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Thrifty is demanding over $500 for damages incurred before I rented vehicle. See letter below for details:
Thrifty Car Rental
Attn: Niles Finley
DTG Operations, subrogation Dept
Dept 927
Tulsa, OK 74182
Re: Claim number 730170
I am in receipt of your letter dated January 29, 2009 in regards to the damages to the rental vehicle as well as your second letter dated February 10th in which you fail to address my concerns specifically in my letter I sent to your office February 2nd.
For the back drop to this story, we arrived at Thrifty (Sea-Tac) at approximately 11:30pm on December 18th. The weather was the worst storm in decades, dumping close to a foot of snow on the ground and then freezing. (verifiable with any news agency) At the time of our arrival temperatures were in the mid-teens. It took close to an hour to get the car and then when we were issued the Chrysler PT, we were unable to find it. I went back into the office, now after midnight and told the clerk. He couldn’t find it either and re-issued another PT that he retrieved from the snow covered lot.
The employee then went to an upper parking lot and drove the PT down to the lower lot where it was impossible to inspect the vehicle. The car was covered with approximately six inches of snow and ice with over eight inches of snow on the ground. We removed what snow we could off the hood with our bare hands in the freezing weather as the clerk was short-staffed and unable to assist. Your company has a responsibility to ensure that the vehicles can be inspected of which you failed to do. It was not realistic to expect me or anyone else to grab a snow shovel and shovel around and under the car in temperatures that were in the teens, let alone that it was in darkness. Your employee failed to inspect the vehicle before issuing and your company failed to provide an environment suitable for inspection. I also suspect that the previous party to this car failed to have their car inspected adequately upon their return due to the winter storm conditions or that the car was damaged by your employee when parked after their departure. With over eight inches of snow on the ground in your parking lot, it could easily have occurred.
As I stated in my first letter, this vehicle was parked in a dry, underground parking lot for most of the period rented as I was trapped in a motel near the Seattle Space Needle for 3 days. As the damages were to the front, under the bumper, it is obvious that the vehicle was damaged most likely in a parking stall with a concrete stop covered with snow. I never parked in such an area during my short rental period.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I (we) arrived at McCarran Airport about 12.30 am on 11/07/08 and agreed to add a driver to my reserved iternary for the total sum of $234.51 as documented. The attendant swiped my credit card and announced 'this card is not activated, give me another credit card', So I did. It was late and my being AA frequent flier accepted AA's promotion with Thrifty as honest.
The following day I called HSBC bank for inquiry and discovered: Unknown to me INSTEAD of $234.51 That $350.00 was immediately debited/collected by the Thrifty attendant WHO LIED collected the money, stating the card was not activated, documented my card inactive on the computer, then used my second credit card and froze $350.00 on a second card! He collected $115.49 overcharge+ froze $350.00 without explanation/my knowledge/consent. Also, I refused the GPS. insurance/any other offers.
On 11/07.08 I spent about $5.00 on my cell phone (as documented) calling Thrifty for explanation for the difference in prices, or credit without results. My friend and I drove to Thrifty's terminal at McCarran Airport where we rented the car and spoke to Thrifty's supervisor seeking my credit due.. Although I showed my bill and requested an explanation for the difference of $350.00 debited instead of $234.51 there is no explanation!
The supervisor looked in the computer and said' when you return the car with a full tank of gas, you'll get your refund...KNOWING I AM OVERCHARGED! I replied that I had contacted my bank with explanation. Also, stating the fact that I will pay ONLY $234.51 as documented and evidenced by my roomate whom paid an additional $70.00 as included in the total bill. Thus, Thrifty, left me no options and I reported the second credit card as: being lost/stolen with unauthorized $350.00 from the second card. Also, an overcharge of $115.49.
On 11/13/08 I (we) returned the rental to Thrifty at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas with a full tank of gas as promised, with a bill documenting $234.51. Then asked Terry (Customer Service) for an explanation of the overcharge of $115.49 on the first credit card that the attendant said was not activated plus a frozen $350.00 on my second credit card...He looked at my customer copy...then in his computer...stating that' according to the first check in attendant the first credit card was not activated...therefore, the second credit card was frozen.
I explained that THE BANK TOLD ME THAT UNKNOWN TO ME the attendant had ALREADY TAKEN OUT $350.00US Then told me the first card was inactive, charged me additional $115.49 THEN used my second card and froze $350.00 without explanation, authorization...All thrifty will say is 'we'll pay $350.00 frozen +$114.49. My bank first said 'it is between the merchant and you'. Then, we will honor the bill of $234.51. I am filing a complaint with The State Of Nevada's Attorney General, BBB+. Watch out for these guys especially late night travellers!
Don't ever rent any car from Thrifty!
Thrifty in Perth Airport Australia cheated me as well.
I returned the car I rented with FULL TANK petrol, yet they charged my credit card for petrol refueling.
Looks like they are robbing their customers worldwide!
Thrifty's DTG Subrogation Department is trying to cheat me. One of their cars DID sustain damage while in my possession. They sent me a bill, adding the unreasonable "loss of use" fee (as if they didn't have any other cars on their lot and had to turn away customers while this car was being repaired) and an "administration" fee (like I should pay them to run their own business). I paid the bill, in full, and have a paper trail to prove it. Over a month later, they have sent me a letter threatening to initiate litigation or sic a collection agency on me if I don't pay MORE within 14 days. No explanation, no request, just a threat. Took three days for the letter to get here, and for the past four they have not returned my phone calls/e-mails. I think I can figure out what they're going to do for the rest of the 14 days. Yes, this is a very unethical business. I will rent elsewhere, and spread the word.
I was Thrifty-ed at Munich airport, I returned the car end of Feb, the agent refused to check it as free from defects (I had found and reported extra damage on pick-up).
Unknown to me for some 7 weeks Thrifty had taken €1000 deposit for damage (that I did not do) without informing me. I only knew because they eventually refunded €160 in May!
AMEX insurance covered me for this but I have issued instructions not to use Holiday Auto or Thrifty to the rest of my employees.
Incidentally the paperwork that Thrifty sent me in German appears to be an estimate not an invoice, I am hoping that AMEX will reject this and reverse the charge :0)
Be very careful renting at Munich airport as I am unsure if the receivers are on some sort of commission?
They also seem to take advantage of existing damage when the next customer does not pay extra for the damage insurance!
Same here...was ripped off in London..."new" invisible scratch on rear door + also "new" 2 inch scratch on alloy wheel...55 pounds extra I was charged- when I asked the guy how much they'd charge me, he revealingly told me 'we always charge 55 pounds'. Nice One! DO NOT RENT FROM THIS LOT! Pay a little more get a car from somewhere else...In the end you'll pay a lot less
They got me to take the insurance, but then added on a bunch of stuff I didn't expect. My $35 rate on a 3-day rental for a crappy Hyundai was $368.84! I will definitely use a more reputable company next time.
Thrifty Australia have done exactly the same to me - must be a company wide scam.
I rented a car in Brisbane. It had a slight dent in the rear bumper with associated scuffs and scratches. We were forced to inspect it in a dimly lit car park but could see that the damage had been noted as scuffs and scratches all along the rear bumper.
After getting back to the UK we got a bill for an extra A$1100 for damage to the rear bumper. Thrifty claim that there is now a crack along the rear bumper in addition to the already noted scuffs and scratches. So they've billed me A$1100 for a crack which I didn't cause to an already damaged bumper which they presumably charged the previous customer as well.
I have many authorities working on my behalf to reclaim the money. I shall take them to court if I have to.
I mega agree! Twice we have rented from Thrifty, twice the agent said he and she were too busy to go with us to inspect the car, twice (with no warning) we have received bills in excess of $1300 (for one, and $444 for the other) for repairs on damages we did not create. Each time their collection agency sent us proof that Thrifty's insurance paid for the alledged damages. I took pictures of the second car the next morning when it was daylight and we could see damage. I called Thrifty and the agent told me she had personally inspected the car when it was checked in with the previous renter and nothing was wrong. She said she personally had washed it yet there were mud clumps on both sides. Again the agent was too busy to go with us to the car to inspect it the night we got it. Both times we returned the cars before the stores opened in the morning. We indicated what time we would be returning the car on the internet when we reserved the car. True, thrifty was cheaper than the rest but they are scam artists. DO NOT USE THRIFTY!
Same thing here. Got a car from Vancouver airport with over a dozen scatches and scuffs on it. When I returned it 10 days later they claimed that there was one new one. Just got a bill a month later for $149.39 ($95 repair, $24.39 loss of use, $30 administration). Claim that had some fix the scratch the very next day. I rent a car a couple times each year from the Vancouver airport normally I use Budget (have for the last 16 years), Thrifty sucked me in with their lower initial price so I thought I would try them. Well i've learned my $149 lesson. I'm sure if I had taken their insurance (another $240) the "extra" scratch would not have been found. Thirfty losted what could have been a steady customer. They just don't care.
My wife and I had a terrible experience at the Denver Airport Thrifty. We had booked a car through orbitz and it was to be about 120 for the couple days I needed it. I had the confirmation papers and even called before we left from Detroit to make sure they would have the car.
Well after our flight, we took the shuttle to the Thrifty and I showed them our paperwork. The guy behind the counter said Okay, and which insurance plan do you want? He gave us a middle-tier insurance program.
I then asked what the average cost of gas was in the city, to which he replied "about "$3.15" and we can guarantee your rate of only $2.99 a gallon if you purchase a full tank. - I thought about it and then declined. (I later found out that the average cost of gas there was $2.45)
I give him my card and he wants me to sign the disclaimer/contract.. I read it over and it says the cost is $350.00
I questioned him and he came up with some BS about insurance, taxes, fees. Really a bunch of bull. But we weren't left with much of an option. I asked about if they had cheaper cars I could rent. He said they do.
So I said okay, give me a sub compact and leave that insurance charge off. To which he replied, we cannot do that.
I said, why not? You just said you had smaller cars available. He responded that the computer has my name reserved with that first car we booked weeks earlier and it cannot be voided. I said, I never signed anything. He just said sorry, that is how the system works.
So I said, okay, my wife would like to rent that car then. To which he replied, "We are not taking walk-ins"
I ALMOST LOST IT. I immediately said, I need to speak to a supervisor. 5 minutes later he came back and said that he was in a meeting. I went over the whole situation again and he said we had to leave.
This pathetic rat of a human being had me pretty upset. So we walked out with no car... We walked into Advantage and I was expecting to run into the same thing. This was not the case. We received great help and were so happy with the service, I had the girl add insurance and a full tank of gas to the order so she would get commission. Even with gas and insurance, it was still 120 less than thrifty and the bogus rate.
Stay away from them.