Thrifty - Terstappen reviews and complaints

I rented a car from Terstappen in October, 2012 and took out all of the optional insurance on it because I didn't want to have to deal with some stupid issue over a scratch or parking lot ding. We had some problems with the car right from the start, specifically it didn't shift well or smoothly (it was an automatic transmission), but we decided to put up with it and just chalk it up to being one of the worst cars either of us had ever driven (even though we've rented Opels in the past and not had this type of problem). The day before our vacation ended the car got much worse, threatening to stall/die at intersections, so we reported the issue when we turned the car in. TWO MONTHS LATER I got a letter in the mail saying that they had charged my Visa credit card for a couple hundred euros due to damage from A MARTEN BITE. I'm not making this up. I sent a strongly worded response to the email listed on the letter the next day and have heard nothing in the month since. Do NOT use this company, and be aware that if you think you are booking a car through Thrifty or Dollar at the Frankfurt Airport, you are actually going to be dealing with Rent a Terstappen!

I used Terstappen at the Frankfurt airport in Jun 12 as an active duty USAF member on official TDY orders. I also turned my vehicle in undamaged, but received a charge from Terstappen for $600.00 2 months later. I contacted Thrifty Customer Service in the US, and they contacted Terstappen. They came back and said that the vehicle was damaged, but could not provide any photos or explain why it took 2 months to notice the "damage". Thrifty is refunding the charge, but based on other posts here, I am expecting to see these charges reappear on my card. They are scammers and pull this crap because they know that most of their customers are not from Germany, which makes it far more difficult to dispute their BS charges. DO NOT use this company!

FRAUD THRIFTY-TESTAPPEN
I rented mercedes minivan from 24-31/03/2012 in Munchen through BOOKING.COM and received confirmation from TRAVELJIGSAW, they sent me confirmation from THRIFTY.
21/04/2012 company called TERSTAPPEN widraw from my card 1000 euro
15/06/2012 TERSTAPPEN refunded me 556euro back.
I did not authorize this company either to withraw or to refund. I have made enquiry from my bank (Citibank) to investigate this question. Will fight.

YES! AVOID AT ALL COSTS... OR IT WILL COST!
I can echo the comments above. I booked through CarRentals.com and was quoted ~ $300.00 for my rental (2 weeks). I was anticipating this to be more but was floored when my final bill came to $1, 321.53! I, too, purchased travel insurance only to be told that they do not accept this and that "they keep having problems with this." They promptly produced a standardized letter for ME to fax to the company to cancel my claim, and would not release the car unless I purchased their insurance policy for $412 (in addition to the now $910 rental car). $910 I can easily accept as the cost for a rental car for 2 weeks, but a mandatory insurance plan that is half the cost of the rental?! And you are left with no other choice unless "you have a pre-authorized letter from Master Card stating you have Platinum status and insurance coverage". Talk about non-existent fine print leaving you with no other choice when you arrive. I hope others read this before making plans to travel to Frankfurt!

Rented a car at the airport in Munich, 1000, the euro was blocked, and after 2 days of the date the last car was an additional 1, 000 euros deducted! I do not speak German, but no explanation was provided. Ready for a collective fight against fraudsters palych_tver dog mail.ru

Me too. Still waiting for the 600 Euro refund. They supposedly place a "hold" but the 600 are actually deducted from your account. I called and they said they issued a refund order 2 days ago. I called my bank as well. Nothing yet has appeared in the balance. The 600 are still gone. My rental was a one way between FRA and DUS. They forced me to buy insurance and they also had another thing which involved tires(?) for an extra 10 Euro per day. Under carrentals.com they say it is 25 Euro per day but it comes down to 50 plus taxes. A complete rip off.

I am in the exact same boat. I just rented a car from these ### in Duessseldorf Airport on 10/14/2011. They took the 600 Euro deposit and now won't give it back. They are saying there was a scratch under the head light. I am disputing through AMEX and 1000% will not pay this. They purposely take advantage of foreigners. I have been calling them every day and even have figured out Mr. Terstappen's home phone number...I'm taking it to this level. + [protected] If I don't have this resolved within a week, I will start calling him at ALL hours of the day.

I too am currently fighting Terstappen for a false claim out of their Frankfurt Airport operations. The reason they have any kind of business at all is because they are a licensee of Dollar/Thrifty who are fundamentally reputable. My thinking is that contacting their head-office in New York would also get Terstappen's attention.

I just returned from Munich and am still fuming at the experience I had with Thrift/Terstappen. My experience is exactly what I see described here: a surprise requirement to purchase their insurance (effectively doubling the quoted price), a dented and dinged car in a poorly lit garage, and a claim upon return that I somehow created some new damage, along with a $1700 charge on my Visa card. Visa has been alerted. I will be contacting Thrifty tomorrow. But I do want to press the issue with the German authorities with respect to Terstappen. They need to be stopped immediately. They are crooks. If anyone wants to talk about a collective action or discuss options, feel free to email me at:
miketeskey0000 at gmail dot com.

Just received a charge for 1, 438 on a prepaid rental. They were pointing out a small scratch that could see under the main lights if you look closely. However when parked in the poorly lit parking spots it would be impossible to see such a scratch when taking out the car. They are basically taking the deposit and running with it. Now I need to dispute this through Visa. Complete crooks. - Frankfurt Airport

I also had Terstappen insist that I did not have the required insurance coverage even though the company travel group insisted every was paid for. This happened twice before the travel group at my company decided to book through EuropCar instead. - Munich Airport.