Dollar Rent A Car Reviews

Now, after going back and forth with reps, they finally scan the van in as returned and print out receipt for $596.00. When I asked how the price went from $335.00 to $596.00, they told me I was being charged $96 for an extra day for returning the vehicle late and $44.95 for insurance on vehicle. I informed them I had been out there arguing with them for over 30 minutes. Furthermore, I added that my reservation was from 10 pm on April 20 through 11:30 pm on April 22, 2012, and that per the website, they would charge an extra $11 per hour which was included in cost already along with the insurance.

Now, after about an hour of going round and round with reps, he finally goes to the computer to pull up original reservations and he acknowledges that I was correct on the time of return and that insurance was included in cost already. The rep honor the $335.00 cost for rental, but upon exiting the store the rep says to me, "We are cool, right? Because I do not want you coming back to shoot up my store.” I have never felt so disrespected in my life! First, they try to insult my intelligence, call me a liar indirectly, and then make a racial comment like this. I will not tolerate this type of behavior and would like to have some immediate restitution.

I called the station manager and explained to him what happened. His response: There is nothing we can do about it. Beware of their M.O. They will tell you to press "Agree" on the panel that you are declining insurance but check the receipt to make sure that they in fact did not include it. I will never ever rent from Dollar again.

Second pay was with a debit card on 17th of February at Tampa airport at 11:11 am for Kr. 31.846.00. Third pay was with debit card on 22nd February at 7:30 pm (turn in day) for Kr. 13.860.00, which was estimated pay at the receiving desk. All together, I paid 70.555.00 Kronur or 564 USD. I hope it will be looked at.

I tried calling the Dollar customer care website after I had left the location to make a complaint, but was given a runaround saying that I need to speak to the manager at the Dollar location. I don't understand why I can't be treated as a regular customer and why the customer care person cannot do her job professionally.

This was fine until I drove to the keys. Three tolls there and three tolls back took a picture of the license plate. I did not have the option of paying cash. These were .75 cents each. I figured the rental agency would charge me for it later. My visa was charged $162.84! When I inquired why the high charge, the rental agency charges $25.00 administrative fees for each toll booth. What?! I am angry on the man who rented out the car did not explain the way the tolls work down there. What kind of business practice is this? I will never rent with this company again and I have read quite a few complaints similar to mine.

I had to walk with two heavy bags by myself almost 1/4 mile to get my economy car to find out none were available. I was given a compact Nissan that was unwashed, trash and dirty Kleenex in the back seat. Before I left the airport, the check engine indicator went on as well as the low water indicator. It was on for the entire trip.

The engine knocked. I asked Dollar for assistance with my bags and a clean car. They said I have to take it or leave it "honey". What kind of operation do you operate? I also paid $29/day for economy, which is no deal. I was offered an upgrade for my trouble at $29 additional/day. Their company is a scam. Hertz is expensive but they know what customer service means. Shame on them, I feel like I was robbed.

When I called Dollar asking why I was charged so much, they said it was because I had the car three days. Well I certainly didn't have it for three days so there's the problem, easy fix right? Wrong! What happened was I was about 20 minutes late returning it then I had first put down. I was told, “Well if you go over, you're charged for a full day.” Let me repeat that if you turn your car in late, you're charged a full day! To which I replied, “Should I just lie next time and say I'm turning it in at a later time then I know I will.” Well the guy at Dollar said, "No, we charge a penalty for returning a car early!".

So basically Dollar charges you a penalty unless you can return a car exactly at the moment that you say you're returning it. Forget about the fact that most people are renting cars at cities that they've never been to before, Dollar feels that this is okay to do and the guy on the phone refused to let me talk to his manager. I've never met a company so poorly run and I will never rent from Dollar again and I hope this message serves to keep others from making the same mistake I did.

After 2 days and worries about money during our vacation, we called Dollar 800 number and explained the situation and someone over the phone helped out and gave us a car that we could afford. One catch, we will have to wait 10-15 days to get the money but back in our account and will have to charge us the new car cost $643.54. Since we did not want to get stuck with no car to travel since we realized a car is definitely needed in the island, we again had no choice but to make the trade and sacrifice doing things on our vacation, due to all the money Dollar Rental was holding. On top of all of this, coming back to dropping off the car we get charged an extra day for dropping off the car one hour late. Yes, one hour late after all that has happened again out of our control, freak accident on the road held up traffic, no sympathy from Dollar rental. Night mare, the entire experience! Rudest people, no customer service. I give them minus million stars.

I signed. I'm sure you can guess the outcome. I returned the car early and was charged an additional $174.91 and have confirmed that most of this was for full insurance coverage that I had expressly said I didn't want and the counter agent expressly said I was waiving by signing the screen. They have told me that because I signed, they will not refund my money. I am taking further action and will never use them again. For what I paid I could have rented a much nicer car somewhere else. Don't be fooled - their insurance is called "loss damage waiver" - you are NOT waiving the coverage if you sign what they tell you is the waiver screen.

They are the most unscrupulous business. I have also complained to Southwest Airlines as they are the ones that directed me to Dollar when I made my flight reservations. I figured that Southwest would use a reputable company. Wrong!

This is clearly a fraud! "All toll paid" means all toll paid. If there's a toll violation, they have to take care of it, because their car wasn't properly equipped and/or they misinformed me. Even their service description on the website doesn't say that there are certain roads excluded from that service.

A month later, we got a letter from Dollar, notifying us that we ran 3 tolls, and the charges are $25 per toll, on top of the toll fees. This really made me dislike Dollar for their revenue generating tactics. 3 tolls cost us $79. Talk about feeling ripped off. I will never rent anything from Dollar again, and I will inform all my family and friends to stay away from them.

I had to miss work the next day. I called them back to let them know that I miss my flight, and ask them what they could do to help me. He told me that they could only give me a car at a discounted price, but I had no money left. I had to borrow money from someone, so that I could get a room for that night, because it was me, my wife, and my 4 year old son, and I could not let them sleep in the airport. So what will happen now? I am about to bring the matter with my lawyer's hand to deal with it. I still did not get my deposit back.

I wanted to speak to a supervisor or manager and was told I could not. Then I gave my name and number for a call back and still until this day, a week and a half later, I have not received a call. I was charged $372 and felt that I was tricked out of my money, that there was no way it came up to that much, that I was told a different price when I rented the car and Dollar Rental stole my money and had horrible customer service. When the car was turned in, it was an inch from the full line and they charged me for 3 gallons of gas. I am very disappointed and still will be looking to get justice with this situation.

I called Dollar and Chris told me to bring the car back to Cape Canaveral. I told him this was over 65 miles round trip and that I wanted to bring it to Melbourne airport, which is only 4 miles from my second Florida home. He said I could not and so I kept the car and disputed the charge with AmEx. Dollar failed to respond and so AmEx removed the charge from my statement. As of today, 1/26/2012, Dollar is still sending me letters to get me to pay. I feel that I didn't get fair value for my money. In addition, the odds of that car being rented in Orlando and returned to Louisiana are remote. In the meantime, Dollar is allowing an unsafe car to be rented to the public without regard to their safety.

Dollar dishonestly charged me 296.00 in extra fees that were never revealed and services /insurance. I told them that I did not want. Because they insist the salesperson revealed all fees to me (which he did not) and I pressed "Agree" on all their screens (which I did not) and I signed the final screen (which is the only one they showed me) there is nothing they will do.

They also scammed me out of another $90.00 by never revealing that they would charge me $10.00 per day (total of 9 days) because my husband would be the driver and the credit card used was not in his name. All they did is ask my husband for his license and never mentioned any additional fees. If I knew, I would have used my husband's credit card since I wasn't going to drive.

I called customer service to complain and their response was, "I don't know what conversation you had with the guy at the desk but you signed it." I consider this not only a bait and switch tactic, but an outright scam and con action worthy of legal response. I will be sending a letter to the the Better Business Bureau and attempt to contact every blog and website I can to warn other potential customers away from these tactics.

I called customer service to complain and their response was, "I don't know what conversation you had with the girl at the desk but you signed it.” I asked to speak with their legal department; she gave me a P.O. box number and said there was nothing they would do about it since I signed it. I consider this not only a bait and switch tactic but outright scam and con action worthy of legal response. I will be sending a letter to the Attorney General in Hawaii as well as the Better Business Bureau and attempt to contact every blog and website I can to warn other potential customers away from these tactics.

The consequence is that because when asked if I wanted insurance and saying no, the desk girl wrote up a contract knowing that I would likely not find out about it until I get home and the customer service department knew they would refuse to do anything. I will take every legal step I can to resolve this and make every public stand I can against this company. It's a matter of principle.

A few weeks after arriving home I received an e-mail from Dollar saying I had a driving violation in the Silver GMC vehicle dated September 25th in an area of Florida I had never heard of or had ever been too. After numerous e-mails back and forth to Dollar, I was told it was none of their concern and they referred me to the violations department. They showed no customer service by checking their records even though I forwarded on the details of the vehicle I was driving on the day in question. I have used this company for many years, but this will be the last. If anyone reading this is deciding to rent a vehicle, please do yourself a favor and go to a company who will treat you with more respect than I have received from Dollar. Dollar is a good name for them as all they seem to do is get as many of them from you no matter how it's done. Shame on you as a company.

Dollar has been my first choice for many years but this was not what I related to the agent. When I called, I was told I did request the added coverage and I clearly told that agent, no, no, no probably 8 or 10 times to the point that I was exasperated. I will be away Jan. 11-31, 2012, but hope to check emails. I am requesting that I pay the rate quoted when I booked this rental.

When I returned the car, I was asked about the bag for the navigator. I told that it is in the glove compartment. The clerk said that it is not there and wrote "navigator bag missing" to my receipt expecting me to pay for it. I went back to the car and checked the glove compartment. The bag was there. The clerk didn't check that but simply tried to make me pay for the bag.

I found the way Dollar rent a car very unethical and unprofessional. Giving misleading information about insurances when reserving the car, adding stuff secretly to my 'shopping bag' and trying to invoice for returned bag.

I reserved the car through rentalcars.com. In their web pages it was not possible to select or see the additional insurances to make the fake full insurance really full. Before the trip, I asked about insurances and rentalcars.com answered by e-mail that I have all insurances I need including flat tires. They also told that Dollar rent a car may try to sell additional insurances. In Dollar Rent A Car, they told I didn't have full insurance after all. Someone was lying to me.

When I got home, I contacted my auto insurance company and I found out that they do cover all car rentals within the US. Dollar Rent a Car lied to me to get me to buy their insurance for which I didn't need. That was a ripoff. I would never use Dollar again.

Seriously, this was a verbally handicapped person that couldn't speak very well and they took advantage of him. They are pitiful! If you read their rules, it says you can decline the insurance. But if you do, I guess you don't get a car!

He was noticeably drunk and incoherent. He admitted to taking the car and could not remember where he left it. But he did say he went to Harrahs casino downtown. Officer Noris of the Jefferson PD made the arrest (complaint **). After they both left, I called Dollar and reported the incident. I also drove to the New Orleans city impound to look for the car, but it had not been towed. Next day I called Dollar again and was told that the car was not reported stolen. I then called JPD and spoke to officer Noris who told me that I had to report the car stolen at the New Orleans PD because that is where we thought it was left.

I thought this to be odd, but I did drive downtown to the NOPD office and spoke to the officer on duty. He told me officer Noris was wrong. The car was taken from my house and the person responsible was arrested both in Jefferson PD jurisdiction. I called JPD and talked to Sergeant West and explained what I was told. He agreed that it was JPD jurisdiction. But he said that car would not be placed on stolen list for the charge was unauthorized use of a vehicle. I tried to explain that the car is missing and was taken so it was stolen. I called Dollar and was given the number to a Dollar Detective Alexander. He told me that JPD was wrong and that he would try to call an officer to correct this. I then called the ranking officer at the 4th District Officer Kaho, who proceeded to correct the problem and file a complaint against officer Noris on the 21st.

Starting on the 20th every day, three times a day, I called all 25 city of NO towing companies along with the city impound lot. And in the evenings I drove all around the public lots and streets near the casino to see if I could find the car. I had also called the Harrahs casino valet department and asked them if they had the car. On the day I found the car, I decided to try to call the Harrahs casino valet again. This time a very nice lady took the time to actually look for the car while I waited on the phone. About 30 minutes later, she came back on line and told me that the car had been there the entire time.

I immediately called Sherrie at Dollar and told her that the car was at Harrahs. I told her I would pick up the car. She told me that I could not pick it up because it had been reported stolen. She told me that if I got stopped by the police, I would go to jail even if the contract was in my name for Dollar owned the car. She said not to worry, Dollar would call the police so they could meet at Harrahs, verify ownership, and then Dollar could take the car back to the lot. I was never told that I would be charged for towing, impound fees, etc.

Had I been told this, I would have called the police chief myself, and asked to meet them at the car so I could take it back. I’m sure that after they had messed up the entire case and put me through the trouble they did, they would have complied to help me out. At any rate I would have taken the car back myself no matter what. I would have also had a chance to see if the car had any damage or if the GPS had been stolen prior to the car being released from Harrahs and under their valet responsibility. I never afforded a chance to verify that the GPS was missing and to hold Harrahs accountable for this.

After a few days, I spoke to Sherrie ** at Dollar again and we went over the bill. After all I have been through, she gave me a break as outlined in the final settlement bill enclosed. I gave her a credit card and she charged a total of $350.00, leaving $0 balance. Much to my surprise a couple of weeks later, I got a call from JNR collections demanding a payment of $937.32 with no backup documentation. I called and spoke to Sherrie at Dollar and she did not know anything about this. I forwarded the copy of the paid in full receipt from Dollar to JNR. They told me that it did not matter and that corporate adjusted the bill. I then asked them to at least have the courtesy of forwarding an itemized copy of the presumed charges. It took JNR a few months to do this. Meanwhile, the harassing letters and threatening phone calls continued.

Finally on Aug. 26, I received a copy of the new charges. Needless to say, I was appalled. The charges were exactly those that Sherrie and I had discussed and that she had adjusted in the final invoice. One of the charges was a rental fee for a GPS along with a replacement fee for the same. This is not only ludicrous, but also reprehensible. I also find the cost of the NUVI replacement at $450 very questionable for I own two NUVI GPS. And that unit does not even cost that at retail prices, which I am sure Dollar does not pay to Garmin. This is morally and ethically wrong. Since I am not an attorney, I cannot question the legality. But I suspect that this practice of gouging may also be illegal.

Since the beginning of October, I have been trying to reach Sherrie and others at Dollar to try and resolve this issue. Meanwhile, according to JNR, I have been placed on a national do not rent list by Dollar and they have been reporting this collection to all the credit agencies affecting my rating. I even spoke to Dollar’s corporate attorney, Mr. William **, who told me that this was in the hands of corporate offices and there was nothing he could do. He then told me he would have corporate call me and gave me their number. Another month went by, and I never heard from corporate. I finally tried to call and was able to speak to Dawn. She asked me to write this letter and forward to her.

In closing, I hope and trust that Dollar will reconsider its position, honor the settlement agreement I hold with $0 balance, remove me from any do not rent list, and clear my credit with all reporting agencies in order to restore the damage caused by this incident. Dollar should also consider the ordeal I have endured and the efforts I have made to rectify this situation. Please advice at your earliest.

No Christmas for my family. I am a single mother teaching first grade in a public school trying to put my daughter through college and this expense of 482.00 to rent a car is a hardship that will be very difficult for us to bear.

On returning of rental car, manager/owner Yally/Maureen took a charge owed and agreed to be taken once car was returned. Had been taken out my card without permission. When asked why the charge was $30 more when total included taxes (supposedly), Yally stated that it wasn't her who took the extra money. Then she tried to shut me up and not look at the text which proved she was scamming me out of atleast $100 dollars in overcharges to be pocketed by her.

I specifically asked them how much it would cost to drop our rental off at these locations. They quoted me $89 for a drop off fee. It even states on our rental agreement that Hilton Head or Atlanta was our destination. After our trip was completed, we dropped our rental car off in Atlanta and flew home. Three days later, Knoxville TN rental office called, asking where the car was. I told them we dropped it off in Atlanta. This is when they advised me that Knoxville is a franchise and they are not partners with the Atlanta Airport. Because of that, they were now charging me $1.75/mile to drive to Atlanta to pick up their car. I told them that was never discussed with me during my rental, and it was even stated on my statement that Atlanta was one of my final destination choices.

Two weeks later, I received a letter of collections from their corporate office, stating they are going to charge me an additional $477.00 for having to go pick up the car. I contacted corporate and, even though our destination was listed on my bill, they still were going to charge me. I told them I was going to dispute the charges, and I wanted to speak to a supervisor. I have left several messages with the supervisor, and have not received a phone call. They went ahead and charged my credit card $477.00 without my permission, knowing I was in the process of a dispute. I have yet to receive a phone call from customer service, knowing that I'm attempting to dispute the charge.

After returning home, I appealed the decision to not provide the LDW. Dollar reviewed the case and found that I had been double charged for gasoline, but indicated that I am only offered LDW if I am a Platinum World Elite MC, which is exactly what I am. I responded to the person named Amanda ** at dtag.com, but never got a response. I feel that I deserve both a response and refund of the coverage I was forced to carry.

I called the customer service hot-line and she said someone should have informed me about Florida's new electronic system at the point of pickup. No one did! Then I was told that Dollar also posts a sign indicating this. Wow! I don't think it's reasonable to expect this from travelers or even foreigners. Customers need to be informed and not ripped off!

My question is, why did I physically pay all those toll charges and then be slapped with some so-called electronic charges plus $25 worth of processing fee each? This is a public disgrace Dollar!

When I came back I checked on the internet and there is nothing about this "New York State Law" saying you cannot buy DWI for a full size SUV. Now, I got a $365 bill for the broken tire. I called Dollar customer service and they told me they only see my signature on the contract and wouldn't listen to me.

I think the contract was orally changed by one of their staff at the front desk. He added a new term to the contract, which was fake. When someone's wearing a Dollar T-shirt, he represents your company. you cannot say things like" you shouldn't have believed him".

I shared my experience with Dollar Rent A car and opened the case number **. The company decided that my experience was in line with their business practices and they cannot honor our agreement and refund the extra charges. They had no comments regarding the disrespectful, offensive behavior of the front desk clerk and the Frankfurt branch manager. Please note that two other USA families that were renting at the same time with me received the same treatment. I attempted to address this situation using the power of Master Card. The case number ** that I opened favored Dollar Rent A Car by stating that e-agreements are estimations only, and not commitments. That sounds very strange and alarming to me. This was my first time renting with Dollar, and most definitely also the last time. I strongly advise anyone to think twice before renting from Dollar.

When I got to the Dollar Rental desk, the agent asked me about the number of people and the luggage. The agent advised to upgrade to a bigger car and suggested a SUV. When I asked him how much the new car would cost me, he replied about "$515.00". I understood that it would cost me $515.00 in total, so I agreed. Unfortunately, I did not look at the rental record until we returned the car on 10/17/11. I noticed, to my outrage, that I had to pay $551.00 by the upgrade cost. So, the total cost was $869.00!

The lady behind the desk was finishing up with another customer. She looked up and asked if she could help me. I started to speak and she rudely held up her hand and said, "Wait a minute, can't you see I'm busy?" This was the beginning of the worst customer service I have ever received. When she was finally ready, I began to explain that I was there to pick up my vehicle. She immediately interrupted me and asked If I had read the rental agreement. I replied and she said, "Then you know you must purchase your insurance through Dollar Rental.” I then replied that I had already purchased it through Orbitz. Her response was, "That's not my problem. You need to get a refund.” After arguing with her, I found out the cost of the insurance was almost double the cost of the rental. Her response was that my rental was so cheap, I shouldn't be complaining about the insurance price. I was also informed that I could check the other rental agencies in the area if I didn't like it. I did check. As there was a large car show in town, there were no other cars available.

After returning from checking the other agencies, I returned and the same Dollar agent was arguing with another couple about the same insurance issue. I spoke to the other couple and while commiserating with them, I said that "this is a ripoff". The Dollar agent heard my comment and yelled at me. She said that she did not have to give me a car and that my reservation was canceled. Thankfully I have relatives in the Frankfurt area and was able to be picked up by them. I did rent a nice (much larger) car out of Advantage car rental in the same terminal 2 days later. The price was only a little more and they provided excellent service. I will never rent a car from Dollar Car Rental again, and I will tell everyone I know this story.

I have all the emails plus the photographic evidence to support this issue. I would like to know what I can do next to escalate my claim.

Many thanks.

When I asked for a credit for my troubles, they said, they credited already the Roadside cost and the battery cost. In their mind, the reimbursement are the credits. The worst of all, none of the "Customer Service" were able or willing to understand the difference between reimbursement and credit. They are very unfriendly and snobbish. I was told that they can't do anything else, the credits given were sufficient. What credits?

At this point, I still had no recourse and realized that my son was not going to make it all the way to Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area since he was stuck in Tennessee. We had to get around and we needed a car. I agreed to keep the car but told the customer service rep that I refused to pay any other fees. I made sure they did not include any when I got my new receipt.

It is now 5 Oct 11 and we needed to get to Tennessee. Our hotel reservations were over and we needed to drive home. We could not get a flight within our budget. (We had to pay extra for the car, resort fees, eating out, etc.) We called Dollar and asked them to extend our rental and that we would be driving to Tennessee. They quoted us a price of $36.00 for the extra day and that was all.

When we arrived at the BNA airport in Nashville, TN, the attendant said, "How was the car?" And I said, "Fine, thank you for asking!" He said, "Okay, your bill is $835.00 for the rental." I said, "No, it's not more than $390.00 and that is with the exorbitant fees they tacked on for protection that I did not sign up for." He then told me to talk to the front desk. They said, "It's $835.00 and that's that!"

At this point, I was livid and hurt. I had just paid the rent and saved out enough for the car rental. I called Ft. Lauderdale, FL office and they said "No, it's already closed out and it's $835.00. We can't do anything about it." That was when I asked, "What is the $390.00 extra for? They stated, "For the drop off fee." I said, "What drop off fee?" They said, "The one for dropping the car off in Tennessee!" I thought, "this is not happening!"

I then called customer service and they said, "We don't handle those cases, we handle other cases!" I said, "Who can I talk to then? It was not stated when we called and it's not on our agreement!" I asked, "Is there anyone else I can talk to? Please! I don't even have that because that is not what was told me."

The condescending customer service rep said, "There is no one else but me, and I cannot help you. I am going to disconnect now, and there is nothing else I can do! Now, is there anything else I can do for you Ms. **? I am going to disconnect now. Thank you for calling and have a good day. I do understand your dilemma but I can't possibly help you. Have a good day, Ms. **! Goodbye now." And that was that. I even cried on the phone saying, "I would never have agreed to such a fee if they had told me that." Again, she said, "Sorry, I do understand. Have a good day."

They have found a way to extract unauthorized money out of me. Then, they claim that since I signed their scrolled down little digital check out, I have given them permission to charge me whatever they want to take. This is extortion and is illegal. Dollar expects no charges will be brought forth since, as a citizen, I am too busy to take them to court. So, they can go on and do this to other unaware citizens. Attention to this fraudulent activity is critical to enforce corporations to serve their customers, not abuse them.

Well, when I landed, we were whisked onto the shuttle bus directly to the plane on 10/03/11. I just remembered to call today, 10/06/11, to make sure I did not get charged for the toll road pass. I was told: "Sir that is an option. And just because you did not use it does not mean you will not get charged for it." This is not what I was told! And why would I call them? I asked to speak to a supervisor. According to him, there is no one but him I can speak to. Do not use Dollar Rent A Car!

We returned our rental fully loaded with fuel, only to get a charge a month later for more than $30. We called the customer service and they referred us to local Harlingen office at the airport. We visited the Dollar Rent-A-Car office and they claimed that the car was three gallons short of gas. What? $30 for three gallons of gas? Alert, alert, alert. Somehow, three gallons of fuel mysteriously disappeared.

Step 1: We called the 1-800 customer service and they asked us to visit the local Dollar Rent-A-Car office.

Step 2: The manager was rude, arrogant and not helpful at all. We felt that he was only trying to get rid of us. He referred us to 1-800 customer number, so here we go again.

Step 3: We called only to find out that 'there's nothing they can do without a receipt."

It's unrealistic to ask customers to keep the receipts up to a month after the car has been turned in. We trusted Dollar after returning the vehicle. We felt okay because the car was returned and fully fueled. We're done.

I filed a complaint with their corporate office about this questionable business practice and their Harlingen, Texas (airport) manager's condescending manner towards us. I am not sure what good it'll do but we're pursuing possible legal investigation to find out if Dollar Rent-A-Car is doing the same to other customers. The bottom line is don't rent with Dollar Rent-A-Car. Class action lawsuit is seriously one of our options.

The car broke down. I called back and they were closed. I was billed for $2,500, loss of use, and the tow bill was changed from $900 to $960.

Being a woman, I was very concerned as I was not in a safe place. I had to have the police come and check if I was ok.

I rate this experience a 0!

We returned home on 8/31, and a few days later my bank account was charged $1,089. I was double the cost of what was stated on our contract. We received no receipt, and had no idea this was going to happen. Apparently, the insurance and additional fees weren't added to our original contract, so we had no idea the cost was so high. We were also not prepared for it. My bank account overdraft seven times and we had to borrow money from family until our following paycheck.

As you've probably guessed by now, we are very upset with this situation. We feel as if the representative that rented the car to us was blatantly dishonest, as he stated the estimated cost was likely around $10 high (leaving us to presume that our final bill would be $530). Our contract didn't list any of the additional costs, except the ones we had requested like additional driver's fee and et cetera. We assumed $530-$550 was the final cost, as we were led to believe. We've rented from other companies several times, and I have never experienced fees in the thousands even when we rented a Mustang in Hawaii. Therefore, the estimated cost of $550 was reasonable to us, and no red flags were raised.

We are extremely disappointed with your company. We feel it is important for every company executive to be informed of such practices of dishonesty occurring throughout their organization. We do not plan to rent from your company again, and we are both very disappointed in the dishonesty we experienced. I still have trouble comprehending how we were assured a maximum definitive cost of $550, and we were charged over $1000. It screams of alienating your customers.

I've attached our handwritten contract, so you can see the how we were obviously misled yourself. I expect contracts to be honored. I'd like a refund on the difference of $540 and $1,089 of $549. We are happy to pay what our contract states. To resolve this matter, I've also filed a claim with your company, and I have contacted the consumer protection group-- ConsumerAffairs.com. If my efforts still result in dissatisfaction, I will file a complaint through the Better Business Bureau. I'm sure you understand.

I was talked into purchasing a full tank of gas in advance so that we wouldn't have to worry about returning it on empty. The lady at the counter stated the price in advance was a good price (3.56 a gallon). After leaving the airport and driving around the actual price in Tenn., it was around $3.35 a gallon! She got me again. Well, Hurricane Irene came to town and we had to get a vehicle for another couple of days. We went back to the same counter, spoke to the same lady and discussed needing a vehicle for longer. I stated I didn't care for the vehicle given, that I thought it wasn't the best of quality for the price we were paying and wanted to change vehicles. She said that we didn't have any full-size vehicles. Also, that if we were to return it, we would need to close out the original sale and process insurance and such all over again.

I was charged on my bill to get a load of this Customer Facility Charge $22.50, Energy Recovery Fee $2.25, Frequent Flyer Surcharge $7.50, Apconcrecfee $53.41, State Tax $48.10, Rental Tax $18.00, Rntlvehsrg $6.00, Optional Coverage 129.95. Let's not forget the cost to rent the vehicle was $315.95 for six days. So when I was done, my bill came to a whopping, and I say whopping, total of $680.00. So needless to say, I do not recommend renting any vehicle through Dollar. They are anything but a Dollar rental! They rent old and used vehicles at a very high price!

The final tab for the car was $728 - twice the price of my air fare. When I called because I thought they'd accidentally over billed me, they said, "No that's the charge."

Do not rent from dollar rental!

I am on one side of the phone trying to just get anyone to check the center console of the silver Ford that I rented. I have a wallet with cash, credit cards and all of my info in it and nobody cares. Since I have not heard from anyone, I can only assume that they did indeed find it and have decided to keep it. I have not received a response that Dollar did or did not find my wallet. I know for a fact that the wallet was in the center console because I had just topped the gas tank off and used a spare credit card in my wallet. I then put my wallet back in the center console with other things. My wallet is black as well as console liner so I didn't see it when taking other things out. All Dollar had to do was check and nobody there could care less. They were most likely more worried about how they were going to split the cash! I have called the police department as well and will follow up with a report on Monday.

In the end I was charged a total of $463, which includes gas for approximately $10 a gallon. I contacted customer service and was told that all of the charges were written in my contract. However, the agent at the pick up desk made sure to talk me through the entire contract and none of the additional charges were mentioned.

This company is dishonest and misleading.

When I brought my car back to the airport, I was charged $592.49.

$74.85 - $14.97 upgrade charge

An insurance that costs $269.80, which is over and beyond the insurance I asked for online. Plus other incidental charges.

The agent told me that reserving a car through Hotwire was not advised. Their offers change and the car that I had reserved was not available. I told him that I wanted what I had reserved. Obviously, this man is working for commission. He was very unclear and when I signed the form, I thought I was signing for my reservation #R8177518, for $150.00.

I will never rent from Dollar again. Also, I am going to advise everyone I know of this incident.

"Dear Mr. **,

Thank you for notifying us of your recent experience with Dollar Rent A Car in Orlando. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.

In review of your rental contract, you were charged for tolls in the amount of $1.75 and administration fees in the amount of $125.00. I am able to reverse these charges. In order to do so, I would need to apply our Pass 24 option in the amount of $64.91 plus taxes and fees. If you would like me to apply the Pass 24 option, you can advise me in an email or contact me by telephone directly.

Thank you once again, Mr. **, for taking the time to notify us of this situation. We look forward to serving you again soon at Dollar Rent A Car.

Sincerely,

918-669-4103

Their solution: How about an SUV? After repeating ourselves several times, spending nearly an hour and a half going round and round and being told that they had nothing else to offer us, they suddenly "found" a car that we could have and as we had originally planned, we could drop it off in Denver --for a $500.00 fee. When we mentioned that Our Veterans Advantage membership allowed us to register a second driver at no cost, they knew nothing about that program and would NOT go to their website where it was clearly stated and would NOT do anything to verify what we were saying.

The car was supposed to be a non-smoking car. When we went to pick it up, we not only found that the passenger seat had a cigarette burn hole in it, but it also was registered and had a COLORADO license plate. We were taking this car back to Colorado for them and being charged five hundred dollars, saving them the hassle, aggravation and cost to get it done.

We booked through Orbitz.com and the agent said that since I charged it on my credit card, I would have to be the primary driver, though I clearly indicated my husband Anthony ** would be the only driver. He told us Anthony would be the additional driver. We have an autistic son and needed to hurry to sign the contract and leave the desk area promptly. I called Dollar Rental Car and was simply told that it was in the contract and that I agreed to this charge.

I would like a refund of the additional driver fee as it was misleading and it was never verbally explained in terms of any fee associated, therefore we were unaware we had a choice to decline this option. We will not rent from this misleading car agency in the future.

My plan once the gas charge clears my bank is to make a copy of the receipt and all my paperwork. And I will send it to your corporate office with this complaint. I believe you are wrongfully charging individuals by not verbally mentioning this information, when you say to the customer "initial here that you decline the prepaid fuel option". I want my money back! This is about right, wrong and principles at this point.

I rented cars for about three months with Dollar (2 months ago) when my car was wrecked. Never once did I bring in receipts. I was supposed to get 1 free day rental for every 16 days I had the car. I never got it! During that period of ongoing rental, the clerk told me that he reactivated my express card. I see that is still inactive as well. I am expecting compensation for this deception. You must be charging individuals 1000"s and 1000's of dollars with this tactic. Your organization is setting someone up for going mental on your check-in staff by failing to make the gas receipt clear, only so you can make a few extra dollars. I walked away furious as hell, but sane! Everyone won't be.

When we returned the car, we told them that we wanted to purchase it for two days and they printed out a receipt for $36.99. You have to pay for every day the car was rented (weekly car rental). Now they refuse to fix it!

To my horror, when I phoned to extend the rental, the agent said I was being charged for "roadside assistance". I drove to LAX from Orange County to try to resolve this and spoke to the manager at the LAX office. He said it was "impossible" for me not to have agreed to the extra charges, as I would have had to accept the charges on signing.

I know I did not, and I will be pursuing this matter. It is not about the 70 or so dollars, it is because they treat everyone as stupid, and get away with this sort of treatment of their customers. This is so unacceptable.

Nevertheless, they charged me $45 for the full tank of gas -- even though I returned it full.

I didn't realize they had charged me this amount until I got home. I called their customer service number and was told, "You signed the contract."

We will write next, but in the meantime, my advice: DON'T RENT FROM DOLLAR.

Anyway, I put the window down and I was asking the guy what the fee would be if I returned my car early, and he asked me for the key. So, I stepped off of the car and gave him the key; then he tells me, "It's a total of $262." I'm like, "Why would I pay $262 for an early fee? Thats ridiculous." He's like, "No. Your total is $262." I'm like, "Why would I return the car early if I would only save $10.00? That would be stupid. My total was $273 to begin with. I'll just return it Tuesday." (This conversation was on a Saturday - 2 days early). He replied, "You would have to go inside and rent a new car; I just closed out your ticket."

I almost fainted. I was like, "When did I ask you to close out my ticket? I came here to ask you a ** question." His response was, "I guess we misunderstood each other." It's been a horrible, horrible service. Don't ever rent from these people. They suck. It seems like they forget that they have a job to begin with -- because of people like me who need to rent a car every now and then, because the total of my rental for 5 days is probably half or a third of the paycheck of the guy who couldn't listen to my whole conversation before he closed out my ticket without me telling him to do so, or maybe half of Nilda's paycheck. Bad employees give companies a bad name. Never again will I rent from Dollar!

When we arrived at the Orlando Airport, I told the clerk that I don't want any extra charge added on my reservation at $340 for the week that I signed with AtlasChoice. So he said that I will not have any extra charge but he suggested that I get an upgrade for the same price. That's the start of the nightmare.

I answered all the questions and we left the airport. First of all, the car was supposed to be full but at the moment that we left the gate and the light was opened, the car was completely empty so we went to the gas station and we full the car.

A week later, when we left the car at the airport, they wanted to charge me 77 because I returned the car empty. But the car was empty when I rented it. So we went at the desk and they gave us a credit when I showed them my bill from the gas station. They told me that the credit will be on my MasterCard, but three months after, I never saw the credit.

And you know the clerk robbed me for $300 when I accepted the upgrade so don't accept any upgrade or any other charges especially when your first language is not English. So I paid more than the double of my reservation. I rented a lot of car in many countries and I will never ever rent a car with that company for the rest of my life. My last chance to have a refund is to contact MasterCard to refuse the payment.

Last week, I set up a car rental for my wife who was in Las Vegas. Prior to her arrival there, I phoned to confirm the rental and to ensure that we were only getting the supplemental liability insurance, and that we were waiving the loss damage insurance (this is covered by our credit card).

When she arrived at the Dollar counter to sign for the car, the Dollar clerk, who she described as large and irritable, told her that she HAD to take the collision insurance. She explained that her husband said to waive this insurance, that it was covered by our credit card. He wouldn't take no for an answer, rather he said that our card would not cover all the damages should we get into an accident. There were a lot of people behind her, all the other clerks were busy and it was 10 pm, so she signed for the collision insurance. An additional $90!

I've since contacted Dollar asking that they reimburse us this $90 for insurance we didn't need. They refused.

We have rented vehicles for many of our trips. I have had conversations with the credit card companies, who have ensured me that we do not need collision insurance, only third party.

My wife was extremely upset by all of these. She felt that the clerk bullied her into signing something she knew she didn't need. She called me in tears afterwards. She said the guy was on the verge of yelling at her.

I said, 'no worries hon. I'll call them when you arrive back home, explain the details, and they will gladly refund the $90." No such luck. They are just as rude on the phone. "We see here that your wife signed the papers...which means she accepted the contract!" end of story.

I first would like to inform you that it is worth spending the extra 15 - 20 dollars at another rental agency that is not going to look at everything which they can add on your bill to make you pay more.

The check out process was ok, car was dirty and i was told that the gas tank was full when it really wasnt. When i drove up to the gate i told the guy that i think the gas tank needs to be topped off if im suppose to bring it back full. He stuck his head in the window and told me that they just filled this car up and that it is full. So i belived him and as soon as i drove 5 miles that gas gauge dipped below the f hash, not to mention when i topped it off before returning the car the needle went way past full.

Then the worthless manager Vincent greeted me when i returned the car. Before renting from dollar i asked the booking agent and called dollar in memphis and asked them if it was possible for them to drop me off next door in the fedex parking lot. (literally 1 mile). They both said it shouldnt be a problem and that someone would drop me off. WRONG! the sorry manager told me that the only ride they give is to the airport. I then told him about the call i made before and how i was told by a booking agent and the young lady at the branch that it shouldnt be a problem and pointed to the fedex parking lot right next door but he told me that they shouldnt have told me that cause they only have a bus that will take me to the terminal. Now heres the worst part. I had checked out the car for 1 day and picked up the car at 10:20pm per my contract.

I returned the car at 10:10pm the next evening. well once i pulled up it took him 10 minutes to inspect the car and another 5 minutes of him and I going back and forth why he couldnt have the bus or someone take me next door. so when he scanned in my car it was 10:25 which passed my 24 hr window and i was charged an extra 4.67 cents for another 1 past due my rental. i was furious and the sorry trash manager told me i should of brought it back sooner to allow time for them to inspect it. PLEASE take your business somewhere else and avoid this scab of a company. please take your business elsewhere. learn from my experiance and others

To my great surprise, upon returning the car after one week, they made a rather irrelevant remark about the car having been brought to Bulgaria, nothing else. Next day, I noticed that my bank account was charged an extra $100, being the "fine." The week's rental has cost me in all $1,400 or almost $2,000.

On no occasion, Dollar Thrifty agency has actually told me that what I had in mind was to be fined. I tried to arrange the matter with them, to no avail. I sent a registered mail to the company's CEOs but this document "got lost." Another attempt to settle the matter with DT headquarters hasn't brought any solution. So be aware: if possible, avoid renting Dollar Thrifty in Romania if you have no intention to stay in that country. Nice way to "nick" the customers and for sure, not a single case!

I found dollar rent a car at the airport to be the most reasonable company so I booked the vehicle. Upon picking it up i repeatedly asked if there was any additional charges to my rental.I was told no additional charges The trip was not a fun one. When I returned to Tampa airport where I had rented the vehicle, the yard person quickly added airport taxes to my rental.

When I asked what was this additional fee I was told - "Oh, every rent a car company at the airport charges this fee" which accounted for $300.00 additional on a 3 day rental. Calling dollar rent a car customer service did nothing -I was told this information is printed on my agreement When renting the car I repeatedly asked the rental agent for any additional fees that would be incurred - and was told no additional fees.

It is obvious I was lied to and if I ever needed to rent a vehicle in the future - - it would not be at dollar.

They are crooks.

I'm talking about the Car Rental ** at the Airport of Roma Ciampino, which we rented for one day. When we returned the car to the rental office for the first time, the desk manager (Ciara) told us that the car was not filled up and the additional charge would be 27 Euro. Having driven not even 120km with a small car (final mileage 17,538km - starting mileage 17,419km) and having filled up 7 liters ourselves (10 Euro at about 1.5 Euro/liter), I found the additional charge way too much. The amount would be about half a day's rent with full insurance; 57 Euro for the initial contract for a day with full coverage. On top of that, the type of car (peugeot 206+) would probably not need more than 10-12 liters for the trip in total. I estimate the average full cost at about 6-8 liters/100km. Having checked several reviews online, most tests have about 1:16.9 or better, scoring between 5.8 liters/100km up to 8.5 liters/100km in a city.

So, I decided to go and fill the car up myself, knowing that for another additional 10 Euro. I could add about 7 more liters to the tank and have it full. Please note that we visited about 12-14 gas stations around the airport, and none of them would accept any credit or debit cards. About six stations were out of order, and the others were accepting cash only, not giving any return money. This is an obvious trick to disappoint people when filling up their car imho, thus, forcing them into buying the gasoline at the rental place at about 1.8x the regular price (+ an additional fee).

So, we went and got cash and did exactly as described above: filled the car up with another 10 Euro (7 liters) and drove back. The fuel meter did not show any difference, however, the car being fueled for little more than 14 liters now, good for a trip of about 150km so to speak. When we returned to the desk, your employee (Ciara) told us again that the car is not full. I asked how many more liters were needed. She answered at first six, then later five. That would mean that the car needed a fill up of about 20 liters for a trip of about 120km.

From this point on, I realized that something was wrong with the meter and/or the way we were being handled. A small car as the peugeot 206+ does not use about 17 liters/100km. I said this but your employee would not listen, claiming her English was not good. She said that she was going to charge the 27 Euro additional cost. I did not (and do not) approve any of this. Finally, an Avis employee explained that there was a fee for filling up and the petrol charged at a higher price, but as explained before, this did not cover the 17 liters/km story.

So, I drove out for a third time, filling up the car with another 10 Euro until the tank literally spilled! This time, I could only add 3.93 liters, so not the 6 or 5 that your employee told me. The meter again had not changed its position at all. When I drove back with a spilled tank, your employee told me again, "The car is not filled up. I'm going to charge you 27 Euro." At that time, I had to leave to catch my flight, tired of not being heard and not wanting to go into the discussion that the initial 27 Euro had to be revised since I had added more gasoline since the first measurement. So, I left and while doing so, I told Ciara that I was going to contact you about this issue and unfair business, so I did.

To summarize, I've paid 30 Euro for an 18 liters fill up for a 120km trip (with a car that would mileage about 6-8 liters/100km) and will be charged an additional 27 Euro? I guess not! Therefore, I decline all of these extra charges and do not accept any additional charges on top of the initial contract of 57 Euro. I'll pay the cost of the initial contract without any questions as I find this only natural for using your service.

I hope to have informed you of a bad experience that I trust is only an exception and not the usual way Dollar Car Rental works. I hope you will correct the additional charges made and judge this way of handling as incorrect too. As stated in my prologue, I would like to know what follow-up you'll give to this complaint so I can decide whether or not I want to do further business with Dollar Car Rental. It would give me great pleasure if indeed I could do so, because I was a happy customer before and would like to know if I could trust your service again in the future.

However, much to my surprise they charged a $25 administrative fee for each toll for a total of $50 plus $1.50 for the actual tolls. This is a gross example of an unethical business practice. Further, I again state that I will never do business with Dollar Rent a Car again and further have ordered that our business remove Dollar from our preferred list. It's a shame that a business relationship is severed for such a minor, although unethical, business practice. Too bad.

About a month after I returned from my vacation, I noticed that they drafted my bank account for $673.80 in addition to the $382.65 I paid to rent the car for a week. The information in their report contained false information. They were obviously trying to stick me with this car's damages. I have three witnesses who rode with me in that car who can verify that that car was already in very bad condition when I rented it.

I also lost about $300 in phone charges trying to resolve this issue with them. (I was unaware I was being charged heavily for the international phone calls until I received my phone bill.) I even tried talking to the company headquarters and got nowhere. They sent me an email basically saying that the charges were justified and their paperwork falsely accuses me of causing the damages by hitting a speed bump.

They have been very difficult to contact by phone and have neglected to respond to many of my emails as well.

Dollar car rental unethical practices business alert; actual cost of tolls is $1, actual administrative fee charged by the state of Florida is $2.50. The additional fees charged by Dollar, $72.50, thus Dollar is attempting to charge in profit 29 times the actual charge assessed by the state of Florida!

She told me it was just agreeing to not taking the insurance. Not to mention I was in a hurry after standing there for a long time listening to her rattle on and on. I called customer service and spoke to Robert **, who not only was rude and interrupted me, but tried to tell me there was no one else I could talk to. Finally he said someone else would call me, but that guy, Jason, wasn't any help either.

Upon return, they said that there was a new scratch (it's about 2" long and can easily be rubbed out) which I caused. I was treated like a criminal. By the way, I paid an extra 15 Euros a day for the "insurance" which reduced my deductible from 800 Euros to 250 Euros. Had I not done this, I am convinced that the Dollar representatives would have found much more "damage" that they could charge me for.

I think Dollar is running a scam here just to make up for their seemingly low initial prices. Don't be fooled! It appears that Dollar sucks you in with low rental rates, only to tack on all kinds of fees and "damage" costs in order to make it up. Add it to the fact that the Dollar pickup locations are rarely near anything and you get a pretty crappy overall experience.

We tried to contact Dollar headquarters for help. I was on the phone (mostly holding through horrible music) for three hours. After waiting and being passed around like a basketball through four phone reps, I managed to get someone who could make a decision. Their answer was to have a relative bring another card over to El Paso and run that card. Keep in mind that her relatives are 1400 miles away. When I proceeded to explain why we couldn't do this, I ended up talking to a dead phone. Conveniently, the call was disconnected from their end. Here we had a young mother with 2 small children 1400 miles away from home, trying to get home for Christmas. The Dollar Car Rental clerk made the errors and they refused to accept cash or offer any assistance. This situation did not end well and as a travel agent, I will never use Dollar Car Rental again and I will request all other travel agents to do the same.

I disagreed and the clerk became belligerent. I asked him his name and he held up my signed rental agreement and said, your said your contract is terminated. I was in disbelief. He then said he was calling the police. I saw him go to the Thrifty counter and say something to the clerk. As he walked back to his station he said, "my name is Frank". I went to Thrifty and was told "I can't rent to you until the police clear you. I asked why and he said fFank was the supervisor and there was nothing he could do.

I waited 45 minutes for the police feeling I would be "cleared" to rent a car. When none showed, I went back to Thrifty counter and asked sheen they would be here. The clerk pointed at the phone on the wall . Neither Thrifty or Dollar clerks would acknowledge my presence. I called the police and they said no one had called from the terminal. I asked for a police officer since I believed it would be okay to rent. I had been in the rental terminal for over 90 minutes. When the officer came she spoke to Frank, then me. She said there was nothing she could do. If Thrifty or Dollar does not want to rent, they can refuse for no reason. After an embarrassing, demeaning 2 hours, I took a shuttle to my 90 year old mom's house. I was extremely upset, felt like I had failed with renting a car and had been the subjected to bullying. Two hours is an eternity when waiting for the police,

Unfortunately our flight out of Philadelphia was delayed due to mechanical problems which caused us to miss our connecting flight in Chicago. When I found out the best I could do was arrive in Jackson at 8 PM. I contacted the Jackson Dollar Agency directly around noon and explained that I would not arrive in time for the rental and that I wanted to cancel the reservation. I was told by the woman I spoke with that she would cancel the reservation.

To my surprise an $80 charge showed up on my credit card a month later on September 6, 2010. When I protested the charge the agency told me that they had a strict 48 hour cancellation policy and that I should have read my contract. Yes, the contract did say that, but let's be realistic; this is an airport car rental agency in a place with wild weather and limited incoming flight options. Renter beware, don't use Dollar in Jackson Hole, you think you are saving a buck or two, but you will pay for your rental regardless of your circumstances or conscientious efforts to notify the Agency of the need to cancel.

Everything would have been a smooth transition with my Insurance company, if Dollar Rental Car didn't try to scam my Insurance Company and me, the user, with additional trumped-up charges. These trumped-up charges are so ridiculous even my Insurance Company refused to pay them. Unfortunately, I'm now stuck fighting the following trumped charges on my own. Calling Dollar and Dollar management was like talking to North Korea.The following is a list of the ridiculous trumped-up charges that are unfounded: Administration $50.00, Appraisal Fee $50.00, Loss of use $464.38, Remaining cost of repairs $385.34, Tax $107.32. The next time you think Dollar, you better think of your dollar $.

Moreover, the conditions were perfect for the rip-off as there was a long line and long wait, and yet, there were ample employees but not serving customers. Then the car that you reserved was not available, so the exhausted consumer was happy just to get out of the place. Perhaps the mechanical fitness of the vehicle is something that will do more than infuriate customers. One day, a car will fail and seriously hurt someone.

Looking at the receipt when he returned, I found that they also charged us for road-side assistance. Also, the gas was charged at $2.69 a gallon for 20 gallons. When I looked online, the car he rented only had a 17.7 gallon tank! All in all, the $200 I thought it would cost us, ended up costing us $380, which is almost twice what we were planning on!

I am still trying to get my $36 back from Expedia since that insurance was no good in Georgia. Total rip off.

Upon calling Dollar Rent a Car the next day to complain, I was told that the original price of $52 was only available within 2 hours of the scheduled pickup. Since I called twice to adjust the pickup time, even though I ended up back at the original planned pickup time, their policy was to charge a drop-off fee. After I told them this whole deal was outrageous, they sent me $20 worth of coupons. It is a terrible example of misleading and inflexible customer service.

When I've rented at Avis and Hertz in the past, the spouse was included at no additional charge. She then asked me if I wanted to take out insurance on the vehicle. I told her no, because my American Express provides primary coverage for which I pay a fee. Her reply was "Okay but if there is so much as a ding on your vehicle, you will be held responsible." She then tried to sell me a roadside assistance plan, which I declined.

Finally, I filled out the paperwork to be told, "We don't have any vehicles right now, so you'll have to wait." "How long would I have to wait?" "A minimum of one hour." After approximately 45 minutes of waiting, there were several other customers there just as upset as I was. A second representative was on the scene at that point and they were explaining that this was a holiday weekend (Monday, Oct 11th being Canada's Thanksgiving) and not many cars were available.

This would be understandable if one didn't have a reservation. However, the whole point of a reservation is that a car is to be waiting for you when you arrive. After an hour wait, I asked how much longer it would be until the car arrived. I was told a minimum of another hour, but possible as much as 5! After hearing this, I contacted my hotel, which was near the airport and explained my situation. They contacted a rental agency with whom they dealt, found out that a car was available, picked us up at the terminal and brought us back to the hotel. I cancelled my reservation with Dollar.

Ironically, the hotel dealt with an independent Dollar car rental agency (outside of the airport). They had a mid-size car available. It ended up costing $50 more had the car I reserved at the airport been available. In contrast to the representative at the airport, the one at this location went out of his way to accommodate us.

May I bring to their attention that the front grill had splatter of mud all over it. What was more disappointing was the fact that the associate asked " if we intended to ride on the outside of the car,” referring that the way the exterior looked was of no concern to her. The inside of the car, though vacuumed, was not presentable with scuff marks all over the rear passenger seats. We brought this to the associate's attention. Again, this seemed of no concern to her as she ignored the observation and proceeded to mention that the car should be brought back vacuumed or else we will be charged additional fees. As we did not have much time, we did not argue any further and took the car as is. Again, I would have had no further complaints upon returning the car if the following did not occur.

(2) Return. As I mentioned to the manager on Saturday, the car was returned at least 2 hours before the scheduled time: 11 October 2010 08:29. Upon pulling up to the parking space, I was met by another associate, who inspected the vehicle. There was no problem. Inside, however, I met with the same manager (did not get her name) and again mentioned that I was going to use my card for the payment (therefore my friend's card should not be processed). Immediately, she responded with an attitude that I could not do that. I reminded her that she said it was okay on Friday when we picked up the car. Apparently, according to company policy, only cash was acceptable if the card on file was not going to be used.

The manager repeatedly and rudely interrupted me as I tried to explain to her and the associate that this policy was not mentioned on Friday and if so, I would have brought the payment in cash. After a brief argument (with other customers walking in), I mentioned that I'll have to drive back to a PNC ATM to get the cash. As situation would have it, one customer that walked in during that time had reserved the same car. So, the associate said, "Sir, we'll need the car." Surprised as I was (and already upset), I reminded them that I had to go to a PNC ATM to get cash as they requested and I still had time before the rental was due back. Again, the manager rudely interrupted several times, saying "Well, there's a Bloom Supermarket across the street," as if she didn't hear a word I said about needing a PNC ATM. I doubt that she was willing to pay another ATM's fee on my behalf.

Thankfully, the other associate tried to ease the situation saying that it’s okay and I could leave to go to the ATM (paraphrased). So I left, got the cash and returned only to find out that the exact change was needed to pay $117.72 not a debit card nor $120.00 cash was acceptable. Upset and now extremely late for work, I left again to find change. Upon my return, I said not a word and gave the $118 cash. As I left, I was not surprised to overhear the customer, who was waiting for the car I rented, initiate her complaint that the car she requested was not what was given. Here again, the manager stepped in to explain that the current selection was much better "only $5.00 more".

For those who know me, the fact that I'm taking the time to write this complaint will be surprising to them as it is to me. By nature, I always view the positives in people and situations. However, today was totally unnecessary and may result in further lost of revenue at the location indicated. I've never had any issues with any of my prior rental experience with Dollar. But I assure you that neither I nor my friends will ever rent from this location again. Either we'll travel the extra miles to another location or go to another company entirely. If nothing else comes out of this, please bring this matter to the attention of the manager and her team. Everyone deserves some level of respect and it shouldn't take this action to acquire.

The inspector changed it on the report but left the other damage that I noticed was already on the car when I rented it. I complained to the supervisor who also took a look and called out the manager. The manager looked at the damage and produced a damage report from the previous "renter" that didn't show the damage. In fact, it didn't show any damage, yet when I rented the car, there was damage all over it.

I tried to explain this and took the report from the manager to point out the discrepancy. The manager got very angry at me and jerked the report back out of my hand along with all my personal papers of which some of them were classified information from my business (I am a DOD contractor). I immediately pulled them back from his hand and he went crazy. In a rage, he jumped on me and violently grabbed me and threw me against the car. I received a large abrasion and severe pain in my right elbow where it hit the car. I have severe pain in my back and upper hip area as a result of the trauma.

I noticed a video security camera pointing in my direction and told the manager and Yamali that the incident was on camera and the tape better not disappear. Yamali and manager went back inside the business and researched their records on the rental car. They found where the damage on the car had actually happened previously and refunded me the deposit. There were two other employees that saw the incident but disappeared right after. I also got the name of the receptionist that witnessed the incident. Her name was Ivelisse **.

I was forced to call AAA who, by stark contrast, provided rapid and super courteous service. Because the spare was one of the compact (dangerous) types, I drove to the nearest Dollar office and exchanged cars without incident. A service manager inspected the tire and found no obvious damage. Apparently, it was just a slow leak that became apparent after the car sat for a week - no problem according to the agent. I drove back to Corpus Christi and waited at the desk for one hour to return my keys and make sure the agent understood that the car was exchanged in San Antonio. The agent seemed nice, but appeared hopelessly over her head due to a lack of training I suppose. That was the end of it until today (Sept 24 2010).

I received a letter from the collections department at Dollar with "final notice" in red and bold on the envelope. It’s odd since I never received a first notice. Inside, there was a claim for $200.28 and a threat to turn my claim (no. **) over to a collection agency if I did not pay immediately. Obviously, I have to pay the extortionists rather than suffer a ding to my credit rating. And of course, this is their nefarious strategy. Please tell me how a "company" like this stay in business in the United States? I would gladly spend a lot of time doing my part to run this company out of business, but I don't how to best proceed – yet, something new to occupy me time. $200.00 is not much money today. But I would be just as upset, and feel just as violated, if someone stole it out of my wallet. I’m mad as a hornet in Texas.

Haley at the counter said, "we will bill your American Express card." I said I was not responsible for that pin prick of a nick. Manager on duty was Mario P. but he was 2 miles away and I could not wait. What a scam this is.

I have contacted the dollar rental car company at their customer service site, and received a case ID, but despite my repeated e-mails, I haven't heard anything else from them. I have two questions, 1. How can I get this unlawful charge reversed? 2. Can they just charge me like that without notifying me, even after two months? I feel like I gave them my credit card details in good faith and now it is being abused. I cannot possibly be policing my credit card for all the transactions that I ever made in my lifetime. Shouldn't they have had at least called me before they charged me like this?

I showed it to her and she still wouldn't give it to me. She ended up charging me all kinds of fees for an upgrade and I ended up paying $418.20 for the rental. When I went to return the car, she told me that I would have had to get online in order to have received that promotional offer. Never did she tell me she was charging me an upgrade fee until I call the 1800 number and they told me that she charged me these extra fees. She told me that it was for tax purposes and that there was nothing else she could do about this.

And basically there was nothing she was going to do about it either the lady from the 1800 number told me they could adjust it at the counter if they wanted to but she chose not to. I will not be doing renting from them ever again. I don't like being lied to. Also, she didn't tell me that for being a Southwest frequent flyer, I was paying extra for points until I returned the car and was complaining about the charges that I wasn't aware of.

On return of the car, I was billed in excess of $400 for superfluous, unused and unsolicited insurance, which because I had signed for it on the guarantee that it was the prepaid insurance, there was nothing they could do to help and my credit card would be treated by them as they wished. How on earth is anyone supposed to know that this is extra insurance and not the prepaid insurance? No matter how carefully you read the contract, one set of insurances looks very much like another. And why was I presented with a contract other than that which I had prepaid in the first place, if not for nefarious purposes? Nobody willing to put their hands up on this and I am out in excess of $400.

Long story short, waiting to get confirmation of the vehicle return, which was already in Dollar's stall caused me to miss a crucial flight and connecting flight. Delta charges $150 per passenger plus any difference. I’m typing this at the airport, hoping to get the last available flight at 11 pm. I am furious with Dollar as this simple $131 rental has skyrocketed to well over $400 in lost time and flights. I will never rent from them again!

When I tried to clarify this issue with a supervisor at customer service (which took me 30 minutes to contact) she, likewise, refused to explain the additional charge. Moreover, she was officious and supercilious. All I wanted was an explanation. All Dollar seemed to want was to make sure that I didn't receive one. This seems to me to be misleading price quotations. I had the opportunity to choose another rental company and chose Dollar because of their advertised rate and final price. But, there seems to be a bait & switch, since the price in my confirmation was utterly different from the price they charged. Additional surcharges should not tacked on at the time of pick-up, otherwise the notion of total charge in the confirmation is meaningless and misleading.

Same day, I wrote them an email requesting the amount blocked on my card to be released or any other rental options to be proposed (I was fine with Washington, DC for pickup location and asked if they could confirm it for me). They replied saying that they cannot confirm anything and that all reservations are only made through their website. Yeah... been there, seen that. They also stated that money on my card were released same day.

That was a lie. Two days later, I found out that the full amount of transaction was actually authorized and $1670 were taken from my account. Now I'm going to contact my bank and maybe start some legal action. Too bad "Dollar" is based in UK and it will be hard for me to sue them for their fraudulent activities.

I then noticed a Honda Civic parked nearby and inquired about it. I was told the Honda Civic had not yet been cleaned, but if I'd like to take it they would offer it to me at a discounted rate and I could take to a car wash. Again, as a consumer, I found that option unacceptable and insulting. The only other option offered to me was the original vehicle at a discounted rate. I accepted this offer with a 15% discount on the Hyundai Elantra and went on with my trip. On the morning of July 16, 2010, while departing for the airport to return the car, we were notified that the safety inspection sticker on the windshield of the car had expired on June 30, 2010.

Of course, this raised much more serious concerns about the service and the quality of vehicles provided by Dollar Rental Car. Upon return of the vehicle at approximately 12:06 pm, I stated my concern to the clerk at the counter that not only did I receive a dirty vehicle upon arrival, but now I was faced with a vehicle that had not been inspected for safety as required by the state of Massachusetts where the vehicle is licensed. While the clerk did not have the authority to address my complaint, he continued to process my balance due and handed me my receipt. This raised more significant concerns for me: 1) this car never should have been rented to me in the first place; 2) this car should not be put back in the pool for rental until the safety requirements have been met. I asked if there was a manager on site that I could talk to. I was told that the manager was not in but there was a person of higher authority available to speak with so I did.

I relayed to this person my disappointment with the quality of the car and even more concerning was the expiration of the safety inspection sticker. This individual did not appear to understand or comprehend that without a valid safety inspection, this vehicle legally should not be on the road, should not have been rented to anyone and should have been pulled from the fleet of vehicles until proper inspection was completed and documented. He seemed less concerned about the safety implications of the expired sticker and tried to justify that simply putting a valid sticker on the vehicle would suffice.

Ultimately, after further discussion, the individual offered me 25% discount off the total weekly rate (before additional taxes and $63 for an additional driver charges were added, which is only 10% more than the discount I was offered for the dirty condition of the car). I had a plane to catch and did not have time to pursue this matter further. I found this entire experience to be unacceptable and highly unprofessional. I am requesting a full refund of the cost incurred to rent a car that legally should not have been on the road.

The same day, I went to Parc national de la Yamaska close to Montreal with family and friends. While in a boat on lake, the rental car key accidentally dropped from my pocket into the lake. Then, I tried to call costumer service at Dollar/Thrifty to get help. During 4 hours, I tried to get through numerous answering machines and numerous holds while the costumer service repeatedly cut me off the lines while waiting in long holds in a stressful situation. Thereafter, Dollar/Thrifty finally brought me the extra key to the car and we could return back to Montreal at night.

The next day (July 18th), I returned the car back to the same rental location, full of gas, as complying with all our agreement. I explained the entire situation (lost key, and my experience) and asked the clerk if there would be any problem. He simply just asked me to leave the new key with them and he assured me that there would be no problem at all. On July 19th, I noticed few holds and pending charges on my credit card by Dollar/Thrifty in which I reserved the car with at ($111 + $339 + $263.90) in total at $713.90! While the total charges on our signed contract is: ($92.71)

On July 19th, I called the costumer service to inquire about the reasons for these charges while once again it took me almost an hour (holds on phone-lines, transferring to different departments at Dollar/Thrifty) explaining all this. They promised me to call me back to follow up the case. Next day, on July 20th, through their website, I completed the costumer service inquiry form once again explaining all this while they emailed me back that they would answer me as soon as possible. I never received any response to clarify the charges.

Last October, we rented another vehicle from Dollar at Raleigh and received the confirmation number. We flew from AZ to Raleigh, went to pick up the car, and were told at the counter that we were on a list of people that they could not rent to? After 1 hour, we found another rental car company to rent from. It cost us $400 more to rent a vehicle due to it was last minute and rental cars were at a premium.

We will never use Dollar again, and will spread the word to all of our friends and family. No matter how inexpensive the rental seems online, do not believe it; the cost of your car rental will double or triple when it's all said and done. I have never been so disappointed in a business in my life. If you are searching for a rental and Dollars shows up, do not choose them. You will be sorry

Upon our return home, we contacted Dollar customer service to inquire about the facts regarding this so-called "Nevada law" and if this was not fact, the ethics of their agent. After what we consider a "standard response" to the question (the coverage is "optional"), we again inquired from customer service if this was indeed a fact (regarding the Nevada law). The tone of the e-mail response was extremely negative and we were informed to contact our credit card company, or contact any attorney who specializes in Nevada law to get our answer. In good faith we assumed Dollar trains their staff and would back-up whatever their staff is trying to sell customers. We just wanted to know if this was indeed a "new" Nevada law we were unaware of!

The ethics of the sales staff is in question (if facts cannot be substantiated, especially by their own customer service staff) and all consumers are subject to what can be perceived as intimidation tactics if what they are providing is indeed bogus information. Dollar needs to back-up the information being provided by their staff or monitor their sales techniques.

When we returned the car, I watched the Dollar representative walk out of the building to the car and open the door to look at the odometer and fuel consumption. Without even looking at the car ( he did not walk around it and inspect anything), he immediately turned around, came straight to me and asked if I had noted the crack in the windshield on my inspection report. I said, "What crack?" He proceeded to point out a tiny round chip on the top left corner of the windshield. This obviously had occurred previously whenever this vehicle had been showered with gravel. I never saw it until he pointed it out and somehow he knew it was there without even inspecting the vehicle. I knew immediately I was being taken advantage of.

Some weeks later, I received a bill for $252.30 for a tiny nick in the windshield. I refuse to pay it because I know I did not cause it. Dollar is just trying to get more money because we refused the insurance. If I paid the initial claim within 3 days, they said they would waive the $50 admin fee. When I called they said they would waive the admin fee and the $35 appraisal fee. I refused. They are just trying to get what they can as soon as they can because they know the claim is nonsense. Last I talked to them, they said they were turning the matter over to collections.

I obviously chose poorly when I decided to rent a car from Dollar. It won't happen again and I hope a lot of people will read this and avoid renting from Dollar as well. I wonder how many customers have been billed for the same tiny nick?

1. According to the voucher we were holding the balance was EUR 127: "127.03 is payable to Dollar on your arrival". (Approximately $190 at that time) Dollar charged us $250. After an 11 hours flight it was not easy to argue, what could we do? Dollar's response: "Our records indicate your reservation was booked as $250 in our system for the rental charges, which is what you were charged. Since the Euro amount was quoted to you by the third party company, and they booked the reservation in our system as $250, we must ask you pursue this matter further with the third party."

2. According to the voucher the drop-off location was Manhattan (no fee mentioned): "Drop-off location: USA New York, Manhattan, Manhattan Downtown. Dollar charged us with an extra $50, which was a Drop-off fee for returning the car to a different location than the original. Dollar response: "Since our records indicate this vehicle was reserved with Dollar to return to JFK, we must conclude the third party booked with us incorrectly"

3. Dollar did not explain that the prepaid fuel plan is just an option; we understood that we have to take it. Dollar response: "It appears you accepted prepaid fuel upon pickup. This was $34.29." My recommendation: Don't book Dollar Rent-A-Car; Don't do business with Booking Group.

Although the paperwork indicated damage to the front and rear bumpers and to the left rear panel, the damage was much worse than we realized, so much so that it was an embarrassment for us to use it for our daughter's wedding. But even more importantly, the car was filthy inside and out. It definitely had not been washed or vacuumed. Food crumbs were all over the floor, front and back. The sun visor on the passenger side was so dirty my wife refused to touch it. In fact, I'm very sure it was contaminated with blood. When I folded down the third row of seats, the trash and filth were unbelievable. I won't go into the minor things like crayon drawings on the inside panels in back. I'll just say that we are extremely disappointed that Dollar has fallen into such hard times that you permitted this vehicle to go out to a customer. In fact, I'm saddened by it. I thought they could do better.

When I called Dollar after our return, I was told that the price would have been the same with or without the GPS, even though the receipt said $31 + $7.99 for the GPS. Even the agent on the phone said he knew why she quoted the $31 price. He still would not concede that she lied to us. He said we signed it. I asked to file a complaint and when I asked how long before I could expect to hear from someone, he said that no one would call me, he would just file this. There would be no monetary compensation but he would send me out some coupons. I declined the coupons, of course.

We were lied to and overcharged by a company that acknowledges the lie and they aren't interested in correcting it.

When I went to Southwest to check in, my wallet was not in my back pocket. I ran back to Dollar and found the person who checked me out and looked for my car but it had been moved. She called someone but spoke Spanish the whole time. After an hour they brought my rental car back opened all the doors and trunk and beckoned me to look to add insult to injury. A wallet laying on the passenger seat is not hard to spot. Needless to say, Dollar stole my wallet. It contained 508 dollars but most important all my personal things.

I filled out a police report at the Orlando Airport. It was extremely difficult to get on an airplane with no identity, no money, no cash, not anything. I called Dollar the next morning on a Monday. They took the report but made it clear anything left in the car was not their liability. They are criminals. I lost 508 in cash. I cancelled three credit cards. I am trying to replace all sorts of identification and medical info. Never will I be able to replace special pictures of grandkids and family. It is a nightmare.

She also informed me that new charges would be made to my card. I used my debit card and now my account is overdrawn because the first charge was not reversed. I never received a call from Dollar customer service. It was just an awful experience. It is my intent to write Dollar's CEO as well as DOT to complain on the fact that Dollar is not performing preventive maintenance checks on their cars which is putting the consumers' life in danger. I hate to think what would have happened had the car shut down on me just 30 seconds later! I would have been in the middle of traffic and seriously injured or worse, in a crash.

I called today the 26th and was told that I would have to wait 3-5 business days to get my deposit back. I allowed them though I know that this was outrageous and unacceptable at no point in time was I told this. It is not on the rental agreement, not in their brochure nor on their website. They informed me they treat debit cards like credit cards. I was not allowed to speak to a manager. I allowed them to know that my debit card is not a credit card to me that is my cash money that I need available to me and they are very dishonest.

So you can imagine, I was in a real hurry but then had to spend a very long time at the San Francisco Airport desk insisting to the guy, that I did not want to upgrade to a convertible, he just kept going on and on about upgrading and I just kept telling him, I did not want to pay a single thing extra than what we had already paid for (through CarHire3000) and I refused to upgrade to any additional packages.

It was ridiculous, I must have repeated my self 100 times or more. I said, very clearly, "No, I do not want to pay for anything more than the car rental which is already paid". He said okay and then passed me the contract across the desk and keeping his hand on the contract at all times, pointed where to sign, which I did, took the keys and left.

I did ask him about petrol and what type the car took, he advised that the car had a full tank already, when I asked how much that would cost he said not to worry about it we would not be charged and to bring it back empty, which I thought was a bit weird, but had no time to query it... now I see why! He never mentioned anything about insurance or road safe and certainly did not inform me to expect any additional charges. I only signed it where he said to, I did not agree to any charges yet here is what was taken additionally:

$292.32 - Total Amount

I did not agree to any of these additional extras, we were already on an extremely tight budget for our honeymoon so there's absolutely no way I would have initialed for them.This is absolutely terrible, I feel totally tricked. Was the guy at the desk on commission!! How could this have happened when I did not agree to those charges! Is this how Dollar gets money? By tricking people into signing for something they know nothing about!! I am totally disgusted and do not intend to let this rest until I get a full refund.

I rented the car for three days. I only drove it to my father's house and back to the airport and was charged $184 but was quoted $101. When I questioned it at the counter, the agent on duty told me that the manager would call me on my cell before I got on the plane. He, of course, did not but I knew he wouldn't. I called today (the next day) and Mr. F told me to call the 800 customer service and maybe they could help and that number said that they would take my complaint and send it to Jacksonville. A big circle.

They took advantage of my situation of being distracted and upset about my reason for being there. I must have looked like an easy mark. I don't know how they sleep at night. I am a waitress raising three teenagers. Just being in Jacksonville from Rhode Island was financial strain for me.

When I asked them for the name and number of who took the photos, and when I told them that I have the pictures (someone in the department didn't know not to send them), they quickly said there was an error and did not acknowledge the pictures at all, which tells me it's a big issue. They then said that they refunded the money back to my card. I have been contacted by news media to do a story and also have contacted a lawyer. If anyone is interested in class action, please let me know as I have checked online and this has been going on for years! Someone has to stop them!

I picked up the car at the terminal and everything went satisfactory. But I asked the agent if I could extend one day. She informed me that it was easier to extend the day before I was to turn it in, because if I returned it on the original time, I would be charged an additional $50 return fee. I wasn't exactly sure of my schedule.

The day prior to the weekly return, I called Dollar and extended the one day. I also asked them (since I had rented at 10am) how much the total bill would be for an extra two hours, returning at noon. They quoted me the price for all 8 days, 2 hours, $142.26. I naturally was surprised at this lower amount and asked the agent again what my total rental for 8 days, 2 hours would be from them and their agents that would be billed to my credit card. Again, it was the same $142.26. So, I of course agreed. He also mentioned that the day extension was $32/day as stated on my written contract. It turns out that these were separate charges after all, so my total was $478.52.

When I discovered these charges, I called the Holiday Cars - a number provided to my VISA and found out they were in Holland. And to lodge a complaint, I had to telephone the complaint department which I cannot do from my only cell phone (we live off-grid in Alaska). I then called Dollar and they apologized profusely that I was misinformed but refused to let me speak to a supervisor nor give me a refund. I then spent about two hours on hold with VISA and was told that I had entered two separate contracts and had agreed to both charges (I had not). I don't dispute either contract individually, just the duplicity perpetrated by Dollar, so VISA wouldn't even back me up.

On at least four occasions, I asked the agents for the total charges and was never given the same amount - the written contract was for $193/week, not the $236.55. I naturally will lodge complaints with the Attorney General in Hawaii and do no more business with Dollar ever. And I rent quite often. Furthermore, VISA should back their consumers, not these offshore scam artists and Dollar obfuscators. This is simply theft. What a rip-off.

When I called to inquire, the rep told me that this issue was not cause for a new vehicle and that we should tape the windows shut. Needless to say, the ride from Vail to Denver was noisy and frustrating but at least, we had brakes that functioned (although still sub-par). When we arrived at your Denver branch location, I immediately requested a manager. The operations supervisor that I spoke with was named Matt. He would not give me his last name. He was very rude and never offered one "I'm sorry" or any kind of apology whatsoever. He asserted that "I may have been riding the brakes" and that he wasn't the one that conducted the maintenance and he wasn't the one who rented me the vehicle so he should not be blamed.

He also attempted to claim, that the blinkers may have gone out subsequent to our rental and that it could not be proven that it was his fault. Lastly, he asserted that the broken windows on the second vehicle could have broken on the way or that we broke them, even though the tow truck driver noted that the windows were broken. Overall, this was the most disappointing rental experience of my life. I am a risk manager for my company and know the song and dance; however, this outperforms any act of irresponsibility I have ever seen.

There was obviously no inspection that took place on either of these vehicles, poor maintenance and poor pride in the company. I have already reported this matter to the OK attorney general, the CO attorney general and the CO Sec of State. I have half a mind to file a small claims suit to compensate me for the disruption that this caused me and my family and for putting my family and friends in harm's way. Matt did end up giving me a partial discount but that does not satisfy me. I would like a concession that this was the fault of Thrifty and the rest of my costs repaid to me. The remaining amount is $318. The lack of responsibility and ownership is the most disappointing component of anything and I would like that rectified.

My husband was told by an employee he could hardly understand the difference would only change to about $5 more. The worker produced the paperwork, my husband signed it and we were on our way. Later at home I realized they had charged us for an upgrade at $36.00. My bill was no longer the $526 (we did add $10 for second driver and $50 for gas) but now $879. Just as another renter has stated when I called to complain, "So sad, too bad you signed the paperwork.” They claimed everything was explained but I can tell you every little detail was not! I told them (and I truly hate this word) I feel them that they just have a funny way of ** people over. I would advise anyone to never rent from Dollar. I have always rented from others and never had this problem. Someone needs to file a class action suite against this company’s policy. This company (in my opinion) could care less about its customers. I’m out $180 because of upgrade that was not explained to renter.

When I returned to pick up my car, there was a huge dent above the driver's side wheel well. I asked to speak to someone and the man who brought my car to me huffed and went inside. A person came outside and said there was no damage report filled out at the time of drop off so there was nothing they could do. I explained that nobody told me to fill one out or offered to fill one out. How was I supposed to know?

I was then given the manager's phone number to call. I called and called and called. I left message after message after message. No call was ever returned. I then emailed the corporate office who said they had no report so then could not do anything. Again, I was referred to the site manager. They have the worst customer service ever. They try to get out of paying for their own carelessness. Do not use Dollar! You may end up paying a lot more than you bargained for! I now have a dent I will need to get removed on a leased car. This will cost me several hundreds of dollars due to their inept employees!

During the week of my arrival, it was well-publicized that there were record level snow falls; 4 ft. drifts were at my home when I arrived late on Dec. 21st. The front desk assured me that they had no 4WD vehicles available, but the Dodge all-wheel vehicle would meet my travel needs as to snow and ice at high altitudes. The next day, I soon discovered that the car which had been provided to me was unsafe for the intended purchase. Three times, I had to be pushed by helpful strangers when my vehicle would not back up or go forward in the slightest inclines.

I immediately called Dollar and spoke to a representative. I said that I wanted the car switched to what I had ordered because of the unsafe conditions. She said that I would have to drive to the nearest airport (three to four hours away if I wanted to trade for the vehicle type that I had ordered in the first place). I wasn't able to do that because the turn-around would be approximately six to eight hours in bad weather.

However, when I returned to the Raleigh airport on 12/27/09, (at the predetermined return date and time), I asked to speak to the manager. I told him that I had felt that my life was endangered by Dollar for putting me in a car that was not suitable for the elevation and weather conditions that I had described I would be driving in. I also cited the numerous times I had to request the help from strangers of a push. He responded, "We don't have any 4W vehicles in North Carolina because we don't need them here. We don't get any snow!"

I looked at him incredulously and asked if he was familiar with Boone, Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, N.C.--the area that I had just come from where they had 4 ft. of snow, plus an ice storm that left most people without power over Christmas. He said that he was familiar with Boone for he had a cabin there. But Dollar doesn't confirm 4WD vehicles. I then pulled my confirmation number ** and showed him in writing that I had, in fact, a confirmation for a 4WD vehicle, reserved under this confirmation number.

This made him angry when I showed it to him. He said, "This conversation is over; get out." I asked him what his name was, and he refused to give it to me. He just kept repeating ,"This conversation is over." I was stunned at his rudeness and his asinine responses to my questions, "We don't have 4WD vehicles in N.C. because we don't have snow." I had just paid Dollar $741.53 for a vehicle that was not safe for the conditions in which it was to be driven.

I am an elderly widow and the only driver of this vehicle. I would have thought that the safety and welfare of Dollar's customers would have been of some concern to them; and that a polite apology would have been the manager's response--rather than rude, yelling in front of other customers who were waiting in line. I will tell my travel agent to never book with Dollar again, based on this experience.

When we arrive, "surprise", the cars for which we had reservations were not available. We had to take 3 hotel rooms nearby because of this lack of contract formality on Dollar's part. When we returned the cars on Jan the 5th, we lost another 45 minutes because "the system was down". Aside from the fact that O’Hare is one of the most modern and bigger airport of the world, Dollar's office is an office which would be more suitable for a third world country. It was really disappointing. After traveling for 10 hours, with small children at those hours in the morning, and spending more than $300.00 in hotels, the conclusions are obvious.

When I came back after five days, I reached the rental agency at around 8:40 am. They charged me for the extra day, since according to them I got my car at 8 am and I was 40 minutes late. I tried to reason with them that it took me almost an hour to get a new car and since the system was "down" (according to the lady at the desk), I could not get the new contract for 9 am. They told me that somebody from customer care will contact me and I will get my money back for the extra day. Even after a week when nobody contacted me, I called up the customer care. They told me that original contract was for 8 am and they cannot do anything. Apparently, I think that it was my mistake that I changed the car and not got a new papers. My fault in this whole episode is that I believed the lady at the desk. I am never going to rent from a Dollar rental ever again in my life.

When I returned the car, arrived at the airport, and looked at my credit card receipt, I was charged $1,580. That's more than three times the price I was quoted by the Dollar agent and Expedia. I was charged for fuel and insurance, both of which I never agreed to do along with other charges that I do not understand and was not told about. I have attached a copy of my credit card receipt. Please look into this matter as I feel the agent in LAX was not honest and that I was charged for things that I did not agree to. Thank you.

In attempting to understand what I was buying I asked her pointedly, "Do I have liability coverage with this?" She did not answer my question. Instead, she went around it telling me what other things were offered. I asked her a second time, "Do I have liability coverage with this?" Again I got no straight answer. At that point, I began to feel suspicious of them and at the same time began to doubt myself because I know how confused I have felt in the past when discussing different types of car insurance coverage with my personal insurance agent. I told myself that this was just one more instance where I didn't understand. I told myself that there had to be liability coverage in what I was buying because it couldn't be legal for them to let me drive off the lot without it in Oregon, could it?

I felt embarrassed that I didn't understand what was being said to me. In the end, I decided to rent the car. I purchased insurance coverage for the rental car but declined additional coverage that would have paid for up to $1 million in property damage. On my receipt, it shows I accepted PAI/PEP and SLI and that I declined LDW. Unfortunately, I was involved in a traffic accident while driving the rental car and when I turned the car in to the rental agency, I was very distraught. The supervisor, Susan **, assured me that it was okay because I had insurance for the rental. I said, "But what about the other person's car?" Ms. ** very tersely informed, "You do not have any liability coverage!"

I asked her how that was possible. She said that the liability coverage they offer only covers above and beyond what my own auto policy would cover. I said, "But I don't have any auto insurance! That's why I asked the girl who helped me twice if I have liability coverage with what I was purchasing. Because I never in a million years would have rented that car if I had understood that I wasn't covered or that you don't provide that kind of coverage! Never!" In the days since, I have spoken by phone with Ms. ** several times. When I reiterated that I never would have rented that car if I had known that I wasn't able to buy liability coverage for the other party, Ms. ** very coolly replied, "Well did she (Kelsey **) include a copy of the terms of our insurance policy in your rental packet?"

At that point, I felt like I'd been "had" big time. I've called their division office in Seattle (206) 433-6766 and received no reply. I've talked to a lawyer who doesn't want to schedule any time for me until I do more "footwork" and have more information for him. I really feel powerless in this situation and strongly advise anyone thinking of renting from Dollar Rent A Car to take their business elsewhere. I have a friend who says that whenever she has rented a car through Enterprise Car Rentals that they ask her to show them her proof of insurance card first. If this isn't a requirement of state law, it should be. I could really use some legal advice. Please help me.

Of course, we didn't see that because the signs were so far apart and high in the air that we didn't see them while looking for a spot and paying attention to the 3 lanes of traffic on the street. So the vehicle was towed. Before finding out that our vehicle had been towed, we found a police officer on the street a block or two away, who was ticketing other cars in the same type of parking situation. As we were talking to him, another visitor to the city came up to the officer and mentioned that he didn't know why he was getting a ticket. The officer flashed his light up into the air at the sign indicating that the gentleman didn't see the sign. Apparently, we aren't the only ones to not look up into the sky and see these signs. Okay, we screwed up, we were willing to pay the tow fee and the ticket from the cops and just get the car back.

Now here is the problem. In Texas, only the registered owner of the vehicle can get the car out of the impound lot. Hence, we weren't the owners, Dollar is. The local Dollar is independently owned so they couldn't sign the car out. Only the Corporate office in Dallas can. So we called Dollar in DFW only to find out that they don't have the letter that needs to be faxed to the tow company, and the letter has to be notarized before it will be acceptable. So, we asked when they can fax that letter to the tow company so we can get the vehicle out. We were told that the Corporate office is the only one who can do that and they are closed from Friday at 5 pm until Monday morning. There was no way for us to get our vehicle back until Monday morning. Also, it should be noted that since we weren't the owners, anything in the vehicle was off limits to us until the car is signed out. Luckily, we had dropped our luggage off before going into the city.

So because Dollar has no emergency contingencies in place for this kind of emergency, we had to rent another vehicle (this time we rented from a different company). Then, because we couldn't check the vehicle out of the impound lot before 48 hours, we had to pay an additional $50 for a certified letter (required by law if the impound lot has a vehicle over 48 hrs) that had to be sent to the owner to inform them of where the vehicle was. Also, because we couldn't get the car out until Monday, we had to pay for impound lot storage fees of $22 per day for Saturday and Sunday also (they charge an additional day fee if the vehicle is there at midnight on any night).

So because Dollar has no one on call in case of an emergency over the weekend hours, it cost us an additional $200. While we were willing to pay for not seeing the signs, we shouldn't be stuck with paying for extra costs because Dollar wants to rent vehicles to people 24 hours a day/7 days a week but only wants to service them during the business week. Apparently, they don't care if they cost customers extra money because they don't want to inconvenience themselves on the weekends on don't have anyone on call just in case.

People would be better off paying extra to companies who value their customer and have procedures in place to cover all possible emergencies. Lesson learned here, watch where you park if you are in Austin, or anywhere in Texas and don't rent from Dollar until they amend their policies and practices.

Of course, we didn't see that because the signs were so far apart and high in the air that we didn't see them while looking for a spot and paying attention to the 3 lanes of traffic on the street. So, the vehicle was towed. Before finding out that our vehicle had been towed, we found a police officer on the street a block or two away, who was ticketing other cars in the same type of parking situation. As we were talking to him, another visitor to the city came up to the officer and mentioned that he didn't know why he was getting a ticket. The officer flashed his light up into the air at the sign indicating that the gentleman didn't see the sign. Apparently, we weren't the only ones to not look up into the sky and see these signs. Okay, we screwed up, we were willing to pay the tow fee and the ticket from the cops and just get the car back.

Now here is the problem. In Texas, only the registered owner of the vehicle can get the car out of the impound lot. Hence, we weren't the owners, Dollar is. The local Dollar is independently owned so they couldn't sign the car out, only the corporate office in Dallas can. So, we called Dollar in DFW only to find out that they don't have the letter that needs to be faxed to the tow company, and the letter has to be notarized before it will be acceptable. We asked when they can fax that letter to the tow company so we can get the vehicle out. We were told that the corporate office is the only one who can do that and they are closed from Friday at 5PM until Monday morning. There is no way for us to get our vehicle back until Monday morning. Also, it should be noted that since we weren't the owners, anything in the vehicle was off limits to us until the car is signed out. Luckily, we had dropped our luggage off before going into the city.

So because Dollar has no emergency contingencies in place for this kind of emergency, we had to rent another vehicle (this time, we rented from a different company). Then because we couldn't check the vehicle out of the impound lot before 48 hours, we had to pay an additional $50.00 for a certified letter (required by law if the impound lot has a vehicle over 48 hours) that had to be sent to the owner to inform them of where the vehicle was. Also, because we couldn't get the car out until Monday, we had to pay for impound lot storage fees of $22.00 per day for Saturday and Sunday also (they charge an additional day fee if the vehicle is there at midnight on any night).

So because Dollar has no one on call in case of an emergency over the weekend hours, it cost us an additional $200.00. While we were willing to pay for not seeing the signs, we shouldn't be stuck with paying for extra costs because Dollar wants to rent vehicles to people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week but only wants to service them during the business week. Apparently, they don't care if they cost customers extra money because they don't want to inconvenience themselves on the weekends on don't have anyone on call just in case. People would be better off paying extra to companies who value their customer and have procedures in place to cover all possible emergencies. Lesson learned here. Watch where you park if you are in Austin or anywhere in Texas and don't rent from Dollar until they amend their policies and practices.

The worst was on the way back. As I did my online check in, I arrived at O'Hare one hour before my flight. I delivered the car, and started to wait for the shuttle to take me to the terminal. As the shuttle bus did not leave on time, I entered to the building and asked what is happening. I've been told that as I'm the only customer, the shuttle will wait for the next group of customers. Even if I begged, I had to wait there for more than 30 minutes, and therefore missed the flight.

I arrived to Florida at 1:30 AM and started the car only at 3:30 AM. Each transaction in Orlando Dollar takes at least 30 minutes. They had 2-3 personnel and only 6 customers when I arrived, and it took two hours to get the keys of the car. The first car had problems with the breaks. The second car had a bad battery, that I had to jump start using some help around, as Dollar Emergency Number called me back only after one hour, and told me that the help is on the way, and may arrive in one hour. The last car was the only decent car that I ever had during the entire, and last experience with Dollar Rent a Car.