National Car Rental Reviews

After repeated requests to honor their confirmation of the rental National Car Rental have refused to honor the discount. They have sent, by email, two excuses that are blatant falsehoods: Initially they stated that the difference in amounts was due to taxes. After being challenged on the validity of that statement they revised the reason by stating that 'the vehicle class driven does not qualify for the discount'. Both excuses are essentially fraudulent. I have all of the documentation.

After they spoke with National, they also said that National told them that because we did not take out the additional coverage through National for repairs that we would have to purchase a new tire and wait on National to reimburse us. Since the tire was not losing air and National felt that the repair was an acceptable fix, we opted to continue our trip. It's hard to believe that National would rent a car (this was an almost new Camry with just over 3500 miles on it, by the way), with two nails sticking out of the tire! The tire could have burst at any moment. Then, to have them tell us that we had to pay for the tire replacement because we opted out of their additional service, for something they did not fit properly in the first place, we outrageous. You can bet that I will never rent from National again. If they are willing to put their customer's lives in danger to avoid replacing a tire on an almost new vehicle, and then refuse to fix it at their cost during their customer's vacation, then I have no interest in doing business with someone who puts profits in front of safety.

They refused to help. I asked them many times please help me to bring car from public parking on third floor to down in their spot but they did not listen to me and again did not provide me any help. I asked them to give me head office number. the girl wrote it on the paper and I also asked them to give their name, here she got angry and said me we will not give the name and she ripped off the paper on which she wrote the number for head office and threw in garbage and said me shut up and get out from here. Then she came out of her counter and closed big door. So I was outside their office door because she closed it.

I was looking here and there in Pearson air port Toronto parking and I saw two people in dress. I went to them and said Sir please help me. I have parked car on third floor by mistake/ I do not know how to and from where to get in car rental garage, one person came with me. He helped me to pay for parking and he guided me by sitting in my car and brought me in car rental garage, during this he talked with his office on phone, I asked him that is he a security person. He said no he works with hertz Car Company. I was very happy that hertz person helped me but same thing these national people could do. So, sir this is my story .my concern is why these national car rental girls disrespected and humiliated me by saying words shut up, get out from here and closed doors. I got number of national rent a car from air port office and called their manager Milton ** no response. On national car rent web site there is no number or email for head office is for complain. I paid for Pearson international air port parking charges. I am mentally shocked and I had tears in my eyes why they disrespected me.

I called and after explaining the above, I was put on hold for 5 minutes and then directly transferred to the Reservations team again. Again, they explained that I needed to talk to the Customer Services team. I called the Customer Services team again and explained the situation. This time I was put on hold for 3 minutes before the line went dead.

First of all, National Car Rental has taken an unlawful payment twice from my account of $213.63. And they did not provide me with any reference. Secondly, I wasted over 30 minutes trying to sort the matter out and get a refund. This is completely an unacceptable behavior from National. I am disgusted with my treatment and the lack of help in resolving this issue. All I wanted to do was to book a car for 5 days. I have used National Car rental for over 3 years, booking and renting cars every few months.

I am left out of pocket with no help or refund at this moment. My only course of action is to continue to call (at my own further expense to get my refund). I am seriously disappointed and let down. I feel I want to take this matter to the highest authority, and of course will promptly make use of a rival car rental firm from now on.

My customers cannot ever get a car on time, they are told they have no reservation, it is not a Direct Bill, the counter employees tell my customers they must provide a credit card and take the insurance. They must or they will not get a car! Even though we have been doing business with NCR for years and suddenly within the last 2 months the Nashville Airport national Car Rental has lost their minds!

I believe they are scamming people to take their personal information. We have been on a Direct Bill for over 10 years and suddenly we are not but by the next day or when the car is returned, the problem has been fixed, my customer is not charged, It is a direct bill and all is right with the world! No way. Scamming is going on! They are too high in cost and I will do everything in my power to move our corporate account to another car rental!

Once home, I found a bill for 1300 Euros on my credit card statement. According to National, there are two CDWs - The first comes with a deductible, and the second comes with a zero deductible called a super CDW. This had not been explained to us initially. I called National and explained that the third party admitted (in writing on the report I had submitted) to being liable for the accident. National told me the rental company blames the renter and rarely follows up with the third party because it's easier to bill the third party than to chase the third party's insurance company. Absolutely disgusting practice.

I called the National Car Rental customer service. The first call simply routed me back to XNA. When I called back, the lady said there was nothing she could do except note it. All I asked for was to speak to someone in management, but she said they didn't work that way. I explained that I am an Emerald Club member who rented three times a month, and just cancelled my next reservation with National. That was Wednesday the 28th. She said she would have someone call me, and to wait 24-48 hours. It is now Monday night the 2nd. The bald tires, the manager's poor treatment, and the incredible experience with customer service means my business goes elsewhere.

The car rental was prepaid for by a third party, "Transhire Worldwide," in January. They took pains to exclude windshield damage. I had been awake over 24 hours. I arrived in Paris from an overnight Gulf Air flight from Bahrain. I got to the National/Citer desk in Roissy at around 8:30AM, April 6, 2009. After getting the necessary paperwork finalized, the young (Arab-looking) National/Citer vehicle attendant had me wait 1/2 hour at the airport courtesy desk just to give me the keys. No apologies.

The car was in a darkened garage at the Roissy Airport. I had to find it myself. An interior retractable sunshade covered the alleged damaged windshield in question (It was almost on the roof of the car.). In the dark parking garage, there was no one at the car to do a check out. There was no reason why that attendant could not have gone over the car with me. Equally bad, when I returned the car before 8:30 AM on April 13, 2009, no one was there at the parking garage to do any check in. I returned the keys to a girl at National/Citer courtesy desk. An unexplained charge appeared on my Chase VISA account on April 17. I immediately disputed it. She asked if everything was okay. I said yes and no problem, which as far as I knew, was absolutely true. That was all that took place upon the car return.

This is contrary to what "Emilie" at citer.fr said in her email (April 29) to Mark of Transhire Worldwide: She said that "Client advised the agent at the counter that the car has scratches to the front and rear bumpers, but nothing regarding the windscreen." Also, the check-in form which I received from Transhire Worldwide, not National/Citer, has numerous irregularities: No one signed it, there's no date or time, the three "X" marks for damage forms a perfect isosceles triangle, and part of the damage comments are crossed out. There's no indication of rear bumper damage anywhere as stated by "Emilie" in the email to Transhire Worldwide.

This case is very similar to The State of Arizona vs. PCR Venture of Phoenix, LLC dba Payless Car Rental (Case No. 2009-016742), where Payless was fined $100,000 plus numerous expenses and reimbursements. I am awaiting a response from National/Citer.

Fact of the matter is that I have been driving a stick all my life and am a UK citizen who now resides in US, who had passed UK (stick only) driving test. Also, the agent was very adamant that I should pay for the car repairs and the 574 (English pounds) DLW (Damage Liability Waiver) and refused to look at the fact that car may been damaged or had issues prior to us renting the car, after all 30 miles were driven in a new car. After further discussions with duty manager, the charge was taken off and another rental car was given to us. Matters closed, so it seemed. Two days later, the charge of 574 English pounds appeared on my Visa, which I have asked Visa to dispute and have sent three emails to the National Car Rental customer services, but with no reply.

Let me explain. I just returned from Puerto Rico on a short vacation trip and rented a car from the National Car Rental at the Luis Muñoz Marin Airport. The local road authority, Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportacion (ACT), agency has instituted the AutoExpreso (AE) on their highways. I suppose with good intentions, but it turns out to become a trap for visitors or folks who don't travel a lot through these major roads. It turns out that once you reach the attendant he/she does not take any kind of money to get you legally through the toll. You are forced to violate the toll (unlike any of the major toll roads in the US). This is a trap because if you don’t have the AutoExpreso kit and by mistake you enter the lane, you are forced to run through the toll without paying, forcing you to buy the kit or face the fine.

The fine is $100. You are handed a piece of paper with a phone number to call. You are told that the first violation is usually pardoned by the ACT agency, you have to prove indeed first violation. However, if you have a rental car, you have to deal with the rental car company directly. The rental car company is ready for you. They will always charge a “processing fee” of $25 on every violation, no exceptions even on the first one. After talking to the rental car company (Mr. Ferdinan **), he stated that since their rate of violations is from 150 to 250 cars a day, they are forced to charge a “service fee” and have someone dedicated to process these violations for them. Gee, I’d like to make that kind of money!

This rental car company is using the AutoExpreso policy to make money, nothing less than $450K-$500K/year or more. And this is only one company! I don’t even want to speculate how much all the rental car companies in the island combined are making off this policy. No wonder they (the rental companies) don’t offer the kit and don’t warn you about it either.

This is how it happened. On one of my passes through one of these very crowded tolls, traffic gravitated me to enter the AutoExpreso lane. I thought I'll pay the attendant and it will be fine. I approached the toll and had my $1.50 at hand in quarters to either drop-in or hand to the attendant. Nothing in any of the fine print that you can read from the distance warns you of the policy until you find yourself talking to the attendant, who lays out the bad news. At that point there is nothing you can do (you can’t back-up, you can’t change lanes, and the traffic behind you is pushing you forward) but run through the toll and subjected to a $100 fine. I called the AE number on the piece of paper handed to me and explained what happened to the AE representative.

They offer two options - first, to pay the $100 fine, or buy the kit for $20. I thought about buying the kit but I really can’t because it really pertains to the car and not to me; and it is not transferable to other cars. At that point, you are really at the mercy of the rental car company. Hopefully you can understand my frustration, how easy is to fall in this trap and who the likely victims are going to be. I could expand further my experience and my frustration if needed. Consequences: victimize tourists, visitors, and rural folks who are not familiar with these rules.

I told National Car Rental, that there was a mistake and that I wanted an economy car. They refigured the weeks rental to $540 for an economy car. They explained that there was a high demand for economy cars and that they were therefore more expensive! I said no way! Then they demanded that I take the collision damage insurance. They know damn well that the credit card companies offer this as a coverage and as I reserved and was paying for the car with an American Credit Card, Chase Visa, there already was collision damage insurance. As I had a few hours of sleep the previous night, had been arguing with the employee, manager and supervisor for an hour and a half and my appointment in Phoenix was fast approaching, I just wanted to get out of there. I signed whatever they put in front of me and left with two other disgusted and angry National Car renters.

This is plain abuse and deliberate overcharging by National Car Rental. ALL NATIONAL CAR RENTAL EMPLOYEES KNOW THAT IF YOU PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD THAT THE COLLISION DAMAGE INSURANCE IS COVERED BY THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES. When I refused the coverage, they implied that I would not get the car. This is a complete rip off as is the surcharge they revealed to me AFTER they had my credit card number.

I was just back at Carrentals.com to reproduce the abuse and document it and saw that they completely changed their format on the net. I have found a lot of complaints about Carrentals.com and National Car Rentals on the net. I doubt that cCarrentals.com or National Car Rental are going to reply to me so I will be sending a complaint about both of them to AZ BBB, filing a complaint to AZ Attorney General Consumer Fraud Office, a complaint to Department of Transportation and to whatever government offices oversee car rentals. By the way I am a U.S. citizen and used a Chase Bank Visa Card.

I imagine that these abuses are rarely challenged and the little Carrentals.com and National Car Rental lose on these complaints are made up by the thousands who do not challenge them. I have contacted my credit card company to withhold payment and am contesting the charges. I am informed that this is a common abuse and Chase Credit Card will investigate and charge back to these agencies the rental. Of course the seven passenger SUV used much more gas and was 5 times the car that one person needs. Needless to say, I will not be using Carrentals.com or National Car Rental ever again.

We called road-side assistance again and was given a series of run-arounds for another 4 hours. We made tens of phone calls but no one seemed to know anything and blamed everyone else. Finally a person showed up to put on the spare tire and told us to drive back to the airport (we were 35 miles away) and get yet another car. The staff at the rental location was not sympathetic either and after much arguing gave us a small discount as a consolation to make up for the two days of lost vacation. This is the nature of customer service from National Car Rental these days! I do have the glorified membership of National Emerald Club no less!

PurCo recently called and said they had reduced the fee to $230 if we paid by a certain date. We paid it. Bottom line: If my husband had been responsible for the damage, we would be upfront and honest about it. We own up to our responsibilities. We also know that damage was not done on my husband's rental time, so we refuse to say it did. We will NEVER rent from Alamo or National again; and we will take our own pictures of any rental cars from now on, as well as inspect them with a fine-toothed comb before we return them. Our advice: DO NOT RENT FROM NATIONAL OR ALAMO.

All clients from National and Alamo (both companies share the same premises) were made to wait in line, first in the street under the burning sun and afterwards in an unhealthy garage. No explanation was given by National or Alamo employees and they did not seem surprised by such unacceptable situation, so I guess it must be usual.

$25 dollars not a big deal, just hate dealing with ineptitude

I was overcharged $880.

when i complained at the counter (twice i drove off before i noticed the discrepency and had to return to have the situation corrected) the agent apoligized and either had the tank filled or noted the shortage on the agreement. this has happened so many times to me that i am now careful to check the fuel gage closely.
it boggels the mind to think how much the thousands of auto renters are cheated in this manner (if it is deliberate) and how much the rental companies gain by not completely filling the fuel tank. my last rental (dollar) was short 3 gallons, at todays prices almost $10.00.

my economic damage has been minimal because i am now aware and make it a point to check the fuel gage and take the time to have the potential damage corrected. i have no idea how much damage i suffered before i became aware of this problem. the potential damage to the general auto renting public could amount to millions of dollars!

This is very rediculous because even with a regular Weekday Rate for economy car rental of National at that time is only $27.48/day, then the maximum amount that I should be paid for 5 days rental should be less than the amount of weekly rate that is $158.69; therefore, I agreed to pay the amount of weekly rate but I still have been over chargedd with amount of $306.09. I called 1-800 Customer Service line to dispute the charge but the woman name Jeniffer has been denied to resolve my problem with a bad and very unprofessional attitude.

I want National Car Rentals resolve my complaint appropriate way and they should credit back to my account of $147.40; otherwise, I will dispute the over charge with my credit card company. I will never rent a car with National again. If the National Car Rentals does not resolve this problem in an appropriate result, I will tell all my family members, my friends and my co-workers not to have business with National Car Rentals forever to avoid the bad experience I just got with the National Car Rentals.

The car company had no car check out service, no check in service available. They are playing the odds that people will just pay. I prefer not to give in to this type of baloney. I would not be able to do this to them.

Will fight, but no doubt have to involve my insurance or credit card to pay.

There was no damage to my car. I'm very careful about looking prior and after. There was also a National staff emember who checked the milage and inspected the vehicle PRIOR to giving me my receipt. He saw nothing and reported nothing. This was a vacation with my entire family. We had no incidents with the car whatsoever. This whole episode didn't sound right to me and I checked the Web. Sure enough, there were complaints about National doing just this - charging folks when there is no damage.

I received a letter from National dated July 13 2006, more than two monthes later, stating their Recovery Department received a Loss/Damage Report on the vehicle I had rented, and to contact my credit card and or insurance company to report the loss.

At no point in their letter did they tell me the nature of the damage or when it was discovered.

Several days later I received a letter from VIKING BILLING SERVICE, stating they were processing the claim for National Car Rental. I was asked to please remit payment of $244.77.

I called the number listed on the original letter from National. I was unable to reach a living person but left my phone number address and a request for a copy of the Loss/Damage report so that I may know what damages they want me to pay for. Although they recorded message says a person will call back within 72 hours, there wa no phone call.

I presumed that they must just be getting the information in the mail and didn't think much of it. I received another letter from Viking this one dated September 6 making another request for payment. on September 14, I again called the number on my first National Car Rental damage letter whick is 1-800-327-0421.

In my message I insisted that I needed the Loss/Damage report to know what they expect me to pay for and why, and I insisted that someone should be calling me back in a timely manner. Today a Dennis Neumann from Viking called to try to get payment. I told him I needed written information in regards to what I was being charged for. Through the course of a couple phone calls he finally told me he had pictures of damage to the bumper of the car, couldn't tell if it was front or back. I asked for a copy of the damage report at which he told me he would send a copy if I promised to make the payment. I told him I would not promis to pay a thing. He told me that I really don't want this to go into collections and most people just pay and try to get reimbursed from their credit card or insurance companies. I told him I would speak to my husband and see if he knew anything about damage to the bumper, which he did not. This seems patently unfair that a company can send a demand for payment more that two months after I turned the vehicle in. I was at the terminal within ear shot and certainly eyesight of the car rental company personell, if there was a problem they could have reached me.

National will not send any kind of proof of damage or that I was the one that caused the damage. How long do they have to make a claim for damage to the rental car? Do I have any recourse? I realize that it is only $244.77, but what am I buying with that? Nobody will send any documentation, it seems like coercion.

There is the unspoken threat of this going on my credit report if I don't cough up the money.

They then gave me an invoice that was written in code, which I signed and we went on our merry way. When we returned the truck the next day I was charged for 56 kilometres. When I enquired why I was being charged for the full 56 kilometres when the first 50 were supposed to be free, the salesman explained there was nothing in my written contract to that effect. I then repeated that he himself had told me this the day before, and I confirmed with my brother and daughter who all remembered hearing this. Again the rip-off artist referred to my contract and said there was nothing stating this detail in the contract. I pointed out that I had believed in his word, he did not deny saying this but again referred to the contract. This company is the worst. Real stinkers, I warn you all to stay far away from them.

I have since heard a story from a female colleague who said the same thing happened to her with National, and the level of gas in the tank, it seems they play with the fuel gauge to make it look full and 5 minutes off their lot the gauge suddenly plummets to empty, and you are charged if you do not fill it up. They have quite a scam going, I guess I should have checked this site before I rented, the full lot was too good to be true.

I late Jan. 2005 we discovered to our horror that National Car Rental had charged our credit card by about 4000$ in several instalments.

What in particular made us think that something illegal might be involved was that two charges were made in January, more than a month after we had turned the car in at the Honolulu airport and gotten a receipt that all charges had been paid. We had then our credit card cancelled because we were worried and also were advised by experts that fraud might be involved in these charges.

After days of frantic phone calls it slowly came to light that none of the charges made by National to our VISA card was justified. They all have to be taken back.We signed an Affidavit to the credit card company about fraudulent use of our card

Until today I still have to hear from National Car Rental how it could happen that their employees could take $4000 out of our account and to receive a written apology, or some offer for compensation.

Loss of 4 days of vacation time,

cancelation of credit card, emotional trauma and fear of being ripped off by farud from inside National