn't pick up the car on Saturday, he no longer qualified for the special rate and he would be required to pay an additional $400 to use the car! Another policy! Mr. ** called me in a panic, stuck at the airport with no car, needing $600 to rent the car that we had already paid for in full!

I then called Budget, told them the situation and said I would give them a credit card number over the phone so they could charge the $600 and Mr. ** could get a car. We were really being screwed over but I felt like we had no choice. They then told me that they don't take credit cards over the phone and I had to come in person to process the transaction! By this time, I was furious and asked the man how in the hell did he think I was going to get to Austin, Texas from Richmond, VA to give him the card in person. He actually giggled and said, "Well, I wouldn't know, ma'am." I asked for a manager. He did not transfer me or offer to transfer me. He gave me another telephone number to write down and call. I had to hang up and make another call to the manager. You can imagine how mad I was at this point.

So, the manager, a woman, answered the phone and I told her the situation. I told her they won't take my credit card number. She said, "That's right. That's our policy." I replied, "So my husband is supposed to camp out at the air port until his flight leaves on Thursday because he can't have the car we have already paid for or until we come up with $600 additional and you won't take my credit card? The manager said, "Yes, ma'am. I understand your frustration but this is our policy." I told her, "Well, your policy is stupid! Everyone in the world takes credit cards over the phone. I shop online and use a credit card and no one needs me to be in person. I buy things off the TV with a credit card and no one wants me to pay in person! The whole world is taking credit cards by phone and you won't! The manager's reply was, "No, ma'am, we won't. That is our policy." I told her, "You have the right to your policies and I have the right to tell all of my family and friends to never use Budget Car Rental and I certainly am going to!" And I hung up!

Poor Mr. **, meanwhile, is stuck at the airport waiting for me to come up with $600. In an act of desperation, I borrowed $600 from a family member and deposited it in the bank account. When the money was in the account, they then let Mr. ** take the car. They are holding the $200 deposit until he returns the car on Thursday and the person at the rental counter manually went in the computer and overrode the amount of time the car was rented for, so he didn't owe any additional money. He just lost the one day, Saturday. Now, why couldn't they have done that in the first place? After all that he went through, he was just happy to get the car for no additional money, so he didn't argue about losing a day he had paid for.

Mr. ** was scheduled to pick up the car on Saturday at 9:50 p.m. Instead, he finally got the car at about 5 pm. on Sunday! He lost a day of rental he had paid for, and $70 for cab fare. He lost a day of his trip, being stuck at the airport for hours instead of spending it with his kids! Not to mention me running around all day Sunday trying to come up with money from somewhere to deposit in our account, all because of Budget's stupid policies! I can understand requiring a deposit, and in fact should have thought of that before putting Mr. ** on the plane. However, I have never booked a trip online previously, so it did not occur to me that he would need any additional funds to cover trip costs.

I am frustrated at the fact that 1) no one told him the amount of the deposit needed, 2) the amount was different for credit and debit, 3) someone wanted to charge us an additional $400 to rent the car for a time frame that was less than originally scheduled and previously paid for in full, rather than overriding the pick-up date, as was eventually done, 4) the counter clerk got funny with me and giggled when I was obviously very upset, 5) an archaic policy of not accepting a credit card number over the phone, and 6) an overall disregard to basic customer courtesy. I have passed this experience on to all of my friends and family and co-workers. I want everyone to know what a terrible hassle it was for us to use Budget Car Rental! I have told everyone I know never give these incompetent people your business! I would also like to add that I have been totally amazed by the number of complaints filed on ConsumerAffairs.com concerning unethical behavior on the part of Budget! You can believe that I will be adding my story to that website as well!

I called that same day and asked what the total weekly rate would be and the representative on the line said, "$227.99." I agreed to that and when we brought the vehicle back two days early, we were charged for a full week with lots of extra unauthorized charges for a total of $673.54. This charge was for a Hyundai Sonata. I think they are illegally adding charges and tricking people into signing. Most customers don't notice or just pay the bill.

Nothing was said when she turned the car in. Six weeks later, I noticed a charge on my credit card for $1500. There was no explanation and no invoice. I notified Visa to stop payment on this invoice since we could not be held responsible for repairing a defective car and were, in fact, no longer in Italy. Visa told me that they could not stop payment on international charges. Visa tried for 6 months to recover information from Budget in Milan but with no results.

I have contacted Budget Rent-A-Car in Rome, Milan, London, and the Budget Avis World Headquarters in Parsippany, NJ but they have not refunded the repair bill. Budget contends that since my wife drove through Switzerland, she must have burned out the clutch in the mountains. My wife is an experienced driver who has been driving a manual transmission for 30+ years. We even lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps for 7 years without incident. It is preposterous to claim that she damaged a clutch while driving straight down the Autobahn. The clutch was obviously either defective from the factory or was burned out by a previous renter. We have now been charged for repairing Budget's rental vehicle which is unfair and unwarranted.

Further, the agent told me that there are no cameras in lanes where you can pay cash and that HTA would send me a photo of my vehicle rental to determine if in fact I incurred those charges. I explained that I did go through the toll plazas and they obtained my account information somehow, despite having paid cash. I remember a small paper envelope taped to the top of the windshield. I believe this is a scam and was caught unaware. I have no way of verifying that I paid cash through those tolls, and did not realize that each car had a transponder. No one discussed with me what we were supposed to do if we wanted to opt in or out of the program.

I was shocked, therefore, when on picking up the car in Vancouver, I was informed I would have to pay a $252 surcharge for taking the car into Alberta. Unfortunately, I didn't have a copy of the detailed car rules with me to prove what I had read. So, it was my word against theirs. The Budget representative said that there was no clause in the small print allowing up to 200km a day, so I was forced to pay the surcharge.

When customer service finally answered, the rep told him that because the truck hadn't left the lot yet, it was the responsibility of the dealership to fix the tire. The attendant called his boss/the franchise owner at home and asked what he should do. The owner told the attendant to instruct me to drive the truck across the street and then I should call for road-side assistance.

In utter disbelief, I commented that he had just spent 45 minutes on hold, so I probably would be subjected to the same. I asked, if I drove the truck across the street, how long it would take to get someone out to replace the tire? He responded, "Some time this afternoon." As I was planning to start my trip that morning, I had no intention of wasting the day in the hot sun waiting for that truck to be repaired. He offered an older truck which already had 80,000 miles on it, and was not an optimal truck for the trip. I felt I had no choice but to take the truck.

Before hitting the above 100 degree temperatures in Oklahoma, the air conditioning stopped performing. A little later, the truck started to overheat. The truck wasn't capable of speeds over 55 MPH, so I slowed to around 35 MPH to bring down the temperature. I drove in these conditions for the next two days. I called customer service and spoke with a very indifferent chap named Robert. Robert didn't seem appalled that the customer was asked to drive a truck in disrepair out of the lot then spend his days taking care of repairs that should have been addressed prior to the customer arriving to pick up the truck. Robert also felt that because I took the other truck, I was responsible for the overheating on that truck and I should have called for road-side assistance in the middle of my move.

This is an example of the customer being held responsible for the lack of maintenance and other issues that should have been addressed by the originating rental center before renting trucks.

I called the number on the contract and got a person. We told him the tags were expired. We asked if we could go to another Budget place in Twin Falls, Idaho and have them fix it or give us a replacement. He said they didn't have another rental place there. There were several different addresses on the back of the contract and one of them was in Twin Falls, but he said there was nothing he could do about it. I asked him what if we got a ticket for the expired tags, and he said to just bring it to them and they would take care of it.

I don't know about the law in Idaho, but I think that any ticket you get like that would go against your license. Anyway, we were traveling around Idaho, Utah, and Nevada on bald tires and always worried about a blow out or being stopped. When we brought the car back, the lady that came out to check it said, "Oh well, sorry about that. The person that was supposed to check those things must have brought it out and said it was okay, so we just let it go out." My husband and I will never rent from Budget again. They also tried to get us to buy their insurance but we declined it, as our insurance does cover us in a rental car.

My friend and I were returning from an international leg of a family vacation carrying more than the normal amount of luggage. Therefore, my brother drove us to the Federal Circle location in order to ease the transfer of our belongings from his vehicle to the rental. While we understand that there are security concerns that prohibit the casual driving on-or-off the yard by other than company-owned vehicles, we felt sure that we could get a manager's approval to ease that luggage transfer. It's hard to imagine that this would be an unusual request, particularly with a reservation and proper identification. Wrong.

There was no security guard at the gate but there was an unfriendly, surly young man named Dion who shrugged to indicate that we would have to get a manager's approval to drive on the lot. Fair enough. There was no manager available and upon walking the length of the yard more than once, no manager was visible. There were two female employees in the reception area serving other customers, neither of whom would even glance up and make eye contact to indicate that they would serve us shortly. Disappointing. In fact, it took about thirty minutes to be acknowledged despite the fact that I counted three customers in addition to myself.

On the way out, Dion stood with another man near the service area and took the time to curse at me in the car. Maybe someone had already chastised him. As far as I'm aware, nothing was said to evoke this antisocial behavior from him. Maybe he's unhappy with his work or with life in general. In any case, it should not be the problem of Budget nor my customer experience. I'm sure you'll find it valuable to be aware of it. When I politely indicated my dissatisfaction with the experience, your Janet ** coolly changed to a more professional demeanor. It was obvious that a client is an inconvenience.

In this or any economic climate, it's hard to believe that employees fail to value clients more highly than ever and to treat them as they themselves would like to be treated. I believe that people are more than willing to wait but do deserve to be treated kindly and to be acknowledged as important to their business success. Needless to say, I'll spend a few more dollars if necessary and go back to the reliable service of Hertz, or any other firm rather than to take a chance on another negative encounter with your firm.

Upon returning the car, the lady that came by to check the car in said that I would have to go to the counter to turn it in because there was an issue on the mileage. I was bringing it back with less miles than when it had left them. The line again was outrageous. I waited another hour with my 80-year-old grandmother. Finally, I walked up to the counter and just dropped off the paperwork (7 Aug. '09) and told the guy I had to go or I'm going to miss my flight. When I checked my bank account today (11 Aug. '09), there is a charge for $172. I called numerous numbers, finally calling the desk at Budget's Seattle office. The manager there said that she would have to talk to the guy that rented me the car. So now I'm waiting. The guy ought to be fired for taking advantage of customers in a hurry. Obviously, if I didn't upgrade for $10-$12 a day, I wouldn't have opted to pay an extra $26 a day for some kind of insurance that I didn't need. I am a law enforcement officer; I should not be treated this way.

After sitting on hold for 20 minutes, I wrote them on budget.com to get my complaint looked at. After 5 days, I did not get a response and decided to talk to a person. After sitting on hold for another 27 minutes, I talked to someone. The woman looked at my account, found the error, and put me on hold for another 10 minutes to fix it. She came back and told me my account was credited $30.

Renting from your company has probably put me through my worst vacation ever. I know I am only one person and losing me as a customer will not even affect your company but be sure after this email, I will try my best to take any action possible that this doesn't happen to anyone else I come across. I will be asking for a full monetary reimbursement but what you can't give me back is my time spent stuck in the desert in 112 degree weather on the phone with a budget customer service rep telling us to turn away a AAA tow truck in order for your company's tow truck to come out and help us or if not, we are held accountable for paying the $450 tow truck fee. Amazing customer service reps you train, also whom don't understand the difference between a city and an exit. I won't go into all the details although I have all the time in the world here waiting for a new rental car from Las Vegas, two hours away. Oh and let's not forget there's a major accident holding the driver up. So here we sit in Baker, California going on five hours waiting and waiting and waiting! Thanks for a horrible car rental experience. Oh wait, it's not over just yet. I am sure there's more to come.

Whenever I call, I have been transferred to message section. I left tons of messages, sent emails, followed all procedures and suggestions, to no avail. I am going to work and to school by my own, taking a bus, and wasting time. I cannot drive my vehicle as the rear of my car is totally gone, but the employees at the insurance department of Budget do not care at all and no one is assisting me at all. Please help me solve this problem as soon as possible. They are not serious at all. I am very sad about this. Thanks for understanding.

Well, need I say more? A lot more, apparently. During an hour wait and a lot of angry customers, not once were we told that it could be a longer wait and not once did anybody from Budget provide an update or an apology. At this point, after hearing from some customers that they had already waited 2 hours for a car, my three children ages 4, 6 and 8 had had enough of the waiting. I went to the counter to speak with the person in-charge and requested my reservation be cancelled and credit card charge reversed. She replied, "Gladly." Wow, what customer service that is! This is totally unacceptable behavior and not the way to treat customers. I then had to go to Alamo Car Rental who did have a vehicle available and was happy to assist me, although it did cost more.

Unfortunately, this process resulted in me losing my preferred room assignment at the resort we stayed at and resulted in me paying more than twice as much for the car rental. Budget's price was $290 and I ended up paying $647 at Alamo for the last minute reservation. This economic damage resulted in, you guessed it, one less day at the Magic Kingdom.

On the shuttle bus, I told the guy across from me about this and he told me they tried to do this to him too. I then asked the two ladies that were at the back of the bus (only four of us on the bus) if they filled up when they returned their cars and if they were charged for gas as well. They said they did, but didn't know if they were charged. Then, they looked at their bills and found that they had been. Budget is scamming people for gas even though they filled it up!

When I got home, I checked my credit card, and it had been charged for $744.11! After numerous attempts to get through to Budget via email and telephone, I finally talked to a rep, who said that $30 a day had been added because there was an upgrade. He offered to transfer my call to the Seattle management. When he did that, I was connected to an answering machine! This was at 3 p.m. Seattle time, so someone should have been there.

Budget's customer service appears to be so bad that it is non-existent. Their nationwide customer service phone number is closed on weekends. They do not answer their emails. When you call their number, you are on hold forever (my one successful call was after 15 minutes on hold). It's like they are counting on you finally giving up in disgust. I have filed complaints with the FTC and the Washington State Attorney General.

I have rented many cars, and never have I been charged this much. And then, they added $13.99 for gas that they assumed I would be using, after I told them that I would fill the tank before I returned it. She said, “Just bring the receipt and we will take the $13.99 off.” When I returned the car, the attendant at the door told me I was done, and was not going to let me take my receipt in to the reception desk. He was very rude, and almost insisted that I leave. I did get the $13.99 removed from my bill, but not to his liking. I will never use Budget again, Enterprise will always be my choice when it comes to renting a vehicle. They have always been fair. These people were obnoxious and hateful from the get go. Now I feel better.

That evening, we arrived in San Antonio from Harlingen, TX and checked in at the hotel. We went to our room and something told me to check our bank account because we were on a tight allowance for our family trip. When I checked my balance, I almost fainted. Budget Rent-a-Car had charged us $601.95! I thought, "Oh my God, they made a mistake." So, I called the number on the contract and spoke to a guy named Ivan. He told me that the other $300.00 was for a deposit and that everyone gets charged that. I told him that Sonia never told me that there was a deposit. He said that it was standard practice and there was nothing he could do about it. I told him that we had our family in San Antonio and now, did not have enough money for gas or food. He put me on hold to talk to his manager.

After about four minutes, he came back on the phone and said there was nothing that they could do about refunding the $300 - and only when we return the van will we get it back. I also told him that nowhere on the contract we signed was there a clause that said we would be charged a $300 deposit. Again, he said there was nothing he could do for us. I had to call and borrow some money (which was really embarrassing) from my mom. We returned the van on July 9th about 5:30 pm, a day early due to lack of funds. The lady behind the counter said the deposit of $300.00 will be automatically returned to our account. I checked my bank account on the 10th of July and still no money. I called Budget again and asked when the deposit money would be returned. She said that it would take 3-5 business days to credit my account.

I am furious, they are sure quick to take the money from my account and then 3-5 days to give it back. Someone please help and make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. I know that $300 doesn't go far these days, but it makes a big difference of what souvenirs you can buy at Sea World. I am sure they are making interest off of our money.

She then asked me if I wanted to purchase their insurance. I asked if I had to. She then asked me if I had full coverage. I said no. I have liability because my car is paid for. She then told me that I had to purchase their insurance, because mine would not cover their car. I went ahead and did so, as I was told "I had to." The day before I was to bring the car in, I looked at the Budget website and discovered that I did not have to purchase their insurance.

I filed a complaint with Budget. When I went in to drop it off, I told her that I had an issue. I explained exactly what I said above. I had someone on the phone to witness the conversation. She also had her cleaner boy in there. She then said, "I told you that if you didn't buy the insurance and something happened that you would own it." I told her nothing of that sort came out of her mouth. I said again that she told me I had to buy it and that I wanted a refund.

She then said, "I don't have to take this from any customer." She asked me if I saw someone else outside and that she just walked into this. She said, "Would you like to walk back outside and start this over?" I told her that it was a dishonest business she was conducting. I am furious that Budget Auto is allowed to conduct business in this manner.

But fortunately, I had another reservation with Enterprise, which I forget to cancel. The reservation with Enterprise was for Full Size Car and I wanted SUV so I went with budget (it was more money to go with budget) so that I can get an SUV. I told the guy at the counter that I don't want their car and I went with Enterprise and got my car. And guess what, they told me I can get either full size or an SUV since they had it at that time without any charge. So I picked up an SUV for the price of car at Enterprise. They did not bug with me about all the upgrade, etc. Also, they did not force me to get their insurance (which is btw waste of your money).

I drove that SUV for 12 days in Florida and loved it. When I returned the car, it took about 30 seconds to complete the whole process. The person was very helpful. They directed to the way I can get to the terminal and gave me his business card in case I need anything after I leave the counter. We traveled with kids, so after a long flight, they had to wait in the airport for 2+ hours for nothing. If I didn't have another reservation, I would have had to spend another $200+ to get the bigger car (which I was supposed to get it anyway).

The lady on the phone didn't know how to tell me to go to the other location, so I told her "thanks for nothing!" and hung up on her. By this time, I was furious. I took a chance and started driving down the same road I was already on where I could see other car rental companies and eventually found an AVIS car rental with a sign that showed "/Budget". Apparently, Budget merged with AVIS during the 6 days I had my rental car. Nobody said a word when I took the car that any of this was happening and to return the car to a totally different location. Even my paperwork says to return the car to the same location from where I got it!

I pulled into the lot and asked other customers if I was in the right place, they said "yes". They also had had trouble finding where to go. There were about 10 cars waiting to be checked in and given their receipts. The guy out in the lot could not figure out how to work his machine. He said that he was just given it and told to go outside, he'd never used the handheld machine/computer before and was sorry for the huge delay that people were experiencing. Several people were complaining about possibly missing their flights. It was a zoo and extremely stressful!

Watch for this scam and don't be conned into believing their bs, just so the agent can make a few extra bucks. They don't care about you, just themselves. I have called Budget customer service to no avail. They don't have anyone answering their customer service phones and I never did receive a return call to all the messages I left on voice mails and their website. When I did get through to a manager, she said she would review the audio and video tapes of the rental and get back to me in two days at most. A week later and many more calls to her, still no reply.

As I told him, I can prove through gas station and airport parking receipts that I dropped the car at 10 pm. He said he would call me back within the next five days but didn't. I called him but he didn't answer and didn't call back that night. In the meantime, I had e-mailed the online customer service. I received an automated confirmation e-mail stating that I would be contacted within five business days. After almost two weeks, I still hadn't heard anything so I e-mailed again. No response as of yet. Today, I called the 800 customer service number again and spoke to a rude and irritating rep who first tried to claim that when customers leave the car when Budget is closed that they get charged for the following day.

I insisted that this was never mentioned when I rented the car and that I had been told I had 24 hours to return the car. He then back-pedaled and said he was opening a case file and that I would hear about the status of my case in 15 days. After the ridiculously poor treatment I have received thus far and after reading everyone else's posts, I find this claim difficult to believe. I have filed a dispute with my credit card company and am hoping to recoup the $170 Budget stole from my visa.