Complain about a product or service

Budget Rent-A-Car

Kate of Lincoln, NE June 9, 2009

I rented a one-day, one way rental from Budget at the Kansas City Airport for 170.00. When I went to drop the car off in Omaha at 10 p.m. that evening, there was no one there--although they were supposed to be open until midnight. I left the car and dropped the keys in the drop box according to the directions on a sign out front. My credit card was then charged for an extra day (170.00 more than agreed)--indisputably wrong (one would think). After waiting on hold for over an hour on the 800 customer service line, I was told that I needed to deal directly with the Kansas City airport franchise to find out what had happened. When I managed to contact the manager in Kansas City about a week later, I was told he needed to look into the matter because the car hadn't been checked in until the morning after I left the car. (As I told him, I can prove through gas station and airport parking receipts that I dropped the car at 10 p.m.). He said he would call me back within the next five days but didn't. I called him, but he didn't answer and didn't call back that night. In the mean time, I had e-mailed the online customer service. I received an automated confirmation e-mail stating that I would be contacted withing five business days. After almost two weeks, I still hadn't heard anything, so I e-mailed again. No response as of yet. Today, I called the 800 customer service number again and spoke to a rude and irritating rep who first tried to claim that when customers leave the car when Budget is closed that they get charged for the following day. I insisted that this was never mentioned when I rented the car and that I had been told I had 24 hours to return the car. He then back-pedaled and said he was "opening a case file" and that I would hear about the status of my "case" in 15 days.

After the ridiculously poor treatment I have received thus far and after reading everyone else's posts, I find this claim difficult to believe. I have filed a dispute with my credit card company and am hoping to recoup the 170.00 Budget theft from Visa.

Dale of Santa Monica, CA June 20, 2009

On 6/11/09, I picked up a rental car from Budget Car Rental. I had no problems at the time of pick-up, was handed my paperwork and went on my way.

On 6/16/09, when I went to return my car, it was a completely different story. I drove into the address shown above where I had rented the car, but the building was abandoned. No cars, no people, nothing. It still said Budget on the building. I was very confused. I kept looking around the building for some sign of life, or a sign saying something. I could see nothing. I decided to call the 800 # as I was getting close to missing my flight now. The woman I spoke to told me that I was at the correct address, my paperwork said to return the car to same place I picked it up, as my frustration was really starting to boil, I looked high up on the front of the building and say a sign saying that they had moved (from the time I rented the car, they moved). The lady on the phone didn't know how to tell me to go to the other location, so I told her " thanks for nothing!" and hung up on her.

By this time, I was furious. I took a chance and started driving down the same road I was already on where I could see other car rental companies and eventually found an AVIS car rental with a sign that showed "/Budget". Apparently, Budget merged with AVIS during the 6 days I had my rental car. Nobody said a word when I took the car that any of this was happening and to return the car to a totally different location. Even my paperwork says to return car to same location from where I got it!

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

Brooks of Nanaimo, BC June 17, 2009

At the rental counter, the Budget agent told me that the insurance coverage that I have with my VISA would not cover loss of use and that I had to buy their basic coverage. I did and upon returning home, I checked with my VISA credit card company and they would have covered loss of use. However since I accepted and paid for their basic coverage, any further insurance through my VISA card would have been invalid. Watch for this scam and don't be conned into believing their bs, just so the agent can make a few extra bucks. They don't care about you, just themselves. I have called Budget customer service to no avail. They don't have anyone answering their customer service phones and I never did receive a return call to all the messages I left on voice mails and their website. When I did get through to a manager, she said she would review the audio and video tapes of the rental and get back to me in two days at most. A week later and many more calls to her still no reply.

HELEN of PHILADELPHIA, PA May 29, 2009

We went to a trip to Las Vegas on May 9 for yearly vacation. Everything was OK for my trip, but I extremely [upset] with Budget Car Rental in Las Vegas for they charged us more money (23.45/day for LDW) without asking or explaining to us, and our insurance covers everything so we don't need that. We arrived Las Vegas at night, and by the time we went to Budget Car Center it was almost midnight, and the contract was blur and the letter font was small, so we didn't check it carefully until we returned the car.

We already filed a complaint at Budget before we left Las Vegas and sent Budget Car Customer Service 2 emails, and called Las Vegas Customer Service to follow up with our complaint, because it's quite sneaky and dishonest when they tried to rip customer of by charging more money due to the lack of attention from customers. I asked Customer Service in Las Vegas to check their audio records to know if their agent asked or offered us to pay more money for LDW, because it's not necessary and we did show Budget agent our insurance policy, he said it's OK but still charged us more money without notice or telling us what's is that, and they just said that we signed the contract that meant we accepted their service. Is that correct if they try to solicit customer without ask or explain anything but sneaky charge extra money for their profit? Our insurance covers everything, and if accident happened, our insurance will pay for the loss, not Budget Car Rental. The way they run their business is dishonest and untrustable. Now I report this to BBB in Las Vegas and hope that Budget Car Rental will credit back to us the extra money they already took dishonestly and malicious.

Roxanne of New Ipswich, NH May 28, 2009

In February of 2009 I was enrolled in Travelers Advantage through Budget Rental. I was informed by Travelers that I would receive 80 worth of gas reimbursement. I agreed to this as I was making an extended one way trip from FL to NH. Upon receipt of the information from Travelers I found that the gas reimbursement was for specific dates for the next year or so. This was not explained to me when I agreed to it.

I called Travelers to cancel. They "gave" me an extra month to see if it was something I could use. It wasn't and I called the following month (March 09) to cancel. Aside from being rude, they did in fact cancel Travelers for me. Budget underhandedly signed me up for Shoppersadvantage. I had received a card, but did nothing to activate it. As of this morning (May 28, 2009) Shoppersadvantage charged me for the first time. I had not authorize any transactions from them. When I called them this morning they told me that I had been enrolled since Feb.'09. My complaint against Budget, Travelers & Shoppersadvantage is the way they underhandedly signed me up for services that I had told them I didn't require.

Elissa of Doylestown, PA May 28, 2009

My airline ticket was purchased through Delta. Subsequently, on April 2, 2009, I went to the Delta website and was given the option of renting a car. I reviewed the car rental information and chose Budget Rental at SEA-TAC airport in Seattle, WA. I filled in all of the forms and received a message back "your car has been added". I assumed that the same confirmation number for the flight would apply to the car rental but printed the page out. The page indicated Budge Rent A Car, Car Type: Mid Size, In Terminal, 10 day rental with the proper pick up and drop off times indicated. It also included the estimated total price. The amount quoted to me was 320.58 for 10 days and the quote said included taxes. I had trusted that I had booked a reservation online for a midsize car for 320.58 (including taxes) on April 4, 2009 for pickup on May 2, 2009 and drop off May 12 at 10:00 am. When I arrived at the airport and the Budget desk at Seattle, the customer rep said that they did not have any record of my reservation. I had no recourse. It was my word against theirs except that I had the printout and a confirmation number. They just said the confirmation number was incorrect. The only option I had was to sign a contract for 358 per week plus 64.99 per day. I believed that the 384.99 per week was only 65 more than I had contracted for for 10 days so I agreed. I decided to only keep the car 9 days because of the extreme charge of 64.99 per day. Unbeknownst to me, Budget put a hold on my Discover card on May 2 in the amount of 829.51. I returned the car on May 11, 2009 and was appalled that the final bill was 737.29. The breakdown on the bill was 384.99 for the week, 129.98 for the two days for a total of 514.97. The following fees were added: 4.68 ERF, 11% Fee 47.73, 9.5% Tax 54.85, 5/day fee 49.05 and 7% rental tax 56.01. The fees/taxes total 222.32. That is more than 43% of the actual rental charges. From the first moment, I set foot at the Budget Counter and presented my confirmation, the employees have denied that they could honor the original, quoted amount. I booked through the Delta.com website who passes the buck to Budget who passes the buck back to Delta which leaves me holding the bill for 737.29. Immediately upon leaving Budget on May 2, I started to call around to resolve the matter. I called Delta who referred me to Budget. No one would honor the reservation for the 320.58 including tax quote I had signed up for. Once I returned the car and got home, I tried another round of phone calls to resolve the matter but Budget will not return my calls and Delta blames Iseats which takes care of their bookings. I am just looking for some adjustment from Budget that is more in line with the 320.29 originally quoted. I cannot believe that they can charge more than 43% in taxes and fees on top of the 514.97 rental. I believe they have taken advantage of my predicament and I believe they did not honor their quote. I have spent fruitless hours trying to resolve this matter so I am hopeful that we can reach a compromise. Overcharge of 416.71 for a rental car

Yvonne of Hamilton, ON May 21, 2009

I rented a Mazda 3 for a day while my car was in the garage. When I picked it up, we checked and recorded the damage on the car - some dents, a lot of scraping on the front. I drove the car on the highway and parked it in a level lot at work. I drove it home and parked it in my driveway. The next day I called and arranged for another day as my own car was still not fixed. That afternoon, after picking up my own car, I returned the rental.

I had filled the tank but it was not filled to their satisfaction so they added 3.28 l of gas to the car (part of which spilled out of the tank and ran down the side of the car). Then the young man who identified himself as the owner suddenly discovered some scratches on the very bottom panel under the back door on the passenger's side. He said it looked as though I had hit a curb. I told him that it was impossible but he insisted I fill out an accident report. Did I mention that I had refused their insurance? We had to kneel on the ground and practically turn upside down to see this "damage".

Although he did not have the copy of the existing damage sheet that was filled out when I took the car, he ignored all the scrapes and gouges and went right to these scratches. My credit card was billed before I was given a copy of the contract. On the contract it shows I was billed for 3.28 l of gas at 1.65/l -- but it adds ups to 9.26 -- something wrong with their math I think. I am not happy with my Budget experience. Not sure what is going to happen now. I will be consulting my insurance company and my credit card company but I am afraid that I am going to end up with an astronomical bill.

Tam of Renton, WA May 12, 2009

I rented a vehicle for vacation in Orlando, Florida through priceline.com. I put in a name-your-own-price and Budget Car Rental accepted it. I PRE-PAID FOR THIS RENTAL A MONTH BEFORE I ACTUALLY RENTED THE VEHICLE. This part of the transaction went smoothly. On May 02, 2009, I returned the vehicle w/ a full gas tank filled up to the brink no more than a couple miles from the airport. I returned it to a Budget employee at the airport who checked the vehicle and the GAS GAUGE and then printed me a receipt from his hand-held scanner showing a BALANCE OF ZERO DOLLAR (since everything had already been pre-paid a month in advance).

When I got back to Seattle, Budget sent me a bill charging me for a full supposedly empty Huyndai Accent's tank which has a maximum capacity for 11.9 gallons. I was billed 89.22 for fuel charge which was listed under the category of "@ NON PKG ITEMS". This amount WAS SHOWN AS ZERO on the ORIGINAL RECEIPT under the same category "@ NON PKG ITEMS" that I'd obtained at the airport. The whole process has consumed about half of my day waddling through endless waiting on several 1-800 number lines and eliciting the help of a local Budget representative to no avail. I am very upset about this. The error made on Budget's part in Orlando or the actual theft of Budget's resource by a Budget employee by passing the buck onto me is very egregious and unacceptable. It has cost me tons of valuable time trying to correct the issue.

Patti of Acworth, GA May 15, 2009

On April 24, 2009 I rented a car from Budget Rent-A-Car at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Airport: MKE. I returned this car April 26th at 7:30 am. I was catching an early flight back to Atlanta, Georgia. I noticed when I parked the car that there was no attendant on duty. I did wait awhile but then I saw the sign that said I could put my keys in the key return box, along with the contract and my gas receipt. I did fill up at a local BP station and attached the gas receipt to the contract information. I locked the car and dropped the key and paperwork in the return box and went to my flight. All seemed okay. Five days later, May 1, I received a call from Cedric - (877) 212-2121 - asking me when I plan on returning my car. He left a voice mail. I immediately called him back and he was not in, but I did leave a message. About an hour later, I called him again and left a message. No return call. By this time I'm freaking out because if this car is not found am I going to be held responsible, even though I did return it? Another hour went by and I finally reached the front desk of Budget at the Milwaukee Airport.

I spoke with Misty and told her my problem. She put me on hold and checked out the information. She stated that the car was listed as returned and not to worry. I asked her if she would let Cedric know this information. She said she would. She was very helpful. I failed to ask her what was billed on my credit card. Cedric never did return any of my calls. The following day, I checked my Visa card and found that I was charged 94.00 for two days, but it was supposed to be 56.71. I called Budget again (of course it was Saturday by now) and there was no way to resolve this matter. I could not get a hold of Budget at the front desk at the airport. It kept automatically transferring me to the reservation department. They could not help me. May 4: I called the customer service department and waited on hold for 15 minutes. I spoke to Mark. Mark said that they charged me 94.00 for an upgrade. I did not ask for an upgrade. I did receive a Toyota Prias but if I was upgraded they should have told me that I was upgraded and the cost would be different. That was not stated to me. Mark stated to me that he would call me back. Nothing. May 5, 2009 Cindy stated that she will check on the cost of my rental. She also stated that she will contact me once they get the original contract. No return call. I went online to Budget.com and used the contact us section and related my problem. Nothing from them either. I went online two more times to try and get a response and also called again. No response from anyone. I finally called Wachovia to file a dispute claim. They told me there was a credit on my account for 37.00. So I guess someone finally credited my account but again no one called to let me know. It had taken me 22 days from the day of rental to resolve these two issues. I was really disappointed in the service provided by Budget and by the lack of customer service. Not returning phone calls to the customer when there is a problem does not make sense to me. Alerting a customer that their car cannot be found is unacceptable, especially since it was returned in a timely manner. I have spent countless hours worrying about this and trying to contact a customer service rep to finalize this matter. Case is now resolved, but not without many days of frustration. Sincerely, Pat Banks

Joseph of Ruskin, FL May 16, 2009

I had rented the car to drive about 250 miles at Kansas City, MO airport. The Chrysler town/country car ran find for about 60 miles and then starting making a noise in the front end. We stop by a local garage who told us it may be a trans axle problem. We had to drive slowly back to the airport the next day causing us to arrive after the rental experation by one and half hours. The manager told us he had to take the car in to check it.

We have left several messages with him and finally return call came back. He advised us that there was something wrong with the car but would not refund the second day as the car was still driveable. I have this on tape on my cell phone. This is outrageous for a large company to ignore this problem and still charge for the time it took to get the disabled car back to his company. Thanks,

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