National Car Rental

The experience I had with this rental car company was awful. You can book a reservation but when you go to pick up your car you must have a major credit card which you are not told that when booking the reservation. I was going to a family reunion and when I went to the location to pick up the vehicle in West Palm Beach, Florida, I wanted to use my debit card which they wouldn’t accept and I was not told that information when making the reservation. I was very upset and had to go to another car rental place which put me behind by about 3 hours. I will never recommend National Car Rental to anybody ever...

My wife and I rented a car 1 year ago. We were charged for damage to the vehicle that we did not do. I have written letters and emails, sent numerous pictures and still have gotten no answer for why they charged us for damage. I posted a review previously and was contacted via email that a member of the Risk Management team would be contacting me. Several months have passed and no contact as of yet. I have never in my life experienced run around like this. Very frustrating!

The website stated you must present proof of a round trip for them to accept a debit card. They accepted the debit card for payment at the time of rental but would not let me rent the car when I showed up at the airport. The round trip proof they said had to be shown before they would honor the paid for reservation, Priceline charged me 42 dollars to cancel the reservation which National would not fill. I will never use either of these companies again because of the “Oh well, it’s your fault and problem” attitude.

I rented a car on Jan 17, 2018, and returned on Jan 19, 2018. I received a damage claim email from National on Mar 07, 2018. It just says balance due $1074.75 but there is no information about the damage which they are claiming. I did not do any damage and no damage reported to me when I returned the car. Almost 46 days later, they just sent an email by saying your balance due $1074.75. Readers, please share your experiences, it will help others.

I just received a bill from National - THREE months after I rented a vehicle for four days in Kalispell Montana. The bill was for $983.90 for a LESS THAN 1/2" chip in the windshield. I was not notified of this nor was I contacted to discuss this "CLAIM" and how it was to be handled. They included an invoice from Safelite auto glass for $874.90 - when I obtained a quote for cash from Safelite - it was for $310.00. National then added their own "fees" to this as well. Everything about this screams scam and ripoff.

This was my first time renting a car (I had just turned 25 the day of the rental) and it was a breeze. I'm a grad student so money is tight and the price of renting a car for 4-5 days was only 128 dollars. There was no down payment and I only had to fill the gas tank before I returned the car. The car was a new Nissan Altima and in perfect condition. It was a great first experience and I highly recommend this company.

I was in Orlando for a funeral. My flight back out of Orlando was significantly delayed and I returned my car to the garage 2 hours, almost exactly later than I originally agreed. They charged me an entire day extra for about 3 minutes. An entire day. I called customer service and they were entirely unsympathetic. What a shame. The service beforehand was great, but I guess they will get you any way they possibly can. If you rent, make sure you give yourself enough time to ensure you don't have to pay for a car for a day that you didn't drive it. I have another rental with them coming up and I'm not sure I'll keep it.

We left an iPhone 6 Plus and a new pair of Maui Jim sunglasses in our rental on return. We called within 30 min. after turning the car in. They were gone. Whoever cleaned the car really cleaned the car and stole our things. Not cool. Won’t use this company again.

I planned a trip for spring break. I made a reservation on a Sunday to take my family out for vacation the next day. I had gotten the vehicle reserved with the confirmation number, but when I went the next day to pick up the vehicle I was told they overbooked and there were no vehicles available. Then what the hell is a reservation for? Just ruined my family's vacation!

BEWARE! I was stuck in a snowstorm in Duluth, Minnesota. We received word that our flight to Minneapolis had been cancelled. Having to make a split decision to drive through the snow to Minneapolis to try and catch our connecting flight in Minneapolis, I called National to tell them we would be returning the car because of the problems with the flights to Minneapolis (2 hours away). They had no mercy on me and charge me $300 for the change. I expected a penalty but not 447% of the daily rental price. And of course had I made a regular reservation of the same journey, it would not have been $300.00. I called and emailed National but they did not care that this was the largest storm in the area since 2014 nor did they care about my situation. So beware... They are all about the money and do not care about the customer!!!

I recently rented a car in San Antonio on Dec 29th, I dropped it off in Austin (returned it). The Austin location didn't process the return properly and I was charged an extra week for the rental. I have called numerous numbers, departments and although they are all very pleasant - they are trained to come across as helpful - they did not rectify the situation... So due to their inept processing, their mistake, my rental currently sits on my credit card at $1,001.00. Amazing, and I rent 75ish cars a year at least from this company all over North America. I can't imagine how they treat others that aren't as frequent a renter. Avis Here I come... Very disappointed in National Run Around and Terribly inefficient Customer Service... They just blow smoke and sugar coat, I will take my business elsewhere.

What a nightmare dealing with this company has been. I was billed for damage to the car that I did not do. I took pictures of the car a few minutes after I picked it up that showed a very small crease in a fender that I had not noticed in the dark parking garage where it was parked. Upon returning the car, the receiving agent never saw the damage and I pointed it out to him. The process after that has been the nightmare. I was told lie after lie. Airport car rental managers to agents at the damage recovery unit. Almost as if they have been coached. Never again will I rent a car from National.

I will never use this company again. I made a reservation online a month ago. When I arrived to get my car at DFW, they said that because I had a Tx drivers license that I could not rent the car with my debit card. I had called 2 weeks ago to confirm that I could. So I got stuck at SEE for 3 days until my return flight home. They do not rent cars to people who have a driver's license in the same state. When I called corporate, they would not do anything about it either. I even had a round trip ticket to show that I was going back to WI on Sat. Plus I showed them my renters insurance bill showing that I do not live here any longer. But because I didn't change my drivers license on Friday after I got married, it doesn't count.

I really don’t know what’s their point to have a grace period. It says there is a 29 min grace period. Between 29 min and 2 hour 30 min there will be an hourly charge. I was late for less than 2 hours and got a full day charge because the hourly rate is half of the daily price and nobody has informed me about this. Customer service said when you are late for over 1.5 hour. It will count as 2 hours. So basically it means if you are over 1.5 hours late, there will be a whole day charge.

National Car Rental struggles with sufficient vehicle inventory to meet rental contract obligations, which is a significant issue if you require a specific type of vehicle. When dealing with National, it is important to consider parallel bookings with more reputable car rental companies, since National’s policy is to overbook reservations for specific vehicle types, which ultimately results in unpredictable, and unreliable vehicle reservations. In my experience, vehicles were unexpectedly downgraded from premium SUVs to a van or other small-sized SUVs. There is often unethical behavior by management to overcharge for downgrades.

I made my reservation online and knew I would need a “credit card” to get a car as per usual. In the recent past that has always meant any card with a major credit card symbol on it, including a debit card (I prefer not to have a credit card). After arriving at the airport to get my car I was told that I was not able to rent a car as the policy had changed in June. Now I’m totally stranded. They would not take cash, they would not take a card over the phone, they would not let someone make the reservation at another location in person with a card. The major issue was how much they “enjoyed” shooting down any possible option I could think of.

The rental process at the Key West location is the biggest joke! They make reservations for rental with no cars available. When arriving for our 10 am reservation and the waiting area was full with no cars available but everyone had reservations. Three rental companies (National, Alamo and Enterprise) work from the same inventory and tells everyone they are next but nothing is coordinated. First off, why are they making reservations for vehicles they do not have. Several people were not going to make their flights leaving from Ft Lauderdale and Miami.

We were a family of 7 inclusive of an elderly, an infant and a toddler. I booked a car abt 3 weeks prior to my trip to Phuket with National Car. However we had some issues with regards to the card I used to make payment. Apparently I can use it to make payment for the car but I cannot use it to secure my deposit. Its a credit/debit MasterCard. However My husband was not satisfied with that and e-mailed them further and even attached a picture of our card in the e-mail.

They lured me in with a very low rate (about $20/day). After quickly reviewing the car with me and marking down various scratches, they hammered me when I returned the car in the same condition I received it in. The rental price doubled because of a 'dent' underneath the car which they say I caused (I didn't cause it). In Krabi Thailand, National Car Rental is not honest. The company's headquarters takes no responsibility because it is outside of the US.

I travel extensively for business. My company pre-pays for car rentals when making travel arrangements. We have the choice of two providers. On a trip to Charlotte in June, I opted to rent from National. It was a simple one day trip to meet with a client; June 28, return June 29. After returning the car at the airport location I realized I forgot a sports coat in the backseat. Having already gone through security I could not make it back to the return area without missing my flight.

We rented a car six months before traveling to Venice and there was only one attendant at the counter. She spent 45 min. with one customer while 6 others were waiting in sweltering heat. It was finally our turn and she refused to give us a car because I am 80 years old. AGE DISCRIMINATION! I am extremely fit and walk 14 kilometers a day and am mentally fit. Years of experience with no accident, but refused a car not on ability, but AGE. They will however rent to 18 year old with no experience. We were shocked and stranded in Venice with no car. The result was that we had to pay $566 extra Canadian dollars for 12 days to get a car through Hertz, since we had no reservation. Our total cost was $1,736. for 12 days. NEVER EVER RENT FROM NATIONAL.

For several years we used National for all rentals due to customer service, pricing, being able to select your car. Several months ago we stopped due to their prices increasing a great deal, then their selection was down to the point you would only have a very small selection to choose from. Today I selected them since their prices were pretty much in line with the other companies. I was shocked when they told me there would be a $200 hold for a deposit. This deposit is only for Alabama license holders in the State of Alabama. Are they serious? They could not explain to me the reasoning, but gee I love the attitude you get when you ask questions.

I reserved a vehicle 15 days ago to be picked up on 07/27/17. I told the clerk I would pick up between 12 and 1:00 p.m. When I arrived, it was 11:55. They first tried to overcharge me, but I showed the receipt with the quoted price. Then I was told I was an hour early, my vehicle wasn't ready. I reminded the person that I reserved that vehicle 15 days ago, an hour early shouldn't matter. She told me it hadn't even been returned by the previous person. So, I was supposed to wait for an hour because the vehicle wasn't even there. I sat down to wait and wasn't very happy about it. A few minutes later, the person at the counter came over and told me since I was so rude, they were canceling my reservation. A couple I was sitting next to had been waiting for 2 hours and all 3 of us were totally shocked. I've never seen such poor customer service. Had I walked in from the street, it would be expected to have to wait. But, with a reservation, that is just unacceptable!

My wife, Mihae, and I were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. The experience was marred by the incredible expense and, frankly, questionable practices of the rental car companies in Masset, BC. We had when we rented a car from National Car Rental in Masset, BC on Graham Island of Haida Gwaii. While my wife did sign the contract before renting the car, it does not justify their false advertising on the web.

We just canceled our rental agreement with National which was through Rentacar.com. We booked it to get the car in the Detroit Airport and they had us picking up the car in a city over a half mile away and when we called they had no clue how to help us. Got hold of a National representative was totally clueless but she did cancel our reservation. Asked what the commercials were about "any car and just walk to it and pick it out"... "Oh no" you have to go to the desk. Wow, at one time they were pretty good but we're done with National.

Worst car rental experience. Rented a car for the weekend. While at the store someone hit the back bumper. When I return the car I was charge 500 deposit for the damage. Few days later I receive a bill with pictures of damage in the back and FRONT bumper of the car. I called them 5 times so they can explain to me what was going on. They never bother calling me back. When finally I was able to reach someone it was a lady with a bad attitude telling me I had paid already and I could get my money back and as might as well get an attorney. Stay away from this place.

Last week I picked up a car from the Emerald Club Aisle with no discernable damage. 9 family members will also attest that there was no notable damage to this vehicle when I got it and when I took it back no incidents in-between. When I returned the car, the attendant went straight to the right front fender and noted a VERY SLIGHT misalignment of the bumper to the fender–nothing that one would notice upon casual inspection and barely discernable even when you get up close and look for it. She then crawled under the car and reported the entire airfoil missing. Manager immediately fills out a damage report against ME. I did no damage to this car. I had no way of knowing–sort of crawling under the thing at time of pickup–that I was getting a damaged rental car. And it appears I have no recourse to protect myself against being charged with this repair and turned over to collections if I don't pay.

I rented a car from National for 6 weeks, military training, and had the worst experience. First they required me to come back in around the 30 day period because I was not a certain member. I found this very frustrating, because I had to drive 40 minutes to a location. Second, they added bogus charges that the military did not cover. I will never rent from them again if I can help it.

Tuesday May 30th, I fly into Ottawa. It is 12:50 AM and we are late, late, late as the plane was delayed, delayed, cancelled and changed. Sitting in Toronto, I call National to inform them of my flight change and the fact I may be close to their closing time of 1 AM. They assure me that there will be no problem, change my flight in the system and say that this will now be visible to the operators in Ottawa, not to worry.

I have always rented from this car rental company. All of a sudden drivers carrying Alabama drivers license are now required to come up with a deposit of $200.00 in addition to the price of the rental. It is very strange though that only Alabama drivers are required to do this. I think there should be better ways to handle whatever loss the company is subjected to without inconvenience to customers.