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:

Janet of Albany, GA July 21, 2009

First off, the girl who rented me the car told me that the credit card companies had changed and that they were not paying for damages so I should take the CDW. I did take it since I was too tired to figure out who to call and what to do. (I planned on calling and changing it if I found out it was covered but because of her "scare" tactics, I ended up paying almost double what I would have paid). When the car wouldn't start, I called the 800 number for roadside assistance. They said it was my problem. They were very rude stating that "they didn't have any way of knowing if I had left the lights on or something".

I have never had a rental car company take the attitude they did. It's a longer story than what I will write here. I called my AAA number but before they got there, a young lady (student) helped us and I tipped her 5 and canceled the AAA call. We made it home (Sunday night) then in the morning, I got the next door neighbor to jump the car off so I could take it into town and turn it in. I was supposed to fill up the tank but since I couldn't turn the car off without having someone to jump it off again, I didn't. They originally fussed about that but then agreed when told it was against the law to fill the car up when it was running. I don't know if I was overcharged for the gas or not.

I'm also tipping the man who jumped it off for me. I will definitely make sure everyone knows of my horrible experience. It was over 100 degrees in that parking lot while we waited for assistance. In addition, they charged me 15 for an early return that would not have happened if they had been helpful and taken responsibility for a vehicle they rented me with a dying battery. I do not know if they knew the battery had problems but since it didn't recharge, there was definitely something wrong with the car and I don't think I should have been charged for the early return. They also charged me an extra hour which I would not have had to pay if it hadn't taken me an extra hour to get it started in the morning.

Jackie of Oakton, WV July 16, 2009

Booked a car at dollar for a 24 dollar a day rate. They did not have any car except a PT Cruiser which I did not want... so to make a long story short... my upgrade to a decent car costed me about 50 MORE dollars a day. they were literally just doing a switch and bait, to get you in and then you are stuck... they took me for everything I had and when I said I was going to go down the street they told me there were no cars anywhere, RIGHT... tertible...

Andrea of San Francisco, CA July 10, 2009

On June 10 2009, I rented an Economy car from Dollar Rent a Car at Jackson Hole Wyoming. When we arrived to pick up the car we were told by the rental agent (a young Russian woman in her mid twenties) that the car we had rented was not suitable due to all the snow that was in Yellowstone Park. She said she had just been there and that the car we rented was too small and light. She also stated that another couple had just returned a car because they could not navigate the roads. We were concerned enough to rent a larger vehicle at a much higher expense than planned. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at Yellowstone park and did not find a flake of snow on ANY of the roads even those at high elevation. I have sent them a few photos of the roads.

Joe of livermore, CA July 9, 2009

I reserved a vehicle through Expedia for a car rental at Dollar at the San Diego airport. The reservation was for thee days for 89.70 including taxes. At the pickup location in San Diego I requested an additional day of rental and an upgrade. The person told me that he could upgrade me to a Dodge charger and that the total would be 289.33. He read the terms of the contract to me and then printed it out and told me to sign for declining the insurance and p;inted to the total as 289.33 and told me to sign the agreement. I did and returned the vehicle in time on the fourth day.

I later learned that they charged me 289.33 for a one day rental and then three days of late return fees for an additional 319 dollars. I complained and they told me that I signed a one day contract but admitt that that vehicle nor any that they rent rents for 289.33 per day. In looking at the contract I noted that the contract is not in my name...they can't explain that. They simply state that you signed the contract and we are not refunding any credit to your card. I then went to American Express (who I now find have a business interest in Dollar..they partner up on special rates) American Express now says that they contacted Dollar and that they told American Express that they have a valid contract and that they will not give a credit. American Express simply stated the merchant told them that erverything is fine and that I will not get a credit on my credit card bill. The correspondence that Dollar sent to American express is addressed to two seperate names and American Express still doesn't get it.

Mark of Gaylord, MI June 30, 2009

I'm being told that I went through 6 tolls without paying and need to pay 3.00 and additional 25 per violation and hit our credit card without notifying us beforehand. We never go through tolls without paying and every toll we went through had a gate. Secondly, we never went to the locations they listed. This is a huge scam and I would like my money back.

D of warren, MI June 22, 2009

I rented a car in Feb. I was mailed a parking ticket for a date that I did not rent the car. They charged my credit card!! I am still disputing this charge. Don't rent from Dollar in Washington DC. Not only are they unprofessional they are rude.

ROSE of KIHEI, HI June 19, 2009

Quoted 79.36 for a two day rental and charged 169.69. No one at customer service will pick up the phone (on hold for an hour before hanging up) and the auto response email said I would hear back in 5-8 days (it's now 15 days) suggest Budget - I was charged less than what I was quoted. A total of 185.00 for four days!!

Jim of Mesa, AZ June 16, 2009

I picked the rental car on Saturday June 6, 2009. I received the paperwork and went to the rental lot to get the car. The employee out there didn't want to come out of the booth to conduct the inspection and said the car was fine. I did my own inspection and found a 5-6 inch break in the front fender. I told the employee this and he quickly noted it on the paperwork and said they don't worry about that stuff. The rental car was also filthy with trash left in it from the previous rental. A few days later I picked up my other rental car from Enterprise and left my wife with the one from Dollar. I was in town for business and she came along to visit friends/family so we needed 2 cars.

On Thursday afternoon I was done with the business portion and returned my Enterprise rental car ( I rent from them almost every week and have never had a problem). We then went out to dinner with some friends a few towns over. Coming back from our friends house I was stopped by the local police for failing to have a state inspection sticker on my car (NH state requirement). The police officer was nice enough not to issue me the citation, which he legally could have done, and recommended I exchange the car for one that is legal to drive in NH.

I went back to Dollar and went to exchange the car. The girl at the service counter had already been called by the Police department so she was aware of the situation. The didn't have another car in the rental class so I either needed to pay 10 more per day for the remmaining days or downsize. I wasn't willing to pay more so we got stuck in a small car. Every car rental place I have ever done business with always upgrades you if what you rented wasn't available, but not Dollar. So I ended up with another dirty car, but it did have an inspection sticker.

We returned that car on Saturday June 14, 2009. I noticed another car being returned at teh same time with no inspection sticker so it seems to be a reoccuring theme for this location. I then had to go debate the billing with the rental employee because I should have had 10% off for using my AMEX card and the employee during the exchange said I would get 10% for having to go to a smaller car. They finally made those adjustments. I had also asked to have my wife removed as the 2nd driver during the exchange on Thursday but they said only the manager can, I am still working on contacting her.

I work as a regional manager for a large company and I am will be making this story known to them so they do not make the mistake of using Dollar Rental Car for any business or personal car rentals. The company wasted my time having to drive back to the rental place to exchange the car. They also wasted the police officers time, pulling me over and running the plates and my license. As of that date it appears they are still renting cars that should not legally be on the road by failing to get the mandatory state inspection completed.

Cassandra of Glen Allen, VA June 16, 2009

On June 10, 2009, I rented a car inside the terminal around 2:00 pm and was directed to the rental garage to pick up my keys. Upon arrival there was no agent in the garage, so I waited a few minutes. It was about 90 degrees, no note for the customer and no phone numbers to call. I called the toll free number and explained the situation.

While on hold with the toll free number, I proceeded back to the terminal to find out waht was going on. The agent from the toll free number came back on the line and informed me that she could not get an answer from that location and I would need to go back to the counter and speak to a manager.

Once back in the terminal, the agent (not the same one who rented the car to me) gave the other customer their keys and directed them to the garage. I explained to him that I had been waiting in the rental garage for over twenty minutes with no assistance and no one answwering the phone.

I asked for the manager and he explained that he was the only persons working, so I asked for the manager's number or to have the manager call me. He called the manager on the speaker phone (Christy) and she said she was busy renting cars and instructed him to call Bill. The agent called Bill, and while explaining the situation he did apoligize and said there wasn't anything he could do. He tried to explain to me that it was in the middlle of a shift change and I told him I did not care if the shift was changing or not, they should know how to instruct the customers no matter what. He asked me what did I want him to do. We started yelling at each other on the phone, so I told him I would call the corporate office and hung up.

I want Dollar Rental to understand that my time is very precious and that is not something they can give back to me, so it needs to be highly respected. I expect a management team to be able to take care of customers during a shift change not matter what time of day the shift chang is and the customers need to be more important than the employees going home.

I took the keys from the counter and proceeded to the rental garage with my luggage for the second time. I found the car and documented all the damage. Still there was no agent in the garage over a half hour later. So I jsut drove out of the garage with the car.

As soon as I got onto the interstate the brake light came on and I had to pull over. The light went off so I proceeded. After making a stop and gettign back ontothe interstate, the brake light came on a gain. This time I was in heavy traffic and did not stop, but the light went off. Upon stopping for gas, I realized that the gas tank spout was not connected to the car. I am not sure what the safety precautions are on that and don't understand how they could rent a car in that condition. I am due to return the car tomorrow.

Carrie of New York, NY June 10, 2009

I rented a car from Dollar Rent A Car Kearny,New Jersey location. When I picked up the car the location manager wrote on my contract the returning time is 12:30pm Saturday. When I returned the car on Saturday 12:30pm the location was closed. I called the 1-800 toll number and the sale rep told me the location has after hour service and that I could just drop the keys in the drop box. To make sure I was not going to be charged for extra (extra two days for Sunday and Monday until they reopen) I managed to get hold of the location manager and she said I could drop the keys in the drop box without mentioning i would be charged. On monday morning, I called both the location manager and 1-800 toll free to make sure and they both told me I am fine. Then, two days later, I checked my credit card statement, I was indeed charged for extra two days. I then called the location manager and 1-800 toll free number. The location manager told me that I was responsible for returning the car before the location is closed (which is at 12:00pm) even if the contract said I could return the car at 12:30pm. I argued that I was not informed with such information and there is no such clause printed on the contract I signed.

In fact, the only thing that printed on the contract was the 12:30pm time I should return the car. You know what's next, they bounced me back forth saying it's each other's responsibility to take off the charge. So far, I haven't heard anything back yet. 127.60 extra charge

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