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Budget Rent A Car review: hidden charges 31

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11:09 pm EDT
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Beware of RSN (Road Safety Net) hidden charges. My wife didn't accept these optional services. We were charged $6.00 / day for this key replacement service that we would have never used. I asked Budget for a refund, they refused saying that we didn't read the fine print in contract saying you would be charged unless you found this hidden charge. I'll never rent from Budget again for taking advantage of my wife (and I). I recommend Dollar, Hertz or National, they do not cram your rental bill.

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Karol Baker
, US
Jan 30, 2019 2:40 pm EST

Do not use Budge Rental cars!
Had to go to Florida for family emergency, and used Frontier Airlines. Got their bundle package.
They use Budget Rental car, which will lie and cheat you. Paid for everything up front on line. Which I got at the Orlando airport. The guy Robert from Budget told me I would have a $250.oo deposit, but would get it back once I brought the car back as long as I wasn't late dropping it off and no damage to car. They have you sign on a machine. Which was my 1st mistake. Because I couldn't see what I was signing. I took Robert's word. That was mistake 2. I took the car back at 11:30 the night before I left. So I wasn't late. I check my bank account after I got back home and found that they charged me $502.97. So I called them and found that it was Non-refundable due to a Loss Damage waiver that I had signed $34.99/day which I didn't see. So the rental car ended up costing $489.11 through Frontier to get the car in the bundle, then another $502.97 for what they call Loss Damage waiver after getting the car. Which I was originally told was why I had to put up a $250.00 deposit and that I had to sign in order to get the car. And that I would be getting back. After they printed the paper work it showed the $502.97 for this Loss Damage waiver. But thought that was only if I damage their car. Total=$990.08. Budget is a scam. And if Frontier is allowing this to happen by using them in their bundle package they are just as guilty.

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jblaiser413
Castle Rock, US
Jun 16, 2012 2:59 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

My recent rental purchase started out fine, however they didn’t have what I ordered on the lot so the budget rep said she’ll simply move me up to the next level car at no charge. I said great, signed my paperwork and away I went. After two weeks I went to extend my rental and the price for an additional two weeks astonished me. It was nearly double what I had agreed to originally. When I asked about that, he said I upgraded my car. I explained to him that I had no choice and the original rep said it was free. He made some calls and the manager said I signed it, so I’m basically screwed. This to me is unbelievable. Yes I signed it because I trusted what YOUR rep told me. After waiting an hour in line to get my car, I was late, and didn’t have time to read what she had already explained. I also have 3 counterparts who had the same experience this year with budget as well. They basically scam everyone! Bad business, bad people.

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Freggin
, US
Mar 28, 2011 4:24 pm EDT

I rented a car, through Priceline, at the Budget Rent-A-Car at the Philadelphia Airport over Thanksgiving. I was renting the car for 3 days and 9 hours and paid for the full 4 days rental as expected. I had the good fortune of my flight coming in almost an hour early and it landed just before 11pm when it was schedule for 11:45pm.

I had specified the pick-up time for the rental to be 12:30am but we got to the rental counter at 11:30pm. The twits at Budget told me that I had to sit there and wait for another hour until my rental start time of 12:30am came up on the clock or I had to pay an additional full day rental of $60+taxes.

There were about 50 cars available in the lot and nobody else waiting to rent a car. Of course Budget has no 24hr customer service and both the manager on duty and the lackey behind the counter refused to do anything about it.

Then when 12:30 rolled around and I finally got the rental, they had the audacity to try to pre-populate the damage waiver and fuel option on the paperwork in an effort to get me to pay more. In summary, I rented a car for 15 hours less than the 4 days I paid for but was made to wait in the rental lobby for an hour, late at night, to wait for the pick-up time to pop up on their clocks.

I forgot to tell you that they tried to upgrade me to a Cadillac and I thought it was a gesture for my troubles then the counter twerp told me it would be another $20 per day. I really got steamed and my wife convinced me to walk outside before I totally freaked out. This was one of the most incredibly bad customer service experiences I’ve ever had.

The whole scenario was patently ridiculous and I will never again rent from such a backwards company with ###ic policies and such abysmal customer service. Corporate responded with a patronizing and ignorant 2 line explanation of policy.

They totally blew me off. I am sending a certified letter to their CEO with the hope that it sparks a response. Budget, you absolutely stink.

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junkboy
Santa Fe, US
Mar 19, 2013 5:43 pm EDT

I rented a car at the Portland airport so I could attend my grandmother's funeral. I was thrilled that I got a good deal on Priceline at 60% off. My week long rental was only $179. I rent cars at least twice a year for travel and have never had any problems previously. How was I to know that I was about to engage in the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life and be charged and erroneous $476.

One day in NE Portland, I accidentally parked in front of someone's driveway and my rental car was towed. It took me 42 phone calls, two days, and 11 direct hours of dealing with the situation to even talk to someone who was helpful. 80% of all the customer service reps I spoke with were some of the most non-empathetic people I have ever come across. They were rude, sounded annoyed from the start, had wrong information, I was hung up on three times during transfers, and all around unhelpful. Apparently it is Budgets policy that the customer cannot pick up the vehicle if it were towed. Every customer service person I asked (most of them just kept transferring me to the wrong person) could tell me that this was the policy, but no one could tell me where this policy was located or how I could get a copy. I finally found someone who could help me. He calls the manager of the PDX airport Budget and I am granted special permission to go pick up the vehicle from the towing company.

I get back home and the vehicle I rented from Priceline for $179 is now costing me $1000! My debit account, that I used as the security card when picking up the vehicle, has been charge $350, the full cost of the rental. I also just received a bill in the mail for $211 from Budget. Let me break this down. I completely take responsibility for the fact that I parked in front of someone's driveway. I paid $202 for the impound and I have the $90 parking citation to pay. Forget all of the illegal parking fees and I will have paid $476 directly to Budget (this does not include the Priceline rental fee I already paid).

Upon calling Budget customer service again to discuss this issue, I am told that the $350 that I was charged was for the towing fee and that I needed to prove that I paid the fee directly to the towing company. But $350 was the exact amount for a full price (non-Priceline) rental of the vehicle. I am convinced that no one knows what they are talking about. To top it off, the bill I received for the parking ticket states that the violation amount was $181.50. I have the ticket in front of me – It was for $90 and is not past due. Then they have a line item for $30.00 handling fee. Where did the other $91.50 come from?

This company does not have their act together and they are taking it out on the consumer. Not only was I two days without a car I rented, but they are charging me $476 in fees that they appear to have just completely fabricated. I am writing reviews every where I can and making a complaint to the BBB. I have never experienced such bad service in all my life.

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rita wedemeyer
, US
Jun 03, 2010 2:16 pm EDT

Made reservation online and confirmed next day. When we got to the gas station where the truck was supposed to be located, no truck and owner of gas station said "not again with those (Budget) people". Budgettruck.com then put an unauthorized $50 charge on my debit card. When I called their "customer service" department, I got a female who refused to cancel the $50 fee, and who refused to make a phone call to my son to verify the situation, saying "Customer service doesn't call customers". Yes, I'm serious. When I asked to speak to her supervisor, she hung up. This is the absolute worst truck renting experience I've had, and no question the worst customer service department I have ever dealt with. From now on, I'll stick with Uhaul.

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leon-m
, NL
Aug 29, 2016 2:13 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

We hired a car through budget.com in Dallas USA, we rented a car insurance with no deductible .
When we arrived in dallas we showed tenancy and the man behind the counter summed up what we had rented .
Middenklase a car with a verzekerig no deductibles .
And we confirmed that
He then pushed a bill to us and because the amount in dollars that amount was about what we had at budget.com for booked we were not suspicious
When we got home we discovered that Budget car had depreciated the agreement with the rental and insurance budget.com And budget.com in Dallas without being asked only had sold an expensive extra verzekerig this also was not as such described in the account .
 We have been scammed and robbed by budget which is twice a large amount of our account, we booked were misled and ripped off . We have not asked for that extra insurance,
and we are not told that we concluded that additional insurance

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AnnaCherie
West Monroe, US
Aug 29, 2016 2:13 am EDT

On July 11, 2011 I made an online reservation to rent a car from Budget Rent A Car. My reservation was for 6 o'clock. I got to Budget at 6 o'clock and my car was not available. The girl working at the front counter told me they did not have my reservation on file yet and sometimes it takes 30 minutes to an hour after the scheduled reservation time for reservation to come through their system. I then waited 30 minutes after my 6 o'clock reservation before I asked if they could check to see if my reservation had come into their system yet. It still had not.

At this point I asked if I could cancel my reservation and just rent a car without one. The woman told me they were currently out of cars and were only offering SUV's so unless I wanted to pay for an SUV it would be best to wait for my reservation to come through. To make a long story short my reservation was made for 6 and I was not in a car until 8. That was 2 hours after my car was supposed to be ready. Come to find out the reason why it took 2 hours to get this rental car was not because my reservation had not come into their system but they did not want me to have an SUV for the car price. So they were waiting for someone to return a car before they would rent me a vehicle. Instead of telling me this they lied to me.

So I finally get in my rental and on my way. Once I got my rental car to my hotel I noticed that the headlights were not working. I did not think much about it at the time I just assumed that the headlights were not turning on because it was still day light. The next day I drove to Texas during the day light and once I got there I just parked the car at my hotel and did not drive it at night. The next night though I did need to drive my car at night and the headlights still did not come on. The parking lights and the bright lights worked but the dim lights did not. I called the emergency roadside assistance number because the Monroe Louisiana office where I rented the car was closed. I was then informed that corporate could not help me out or send me a new car because the Budget in Monroe Louisiana was not a car of the corporation which left me stranded in downtown Austin Texas without a ride. So I was forced to take a taxi to my hotel.

The next day was my day to return home and have the car returned. When I got to the Budget in Monroe I let them know the headlights did not work and I was stranded in Texas and corporate told me it should not be a problem for them to refund me one days off my bill because they were not able to send me a working car out. I was then told that they were not going to refund me any money because I did not call them to inform them the head lights were not working. To which I responded with you were closed when I needed a new car and I was bringing the car back today so what was the point in calling?

They told me that it was not their fault the headlights did not work in the car they check all the cars before they rent them out. I know they did not check the car before they rented it to me because it had just come in. Four other people then came to the counter to put in their opinion on why I should not get one day refunded back to me. This one man who worked there asked me if the air went out in a home I rented would I expect money off my rent just because it went out. To which I responded YES too. Needless to say all I got refunded from my $335 bill was $10.99. So I filled a corporate complaint and when I was filling the corporate complaint they also assured me they did not understand what the problem was with refunding me one day off my bill which was all I was asking for. I am waiting now to hear from someone that working in higher management in the Budget Corporation.

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Something Unique
, US
Aug 24, 2016 1:53 pm EDT

I recently prepaid for a rental from Budget, and when I got my credit card statement saw that there was an additional charge. Compared the receipt to my reservation and saw that it was the RSN mentioned above, along with some increases in concession recovery fee and tax compared to what I paid for. On reviewing the form I got at the counter, I saw that I had initialed next to "optional services" whose amount matched the RSN amount. So I guess it's my fault, but with 3 kids milling about and the clerk saying "Initial here, here, and here" I just did it, thinking I was all good since I had declined all optional coverage. Given the comments above I don't hold out much hope for getting a refund. Very poor customer experience.

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JacD54
, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

My wife an I arrived in Miami for the beginning of our vacation. When we caught the shuttle from the airport to the the office, I had to wait in line for 45 minutes to get to the counter. When I got to the counter, I had to wait another half hour because the rep was bouncing between 3 computers assisting other customers. The computers they were using were at least 20 yeard old IBM's with dot matrix printers. This is 2010 Budget, not 1990!

After I finally got the keys, We discovered that we had to go get the vehicle, they didnt bring it to us.

I've never had this problem with Enterprise Rental (should have known to stick with what's working for me). Do yourself a favor and spend a little extra money with a car rental company that actually cares about the customer and not this joke of a company!

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Lauren
, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

I reserved a moving truck online on 3/7/09 and read that I was able to cancel without penalty if done so within 48 hours of pickup. Today, I went online to view the reservation and after it required me to enter my pickup date, zip code, reference number, and credit card number, the page said the reservation could not be found and to call their toll free number. I called and got a lady who was very defensive, spoke fast, and became snippy after I requested to cancel the reservation (I explained it was only because I hired a moving company and chose not to drive across the country). After I kindly asked her if she could send me confirmation of the cancellation, she stated she would absolutely under no condition give me confirmation she canceled my reservation in writing nor would I receive an email. She began rushing me off the phone and insisted I check their website for the cancellation which states at the bottom: 'We currently do not offer the ability to modify or cancel an active reservation made at www.budgettruck.com. To make changes or cancel your reservation, please call [protected]. Please note that any changes made by calling this number will NOT update or display on budgettruck.com.' I contacted my credit card company to have them note the incident in the system in case the reservation is not canceled. This is not a good way to do business and I will definitely go with U-haul or anyone else besides Budget, whether it is a rental car or moving truck.

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Polina
, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

I left a jacket in a rented truck. I called the local branch where I had returned the truck. They said they had the jacket. I show up at the branch the next day, but the jacket is not there. Store employee Lisa says "it was here, let me find out what happened to it." The jacket has never again showed up. Customer service refuses to do anything to help me out. Not even a reduced price on a future rental. Even though two Budget employees have stated that they had the jacket in possession, customer service hides behind the policy that "we are not responsible for items left in the truck." Letter of the law - yes. Spirit of customer service - absolutely not. I recommend never using Budget.

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Pisseddafukoff
Tempe, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

I only got budget truck because it was the only truck rental site that had 10ft truck in my area. (which turned out to be false) they later called me a day later to tell me the truck i reserved was unavailable and that they only had 15ft trucks, but I would pay the same price ($515). That was the only good part. So I pick up the truck and some woman who knows not much about the trucks shows me the truck and gives me the keys. I had to ask her how to open the back and if there was anything that I should know. Because I never drove one of these trucks before. I drove that truck from Louisiana to California with no prior knowledge of how to use anything on the dashboard or what any of the buttons did..lol. But anyways she told me that I could drop the truck off at any location and if it was closed that I could just leave the truck there and put the keys in the drop box. I drove to cali hated it, drove back to Arizona and decided to stay. So I called the location the day the truck was due to see what time they closed and if I could just drop the truck off. They closed at 5pm. The woman who took the call was very defensive when I tried to tell her what I was told about dropping the truck off. She said they dont do that and that I would have to bring it in tomorrow because it was past 5pm and I would have to pay an extra day. So the next day I return the truck filled with gas ($400 worth of gas later in 7 days) And they tell me that I went over 200 miles (I believe that) and that I kept it for another day (like it was by choice) plus taxes that adds up to $299.45. So in all I spent over $800.. I hate them so much... where is a number to complain?

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tricksare4u
fsf, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT

Consumers are IDIOTS! you MUST read the terms and conditions when you make a reservation online! and if you didnt make the reservation online read the contract that you are signing. If you are one of these idiots complaining about your billing or your truck rental you didnt read your contract or the terms and conditions online.. DUMB ### you got what you deserved.

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emduding
san tan valley, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT

I rented a 24 foot tuck from Budget Rental. First, they did not have my truck or trailer when I arrived. The "dealer" was even confused. I was told I had to call customer service. I was told by the customer service person that "when I made a reservation it did not gaurantee the equipment". What? Now, I had to call a few people to explain that I was not moving. People were rearranging schedules. The snotty rep told me that he would give a whopping 42 dollars off my bill.I sat in the office for four hours to get a truck that went 39 miles an hour that I had to return. The next day at 1:30 I was loading the truck, unkowingly being charged for a dolly that I never had. I drove a truck that had no shocks and the gas gauge did not work. When I arrived to Kansas, the guy told me that he understood and unfotunately their was nothing he could
do about any refunds because it had to be done when I rented the truck. This was the most horrible moving experience I have ever had. People complain about U-Haul, but they'll seem like a dream compared to this.
I will keep writing all the people I can to make the public aware of this scamming company. They don't feel the need to be accountable for the horrible ways they treat customers. Next stop...

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Richard Widdifield
Huntington, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This company overcharges you on your credit card. I had a 6:30 flight at Liberia airport and went to return the car. There was no one there to receive the car offsite or at their Kiosk in the airport. They have taken 30 days to answer any questions. They want to charge me $350 for a used beat up garmin that costs about $69.00 ...Do not do business with this company they will rip you off.

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Margot Wickes
Harrisburg, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT

Truck was to be picked up on August 12 2011. We were called the day before in the late afternoon to let us know that the truck we rented would not be available at the Harrisburg location where it was supposed to be picked up from but would be available at their Lebanon location. There is nothing like a 45 minute to a 1 hour drive when the specified location was 5 minutes from our home. They said there was nothing they could do about it. I would think about spending the few extra dollars to rent from a more reputable company. This is one company that truly doesn't care if you get your move accomplished or not. I wish I would have checked out a website like this before I ever called them!

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Rteamz
, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT

I rented a 16-ft truck from Budget with unlimited mileage plan. Two days before pick-up, Budget called me and confirmed that the truck was ready. Two nights before pick-up, I tried to cancel the truck and was told that no cancellation within 48 hours. All right then, I would just stick with my original schedule.

The pick-up time was 10am on Sunday. At around 9am, Budget called me and told me that the truck was no longer available because someone has not returned the truck. And at that moment, I was only 5 minutes away from the pick-up location. So Budget can cancel my rental one hour before pick-up while I couldn't cancel it 30 hours ago. The customer service told me that they can't find another truck for me because they don't have inventory system. WOW, so how would they manage their rental cars? The customer service told me to contact the nearby local stores to see if they have, and the local store agents told me to contact the customer service as it has to be done from the customer service. Two hours on the phone, the customer service found an allied rental store has 24-ft and 12-ft truck, but not 16-ft, and this store is 40 minutes away. I already hired two guys for what I planned to do today. Even for 40 minutes (80 minutes back and forth), i still had to go get it. And the only choice was 12-ft because the local store confirmed there was only 12-ft. So how did the customer service see the 24-ft truck?
Once I arrived at the local store, i was told that it was a local truck, which means mileage is not unlimited, plus I had to return it at the same place. My original plan was one-way trip. Now I had to come back to the same location to return. Three times mileage, three times of driving time, and three times of gas.

I didn't get the truck on the road until 1pm, while I was supposed to have it by 10am. 3 hours delayed. when i got to my destination, it was already 11pm. When i started unloading, the neighbor complained for too much noise. Two cops came over and told me to stop and do it tomorrow. They warned me that if they got the complain again, a ticket of $500 would be issued. Now with half stuff still on the truck, the truck cannot be returned, and I can't the next day off. Then I unloaded my stuff at a friend's place. After I got back home, it was 6am already. Time for work.
Unprofessional, irresponsible, ... can't think of any other words at this moment.

Budget, go to hell, piece of crap.

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AllieKats
Snohomish, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Reserved truck week in advance. Picked up in horrible rain downpour, get to me house open up back to load and raining inside truck, huge hole in ceiling. Call them, oh yeah they didn't mention that to you? So they knew and let us drive away. They had no other trucks, had to do our move, no choice. Had lift gate that we needed for items weighing 400 lbs ea. get to place we are unloading and lift gate doesn't work. My stuff is sitting hostage in the leaking truck. Call them again, they say "we aren't mechanics - why are you calling us?" Call roadside service, 3 hours later they show, said truck should have never been rented, was unsafe to drive, battery cover missing, melted wires and electrical parts jerry rigged with staples. We had to use a makeshift ramp to unload our stuff, not fun and required getting extra help. Budget customer service couldn't have cared less. Still expected me to pay. I disputed credit card charges with my bank, budget responded saying rude sarcastic comments about me and refused refund. Bank reversed charges during dispute and then Budget turned me to collections. Didn't even finish the dispute process. They can KMA, I will not pay a dime and willing to risk my 839 credit score to stand my ground. More than happy to see them in court. Worst company ever, do yourself a favor and stay clear. Incredible business model, no apologies from any of the 5 different people I talked to and then to be rude on top of it. From reading all the other reviews sounds like it's a nationwide policy to rent unsafe vehicles, screw everyone over and sit back and smile about it.

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Budget sucks
Minnetonka, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:33 am EDT

I call budget to see about returning the car a day early. The lady on the phone quoted me a new rate higher than the one i had! I said how is that possible. She said i am bound by contract to keep the days exact or the readjust my rate to the current rate. Totally crazy. I have never had this happen with any other car rental company. Don't rent from budget, they are the worst!

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HUNTER144!!!
, US
Jul 06, 2016 2:31 pm EDT

Avis did the same...$6.99 a dy...Absoulte crimals..Did not sign for it & did not ask for it...I beleive the ### at the counter is being reimbursed by the ### at corporate for all the extra garbage they can push on tired/traveling people...Absolute ### from top to bottom period! all criminals from top to bottom.Beware of ###!

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Lillian Rodriguez
, US
Dec 20, 2015 10:15 am EST

I noticed this RSN charge as well after a couple of days after arriving home. I called Budget customer service. The supervisor would not give me a refund because is written on the agreement and I signed for it. I specifically told the ladie at the counter when I picked up the car that I didn't want any additional charges and she went ahead and added the RSN anyway. I won't use Budget anymore on my life. Is not good customer service.

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Michelle
,
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

I received a call the day before arrival about something with the truck, tried to call back it was an outgoing call center only. Called before arriving to pick up truck, customer service said truck is waiting. Get there no truck. It was at another location 30 miles out of the way (one way). Spoke with Pat who said she was a manager. She did nothing to defuse the situation except make me more upset. I had the men to move and no truck (also drove from Orlando to Lake Worth to make this move and only had limited time frame). No one at the other original location did anything to help on this situation to help except shrug there shoulders. They could not even give me a phone book to find directions. Pat finally switched me to another manager to help and give me directions and diffuse this situation. He was very nice and did help. Finally get to the Jupiter location where the truck was and spoke to the location manager and said that she did ask an employee if she spoke with me. The employee said she left a message. First off the call I received was from a man not a woman, and no one stated of a new location just to call back, which I did before arriving to Lake Worth to make sure everything was ok. Still no one said anything of a new location for pick up. I would not have to back track 30 miles one way, I would of just picked up the truck at Jupiter location if I was informed at anytime before arriving in Lake Worth. It would not of been a big deal and I would not of had to waste time, and money on the extra gas for the additional 60 miles out of my way. If I would of BEEN INFORMED and not of had your employees play pass the buck. When arriving at the new Jupiter location the site manager (Ellen) was very nice and her husband offered to give me a discount. With the price discount it was still a couple of dollars extra i would have to pay. It was more then the original price when I had made the reservation in the first place. When I questioned and stated that it was more money, they then informed me it was the taxes. At that point it was getting late and I just decided to pay and get going because I still have to pay the gentlemen who helped me move more money because of the extra waste of time because of having to back track an hour out of the way to get the truck. Again because of NOT BEING INFORMED PROPERLY OF THE NEW LOCATION. I also arrived at storage to store my things to late. There was no one at the location because of the waste of time with this situation to unload my things. I had to get new men to come the next day and pay extra again to unload my things so I can bring the truck back to you properly. Hopefully I will never use your company again and just pay the extra to a U-haul. The customer service that your company has is not worth it. I understand of a certain situations that may occur in any business. But your company should inform their customers properly so these situations do not happen. I was irate over the situation, but I would think anyone else who experienced this would be as well.

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Teedlepeep
Bedford, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT
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I rented a 24 four foot van and a car carrier on 7/6 to move myself and my family from NH to NC. During the beginning of the trip we had no problems with the truck. Around Baltimore MD I smelled oil, the truck started bucking, losing power, the oil PSI was fluxuating between 20 and 80 (80 being max...would stay there for awhile then go down...and right back up) and going up inclines it would slow to around 20-30 mph (real safe on the highway) Pulled off the highway, parked in a parking lot and called Budget, explained what was happening, to be told that the truck needed to be looked at. Three and a half hours later a tow truck came and the driver declared that this was normal for a diesel engine, but could offer no explanation as to why it hadn't happened earlier in the day. The time we spent in the parking lot was during a heat wave, it was 105 degrees in the shade, after 2 hours of sitting there with no a/c, an asthmatic child and pets with me, I had to rent a hotel room to get them out of the heat. The next day we leave (way behind schedule) and for about 2 hours the truck was fine, then it started doing all of the things it had done the prior day. Pushed onward at a top speed of 50 to arrive at our destination about 3 hours later then we were scheduled to. To make a long story short, the delays with the truck cost me a lot of money in having to rent a hotel, hiring people to remove items from the truck (as the person who drove down with us to unload had to make a plane flight that had already been paid for, extra gas consumption, etc...) When I was stranded in the parking lot, a customer service rep from Budget told me that the person I returned the truck to would refund my money when I arrived. When I brought back the truck the next day, as soon as I turned it on the oil PSI was up to 80 where it stayed for about 10 miles, the check engine lights were flashing and it was bucking. The woman at the return center told me that Budget tells lots of it's customers that she will issue a refund when in fact she can not and you have to call the 800 #. When I called the 800# I finally ended up speaking to a supervisor who told me that all of the trouble with the truck was me not knowing how to drive it, I should be Thankful that my family was safe and he would issue me a refund of $200.00, after he said that he wanted me to agree that this was a fair compensation. When I said I could not agree that 200 was not fair after having spent a thousand due to the problems with the truck he told me that I would hear from someone else within 48 hours! I am still very upset at having been placed in multiple dangerous situations from this vehicle. If I did not know how to drive a truck and would experience problems that would endanger myself and my family, then why was I allowed to rent a truck in the first place or why was I not given instructions or why was I not at least warned and frankly how could I intermittently but only after the truck had been running for a few hours suddenly start driving differently with no awareness of it that would cause the truck's oil PSI to go up to 80 ?

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Kregg Leisure
,
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

I called Budget rent a truck to dispute a 50.00 charge for canceling a reservation with in 6 business hrs from the time it was made. I talked to the place I was to rent the truck from and they canceled saying no problem. I then saw a charge on my credit card for 50.00. I called Budget rent a truck and tried to explain what happened. The customer service rep. told me that it was their policy to charge 50.00 if reservation was not canceled within 48 hrs. I told them I made a mistake and didn't have more than 48 hrs. to canceled it but did cancel it with in 6 business hrs. The CSR said too bad thats the policy. I asked to talk to a supervisor and she refused to let me. After badgering her repeatedly about how often I use their service and that they would be losing 100's of dollars vs the 50.00 and all I wanted to do was talk about it to a supervisor she reluctantly put me on hold and then came back on to tell me that the supervisor would not talk to me about it. I told her she was losing a customer because the supervisor was too busy doing more important things then to waste his or her time talking to a customer. At this point all I wanted to do was to explain the situation whether or not the supervisor could do anything about it at least I would fell better talking to someone other than the CSR who first answered who only kept giving the scripted answer about the policy. People should know the kind of company Budget really is who wants their 50.00 without regard for good customer relations. All I wanted to do was talk to a supervisor and they said no. The CSR first said no and then she told me the supervisor she asked said no. She said the supervisor just told her to keep repeating the policy until I hung up.

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DONT RENT BUDGET TRUCK
Columbus, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

We rented a truck with trailer one way from Columbus, Hamilton rd location (whitehall) First of all Sean the manager was talking on phone while completing my transaction complaining that someone let a newer truck get rented on his day off that was one way. So any other words rent to junk for one way folks. Which is what i got. There was no to help us hook up trailer for tow we had to get asst on phone. once on the road we had a slow leak on trailer back tire. we paid 20 to get that fixed. then other side blew out. waited almost three hrs for road asst. no more than 150 miles traveled when second blow how on trailer. this was another 2 hr wait. when we finally got to fla i called cust serv and they said they would refund 30% of trailer rental NEVER DID THAT Either. NOT to mention OLD truck Had Bad BRakes and WAS EXTREMENLY DIRTY! DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE ANYWHERE ! UHAUL OR ANYONE ESLE IT IS NOT WORTH BUDGET...RIGHT

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Quinton Redo
Houston, US
May 13, 2013 7:36 pm EDT
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I prepaid for the rental car and the and my bill was covered for the.weekend. so i brought the rental back and some older black lady said she had to swipe my card for security purposes but I told her dont swipe my card and charge me again. So she did it anyway and my card was charged for another 3 days after I checked my account. Deborah, rebecca, and an older black girl were the people WHO poorly gave me customer service @6021 East Sam Houston parkway, Houston, tx 77049.

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CCheng
Dublin, US
Apr 08, 2011 6:40 pm EDT

My wife and I were moving in the end of March 2011, I've reserved a truck with Budget two weeks in advanced to make sure we have something to move us. A week goes by and I get a confirmation from Buget "You're Truck is Available!" Great, right. Wrong, the day before the move the rental facility calls me to tell me that there's no truck available for the me! WTF! I call up Budget and inquire as to how a truck that is said to be available for me a week before the move is now not available on the evening of. The rep told me that I cancel it myself and that they were going to charge me an extra $50 for cancellation, what kind of a company tells your one thing and turns around and said something completely different. Budget, if any of your marketing department is reading this, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ### AND JUST SHUT DOWN! If you are moving stick with Uhaul, reliable, dependable and fair priced.

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Valerie
Valerie
, US
Aug 26, 2008 7:39 am EDT

Was quoted $307 for both truck $ tow dolly over the phone- the reason I went with Budget. Upon pickup I was charged $600 dollars.

Apparently the $307 "estimate" I received upon giving Budget my credit card over the phone didn't include a 150 deposit I wasn't told of, or a $50 unexplained charge (later I was told it would be refunded but I haven't yet received it).

The unexpected cost of the rental overdrew my bank account and I was unable to refill the tank upon return.

I returned the vehicle to the location which could never be reached by phone, not even by their own "customer service", dropped the key off, and still fully expected some form of credit from Budget.

Finally a rude foreign man called me- it was AutoMotriz Montarrey, the people with a tiny fenced in shack under a railroad track in chicago-who don't ever answer their phone. He told me to come refuel the tank or I wouldn't get my $150 deposit back. I explained that this was an outrageous cost for a tank of gas, especially since I rightly feel I was overcharged in the first place- not even Penske charges what I've paid so far to Budget Rental. The foreign man commented that I came from Ohio laughing "This isn't Kansas anymore" and proceeded to hang up on me.

I called and requested a supervisor AGAIN, and got "Paula" who refused to give out her direct line, and had no skill in customer satisfaction but pointed out basically that the location can charge what they want for gas and that $150 sounded about right to her. She refused to report my grievance against the location that laughed and hung up on me, saying "you can only file one complaint and you've already filed one". Then I discovered Paula was not a "supervisor" as she presented herself, but was in a call center somewhere- her words. And then, Paula hung up on me.

I just checked my bank account, still no 50 dollars for being overcharged on insurance. And now, Automotriz Monterray has charged me NINETY more dollars on TOP of pocketing my deposit. I guess I made him mad when I said he was running a scam operation and decided to charge me even more.

Today it cost me atleast $690 dollars to rent a budget truck and so much time, energy, and frustration. Horrible customer service.

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Henry Lein
Stanford, US
Dec 11, 2013 11:36 pm EST

I noticed this charge as well -- a week after returning the car! The agent did *not* ask me if I wanted this, did not explain it, and the contract does not explain what it is anywhere on the page. Really bad form.

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wm.Anderson
Burbank, US
Aug 01, 2016 3:34 am EDT

I rented a truck from budget, for 5/3/11 pick up date.at 10am, I arrived early, The place was a dirty little hole in the wall, when i went in the office with my wife, It was as dirty as the out side, Two young people sat in their chairs, one young man did not even look up, he was texting, and the young lady ask me what i want, I said i am here to pick up a truck and tow dolly, She said the tow dolly was not their yet, So she could not write it up, I told her to call me when it come in, I live with in 5 miles, I would come back, I waited two hours, no call, so i called her, Sorry no tow dolly yet.I waited another hour, At this point i called budget and canceled, I paid two workers, who where to help me move and i was man as hell, Then the young lady from the rental place called four hours later and said the tow dolly had arrived, sorry i told her, I canceled.And i will never rent a budget truck, are car again, ever. even though Ryder is more, And the drop off point is farther away up where i am moving.I would never give my lic. and credit card to a place that looked like a pig pin.The address was: "7506 clybourn, sun valley, ca.91352"Budget C.E.O.'s bosses need to take a hard look at where they are putting their rental lots, I for one will never rent from Budget and will tell my friends the same.
Bill from burbank

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youtube.com/igotscrewed1
, US
Apr 08, 2011 11:42 pm EDT
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We (I Got Screwed) are helping you spread the word regarding your complaint via our Youtube and Twitter accounts. Hopefully someone from budget will contact you to appropriately address your issues and concerns. If they do, please let us know. Here's the link to a video we did on you behalf: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taEYZes9Rc0&feature=channel_video_title)