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Alamo Car Rental

Tasha of San Dimas CA (03/20/09)
I believe Alamo is extorting money from me. I requested a small SUV, and was given a brand new minivan instead, and when asked, I declined the extra insurance. Apparently, this car was so new, it had a special type key for the ignition (I was told later by a car theft detective). While shopping in Walmart, the minivan was stolen. I was in the store no longer than one hour, and when I went out to the parking lot the minivan was gone. I know for a fact I locked the car too. 56 days later, I received a call from a New Orleans detective stating the minivan I reported stolen was recovered. And, it was recovered exactly where I reported it stolen. Upon questioning the detective, he told me he found the car at the opposite end of the parking lot from where I parked it (I didn't tell him where I parked it). However, I knew EXACTLY where I parked the car because it was in a very distinct parking spot.

Now 4 months later after this terrible incident, I received a notice from a collection agency for 6, 080.40. I never was contacted by anybody from Alamo to discuss my situation and what happened.....I just goes directly to collections. Something is not right here and this whole situation that happened is very suspicious and fishy. I'm positive that brand new minivan was equipped with GPS, and Alamo new exactly where the minivan was (I was only 15 miles away from the rental car location), had an extra set of keys, and moved the car. Unfortunately, they did not return it to same distinct spot I parked in, and now they are asking me to fork over 6,000.00.

I was able to retreive some of my souveniers, and nothing looked like it had been gone through. If someone really stole the car, I'm sure my belongings would have been gone through, and the car would have been left somewhere other than returning to the scene of the crime. Something just doesn't add up.

Pete of San Clemente, CA March 6, 2009

Pete of San Clemente CA (03/06/09)
There is already a post on this, but I will add my experience as it continues to expose Alamo's trend of deceptive practices with the inadvertent acceptance of the optional insurance waivers (CDW).

I had purchased a pre-paid 7 day car rental thru Priceline at the Alamo Honolulu airport office on Nimitz Hwy. I advised the agent that have excellent car rental insurance thru my AMEX card and would be declining all optional insurance. When she printed out the contact and had me initial and sign in 10 places, I missed the I accept optional collision damage waiver at an additional cost line sandwiched between the three other decline offers. This is a deceptive practice pure and simple and is echoed by many other posts here.

When I called customer service after receiving the unexpected 183.92 charge, she stated that I had initialed the acceptance on the contact, but as a token of good faith, she would refund 1/2 of the charge. I probably made a mistake, but I declined and opted to pursue it thru AMEX dispute process which is ongoing.

Dispute process i ongoing. I plan to furnish AMEX with all the relevant posts from this site.

Siroos of Fairfax, VA March 3, 2009

Siroos of Fairfax VA (03/03/09)
Some one driving a Alamo rental car hit my father's car who was standing behind a red light. The car had extensive damage, with the rear windshield broken. The car was not drivable in winter conditions that we had. It took 2 months for us to see any check, and L. Kiser who was handeling the claim ensured that the check got to us as late as possible. The rental company's insurance company made every effort to delay the tranaction and provided no up front help.

Once their assessment was done, they did not mail the check, rather waited for us to keep calling and calling and beg for them to connect us to the appropriate person (L. Kiser) who blew us off at every chance she got. Over all I can't express what a horrible experience and a tough time we have had dealing with this company.

My father's car was not driveable for 2 months, had to rent a rental car several time and the company denied our right to it. My father lost money as a result of not being able to go to work. All and all, it is so shocking how a clean case like this, where the police report shows clearly who the guilty party is, the insurance company is yet reluctant to provide the service it was established to provide.

 Very disappointing! I am in the process of deciding whether I should/can sue the rental company, the rental company's insurance (the people who made this difficult), or the driver herself for my father's hardship and out of pocket expenses.

Louisa of Wanaque, NJ February 27, 2009

Louisa of Wanaque NJ (02/27/09)
What is this new business where rates are advertized and then you find out that they charge for an extra driver? 10.00 a day!!! It took a lot of calling and finally was assured that I would get no extra charge for my husband to drive. then, the old bait and switch and when I tried to pre register to save time at the airport...surprise!! I was going to be charged the 10.00 a day. After calls and going through several supervisors we got them to drop the fee only after we gave our AARP number! what happpens to other people who aren't as lucky or aren't as persistent as we are? I fully expect to get other hidden fees when we arrive. Can't there be a full disclosure up front?? How can you compare prices when they are not what the actual charges are.

This takes a lot more time and effort and money than should be required to rent a car for a VACATION!!

Candace of San Carlos, CA February 20, 2009

Candace of San Carlos CA (02/20/09)
My brother passed away and I needed to fly to MN. Picked up a car at the airport January 27th. Returned the car the mornng of February 1st. They noticed a scratch on the front bumper. Told me to go in and talk to the counter person. I told her I didn't have any idea how the scratch had gotten there. She took the info, printed out my receipt and I left thinking it was taken care of. Yesterday in the mail, Alamo claim. 645.74. I called - all I got was you didn't walk around the car, blah blah. Never again.

Jack of West Hollywood, CA February 18, 2009

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