Complain about a product or service

Dollar Rent A Car

Dollar Rent A Car •Rate Disputes •Damage Disputes •No Car Available •Surprise Fees/Taxes

Renting a car is one of those transactions that should be fairly straightforward. But if often turns out to be anything but ... and Dollar customers seem to have more than their share of problems, as the complaints in this section show.

Here are a few of the more recent complaints:

Nicholas of Phoenix AZ (03/01/07)

Last October I recieved a notice from Dollar Rent A Car asking for the return of a car that had been rented with my name and address in Las Vegas on 10/16/06. I called them stating I had not rented the vehicle in question nor had I been in Las Vegas at that time. After 4 or 5 phone calls over the first week with their security deptartment. Dollar Rent A Car confirmed with me that the credit card used to rent the vehicle was not under my name, and that it was likely that my Dollar Rent A Car profile(I had previously rented from Dollar Rent A Car) had mistakenly been applied to someone elses rental agreement. I expressed concern over the possiblity of identity theft, but I was told I had nothing to worry about and that they would be in touch. I had not heard anything in almost 4 months until I received a bill from a collection agent for Dollar Rent A Car demanding payment of 9,686.34 for the rental of the car. I once again called there security deptartment and was told that they had been unable to reach me -they had my address and phone number. So they had sent my account to collections. They now needed me to write a statement saying that I had not rented the vehicle nor authorized anyone to use my name for this purpose.I wrote the statement they requested and signed it. Then they needed a copy of my drivers licence so they could compare signitures. All this after they admitted it was probably there mistake that caused the whole mess. I cannot get them to confirm with me that my identity has not been stolen by the person who has not returned there car, but has a rental agreement with my personal information, thanks to Dollar Rent A Car. 

Krzeminski of Warszawa, OTHER November 10, 2006

Krzeminski of Warszawa Poland (11/10/06)
I booked a car on Dollar internet page. Received confirmation number. When arrived on Tampa airport, after 24 hrs trip, I was told in Dollar rental office that car is not available, and that there is no car at all due to high demand. When asked what then confirmation means the office clerk responded that it is not binding. I was asked to wait about 1-2 hrs for a car to taken from other location. To make it more strange I was told that there is no car after I agreed on a rent contract and on my Visa card USD 1.900 was blocked. I did not want to wait 1-2 hrs for a car and went to Avis where I rented car. I complained on Dollar web page but I did get an answer.

1. I payed 2.300 USD for Avis contract, 400 more then I would pay for Dollar contract if car was there as booked.

2. On my Visa card 1.900 is still booked by Dollar and I can not still use this money / week after unsuccessful rental/. I had to pay for home rent the following day and I could not because on my Visa card was not enough cash. This was awkward.

Troy of New York, NY October 9, 2006

Troy of New York NY (10/09/06)
I reserved a car online for pickup at the Greenwich Village (New York City) Dollar location for Sunday. Upon my arrival at the location I was told they were simply out of cars and could do nothing about it. I was unable to attend a family function in CT as a result. No retribution or compensation was offered, just an apology and a shrug.

Vonda of American Canyon, CA October 5, 2006

Vonda of American Canyon CA (10/05/06)
Like many others, I was overcharged for a car that I rented for three days. I booked the car under a package, my husband wanted to upgrade to a mid-size. Once we upgraded, the agent made us take insurance additional 64.00 and did not credit the amount we paid for the rental through the package. So,we paid 258.00 for a midsize car for three days, which is absurd because the average rental rate at the time was about 22.00 per day for a midsize car. I think an investigation should be done on this company. I am a travel agent and I will never use them for my clients again.

Christopher of San Francisco, CA September 28, 2006

Christopher of San Francisco CA (09/28/06)
DaimlerChrysler Jeep initiated a recall of over 800,000 Jeep Liberties on August 1, 2005. This model was recalled for a faulty ball joint in the suspension which caused the vehicle to collapse and lose steering control. I rented a Jeep Liberty in Feb. 2006. While driving the vehicle it suddenly collapsed onto the front passenger side axle and changed direction by 90 degrees to the right. Steering control was negligible. The vehicle was corrected to the point of averting a head-on collision (to drivers side of parked cars). The correction did not save 5 vehicles that were side swiped. (It should be noted that if this accident occured 5mins earlier it would have happened on the freeway while the vehicle was going 65mph.

Shirley of O'fallon, MO September 20, 2006

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