National Car Rental
Reviews and Complaints

Reserved a luxury car online, reservation #[protected], arrived on 7/04/20 to chose a car and there were only Nissan Rouges or Chevy Malibu's in the lane to chose from. I chose a blue Nissan Rouge with Georgia license plates and proceeded to the exit. The man at the exit scanned the barcode and only said he was unable to activate XM radio. Everything was fine with the rental and I returned the car on 7/10/20 as planned around 2:00 pm. The man at the return center scanned the barcode and said he could not print a receipt because the rental was already closed out, I thought it was strange but he said it happens sometimes and his manager would have to close the rental manually and would email my receipt.

Flew back to Houston at 5:45 pm on SWA flight 454. Checked my email the following day and no receipt had been emailed. So I called customer service and was told they would email the receipt to me in 15 minutes. Three hours passed and still no email, so I called again, this time I was given reference #[protected] and assured that I would be receive a receipt shortly! Several more hours went by and still no receipt so I called again and was sent to customer resolutions. The lady I spoke with said she needed to get in touch with the return center at FLL and put me on hold while she tries to contact them, after several tries she came back on the line and said she would continue to try and contact them and would call me back.

I received an email later in the day saying they were charging me for an additional days rental for a car that had been returned!

I looked under my trips in the website and it says I rented a blue Nissan Rouge with New Jersey plate # R64SX & vehicle number LC736632

I'm not sure where the mixup happened, but it was not o my end! I would like for this matter to be resolved ASAP!

We picked up a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe from the MCO airport. We were driving from Orlando, FL to Lawton OK. Once we were driving through north FL it started pouring down rain, so we needed to use the windshield wipers. However, they were smearing water making it very hard to see the road. We pulled over to a gas station to attempt to clean the windshield of any grease/dirt/buildup which could've caused the wipers to not work properly. That's when we noticed how old/worn the wipers were. We got back on the road and when we were about to cross into Alabama, we started feeling like something was biting our feet/ankles. We looked a few times, but didn't notice anything since it was at night and very dark. Every few hours we got bit. Once the sun started rising, we stopped again at a gas station in TX and thoroughly inspected the floor and undersides of the seats. While doing that, a small spider crawled up from below the seat. I took a picture of it before killing it. Then we looked some more and found another spider on the floor. For about 900 miles, we were getting bitten by spiders every few hours!
We called the rental car place about both issues and they said to go to a national rental car place at the Lawton airport before 5pm to get the car exchanged with another. We got there at around 1pm and they were closed until 7pm. So we came back at 7:15pm to swap to another vehicle, but were then told to wait until all the other reservations picked their vehicles. We were left with only one SUV option in our class of rentals; a GMC Terrain. This vehicle had very uncomfortable seats that didn't recline to a laying down position. That wouldn't work for us since the drive back to FL is 18 plus hours. So we asked if it was possible to just have the Santa Fe cleaned and windshield wipers replaced. The rental car place at the Lawton airport said we would have to wait two days since the detailers weren't there. We said that's understandable and left with the Terrain. Two days later we picked up the Santa Fe and as soon as we opened the doors, a horrible, mildew, wet dog smell steamed out of the car. The carpet was obviously cleaned with a wet vacuum cleaner, but they must have not vacuumed up all the water. The dash, the seats, and the bottom of the cup holders were obviously not cleaned since there was debris on them (dust/crumbs/dog hairs). We also saw that the wipers were not changed. We called back to the rental car place and asked what to do about the smell and wipers. They said to go to Firestone, Hibdons, or Goodyear to have them replace the wipers and see about the smell. We did, but they were all closed at that time. So we called the 1-800 number for national and the customer service rep said to buy them at an auto store and that we would be reimbursed later. We bought the wipers and an odor eliminating fogger. The car still smells slightly, but at least it's bearable now. I just don't understand why we had issues with National rentals. We usually have very good experiences, but we are highly dissatisfied with our rental car experience this time. It seems to us that National doesn't care about customers' safety since they didn't replace the wipers or thoroughly clean the car. Plus they left a mildew smell in the car which some people have allergic reactions to.

Manager was very rude i'm a emerald club member I chose a car they had in the lane and he wanted to charge me extra for it I went back through my reservation and rented that car now he say to me there's no selling drug or smoking weed or selling or drinking moonshine in our cars I ask him not to say those things to me I singed my paper work he then snatch them for me with my id and card and told me he can say whatever he want to me and then call the police on me and told them I threatened him police came after I had already paid for my rental heard his story and band me from national car rental

Tried to book a reservation through Air Miles online and were unable to book the type of vehicle we wanted. Wanted to reach the National rental site in San Jose del Cabo airport, to see if we could book online with Air Miles, but then make a change directly with them. Tried to call National at San Jose del Cabo Airport, but the phone call wouldn't go through. Called National Customer Service to confirm the phone number, which was correct and dialed correctly. CS would not provide an email for the location (were not allowed to - which makes no sense), so offered to send a note to that location to call me. I never received a call. I then asked for help from the phone operator to assist with the call, but was unsuccessful.

We've been loyal National customers for years, and have found this very frustrating. Reaching a location should NEVER be difficult. There should be a generic email that you could give out to customers.

We have since rented from Alamo.

Very unhappy Executive Elite member
Tim Trout
On 2/7/20 My rental car broke down in Thief River falls MN. Due to the remote location of this client, National could not come up with any expedient resolutions in being able to get me the 120 miles from Thief River falls MN to the Fargo ND airport to catch my flight.
It was up to myself to come up with a solution. See attached write up.
I have been an Executive Elite for many years. This is the first time I have had such extraordinarily poor service from the roadside service group. I have had to use roadside assistance a few times over the years because I rent from National almost every week. But, this experience was absolutely the worst I had ever had. I had to recommend the resolutions because no one knew what to do. Those I contacted, especially the first 2 times (Annyris, the Supervisor I contacted that last time was good) were inefficient, left me stranded and did no follow up to see if I was OK (By the way in Thief River Falls during all this I was outside in -6F to -9F temperatures).
National, where were you when I needed you?

National Car issue 2-7-20
Picked up car 2/3/20 Fargo ND
2/4/20 - Thief River Falls MN: The car wouldn't start in the morning, however after 20
minutes of trying, it finally started.
On 2/7/20- Thief River Falls MN; In the morning the car had a little trouble starting, but it
turned over and I drove to Digi-Key Electronics in Thief River Falls MN. At 12:25PM I
went to start the car to leave Digi-Key and drive to the Fargo ND Airport to catch my
flight home. The car wouldn't start. After 10 minutes of trying I contacted Digi-Key
maintenance for a jump. Tried for several minutes. It wouldn't work.
2/7/20- Thief River Falls MN @12:37 pm: I called National Roadside assistance (844-
827-2600). The gentleman (couldn't understand him very well because of the accent)
wasn't clear as how to help. Eventually concluded that he would send a tow truck to pick
up myself the car up and take myself and the car to Grand Forks ND to possibly get
another car. I was told it may be 1-1.5 hrs. I got a text from the tow company shortly
after that. I waited a half an hour and decided to call the tow company (I googled the
phone number) to get an estimate of time to pick me up to know if I was going to miss
my flight out of Fargo ND. Dispatch told me that AAA told them to go to the Grand Forks
ND Airport and pick up my car (don't know how that would work, I am in Thief River
Falls MN) and take it to a Hyundai dealer in Grand Forks ND. Not what I needed at all!
I'm stuck in Thief River Falls MN.
I called National again @ 1:40pm (844-827-2600). I stated no one showed up and that I
contacted the tow company and the dispatch confirmed that AAA told them to go to the
Grand Forks ND Airport and pick up my car and take it to a Hyundai dealer…. She then
stated for me to take an Uber or Taxi 110 miles (approx. 2.5 hours). 1st, there is no Uber
and taxis won't go 110 miles. I, then asked them to have someone from Grand Forks
ND to deliver me a car. She said she called the rental agency in Grand Forks ND and
the said they were shorthanded and couldn't help me. So I am stranded?
I, then requested that they acquire a car from another National facility (i.e. Grand Forks
ND), put it on a tow truck, bring it to Thief River Falls MN and switch out the 2 cars. The
girl on the phone stated she couldn't do that because the rental agency wants the old
car first and it would take well over 3 hours and there isn't enough time today before
they close?
After 25 minutes of trying to figure out what they could do because of my location, she
stated that she would send a tow truck to pick up the car and…take myself and the car
to the Fargo ND Airport. I asked twice if the tow truck driver will drive all the way to
Fargo ND (110 Miles). She said yes, and the tow truck should be there in about 1hr
45minutes. Now, there is no way I can make my 4:55pm flight as it is now 2:05pm. The
tow truck won't be here for 1hr 45minutes (3:50pm) and it is 2-2.5 hours to the Fargo
ND Airport (which makes the ETA approx. 6:20pm). As a result, I had to call United
Airlines (@2:06 pm) to reschedule my flight as I wouldn't be able to make it to the
airport by 4:30pm. The soonest available flight that was available the next day was at
1:25pm. I then made hotel reservations near the Fargo ND Airport so when I arrived with the tow truck I would have a hotel room for the night. I made a reservation at the
Candlewood Suites by the Fargo ND Airport 1.4 miles from the airport.
The local driver from Thief River Falls MN actually showed up around 2:38pm. He
stated he was tasked to take me to Northwestern Motors -Chevrolet in Thief River Falls
MN where I was stranded. I stated he was supposed to take me to the Fargo ND
Airport. He stated that that isn't what the dispatcher sent to him (I saw the assignment
on his phone) and that he wasn't able to go that far anyway. So, he took me to
Northwestern Motors -Chevrolet in Thief River Falls MN. The dealer said that because
it's a Hyundai, a rental which meant I am not authorized to request work on that car,
they couldn't help. The tow truck driver then took me to the Quality Inn in Thief River
Falls MN by my request, so I could have a place to get warm and stay for the night as
there was no transportation to get to Fargo ND that night. I then cancelled the
Candlewood Suites Reservation because I couldn't get to Fargo ND that night. No one
had any solution to help me get to Fargo ND. Because of the late cancellation, I was
charged for the room for not arriving. (Cost for National).
Once I got to the Hotel I called National again @ 3:21pm (844-827-2600) and requested
to talk to a supervisor. I talked to Annyris. She suggested several things such as taking
a tow truck to Grand Forks ND and a taxi to the Fargo ND Airport or a bus etc. I
declined because I checked and there are no taxis that go from Grand Forks ND to the
Fargo ND airport and there was no guarantee I would make my flight tomorrow. I
requested (again) that they acquire a car from a National facility, put it on a tow truck,
bring it to Thief River Falls MN and switch out the 2 cars. It took 22 minutes, but she
found a car at the National rental facility at the Grand Forks ND airport and would have
it delivered and switched out. So now, the solution that I had requested over 2 hours
ago was now OK?
At 7:16pm, the tow truck (from Nordic Towing) showed up and we switched out the 2
vehicles. Seven hours later.
This issue resulted in a lot of extra expenses because National had no resolutions to get
me home. I had to come up with the resolutions. Now there is an extra hotel charge, car
rental and meals with a cost estimate of $250 that National will need to be responsible
for. And more importantly, my wife and I had vacation plans for that weekend and had to
cancel them because I wouldn't be home until Saturday Evening now.
(Comment: When the plan was for the tow truck to take myself and the car to the Fargo
Airport, I asked her to please have the driver drop off the car at the airport so I could get
a receipt for the car, and then drop me off at the Hotel as I would not have any
transportation. She said no. They can only make one stop. I said really? I am stuck in
Thief River, missed my flight because no one knew what to do and the driver cant drive
5 minutes from the airport?)

My name is Christine Carew and I recently had the unfortunate experience of renting a car from National Car Rental agency via www.economycarrentals.com (RA#[protected]... RES #[protected]) . Now, I've rented vehicle before via this exact medium, but never had such an experience.
Make and model of car were of no consequence to me and I chose a rental that came with a GPS, which was more expensive than other available options, because I was on a business trip, I preferred driving to taking Uber and most importantly, I did not know my way around and needed a GPS.

My experience at the desk was fine when I arrived to collect the vehicle on time. I proceeded downstairs and collected the vehicle then attempted to leave the parking lot. The agent at the check-out point told me my card declined twice and he didn't know why, but I had to reverse and get it sorted with my bank as no cash was accepted. I reversed, tried using my phone, but got no reception. I also needed Wi-Fi because if I used my phone over a foreign network, the charges would be exorbitant. So I had to return to the terminal, upstairs at the rental desk where I could get Wi-Fi to call my sister, to have her call my bank. The WiFi was unstable, I never got through to the bank, so I went back downstairs and asked the National Rep at the service desk to try my card again, and like magic, it went through. So I just wasted about an hour going back and forth trying to make a phone call, then my card just happened to work. Fine, I was just happy to get going as I had work to do for a business meeting the following morning.

Next, I proceeded to the check-out point again and collected the GPS; the guy at that point could not assist me with setting it up as there was a backup of cars behind me, so I proceeded and stopped outside the check-out and turned the unit on and put in my address. All went well for about 20 minutes, and then the GPS started to restart, it cut off several times but came back on each time. I was near my hotel and had to circle a few times, and eventually stop at a nearby hotel to get directions. I assumed that the GPS simply didn't charge up enough and I found my way to my hotel that evening.

The following morning, I left my hotel an hour before my meeting, to ensure I arrived on time as it was half hour away. I turned on the GPS before leaving the hotel and realized the battery was a bit low, but it came with a car charger, so I never thought I would have an issue. I began driving and within 15 minutes, the GPS goes blank. I restarted it several times until it just totally shut down. So now, I'm totally lost, no idea what direction to head in. I continued driving for a bit, hoping for a miracle. I had to place international roaming calls to try to get directions from other persons, I ended up lost and not know what to do or where to go. I was late for my conference and my company paid a lot of money for me to attend so being tardy was just unacceptable. I made it to downtown Miami and had to pay USD $24.00 in parking because I could not find the conference hotel, and didn't know what to do and couldn't just park on the side of the road because the car would surely get wrecked. Then I had to pay a taxi to get to my destination. So lost, frustrated and now LATE.

I took the GPS with me and got someone at the conference to charge it up. When I left the conference at 5pm that evening, the GPS was fully charged and working. I felt comfortable and safe enough to proceed with a fully charged GPS and collected the rental, paid for my parking and tried to get back to the hotel. There was traffic and within half an hour….same story. GPS goes blank, I restart several times. I just parked up, not knowing what else to do. I eventually had to turn on data roaming at an exorbitant price, in order to get directions from Google Maps and find my way to the hotel in darkness. I was TIRED and FED-UP at this point. I decided to call National for assistance (at 844-887-8399). I spoke to a male rep for about 10 minutes who was helpful. He transferred me to Roadside Assistance. I got George who was friendly and said help was dispatched after taking all my info and talking to him for about half an hour. This was after 7pm and he said help would be there in 3 to 5 hours. I gave him my hotel's number and my room number and he said to look out for a call within 90 minutes. I sat and waited in my room. I got no call, so at around 10pm, I called back National and spoke to Kimberly, who said she could not transfer me to Roadside Assistance and gave me a number, even though I explained to her I was transferred previously. I called roadside assistance and was told help was supposed to have come, and the person said they got no answer to my phone and they abandoned and they would be written up for that. She confirmed my hotel and room number. She confirmed my location and that I needed my GPS changed and said they would send someone soon. I waited up because I wanted to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some stuff for my children before my flight the following day. No one ever showed up. No one ever called.

The following morning, same story, no one called, no one came. I could not leave to get any shopping down because again…..NO GPS……and I had no wish to be lost again. I had to eventually follow an airport shuttle so I could find my way to drop the rental back in time. Because I had to follow the shuttle, I could not even stop to refill and gas tank.

This was by far the WORST service experience of my LIFE. No one cared to call back, no one cared to check the GPS was working before they gave it to me with one choice of charger….. a car charger. Not even a USB charger so I could at least use another port. LOST and SCARED, a most HORRIFIC experience. Additional expenses, taxi fare, parking fees, roaming call charges, roaming data charges, and you charged me to refill the gas tank as well.

Seriously, please tell me…how is NATIONAL CAR RENTAL company going to compensate me for this? My email addresses are:-

christine.[protected]@caribbean-airlines.com
and
[protected]@yahoo.com

I look forward to a speedy response.

Christine Carew

Please make them turn down the volume of the commercial, extremely irritating, all I do is mute as quick as I can to prevent neighbors from complaining as I'm in a condo! Definitely irritates me enough I'll never rent from National!

My friend rented a vehicle from the Atlanta Airport National Car rental location on 9/25. As she we preparing to return the car on 9/27, her hip slipped out of the socket rendering her unable to walk or drive.

We live over 1 hour from the Atlanta Airport. I tried to have my name added to the contact so that I could drive the vehicle back to the airport. After 7 phone call, wandering thru endless menu options (many were loops leading back to where I started) -- talking to 4 agents including an escalating customer service person -- I got this answer:
"We cannot add a drive except at our office. "

Is that what you'd call a good customer experience?

I have been using rental cars for 48 years, I have frequently added drivers by faxing and send a copy of the persons drivers lic. (And I was ready to send my lic -- but no one would take it.)

Bottom line. A drive becomes incapacitated. The car is over an hour away from the rental office. The only way to add a driver is to drive a second vehicle to the office to add the driver (3 hours) and then drive the rental car to the office!

Thankfully there are plenty of other options.

I hope someone will exercise a bit of common sense and realize that when an emergency happens -- the standard policies are not at all responsive to the situations.

Wayne Kurzen
[protected]@comcast.net

I recently rented a GMC Terrain on 9/22. 9/23 National closed out my rental and charged me for having a Nissan Centra. I never rented a Nissan Centra and I am currently still in the GMC Terrain which National has no record of. I called customer 4 times and sent an email to have this situation resolved, and was told that there was nothing they could do. I just needed to wait for the site to give me a call. This is absolutely ridiculous seeing as I have called three days in a row and no one has yet to return my call. The customer manager seemed to not even care that my credit had been charged without my authorization for a car I never had. He got very defensive and told me there was nothing else I could do but wait. He was very rude and defensive when I told him that I would blast my issue on social media and reach out to corporate to get this resolved. He told me that his department is the department that reaches out to corporate "so who you gone reach out to"

*be aware* thevies * unethical employees from check in clerks and management. We rented a car fronmmnational car rental in atlanta airport. From the beginning to end was a horrible experience. 1st problem we had was with the check in clerk. He added all these additional fees we did not ask for or need. Therefore, look over rental contract! If anything seen questionable or if your bill change from your reservation quote dont hesitate to ask questions and if staff can't help you call their 800 customer service #. The other issue we arrive to the airport 3 hrs early. Our flight was at 4:15 pm. Upon returning the the rental I left my phone in the car. I have a wallet cell phone case. Therefore, it has my dl, money, and credit cards. I walk from the national rental car drop off to the national rental counter less than 10 minutes I realize I left my phone in the car. I ask staff if they can grab my phone out of the car. The car was still in the line up to be clean. The staff claim my phone was not in the car nor in their lost and found. Management (paige) claim she'll pull the car up so I can look in the car myself. Which doesn't make any sense. I was telling her if it's not there her staff remove it out of the car. Management pretend they're assisting you. Paige was helpless and didn't care if we missed our flight. Her attitude was it wasn't her problem.in reality there helping staff cover their scam. I knew for sure my phone was in the car because I didn't stop anywhere and I made a phone call from the car to the airport. Management claims their staff will not steal because their rewarded when they turn in lost items. I call my wiresless carrier and they was able to tell me how to locate my samsung8 phone. The locater ping my phone in the car rental area. So while management acted like they were helping. My sister and I started looking in the area where we drop the car off. My sister called my phone while we were looking by the lost and found bins. The 1st bin we didn't hear my phone. We continue down the drop offline hoping to hear my phone. We went to the next lost and found bin I heard my phone ringing. I ask the staff to open the lost and found bin and it was not in there. But, I did hear it ringing so it was there! I ask him to open the top box and it was there! They claim it may have gotten stuck at the top. But, remember from the beginning my phone was not in the car. No one reported they found a phone. So who put the phone there? The staff claim they never saw a phone! But, their rewarded if they turn in lost items. Lies! Since it took us so long to find my phone with my dl, credit cards, and money. You notice I said us my sister and I not management! We missed our flight. Therefore, we had to stay overnight and accumulate extra expenses on our trip! I usually do not post complaints... But I thought how many people may have failed victims to this! (this must be a inside hussle that goes overlooked or should I say covered by management.) its sad I always spoke highly of national car rental. National/ alamo should really look into their daily operations. As a consumer I can't trust or feel comfortable to rent from a company who hires or tolerated staff with unethical behavior. Shame on them!

I rented a car out in Charleston, SC on July 31st 2019 and returned the car to Myrtle Beach, SC on Aug 4th 2019.

When I returned the car it was checked and no damage was noted by the employee. Now it's been one month, I received a voice mail from damage department and received a letter in the mail saying I made damage the car.

I believe National is trying to scam me. If there was a damage during my rental, the employee who was there to check the car when I returned it, would have noted it and said something to me instead of telling I am good to go and everything is okay.

I called and emailed the damage department team to see what was the damage they claim I put on the car, I haven't heard anything back yet.

I did do some research and found out that i am not the only one that National is doing this too either. Its seem like a known issue they are trying to blame their customers to the damage that was not there in the first place.

I normally don't have any problem with National and always love renting from them but with this issue, I don't want to rent from them again.

Advise to others, make sure you record the car you are renting from any rental company before and after so they can't blame you like they did to me.

So you rent a car online... bookings are usually so easy... you arrive to pick your booked car up and no represenative from National is at the counter. Not at 9pm, 10pm nor 11 pm. Calls to corporate tel#s promised that someone would be there at the times noted. This was at the Lethbridge Alberta Airport #donotrentfromNationalcarrrntal

Ps check the counter out. Personal information was left out on the counter. Amazing info!

Kenneth Smith
Member # [protected]
RA # [protected]
Customer Support # 33190225
I have been charged $1, 416.03 for a rental that should have been less than $300 based on my contract. I have been told 3 times since 11:30 am on 8/1 that I would be contacted to resolve this issue. It is unbelievable that no one from National can contact me and that you have decided to price gouge a loyal long time customer for this situation. I request a review of this issue and a call at [protected] as soon as possible.
Thank you.