Budget Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

I planned a trip thru price line which included flight and car rental for a total of $806.19 from 10/13 -10/20. (Budget mid size car, conf#47338198uss. ). An emergency came up and I had to extend my stay in Fresno, Ca. Priceline referred me to budget to extend my to 10/28. The budget quoted me $656.37 for the extended days which I was upset about. He was not helpful in trying to lower the price. His advise was to go on line for a lower price. Well that did not work because I already had the car and there was no section for extending the stay. It would have been less money for me if I could have done it on line instead of paying an outrageous price of $656.37. I'm hoping to get half of my money back since it would have been under $300 on line. American Airline only charged me $186 extra for date change.

I pre-paid for my rental car. I get to San Diego and check in. The guy hurries me through to initial everything. I only agreed to an additional $15 a day protection. Plus a gas charge. We only used 4.544 gallons and the charge was $71.79. They also charged for road assistance. I have Triple A. I don't need that. They are a total rip off. $146.22 of additional charges.

September 7 2021 Name Barry Repose Reservation Number [protected]-CA-3F
Picked up a dirty car on the above date at 800 am. Confirmation was for 900 but picked up earlier. Windshield very dirty and streaked marks. Front bumper covered in dead bugs. Not Sanitised inside vehicle. During a fouth wave pandemic this is very bad. Seatbelt in rear passenger not working. Whose is in charge of not inspecting these vehicles? I asked them to wash it but because it was so busy the attendent just rinsed off car. Very disappointed.

[protected]. Aug 23, 2021 9 am return date Bozeman airport Montana. Mark Ragonese renter [protected]

I can submit paperwork. I returned the car (and was way overcharged by the guy at the counter) Fuel service alone was $245 for a medium car The guy at the counter was very prejudicial looking at me and my friend we know that he discriminated against us and used his power as a representative of budget rent a car to present a false return document that my friend did not notice while I was in the bathroom and when I looked at the paperwork I immediately went back to him it was not the price we were quoted by a manager originally and I have that paperwork and when I went back to the parking lot to talk to the young man that I return the car to I talk to an employee named Matt a husky guy with very blue eyes. Matt said they sent the car rental kids home which was strange because they were very busy and understaffed and I would like a complete full refund of the car rental or a file complaints against discrimination against us and overcharging us I am very disappointed in the service with this company and the way we were treated and the way we were overcharged and I have spoken to managers before renting the car and I have their paperwork and I have the paperwork after so we're talking a difference of speaking to the manager before of 650 renting the car and being charged $1000 to rent the car because the person at the counter discriminated against us. Please have budget refund full amount of car rental. I am a Costco and auto club member too. Ph 1 [protected]. I Have left many messages for budget to return the call at my calls have not been returned and I have written about five emails to budget and now their offices are closed and no one has written back to me to resolve this I am very upset and very angry I have my friend as a witness to back up figures facts and incidents and I will proceed with a full investigation if the company does not quickly resolve this and I would like a complete full refund of the car rental thank you very much

I have never filed a complaint until this experience. The CS Rep first stated we didn't have a vehicle rented even with proof of receipt from 2-3 mos. prior reservation with Confirmation #. Then he kept trying to raise the price over $300 more then the vehicle was reserved at. We finally get the reservation straightened out and then we were given a ran down, poor excuse of a van. The windshield was cracked, the back door was broken and did not open, the van was dirty, and the running board/step to climb into the van was broken and bent so no one could use it at all (completely bent at an up & down angle). It was EXTREMELY difficult getting in & out of the van on the entire trip. My disabled husband slipped a couple times banging up his shins and it was difficult for the kids to get in and out the whole time we were on vacation. This van should have been put out to pasture a long time ago or at least serviced correctly before renting out to people.

tic# 935b47f your reps was very rude and refused to forward me to supervior and then hung phone i never rise my voice or was rude to him please look into its a shame ppl are on edge i hope this is not your companies way of life please listen to tape of what i was trying to let him know booking [protected] pre paid aa.com but your company billed me also

For Rental Agreement #[protected]
I am filing a complaint is because I reserved and rented a vehicle on May 9, 2021 thru May 16, 2021. Unfortunately, during my rental of vehicle I became ill and had to go to ER in Alabama and was advised to return to Michigan to see my physician immediately. I returned the rental vehicle on May 12, 2021. I was stilled billed the total amount that I feel is Not Fair because I had to return vehicle due to an unexpected and unforeseen medical issue. I would appreciate to be only charged for the time of use of the vehicle. It's truly NOT fair or RIGHT to Charge Customers for time of a rented vehicle they did not use or have the vehicle. Please address and adjust my charges for this rental. It will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I made an online reservation on July 9, 2021. I tried to make the reservation with my VISA, but I kept getting a message that my card number was invalid even though I was entering it correctly. I finally tried my American Express and it took the reservation, but deleted the discount that was offered for 1st time renters, and I noticed that the car did not have unlimited mileage so I decided to call Budget.

I clicked the link to change/cancel reservation and got a number to call. I called the number and a lady answered the phone. English was not her first language so I had a very difficult time understanding her. I asked her to please slow down, and to please spell her name (I always take note of who I spoke to). She refused to do either. I told her that I made the reservation but needed to cancel or change it. She said that if I canceled, it would be $150. I had made the reservation 3 minutes before calling her. I told her that I would change it. She gave me a number to call to change the reservation.

I called the number and spoke with Kevin (or that's the name that he gave me). I asked Kevin what happened to my discount. He stated that the discount was for American Express cards only which is why the system wouldn't take my Visa. I told him that I did pay with an American Express. He said that I paid with an American Express issued by a bank other than American Express and some other information that actually sounded legitimate. He said that I could keep the reservation that I made, or I could pay with an American Express card issued by American Express. He said that if I paid with a different card, he could bring my car rental from $625 to $480 and I would not have to pay $150 cancelation fee because I'm changing the reservation as opposed to canceling altogether.

So far, I'm with him because he told me to check my email for the cancelation. I did that, and I had the email from Budget. He said that if I didn't have an American Express Gold card that I could purchase a prepaid card for the discount. This didn't sound right so I asked why. He said that Budget had a promotion going on with American Express and was offering a discount for those using an American Express Gold card or prepaid American Express card only. This guy had all the information about my rental and all the information that I had entered online. Normally, I would have hung up, but he knew the amount I paid for the first reservation, he canceled the first reservation and again, he sounded legit. Not to mention, I called Budget, and was given this number to change my reservation. So, I really thought that there was a promotion going on in conjunction with American Express.

My husband and I decided that $480 was better than $625 so we would do it. I told Kevin that I had to purchase the card later and call back. He said that I could call back to him directly if I wanted to. He gave me another number that was his direct line. A few hours later, I called back with the card number.

After I gave him the information, I was terrified because he didn't give me a confirmation number. He said that it would come via email. He said that if I did not have an email before picking up my car in Missoula to call him back.

The next day, I didn't have the confirmation, so I called back. He said that it was the same confirmation number as the first confirmation number, but that he forgot to mention that I needed to add $250 to the card for the deposit. He said it needed to be added to the same card. At that point, I knew that Kevin was working with someone at Budget getting the information, but I didn't think he worked for Budget. I told him that I believe he had just scammed me, and he said that he was very hurt. He asked if I wanted my money back, and I said YES! He said that I would get a check. I said, "NO", I want it back on the card that I provided to you. He said okay.

When I got to Missoula, I told Sara everything that had transpired, and she told me that the corporate office has promotions often, but that she had not heard of that one. She said that it sounded like someone was going to be fired over this. She also stated that the cancelation fee was $50, not $150. When I received the cancelation notice, I noticed that it did state that the cancelation fee was $50 and not $150; however, Budget kept $150. Sara also stated that she did see two reservations and two cancelations. I never received anything regarding the 2nd reservation and cancelation.

I paid $625 for the first reservation and received a refund for $475.
I paid $500 for the second reservation and have not received anything.
I paid for the car a 3rd time at the counter in Missoula.

Right now, I'm requesting $650 from Budget (The cancelation fee for the first reservation that I wanted to change, not cancel and the $500 that Kevin and his Budget accomplice took from me).

Friday June 4, 2021 @ 5:30pmCT - While packing our luggage, waiting for the Midway airport Budget to check-in the two rental cars in the lane next to us, suddenly our rental car was driven away.

I attempted to flag it down, then immediately approached the Budget garage attendant to report that we had not been checked-in; he informed us not to worry, a receipt would be emailed. Still unsure, we immediately walked into the Budget glass office inside that garage just a few feet away and explained the situation again to the Budget employee sitting at the desk; she also informed us not to be concerned and that we'd receive an emailed receipt.

No email was ever received.

Monday June 7, 2021 - Called Budget to report our experience. Rep said they could "tell when the car was moved" to confirm return-time. I was put on hold, then the rep said our account looked "unusual", something about rental agreement numbers not matching, he needed to forward our case to another department, and to wait for an email. Received email shortly thereafter with final invoice showing an overcharge as an additional rental day had been added; return time 11:51pmCT.

Proof:
Our baggage claim tickets show a check-in time of 5:53pmCT.
Our flight to California departed Midway @ 6:50pmCT.
We landed in California at 8:51pmPT, which is 10:51pmCT.
I have documents to prove all of the above, however Budget refused my request. We also have credit card charges showing gas station and a restaurant inside the terminal, as well as Google report showing time of Googlemaps used to airport and time of Southwest App used at Midway airport.

The staff at the Memphis Airport Budget rental car were very nice and efficient. The HUGE problem is their vehicles' cleanliness. This was the second time I used this office and the vehicle was dirty again. So this time, I'm writing a complaint.
For this recent trip, I picked up the car late at night, and we were in a hurry to travel to our destination hotel. After a short drive away from the pick-up, we had noticed problems. There were adhesive residue on the front and back windshields approximately 6" x 6" in size. The front windshield inside and out were so filthy, I had to stop at a convenience store to buy paper towels and windex to clean them and safely be able to continue driving at night. The smell was something of a mixture of cigarettes and soda, which never went away after the 3 days I had the vehicle. The seats were dirty with some kind of candy residue. Even the rear view mirror had some kind of liquid spill on it, as if someone had thrown a soda at it.
The standards really need to be increased here.

The flight came in at ten oclock at night. I had reserved an economy car res no. 39545822us1. But when I arrived at the desk they told me that all they had left was an SUV chevy equinox. But she would speak to the supervisor tomorrow because it was late. The condition of the truck was extremely dirty inside and out. I could smell cigarettes in the interior and upon further inspection I found that there was cigarette ashes all over the back seat. While I was driving to my hotel I saw a crack in the windsheild as well.

Once a month I rent a car from budget: I am a faithful customer, and have never had a problem — until now.

I rented a car on 5/14 at stl. I was to return it on 5/17. I returned it early, at the same airport location at stl, at 6:00 pm on 5/16.
There was a long line of cars waiting to check in their car, so I left the car in the line, with the keys in the car.

Today, may 20, I received a voicemail from 866 476 2444/budget saying that the car was never returned. This is certainly not the case. The message said to call. I called at 6:30 pm, and I have now been on hold for over two hours — listening to the same recording with the english lady telling me that "all of our executives are currently busy..."

Seriously, I should wait for over two hours to correct a mistake made by one of your locations, and I still can not get through.
Please rectify immediately.

Gary silversmith, esq. (fyi, I work with consumer complaints with the federal government)
[protected]
Rapid-break: rp263t

Yes, I reserve a car using MasterCard lifestyle benefits which is a Apple Card but your systems are so old fashioned my card didn't work.
Very embarrassing and inconvenience to me.
Just upgrade your systems and keep up to 2021 not 1991.

On May 9 I called your customer service center to cancel this reservation due to a 3 hour wait to pick up the car at the Miami Airport. We were traveling with a two year old child and could not wait for two to three hours in a line, we were concerned about safety. I asked the representative if we could cancel and let him know that the car was paid for. He said there would be a 150.00 dollar cancellation fee and he will document my concerns. I just received an email saying I will lose the entire 604.58 It is unfair and unethical to charge me for the entire 6 day rental plus the car seat, due to the fact that we cancelled due to your company's inadequate staffing.

The reason again for the cancellation was the inadequate and lack of staff your company had at the Miami Airport. I am disappointed that your company thinks that making people stand in line for hours, with reservations, is okay. People travel with children and the elderly! Just to let you know, your company was the only one that was so backed up.

I will accept the 150.00 cancellation fee, but cannot accept the 604.58 cancellation. I will be disputing this with both your company and my credit card company.

Sincerely,
Mary Rock