Budget Rent A Car
reviews and complaints

I and my husband had a bad experience with Budget Rental Car. We had rented the car for 4 days. When we reached the San Diego Budget Rental, the sales person told us about charges for insurance. When we said our AAA will cover them then he said but there are something AAA wont cover etc. etc. and that we would be stuck with no car if there is an accident and will forfeit all our money. They have come up all possible loopholes and so many choices that the customers gets frustated and take their recommendation. They also charged for more than half of gas tank by tricking us onto it. Result $300 for 4 nights rental!
Vandana

I have had a similar experience with budget. There were many discrepancies with the final bill. When talking to their alleged "customer care" I was informed that there wouldn't be any help . I was very disappointed and wound up paying 250 dollars more than originally agreeded upon. I would recommend not to rent from Budget

WRITE TO THE BETTER BUSINESS AARP &THE ATTORNEY GENRAL OFFICE I GOT RIPPED OFF AT WILKES -BARRE SCRANTON AIRPORT L AST WEEK WHEN ON THE INTERNET IT WAS 158.00 BEFORE I RENTED AND AFTER I RENTED THEY CHARGED ME 276.00 BECAUSE I FORGOT MY GLASSES AND THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF A SENIOR CITIZEN CONTRACT [protected] TRUST ME THEY WILL PAY 100 TIMES THE PRICE THEY CHARGED ME

Ummm, you guys sound like losers. Why are you calling at midnight anyway?

A manager will only be in anywhere from 9 - 4 weekdays, or anyone worth talking to anyway.

And about your 30 minutes of waiting...I'm sure you don't b&m this much when you wait 3 hours in line at Disneyland for a ride that lasts less than a minute.

And just so you know, most companies won't do pre-payment from over the internet. You only book online. That's something the websites do to get your info.

And most places have a km/mi limit because you would take that car from Canada to Mexico at that price. However, you can usually convince them to put a one-time fee on your bill for going out of area, which is a lot less than what you should be paying for putting 1000+ km on a car that you would only have for a week.

As for the cash incident, contact corporate. They will force the local office to investigate. Please contact me if you need any help with that.

I totally sympathize and agree with you.

I was very badly treated by Budget twice. Never again. Particularly that location at the Toronto airport. The attendants there are pathetic, have a lousy attitude, lazy, inconsiderate, slow like molasses. It took them 30 minutes just to process paper work for a car that I already booked and paid for online.

And when you book on-line, it does not tell you that you are limited to 200 kg per day...you get this surprise only after you have singed up and paid, and once they have your credit card, they play God with you and you are under their mercy.

Also, I tried on the toll-free number of Budget, and I waited for 30 minutes at 12 midnight and no one came on the line to help. At 12 midnight? Surely they are not that busy ! They are sleeping !

I will never ever use Budget again. They are the worst I have ever experienced in car rental.

Budget is the absolute worst. That one by the airport is particularly nasty. Be careful of Budget.

I was estimated one price and charged another based on a mistake a employee or company has made. When I received the bmw and accepted the price was 318 dollars, I accepted that rate not a rate of 168 dollars a day. If there was to be a rate increase I should have been notified at the time of accepting the vehicle not afterward. I have my E receipt were it states returned and the price of 318.73..Once I called and complained about it they changed the receipt in their system. ... rip off I need a attorney

I rented a car from budget in Sterling, VA for 3 days. I decided to return the car in 2 days. So, I filled up the tank the same way I got it and return the car. After the inspection, the guy who check me out tells me that the gas tank is not full. I looked at the fuel gauge and it was on full. I told him that it is on full and he told me that no it is not. I showed to him that it is on the full and he keep saying that is not. He was trying to fool me so he can get more money out of me. At the end after a lot of yelling and screaming he agreed not to charge me. This was such a unprofessional customer service that I have ever seen. He was very rude and I had to raise my voice on him. Several times I felt like he is going to attack me. Be very careful when you go to that location. They are bunch of crooks. It is located in the Sears auto center in Sterling, VA. I will never go there again.

I booked a PACKAGE through Alaska Airlines for airfare choosing car rental from Budget in the package(PKG Conf #XL7500CB). We were traveling with friends, only carry-on luggage. We decided that a Compact Car was adequate for our needs. When we got to Kona HI the "nice" counterperson insisted 4 adults + carryon bags would not fit in a Nissan Versa Htchbk. Aft much debate & a growing line we tried to go up a class and were told all they had avail was SUV or Lux Lincoln which he'd give to us at price of SUV as our friend was ret'd military. Aft much back & forth to car/building & disagreeable discussion we ended up paying "only" an EXTRA $45/day + taxes (totaling $509.55 OVER what we prepaid in flight/car pkg!). The guy knew we weren't happy yet did nothing to suggest alternative, reminding us it was the wk before the IRON MAN TRIATHALON so nothing more avail (altho there were many cars on the lot) and told us we should have ordered a bigger car with the pkg. Trust me the Versa would have been fine for us but he wouldn't give it to us. We signed the agreement to get out of there & let others get their cars but we were definitely coerced into not only a bigger car, but a LUXURY vehicle. I feel they were trying to take advantage of the special event to rip us off. I want Alaska Air to know that with this type of business dealings, they should consider whether it's wise to partner with Budget. I WON'T be purchasing packages any more thru the airline as it seems to have burned us in this circumstance!

I have been standing inline in Philly for 45 minutes - 1 slow clerk - what kind of outfit are you running

I work for a car rental company and one thing i have noticed is customers NEVER seem to read the terms and conditions on the rental contract or NEVER read posted signs telling them where to return there car and the hours of bussiness operations there of. Yet they turn around and say they are where not aware of this or that charge on there bill. Another thing I notice is many customers decline the coverage and NEVER inspect there vehicles and yet they have the nerve to dispute the damage we find on there vehicle. The overall ATTITUDE I get from customers is "I want my rental car to cost me next to nothing and I'm not responsible if its damaged". How can a rental car company stay in bussiness with THIS going on? You hear customers say they will just go to another company if you charge them for damage THEY might have done just because they failed to look the car over before leaving. This is just SO petty. I feel sorry for the next rental car company that offers to take there bussiness.

I rented from Budget in St. John's Newfoundland. They ripped me off for $400.00 . I wanted to give my Credit card a break and decided to pay some of the amount with my debit card. I put $400.00 down on it. When I checked my Mastercard statement on line, I was taken back by the fact that they had taken the full amount of the bill plus they still had my $400.00. It has been a week now and I still don't have it back. If there are any Brother Masons and Shryners out there please be aware of this Compnay. They do not run a fare and honest business. I for one will never rent from them again. If you have any questions about this statement please e-mail me.

Budget is a ripoff. I rented a car at Norfolk Airport. My plans then changed and I wanted to return it at Raleigh Durham 120 miles away. I was told there was a $640. drop off fee to Raleigh Durham. I have never paid more than $50. to drop off at a different location. DON'T RENT FROM BUDGET.

I rented a car from Budget Car Rental for 2 days and returned the car with a full tank of gas. However, a week later I recieved a bill for $70.44 for refueling cost but the car listed on this invoice was completely different from the car I rented (listed was a black ford mustang and I had a white chevy cobalt!) They will only reverse the charges if I come up with a printed receipt for the gas~ even though I have my American Express Bill for a Exxon Mobil gas charge the day I returned the car! I think this is a scam Budget is making alot of money on. Budget should be sued!

We rented a car at the budget toronto airport from16th of March till 18th of March. And the day we picked up our car, there's a women and she wanted us to pay for cash for one day coverage and one day baby car seat. but, it was 2days rented..but, we were too tired and just paid it for cash. It was around 35$ and she gave me a paper with a signature..not a real receipt. But, we were too tired and thought we can pay it later when we pick it off. But, when we came back there's another guy at the buget in toronto airport.

He was the manager and keep saying that they don't take cash at the front desk. But, obviously she did. And we had to pay 2days coverage and 2days car seat and gas. with all the taxes , we paid 144 dollar. We double paid for one night coverage and one night car seat! We had to wait there with a baby over 30mins and tried to explain that we paid cash and showed them the paper that she gave me.

But, they're not trying to contact her..saying it 's too early to call her..blah blah..so, we had to pay it cuz we had to leave in 30mins to take an airplane..I really want them to check fast with the women that night around 1 :00am and give my money back. They're keep saying that it's not the policy to take cash there but, she did. I'm so angry for budget Toronto airport one..and thinking about suing them..all the inconvenience that they caused and stresses..they should make it organize better for what they're doing! How can an employer doesn't know what the employees going? That's ridiculous..And I'm not going to use budge ever again! They should call me back after they check with that women! They got my phone number but, didn't call me back yet!

I had a similar experience with EuropeCar plus they were VERY rude to me? Didn't I read the conditions, etc.? Maybe, it is ignorant, but what I read was the line that said "Amount due at pickup." That amount was 152 dollars NOT the 492 I had to pay.

Someone should do something about this Irish scam. My brother had the same problem with Avis. He had rented his car with frequent user miles and then had to come up with an extra 400 at the airport - you can bet that hurt his trip.