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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:

Dori of Austin TX (03/05/09)
I recently rented from Dollar at Love Field in Dallas. I paid for a toll tag and the toll tag did not work. I pulled up to a toll tag booth and the gate would not open. There were ten cars behind me. I was trapped and the other drivers were mad. I complained to Dollar and they would not refund the amount I paid for the toll tag. Unbelievable.

William of Harleysville, PA March 4, 2009

William of Harleysville PA (03/04/09)
When returning our rental car in Orlando, Dollar Rental was notified that I thought I missed a toll on the first day of our rental. This violation occurred in the first 30 minutes of driving on the Florida highway. Unfortunately, SunPass in Florida is very different than E-ZPass in PA. The E-ZPass lanes are mostly located on the left side of the highway; not the right lane. Since I was getting off at the following exit, I thought I was in the exit lane not the SunPass lane.

When I returned the car to Dollar Rental, the gentleman told me not to worry about it; this occurs frequently and there should not be a problem unless our car had been in several violations. I received a citation notice on 2/24/09. I immediately contacted Dollar Rental and treated with very arrogantly. I was basically informed that we had no recourse; my credit card was already charged.

I went to the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise website. The procedures state if using a rental car, the agency should be notified. As stated above, this procedure was followed. This site also indicates if a toll is missed, continue through the plaza and then mail in your payment. If I had been instructed to do this, I would have immediately sent in our .50 toll. Since we did follow the proper procedure outlined by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, it is our belief that Dollar Rental intentionally misrepresented the correct steps we needed to take in order to rectify the situation.

25.50

Amy of Milpitas, CA March 1, 2009

Amy of Milpitas CA (03/01/09)
I made an online car reservation with Dollar Rent a Car through Car Rentals.com. The reservation specified the date and time of pickup and dropoff (Feb 21, 9AM to Feb 23, 6PM) and gave me a quote of 2 days at 24.80/day, with the total including taxes and fees, 71.93. When I got to the Dollar Rental counter at the Airport, Irene and her manager Fran, refused to give me the quoted price insisting that the quote I was showing them was a known computer glitch on the part of CarRentals.com, where it mistakenly thought my requested pickup and dropoff times were only 2 days rental when it should be a 3 day rental.

Computer glitch or not, they need to honor the price they quoted me, especially when I have it in print. Otherwise, this is considered BAIT AND SWITCH, which is illegal. To make matters worse, while I was at the counter, Irene called the 1-800- Direct to Dollar representatives that was printed on my quote to have me speak with a representative there (Robin, agent #12783) to try to get my quoted price honored. The agent on the phone also refused. This wasted another 30 min of our time at the counter on top of the 45 min we already waited in line to get to the counter since there were only 2 agents working.

I want Dollar Rental to know that they can't quote people one price, have them come in to their business, and then charge them a higher price because this is illegal. I kept explaining this to all 3 agents, and they did not seem to understand and refused to honor my quote.

Sandra of Chesterfield Twp., MI February 20, 2009

Sandra of Chesterfield Twp. MI (02/20/09)
When I got to the Dollar Rental I told the girl waiting on me that I wanted the cheapest economy car and no extra insurance...after several attempts at trying to get me to upgrade, the girl finally gave up. Once again I told her no extra insurance because we have AAA insurance coverage and that we never take the additional insurance. Her co-worker also heard me say no additional insurance I signed my initials in 3 places and was in a rush to start traveling before it got too dark. It was the first time I was traveling alone and asked her if she would be so kind as to give me directions to Ocala...she said, just get in the middle lane and follow the traffic. Thanks a lot! I did just that and ended up going the wrong way unable to get off the expressway because now I was driving over a large body of water on both sides!

It took me 5 hrs. to get to Ocala instead of 2hrs. The worst part was when I got my charge card and was charged 100.00 more than what my confirmed reservation quoted me for 129.14 instead of 240.32.True, I did sign my initials but No means No and she had charged me the additional insurance! I'm sure this young girl made a comission on me...She should have the 100.00 deducted from her pay and should be reprimanded.

I will dispute this matter and will think twice about going to Dollar Rental in the future and will also pass the word to my family and friends.It is a shame because we have dealt with Dollar Rental for over 10 years and never had any problems with this company before. When I spoke to customer services, she said it was too bad because I got the insurance coverage already and she couldn't do anything about it. Yes, insurance that I told the girl twice that I didn't want!

Pamela of Pembroke Pines, FL February 18, 2009

Pamela of Pembroke Pines FL (02/18/09)
I had a serious car accident on October 20, 2009 in a rental from Dollar. Instead of the company being considerate or understaning the seriousness of my injuries, I am being charged 499.00 for a stolen GPS which occured when a Virginia towing co. towed the car where ever because the vehicle was missing for 8 days and all my personal belongings, clothing, jewerly, suitcase, and toiletries were gone. The companies supervisor of customer relations, Ms. Britni refuses to take my phone calls and insists I am responsible for all stolen merchandise.

After the accident, I was helicoptered into VMI - Virginia Medical Institute and placed in the trauma ward for 6 weeks with 2 broken arms, the left one shattered severely. The rental contract was from 10/20/08 to 10/21/08 because I was visiting my ex husand for a hearing and I live in Florida. My mother flew into Richmond and stayed with me at VMI since my entire family resides in FLA. My hospital, ambulance and helicopter fees, were over 20,000.00 out of pocket I had to pay. It is in such poor taste that Dollar Rent A  car is holding me responsible for a GPS valued at 499.00 according to them. I can purchase one for under 150.00 in any store locally. The truth of the matter is the car was out of my possession for 8 days due to my hospitalization in Virginia.

Elvis of Bronx, NY February 17, 2009

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