Alamo Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

Like previous complaints, I rented a car from Alamo. I was in Nashville at 1 o'clock in the morning and the airport garage was dimly lit. I did the usual walk around inspection and did not note any obvious damage. When I returned the car the next day, the agent looked over the car. I noticed that he was looking under the car. Not an area that I inspected! He said there was evidence of damage. There was, but it was not visible with a standard, standing-up, walk around check. You had to bend down to see it. I did not damage this car! I rent cars frequently and will state that 99% of agents would not have checked for or seen this damage. Note the angle necessary to take the attached picture. I immediately complained to the supervisor, who checked and said that there was no prior report of this damage. He also said that damage like this was often ignored and no claim was made. Well, I was billed $160 for the damage and a $50 "administrative fee". As a physician who does research, you can do prove a negative. You can not prove that you did not do something. I paid them. I will never rent from Alamo, or its affiliated companies, Enterprise and National. They stuck me, but will lose much more $$ in the future.

I Live in New Zealand and booked a car rental on line with Economy Car Rentals for a visit to UK.
I received a receipt for the deposit I paid of EUR223.93 (copy attached)
Also a car rental voucher for Alamo Rent a Car at Manchester Airport. This stated an amount of GBP457.86 to be paid at the rental desk, and this included Full insurance package (copy attached)
When I returned the car I was told everything was in order and fully paid.

On 10th July an amount of GBP552.38 was charged to my credit card with no explanation for the difference.

On the 20th July another amount of GBP217.01 was charged to my credit card with no invoice, explanation, or correspondence. (Copies attached)
This is a difference of GBP311.50 from the amount originally quoted.

Economy Car Rentals advertise "no hidden fees" ?

My email address for a reply is :- [protected]@hotmail.com

We reside in Perth Western Australia and hired a vehicle online through Europar who turned out to be Alamo car hire.The hire period was from the 17th May 2014/20th June 2014 to be collected in Manchester and returned to the same area.When we collected the vehicle we were told the tank was full and that we should lreturn the vehicle empty, no option was gived although we were informed later that we had elected to take the fuel option with a full tank, so we paid upfront for that.At some point during our vacation we were charged part of the total account for the hire period which included the sum of 44.29 pounds for the fuel.When we returned home we find we have been charged the fuel option once again, 44.29 pounds.We have emailed the company several times asking for our money to be refunded but they choose not to reply.The name is Roger Webber...12 Gillen Place...Waikiki...Western Australia...Rental agreement number...[protected]
Please can you help us obtain our refund?

Regards,
Roger Webber

I rented a vehicle thru Alamo/Enterprise/Eurocar from Glasgow Airport in May. The rental charge was expected to be about 110 pounds, or $210 Cdn. We returned the car & it was inspected & accepted without incident. A couple weeks later my father-in-law who had also rented a car at the same time noticed he had been charged twice for his rental. We checked our credit card statement & saw we had been charged $499 Cdn instead of $210.

Emails to Alamo have gotten responses from Customer Care reps saying they're looking into it, but nothing more. It's been 3 weeks since we first notified them of the 'error' which should be more than enough time to be contacted by a Manager, or someone from the Glasgow location or anyone that is actually looking into the case.

The fact that something similar happened to my father-in-law & a Google search turns up several similar cases makes this appear to be more than a coincidence or at best, a case of lazy/negligent/terrible customer service. I would not recommend renting through this group of companies (and note that Alamo=Enterprise=National=Eurocar). This has been a very frustrating experience & chasing down $300 that was taken from me inappropriately is not how I like to spend my spare time.

And one more note - The billing fiasco is in addition to a few other instances of poor service (was given a smaller car than the one I had booked for the same price, aggressive & misleading efforts to sell insurance upgrades) that had already made me question dealing with Alamo again but wouldn't have lead to me filing complaints.

On the 26 March I picked up a prepaid car from Alamo at Liverpool Lime Street Station at 14:30. The car was paid by credit car on the website rentalcars.com. We delivered the car fully tanked at Manchester Airport as agreed at approx 09:00 the day after. Now I see there's been an extra draw from my account of NOK 1655 (approx. £170) charged on 31 March. WHAT IS THIS?
Confirmation number [protected]
Booking Referance number: [protected]

Rented an Alamo car March 4, 2014 at the Tampa airport and returned to same airport. I did a walk around of the red Impala in a poorly lighted garage and did not notice damage although difficult to see. On return the attendant advised that I would need to pay for the dents on the rear trunk lid spoiler...my response was what dents? On a close look there were indeed dents in the top back edge of the trunk! This damaged had not been caused by my use. Furthermore, had car parked in a secure under building garage. I am suspicious of damage being caused in their own wash process but that is a scenario you can't get someone else to pay for.

Frankly, after reading countless similar accusations by Alamo I will do everything I can to cause further investigations and others with similar experiences must do the same. Effective immediately Alamo is removed from our personal travels and all our corporate rentals. This activity smells and at some point someone is likely to expose the scam.

I hired a car from Alamo at Phoenix airport on the 3rd of May this year, and was stitched up by Alamo.
Their agent attempted to sell us loads of options, when we said no to all of them he became very short close to being rude. He also tried to give us a lower level of car which I had to sort out at the pickup point (the lady here was very helpful).
However on return home to the UK and getting our credit card bill they had charged us for options we had not taken, such as a pre fuel charge of $43, not being aware of this we paid twice as we returned the car with a full tank
We were also charged $231 for an additional driver which I had originally requested through Rentalcar.com, but refused it when I got to the airport because they were running a promotion offering additional driver free! I of course said no to the agent when he asked, saying I will take the free offer to which he made no reply and continued preparing the paper work for us to sign.
In total I got charged $363.95 for extras I didn't request. Alamo's response to date has been hard luck you signed now go away. This is because of my final signature on the last page

I rented a car from Alamo for less than 24 hrs. There were no opportunities for anyone to do damage to the car (because where I parked) and when I would stop to eat, the car was always within sight.. I returned the car with no rush (I had two hours until my plane), I received a time stamped, mileage stamped receipt from an Alamo employee that met me at the car. I said, "I had no problems, and I filled it with gas" I said please look at the car, she said it looked fine. Two months after I returned the car I got a letter to make a claim on my insurance for $360 for unspecified damage to the car. No photos, no description of the damage, no nothing. I called the Damage Claim # and they said I couldn't do anything until they were ready to demand payment. And then I only had a certain amount of days to pay or they would send me to collections! It seems as though Alamo has this scam down to an art form, and it seems as tough they do it all over the country (according to all the postings)

I have a big problem !

I have received 3 letters from "enterprise Rent-a-car Violations" because I had a toll violation with my car rent at Alamo (Chicago international airport). The first letter says that my credit card will be charge of $15, 95. I agreed with it, but the second letter says it's not possible because "we do not have a valid credit card". My credit card hasn't changed since my rent and it's still valid.
I tried to phone several times and I let 3 messages: NO ANSWER.
I have called Alamo services for France, Alamo US... it's always the same result: nobody on the phone...and messages for nothing.
As I am an international customer (from France), I can't pay by check. I want to pay by credit card.
HOW CAN I PROCEED ?

I used Alamo Rent A Car at Kahului Airport, Maui, HI. I found that the car originally assigned to me had a mechanical problem. I reported it to them on spot. They gave me another one. I briefly inspected the car and did not recognize a problem. No Alamo employee inspected the car.

While I was using the car, I did not cause any damage. When I returned the car, an Alamo employee (Employee #ES36HF according to Alamo’s Express Incident Report) claimed that the left front bumper was unattached. It was unattached by only about 0.2 inches (or five millimeters), and the vehicle was black, so it was not surprising that I didn’t recognize it at my brief inspection of the car at the beginning, as well as for my whole renting period. The “unattached” gap was so small that once I slightly pulled the bumper, then it was simply fixed.

Having witnessed that the unattached bumper could be easily attached, the employee nodded, saying it was OK. He repeatedly said “OK, OK.” I asked him to get rid of the report that he had filled out. He said everything would be OK, and he was doing the paperwork so that the company can fix the car for future customers.

I believed that Alamo would not charge to me. The reasons are as follows.
1. First, there was no accident while I was using the car. The car’s general condition was bad from the beginning. There were several scratches in front and back bumpers.
2. Second, the bumper issue, if any, was so minor that one could fix it by simply pulling the bumper.
3. Third, the employee said the incident report is only filed for future customers.

One week later, I received a mail from Alamo, requesting me to provide my insurance information so that they can charge me. The amount was not specified.

I searched for similar experience with Alamo at internet. The first post that I found was almost exactly the same as my own experience. It should be noted that it happened at the same place, Kahului Airport, perhaps just about a month ago. At consumeraffairs.com, under “Alamo Car Rental” section (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/alamo.html), a user named “Jackie of St. Charles, IL” posted on March 19, 2012 that the Alamo employee said “no big deal” to the damage which the poster was not even responsible for, but Alamo eventually sent a claim of $1, 030. One can easily find other similar experiences at internet.

I am very disappointed at Alamo. Although Alamo Rent A Car usually provides lower prices, my recent experience, as well as the experiences of others, suggests that the quoted prices are not everything. I come to have an impression that Alamo is trying to make up the low prices by accusing the customers of the damages that they are not responsible for.

I wanted all my vacation paid before we left so the air, hotel disney tickets and rental car were prepaid! I booked the economy car through hotwire for a great deal at $205 for 10 days. When I went to the desk with the hotwire paper work showing paid(can't book with hotwire without paying for it at time of reservation) I ask about a FREE size upgrade. He checked and said he could bump me up one size. Great doesn't hurt to ask i said. I declined all the insurance and gps etc.signed everthing and he asked for the credit card(debt card) . the hotwire fine print says they might put a hold on a debt card so this seemed right to me. When i returned the car I got a receipt for 199.04. I thought this must be what alamo recieved and hotwire must make a 3% and that was why there was a difference in the dollar amount. Not the case I was charged $199.04 on top of the $205. I called and they said thats the upgrade charge! I said thats a FREE upgrade! No you signed all the paper work and agreed to the charges the told me. Really you are tell me it cost 199 buck more to rent a Kio soul over a an economy! I was put on hold and then told they would remove 50%. I then asked to speak to someone higher up and was told that they would call me back. 15 minutes later the same person called back and without admitting any wrong doing(just a miss understanding that the upgrade was $199 and not free)the 199.04 would be removed!I said thank you! but you and i both know you don't charge 20 more a day to upgrade from economy to intermediate size mayby $5 or $8! It's not like I drove off in a Caddy! I was charge twice. So i believe I got the free upgrade but the hotwire reservation was canceled out and the credit didn't move over to the new rental with the larger car class. In the end without anyone admitting the double charge I did get the money back.Hotwire customers bewhere of what you sign. I will never sign anything with an charge on it again!

I recently travelled to the DC Metro area and rented a car through Alamo. Upon pick-up at the Dulles airport, I was brought out to the dimly lit garage where the attendent asked me to choose a car. Upon choosing a car, the employee simply handed me the keys and asked me to sign. He performed no inspection of the vehicle, and did not ask me to perform any sort of inspection. I was in a hurry, and I've never had trouble with rentals in the past, so I didn't think about how odd it was that the employee did not inspect the vehicle or ask me to. I drove the vehicle to my parent's home in a quiet, safe neighborhood where it remained parked for nearly a week. No damage whatsoever occurred to the vehicle, and I returned it at the Baltimore BWI airport, where I was to catch my return flight. There was no Alamo employee on duty, and signs simply directed me to park the car in a garage and leave the keys in side. That was it! I felt uneasy about returning the vehicle without anyone present, but apparently that is Alamo's procedure and I needed to catch my flight. 2 weeks later, with-out a phone call, I received a letter in the mail from Alamo's "damage recovery unit" claiming I owed $914 in damages to the vehicle, with 2 pages detailing all the extensive work that would need to be done, which was absolutely ridiculous. I know that no damage occurred at all, and I feel like I was taken advantage of. I feel like it was the employees responsibility to inspect the vehicle or at least ask me to inspect it upon check-out. I've never had such a problem with other rental car companies. Upon further research online, I've found that this sort of scam is common with Alamo/Enterprise, as many consumers have been ripped off and scammed into fraudulent "damage" charges, even when an initial inspection had been done! I can't believe this company is allowed to carry a business license. I've since filed complaints with the BBB and the Attorney General in the state of Maryland. I refuse to pay these fraudulent charges. I'd just like to warn other consumers about Alamo/Enterprise and their scamming techniques. Be careful and avoid this company at all costs!

My niece (a young lady) was told she was obliged to purchase their supplemental insurance unless she could produce proof of insurance. She explained that she has a rider on her personal car insurance to cover rentals. However, they told her she could not leave with the car without purchasing their insurance at $12.44 per day. This is not Alamo's policy as per their Head Office. (Refer to their Case Reference #[protected].) I contacted Alamo at Orlando International Airport to try to resolve this issue. They put me on hold and then let the call die. Their Customer Service at Head Office then said she would have to take the car in and sign a new contract. However, she would have to pay the insurance up till the new contract. Don't deal with these people. They are only out to gouge you and will do everything possible to avoid solving your problem.

Want to have the memory of your vacation ruined? Read further and I'll gladly tell you how...

We rented a car from Alamo online through expedia prior to our trip. When we got in to Lihue, the lady in the parking lot upgraded us to a Dodge Charger from the compact we had booked. When I pulled up to the booth to exit the lot, I let the gentlemen in the booth know that the hood decal was missing along with dents and scratches in the doors. He held up their thing that has 3 circles (one for glass, one for burn and one for dent) and did something and told me we were good to go. The only way I know this thing is in existence is because I pointed out these problems on the car.

When I returned the car, I AGAIN mentioned to the woman about the missing decal and the dents and reminded her that I had told the gentlemen on the front end. She told me "yep, you're all good." We went on our merry way. This was at noon. Mid-afternoon the next day, the manager of the Alamo location called me. He asked me if I had noticed any damage to the doors and I said "ABSOLUTELY." I then ran him through the entire story. He said everything was great, he "just needed to know how it was presented to me." That's a quote. I asked him if there was a problem, because quite frankly I was surprised he called. We had not damaged the car in any way. He told me there was "no problem at all" and again said "I just needed to know how it was presented to you." I told him I could come back, and asked "there's no problem?" He said no problem at all.

After all, he was phoning me about things I had pointed out to them BEFORE I EVEN LEFT THEIR LOT. So I thought we were good and I flew home a day later. I'm not going to lie, I thought I had had a really good experience with Alamo. The people were friendly, the line moved efficiently and they upgraded my car. I came back and told me about it. Use Alamo, great price and a free upgrade.

2 months later, I get a letter in the mail asking for my insurance/cc info telling me that their Damage Recovery group had been notified that I had damaged or lost a car. REALLY? The car had dings, scratches, dents - Even it's hood emblem was missing and we're talking about a 2010. Not an old car.

It's too bad. What more can you do than point out problems to the rental company when you are in the parking lot? Do I ask for a BRAND NEW car next time?

I'm interested in the future of this issue and will post the results. I will phone them Monday. I hope that they realize this error and take it away. Will keep you posted.

If you don't buy the (expensive) insurance at the time of car rental, Alamo will try to claim damage at the time of the car return. (When the plane is waiting). To make matters worse, they will notify you three months later, at which time your credit card will no longer cover the damage. Alamo will then inflate the damage costs and send you to collections. Beware of this scam!

How about this for a policy? I rented a car from Alamo in Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) Airport. I chose Alamo because it is an American car rental company hoping that I will get no surprises as far as the terms of the rental agreement is concerned. It turns out, I was very wrong. When I returned the car the day of my departure, I had to rush to catch my plane. I was instructed to put the car in a parking lot belonging to Alamo where no one was available to greet me and take the car from me. I had to go to the main counter inside the airport to return the key. I was able to barely catch my plane. Two days later, I receive an email from the manager of the rental office at Paris Charles de Gaulle stating that they could not find the GPS unit in the car and, if I do not have it with me to return it to them, they had to charge me $300.00. I explained to them that when I returned the car it was there. They argued that their policy is to return it to the counter which of course no one told me before hand. Now, I would like to believe that this is all my fault and I should pay for it. But, if this is really their policy, then it is a wrong policy that is subject to abuse. First, why was there no body to greet customers returning their cars. That would prevent theft from the car for objects belonging to the company or the customers (left behind). In a country suffering from high unemployment like France, it should be a good thing to do . Second, let's assume for a moment the employee checking the car is a bit dishonnest or on minimum wage. Well, he/she could take the GPS and report that it was not in the car when he checked it. There is little risk on them and the company would just charge the customer and the problem forgotten. Third, the manager of the Alamo office at Charles de Gaulle Airport may on purpose charge customers the $300.00 in addition to keeping the GPS unit to improve his buttom line and look good to his bosses.

No matter how I slice this policy, it is not fair and certainly not American. Speaking with the main office here in the USA or the Paris (France) branch lead to nothing. For them, no GPS in the car means I have to pay for it and that is it. They feel no responsibility towards making sure returned cars are indeed handed over in a responsible manner.

It is my hope that all of you out there learn from this lesson and avoid Alamo car rentals in the future.

I reserved a car from Alamo in Puerto Vallarta on their website. When I got there they substituted a much larger vehicle. The vehicle had over 75k clicks on it and was covered in dings, nicks and scratches (over 50) which I noted on the appropriate sign out form. When I got away from the depot I discovered that there was an old tire and various garbage in the rear hatch. The rear hatch did not work properly, the seat pockets were torn, the carpets were stained and the electronic dash kept warning of various mechanical problems and tire under inflation. Needless to say it made me nervous to drive this vehicle but being after closing time I had no choice. On return, the counter staff were friendly but did seem to lack any authority to issue a small credit to help make up for the bad experience.
Do other renters have similar experiences with the Enterprise Group (National, Alamo, Sixt etc)?

False Commrcial:
A commercial from Costco magzine regarding Alamo rental car says: "Save up to 25%, plus one free day." However, when the reservation customer representative gave me the estimate, only $25 was taken off from the total amount, no "one free day" was shown neither. The total estimate amount was $134.63.

Dishornest Clerk:
At Maui Kahului airport, the Alamo clerk used my debit card for a total charge of $196.62, and told me that the amount would not be charged and was only for paper work purpose.

Bad Service:
Airport pick-up bus took about 45 minutes to arrive, when other rental company's pick-up bust all arrived and left for 30 minutes.

Suggestion:
1. Alway use your credit card to pay them if you have to rent from Alamo.
2. Never believe their car rental coupon as they tend to make false commercial.
3. Avoid Alamo if you can. ;)

On August 2009, we book our compact car by the Internet at Sanford int, Airport. When we showed up at the counter, the clerk ask us if we wanted to have a convertible for 3$ more a day. I ask the clerk 3 times if it was realy 3$ a day and he told me yes and It would be only 30$ for 10 days plus taxes.

So I decided to take the convertible since the clerk told me nobody wants to have convertible in Florida in the summer time and that was why it was so cheap. When we came back from our trip I saw on my credit Statement that Alamo took 265$ + 310$ for the convertible. So I paid 575$ when I was supposed to pay 295$. I called the customer service and the gave me 100$ credit and they told me as a courtesy. I forgot to read the review before booking my car and that is my mistake... I never gonna book any car with Alamo after that... The customer service is very bad and I strongly suggest you to read all the review before taking any reservation with this company. I feel very angry being ripped off by a company who don't care for their customer... I am telling you read the review carefully or you will pay...