Budget Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

My wife and I recently went on a vacation with our 2 children and rented a car from Budget car rentals. We were greeted at the rental counter by a very friendly staff and were having multiple conversations between the staff members and our family regarding where we were from, and what we would be doing while visiting the state (New Mexico). They pointed at the monitor for us to check off what we thought were the appropriate boxes regarding extra insurance, mileage, gas… the standard stuff on the agreement forms while we were all engaged in pleasant conversation. How wrong we were.

When it was time for us to return the car we were searching for a gas station so that we could replace the 14 gallons we had used on our vacation. There were no gas stations visible from the freeway, and the few times we took an off-ramp there were no gas stations, or signs indicating a gas station around. Since we were unfamiliar with our surroundings, and we had to get to the airport, we decided to just bring the car back and pay the extra price per gallon to have Budget refill the tank. Apparently, since we did not check the box to have them fill up the tank when we returned the rental, the price changed from what would have been $2.45 per gallon to $9.29 PER GALLON! The fuel charge totaled $130.98 for $34 worth of gas! Almost a $100 extra charge just because the box was unchecked. This information was buried in the agreement, was not made clear to us initially, and as I mentioned earlier, we were distracted by pleasant conversation at the time of the rental.

When we asked to have the punitive amount taken off and replaced with what the price would have been had we known how ridiculous the charge would be, we were coldly told that "that's what you agreed to." When I asked WHY the cost PER GALLON was so high they mechanically responded, "that's policy." There was zero compassion and understanding from the staff as to why we would be irate at an almost $7 dollar PER GALLON service charge. Every response was like a recording, "that's policy", "that's what you agreed to"… When I asked them "who in their right mind would EVER agree to that type of charge" they keep up with their impersonal mantra. By-the-way, this was on Mother's Day.

We asked to speak with the manager (Laura Warfield) and as you can probably guess, she responded with the same inhuman responses - no compassion and zero customer service. I reminded the manager that this was Mother's Day and that my wife, and mother of my children, was devastated at the lack of caring and understanding we were being shown by Budget. The manager quipped, "Well, I'm not going to do anything to reduce the charges".  I then responded, "So you could do something, you just won't right? It is up to you." The manager replied, "I can give you the entire rental for free if I wanted. I'm not going to do anything."

When I returned home I called the customer service number and was given the exact same responses. No help at all and once again, no compassion. The phone representative went into repeat mode stating "it is a valid charge." I responded, "$9.29 per gallon is NEVER a valid charge when gas prices in that state are around $2.30 a gallon." You'd be surprised that his response was, "it is a valid charge."  They couldn't care less about me as a customer and they have made it clear that is the case. I am merely a case number to them. I'm not sure why the phone number listed was referred to as a customer service number. The outrage I felt was/is palatable. No willingness to compromise on behalf of the customer what-so-ever! Just animatronic responses and a pass-the buck mentality.
 
If Budget car rentals, a company we have rented with for years and spent thousands of dollars with, is incapable of the most basic customer service or general decency, I suggest everyone stay clear of them. I guess they are doing so well that one small customer doesn't matter to them. The treatment I have received has turned me into an advocate against Avis/Budget group. I have a case pending with their corporate offices but from what I've experience from multiple Budget representatives, I fear the only recourse I have is to shout it from the mountain top how horribly they treat their customers if there happens to be an issue of sorts. I teach college and will make it my mission to educate the thousands of students I have to avoid using Budget or Avis. My voice is small but much bigger than most.

Recently my good friends rented a truck to move from Indiana to Tuscon. Even though she had had a similar experience with Budget before, she gave them a second chance because they were cheaper than U-Haul. That's the only good thing that can be said. After picking up the truck and hiring movers, the nightmare began. First, the movers could not get the car trailer off to load the truck because the jack that Budget provided was stripped out. After calling Budget, we were rudely told that the movers must have broken it. ( this was not the case, the jack was defective ) Then after getting the truck half loaded, the movers discovered the roof was leaking so it had to be unloaded and my friends had to wait until the next morning for a new truck because Budget wanted to inspect it before delivery. Well after delivering it the next day, there was a headlight out which they came back to fix that afternoon. A new contract had to be signed because it was a different truck from before. While taking care of that my friend asked if she could be compensated for the extra wages she had to pay the movers to load, unload, then reload the truck. She was basically told " Not our problem, call customer service ". After getting on the road, they discovered the car in tow wasn't chained correctly. This was by no fault of theirs as there were no instructions provided for this either written or verbally. They then stopped at the next closest Budget for assistance with this and no one knew how to fix this so my younger female friend had to crawl under the trailer and fix it herself. Due to all of these delays, they missed an important family event and then after arriving, unloading, and returning the rental truck, they were basically told " tough luck ladies, that's how it goes". So, word to the wise, pay a bit more for the competition and stay far, far, away from this company.

On January 29, 2015 at 1:00 p.m., I mistakenly pulled into a Budget Rental Car return lane in the Orlando Florida International Airport. Several courteous agents and one very rude agent, Sharon Jackson, greeted me. Ms. Jackson instructed the other agents to stop attempting to assist me because I was not driving a Budget rental car. She rudely told me to leave the Budget Rental Car area. When I didn’t leave quickly, she directed a car to pull in the lane behind me. I asked the drive to pull into the next vacant lane and allow me to move my rental car. However, Ms. Jackson stopped the driver from moving the car and instructed him to leave the car, blocking the rental car that I was driving, until she could check the Budge Rental car and move it herself. She slowly checked the car and delayed my departure. Ms. Sharon Jackson’s created a problem and made it clear that she was not concern about me filing a complaint. Is this the new face of Budget Rental Car?

Our vehicle was at least an hour late in being delivered to us at the Montrose Colorado airport. The price for an identical minivan vehicle that my friend had reserved from Enterprise was about 20% of the price I paid. The Budget rep promised to call us about the exorbitant price after speaking with his manager but that call was never received by us. We quickly learned that the traction on our vehicle in the snow of Telluride Colorado was terrible, in fact we became stranded at least twice in our own driveway. We repeatedly contacted Budget and requested an SUV vehicle to replace our minivan. They promised to actually deliver one to our vacation house that day. The vehicle never arrived. We called again and they stated they were unable to get out to us that day but would do so the next am. Again, no call or replacement vehicle ever received despite my pleading with them to at least call me back to discuss . Worst customer experience ever with a rental car. Will NEVER use Budget again. Overpriced and awful customer service.

Rented a car from Budget on May 16 - 19th, 2014. When we starting off that evening on vacation to Yosemite National Park while sitting in the back seat i noticed a little shaking back and forth. Stop to check the car and noticed nothing but we woke up the next morning there it was a flat tire (big nail). Calling Budget the rep to make it short said we can get another car for you but it needs to come from the Oakland Airport (4 hours away), I said there are two in Modesto which is 20 minutes away. Now I receive a letter this past week of July from Budget for charges of $69.60 for services rendered. So I immediately call the Budget 800# and was told within the hour and also asked for a supervisor and was told I would receive a call back and nothing so I called again and was told a totally different story. The rep said no that I would receive a call back within 24 to 48 hours. No, I received an email saying sorry you have to pay. Called again and asked for a supervisor which was July 30th and spoke to Carmen (Supervisor). She assured me a call back and on Friday had to call again and this rep would not even put me through (rude). Again on Sunday I received another email stating the same pay the charge. Where's the customer service. Can't wait till one of these reps I spoke to get the same telephone treatment I have received. Still waiting on the telephone call back from Supervisor Carmen as promised on July 30th.

Tow dolly their website and agent both said would work on my car did not. They could not provide me with replacement equipment for at least another day. So I told them I would just drive my car cause I am on deadline. Was told I could not return because the place I rented from is closed. Told them I could have someone else return it, was told I cannot pull dolly with non budget truck as it was abreach of contract. Told them I would leave it behind and they could come get, was told they cannot do that. Asked to speak with customer service manager was told I would get a call back and never did. They told me to pull the trailer empty and try to stop at a budget location along the way to see if they will take it, however, they have the right to refuse it. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money for Penske!

Let’s see, how to describe my Budget Truck Rental from Hell!

I was getting ready to move my Daughter to Gulfport Mississippi spending
$1, 367.40 and this is what I got!

First, when picking up my Truck Rental (Veh. No: 552954) on [protected] at
11:12am. I was not very happy to see a Truck that looked like it was
ready to be retired. The Truck was dirty inside and out, I had to clean
the inside of the windows so I could have clear vision of the road.
Also, the Trucks interior was stained with spilled Coffee and Pop; I
took some time to clean this up myself. The Exterior of the Truck
looked like it was dragged through a various number of disaster movies,
dented, paint warn off the hood, scratches and a front bumper that
looked like it was ready to fall off. If it wasn’t for the fact that I
had people coming to pack the Truck at noon that day I would have
declined the Rental. Once I got pasted all of the visual and
cleanliness problems I noticed that this Truck didn’t have any cruise
control. On my rental reservation I had mentioned that the Truck was
going to be returned to Biloxi Mississippi some 987 miles away. I was
told by the Rental Agent that none of the Budget Trucks come with cruise
control; I found that hard to believe! Once again I was in a bind and
needed a Truck to load at Noon. As I finished all of the paper work
with the Rental Agent, I ask him if the 2 dozen Furniture Pads and Hand
Truck were in the back of the Truck. He said that he didn’t have any
Hand Trucks and I would have to stop at another Rental Dealer to pick
one up, the Pads were no problem. (Side note: the Pads smelled like
urine and that I didn’t even want to put them anywhere near my
furniture.) I didn’t notice the smell until the people packing the Truck
told me how bad they were and that they recommended that I not use them.
After all of that with the Truck, I also rented a Tow Dolly (Tow Dolly
No. 410195). I was happy to see that this Tow Dolly look brand new,
stickers still on the Tires and it was not rusted. So off I drive to
get loaded up, (oh, off to pick up a Hand Truck then to get loaded up.)
Once the Truck was loaded up, (a two bedroom apartment) the ramp to the
back of the Truck would not retract. After 15 minutes or so messing
around with the Ramp and getting under the Truck to get it retracted it
was time to hook up the Tow Dolly. This was no problem at all. Hook up
went very smoothly.

Off to Mississippi, wait a minute! Only after traveling two hundred
miles, I had to stop in Cincinnati Ohio at 7:30pm. The driver’s side
strap to the Tow Dolly had torn and had come off the wheel. (note: I was
pulling a 2004 Chevy Cavalier) I called Fleet Net and they told me that
they would send someone out to fix it. When the repairman showed up at
10:00pm he told me that he didn’t have a strap to fix it. The repairmen
rigged it up with a piece of nylon rope that he had sitting in the back
of his truck. He told me that I should stop every so often to see if
was holding. Wow, that was a load off my mind only 789 miles to go.
Piece of mind I don’t think so! Now along with worry that this Truck
would make it, I have the extra worry of, is the Car going to come off
the Dolly! After stopping in Louisville Kentucky for the night, I was
hoping to get further but because of the delay in Cincinnati I settled
on Louisville. I was looking at my Rental Agreement pamphlet where on
the Cover it says “Reliable, East to Drive Trucks” my thought was
REALLY! (remember, a Dirty banged up Truck with no Cruise Control and
a torn Dolly Strap rigged up to hold the car on)

New day, more problems! While driving to my destination and stopping
every hour or so to see if the rigged up Dolly Strap was holding, I
often had to stop because after going up a hill or two the Temp Gage was
pegged to the Top. Now I was stopping every so often to check the Dolly
Strap and to let the Truck cool down. A 987 mile 15 hour trip had
turned into a 23 Hour trip because of the problems with the Truck and
Tow Dolly.

Arrived Mississippi! After unloading the Truck and letting it rest
overnight on the 30th I was going to return it on the next day. I had
already made arrangements with the folks in Biloxi to drop it off
because it was a Holiday weekend. When I went to start the Truck it
started spraying Gas from the top of the Gas Tank, needless to say the
Truck would not start. I called and left a message at the Drop Off
location to see what I should do, He called me back later that day and
said that I should call Fleet Net. So it was time to call Fleet Net
again. I tried to let the women know what the problem was but she was a
bit rude and told me that she would have someone out to look at it.
Well after waiting all day I got a call from Fleet Net (someone
different this time who asked me what exactly the problem was. I
discussed with them the best I could, having a good deal of automotive
experience myself that it seemed to be a busted Fuel Line at the top of
the Fuel Tank. He said that some would be out to take a look at it.
When the High Gear Onsite Repairmen came out he said that it could not
be fixed and it would have to be towed. He tried to call Fleet Net but
could not get a hold of them, but he said he would continue and that
Fleet Net would be getting back to me. Later that night I received a
call from them and they ask if they could pick it up the next morning, I
told them no problem. While I had Fleet Net on the line I ask them what
I should do with the Tow Dolly. The answer that I was given is that I
should drop it off to the scheduled drop off spot. I mentioned that I
had pulled it down with the broken down Truck they still told me that I
should still return it to the scheduled spot. The Tow Truck driver that
arrived from Dean’s Towing and Recovery (please note: that Dean’s Towing
was less than a half mile from my location) was I bit confused from
talking to Fleet Net and asked me what the problem was, I told him and
he hooked the Truck and was ready to go. I told him about the Tow Dolly
and that it too was in need of repair because of the broken strap. I
also told him what Fleet Net told me, he thought that was crazy because
they would more than likely being that repair on that too, but he left
only the Truck. I was SO glad to see that Truck Go! I was able to
borrow a vehicle that had a Trailer Hitch on it so I could return the
Tow Dolly. When I got to the drop off point in Biloxi and told him of me
experience he apologized for my troubles. (not his fault, but he was
courteous and very kind. When I told him that the Strap on the Tow
Dolly was torn, he said that he would have to send it over to Dean’s for
Repair. He had trouble finding the information in the computer because
someone had removed it. Lucky that I had my Retail Agreement and it had
the Customer Reference # on it: [protected] after I gave him that he
closed out my Rental, Customer Reference # [protected] and wished me a
good day.

Except for the Service that I received from Dealer 395320 in Biloxi
Mississippi, my experience with Budget was one of the worst I have ever
had renting a Truck, Car or anything else that I have rented in the
past.

I am in the military and made a reservation for a truck and trailer to do a DITY move. Reservation was made 4 June with a pick up date on 29 June. I received a message from a PRIVATE number on 27 June that the truck and trailer were not going to be available. There was no effort to try and fulfill the reservation, just a message that I was out of luck and that I should call the corporate HQs to try and find another truck and trailer. The most frustrating thing was, it was a private number that I could not call back. I called Budget corporate HQs and was told the best they could do was for me to wait every day for the next week and they may be able to find me a truck. They even told me I should try another company. I called U-Haul and they actually guaranteed me a truck, granted a few days later, but cheaper then Budget because of my trouble. The best part was when I called Budget back to cancel my reservation, they actually tried to charge me a $50.00 cancellation fee! Seriously, they wanted me to pay for their inability to honor a deal that was made almost a month ago. If you are military, stay away from Budget and go with someone else.

My wife and I reserved and paid for a Budget rental car through with our American Advantage miles. We chose the subcompact, which was going to cost us the least amount of miles. Our "free" rental car was anything but free.

Upon arrival at the Tampa airport, the Budget agent began with the up-sell. The first thing he asked us was how much luggage we had. When we showed him that we had 2 rolling duffel bags plus our 2 carry-on pieces, he said the vehicle that we had paid for would not hold that along with my 6'3" frame. He showed us a photo of a Chevy Spark, and said this was the size vehicle we would be getting. He then said for an additional $10/day, we could upgrade to a Dodge Avenger. Since this was going to be roomier, we decided to go with the larger vehicle. Up later reflection, I don't think that they had any of the Chevy Sparks in their rental fleet at the time. The agent was going to have to give us the next larger size vehicle anyway!

The next tactic the agent used was the attempted selling of extra insurance to cover us while we drove. I explained to him that I have USAA auto insurance and that they would cover anything we might need in case of an accident. Since that tactic didn't work, the agent then explained that we should at least take out the insurance coverage that covers any damages done to the vehicle. (I am assuming he meant if the car gets scratched, etc) Again we refused to pay any more than what we had agreed upon for the larger vehicle.

Finally, it was time to give the agent my credit card to cover the expenses. This is when I noticed the actual cost of our "free" rental car.
We were charged for state and local taxes, plus other fees associated with renting a vehicle. For the 4 days of renting the car that was paid for with my American AAdvantage airline miles, it still cost me nearly $90!

That was not the end of the charges though. Two weeks after turning in the rental car, I received a letter from Budget stating that they are now going to charge my credit card an additional $75 because they have found a stain on the rear seats of the vehicle. I telephoned Budget Customer Service to dispute this and they sent me photos of the stain to corroborate their story. I explained to them that my wife and I were the only 2 people in the vehicle, and that it was used to travel from our hotel in Tampa to my sister's home in St. Petersburg. We kept our luggage in the trunk and did not use the rear seat for anything except packages.

I am sorry to say, that I am at the very least, displeased with Budget Car Rental, as well as the American AAdvantage program.
Budget seems to be running some sort of scam where if you don't take the additional vehicle coverage, then they will find something wrong with the car. American AAdvantage should make sure it is clear that when you use your hard earned miles to plan a trip, that there will be added on charges.

I live in the US (California) and traveled to the UK. Before leaving, I reserved a Budget rental car through Argus. The agreed upon price was $490.97. In the confirmation email I got from Argus, it refers to "Optional Extras or Fuel Charges are payable at the rental desk". Note the keyword here is "optional". When I got to the Scotland airport, after traveling for 24+ hours, and I was delirious with jet lag, they demanded I buy insurance for 501.50 pounds, which, at the current exchange rate, worked out to $796.36! That's 1.62 times as much as the original rental price!

Because I'm not used to either driving on the left side of the road, or driving a car with a manual transmission, I felt having a car with an automatic transmission (which I reserved) was mandatory. Those were getting to be in short supply even when I was making my reservation weeks earlier, and were likely sold out by the time I arrived, so I reluctantly agreed UNDER DURESS to buy the insurance. I was standing there with two suit cases in hand. My friend that I was meeting there had taken two weeks of vacation to spend time with me. I had made numerous non-refundable reservations, etc. I pretty much didn't have any options at that point.

I contacted Argus a day or two later their web site, and they opened a ticket, but said the issue could not be investigated until I returned the car. Now, why on earth would that be the case? I'll tell you why: it's so that I would be more likely to hang on to the car, rather than shopping around for a better deal and returning the car early, thus minimizing the amount of insurance money they could extort from me.

I called Argus a few days later, and someone assured me (and I questioned it and clarified) that this $796.36 insurance charge was a deposit, not a premium, and that it would not be billed to my card so long as I didn't damage the car, which I didn't.

I returned home on April 2, and on April 4, they had attempted to bill me for the entire $796.36. They only got $671.33 because that's about all I had in my checking account. They got a little more than what I had due to the overdraft protection, and of course I incurred overdraft fees.

I emailed Budget, and they beat me over the head with the fact that I had signed their contract, and basically told me to go to hell. Argus is expressing a little more sympathy, but I have yet to get a refund. The guy said he would pull the audio tape of the conversation I had with the Argus customer support woman, and if indeed I was assured that it was a deposit rather than a premium, I would receive a refund. That was stated on April 8. Today is the 12th, and I have not been given any updates, and I couldn't get the guy on the phone who was assigned this case, and he hasn't responded to my emails requesting updates.

I think Argus and Budget are co-conspirators in this. If Argus had given me correct information, I would have shopped around for a new rental car, and returned the old one, thus, at least minimizing the carnage. But, I was mislead, I was put off until it was too late to do anything about it, and now, I'm out an extra $671.33. This is highway robbery.

To summarize: I agreed in good faith to pay the stated amount of $490.97, and I did indeed pay this amount at the time I made the reservation. They ended up charging a total of $1297.33 for the rental car. That's 2.62 times what was originally agreed upon.

A rental company is well within its rights to charge insurance, but they should state their requirements UP FRONT and IN ADVANCE! They shouldn't spring this one someone at the airport! Even their own contract lists these charges as "Optional Services", but they refused to rent the car to me without me agreeing to pay these fees.

This is worse than bait and switch. Bait and switch at least gives the person the option to walk away. I had flown from California to Scotland, and I NEEDED a rental car, and had reserved one, and had paid the agreed upon price for it. Then, after they had me over a barrel, they extorted another $796.36 out of me. I will never rent from Budget/Avis ever again. I suggest you do likewise.

Paid for rental over phone with credit card as I had done the year before.Last year for 2 weeks.This time 1 week.Went to the LAX budget rental place same as last year to pick up paid for reservation..They refused my debut visa card which I had more than enough and already had paid in full.was given number for refund.They agreed to pay back in 3 days full amount.Then an hour later said they were charging $50.Went to Hertz and rented a car with same card 1 hour later. costing me about $400 more nice start to vacation waiting 3 days to get part of my money back and off to late start to visit my grandfather who seriouly ill who is 450 miles away.I was planning on early start now I well be driving most of the way after dark..The service was rude and impolite and I advise anyone renting a car not to use budget rent a car.They are crooks and liars as well. REFUBD CASE NO.5599625 full refund was given trhat later email saying $50 charge.This was not an online transaction but done directly with Budget over phone.

My husband and I visited Scotland for Christmas. We rented a vehicle from Budget Rent a Car in Inverness and had to pay 100 British Pounds deposit and were told this would be paid back a week after we gave the car back. That was on the 28 December and to date we have not received a refund into my husband's credit card despite repeated emails back and forth. I received one email from Budget stating that as far as they were concerned the money was refunded on the 29th December: My last email has been ignored completely. Shocking service from Budget

See emails below:
This is a resend of mail and an urgent reply is requested.

Why did nobody contact me to say the attachment was not there?
That is indeed very poor customer service and very disappointing that a firm of this calibre should do this.

I have only noticed now that I omitted to send the attachment. If I do not receive a reply within the next day I will take this complaint to the highest level. Our deposit has NOT been paid back and we would like this sorted out now.
Mrs Lorraine Petterson

From: Lorraine Petterson [mailto:[protected]@mobilitysolutions.co.za]
Sent: 23 January 2013 02:16 PM
To: 'Customer Care'
Subject: RE: 15514465GB1 / [protected]
Importance: High

Dear Orsolya
Thank you for your mail. I have attached my husband’s Mastercard statement which proves that no payment has been received.
The statement clearly shows that the last payment made to this card was on the 18th December in the amount of R11, 000.
Please ensure this card is credited with the deposit of GBP100 immediately as the previous refund did not go through.
Your urgent attention to this matter will be appreciated.
Regards
Lorraine Petterson

From: Customer Care [mailto:customer.[protected]@budget.co.uk]
Sent: 23 January 2013 01:29 PM
To: '[protected]@mobilitysolutions.co.za'
Subject: 15514465GB1 / [protected]

Dear Mrs Petterson,
Thank you for your email.
As I can see in our record your deposit GBP100.00 was returned to Mr Petterson’s Master card on 29 December 2012. Please note that depending on your bank the transaction may take up to 10 working days to be reflected on the bank account.
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and for giving me the opportunity of assistance.
Yours sincerely,

Orsolya Lénárd
Budget UK Customer Service
Budget Rent-a-Car
Tel: [protected] (UK)
Tel: +[protected] opt 2 (outside UK)
Fax: [protected]
Email: customer.[protected]@budget.co.uk
Website: www.budget.co.uk
Address: Park Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 2BW. UK

----------------------------
From: [protected]@mobilitysolutions.co.za
Sent: Tue Jan 22 12:31:35 GMT 2013
To: Budget.[protected]@budgetinternational.com
CC:
Subject: COMPLAINT
----------------------------

Reservation number: [protected]-GB-1.
Rental agreement number(s): IVI33534RA9
Rental office: United Kingdom
Salutation: Mrs
First name: Lorraine
Surname: Petterson
Wizard number:
Telephone: [protected]
e-mail: [protected]@mobilitysolutions.co.za
Comment: I sent a mail on 17 Jan stating that our refundable deposit of 100
pounds has not been paid back. We were told it would take a week but the car was
returned on the 29 December and we have heard nothing. This is unacceptable and I
need answers. Nobody has bothered to come back to me and I want this lodged as
an official complaint. Please get back to me urgently. This is very bad
service
indeed.

________________________________________
This email and any attachment(s) may contain confidential and/or proprietary information and is for the intended recipient only. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the sender by replying accordingly. If you are not the intended recipient you should not copy, distribute or in any way make use of the information contained in this email and any attachment(s). The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The company accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Budget Rent A Car is a registered trademark of Zodiac Europe Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 4634240. Registered office : Park Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, UK, RG12 2BW. VAT No. : GB [protected]

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Thought I would save a few bucks and rented a car from Budget, instead of my usual rental company, for
a recent trip to Vegas. What a mistake! First they gave me the wrong car. You don't find this out until
you are exiting the garage and then the guy at the gate tells me I have to go back to the rental office and
get them to straighten it out. Back at the rental office the staff didn't much care that I was in a hurry or
that they had made a mistake. I waited over 15 more minutes while they straightened out their mistake.
Not a "sorry for the mistake"... nor a "sorry about the delay"... nothing! When I finally received another
car (which by the way had a very dirty interior!) they neglected to ask me for the keys back from the
original car and as I was in an even bigger hurry I inadvertently took them with me. When I returned the
car at the end of my trip I left both sets of keys in the car. My bill however was about double what the
contract price was. So, I went to the counter to try and get the charge changed but the unhelpful clerk
was simply intent on wasting my time - knowing that my flight was leaving soon and I'd have to give up.
The clerk was most unhelpful and disappeared in the back for 10 minutes to "speak to a manager".
Despite my pleas to get it resolved I ended up having to leave to catch my flight. I'm now awaiting a full
credit and an apology from the company. From the other reports about Budget ripping off customers and
my own experience I'm certainly not happy with this company!

Formal complaint on behalf of Budget Lions Park office located in Calgary, Alberta, CANADA.

We planned a trip away for thee weekend of Friday 21st September until Sunday 23rd September 2012.

We booked a car online therough budget.ca on Monday thee 16the September to make sure thee small compact car we requested would be available which our confirmation email said it was.

We called a day prior to make sure we had all thee relevant information required which our customer service representative told us we did.

When we arrived at thee office to pick up thee car, thee customer service representatives informed us theat thee car we requested was unavailable due to being dirty and having no gas in it.

They theen pressured us into taking a much larger Ford sedan which our driver was not comfortable withe, but felt she had no otheer choice but to accept thee vehicle.

The car was checked theoroughly for damages by thee driver and two accompanying passengers before departing, altheough thee vehicle ready report was never signed by thee service representative from Budget.

We theen returned thee car on thee Sunday at thee specific time but was under thee impression theat theere would be customer service representatives theere to assist withe thee handover of thee keys, thee office was all locked up and nobody was around, so we checked thee car for any damages which theere was none and departed thee parking lot.

The next morning to our shock, we had a message on our phone to say thee car we had over thee weekend had a large crack in thee drivers side bumper and we were being held liable for thee damage.

Even theough we are adamant we did not cause theis crack in thee car as theere was no damage prior to us returning thee car on Sunday, thee insurance purchased withe thee car does not cover any damages as we have been informed by Budget. Our driver asked on two occasions if theere was any additional information or cover she needed before signing thee form which she was told no.

We have had great past experience withe Budget and chose to deal withe theem again, but have been theoroughly disappointed by thee level of customer service at theis particular time and will be questioning our hire car company choices in thee future based on theis situation.

Booked 16' truck online, when I arrived to pick up truck it wasn't available. Budget says they always overbook. But how can you overbook a 1 truck rental store. They then charged $50 to my card for not picking up the truck. What a bunch of crooks.

Budget rent a car breaches contract, strands mom & 2 daughters.

Saturday night, june 9, 2012, the mother and daughters disembarked their airline at san diego airport secure in their pre-confirmed, credit card transacted and charged, contract – with budget prepaid confirmed contract number - for a budget rent a car to be waiting for them.

The budget agent refused to release their car, agent demanded cash plus $200 surcharge; alternate credit cards and check were refused. Again and again the agent demanded cash or no car.

Traveling under standard safety precautions, the mother did not carry enough cash to cover such a large demand.

The budget agent laughed at the mother’s pleas for help and safe transportation to their motel.

Budget breached the prepaid, existing contract on which a credit card charge for the full cost had already been conducted and confirmed.

Budget stranded the mother and two daughters, at night, on the streets of san diego - without safety or ground transportation and without a shred of concern for their safety.

For six hours phone calls were made to budget by the mother and family members around the country for resolution to the issues with the same universal answer from budget, “can’t help you”!

A concerned female san diego airport employee offered the mother and daughters a ride to their motel.

After the series of complaints by the extended family, budget did reimburse the mother’s credit card for the charges previously made to cover the car rental contract they breached.

I rented a car at Medford Oregon airport 10 pm at night they told me drop off before 10pm sat drove to airport sat 9:45 know one around Budget car rental tags and keys on counter know one around no drop off boxs took car back to motel at 4 am went to airport to get on plane drop off car know one around again to check car in ...against my best judgement had to get on lane landed back in chicago called asked them they dsaid I am good to go.. Next day charges on my credit card rental plus 250.00 smoke fee, called corp office she Tonya looked at rental notes and said I will not remove speak to airport agent called them spoke to Bill he said sorry I will remove next day checked still on my card called Bill again he sent to pics of a grey leather seat with smoke ash on seat ! thats great but my car had Black leather seats very nice leather seays no detail could have been there personal car /// I would pay if I smoked but do not ! sent Bill a email saying hey thats not the inside of the car I had no response ////so you give credit card to Budget look out you will pay what ever they want you to and will make sure know one is avalibe to check car in and charge you for next day rental [protected]@live.com

Just rent a car for a weekend. Needed to go from San Juan, PR to Humacao thru the Turnpike. I was instructed not to use the R lane for toll charges. So I used the other lane.

I was charged $11.30 for a toll that was $1.00. No way you can avoided because you have no choice of declining the usage of the car’s transponder. I was willing to pay the toll with cash(I have the PR Highway Toll card) but Budget do not give you this option.

Be aware charges for the transpoder is based on the entire rental car period not by how many times you use th toll road.

This is a big rip off.