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4.2 1852 Reviews

Budget Rent A Car Complaints Summary

63 Resolved
379 Unresolved
Our verdict: With Budget Rent A Car's very poor resolution rate, careful consideration is needed. Research their service comprehensively, and read up on how they handle customer disputes. If you face issues, be prepared for potential challenges in obtaining resolutions and explore other service providers as backups.
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3:39 pm EDT
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Budget Rent A Car unauthorized billing - scam

On 9/11/08, I entered into a one way (Georgia to Fort Lauderdale, FL) 5 day truck rental agreement with Budget Truck Rental (separate billing and payment from this dispute).
Upon my arrival on 9/15/08 and subsequent unloading, I called Budget for information on the drop off location - Budget Truck Rental of Hollywood 3101 N. State Road 7 Hollywood, FL. 33021. I was told that the location had closed at 6:00 pm and that they had a drop box that I could use and that they were a "corporate center". I decided to wait for rush hour traffic to subside and my wife's arrival from work in order to get a ride back home. We left the house at approximately 9:00 pm and stopped at a Hess Gas Station (time, dated and addressed receipt made available to Budget's Customer Service Rep.) along the way to top off the fuel tank. Upon my arrival at Budget Truck Rental of Hollywood, I parked the truck, locked the doors and dropped the key and documents into a drop box.

On Saturday 9/20/08 while on line I noticed an unauthorized debit on my card in the amount of $234.58 from Budget Truck Rental. I immediately called Customer Service and was told that the charge was due to the truck having been delivered two days late (in reality I delivered the truck 12 hours early) and disputed the charge. After several vexing calls thereafter to Budget's Franchise and Customer Service, I was only offered to "meet me half way" which I refused as I found this offer unacceptable.

It "seems" that:

I was mislead as to the drop box and "corporate center" status of the franchise location.

A large 24' Diesel Budget Rental Truck (parked in front of a small building (this was not a corporate center as advised) on a nearly empty lot is not seen or processed by two Budget Franchise employees (Mr. Christian Delgadillo, the owner and Mr. Marcus Williams, his assistant) till two and a half days later.

It also turns out that the drop box I was advised to use “does not exist” and the drop box I used belongs to another business in this small (as there are three businesses associated in this building - J & S Painting, J & R Title Loans and Budget Truck Rental of Hollywood) building and the key was not therefore made available till an employee from J & R Title Loans decided to "turn in the key" to the Budget Franchise - two and a half days later on Thursday, September 18th, 2008. FYI, distance between the two businesses: one wall thickness!

It is my contention, that the events that have transpired are borderline fraudulent, and at best, bad business practices for both the local franchise and Budget Car Rental, Inc. What follows is a Time Line of Events in my futile attempt at resolution of these unjust and unwarranted charge.

Read full review of Budget Rent A Car and 3 comments
Update by Francisco C
Sep 24, 2008 3:36 pm EDT

On 9/11/08, I entered into a one way (Georgia to Fort Lauderdale, FL) 5 day truck rental agreement with Budget Truck Rental (separate billing and payment from this dispute).
Upon my arrival on 9/15/08 and subsequent unloading, I called Budget for information on the drop off location - Budget Truck Rental of Hollywood 3101 N. State Road 7 Hollywood, FL. 33021. I was told that the location had closed at 6:00 pm and that they had a drop box that I could use and that they were a "corporate center". I decided to wait for rush hour traffic to subside and my wife's arrival from work in order to get a ride back home. We left the house at approximately 9:00 pm and stopped at a Hess Gas Station (time, dated and addressed receipt made available to Budget's Customer Service Rep.) along the way to top off the fuel tank. Upon my arrival at Budget Truck Rental of Hollywood, I parked the truck, locked the doors and dropped the key and documents into a drop box.

On Saturday 9/20/08 while on line I noticed an unauthorized debit on my card in the amount of $234.58 from Budget Truck Rental. I immediately called Customer Service and was told that the charge was due to the truck having been delivered two days late (in reality I delivered the truck 12 hours early) and disputed the charge. After several vexing calls thereafter to Budget's Franchise and Customer Service, I was only offered to "meet me half way" which I refused as I found this offer unacceptable.

It "seems" that:

I was mislead as to the drop box and "corporate center" status of the franchise location.

A large 24' Diesel Budget Rental Truck (parked in front of a small building (this was not a corporate center as advised) on a nearly empty lot is not seen or processed by two Budget Franchise employees (Mr. Christian Delgadillo, the owner and Mr. Marcus Williams, his assistant) till two and a half days later.

It also turns out that the drop box I was advised to use “does not exist” and the drop box I used belongs to another business in this small (as there are three businesses associated in this building - J & S Painting, J & R Title Loans and Budget Truck Rental of Hollywood) building and the key was not therefore made available till an employee from J & R Title Loans decided to "turn in the key" to the Budget Franchise - two and a half days later on Thursday, September 18th, 2008. FYI, distance between the two businesses: one wall thickness!

It is my contention, that the events that have transpired are borderline fraudulent, and at best, bad business practices for both the local franchise and Budget Car Rental, Inc. What follows is a Time Line of Events in my futile attempt at resolution of these unjust and unwarranted charge.

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Jason Seale
Burnaby, CA
Jun 10, 2011 4:11 pm EDT

I NEED help. Budget Truck and Car rentals from Vancouver Gilmore Street location is committing insurance fraud. There doesn’t seem anything I can do; can someone recommend a course of action I could take? I’ll explain my situation fully so you understand what happened.

On March 25th 2011 I rented a truck just after 5pm from Budget. I took it to my apartment complex and parked it in a large, obstruction free zone. I did my load, move, and unload that night. I returned the vehicle with ZERO incidents at 7:30 AM, just in front of the store, and dropped the keys off.

It was reported to me over TWO MONTHS later on May 30th by first a $336 charge on my VISA, a couple of days later I get a letter in the mail stating they found a dent. So what happened to the vehicle from my drop off time to a mysterious $336 charge on my VISA? This should have been reported to me BEFORE the truck was rented to anyone else, so I could have come and visibly seen what they were claiming.

I am shown one black and white photo where I can see no damage at all (I can barely see that it’s a picture of a truck). I challenged the quality of the photo saying I can’t see anything and Budget actually wrote me saying, “We have tried different ways to take the pictures with cameras, phones etc and the black berry seems to do a better job.” They also no longer have the picture on file, so I’ll never be able to see it in color (or a date stamp on it).

Budget’s ‘audit’ of damage process prior to pick up didn’t actual verify that area was dent free on initial inspection (upper cab area above the drivers side). It is important for the purpose of comparison to validate a dent free area vs. where they are claiming the damage currently. I looked at trim, tires and front hood area.

NOW, that I am trying to dispute this, they are threatening me…HELP ME PLEASE.

In regards to the repairs needed to the truck, Budget first told me, “We chose to have the dent fixed, rather than replace the panel which would have exceeded the $1000.00.” I guess they were saying that they did me a favor, BUT if a dent can be fixed, why would they consider replacing it?
I challenged this, saying I didn’t want any cost, fix or replaced, since I knew I didn’t cause the damage. This upset Budget, and they started to threaten me, they said, “The truck in question has not been fixed it will go to the manufacturer that built the box and if properly repaired the bill will be over $1000.00..So when we get the estimate I will be happy to send it to you.” And then their manager reiterated this by also saying, “To properly repair the vehicle back to the condition it was prior to your rental would cost well over $1, 000 so for customer service reasons we decided to only bill you $336.00 and do a partial repair. In light of your concerns Budget will send the vehicle to the manufacturer and obtain a proper estimate and adjust your invoice.” So, Janine Potter, their Claims Manager is threatening me to charge me more…when I’m saying I shouldn’t be charged at all, this is their customer service? What’s a partial repair?

I am being attacked by this company, can someone please help me? What rights do I have?
Needless to day, Budget is in bed with the devil (or they are the devil), and I will NEVER do business with them again. I hope all who reads this will do the same.

I
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IrritatedwithBudget
Sacramento, US
Oct 03, 2009 1:17 pm EDT

I too have had a terrible experience with Budget Truck Rental. I returned the truck on a Sunday, when it wasn't due back until Wednesday at a Sacramento, CA location located in downtown. The location was supposed to be open until 12 noon. We arrived at 11:30 and the door was locked and lights were off. Clearly they had closed down early. The truck was filled with gas that morning around the corner from the location. I have a receipt to prove it. I too checked my on line credit card statement and saw a Budget Truck Rental charge of $214. When I called the customer service number I was told that the fuel line had been cut and gas siphoned. Because the location had closed early, I had to put the keys in the drop box, even though we rushed around Sunday morning to get the truck there on time so it could be returned to a human being. Apparently, I am responsible for any damage done to the truck until the keys are retrieved from the drop box. I have called customer service several times and every time I call I get a different answer as to what I am being charged for. I have heard the fuel line thing, graffiti and fuel, misc. damage and fuel, and also just that it wasn't filled up at all. I am completely frustrated and enraged about the way this situation has been handled, or the lack there of. If you are considering a move, do not go with Budget. Once they have your over $1600 for the truck, they will continue to find reasons to charge you even more. Terrible customer service and borderline fraudulent practices in regards to the "misc." charges.

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ROSALIND SMITH
,
Oct 16, 2008 2:41 pm EDT

I would like to lodge a complaint regarding my Budget Rental experience. I was miss guided/wrongly informed regarding the insurance portion and charged, when it should have been explained correctly. I expressed my concern and disagreement but signed form to ensure the car was covered even though I have car insurance and was covered under my insurance and that was told to represenative but inisited that I should sign for the coverage, otherwise if I had an accident the car would be solely my responsibility. I was headed to a funeral of a close family member and not on my toes but not clear on why this had changed but I plan to check-up later before turning the car in or making a call to the company, which I did and found out the information given was not ture. I discussed with a represenative upon car return and discussion was going in the wrong direction I was bascially accussed of lieing without the words coming out of his mouth. I ended the conversation not to be late for my departure and refused to sign document provided and requested that a manager/supv give me a call to discuss further. I have discussed this with a Mr. Arthur Jackson @ DFW Rental manager. Pending closure to date. If I can get any help with this issue on correcting a wrong, please give me a call or send me an email [protected], this situation has upset me greatly! Thanks

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4:49 pm EDT

Budget Rent A Car over-charged and wrongly charged

I rented a van so I could move a mattress, I returned the van 3 hours after picking it up with a full tank of gas. I calculated my expected total at no more than $80 which included a daily rate, insurance, and mileage rate. My bill came to $123 so I believe I was charged a $30 fee unjustly.

Then I got charged a $50 from a Budget office in Denver. I have no idea why this would be charged to me. I called the Santa Rosa office and asked for them to explain the billing. The employee asked if he could call me back and never did. I have since left them a polite message with my situation and no one has responded. I am filing a claim through my card holder.

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CJ
,
Nov 25, 2008 4:54 pm EST

Very vague in your complaint. What extra charges are we talking about?
Did you call Customer Service to resolve the issue? [protected]. They are pretty good at solving issues like yours. Did you make two reservation and did not cancel one?.

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2:17 pm EDT

Budget Rent A Car budget rental nightmare in guatemala

In May this year I had the worst car rental experience in my whole life - I'm travel agent and rented more than 1000 cars in my life but never had such a bad experience and I cannot tell you how extremely upset I am.

I had to decide pretty shortly to fly to Guatemala City then rent a car, ride to South Mexico, pick up some stuff from a resort I'm connected to, get some paper work signed and confirmed by a lawyer and then by a notary, return back to Guatemala, head to the the Northern border, unload my stuff and return back to Guatemala City. I knew that it might be difficult to cross the border to Mexico and therefore I tried to find a reliable rental company that allow to take the car to Mexico.
I had to make maybe 7 or 8 phone calls from Europe, first found one company that later told me that it was not possible and then found Budget. I explained that I had to ride to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, and then back to Guatemala and that I needed to be in Mexico for 3 days and everything seemed to be OK.
To confirm I asked for an email address and I confirmed to the counter of Budget in Guatemala, received a confirmation from them and everything seemed to work out fine.
I had asked to get permission for the days of May 23, May 24 and May 25, 2008 and they confirmed.
When I reached I was very surprised that they told me that I had to purchase the insurance immediately. I crossed the border to Mexico from many spots and knew that there were insurance companies in the border towns and usually purchased the insurance there for approximatly 45 US$ a week. I usually then buy an insurance from ING insurance - they allow credit card payment and include a total care package into their rate where you can call a number in case you have any problem and they pick you up and fix everything - Budget in Guatemala City told me I had to purchase the insurance from them for 45 US$ per day and there was no care package. (By the way: Now they told me that I would not be allowed more than 350 Miles into Mexico - they did not mention this before and it's not on their website - but that should not be a problem!).
I asked again for 3 days of insurance.

In the end they gave me a lot of papers, made me sign the rental agreement and handed a permission to me to ride into Mexico the requested days. But I didn't receive any insurance policy and I asked for it. They answered I would not need that - they never had problems.

I have been living in Mexico for almost 5 months and I knew that this could be a huge problem - if you cannot prove that your car is insured they sometimes arrest you and ask lot of money - so I asked for the written confirmation. They said I was the first one who asked for these papers and they could not deliver this now. They promised that they would send the papers to my email adress and then when I reach the border I could print out this paper. I was not very comfortable but saw no other solution and left the office.

The next day I left Guatemala City pretty early and reached the border around 9.30 am. I did all the immigration and customs and crossed to the other side - there was no Internet cafe in the whole village and I had to continue to the next town to print out my insurance papers. Within the first 5 Miles I have been stoped by a check-point - I didn't have my insurance and they asked 800 Pesos for violating Mexican law. I had a lot of discussions and in the end after trying and trying the policeman agreed that I paid 200 Pesos to him - he wanted more and it took a lot of words to finally make him agree.
It was a hassle.

I reached the next village and finally found an Internet cafe, checked my email and there were no papers. I had to phone from Mexico to Guatemala and asked for the insurance and they promised to forward immediately and I waited and waited and nothing reached. At 11.20 I sent an email and I called again. They said they would send and again nothing happened and I waited and waited. I could not continue as I didn't have the insurance papers. At 12 noon I finally received the papers and I was very surprised that I received insurance just till May 25 12.noon so just for 2 days.

I called again but then continued my travel as I had the confirmation of insurance now and could continue without hassle.
Approximately 40 Miles past the border there's another customs check-point where you have to purchase the tourist license and I wanted to get this sticker. The officer asked for the insurance papers and then asked me for how many days I'm going to need the turist license. I told him for 3 and he declined. He said he could not give the license for more than the insurance lasts and not have the car licensed longer than May 25 at noon. It was a catastrophe.
I had to return into the next town approximately 7 Miles and in the meantime called Budget in Guatemala for the 5th time. I tried to speak to the same guy - he had left for lunch. So I spoke to a lady and later to somebody who seemed a supervisor to me. We discussed more than 10 minutes and I told him that I didn't want to spend more money on phone calls as this was extremely expensive and I asked to get the insurance papers for 3 days right away and he agreed.
So I looked for another Internet cafe and checked my email account and nothing happened. I called again and it looked as if nobody knew about my problem and I really freaked out and yelled into the phone that I wanted my papers immediately. I hang up and waited and nothing happened. At around 2.30pm it was enough and I searched for a rental company to rent a car that I could use without risking to get arrested or pay high fines and I found Thrifty and rented a car - it was a bad solution as this car was too small but I thought I could leave some of my stuff over at the place and pick it up next year or whenever I see an option to pick it up. I had to leave as I was already much too late for a first appointment. I rented this car at 3.21 pm in Tapachula approximately 30 Miles from the border and left my Budget car there and continued much too late and with a car much too small - it was a pain but at least I could continue.
Maybe you get aware that I left the border 6 hours after I reached the Guatemalan side.
I tried to re-organise my first appointment and found out that the paper work that we had to arrange with a lawyer could not been done as the moment when I should arrive the lawyer would have left for a weekend trip. It was an even bigger catastrophe - I invested some money into this resort and I arranged that the lawyer would write the title and the notary would by exception finalize the statement on Sunday so that I could return with my investment safe and not worry - now as the lawyer could not wait 5 1/2 hours more the whole plan spoilt and I had to cancel the appointment for Sunday morning with the notary too - one part of my trip from Europe did just not work out and till today I do not have a confirmation to secure my money, will have to fly over again and get this done to have a secure way to get back my investment - this is so unbelievable but it's not the end of this horror story:

I reached my final destination completely tired and 5 1/2 hours too late and packed my things together the next day. I stuffed into this VW Jetta whatever I could and had to leave some stuff over there - knowing that I'll have to ride there again, have to transfer the rest again through the whole of Guatemala and then finally send all the rest of my stuff back to Europe.
As my appointment for Sunday did not work out I could return earlier on Sunday and droped the Thrifty car and continued with the Budget car and did what I had to do the next days.
I reached the Budget office in Guatemala City at approximately 2.45 pm on Friday - wanted to do some shopping in Guatemala City after returning the car but this didn't work out neither: Everything was Ok with the car and they checked out at 3pm. I told about my story, had already sent several emails - told the consequences and they asked me to wait till the sales manager returned which would happen in approximateky 15 minutes. After 30 minutes the lady at the counter said he did not return but wanted to talk to me on the phone and after I explained the story again. He offered to give one free day to me which I didn't want to accept. I told him that I spent 20 US$ for the policeman, approximately 50 US$ on phone calls to Guatemala, 7 US$ for Internet use and printing, approximately 5 US$ gasoline in addition and 196.43 US$ for another rental car and I would not agree to get 65 US$ refunded as a free day. I spent approximately 270 US$ in addition and lost 5 1/2 hours and would not accept.
I said that I then would not accept the invoice and would write "not accepted" onto the credit card slip. That was when they decided not to hand out one of the virging credit card slips that I signed for security reasons and I asked this slip back. They refused.
I asked them to call the police as now I wanted this to be arranged by the police but they refused. Mrs.Maria Gonzales either sales manager or marketing manager reached and said that my reservation was not clear and it was a mis-understanding from both parties and she would not refund more. Can you imagine that I spent additional 1 hour and 45 minutes there before they finally agreed to hand over the virging credit card slip? Can you imagine that these people even spoilt my last day shopping in town? Can you imagine that these people (don't let me call them by the names that come spontaneously into my mind when I think of those people - as it's all the bad words I remember!) spoilt more than 7 hours of my time and 270 US$ of my money and do not want to take responsibility?

I could prove that I made reservation for 3 days insurance for Mexico! Here's a part of their confirmation (In Spanish):

"...es un placer de confirmar su reservacion de un Kia Magentis
por xxxxxx
llegando al aeropuerto den Guatemala City el ... de Mayo 2008 a las ...
y volviendo con el carro el ... de Mayo a las ... con permiso por 3 dias para conducir a Mexico." this means exactly: "with allowance for 3 days to drive in Mexico..." and nothing else!
This is a very clear reservation and they confirmed!

But that's not all: They have an offer to get Miles for the rental onto your flying Miles account - I asked for it and they didn't give it to me.
It's not the end:
Some days later I filled the form of Budget Customer service with the matter. I sent the form and received an email to confirm reception of the form and they promised to get back to me, but nothig happened. 5 days later did the same, filled the form again, received the confirmation email and nobody got in touch with me.
I finally called Budget customer service in the States from Europe and got in touch with S..., a very friendly customer service representative and told the whole story (22 minutes call) and she finally asked me to send the whole story via email, told me that it could take up to 6 weeks.
I sent an email after 7 weeks - no answer, then one week later, no answer and I called again and she told me that some days before 108.57 US$ had been refunded to my credit card - wow - you spend 270 US$ additiobal for their ignorance and they credit you one day (65 US$) and 108 US$. So, as a customer of such a company you pay 100 US$ on your own, lose 7 hours, miss appointments and get pissed and they just give you some tips?
ooooops, sorry - it's not yet over.

I waited and waited and after some time sent an email to Budget: No refund received - no answer. I sent another email and received the message: "Please ask your bank why this takes so long".
Now, 3 weeks and 5 days after they should have refunded this money there is still no refund. I called customer service yesterday, asked for a supervisor, and got in touch with J..., and J... was not very friendly - in the end he even hang up on me. Can you imagine how much this company pissed me off and then the supervisor hang-up on me? and I'm still waiting for my money.
Man, I will be praying the moment this endless nightmare will be over. Do you think I'll ever rent from Budget again?

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10:04 am EDT

Budget Rent A Car unauthorized charges

I rented a truck to move from Toccoa Ga the Lawrence ville, When I turned my truck in on Sunday the 24th, I filled the tank in accordance with Budget contract. I couldn't get another drop in it, it was FULL. Imagine my surprise when I noticed an additional unauthorized charge to my bank account, and upon calling the budget store found it was for FUEL. 3 gal of fuel and I was charged 41 dollars, the additional was for a fuel fill charge. Not only that the gentleman I spoke to was extremely rude, and I felt like he thought I was just a "stupid" woman, so lets add sex discrimination to the list.

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brooke
,
Nov 01, 2008 10:03 am EDT

They also charged us a $65 fee for refueling and we filled our tank up. When we went to pick up the truck the woman there told my mom and i the we had to have a man to drive the truck and put the tow dolly on because we wouldnt be strong enough to do it. Weve been on the phone with customer service all morning and one person hung up on us!

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11:40 am EDT
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Budget Rent A Car - insurance fraud

The budget sales rep asked me while renting the car if I wanted insurance. I said I was declining insurance. The sales lady said, "If you are declining insurance, initial here in the highlighted area". The area she highlighted was to accept the insurance. I initialed in the highlighted area and was charged $15/day insurance when I returned the car. The...

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Budget Rent A Car bad service

Budget Rental Car gave me a car with 2 rows of seats, then switched me to another different car and consequently created time pressure to reach my next appointment. I noticed a brush on the bumper but it seemed minor and didn't mention anything as it seemed like nothing. When I returned Michael Webster said the bumper was actually damaged and that it was my responsibility to cover it. We were not in an accident, but Michael said that his people would not have made a mistake, and that this was my fault. I feel as though I have been through a robbery after using Budget Rental Car. I would not recommend using either Budget and one should carefully avoid the Seattle SeaTac Airport. This was the station manager that I was dealing with and he is running an operation there that doesn't check carefully cars going out but does check them very carefully coming in, and he will hang repairs on unsuspecting customers with no hesitation. They need to cover losses and don't care whether it is done justly.

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Budget Rent A Car scam and fraud

A couple of weeks ago, on April 29, 2008 we returned to Canada from a wonderful three week holiday in Israel and Jordan. Our holiday was only marred by Budget s surreal response when our rental car broke down 25 minutes outside Jerusalem. What follows is a story of inconceivably bad customer service which left us stranded on the road for 6 hours, ruined our plans for our last day of our trip and left us frustrated and angry.

My wife, my youngest son and I had stopped at the Almog Junction for a cup of coffee shortly after 2pm on our way back from the Dead Sea. When we got back in the car it would not start. There had been no prior indication that anything was wrong with the car.

Sometime before 3 pm we placed a call to Budget and asked for assistance. We were transferred to the Jerusalem Office where Yael, who claimed to be the supervisor told us that we would have to wait (quote) -up to two hours- for a technician to inspect the car and determine what had to be done. I requested a replacement car so we could continue our trip but Yael, quoting procedure, told us that nothing would be done until the technician arrived and made a determination. When I asked if we could leave the car and deliver the keys to the Jerusalem office I was told that it would be (quote) my decision- for which I would be fully responsible if anything happened to the car. This warning was delivered in a threatening tone. Half an hour later I called to ask if they had an ETA for the technician and were told that the technician was on another call and could not be reached. An hour later, at about 4 pm I called again to ask about the status of our call and insist on a replacement car, and was told that my calls were making things worse for us and to stop calling. An hour and a half later we were told that although they had no information on when the technician would turn up, the -up to two hours- period had not yet expired and therefore we could not complain. When asked what would happen after the two hours were up we were told that only the technician could make a determination. We were also told that the office would close at 6 pm and we would then have to call the emergency number. Fortunately my wife and son were able to get a ride to Jerusalem on a tourist bus shortly after 5 pm. (Thank you again Ezra and Oda for your help)

Well, 6 pm arrived (three hours since we had placed the first call) and when we called the emergency number they had no record of our previous calls and had to go again through the remote troubleshooting procedure before they would record our trouble call. Again we were refused any other options other than to wait for the technician who would decide what had to be done. Obviously according to Budget this was a technical decision to be made by a technician, not a customer service decision

Four hours later (and after several other calls to Budget from friends and locals who took pity on us � by then I was exhausted, and feeling impotent in the face of overwhelming stupidity) we still had no word on the technician. The technician finally arrived at 7:20 pm, and without saying a word opened the hood, put his hand deep under the radiator and started the car ( raising our suspicion that it was a known problem with the unit), then spent about half an hour with it until it pronounced it fixed. I asked if I could trust the car to get us to the airport the next day for our return trip and was told that I should try starting the car an hour before we had to leave for the Airport just in case. I asked to test the car before he left: the car failed to start after the second try. At that point, the technician made the decision to give us a replacement car, after more than 5 hours of being stranded on the road.

By the time we arrived at the Budget Jerusalem office -across from the King David Hotel ( 8:30 pm) I had decided I did not want to have anything to do with Budget any longer. I was asked to fill the gas tank before I left the car (15 liters) and was given a full rental bill, including this last day. There were no explanations or apologies, not even an offer of a ride back to my hotel. Before I left I was given a printout of some form. I asked- What is this? And was told it was a document indicating (quote)-that it was not your fault-. Drained of energy and emotion I walked to the corner and hailed a cab to our hotel,

Our plans for the afternoon and our farewell dinner with family and friends had been ruined. I arranged for a taxi to take us to the Airport the next morning and started packing. I have not heard a word form Budget except for the posting of full charges on my Visa.

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test12
, Yugoslavia
Oct 03, 2009 5:14 am EDT

I totally agree on the above comments, I was cheated in a simillar way by the Jerusalem company, although the apparently ignorant cheat at the counter told me that the car costs around 95 USD, when I returned the car to the airport, after 2 days, I discovered that I had to pay 150USD! the guy there was very aggressive, he told me that is not his business, he only has to charge the money, that it was my mistake, and that I can complain if I want to, but to no hope, obviously. They are just a fraud company, or at least the one in JERUSALEM, they pretend they do not speak English, although they do very well, just to get money for nothing. Please avoid this rental center.

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L.B
Bloomington, US
Jun 24, 2009 7:05 pm EDT

Budget Car rental are cheats and have the worst customer support I have ever seen.

No wonder the company did not survive by itself and was taken over by Avis.

I booked a oneway rental from Ohare on 7th June, the booking was done through expedia where I had declined the insurance. Also when I picked up the rental car I was told to sign in places to decline the insurance. The cheat/lady at the counter repeatedly told me that I was declining the insurance and that I would not be covered, which I agreed to as I have my own car insurance.

To my surprise, I was charged insurance and when I contacted them they said that I signed for it. I agree I should have read what I sign for, but these cheats keep you engrossed in words while you sign for something other than they are telling.

After contacting customer support, drop off location (as it was oneway) and even the Ohare area manager, all are covering up their location staff by saying "You have signed it"

I beleive that the insurance coverage is a major source of income for their goal and that is why they all team up to protect this misleading practice resulting in this fraud.

I will be taking up this matter with BBB, but I suggest all those who rent, to read what you are signing for very carfully to avoid paying extra.

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12:28 pm EDT
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Budget Rent A Car scam and fraud

Budget is horrible there is no customer service avoid them like the plague beware beware beware. I reserved a truck one month in advance. I confrimed the reservation two days prior to the move. the night before the move at 6:50 pm budget national reservations called to inform me that there would not be a truck. Fine, I asked what they would do to help. They did not offer to help and told me to call reservations. I called reservations to learn that the inventory manager would call me. When I asked since I was moving in 12 hours? The Budget representative had no idea when I would be called. After forceful yelling at the idiot on the phone I learned that the inventory manager had left for the day and that budget closes at 7:30pm. I was told that if the inventory manager did call me it might be the next day but maybe not. I rented a large SUV from Alamo instead and plan to move without budget. BEWARE BUDGET AVOID BUDGET THEY LIE, THEY ARE HORRID AND NEVER ONCE DID ANYONE AT BUDGET OFFER TO HELP. IF THEY HAD JUST OFFERED TO HELP THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. THEY ARE A MISERABLE AND DEPLORABLE COMPANY.

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Jason Seale
Burnaby, CA
Jun 10, 2011 4:16 pm EDT

I NEED help. Budget Truck and Car rentals from Vancouver Gilmore Street location is committing insurance fraud. There doesn’t seem anything I can do; can someone recommend a course of action I could take? I’ll explain my situation fully so you understand what happened.

On March 25th 2011 I rented a truck just after 5pm from Budget. I took it to my apartment complex and parked it in a large, obstruction free zone. I did my load, move, and unload that night. I returned the vehicle with ZERO incidents at 7:30 AM, just in front of the store, and dropped the keys off.

It was reported to me over TWO MONTHS later on May 30th by first a $336 charge on my VISA, a couple of days later I get a letter in the mail stating they found a dent. So what happened to the vehicle from my drop off time to a mysterious $336 charge on my VISA? This should have been reported to me BEFORE the truck was rented to anyone else, so I could have come and visibly seen what they were claiming.

I am shown one black and white photo where I can see no damage at all (I can barely see that it’s a picture of a truck). I challenged the quality of the photo saying I can’t see anything and Budget actually wrote me saying, “We have tried different ways to take the pictures with cameras, phones etc and the black berry seems to do a better job.” They also no longer have the picture on file, so I’ll never be able to see it in color (or a date stamp on it).

Budget’s ‘audit’ of damage process prior to pick up didn’t actual verify that area was dent free on initial inspection (upper cab area above the drivers side). It is important for the purpose of comparison to validate a dent free area vs. where they are claiming the damage currently. I looked at trim, tires and front hood area.

NOW, that I am trying to dispute this, they are threatening me…HELP ME PLEASE.

In regards to the repairs needed to the truck, Budget first told me, “We chose to have the dent fixed, rather than replace the panel which would have exceeded the $1000.00.” I guess they were saying that they did me a favor, BUT if a dent can be fixed, why would they consider replacing it?
I challenged this, saying I didn’t want any cost, fix or replaced, since I knew I didn’t cause the damage. This upset Budget, and they started to threaten me, they said, “The truck in question has not been fixed it will go to the manufacturer that built the box and if properly repaired the bill will be over $1000.00..So when we get the estimate I will be happy to send it to you.” And then their manager reiterated this by also saying, “To properly repair the vehicle back to the condition it was prior to your rental would cost well over $1, 000 so for customer service reasons we decided to only bill you $336.00 and do a partial repair. In light of your concerns Budget will send the vehicle to the manufacturer and obtain a proper estimate and adjust your invoice.” So, Janine Potter, their Claims Manager is threatening me to charge me more…when I’m saying I shouldn’t be charged at all, this is their customer service? What’s a partial repair?

I am being attacked by this company, can someone please help me? What rights do I have?
Needless to day, Budget is in bed with the devil (or they are the devil), and I will NEVER do business with them again. I hope all who reads this will do the same.

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D
6:45 am EDT

Budget Rent A Car gps in the rented car

Hello,

It's an awful experience with the Budget Car Rental at MIA. I rented a Chrysler Sebring on May 24 and return it in same day. I called this branch lot of times by phone [protected] and [protected] after I found that I left my Magellan 4250 GPS left on the car's windshield with a charger, pouch and a tripod in the sideconsole, but no body answer the phone.

I came back to this branch on May 29 and talking to the store manager, he trying to find the GPS and said no matter the result, he will give me call, but never.

Is that possible the car is rented out again without finding a large object on the windshield(based on the manager's explanation)?

I hope that I should get a trusted reason for it other than irresponsible way.

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7:01 pm EDT

Budget Rent A Car overcharges

I reserved a 10 foot truck with Budget. I confirmed the pickup with the pickup location. When I arrived I was charged $39.80 more than the reservation price. I was given a 16 foot truck, which I didn't need. Budget's web site states that if they substitute a larger truck the charge is the same. Subsequently they charged me an additional $50 for not picking up the truck, which I did pickup and was overcharged for. Customer service has been abusive.

I have filed two complaints with the California Department of Justice. I suggest that any Californian with similar complaints do the same. Perhaps if enough of us complain the state will take action against Budget.

Any class action attorneys out there?

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terry watson
Warren, US
Aug 25, 2009 11:10 am EDT

roseville mi, i rented a truck also the dealer larry charged me 40.00 in fuel when i returned it when i had filled it, terry watson, what happened to the good people on 10 and groesbeck.terry

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2:21 pm EDT

Budget Rent A Car scammers and thieves

I called on 5/29 in regards to renting a 24' truck. An employee (Pablo) at the 2017 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.

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v_sanchez
los an, US
Jul 24, 2010 6:38 pm EDT
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reserved a rental truck. the next day the owner of the place of pick-up decided to call us and say he doesnt have a truck for us to rent, unless we were to return it to his location. We went in person and had no problem reserving it for us (wich we didnt) even though we told him we were going to drop off at a different location. I called budget and they told me that they have seen these things happen. Were the owners can just deny us of renting a truck with no real purpose! what kind of service is this from any of them. Budget should deny this person to have any business with them because they are going to loose many customers this way. Then Budget still said even though we have made a reservation for that day they cannot confirm the truck will be there! what!?!?!?! thats like buying blind! and to top it off I believe someone stole my credit card info from their site! because after that reservation was made the bank called me saying that my credit card was being placed on hold because they suspected someone was trying to make purchases online with that CC! can it get any worse! im going back to Uhaul even though its more $.

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MJG
,
Aug 04, 2008 9:32 am EDT

I'm not much of an internet reviewer, but this place treated me so poorly that I've decided to create an account here just to let others know. The person with whom I spoke by phone (Sal) was quite friendly and willing to alter my arrangements from a car dolly to a car carrier at the last minute. Though he wouldn't quote me a firm price by phone, it ended up being pretty reasonable. The morning of my rental, though, he called at 11:00 am and demanded to know whether or not I was coming for the truck, since he had other people interested. I said yes, thinking that this is why we called it a "reservation." When I did pick up the truck and started to drive it off the lot I saw that the gas gauge was on empty. I immediately returned and complained; he told me just to have the place where I dropped it off call him. This is exactly what he told another internet reviewer who ended up having to pay to have it filled, so I made him write "empty" on the paperwork and sign it. (Thankfully, this ended up being sufficient for the people where I dropped the truck off.) Despite his friendly demeanor, Sal failed to give me any instructions (including the brochure that I later learned I was supposed to get) for loading the car onto the car carrier, which meant that we spent a ridiculous amount of time getting it secured. (We ultimately had to drive to another Budget garage that was open at 3:00 am to get it secured. Thank god for those guys.) Finally, when I got to my destination, I realized that all the rubbish on the car carrier that I had ignored that morning was actually roofing tiles, including a number of nails (at least one of which was sticking straight up). Somehow I avoided a flat tire, but God only knows how. Concluding thoughts? This place should be your last resort for truck rentals. If you have to go with them, be prepared.

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CCNYCgirl
New York, US
Mar 03, 2010 4:33 pm EST

Don't ever rent a truck from Budget - I rented a truck at budget.com and they said I could pick it up at 6am. I arrived at the location at 8am, stood outside in the cold, in the snow, in Harlem, for an HOUR until the location actually opened. When I complained, Budget didn't care. They don't care if they tell women to stand outside in the cold, in a sketchy part of NYC, next to an ABANDONED BUILDING complete with boarded windows, broken glass, and 5 stray cats... I could have been assaulted! Fortunately, I was only cold and angry. Budget Truck Rental does not care about it's customers! Please tell everyone!

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Sandra Malinowski
Clearwater, US
Jun 25, 2011 2:30 am EDT

I reserved a truck and tow dolly a month in advance. The day before I was to pick up the truck I received a message that they did not have the tow dolly available. I called back to ensure they still had the truck ready and was informed that they cancelled the whole order! I luckily found another company that had a truck available but I had to pay twice the cost. I find it terrible that if the customer cancels their order less than 48 hours in advance they get charged a significant amount of money, but Budget thinks nothing of cancelling on the custoler less than 24 hours in advance.

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DON"T RENT FROM BUDGET!!!
Buffalo, US
Apr 23, 2011 3:24 pm EDT
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BEWARE... We rented a truck from Budget for a move. When we arrived to pick up the truck at 7AM, they stories began. First they stated that they needed to go get the truck from a location down the street. Then they stated that they didn't have that size truck. Then they stated that they had a smaller truck. Then they stated that the smaller truck was brand new and needed to be cleaned. Then they stated that the brand new truck wasn't in the computer system, therefore, they couldn't rent us this truck. And on and on it went. They ended up stringing us along for almost an hour and a half, barely communicating to us even with us trying to pry out information from them. No one would acknowledge that they were the manager when we asked to speak to one. In the end, they finally told us that there was no truck for us to rent even though we had a reservation which was done weeks in advance. They never looked for another truck at another location. In the end, they admitted that this happens all the time and said there is nothing we can do for you. In the contract, if we were to cancel prior to 48 hours we would be charged a 50 dollar cancellation fee. They wouldn't even do the same for us as they obviously cancelled on us. If you are planning on moving anytime soon or know anyone moving anytime soon DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET! Not only was this a HUGE inconvience for us but also for the people we had helping us move. We could only find a truck at another company for 6 hours that day as it was such short notice and it being a Saturday.

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Demon105
Medina, US
Jan 15, 2009 9:56 am EST

The representatives lie about mileage rates on the truck and when I inquired about the extra charge she said call customer service. That was a joke, the customer service person was a jerk and sorry about your luck we don't give any free miles, BUT the representative at budget told me .99 a mile after 25 miles. The cost is not that much but I feel if a company is dishonest in it's dealing with it's customers, it deserves to lose all of them

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john
Roseville, US
May 25, 2009 10:57 am EDT

go to gastmeiers service and save yourself alot of trouble.

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john
Roseville, US
May 25, 2009 10:56 am EDT

roseville mi budget truck.bad service and ripped me off for fuel and 1 day, i should have went back to gastmeiers service like my family has done for years, live and learn.john middorw.

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Studly
Detroit, US
Aug 29, 2008 2:07 am EDT

The sad fact is that Budget dealers are independent. There is little oversight by the Budget corporation who becomes a dealer, or how well they actually do.

Do not let one bad dealer representent everyone. I am a dealer myself, and I have "gone to bat" with the corporation over a lot of bad situations.

If it makes you feel better...Uhaul is by far the worst! This is the reason many people even go to Budget.

Budget's customer service department isn't worth a hoot either...very uncooperative and no customer service skills.

I do find it totally amazing that the originating dealer allowed your truck to leave with an empty tank. No excuse for that at all.

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K
10:49 am EDT

Budget Rent A Car unfair charges!

A 16' lift gate truck that we rented from Budget, would not start after we got to our destination to move something. When we picked the truck up from the dispatching dealer, he told us that diesels were slow to start but that if anything should happen, we should contact their customer service line. Well we did and they sent a repair truck to come to our aid. The repair man checked the fluid levels and was able to get it started within a minute or so. He then commented to my husband and my brother that he would write it up as it needing the idle speed adjusted. 40 minutes later, we were able to get back home, drop our piano off and return the truck. Later that evening, we received a message from Budget stating that we would be charged for the service call.

First thing Monday morning we called their customer service dept to explain our situation and we encountered very RUDE customer service people. They kept insisting that we should have kept the truck idling while we were in the process of the move as lift gate trucks require this and that it was our fault that we used the truck improperly. What a bunch of nonsense! No instructions were given with the truck that told us we had to do this. They said that the only way that they could take the $95 repair call of my credit card is if I could get the repairman to rewrite the service call ticket. We tried calling the garage twice and can not reach the repairman. This is just totally unfair. We pay for truck that we expect to work properly and when it didn't, they charged us. We have AAA and could have called them. Don't rent from Budget. They are rip offs and their customer service staff is RUDE!

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I am NOT scammed
Hunt, US
May 16, 2008 11:09 am EDT

We had similar trouble. Picked up a truck with no brake lights. Took it back in the morning before leaving for the 1400 mile trip and they said, "Oh, there are no bulbs in the brake lights. " They then called the main office to get approval to put brake lightbulbs in the truck and then told us it would cost us $48 for their services. WHAT? I told them, "I'll just go to Advanced Auto and buy some and install them myself." They immediately installed bulbs and we left at NO CHARGE to us. I think they are scamming people for little repair parts. I'll never use them again.

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1:06 pm EDT

Budget Rent A Car poor customer service!

I rented a car recently from Budget at the Minneapolis, MN airport. when I returned the car I accidentally left a $80 jacket on the back seat. When I got to the airport I realized I had left my jacket. I immediately called the Budget desk at the Minneapolis airport. This was 30 minutes after turning in my rental car.

I told the man at the desk that I had left my coat on the back seat and would pay to have it shipped to my home. He got my rental agreement number and said he would search for the coat and call me. I never heard back. A couple weeks later I sent an email to Budget via their web site and explained my situation. It took them a couple weeks to reply. They said they haven't found my coat and if they do they will contact me. My complaint is that a Budget employee had to find my coat when they cleaned out the car and they should have turned it in and then I could have gotten my coat back. Also, if the man I talked to at the desk was trained with any customer service savy he could have made contact with the people who checked in my rental car and found out where my coat was. I wonder if Budget really has a lost and found department or if they just have a lost and never found department.

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Charlene Olsen
,
May 25, 2008 3:46 pm EDT

Budget Rent a car is a complete and utter rip off, anyone looking to rent through BUDGET BEWARE. We rented a car for 2 days and was charged for 3 days rental plus 3 days worth of insurance, and when I called to get this straightened out the guy was extremely rude and basically told me there was nothing that I could do about it and hung up on me, do not rent through budget period

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Andrea
,
May 14, 2008 7:02 pm EDT

The people cleaning the car probably took it for personal use. Im sure that many of these companies do this. If you leave something in the rental car they assume that you are never coming back and will keep it. Then if you do come back or call to retrieve it, they will obviously lie and say they never found anything to avoid looking like stealers. They should start a protection program where they aleart you if you have left something in your car.

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11:02 am EDT

Budget Rent A Car carefully read before signing

I work for Budget car rental and I think the other side of the coin needs to be looked at here when it comes to customer issues. I see customers complain and cant quite figure as why they are being charged this fee or this fuel charge or damage we find on the car. I see so many situations where a customer just signs there rental contract and NOT even read what there signing and they also just hop in there car and leave WITHOUT looking the car over for damage. Then when they return the car they never seem to READ simple posted signs as where to return the rental car and yet they turn around and say the return process was confusing complicated all because they couldnt read a simple sign DIRECTING them where to return the car. Then they cant figure out why they are being charged for damage because WHOOPS they forgot to look the car over oh and it gets better they are wondering why there being charged so much for gas when there contract clearly explains if its not full they will be charged this much per gallon. All of this is going on a contract they signed and did NOT read.

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12:00 am EST

Budget Rent A Car failure to fulfill reservation

I reserved a Ford Expedition 4x4 with a ski rack in advance for my party of 6 to drive to Whistler. The agency did not have this car upon our arrival at 9:30 that night. We tried to fit into an inferior minivan that would have cost less to reserve online (I had originally reserved one and then changed my reservation when our group increased to 6). We barely fit, so seeing that it was too late for us to hire a shuttle instead and that we were helpless, the Budget employee "Mickey," # [protected] (with surprising unpleasantness and an additional 1 hour delays in processing paperwork and mostly standing around) proceeded to charge us an additional $75 for an "upgrade," although this was clearly an inferior, less desireable, 2WD car. Knowing that we were headed to Whistler that night, the staff did not even mention that we might have any trouble driving to Whistler without the 4x4, nor did they provide us a map or even mere directions out of the terminal. So there we were, at 2 am, stuck in a blizzard on a hill about 13 kilometers past Squamish, in about 4 inches of snow. We seated two guys on the hood (to weight the front tires) and somehow managed to turn the van around and drive back to Squamish, where we took shelter in two $85 hotel rooms for the night and then (the next morning) bought cables to ensure safe passage to Whistler. We were already missing a day of skiing. So add the $75 charge from budget, the $170 in hotel rooms, and the $70 chains, and our costs had ballooned by $335. By the time we actually arrived in Whistler, we were exhausted, stressed out, and had colds from the harsh night in the blizzard. Budget rent a car, namely, the employee named Mickey, very nearly ruined our trip. Had it not been for the wonderful, kind people of Canada that we met, and the spectacular scenery, they may have succeeded.

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anonyMiss
San Diego, US
Jul 19, 2009 6:26 pm EDT
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A minivan seats 7. An Impala seats 6.
An SUV seats 5.

Where's the problem?

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bgunk
Austin, US
Jul 08, 2009 2:55 pm EDT

I had a similar experience when renting from Budget in Austin, Texas for a trip planned 3 months in advance to attend the law school graduation of my son. I was taking his 3 grandparents, his mother, and myself, for a total of 5 adults. When the time came to pick up my "JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE 2WD or similar", there was no suitable vehicle available, and they tried to offer a Chevy Impala in its place. After informing them this was totally unacceptable, and after making repeated phone calls to their customer service department (with no solution), I left the facility. I made more phone calls from home, and after a while Budget customer service called me to inform me that my vehicle would be arriving at my pickup location within 45 minutes. Calls to the facility informed me that the vehicle that was being sent was a lesser class than what I was being charged for.
The good folks at Discover informed me that since I agreed to rent this lesser vehicle, I should have to pay the rate. Apparently they have never reserved a rental car and received a lesser one than agreed and for the same rate. Budget refused to negotiate the rate, informing me that they would only negotiate after the rental period was completed. They issued a credit for 68.20, and I offered to pay $200.00. They refused my offer, and upon disputing the charges with Discover, I lost that appeal.
People can call it what they wish, but I consider it to be fraud when you have an agreement to provide a certain vehicle for a negotiated rate, and then you substitute a lesser vehicle in its place when time to provide the service.
I do not see how they get away with such business practices!

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12:00 am EST
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Budget Rent A Car budget rent a car are crooks! be very scared!

I rented a car in Panama City, Panama in Mid November, 2007. They guest service agent who was 30 minutes late opening the store, took an hour to rent me A DEFECTIVE CAR (it shook so badly that my teeth chattered). Additionally, I was made to pay for every insurance that they had because I was an "American." Well, when I returned the car, I was told it had damages. I replied that I did not care because, "I have paid for ALL of YOUR BOGUS insurances; I was told that insurance does not pay for this damage which the could NEVER EXPLAIN.. I asked for the keys back so that I could go drive the car into the nearest lake; unfortunately they refused my request. Besides that, the workers only speak English until they find out that some of us do not speak Spanish; they you never hear another English word again... How Amazing... Ultimately, I got charged $165 for a car that originally started out to be $40.

When calling customer service, those robots apparently have no managers that they report to (must be nice to be an independent worker with no restrictions), nor can they do anything to help except to read me a script.

NEVER AGAIN! Don't go to Budget! RUN FOR THE HILLS INSTEAD!

I have contacted my credit card and threatened account closure if they allow this charge to go through... There are two reasons for my dispute. One, the car was rented to me defective (violation of their own policy). Second, I was charged WAY above what my contract stated - fraud (which, I imagine is a violation of laws within most countries).

No wonder the company is failing. Their entire infrastructure is marked by a bunch of incompetent ingrates who don't understand the basic fundamentals of business or customer service.

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Budget Rent A Car horrible customer service!

I 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 Monterrey, 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 Monterrey 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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Bville01
Lewes, US
Jun 23, 2010 1:45 pm EDT

I rented a 24' Budget moving truck at 2:00 p.m. from AAA Truck Rental on Emporia St., Englewood. Customer service was terrible - no significant orientation to the truck or the car carrier. Drove away and 10 minutes later found that it had no air conditioning for my four day trip across country. I called back immediately by 2:30 and THEY WERE CLOSED ALREADY WITH NO ANSWERING SERVICE!
The next morning I found a place to fix the air conditioner making me four hours behind schedule and full of frustration.
Then three days later I had a flat tire on I-70 in PA. To make a long story short, we were ON HOLD for OVER AN HOUR with Budget's "customer service. We sat on the highway from 5:00 p.m. until help finally arrived at 10:30 p.m.! We finally were on our way at 11:30 p.m. - SIX AND A HALF HOURS LATER!
Budget's customer service is worse than none.

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RyanA
Westerville, US
Mar 01, 2010 10:17 am EST

On January 8th 2010 my wife Jessica and I called Budget Corp and reserved a 16 foot gas moving truck. Budget told us to be at the 492 Windsor Park Drive Dayton, OH 45459 location by 9AM on January 9th 2010 or they’d charge us a $50 reservation fee. On January 9th we arrived at the 492 Windsor Park Drive location at 9AM and waited 30 minutes with other patrons for the location to open. Once the location opened they said that they did not have the 16 foot truck which we had reserved because Budget Corporate did not send the truck to their location and the only option they had was a 24 foot diesel truck. We really did not want to drive such a large vehicle especially since they are hard to drive and cost a lot more on fuel but it was the only option they gave us. By the time we left the 492 Windsor Park Dr. location, it was after 11AM and we did not get to our loading destination until 12AM after navigating the massive 24 foot truck. All these delays cost us valuable time on the 4 hour loading process and we did not make it to our Columbus destination until dark.
When we arrived out front of the gas stations next to Budget Rental on Morse Road in Columbus at 1:45PM, the gas stations did not sell diesel fuel or where to get it close by. So my wife and I drove around trying to find diesel fuel and finally called Budget on Morris Road at 2:03PM and did not get an answer. When they finally called back, we got directions to the nearest station that sold diesel, and I spent almost 20 minutes in 8 degree weather making sure that the fuel tank on the rental truck was completely full up to the neck of the fuel tank. Once fueled we drove back to Budget on Morse Road and called Budget again. They told us to leave the keys in the drop box. So, we left the 24 foot truck out front with 2 other smaller 16 foot Budget trucks with a copy of our Budget rental agreement and a copy of my fuel receipt for $65.09.
On January 11th 2010 Budget on Morse Road called at 9AM saying that we needed to fill up the truck or be charged $30 filling fee plus the cost of fuel after I had spent 20 minutes in the freezing cold topping off the tank. My wife and I drove down to the Morse Road rental office to see what the issue was and to resolve it. When we got to Budget on Morse, they gave us the keys to the truck and I also took the male employee out to the truck with me to confirm that I had filled the truck up. I opened the tank for the Budget employee and he confirmed that it was completely full. When I went to get into the truck, I could not because Budget had gotten the trucks mixed up and given my wife the wrong keys to the 24 foot diesel truck that was parked right behind our 24 foot rental. I also checked the full tank on the 24 foot truck behind me and yes it was not filled with fuel. Budget had once again made another mistake at our cost and the lady at the counter did not even apologize, gave my wife attitude, and rolled her eyes at us. We still have not received a close out receipt from Budget showing what the charged us which is against the law and they did not even call to verify the $150 charge before running it.
In conclusion, first, Budget did not have the correct truck that we reserved which cost us over 2 hours waiting at the 492 Windsor Park Dr. location, over an hour with slower driving/navigating of a huge truck and not having diesel fuel station near the Morse Road drop off. Second, diesel fuel cost 35 to 40 cents more per gallon than gasoline and becomes especially expensive when paying over $65 to refuel the rental truck. Third, Budget on Morse Road called us at 9AM to tell us that we needed to refuel our rental truck when Budget had gotten two 24 foot trucks confused even after I left a copy of my rental agreement in the truck. Fourth and final, Budget on Morse Road did not confirm the charge amount before running it and still has not given us a copy of what they charged us for.

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Olivia
, US
Apr 28, 2010 5:03 am EDT

My daughter needed to move. Her Dad and I told her if she would call and rent a truck we would pick truck up and move her, since she was busy with her final exams. She was never going to drive the truck. The only reason she was the one to call and rent the truck was because, and I'm sorry to say, her Dad and I did not have the money to rent it. She advised the company that she would not be driving the truck, that her Dad would be, and also that her Dad would be the one picking up the truck, she never went near the truck. She was told on the phone that the cost would be $125 plus tax. When her Dad and I picked up the truck they had charged an additional driver fee, and a youthful driver fee which was an extra $51.00. By this time the gentleman we spoke to at Lamms Auto Sales, which is the place we picked the truck up from, had left. So my daughter called customer service at Budget Rental and was told by a lady named Sharon that these charges would be removed. So her Dad and I took the truck did the moving, filled the tank back up with gas and returned it. However when my daughter called this time she was advised that they were not going to remove the additional charges, and she would be responisble for the entire balance. Well needless to say she was very upset. This is a girl that has put herself through 6 years of college and through student loans has done this all on her on. She has worked very hard to get where she is, and this company has basically taken advantage of a young college girl that has tried to do everything on her on. I have tried several times to talk to customer service on her behalf only to be told there is nothing they can do. On top of that, they will not let you speak to anyone higher than a floor supervisor. When I asked to speak to someone other than the floor supervisor I was told that was not allowed. So I guess upper management at Budget Truck Rentals do not care about their customers or how they are treated, nor do they care about the shady people that represent them, such as Lamms Suto Sales in Lillington, NC where we picked up the truck. I would not recommend this company to anyone, nor will I ever use this company again.

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Steaven R
, US
Oct 27, 2010 12:01 pm EDT

AVOID Budget Truck Rental LIKE THE PLAGUE THAT THEY ARE!

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rottisnot
West Palm Beach, US
Oct 26, 2010 5:39 pm EDT

I reserved a 24’ moving truck and car carrier online for a move from Maryland to Florida . The equipment was to be picked up from Pasadena Citgo on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena at 8 am 5/25. I began calling the Pasadena Citgo to re-confirm at 10am on 5/24. The number provided with the confirmation just rang, then diverted to the recording suggesting to call back or contact national reservations. I called throughout the day with no answer. At 4:30 pm with the same response, I called the national reservations number and gave them the information and they provided me with an “alternate phone number” for the location. Upon calling the newly provided number, the telephone was answered with “The President’s not in, call back later”, laughter and hang up. I called back to confirm that the number was for Citgo and the same “gentleman” informed me that yes, it was a gas station, but that he “didn’t know nothin’ about it, he ain’t in charge of trucks, just gas” and I had to call back after 10 or 11 the next morning. I told him that I was to pick up the truck and car carrier at 8 am- 2 hours before the person that supposedly handled Budget trucks may or may not be in. I asked him if there was a 24’ truck and car carrier there and he said “No, but we got 2 15’ trucks, maybe they’ll give it to you for the same price WHEN YOU CALL BACK TOMORROW AFTER 11 LIKE I TOLD YOU!” and hung up.

I called national customer service back and told them what happened and the lady said that she couldn’t do anything, a “regional inventory specialist” would call me back by 9pm that night and that she would change the rate code to reflect the original 20% off discount from the USPS change of address packet since apparently, the last “coupon” that is clicked on the website over rides a manually entered code.

I finally received a call from a “Robert”, who was allegedly the regional inventory specialist at 7 am on 5/25, an hour before I was supposed to pick up the equipment and begin my move! In a very degrading manner, this obnoxious idiot then informs me that the only place both items are available are over an hour away, each way! I asked him if he had checked the Budget in Glen Burnie and he reiterated slowly and demeaningly “I told you that the location that I just gave you is the ONLY location that has your equipment”. Budget had me over a barrel at this point, so I had no real choice but to waste 2 hours traveling to get equipment that was not properly assigned to my location.

The new pickup point was “Windsor Express” in Windsor Mill, Maryland. The contact number that “Robert” gave me was incorrect and I was unable to confirm with them. I was online trying to get a good street number for them and find out where they were on Windsor Mill (there is both “road” and “boulevard”). An agent from “Windsor Express” called me at 9 am and demanded that I pick up the truck within 15 minutes since they had no room for it. I told him that I was over an hour away and was trying to get directions after I had him confirm the street address to put in mapquest. He called me every 15 minutes while I was driving there! This location is in the ghetto! The actual facility was a check cashing place with bullet proof glass and (illegal) slot machines! I was VERY uncomfortable! When I went in, the man behind the glass took my credit card and driver’s license, then disappeared for over an hour with my IDs! I was trying not to cause a “scene” but after an hour of standing around and trying to stay out of the way, I was very nervous and upset. I asked the other guy where the guy disappeared to with my ID and he told me “around back”. I went outside and there was only 1 Budget truck on the lot, or to be seen at all. The condition was deplorable! The treads were coming through on 3 tires that I could see in the back, the front tires were bald and the retread on one was already puckered and falling off! The back metal bumper was smashed, bent and rusted- the damage on the driver’s side was so bad, that it blocked the lower part of the loading door. I went in and told “the other guy” that I needed to talk to the guy with my IDs and that the truck was unacceptable as I thought that the guy with my IDs was hooking the car carrier up to the dilapidated mess and I wanted to catch him before he did. No worry there though, since THEY DIDN”T HAVE A CAR CARRIER and he was on the phone trying to locate one- in Washington, DC! His plan was for me to take the truck from there since they didn’t have room for it, then drive another hour or two away to pick up the car carrier in Washington DC or Virginia! This after being told by “Robert” earlier that morning that I had to drive an hour away since that was the only location with BOTH pieces of equipment.

I got on the phone with customer service and updated them on what was happening and “Aileen” in customer service apologized profusely and said she was crediting an additional 5% off for the “inconvenience” and that the “RIS” would be notified immediately (since they were not answering their phone when she tried to transfer me) and they would contact me with where to pick up the reserved equipment. No “supervisor” was available (at 11am est!?) and a “level 2” would call me back within the hour to discuss with me what had happened. I asked her for the number of either “Robert” or a competent inventory person and she said that she couldn’t give that out, that I had to wait to hear back after they located the equipment, which “could be several hours”! I asked her to check the location in Glen Burnie, Maryland as they were larger and only 15 minutes from my house and she allegedly put that through to the “Inventory Supervisor”. I tracked down my license and credit card and left, only after I had to threaten to call the police if he didn’t return them to me!

I still had not heard back from ANYONE at Budget and stopped by the location in Glen Burnie that I had earlier referenced. Out front were 2 car carriers and several 24’ trucks in the back! I stopped and asked if they were available for rent and was told yes! I showed them my reservation and told them what had happened up to this point and they told me to call the reservation number and have them reassign the reservation to that location. I called back customer service and spoke with “Janie” who needed the whole story from the beginning. She eventually transferred the reservation after telling me “Budget guarantees rates, not equipment availability” which has to be one of the most asinine comments ever- how can you guarantee a rate for a product that you don’t have? This comment as well as the feeling that I was making her go out of her way while I’m doing several peoples jobs for them sent me back over the edge. I requested to speak with a supervisor and was once again told that no supervisor was available and that it was already noted that I was “in que” to speak with “level 2” and she further informed me that there was no way that I should expect to hear back from a level 2 within an hour (which had already passed!) and that it is generally 24-48 hours and there was no way to escalate a response- they would call me back when they got to me!

The agents at the Glen Burnie location were great considering the total failure on behalf of anyone that I had dealt with at Budget up to that point. They offered apologies for Budget and handled themselves professionally, even as I was screaming at “Janie” at this point and were able to accommodate my confirmed reservation with Budget, in spite of the fact that according to Budget's inventory people there were no vehicles available, especially frustrating since this location was a) less inconvenient than Windsor Mill; b) a location that I suggested that your staff check and c) actually had the equipment that I reserved.

After the transfer, and after doing the rental paperwork in a state of complete and utter disbelief at the ineptitude of "Customer Service" employees, they began to hookup a car dolly to a truck. When I told them and showed them from my confirmed, printed reservation that it was supposed to be a car carrier, NOT a dolly, we had to start all over. They showed me on the computer that the system was showing a 2 wheeled car dolly now. Apparently changed by an inventory manager since a DOLLY was available in DC, NOT a Carrier! This is especially annoying to me since the car being towed is my pride and joy and exceptionally well taken care of and I would NEVER consider dragging her with a tow dolly which is why I reserved the full car carrier. They would have sent me all the way to Washington, D.C for the wrong equipment AGAIN!

Over an hour elapsed for this reassignment and hooking up the carrier to the truck after the dolly was removed and customers were returning other trucks. It was now almost 2 pm when I was supposed to pick up my equipment at 8 am- ie, an entire day was now wasted since no one at Budget could pull their heads out of their ### long enough to actually provide any manner of “customer service”! When the new rental agreement was printed, there was still no change to the rate and it was actually HIGHER than the reserved price with the wrong discount applied. I was told that they couldn’t alter it that I had to take it up with customer service “Level 2”, who was allegedly supposed to be calling me back any minute now since it had been well over the hour that Aileen said they would call me back. The destination location was not open on the day it was to be returned and I was told that there is an additional $10 fee for dropping it off if they are not open that was never mentioned previously either. I called back customer service and spoke to “Frank” about the changes, charges and non call from “level 2”. His “solution” was that Budget would have been just as happy to cancel my reservation and leave me high and dry without any way to move, AFTER CHARGING A CANCELLATION FEE as to actually help me or do what they were contracted to do. I was also told by both Frank and the counter people that any discounts not in the original reservation had to be put in by a supervisor and that I should take the truck and they will have the issue resolved by the time that it is returned and they will issue a credit back to the charge.

So after wasting a day of moving, everything seemed “OK”… until I got the truck and carrier on the road. While loading my car I noticed that there seemed to be an “impromptu” repair to the beaver tail section of the car carrier- the right side brace was improperly tack welded on with unequal length parts, the bolt was spinning and the opposite side was bent so badly that I had to use a sledge hammer to secure the pin into the hole! The truck itself was filthy on the inside and reeked of cigarettes, butt and feet- I was at this point desperate and put behind the 8 ball by them, but I would address that with the supervisor when they called as well. Once on the road, the truck got even worse! I was aware of the body damage that was marked in the front of the truck and sides and I was reasonably “OK” with it considering the circumstances. Apparently when whoever hit whatever to damage the headlight and fender, they also knocked the passenger side mirror loose so it rattled and spun LOUDLY and CONSTANTLY. Here is some more of this “gem” of a truck; the remaining rubber trim around the windshield blew loose before I hit Virginia, making a slapping noise in the wind, if I exceeded 55 mph (in circumstances like merging traffic) the passenger side windshield would flutter at the top corner! Seriously- the windshield in this truck was not secured or glued! I’m sure that this was aggravated by me having the driver’s side window down the entire drive to keep from vomiting from the smell. The fuel gauge did not work correctly and would just swing wildly below half a tank and no matter how much fuel I put in, it never registered to “F”. The alignment was off and it had a constant pull as well as grinding feel when making low speed turns. This is in addition to non self canceling turn signals and lights front and rear, inside and out that flickered every time the turn signal was manually turned off. I do not feel that this truck was roadworthy and should not have been sent on a long distance move.

But the car carrier was even worse! Late at night, just outside Savannah Georgia, I checked the jiggling and spinning passenger side mirror- the matchbook shim that I improvised had fallen out and there were sparks coming from the back! I was in a state of panic and pulled off as soon as I could. The car carrier had blown the right rear tire! I called Budget roadside assistance number and was once again given the long wait and poor customer service. Before anyone answered the call, I was already at a motel off of the exit that I was able to limp to at 20mph on the interstate. When they finally answered, I was told that they needed the equipment ID # and they couldn’t do anything via the rental agreement! Over 28 minutes on hold for emergency roadside assistance only to be told that I needed to go find a number “somewhere on the chassis” that was an equipment ID#. I DID manage to see that this particular piece of equipment was first registered by Ryder in 1991 and apparently had not seen proper service since. When I called back, I was once again left holding for almost a half hour. When I gave them the information that they needed she said that someone would call me back when they located a mechanic to respond and could locate me and that it would probably be several hours! It was already after 11 and I checked into the motel where the truck was stranded. I received a call around midnight from the mechanic that the wheel and tire was replaced and Todd the tow truck/ mechanic even helped me remove the rubber streaks left on my car from the blown out tire. He was of course, NOT an employee of Budget! An hour later (1:12am) I got a call from roadside assistance to tell me that their equipment had been repaired.

Upon miraculously arriving unharmed in Florida the following afternoon, the chains on the carrier would not release! I did everything I was told upon pickup and the tension chains would NOT reverse ratchet. I even resorted to the sketchy instructions in the pamphlet that I was given. After 2 hours under the car in the hot Florida sun and moving the vehicle repeatedly I was able to get enough slack to loosen the chains and release my car. The non functioning reverse was noted upon return as well as the half-assed “repair” to the beaver tail/ ramp and I was told that it should not have gone out in that condition. Then we got to the truck- when he checked the mileage he said that the tank was not reading full and I began enumerating the MANY problems with the vehicle, he opened the fuel tank and fuel was literally at the top of the cap. His response to the defects was simply “we’ll have to have somebody look at it” and I was told that it was only a 2004, but it was probably about to go to auction. Seriously? It seems to have come from a salvage auction!

At this point I STILL had not heard from anyone at Budget in regards to ANY of my numerous complaints and difficulties with this transaction. When I asked him about the final charge he informed me that the charge was put through when I rented it and that the receipt that he gave me would only show a zero balance due, NOT any credits back from Budget. I had to check my credit card statement for any credits. Sure enough, when he printed my return receipt, it basically said that the truck and carrier were returned and closeout reference # which he told me to give to the customer service person that I was speaking to and once again requesting a supervisor, that not shockingly by now, was not available. Apparently they don’t have any supervisors or “Level 2” as I STILL to this day have not received 1 return call from anyone at Budget!

Also- the length of the truck has little to do with how much it actually contains! Budget has the least amount of interior cubic foot space among the moving truck rental companies!

I also sent a written complaint in writing (snail mail) and on their website (feedback). Their response was to email me a coupon code for 15% off my next rental! The email was sketchy looking too- the sender was ABG and the subject was the name of the attachment that ended up being a generic "sorry you're not happy- please try again later" in XL spreadsheet extension!

AVOID Budget Truck Rental LIKE THE PLAGUE THAT THEY ARE!

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Lisa T1
, US
Jun 01, 2011 4:31 pm EDT

We spent all day yesterday on the phone with the inventory manager of budget at the national help desk. He finally found me a truck at a nearby place in Union City, Georgia and put me on hold while he says he called to verify that it was there. We got there this morning and they had NO trucks at all. Here we are with movers at our home and no promised truck. I wanted to sit there and cry after all of this fiasco. Now we have to scramble for any truck we can find. Never use budget they can't be trusted!

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kskate
, US
Mar 19, 2011 1:10 pm EDT

MOST AWFUL TRUCK RENTAL COMPANY EVER. DO NOT USE! Online reservations are TOTALLY unreliable. I should be moving today, but I have to go get my truck an extra 50 miles away b/c they didn't have one at my location. I went to go pick it up and... THEY DIDN'T HAVE IT! SO here I am- a day late and can't even get my truck until 9 am from some "on-call" towing service that apparently contracts with budget. All anyone has done is lie to me so far. I WILL NEVER, EVER recommend this company to ANYONE!

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DanielOKC
Oklahoma City, US
Feb 21, 2011 1:04 am EST

should i file a small claims lawsuit against budget truck rental in Oklahoma? Budget truck rental charged my card for 50.00 even though i cancelled 5 days before and was told my card wouldn't be charged. I know 50 bucks isn't much, but it is fraudulent and if they do this on many of their customers they are making a fortune and not even renting the trucks. In my case the truck wasn't available so i verbally told them to cancel it and i will find a truck elsewhere, they cancelled it but then charged my card two weeks later. I called their customer service and spoke to a foreign man who said he was in tulsa oklahoma and was told he would refund my credit card in 7 to 14 days, but that was over a month ago, so they just fraudulently charged my card and they got away with it. can i sue them in small claims court and get more than the 50 bucks back? i get free legal services because i work at a lawfirm, but its a lot of trouble if i only the 50 bucks back.

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DanielOKC
Oklahoma City, US
Feb 21, 2011 1:02 am EST

Budget truck rental charged my card for 50.00 even though i cancelled 5 days before and was told my card wouldn't be charged. I know 50 bucks isn't much, but it is fraudulent and if they do this on many of their customers they are making a fortune and not even renting the trucks. In my case the truck wasn't available so i verbally told them to cancel it and i will find a truck elsewhere, they cancelled it but then charged my card two weeks later. I called their customer service and spoke to a foreign man who said he was in tulsa oklahoma and was told he would refund my credit card in 7 to 14 days, but that was over a month ago, so they just fraudulently charged my card and they got away with it. can i sue them in small claims court and get more than the 50 bucks back? i get free legal services because i work at a lawfirm, but its a lot of trouble if i only the 50 bucks back.

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BudgetTruck REntalStinks
Henderson, US
Aug 31, 2009 11:28 am EDT

Budget truck rental needs some training in customer service...all they do is hang up...TERRIBLE! Never would use them again! I was told to use PEnske.

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Budget Rent A Car very unsatisfactory experience

Budget Car Rental
www.budget.com

*This letter was /originally sent/ via USPS on April 20, 2007. It was resent on July 5, 2007. It was also sent via email to Budget on June 6, 2007. To this date (8/29/07), I have not received any reply.*

Budget Car Rental

PO Box 690840
Tulsa, OK 74149

RE: Rental Confirmation #44467890US5; Rental #[protected]

To Whom It May Concern:

My recent Budget Car Rental experience was very unsatisfactory. The circumstances involved in my recent rental from Budget are as follows: When my wife and I checked in at the Palm Beach FL Airport location, we were asked if we'd like to upgrade -- I declined. Consequently, I was informed that I would be getting a FREE upgrade (can you say "we don't have your car").

I drove the car to Vero Beach, FL and fueled it up there before returning the car the next day as per my rental agreement. My wife followed me to the local Budget location to give me a ride back to where we were staying. Unfortunately, my wife had to wait 45 minutes for me at the Budget office because the agents there could not seem to finalize the rental. The best explanation they could give me was */"when you were upgraded in /**/Palm Beach/**/, they didn't update the rental paperwork. We do not show you having this car."/* The best the agent could do was to write on my rental agreement "Est Total $49.77" This was OK with me -- my confirmation was for $49.79. At that point, I was willing to write off the negative experience.

What prompted me to write is that my credit card statement that I received yesterday showed charges of $93.65 for my rental -- almost double the contracted price! I contacted Budget Customer Service and spoke to Tricia (Trisha?). She said she would credit my charge card $43.86 for fuel charges (the car *was returned full*). I also posed the question "How many people who don't scrutinize their credit card statements are routinely overcharged by Budget?". At that time, I expressed my dissatisfaction with the Budget rental experience as a whole and requested that I be reimbursed the whole amount of the charge - $93.65. She declined to do so and I requested a supervisor. After being on hold for 5-10 minutes, I finally spoke to Jada. She also declined my request.

Now, I am writing to you to express my very negative rental experience from Budget: The "FREE" upgrade (higher fuel consumption), the 45 minutes my wife and I wasted returning the car, the substantial overcharge on my credit card, and the time involved in writing this letter. I feel Budget, at the least, owes me the "complimentary" rental and a FULL refund of my charges. If Budget cannot resolve this to my satisfaction, then I will not do business with your company again and everyone I know will know of my unsatisfactory experience.

I look forward to your prompt reply to this correspondence.

Sincerely,

Edgar H McGuire

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,
May 06, 2008 10:06 am EDT

How do we know this person from the complaint above is just pulling off a scam themselves in getting somthing for nothing? This person already got there fuel charge refunded and now they want the whole car rental to be refunded. What proof do we have that experiences are as bad as whats said and that they are possibly being blown out of proportion just to get a free car rental? For all we know this may not possibly be fair for those that have to pay for there car rental. Give me a break!

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Budget Rent A Car tricky approaches and customer cheating

I arrived at Washington Dulles Airport one week ago and upon arrival went to Budget car rental to pick up a 5 day reservation for a compact car. The overall experience, from the beginning to the end, is horrible.

Pick up experience: When I arrived there, ready to check out the car. My driver's license was denied! However, I have no accident record or any kind of violation record on hold. After 1 and 1/2 hours waiting, their manager came out and entered some special code into the computer system to get my reservation through. During that waiting period, I asked the representative what is my quoted total rate for 5 days rental, he said it was $119.43.

Return: Disastrous! The quote I get online was $119,43, however, when I returned the car 6 days later (one day delay due to their office shut down). Their representative intended to charge me $284.36. The additional charge reason is that I am under age 25 and will pay "additional fee" which is $25/day ! But this year I turned 25! Their explanation is that I must be OVER 25! Holy ### !

I called their service center and encountered a very rude guy who questions my math and taught me how to calculate my age. SOB! Then I called the Dulles Airport Budget office and talked to their manager. That guy was rude too. He did not admit hiding the additional fee from me and refused to take my complaints.

Conclusion:

Below is some tricky approaches and their cheating behavior I observe:

1. The reason my driver's license was denied initially might be that according to Budget's age calculation method, I am under 25 and not eligible to rent a car at Budget. After one and half hours waiting, their manager came back from lunch and entered a special code into the computer system to get the rent work. However, they did not disclose the additional $25/day charge to me.

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Vandana David
, US
Apr 20, 2011 9:16 pm EDT

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

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brian beus
,
Jan 16, 2008 7:50 am EST

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

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12:00 am EDT

Budget Rent A Car refused to give a refund

I booked a car 26/4/07 - 3/5/07 Salzburg Airport. We arrived 1 day earlier, no problem. More money. The deposit went up 180 euros for one day. My australian credit card cannot handle that many euros. I offered them a cash deposit of 900 euros. They refused to take cash being legal tender. I was surprised. The result of them refusing a cash deposit was that I lost all monies already paid.

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F TUZ
Manchester, US
Jun 09, 2009 9:37 pm EDT

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

Budget Rent A Car Customer Reviews Overview

Budget Rent a Car offers a variety of rental services for customers seeking transportation solutions. Their fleet includes a range of vehicles from compact cars to larger SUVs and vans, catering to different needs and preferences. Customers can rent cars for varying durations, from short-term to longer-term leases. Additional options such as insurance coverage, GPS navigation, and child safety seats are available to enhance the rental experience. Budget operates at numerous locations worldwide, providing accessibility for travelers seeking vehicle rentals both domestically and internationally.

Budget Rent A Car In-depth Review

Pricing and Value for Money: Budget Rent A Car offers competitive prices and excellent value for money. Their rates are affordable and often lower than other car rental companies. They also provide various discounts and promotions, making it even more cost-effective to rent a car from them.

Vehicle Selection and Availability: Budget Rent A Car has a wide range of vehicles to choose from, catering to different needs and preferences. Whether you need a compact car for a solo trip or a spacious SUV for a family vacation, they have options available. The availability of vehicles is generally good, ensuring that you can find a suitable car for your desired dates.

Customer Service and Support: The customer service and support provided by Budget Rent A Car are commendable. Their staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and always ready to assist you with any queries or concerns. They strive to provide excellent customer service and ensure that your rental experience is smooth and hassle-free.

Booking Process and Ease of Use: The booking process with Budget Rent A Car is straightforward and user-friendly. Their website, www.budgetinternational.com, is easy to navigate, allowing you to quickly search for available cars, compare prices, and make a reservation. The entire process is efficient and can be completed in just a few simple steps.

Rental Policies and Terms: Budget Rent A Car has transparent rental policies and terms. They clearly outline their terms and conditions, including insurance coverage, fuel policies, and mileage limits. This transparency helps you understand what to expect and avoid any surprises during your rental period.

Vehicle Condition and Cleanliness: The vehicles provided by Budget Rent A Car are generally in good condition and well-maintained. They undergo regular inspections and maintenance to ensure that they are safe and reliable. Additionally, the cars are cleaned thoroughly before each rental, ensuring a clean and comfortable driving experience.

Additional Services and Features: Budget Rent A Car offers various additional services and features to enhance your rental experience. These may include GPS navigation systems, child seats, and roadside assistance. These additional services can be added to your reservation for a convenient and customized rental experience.

Locations and Accessibility: Budget Rent A Car has numerous locations worldwide, making it convenient to rent a car wherever you are. Their rental locations are strategically placed, including airports, city centers, and popular tourist destinations. This accessibility ensures that you can easily pick up and drop off your rental car without any inconvenience.

Overall Experience and Satisfaction: Overall, renting a car from Budget Rent A Car is a satisfying experience. Their competitive prices, wide vehicle selection, excellent customer service, and user-friendly booking process contribute to a positive rental experience. The vehicles are well-maintained, and the additional services provided further enhance the overall satisfaction.

User Reviews and Ratings: Budget Rent A Car has received positive reviews and ratings from users. Customers appreciate their affordable prices, reliable vehicles, and helpful customer service. These reviews and ratings reflect the overall satisfaction of users who have rented cars from Budget Rent A Car.

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Budget Rent A Car contacts

Phone numbers

+1 (800) 331-1212 +44 844 444 0002 More phone numbers

Website

www.budgetinternational.com

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