Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Budget
2000 South Western
Chicago Heights, Illinois
United States
Phone: 773-847-6989
www.budgettruck.com

I called on 5/29 in regards to renting a 24' truck. An employee (Pablo) at the 2000 South Western location in Chicago said that he had one and I could come get it. I was relieved because I had tried 3 location before that one. I showed up with my father and we walked into the office and Pablo had me complete all the paperwork in his office trailer except the damage inspection report. He informed me that all vehicles are on a full tank of gas and that they must be returned on a full tank or I will be charged for filling it up. After completing the paperwork, he then took me outside to the lot behind the trailer and unlocked the gate where the truck was kept. This was the only truck in the lot. We walked around the vehicle and he pointed on the dents and notated it on the paper. He had me sign the damage form and handed me the keys and asked if I needed to be guided out. I said yes, because this is the first time I've driven a truck this big. I got in and was really nervous but he guided me out and after pulling off the lot, I seen that the gas tank was just a little over a 1/4 of a tank. I called Pablo from my cell phone immediately and informed him that he had me sign for a full tank but there was only a 1/4 tank in there. He said "Really?... I'm sorry I don't know how that happened. Don't worry about it, just let them know when you turn it in." I was leery of the situation and I asked was he sure. He said "you'll be fine... have them call me if you have any problems, I'm always here." I hung-up then called back again because I remembered that he forgot the hand truck. He was really apologetic and instructed me to come on back. My father and I came back and Pablo met us on the side with the hand truck. I asked if he could give me any paperwork to make sure I would be cool with the gas and he said, "don't worry, you'll be okay. If they give you a hard time, just call me." We packed the truck and hit the road at about 4:30am the next morning. The ride was long but we made it to Atlanta at about 7:30pm on 5/30/08. We unloaded the truck the next day but we didn't finish until after close of business at the Destination Dealer. I wanted to just drop the truck off at the location but my intuition made me want to make sure we wouldn't have any issues with the gas. Therefore, I waited until Monday at 2:45 (Est) to drop it off. I informed the dealer of the gas situation and they shook their head and said that they'll call the Dispatching Dealer but once you sign for it you're stuck. This let me know this is not an abnormal thing that happens. He said he would call back to Chicago. When he did, they said they didn't remember anything but they would check the paperwork. The guy on the phone also said that maybe it was his brother who rented it out. However, it sounded like Pablo because I was on the line. He came back and said he remembers the hand truck but nothing about the gas. I became furious and still am. I called Customer Service and they weren't very helpful. They said if the Dispatching Dealer denies it, there's nothing they can do. (I was speaking with Destiny). I was really upset and I asked to speak to a manager. She said she was transferring me, however, I was on hold so long that I ran out of minutes on my phone. Too make a long story short, they still charged me more than $100 in gas plus a $25 fee and they were not motivated at all about talking to their dishonest employee about it.