Budget Rent A Car review: Car rental charges and missed flight cost

My rental confirmation # was 41141179US2. The vehicle was picked up on November 2, 2023, and returned November 6, 2023, in San Antonio, TX. Due to the negligence of Budget to provide a properly equipped vehicle, inaccurate records (the tag on the vehicle did not match the actual vehicle we were in - the tag belonged to a BLUE Honda Pilot and we were in a WHITE Honda Pilot), and the time it took to obtain "approval" for a tow/transportation to San Antonio, we missed our flight home and had to rebook at an extreme cost of ~$1,300. Additionally, we have recently been charged an additional $1,009 for which we did not receive notification nor substantiation of the cost both charges causing debt and financial duress. We received credit for 1/2 of the rental fee, plus an ancillary $160 charge (presume the tire and/or fuel since we were unable to fill the tank before returning) for the "inconvenience". I am requesting a full refund of the $1,009 as well as reimbursement for the flight home, and the remaining 50% of the rental for this unresolved matter and duress caused.

1. I went through the Clear process to rent a car so we could quickly and easily pick up a vehicle and leave the airport, skipping the "window", however, a car was not available upon arrival at the designated parking lot location we were instructed to go to.

2. Upon going to the counter, I was provided with the only vehicle available which would accommodate our family & luggage - a WHITE Honda Pilot with existing damage.

3. While en route from Del Rio, TX to San Antonio, TX on Nov. 6th (return drive to airport for the flight home), a low tire pressure message came up on the vehicle screen. We immediately pulled over to check the tire, which was indeed low and going flat.

4. Note: the particular stretch of road we were on was in a very desolate area between Del Rio and Uvalde, TX - limited cell reception, and a lot of nothing nearby.

5. The vehicle was not equipped with either a spare tire nor a "fix-it" kit.

6. We called Roadside Assistance. The rep requested the number on the key tag -- they could not locate the vehicle/rental based on this number. I provided the license plate number, which was registered to a Blue vehicle, not a White one. Later research on this would reflect the tag on the vehicle did not match the registration. This error in record keeping/license tag delayed providing us timely assistance contributing to our missed flight.

7. Budget placed us at risk by providing a vehicle not appropriately or correctly registered to the vehicle we were driving.

8. Roadside Assistance attempted to arrange an Uber (at their cost) to pick us up and take us to San Antonio airport, however, due to the desolate area and distance to San Antonio, Uber was not available.

9. It would take approximately ~2 hours for Roadside to obtain "approval" (Who this approval had to come from, I don't know) to send a tow/transportation for us.

10. Had this "approval" occurred sooner, we might possibly not have missed our flight; had the vehicle been equipped with a spare or "fix-it" kit, we would not have missed our flight.

11. I was very concerned about how we would get home given we would miss our flight, knowing a flight home booked this late would be extremely expensive. Roadside assured me we would not be charged for the rental, etc., and transferred us to Customer Service to speak to them about the cost of the rebooked flight because Roadside could not help with that.

12. While speaking to Customer Service, the call was dropped -- we did not receive the courtesy of a return call.

13. We called customer service back (while waiting on the tow) and they indicated we would have to speak with Roadside about the flight home. At this point, we are tired, it is dark (scary, felt unsafe), and panicking about how we are going to get home/what we are going to do -- and seemingly, Budget did not care.

14. The tow finally made it to us (from the time we first called Roadside to this point), it has been over 3.5 hours. According to the tow truck driver, they were ready to go and had been waiting for the "approval" -- they could have been to us sooner if the approval had not taken so long.

15. The tow had instruction to drop us off at the Budget Rental place. By time we arrived at the Budget rental place in San Antonio (an off airport lot), Budget was closed so we were left standing in a lot in the middle of the night, alone and without any assistance offered by Budget.

16. I have posted our issues on social media (@Budget) and sent multiple emails to customer service and socialinfo since our return, all without any resolve.