Alamo Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

My name : Ali Lamrini

Email : [protected]@yahoo.fr

Confirmation number : [protected]

We (me, my wife and my son) rented a car from Alamo for our stay in the USA for the installation of our higher education in the United States.

We picked up the car from Washington Dulles Airport on August 12, 2022 and then checked into a hotel near the airport.

The next day, August 13, we drove to downtown Washington DC for lunch and then drove to the city of Indianapolis (via Columbus) where my son is to go to the university.

When taking the road to Indianapolis from the center of Washington, the car did not want to start. It was around 10 AM. I immediately realized it was a battery issue. From then on, we called the customer service center numerous times. It took about two hours before a person arrived in an unmarked car who didn't even bother to check the car's problem and just connected their car's battery with ours. I told him that I was not sure that there would be no problem since no diagnosis had been made and that I felt when starting that the car was going to stall. He replied that he had to take the road and not stop for 30 minutes and that there would be no problem. I had no choice but to follow his instruction.

The car started and we drove a few kilometers. The car broke down and we blocked the traffic until a police officer came to help us so that the car could be parked in a safe place. We again called the customer service center who after many calls finally decided to send us an Uber taxi to take us to an Alamo location at another Washington airport where we finally got a car spare around 5 p.m.

With this incident we lost 7 hours in a moment when we had to take the road to Columbus where we had a hotel reservation. We finally arrived completely exhausted in Columbus around 2 a.m. safe and sound but with an extremely unpleasant and even dangerous experience and risk-taking.

Damage Report: 7685931

Rental Agreement: 6T3L4C

Reference: [protected]

[protected]

I am writing to escalate our dispute and outline our attempts to resolve this below:

• We agreed to pay 929.40 for a car rental (see attached Expedia contract)

• When we returned the car to Alamo we were told that the receipt for the car rental would be emailed to the original email account that the reservation was made.

• I noticed that on my credit card statement, Alamo charged my account $3402 instead of the $929.

• We requested an itemized receipt from Alamo and per Richard, at the main number, he suggested that we dispute the charges with Capitol One as he was unable to access account information

• We accessed a bill on our Alamo account that showed a damage charge of $2500

• We filed a damage report # [protected] and asked for an itemized receipt as well. We received a notice that a damage report was made and that we would receive the balance after the repair was made.

• We contacted Expedia asking for assistance with this matter and were told that they need a detailed and itemized receipt in order to assist.

• July 29, 2022: We called Alamo again and spoke to Divin to request our itemized bill and follow up on our questions of what was missing or stollen. Divin stated that he did not have access to this information and would escalate our case to their corporate level. Divin assured us that we would receive a call back from someone within 72 hours to help us resolve this. We did not receive a call back

• August 2, 2022: We spoke with Carol in damage recovery, and she stated that she did not have information about the lost or stollen item either and gave us another number to call

• August 2, 2022: We spoke to Shrey who also escalated our dispute (ref# [protected])

• August 4, 2022: We emailed FR.Accidents to dispute the claim of damage. The response was that they did not have our information. We submitted the information including the concern that the piece was not in the car as we had six suitcases and six backpacks in the back with no room for a plastic divider.

• August 5, 2022: We again stated that the luggage plastic cover was not in the car and definitely not at a cost of $2500. The email response was that our question would be investigated.

• We were advised by both Expedia (Shrey) and Alamo to cancel our dispute in order to resolve this. The dispute was cancelled but we have not found the issue to be resolved.

• August 8, 2022: We received a letter from Alamo that the case was referred back to the branch manager.

• August 8, 2022: We received an email from Mgr. Maroua Cheikh (see attached) The we would receive our money in 10 days. We did not!

• August 24, 2022: We followed up with the manager that we have not received our money. No response.

• August 25, 2022: We forwarded the email to FR.Accidents and asked for help in getting our money back.

• August 25, 2022: Called the local office and cell phone numbers for manager Cheikh left messages on both lines – no call back

• August 29, 2022 We received an email from FR.Accidents that our request was being processed by accounting.

• September 2, 2022: Followed up with an update request to FR.Accidents – no response

• September 7, 2022: Followed up with an update request to FR.Accidents – no response

• We spoke with Marvin who reported that he did not have anything on his records to assist.

• We spoke to Alex who stated that he too saw the 929.40 and had no record of the $2500 charge. Alex indicated that he would send a receipt showing this amount. Alex sent an email (attached) indicating that the missing part was some sort of cover in the inside trunk.

• September 7, 2022: We spoke to Louis who stated that he could not give us a reference number because our case would be escalated to Jibes who was a supervisor. Louis assured me that we would be hearing/emailing back shortly. Nothing!.

• September 9, 2022: Emailed Maroua Cheikh asking for an update, no response.

• September 9, 2022: Email to FR.Accidents for an update, no response

• September 12, 2022 Email to [protected]@enterprise and [protected]@alamo requesting assistance and acknowledge receipt of my email. No response

• September 13, 2022: Spoke with Donna who reported that there were no records of my calls or attempts to resolve this dispute. Donna gave me a corrected case number and reported that she would escalate my claim to “corporate”

September 04, 2022

To whom it may concern:

Serve this to express my feelings in relation to the experience lived in the last days with your Alamo company. Since my son was starting school in Pennsylvania, I decided to rent a car with your company. it turned out the first vehicle they rented me seemed to have defective shock absorbers and it jumped a lot on the road. For this reason, I contacted you to change the same because my mother-in-law was operated on her back a few months ago and my wife who has a back condition did not tolerate it.

When I communicated with you, they told me to change the vehicle, which I did at the Philadelphia airport and it was working fine, but they never told me that it did not have a spare tire.

On August 30, my son fell, injuring his left ankle and on the way to the hospital a tire burst. When I stop and look for the spare part to change it, I realize that the vehicle does not have a spare tire. When I communicated with you, they told me that they would send a tow truck, but it would take about an hour. Due to my son's condition at the time, my wife had to cross the avenue in a downpour rain to go to the pharmacy to get topical agents to relieve his ankle pain. When I communicated with the toll truck operator, he told me that it would take more time since he was late. Due to the waiting time, I had to depend on Uber to transfer my son, wife and mother-in-law to a hospital facility since his foot was edematous and in great pain. When they arrived at the nearby hospital facility, it was closed, so they had to go to another one a little further away.

I waited approximately two hours for the tow truck, and I had to depend again on Uber since my son, after being seen by the doctor, taking X-rays, and immobilizing his foot, could not pick him up because I was still in Philadelphia. In short, Uber billed me $54.38.

Emotionally and psychologically, we lived through a few hours of anguish and despair, firstly due to my son's injury without being able to receive help as soon as possible, due to the waiting time, due to my wife being exposed to rain by crossing an avenue, and in addition due to the condition of my 82-year-old mother-in-law.

I hope that other families do not live our experience and that when you rent a vehicle you must notify that it does not have a spare tire. On the other hand, we understand that $206.00 does not cover the emotional and psychological damage that we are experiencing and that we are still experiencing due to the injury and recovery process of our son.

We await a response in this regard.

Cordially,

Alexander Valentin Acevedo

[protected]@hotmail.com

[protected]. Rented a vehicle in Atlanta for 3 days on Aug 19 to Aug 21st. No issues. Rushing to catch flight left 3200 laptop in the rental but did not realize it until cleared TSA and too late to return. Called the 800 number while at the airport letting them know about the laptop in the vehicle. Received a claim number. Have followed up for weeks and of course the laptop is nowhere to be found. The manager was supposed to call haven't heard from them. We reported the forgotten laptop within 30 minutes and they haven't found it yet.

No investigation, no video reviewed, any honest employees? We want the laptop or replace the laptop because your employees did not turn it in.

We rented a car from Alamo at Honolulu airport in July. Upon picking up, no agent went with us checking the car. However, on return, they inspected the car and told us there was a light dent. Even the inspector himself said the dent was not easy to be seen. Though we believed we did not cause it, they still filed a claim. A bill of $1073 came later for such a minor dent. I then checked the customer reviews for this airport rental agent on google, and found many similar complaints of being wrongly charged for damages that they did not cause. I start to wonder whether this Alamo agent ever documents their car damages properly? Or do they just keep charging the unfortunate customers?

I rented a car on June 29th at Alamo Kahului location. Had the car for a week with no incidents, accidents or such. I return the car on July 2nd around 2pm during business hours. Agent circled the car, check everything out and cleared it. She said everything looks good and I will get the copy of the receipt in my email. Which I did , for what the agreement was.

I returned home and received a message from the station manager that there is damage to the car and they will forward the matter to the DRU. I replied and said that the car was cleared, I was not in any accident or anything else that damaged the vehicle. They sent pictures with the car leaving the garage at rental time and also the supposed damage. I requested pictures with the car entering the garage to prove that I dropped it off in good condition but they said the don’t have pictures/camera for entering . I told them I am not responsible since the car was already cleared by one of their agents and the damage could have happened while in the garage, in their care. They went silent. I thought they took care of the matter when more than a month later I received a bill for over $2000 with repairs cost and out of service charges for the car while in repairs. Contact them again but nobody is answering or returning my emails.

My insurance is aware of the problem but I did not officially report it since I don’t want a false claim on my records. They did suggest legal action if nothing gets resolved.

So far there is no charge on my credit card.

I did not take pictures of the car thinking that an agent was there when I dropped it off and there was nothing to take pictures off.

I rented a car through my work to pick up at the atl airport in august of 2019, they required a credit card and my corp office paid for the car with corp credit card. I do not have a corp credit card with my company and I only travel with my personal debit card. They allowed me to take the card after signing a waiver that I didn't have the required credit card.

I used the car for three days and returned the car at the return center. The agent inspected the car and there was no damage at all.

Over 90 day later I received an email on my personal email from kasche wiggins phone: [protected]

Email: [protected]@erac.com. I responded: this claim is incorrect there was no damage to said vehicle, car was turned in and inspected and signed off clear at the airport at the time of return. The attached documents do not even clarify any details of said damage.

I have contacted my attorney with your information. My corp attorney stated this was erroneous and completely false. I called the number on the form and the rep stated only what was on the invoice, I stated I wanted an itemized invoice and pictures on call and in email and neither was returned.

Years later in july 2022 while traveling to family members funeral. The enterprise agent where I rented a car swiped my drivers license and stated I was on a do not rent list and so I had to get my gf to rent car in her name and I was not allowed to driver the car.

This needs to be removed for the "black list" or "do not rent" whatever they call it. For every car rental agent, apparently they are all connected

Letter :

Po box 801770

Kansas city mo 64180

United states

11/01/2019

Shawn thompson

Po box 178854

San diego, ca 92177

United states

Claim number : [protected]

Date of loss : 08/15/2019

Amount due: $552.83

Dear sir/madam:

Our records show that we have been unable to resolve the claim cited above with you or your

Insurance carrier and we have not received payment for the full amount of our loss. We are sincere in

Our desire to bring this matter to an amicable conclusion, but we must have your cooperation to do so.

Please remit payment in full to the address above and include our claim number on your payment. If

You prefer, you may also pay the amount due using a debit card, credit card or directly from your

Bank account by typing the following link in to your web browser. http://www.claimtopay.com

If we do not receive payment for the total amount due within ten (10) days of the above date, we will

Have no alternative but to turn this matter over to a collection agency or independent attorney.

Collection will be for the amount due plus any expenses incurred in the recovery process, where

Permitted by law.

In light of this matter, until further notice you will not be eligible to rent from alamo, enterprise or

National car rental. Any reservation you make will not be honored at the rental location.

If you have any questions regarding your responsibility for this loss, please contact our office. This

Will be our final notice.

Sincerely,

Kasche wiggins

Phone: [protected]

Email: [protected]@erac.com

1 of 3

We paid for rental and they said that card has to be billed for deposit but will be refunded when car is returned. No paperwork was emailed as promised no direction how to return car . No working number to ask question office closed in early morning .terrible

Booked and paid online from Great Britain a car to pick up from o’hare airport Chicago, we got a free up grade to an suv which was perfect for our trip, better than the original car.

We picked our suv up but didn’t realise the air con wasn’t working properly until we was a descent distance away, but the weather wasn’t to hot so hoped for the best thinking it maybe just needed a bit of time to get going, well it never in fact it got worse it actually started blowing out hot / warm air. We drove from Chicago to Lexington, Kentucky just about all the way with windows open, making it nearly impossible to have a conversation we could only close the windows for literally minutes before having to open the because of the heat.

We put up with this but now the weather is hotter we cannot carry on with the air con not working, I rang up today the 12th may and spoke to a representative from Alamo and was told to take the car to enterprise 14071 emerald coast destin pkwy fl 32541 where we would just do a straight exchange when we got there we was told we should not of been sent there as they don’t exchange but we need to go to 99 Elgin pkwy ne fort Walton beach fl 32548, because they have a massive fleet of SUV’s, we found our way there and handed the car to the receiver for enterprise and Alamo told him the problem, he then directed us to where we needed to be, we informed the manager about the problem with the car he said not a problem we can just do a straight exchange however he came back to us and said he only had two vehicles available or we could just keep the faulty one instead or do nothing at all and leave without a suv, after much discussing he was adamant that he could do nothing else for us and told us to sped aside as his queue was building up, I said but we are not happy with the handling of this matter he refused point blank to look any further in to it he said he checked with Alamo and also national but still nothing could be done. Because of the very limited options offered to us we felt we had no option but take back out faulty suv, we went back to the receiver and explained what had happened and even he seemed to be very surprised that we was told nothing was available, I even asked the manager if he had other suv’s coming in the following day, I asked him could a car be dropped off at our property and they then take the faulty one away, I was told in no uncertain terms this wasn’t an option. I rang the Alamo desk in Chicago spoke to the breakdown line but was told they could do nothing, I rang a different line and was to ring the break down line again but to say we do not feel safe with this vehicle, this I haven’t done yet but as I don’t know what vehicle we will be forced to take if they replaced the car, because of this fiasco we have wasted nearly a full day of our holiday and also incurred toll charges which we wouldn’t of done if we was told correct information from the first phone call to enterprise, I feel the car we have needs to be off the road as it is to hot to drive with windows shut and far to noisy to drive with them open, I had a really good experience at Chicago o’hare with Alamo but sadly after that it has been very very disappointing, we are driving back to Chicago o’hare on Wednesday 20th this needs resolving way before then as I am unwilling to drive all that way with the air con not working, I would appreciate a quick response to this email and hopefully a resolve to this.

I communicated my complaint directly to Alamo and my case has been bounced around within the organization – to a point a being comical how the issue has been “elevated” from one person to another and to another – but I still have not been contacted to discuss the issue, find resolution, and understand the action plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Nothing. Which leads me to believe there is no plan. But ignoring the customer is not good business. I’ve waited over two weeks of being “elevated” before posting here.

I have always had EXCEPTIONAL service from everyone at Alamo Greensboro airport. From the people behind the counter to those in the lot, all have ALWAYS been very helpful, courteous, and professional. Always! The cars are always clean, sanitized, and ready to go. My recent bad experience is not their fault. In fact, they were put in a bad situation by Alamo-Corporate and left to deal with many angry customers on their own and they still acted professionally and maintained their composure.

I reserve from Alamo Greensboro every 4 to 6 weeks and have for several years. During a rental in February 2022, I was lucky to get the last vehicle available. I didn’t think much of the customers that followed me with reservations that were told there were no cars. My rental on April 18, 2022 was a different story. I was disappointed, frustrated, and angry that I reserved a vehicle over a week prior and then arrived at the airport at 10:15pm to learn that there was no vehicle available. It is a very reasonable expectation to reserve a vehicle and for that vehicle (any vehicle) to be available. YouTube “Seinfeld – The Car Reservation” to closely understand the situation. I was told I could taxi, uber, lyft, or whatever to my hotel and come back in the morning to get a car.

To expect me to hitch a ride to my hotel and then interrupt my busy schedule to return to get a vehicle from the airport the next day is entirely unacceptable. And sad that Alamo put their counter staff in a position to deal with angry customer after angry customer in a similar situation. I was able to secure the only vehicle available without a reservation from a competitor rental agency - a 15 PERSON VAN that cost over $200 more! Not the mid-size ride I expected but I was lucky to have wheels. Checking my record, you will find that I have been a consistent and loyal customer. But the aggravation of this Alamo event will not be tolerated in my travel plans to Greensboro or anywhere else.

Renter Beware - It appears from other complaints that this is not uncommon with Alamo. In the past three visits to Greensboro I’ve had a miss, a near miss, and a direct hit. Seems to be a new issue - I've gone several years at the same location with no problem. Lesson learned - If you are arriving at the Greensboro airport in the evening or night, think twice about reserving with Alamo until they get this recurring issue resolved. For me personally, the potential savings of reserving with Alamo is not worth the risk (unless you can also reserve with another agency as back-up). The Alamo staff are very professional but if they’re set up to run out of cars to meet the number of reservations, there’s nothing they can do about it. Don’t take your anger out on the on-site staff. I feel bad that the counter staff have to deal with this mess.

Reference #: [protected]

On April 7th I picked up a rental car at 12:15 am in the midst of a blizzard in the ND. The Alamo counter agent didn't provide me an opportunity to review the car prior to pick-up, had me sign & handed me the keys and pushed me out the door. The cars are parked outside at the airport terminal without any indoor space for you to review the car and complete a thorough walk around with an agent. You basically sign and go. I drove this vehicle from the hotel to work, leaving before dark and returning after dark. I returned the vehicle to the airport at 5:00 am on April 14th only to be notified later there was damage to the bumper. I disputed their claim of damage, they continue to email me without any information and demand that I turn this over to my credit card company and insurance company for resolution. It's unfortunate but I continue to read all of the horror stories of other people having the same experience. Their attempts to bully the renter for damages is unfathomable. If they allow a vehicle to be picked up from morning until midnight the law should require them to have a lighted/indoor facility and require the employee/counter attendance to complete a walk around of the vehicle at pickup. They make demands of the renter but do not take into consideration that an employee of theirs could make a mistake, heck what do they have to lose by not doing their job and who would know! There are plenty of people in the workforce today that leave something to be desired. I am beyond frustrated with this unbelievable situation. I have rented vehicles for years & have never experienced a situation from a rental car company like this one, completely blindsided. It's disheartening to read multiple reports and reviews of similar situations, the pattern for frivolous demands for damages is holding true. They cannot have you sign a contract without the ability to review the vehicle. If they make rentals available from 6 am to midnight, space and staff must be available to accommodate a walk around otherwise no one is safe, ever, based on the recent experience of their word against yours. The bigger the company... the tougher they are to deal with.

Alamo is scamming for insurance claims. We rented a car for 5 hours, from noon to 5pm, on Sunday, April 17, 2022. We were flying back to the mainland at 8 pm and took the time before to do some sightseeing. The minivan was pretty beat up with lots of dings, dents and scratches. We have photos. When we drove through the final check out the check-out girl went crazy looking at the car, climbing all over it and even checking the rooftop. She weighed about 100 pounds and was over-the-top checking for damages. Never seen such a "show" checking a car at a rental car. Highly irregular. I thought then: "this is a setup to claim damage when we return". And it was. When we got back my son dropped the three of us off at the departure terminal and took the car back to Alamo they "claimed" we had damaged below the driver's side and sliding door. Which was a total fabrication. We had no opportunity to damage this vehicle. Besides only driving it for 5 hours! I've turned this over to my attorney. Don't rent from Alamo. They must really be doing poorly to stoop to these types of actions against customers.

My dad rented a car from March 19 to March 28 and when he returned the car, he accidentally kept the key in his pocket and took his flight to brazil. The lady at the drop off did not check for the keys. She actually checked the gas and wrongfully charged my dad an extra gallon when the car was returned FULL. My dad never got a call regarding the key as he would have returned it right away if they checked it. Now they are charging 300 dollars for the extra key and would not give us an option of returning the keys.

My husband and I bought plane tickets and bundled to rent a vehicle from Alamo for Feb 28-March 9, 2022. We picked up the vehicle around 11pm on the 28. Our purpose for the trip was to visit a house that we had just bought. We had every day of the trip scheduled. Where to go each day, what to buy for the place, what we planned to get done at the house each day, where we were going to eat suppers, etc.

The first morning, I noticed little bugs crawling around in the car. It was gross, as I hate bugs, but, I just killed them when I'd see them. We got fountain drinks, and instantly those gross bugs were on the cups. The same happened over the next couple of days. Again, we had it all planned out. We got some cheese, lunchmeat, bread, water (and a couple of snacks for the nights). That food was our lunches, and we were eating supper out each day.

Friday, the 4th, we grabbed pizza to take home. COCKROACHES went running over my arm! It was sickening! We thought, perhaps, they had been on the pizza box? I can't describe how gross it was, but we were starving. We ate it outside, and took off our clothes before entering the house. I didn't want to go anywhere, cause I figured they were in the car since we hadn't seen them on our pizza, etc. (yes we ate it after inspecting each piece, cause our cheese, etc was for lunches. It was all we had.) I didn't want to go back in the car. My husband said it was fine.

Sat, we get our beverages as usual early in the morning, and the bugs are on our cups as usual. A COCKROACH ran over my husband's lap. I thought to take pictures of the little bugs...my phone showed they were COCKROACHES. We both flipped out. Here we had been buying things, taking them into our house, they could easily have been on our clothes, etc.

I called Alamo call center that instant and said there was no way we were getting back in that car! They said someone would pick up the car, and someone would bring us a different one in about 4-6 hours. That was putting a total stop to our plans, but we waited. Six and a half hours later, I called and of course, talked to someone different. She said she was dispatching a driver right then for us. Ok. That showed us right there, that the first woman did NOTHING to send us a driver. The driver called as soon as I hung up the phone. He said he was about an hour and a half away, so he'd be there within 2 hours. Ok! That blew our whole day of running, working, and eating supper! So we had our last of lunchmeat and bread for supper. We were down to 2 pieces of cheese. As soon as 3 hours hit, my husband called the driver. It was a lady this time. She said he never got to pick up the car, something to do with insurance, she thought. She said Alamo should have told us that! We said Alamo hadn't called us at all! By now it was after 9pm.

Sunday after countless calls to the call center, a few people sent it to the escalation dept. I explained to them that my husband and I are both disabled, we have 2 pieces of cheese to our name, we were STRANDED in our house. Escalation dept said they were sending messages to the regional manager. (Yes, I have names of the people who tried to help me. I kept notes). Still, in most cases, the call center people just said they were 'sorry for the inconvenience'. I told them that an inconvenience was 4-6 hours without a vehicle. This was WWAAYY beyond that.

I have MS. Stress exacerbates symptoms, and I was not in good shape. I won't go into more detail, although I very well could. My husband has bone infection in his leg...he's 60 years old and had to walk about half mile to a store get a few groceries for us.

Now it's Monday. Back to countless calls BEGGING someone to help us. We were told that Regional management had 5 open tickets, meaning that's how many people contacted them for us, and NO ONE called us! I have comments of some of the call center people who were appalled at what their own company has done by ignoring this HUGE issue.

Tues am I was in awful shape and in desperation mode, as how can we get to the airport with no vehicle? We were to leave Wed. afternoon. FINALLY late Tues afternoon, a branch manager called my husband (he had made some calls too). He said an uber driver would pick us up Wed am and take us to and Enterprise 25 minutes away and get us a car. My husband asked how he was going to compensate us for all that we'd been through, loss of time for the house, loss of a lot of stuff. He said "The compensation is the easy part, right now we just need to get you a car lined up. My husband did NOT get this guys name.

So yes, about 9:15 Wed morning, my husband came back with a car...we had about enough time to finish grabbing our items, my husband had to carry me out to the car cause I couldn't walk by then, and drive to the airport.

When we returned it, the guy who showed us where to park asked how our time was...we told him. He was shocked. He said he'd leave the car ticket 'open' which he said meant management would HAVE to call us because they wouldn't stand for that not being closed out.

We 'knew' we'd hear from them before we flew out so we could get things taken care of. NOPE. Not one word. I have been calling different numbers everyday since we've been back. Oh yea, I tried calling the branch manager back as soon as my husband got back with the car. He had called from a number that just rang into a call center.

So A MONTH LATER...not ONE WORD FROM Alamo. HOW CAN THEY NOT CONTACT US, and why is it SO HARD to talk to someone!?

Still to this day, I am constantly calling anyone who I think can get me to someone in management to call me. I have all my calls, emails, etc.

Alamo Rent A Car Rental Agreement ZRHT72-86274 at ZURICH AIRPORT (ZRH)

Feb 12th 2022 Pick up Zurich Airport, Return 19th Feb

I have sent over 50 emails to customer service asking for my 300 CHF deposit to be returned

You company says the money is paid, IT HAS NOT BEEN

I have online Banking, I have asked my bank a dozen times

I have asked for proof of transaction, timing and date

Your company refuses to provide this.

Your company says the matter is closed

You also charged me for insurance when I already had it with the Broker Rental Cars .Com

This service is shocking, rude, unhelpful and dishonest

Beware the Alamo damage repairs scam.

I have discovered the hard way that Alamo is notorious for shocking customers with damage claims for damage you haven’t caused to a rental after you’ve returned a car and your rental has been examined and checked in as “good to go.”

I was slammed with $1200+ in damages from Alamo’s infamous Damage Recovery Unit a few days after I returned my Jeep Wrangler. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to me?

I rented a car with Alamo through Costco Travel over my Christmas holidays while visiting family back home in Durham, NC from December 15th 2021-January 11th 2022.

When I picked the car up at Alamo at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, I was told there were no more compact cars and had my pick of the SUVs that were available. The attendant just pointed to a few and told me the keys were in all of the vehicles. He did not at any time escort me to a car or provide a walk around with any kind of damage report log. This RDU airport location in particular does not do walk arounds or provide a log of previous damages. My GEICO agent told me this was Red Flag #1.

I chose a Jeep Wrangler because it looked fun to drive. I noticed a large dent on the tailgate behind the spare tire as I was loading my luggage in the trunk. It looked as if a previous driver had backed into a pole. The tailgate also had a large crack in the inside of the door, which did not close properly. There were also assorted superficial paint scratches all over the Jeep.

I went to find the attendant to tell him there was damage to the Jeep, but he said it was already noted and I shouldn’t worry about it. GEICO agent logged this as Red Flag #2!

In hindsight I wished I had simply asked for another car, as well as a complete walk around with a manager and detailed log of previous damages.

Since I was told the damage had already been documented, I hadn’t stopped to photograph the entire car and was eager after a long cross country flight to get on the road and see my family. Big mistake.

This was a fun car to drive and I took very good care of it for the 3 weeks I had it, returning with a full tank of gas. When I returned it to the RDU airport location, I was instructed to drive into a lane where a man would check me in with his tablet and email me a receipt.

The attendant checking me in asked me if there were any problems with the Jeep. I informed him that I was given a damaged rental car and pointed out the dent and crack in the tailgate, as well as the assortment of scratches. I said that I was told these damages were already noted and that they were caused by a prior renter, since it was obvious the damage was not fresh. It obviously looked more than a few months old.

The attendant looked over everything, told me it was all okay, and said I was “good to go” and told me to enjoy my flight.

I never did receive my email receipt until I called customer care to ask for it. That was my first sign something was wrong.

However I did receive a threatening email letter from Alamo a few days after returning my car saying I had damaged the Jeep Wrangler and would be liable for the repairs and loss to the company. They also demanded an insurance claim number or payment out of pocket for the damage. You will get several of these letters, each escalating in demands for payment or your insurance claim number.

I did not damage this vehicle in any way and refuse to pay out of pocket for any repairs.

My GEICO agent tells me that these fraudulent damage cases are impossible to contest if you do not have extensive photo evidence of the damage BEFORE you ever drive the car off the lot, as well as a documented damage report. I have been let to believe that it is my fault for not taking pictures and demanding a vehicle walk around with an Alamo manager. Other than my word, I have no physical proof that I did not have an accident with this car. This is how Alamo takes advantage of you! You are GUILTY until you can prove yourself innocent. And only with time-stamped photo evidence.

My insurance agent has informed me that they will be issuing a check for the damage, since they cannot reasonably prove that I did NOT damage the Jeep, and that I will have to pay a $500 deductible. She says that 99% of these cases end up with the insurance company paying for the damage and renters forking over hundreds in deductibles.

You know that both of those Alamo attendants, whose names I did not get, could vouch that they cleared me for damage at check in and check out. Why would any customer think anything was wrong if you’re told you’re “good to go?”

There is a possibility that the previous damage was never documented by Alamo and it was convenient to stick me with the bill for repairs since I was the one who first noticed the damage. I think they do this to a lot of people. It’s a great way to take advantage of tired travelers who just want to leave the airport and go home.

This is all so bogus, dishonest, and fraudulent. I also can’t believe GEICO just rolls over and pays for the repairs because they don’t have the wherewithal to contest this garbage.

It’s bad business and you better believe I will be filing complaints with the BBB, the insurance commission of NC, the NC state Attorney General, as well as Costco Travel for continuing to partner with such disreputable scam artists.

Don’t rent cars from Alamo. You’ll be sorry, and your insurance agent will blame you for not being street-smart or hyper-vigilant enough to foresee that your rental car company is looking to scam you out of thousands of dollars, right after you trudge out of the airport with your luggage.

I recently returned from El Salvador, where I rented a car from Alamo at the El Salvador airport for one week. When I returned the car, I was told that some little plastic cups or covers on the tire rims were missing. I was not aware they were there when I got the car or if it was legit when I returned it. I was charge $200.00 for some cheap plastic caps that cost $20.00 that is criminal. My name is Heber Ivan Cruz. Rental Agreement SALC75-1606. My phone number is [protected] and my email is ivan.[protected]@gmail.com

I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau customer support [protected] and file a complaint also.

Hello,
I just received my Alamo Rental Agreement # [protected], Invoice # [protected] and Alamo charged me for the lock out (I locked the car with the keys inside), but as you can check in their records, I was waiting for 3 and a half hours for the service and I wasn't attended. I had to hire another service provider and pay for it from my own pocket because Alamo wasn't able to help me. So, I would like a refund for that 65.00 USD you charged me and didn't do.
I will wait for you response on that, please
Have a great day
Bernardo

Be aware of alamo geneve.
I rented a car from them (a range rover) when I arrived they said that only a bmw is available. But anyway its not an issue as its linked to availability. When I arrived they charged my credit card 4000 swiss franks. And they said its declined. Then again, and they said declined again. And used my visa. Then a get 2 messeges from amex that they were charged. So they took triple the rent. The bad part is that they wont respond to my emails. Anyway ill ask amex to concider it as fraud and will write on twitter