Dollar Rent A Car
reviews and complaints

This august (2015) i booked a full sized rental car from dollar rent a car in denver for 6 days with. When i arrived at the airport remote lot to pick it up, i was told that the car i had rented only had 4 cylinders, and that i was going to have trouble getting over the mountains in it. They recommended that i switch to a 6 cylinder car. I asked them what the price difference was going to be, and if there were any available. They told me that they happened to have one for $2.00/day less than my original car. I asked them how that was possible, and they said, "well, sometimes it just works out that way." i left in a hurry in the new vehicle, a crossover of some sort, without carefully examining the contract, just relying on the word of the desk agent (Shame on me!). By the time i got around to looking at the contract, i was on my way back to the airport in denver. I noticed that the charges had gone form $434.00 to $940.00. I called customer service to see if there was anything that could be done to waive some of the charges that i had not anticipated, and also let them know what i had been told at the time of rental. I found out later that their whole 6-cylinder argument was entirely false, and the original 4-cylinder car would have performed quite adequately. The employees at the denver airport, particularly the manager, were surly and uncooperative, and i also got very little assistance from their corporate customer service. Although i feel that their actions were unscrupulous and unethical, i place much of the blame on myself for not reading the fine print in my hurried state at the time of rental. Let this be a warning to you...Do not believe what any employee tells you that you are getting in the contract...Read the fine print before you leave the parking lot! You are merely a dollar sign to these companies, and if they can "trick" you into a bigger charge, they will never hesitate to do so. They do not care if they lose you as a customer, and they also do not care about the ill will that they are creating in their customer base.

This was a horrible experience from pick up to drop off and still now ONE WEEK LATER...STILL A PROBLEM .

I made a reservation about 1 month prior to my flight, so I would have a car when I flew into Midland International airport.

Dollar Rental had no cars...I had to wait as a young lady text and called someone to bring a car...I missed my appointment. Finally brought me my car and it was parked in the Hertz rental space...which was fine

Upon return, I returned my car on a Sunday at 1pm 4 hours early and NO ONE was at the counter, they did have a drop box for the key...so I left a note with the space "Hertz" just like when I picked it up, mileage and key. The company send auto text ...about an hour later reminding me that my car is due at 5pm.

YESTERDAY 1 week later, I receive 3 phone calls and 2 texts regarding this car...is going to be reported stolen if I don't return it or contact Dollar immediately...I did only to find their office is closed on Sunday's...

Today Monday July 20th, I spend 30 minutes on hold and 30 minutes being switched from person to person ...only to find they have no record...of my phone number, the lease number only my confirmation number...FINALLY it is taken care of.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE, HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE...I WILL NEVER USED DOLLAR RENTAL AGAIN

As I was attempting to rent a car, two gentlemen stopped in. They had rented a dollar rental car at another location and asked if they could add another driver's name to the rental agreement. The manger rudely refused. They responded by telling them that they were told they could add a driver at any Dollar location. He told them to get out and call corporate if they didn't like it. I should have up and left at seeing this, but as they are very far from the airport and near nothing else it would have been difficult to select another vendor at this late stage in the process.

When I returned the car, they found a small dent in driver's side door. It must have occurred in a parking log and never even saw it. I provided my car insurance and asked them to work it out with them. He told me it would be $1250 to repair the damage (no formal estimate was made, this was off the top of his head for the repair for a small dent), but he would take $800 now. I asked again that he work with my car insurance to settle this matter. A few months later, he decided to send it to a collection agency. He has never contacted my car insurance company. Now, I have to get a lawyer involved.

Other comments have described similar rude behavior and he insistent, "Go call corporate and get out" response to everything.

I have used the Dollar.com website to rent cars on quite a few occasions. On Feb 3 2015, I searched for a car to support a trip in early March. I was provided an option to pay now to get a great deal: $88.74. I did not receive any indication that I was interacting with another site/vendor/broker. I got an e-mail confirmation from Dollar but did not open it until yesterday (Feb 14) when I was preparing for my trip. I noticed, unlike prior Dollar reservations, the e-mail required me to click into it to get the details. Once I did, I learned that while the car booked was Dollar, the booker was "cartrawler.com" a company in Dublin Ireland. Most important, I saw there was reference to the $88.74 payment, however, the voucher also stated I still owed $71.54 at the counter! I tried to call Dollar (after 12 minutes hold time, I hung up). I wrote Dollar an e-mail advising on what happened (assumed cartrawler had infected their site) and asking that they honor the $88.74. I did not hear back. Today, 15 Feb 2015, I tried calling Dollar again and learned they know about cartrawler (the customer rep did not come out and say this until I pressed for it), have an arrangement with them, and they would not guarantee the $88.74 (3 days plus 2 hours) that was originally cited as the total. The "best" they could do was provide a mid-size SUV at $40 per/day plus taxes (original car was a compact). I asked to speak to a supervisor and after a few minutes was told I was being transferred but ended back where I started- on hold via the general Dollar customer service line. After 5 minutes I hung up. Need to find a rental car for my trip elsewhere.

I will no longer use Dollar or any other company that does business with cartrawler. I am just glad I caught this in enough time to stop payment via my credit card.

On 12/8/14 I flew into Denver for a family emergency with no rent car arranged. I rented a car for one week, agreement # [protected].Two things happened that I am very disturbed about. #1-when I needed to extend my stay by one day the rates quoted of $39/day for the week rate or a $78 for daily rate became $129/day. #2-last week I was sent a bill of $72.20 for 4 tolls ranging in price from $1-$2.00 each with an administrative fee attached to it of $15.00 per toll. I was quoted $279/week but with charges it would be $386.58. I was actually charged $445. And then I got the bill for tolls.

Was asked at counter if I wanted insurance option and I stated no. The agent
then said ok and sign the keypad. I did not read the 1000 words they had on
the screen as the agent said this has been waived please sign. I was charged
59.00 for this and called customer service who was very rude and stated do not
even ask for a refund as we have your signature on file you selected the insurance
option. Besides arriving at 10:00pm and no Vans wre available and was told to
stand in line that I was the 5th one to get a van and they could not tell me when that
was going to happen. Standing there with 3 children at night and had no idea when I was going to get a van...Unbelievable

I rented a car with Dollar for 4 days. It seemed like a good deal when I got the estimated total to be $225 (including taxes) but I ended up paying $305 with all their additional fees and taxes. Which is fine if they were all legitimate charges and fees, but what ticked me off was they gave a compact car when my reservation was for a midsized car. I would advise caution while buying their "Prepaid Fuel" option. The compact car they gave me had a 12 gallon tank but they charged me 16 gallons and when I called their customer service they agreed to refund the difference for the down grade but denied to refund the difference and the lady was rude and said she can't do anything about it. WTF?. I would never rent from Dollar again (of course, unless it is really a very good deal) and never would buy the "Prepaid Fuel" option form any rental.
Goodbye Dollar!

6/25/2014 to 7/02/2014 I rented a car from Dollar Rent a Car (Rental Agreement #1J0237112) from the Providence airport (where I flew in and out of) to visit my sick mother in Groton, CT. A few weeks after the trip I receive a notice in the mail (Notice #[protected]) from a sub-division or agency Dollar sub-contracts tickets/tolls issues with (Dollar Processing Services) whereby the notice accused me of going thru a pay-toll in Chicopee, MA (near Springfield) and that since I did not rent the Dollar transponder I was being penalized the toll of $3.85 and a $15.00 administration fee.

The issue I have with this is I was nowhere near Chicopee, MA during my trip and I have not been in that area for years so the alleged toll charge at Chicopee, MA is erroneous and not valid. I have contacted Dollar, the agency citing me, and MA DOT in an effort to nullify this notice/charge and I have asked for pictures showing the license plate and vehicle associated with this toll charge... to date I have not received a reply and it feels like a "hung jury" as there is no evidence and only a false charge.

At this time I am not sure if this was just an honest error or is it some sort of a scam done by the car rental companies... I would like to know how many other people have had similar issues.

I rented a car at sanford airport for a week through dollar rent a car. When I went through the website I got a conformation that said my rental would cost 196.32 for a week. I thought great this is nice until I got the bill. I declined the insurance 3 times to the sales person. I have insurance. I was charged anyway in the amount of $97.93. I asked about the tolls and was told that the epass was included on all cars (standard) and that you will be charged for the tolls. I was charged 45.99 dollar on tolls that were less than 10 dollars this is excessive and was never explained. By the time they added all the excessive fees my total to rent a car for a week went to 408.31. This whole transaction was a mess. I am at fault for not looking at the bill but I expected them to be honest. This was by far underhanded. I also was harnessed by there security department and told they were filling charges with the police department because I did not return the car. I called there customer service department and was told "well you should of read your contract before you signed. This was a very hard lesson to learn! What I don't understand is why they get away with this. I read thousands of customer complaints on line too bad I didn't look before I rented..

I am absolutely disgusted with Dollar Car Rental.
I go to rent a car on 2nd July 2014 at 10pm at the Pittsburgh International Airport. They say they have only on car which is white in color when i ask for other color options. The car had more than 20 scratches with paint off, dents on the bonnet and chips in the windscreen.
I have to walk back to the inside of the airport to report the problem.
When i start driving after having wasted half an hour I realised
that the car is stinking of urine and an orange sign shows up on the dashboard that explains a traction problem.
Then I pull over to a gas station, speak to them on their phone number and they ask me to return the car, When i go back which takes another 20 minutes they issue me a Gold Colored car. So they LIED as it appeared from the heavens!
The next day when I call the customer service number on the envelops I am tossed around for one and a half hours!
From a customer service representative to road side assistance! Then I call
again and then they say they are reservation and they transfer me to some other department which does not apply to me! All i wanted to let customer service know was they they LIED to me and wasted so much of my time and first gave me a car that was broken and offensively smelling.
So i finally wasted 3 hours of my precious time and am finally writing this because there was no customer service to reach at Dollar Rental!

Beware folks - seems one of the latest scams run by DOLLAR / THRIFTY CAR RENTAL is to hit you with a "unpaid toll" charge long after you have rented a car from them (5 mos. in my case). Oh, it was a small $2.60 "unpaid toll" but with a $15 "administration fee". My wife and I never drove on a toll road, never crossed a toll bridge & never entered anything charging a toll. I was informed that it was to be charged to my credit card, the one the original rental was charged to.

Now just imagine millions of renters being scammed the same way - they wait until the customer is comfortably home again, then they send you the scam charge & they dare you to call and complain. I did and got...yep...the endless run-around of phone #'s to this recording, which sends you to that recording, which sends you to some complaint boiler room that shuttles you off to the original # again. Of course they plan on you just giving up, the result being a million customers charged an "unpaid toll" of a few bucks PLUS the "administrative fee" of $15 racks them up a cool $17 million a year...enough to pay the slimy vice president who came up with the scam his yearly "bonus".

I'm taking it to my credit card company now - I will NEVER pay this slime charge.

i have a booking for a Camry Toyota car from Mar 22, 2014 until Mar 27, 2014 to be picked up from sharjah airport. my voucher Booking# 1643576 and my confirmation # 112815. I went to THE COUNTER OF Dollar rent a car at 11:30AM and i wait for 20 minutes than he back to me to say we don't have Camry car or similar but i will upgrade you and i say OK than he gave me papers to sign for cruse Chevrolet car what he said it is upgrade. When i go to receive i found a very small car and i asked the man in the parking what is this size and he said it is corolla car similar. I back to the counter and i told hem this is not upgrade, this is dawn grade. He said well yes, because we don't have Camry similar now. i told hem you are fooling me and cheating me. He said sorry but you can go to Dubai airport
and pick up Camry. I told hem my booking is here not one hour from her. After long conversation he said OK you have to wait one hour and somebody will bring the car. i told hem that me booking to receive the car at 11:30AM not 2PM. I suggest to hem to bring the car to my hotel near the airport but he refused (the man name is: Joel). than i wait until i receive the car at 1:45PM. Therefore, i am looking for compensation against this trouble that waist my time and important meeting in sharjah.

Dear Sirs,
I had a reservation for a compact at Dollar Rent A Car. The reservation was #[protected]. The reservation was done and paid to RentalCars.
I had many problems when I went to Atlanta Int. Airport to get the car. They didn't have any compacts available at that moment so they forced me to accept a larger car under the arguments that the compact I had a reservation was too small and the bags I had (one bag) would not fit the car and there were many 8-wheeler cars on the roads. No matter what I said, the assistant kept forcing me to accept a larger car. In the end, I just accepted that because of his insistence.
But the problem didn’t stop there. He said I didn’t have full insurance. I told him my insurance was full and he said I would have to pay for total insurance, which was not true, because I had already paid for that.
He also said I would have to pay for the tolls in Florida, since I was going to Florida. He said I would have to pay for fines if I didn’t accept the insurance. And it was a lie! I would never be fined if I just paid for the tolls on toll sites.
The total of the pre-paid rental was about US$ 280. The total of extras I had to pay was US$ 453.40.
I left Atlanta and drove to Orlando. The same day I contacted RentalCars about all the extras (RoadSafe, PPP, APCONRGFee, and the tolls). I was informed I had to wait until returning the car in order to have my complaint processed.
I returned the car, contacted RentalCars and they just told me they could not do anything for me.
Dollar Rent A Car was also contacted. It’s been weeks since the due time for them to reply has passed. I even contacted them a second time and they haven’t made any contact.
All I want is for them to cancel all the extras and refund me.
Best wishes,

Marcos Evandro Cintra
[protected]@gmail.com

I used Dollar for a rental vehicle and used the toll road, my expectation was I would need to pay the toll back, not the issue. The issue is that $15.00 fee assessed everytime I used a toll. So this means for $13.92 for tolls, I need to pay Dollar Rental an additional $105.00 for an "administrative fee" This was more than the car rental. They have found a scam/theft to pass on to us. Be careful.

I have never seen people like this!
I am 19 yrs old and trying to rent a car, so I find this place
They said I have to pay extra $25 dollar per day since I'm not 25yrs old
I told them it's OK with me
They ask me for my card. insurance. and driver licence
I gave them all the stuff they ask and two debit card
And he ask me do you have your student ID or passport?
I told them I left it at home, but if you need me to pay with cash I can do that, too
[ He said then I can't rent you a car ]
And he start to ask me''do you have a thousand dollar?''
I said are you kidding me? I'm just trying to rent a car for one day and you ask me for a thousand dollar deposit?
I told them I have enough cash to pay for my rental car if you don't trust my credit
He start to ask me how much I have in my bank account?
I think I don't have to tell a stranger how much I have in my bank account, and he don't have right to ask me a question like this
While I'm thinking all this, he turn around and" run my card with $1000 dollars", and turn back to me said:I just check your card you have more than a thousand dollars in your account
And I said what? If you not gonna to rent me a car why you do that?
[ How can you run my card with a thousand dollars without asking me anything? ]
he said I can't get the money without your signature anyway
The money will return to you in a week
but the point is I'm only gonna to be here for a week
and that money is needed for me and for my vacation this week
and we start to argue...
before I leave they said something really mean to me
but a never say anything mean to them

This is a really serious problem
I'm just a student
A thousand dollar is a really big number for me
that is the money I have been saving for a long time for my trip
[ And they just hold my money for a week and humiliate me in a public place ]
I don't know how can I survive in California with a little amount cash especially I'm a girl...
[ He knew he is not gonna to rent me a car at very beginning
I don't know why he still did that to me? What's the different for me that he just robbed me? ]
He hold all the money I needed and humiliated me...

I DON'T KNOW WHO WILL SEE THIS MESSAGE
BUT I REALLY NEED SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING
THEY CANNOT HAVE ANY CHANCE TO DO THIS TO MORE PEOPLE
THIS IS NOT RIGHT!
AND THEY DON'T KNOW THEY JUST MESS UP MY VACATION WHICH I HAVE BEEN WAITING,
THEY DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THEY HURT ME WITH THE WORD...

RE: Rental agreement # ZK074668-6
Additional charges $950.00 !

Dear Dawn,
As per our conversation yesterday I am writing this explanation of the events that have led me to contacting you.
On or about the last week of May I rented a vehicle at the Dollar facility near the New Orleans Int. airport. On May 19th, I stepped out of my house around lunch to find out that the car was missing. Then I noticed the keys missing from the key hooks in the house. We had a guest staying in our house for a few days and so I tried calling him to no avail. Later that afternoon he showed up at the house in a taxi and when I confronted him about taking the car and asked where it was, he became belligerent. So approximately at 5pm I called the police. He was noticeably drunk and incoherent. He admitted to taking the car and could not remember where he left it, but he did say he went to Harrah’s casino downtown. Officer Noris of the Jefferson PD made the arrest (complaint E-19871-11). After they both left, I called Dollar and reported the incident. I also drove to the New Orleans city impound to look for the car, but it had not been towed. Next day I called Dollar again and was told that the car was not reported stolen. I then called JPD and spoke to officer Noris who told me that I had to report the car stolen at the New Orleans PD because that is where we thought it was left. I thought this to be odd, but did I drove downtown to the NOPD office and spoke to the officer on duty. He told me officer Noris was wrong. The car was taken from my house and the person responsible was arrested both in Jefferson PD jurisdiction. I called JPD and talked to sergeant West and explain was I was told. He agreed that it was JPD jurisdiction, but said that car would not be placed on stolen list for the charge was “unauthorized use of a vehicle”. I tried to explain that the car is missing and was taken so it was STOLEN. I called Dollar and was given the number to a Dollar Detective “Alexander”. He told me that JPD was wrong and that he would try to call an officer to correct this. I then called the ranking officer at the 4th District Officer Kaho, who proceeded to correct the problem and file a complaint against officer Noris on the 21st.
Starting on the 20th everyday three times a day I called all 25 city of NO towing companies along with the city impound lot and in the evenings I drove all around the public lots and streets near the casino to see if I could find the car. I had also called the Harrah’s casino valet department and asked them if they had the car. On the day I found the car I decided to try to call the Harrah’s casino valet again and this time a very nice lady took the time to actually look for the car while I waited on the phone. About 30 min later, she came back on line and told me that the car had been there the entire time. I immediately called Sherrie at Dollar and told her that the car was at Harrah’s. I told her I would pick up the car. She told me that I could not pick it up because it had been reported stolen and if I got stopped by the police I would go to jail even if the contract was in my name for Dollar owned the car. She said not to worry, Dollar would call the police so they could meet at Harrah’s, verify ownership and then Dollar could take the car back to the lot. I was never told that I would be charged for towing, impound fees etc. had I been told this, I would have called the police chief myself, and asked to meet them at the car so I could take it back. I’m sure that after they had messed up the entire case and put me through the trouble they did, they would have complied to help me out. At any rate I would taken the car back myself no matter what. I would have also had a chance to see if the car had any damage or if the GPS had been stolen prior to the car being released from Harrah’s and under their valet responsibility. I never afforded a chance to very that the GPS was missing and to hold Harrah’s accountable for this.
After a few days I spoke to Sherrie Lowery at Dollar again and we went over the bill. After all I have been through, she gave me a break as outline in the final settlement bill enclosed. I gave her a credit card and she charged a total of $350.00 leaving $0 balance.
Much to my surprise a couple of weeks later I get a call from JNR collections demanding a payment of $937.32 with no backup documentation. I called and spoke to Sherrie at Dollar and she did not know anything about this. I forwarded the copy of the paid in full receipt from Dollar to JNR and they told me that it did not matter and that corporate adjusted the bill. I then asked them to at least have the courtesy of forwarding an itemized copy of the presumed charges. It took JNR a few months to do this, meanwhile the harassing letters and threatening phone calls continued. Finally on Aug 26 I received a copy of the new charges. Needless to say, I was appalled. The charges were exactly those that Sherrie and I had discussed and that she had adjusted in the final invoice. One of the charges was a rental fee for a GPS along with a replacement fee for the same. This is not only ludicrous, but also reprehensible. I also find the cost of the NUVI replacement at $450 very questionable for I own two NUVI GPS and that unit does not even cost that at retail prices which I am sure Dollar does not pay to Garmin. This is morally and ethically wrong. Since I am not an attorney I cannot question the legality, but I suspect that this practice of gouging may also be illegal.
Since the beginning of October, I have been trying to reach Sherrie and others at Dollar to try and resolve this issue. Meanwhile according to JNR I have been placed on a national “do not rent” list by Dollar and they have been reporting this collection to all the credit agencies affecting my rating. I even spoke to Dollar’s corporate attorney, Mr. William Walker, who told me that this was in the hands of corporate offices and there was nothing he could do. He then told me he would have corporate call me and gave me their number. Another month went by, and I never heard from corporate. I finally tried to call and was able to speak to Dawn. She asked me to write this letter and forward to her.
 
In closing, I hope and trust that Dollar will reconsider its position, honor the settlement agreement I hold with $0 balance, remove me from any “do not rent” list, and clear my credit with all reporting agencies in order to restore the damaged caused by this incident. Dollar should also consider the ordeal I have endured and the efforts I have made to rectify this situation.
Please advice at your earliest.

Respectfully,

Carl

I made reservations months in advance of my September 3rd rental date. I checked the rates of several agencies before selecting Dollar at $398.51 for the duration of my rental. When I approached the Dollar counter with reservation number in hand, the clerk was surprised that I had reserved a mini-van and was not sure they had one (I thought that's what a reservation was for). Anyway, she called and asked if one was available and then asked them to get it cleaned up for a customer. We had to wait 30 minutes. I gave her my credit card which I had made my reservation with and she informed me that it would expire sometime during the week of the rental. I showed her the card which clearly stated it would not expire until 04/14, not 09/11. She would not accept that, so I had to give her my bank card instead. I accepted the fuel purchase and the cost was $490.11. She told me that was a deposit, not the charge. When we returned the car, on time, we greeted by a very friendly agent who received the rental back and gave us our recite. When we got checked and were seated at our gate in the airport, I looked at the recite and saw we were charged the whole $490.11. I emailed customer service and was told in a reply message by Renee Turner, I had been charged $72.00 for 20 gallons of gas. That was about $.010 cents more than any station we subsequently bought fuel from. The rest of the overcharge was for a late fee. As stated previously, the car was returned on time, it was not late. She did offer to send me 4 $10 vouchers for future rentals, but I declined. Having read several of the other complaints, overcharging appears to be standard practice with Dollar.

Dollar sold me a car rental voucher with reservation confirmation #CA284664680 and payment confirmation at GBP 197.59.
As Dollar agreed to a service with me to provide the car rental voucher, Dollar entered a legally binding contract with me.
Dollar revoked my reservation just few hours prior to pick-up time when I was flying to Vancouver. Check-in agent and his manager refused to accept my voucher, I had no choice but to rent a substitute car with walk in rate.
I wrote several emails to Dollar’s service department but they are not willing to take responsibilities nor taking care of me.

Intimidated and Upsold at Dollar Car Rental at McCarran
Last week I set up a car rental for my wife who was in Las Vegas.
Prior to her arrival there, I phoned to confirm the rental and to ensure that we were only getting the supplemental liability insurance, and that we were waiving the loss damage insurance. (this is covered by our credit card).
When she arrived at the Dollar counter to sign for the car, the Dollar clerk, who she describes as large and irritable, told her that she HAD to take the collision insurance. She explained that her husband said to waive this insurance, that it was covered by our credit card. He wouldn't take no for an answer, rather he said that our card would not cover all the damages should we get into an accident. There were a lot of people behind her, all the other clerks were busy, it was 10pm at night, ... so she signed for the collision insurance. An additional $90!

I've since contacted Dollar asking that they reimburse us this $90 for insurance we didn't need. They have refused.

We have rented vehicles for many of our trips. I have had conversations with the credit card companies, who have ensured me that we do not need collision insurance, only third party.

My wife was extremely upset by all of this. She felt that the clerk bullied her into signing something she knew she didn't need. She called me in tears afterwards. She said the guy was on the verge of yelling at her.

I said, 'no worries hon". I'll call them when you arrive back home, explain the details, and they will gladly refund the $90. No such luck. They are just as rude on the phone. "We see here that your wife signed the papers...which means she accepted the contract!" end of story.

I made a rental reservation with Dollar for a compact car May 05 to May 21 2011
The cost estimated was $349.34. When I went to pickup the vehicle the Dollar
Agent(scotty) advised me that I required additional insurance, Supplementing my
policy from Wawanesa insurance.I told him I had full coverage under my insurance;he said I did not, without looking at my insurance coverage.He said that
this new "optional insurance was new in Florida this year", loss damage waiver
$26.99 a day (total $431.84.It wasn;t til I arrived home from vacation and called
my Ins. co.They advised that I was pressured into buying Ins.I did not need
was charging me $431.84 more