RentalCars.com
Reviews and Complaints

We booked a car for our family in Italy via rentalcars.com. We were going to visit a family member who died during the war and he fought for NZ and died in Italy. The date of the incident was the 31st of August a day that will live in infamy for our family. We booked a 9 seat vechile to go to Ancona to see our dear departed war veteran. We arrived at Budget at Termini in Rome and we were met by customer service representatives who were rude and abrupt. We were told we needed our passports. We werent told this and in the paper work it only said we needed our drivers licence. The supervisor was incredibly rude and abrupt and in fact cancelled our booking without even telling me and knowing full well we were going back to get our passports at our own expense in fact it cost 30 euros. We came back and i was told we had to pay for a deposit and that we now couldnt have the vechile we ordered online and recieved no compensation. This was a traumatic experience that made us over 1.5 hours late and we didnt even get to see our uncle in the end.

Consumer Complaint
Dianne Whalen
Booking Reference Number: [protected]
Confirmation Number: H3303865223

June 12, 2017 (Time 1800 EST) – Reservation completed online.
Rental Partner: Hertz Corporation Car Type: Full-Size Car (Unlimited Mileage)
Pick-Up: June 29, 2017 10:00 AM
Pick-Up Location:
Hertz (RC)
Spruce Street
2 Spruce Street
New York, NY 10038USA

Drop-Off: July 3, 2017 10:00AM
Philadelphia International Airport
1 Arrivals Road
Philadelphia, PA 19153

Driver: Dianne Whalen

Summary of Charges
Amount Due at Pick-up:
Daily Rate (4 x 89.99): USD 359.96
Taxes and fees: USD 49.18
Amount Due at Pick-up: USD 409.14

June 29, 2017 – Attempted Pick-Up:
My 15 year-old daughter and I arrived by NYC Taxi cab to the Pick-Up location address provided by Rentalcar.com on my confirmation email. The address was that of a parking garage. Upon arrival at this address, the taxi driver could not locate a Hertz Rental Car establishment anywhere. He parked near the parking garage and asked an attendant where the Hertz Rental Car business was located. We were informed that there had not been a Hertz rental Car service at this location in over three years. However, he stated he knew of about 20 customers, aside from me and my daughter, who have been referred to this address.

June 29, 2017 – Rental Car Still Needed after being Stranded by Rentalcars.com!:
Now stranded and still in need of a rental car to continue our trip to Philadelphia, our NYC taxi driver went online and located a Dollar Rental car service nearby in lower Mahattan. He drove us to that location so as not to strand my teenage daughter and I with all of our luggage at the nonexistent Hertz Rental car establishment address neglectfully provided by Rentalcar.com.

June 29, 2017 – Dollar Rental Car 339 South End Avenue New York, New York [protected]:
After much navigating we were able to locate the Dollar Rental Car establishment. Being the July 4th holiday weekend in the US, we were lucky to rent the last full size car Dollar Rental had in stock. However, since we were a walk-in customer due to Rentalcar.coms negligence, the cost of our rental car fees were astronomical at $1888.85 vs the $409.14 quoted by Rentalcars.com.
Due to no fault of our own, we were forced to pay a $1, 479.71 difference to obtain a car! This is over four and a half times the price quoted by Rentalcars.com. These are fees above and beyond what we would have ever paid booking ahead with a reputable company.
Rentalcars.com demonstrated gross negligence in not confirming and securing the partner companies existence at the Spruce Street address in NYC . By this negligence, in not validating the continued existence of your partner company, me, the consumer suffered a great financial loss as well as the emotional stress my daughter and I suffered weighed down with bags and not being able to secure a car. If not for the graciousness of the NYC cabbie, we would have been stranded on the streets of lower Manhattan trying to locate a car rental establishment on our own.
Due to Rentalcar.com’s negligence in this matter, at the very least, I am requesting the difference in price we were forced to pay from the price we were quoted by Rentalcar.com, to what we actually were forced to pay to secure a rental car. This cost does not even include the added fees paid to our NYC taxi driver for safely getting us to a legitimate establishment.This is the least your company can do due to your gross negligence.

July 7, 2017 (Time: 1041 EST) Attempt #1 to Resolve Issue with Rentalcar.com Customer Service [protected] – I phoned and spoke with Sebastian describing the above situation. I was informed this information would be forwarded to the department that handles invesigations and someone would contact me on my cell number [protected] once they had investigated my claim.

July 24, 2017 (Time: 1217 EST) - Attempt #2 to Resolve Issue with Rentalcar.com Customer Service [protected] – After two weeks, I had yet to receive a follow-up phone call related to this matter. I contacted Rentalcars.com again by phone and spoke to Martina and her manager, Costas. Again, I was informed that I would be contacted by phone by the department who investigates these issues.

August 30, 2017 (Time 1900 EST) – Feedback provided on reservation Rate Your Experience.

August 30, 2017 (Time 1947 EST) - Complaint left on www.complaintsboard.com

I mistakenly booked for a pickup at my destination at 1am on August 18th instead of August 19th. When I tried to change my 2-week car reservation a few days later for a pick up at the correct time on the 19th, the rentalcars.com website forced me to rebook my entire reservation for an ADDITIONAL COST of nearly $200. As I couldn't believe that rentalcars.com would be expecting that I book a car rental for one less day for a HEFTY ADDITIONAL COST, I went ahead and called rentalcars.com to address the problem directly. What I received from their rep was a bunch of crap advising me that I would need to rebook at the higher cost... despite the fact that I would have been willing to pay the same original costs while picking up the vehicle a day later (i.e., same rent payment for one less day!). This is no way to treat customers...

On August 2, we flew from LAX to EWR. There was severe thunderstorms over the NY and NJ areas, so all airports were closed down. Our plane was diverted to Dulles DC.
We repeatedly tried to call Payless to let them know our arrival would be delayed but no one picked up.
We finally flew into EWR about 7 hours later than our scheduled flight time.
At the Payless desk there was a queue and no attendant. We waited for a half hour and when we finally reached the head of the line, we were told that we didn't have a reservation, despite the confirmation code and the confirmation letter.
Because everyone was in the same position -- drastically delayed flights -- no other cars were available.

Email from rentalcars.com dated April 30 2017
Itinerary Number is [protected]

Dear Sandra Hunter,

Thank you for booking your trip with Rentalcars.com!

Your itinerary is shown below.

Click below to access your itinerary details, along with other important information for your request number:

Manage My Booking

To change or amend your reservation:

Manage My Booking

Your Rental Car Reservation

Rental Partner: Payless Car Rental
Car Type: Toyota Corolla or similar
Pick-up: 3 Aug 2017 15:30
Pick-Up Location: Newark Airport
Drop-Off: 6 Aug 2017 15:30
Drop-Off Location: Newark Airport
Driver: Sandra Hunter

Extras:

Partner Reference: 04400132US2

Summary of Charges:

Subtotal of the Rental: USD $203.64
Taxes and Fees: USD $80.21
Amount Due at Pick-up: USD $283.85

Important Information

Please review the following rules regarding rental cars:

* Payment for this reservation is due when the car is returned and will be charged by Payless Car Rental
.
* The rate may change if you pick-up, or drop-off the car at a different date, time or location than you requested in your reservation.

* Only the driver will be able to pick up this rental car at the counter.

* You will be able to add an additional driver at the counter for an additional charge payable directly to the rental car company. Additional charges also apply for optional items, and for drivers under the age of 25.

* The driver will be required to present a valid driver's licence, and a valid credit card in his/her name.

* Some locations also accept debit cards; however rental partners have different requirements for customers who will only have a debit card at the time of pickup. For more specific information please review partner payment options.

* Please see location specific rental policy and rules information.

* You hereby agree to abide by Rentalcars.coms terms and conditions and privacy policy.

* Click here for additional Frequently Asked Questions. If you require further assistance, please contact us.

* Contact Payless Car Rental: [protected]

Incident 31st July 2017 - Fuerteventura Airport
Rentalcars.com Confirmation [8475787-[protected]]

First, I have used Rentalcars.com for the last 3 years (10 times) without any problems. So this is not an angry review for the sake of it.

I booked a car for my son 21 years old with 3 years of driving licence. His age was clearly stated from the first page as well as when confirming the booking with his date of birth details. We also subscribed a full insurance cover for the 8 days renting period.

When arriving at the airport at the SIXT desk they refused to give home the car under the argument he was under 23 years old.

I called Rentalcars.com Customer Service and they only answer was "it is written in the renting company terms and conditions". No acknowledgment that they did not take into consideration the driver info provided but more important did not care about the fact that my son was stock at the airport.

Ultimately they refused to reimburse the renting cost because it was "in the terms and conditions". We looked extensively on the email we received and there was no mention of such restrictions of use.

I find truly amazing that when browsing now on line it appears that Rentalcars.com seems to have numerous poor review mostly on their Customer Service policy which should be above all their main concern to build up a sustainable business.

Clearly now they lost me as a good customer.

We booked through rentalcars.com for a recent trip to California. Upon landing, we were told by the rental car company that they did not have a car for us. We immediately called rentalcars.com who told us to reserve a car with another company and they would reimburse us for the difference. Upset and tired from traveling, we had no other choice. We paid an additional $300 out of pocket to have a car for the week. Once we returned home, I sent in our receipt as we were instructed to do. We received an email from Natasha in Customer Service on July 19 to which we immediately replied. It is now August 4 and we have had ZERO communication from rentalcars.com. I have emailed them several times with NO response - not even an update on the status of our claim. Don't be fooled by the low prices, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for! I assume we will be out the $300 because of their mistake. Shame on us for trusting that they would take care of us. Never using rentalcars.com again. Oh, and we racked up $120 in international phone call charges since they are based in the UK. So really I am out $400 because we chose to book through them - never again!

I rented a car on Iceland late June 2017 where it was stated clearly on the vochure that the price was "all inclusive" and that the pickup point was Reykjavik and redelivery point was Keflavik, but was charged an additional 45 EUR for another redelivery point. Dishonest business practice and on top of that they do not respond to the complaint. Stay away!

On June the 26th I picked a Gran Vitara Suzuki at the Herz at the Guayaquil International Airport. Appearantly no problem with a 117.000 km car, with a broken alarm and a lousy cover of a box at my right elbow. After 30 minutes, my wife started to complain about the bad smell of the inside the car. We planned to stay with the car 4 days, but my wife couldn´t stay at the car because of the stinking situation. I droped the car back at the airport, there was no replace car and no refund either. How could it be? I explained that in Ecuador I couldn´t stay at the street with a broken alarm, and the lousy cover put us in risk of accidents, but no decent solution was brought to us. Never more Herz, never more Rentalcars. I want my not used 2 days rental back!

i have cancelled our rental on the phone from renalcars.com.
The agent told me the amount that will be refunded on the phone, a few days later they transferred the money to my bank account, but the money transferred was less than the amount they told me on the phone.
They just send me an email referreing to the cancellation and the refund and didnt contacted me again.
Today i sent an instant message from their website through their messaging function and talked with one of the agents. I asked why they refunded me less then they told me on the phone and they told me that the other department forgot to refund me the full protection amount other than the amount they send me. the agent told me that they are solving the problem and sending me the amount left. well i asked to the agent if I didnt notice and reminded the situation to the company what would have happen, she said an agent would notice and contacted me. Do i believe? Dont think so.

Car rented for collection at Halifax NS airport. Advised that Discount were the company providing the car. When we phoned them from the airport they denied any knowledge of the booking and said they had no cars available in any case. Basically tough luck and go away! We managed to hire more expensive car from Budget. Now trying to contact Rentalcars but emails keep being bounced or telling me to contact Discount - they don't want to know. On holiday so not certain if any money taken by Rentalcars. Anybody know how I can contact them?

I booked a car with www.rentalcars.com and after everything was settled I was charged extra $100. I contacted them right away to ask what for I was charged extra money. They said they need to investigate that and promised to help me. They said they'll refund me when I'll pick the car.
But when I arrived to pick my car and asked them to refund my $100 they looked at me as if I was crazy and said they knew nothing and don't owe me anything.
No matter how hard I've tried I wasn't able to change their mind and gave up. Very stressful situation, I will never use Rentalcars again!

I cannot tell you how much a despise this company. We made our arrangements in Sept 2016, online when we booked our first trip to Europe. The process was not only difficult, but the information they give you is only half correct. During the process they ask you for your itinerary, and I gave it--Ireland to Wales to Scotland to England back to Ireland. 22 days. I had to wait years to take this trip until after I had healed from my heart transplant, so this was a special trip. We called twice and confirmed our reservation. When we arrived in Dublin, we went to Euro cars and went through the process. During our conversation the clerk asked where we were going, we told him our plans and he looked almost scared. He then asked where we were storing the car while we were in the UK. We told him we were taking the car over on the ferry, we had already booked our ferry plans. He told us if we did that we would never make it onto the ferry before were arrested for grand theft auto. Seems as though you cannot take a rental car from Ireland to anywhere. Nor can you bring a rental car onto Ireland. We freaked out. We had planned to spend 5 days in Ireland and the rest in the UK. We had prepaid $400 plus dollars for the car rental, now we could not take the car. So the clerk told US to call Rentalcars.com and see if we could change the reservation. Keep in mind we were using our International calling plan because we had not planned for any calls. They had no phone we could use. So after 35 minutes of conversation we were told we could CHANGE the reservation to have the car in Ireland for one week, then pick up another one in Wales at the ferry station. So then when it came time to find the car, they said they were not sure they had one for us. How could that be? What about the car we were supposed to get in the first place? Finally we got on and then had to go to our B&B to call Rentalcars back to make the final arrangement to get the car from the Ferry station in Wales. We were supposed to be able to use the remaining credit from the CHANGE at our first pickup. So the man on the phone (another 45 minutes on International calling plan) assures us that we can get a car from Hertz, we simply pay accept their different insurance plan, pay the difference, keep the receipt, and submit it after we get back to be reimbursed for it because we had already payed for Insurance via rentalcars. That turned out to be a HUGE LIE. A $200 lie. We arrive in Wales to get our 2nd car and the office was supposed to open at 6 am. We got in at a little before 8 and no one was there, so we wait around for almost an hour when someone finally comes and they say they have no car. Needless to say it was not pretty. Then we find out it is an additional 100 pounds for me to be able to drive as well. So we did not get that and my husband had to drive for the entire 18 days of travel. The cars are quite different over there and there was no one to explain to us how anything worked. That was an adventure in itself. Vacation happens. We get home and the bills start coming in. To end this story without much more pain, our $400 car rental through Rentalcars.com just got paid off after 6 months of disputes, arguments, yelling, insults, etc (and some of that came from the Rentalcars.com people) to the tune of $1600.00. Rentalcars told our credit card company that we lied and none of that happened.

THis is the worst company ever.. Do not be fooled by positive reviews or what people say when they tell you this is a great company. It is just plain dishonest. My next stop is the better business bureau.

No indication of excess charges when booking. No compliance with the distance selling regulations regarding refunds when cancelled. I booked a car from Malaga with FULL insurance only to find when I went to print the voucher that the company would take a €1100 "deposit" for the rental.
The booking reference is [protected].
Stay clear of this company who are clearly using unlawful methods!

Issue 1:
My husband looked to book a car to collect from Glasgow Airport on 8 April for 1 week and this initially gave him a figure of approximately £140 for the week to include full no claims insurance. He logged off for approximately 1 minute, logging back in again, to finalise a booking. The above figure for the same vehicle had risen to £209 in total. ( Almost £60 more).
We cancelled this car today.ref [protected].
I was told this had been cancelled straight away and that my husband's credit card would be reimbursed in 5-7 days time.
However, this appears to be profiteering to me.

Issue 2
I went online today to look for a better price for a car, to collect from Glasgow Airport, for the same dates in April.
I booked a car priced on the website at £148.28 (The Vauxhall Corsa selected was £87.10 on the site, plus £59.99 for full insurance). The website calculated that this was the sum due. However, on completion of the booking, reviewing and submitting my request, I noted that my credit card was to be debited for £224.16 ! When I checked the confirmation email ref: [protected], I noticed that I had been charged £163 for the car with £59.00 insurance). This is NOT what I had selected.
( I have kept the email of confirmation for £246.16 and screenshot of initial booking for £148.28 as evidence).
I called RentalCars immediately ( 14.00 on Sun 22 Jan) and spoke to Cecilia.
I explained what had happened and said I believed this is verging on fraudulent activity by the company. She said that the £87.10 car selected was with an offer with their agent Green Motion, but the car that had been actually allocated was from Europcar, hence the dramatic increase in price. She advised I could cancel my online booking ( which I did) and that she could rebook with Green Motion at the price on the website ( total £148.28 as I had originally selected) . However, this company would debit my card with £400 for a deposit until the car was collected! None of this is shown on the site.
She also said the she will report the 'issue with the site too their IT department as this wasn't right'. She also said she can reimburse my card straight away ( so why does my husband have to wait up to a week for his reimbursement?).

Overall it is shocking that this kind of thing is allowed to happen. What should be a simple procedure is anything but simple.
I later noted that Rental Car have the following comments when I reviewed their T&Cs.

"Accuracy of Information
Although we strive to ensure the accuracy of the information on this website, neither we nor our affiliates, suppliers or agents can be held responsible by you for the accuracy of such information. It is solely your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of all information provided on this website."

It almost appears that they deliberately propagate misinformation- but it is the customer's problem if they don't pick this up themselves.

Please also note: In step 4 of the booking process, you are not given the opportunity the final amount payable before confirmation in step 5 ( I am referring unexpected/ random increases in pricing - compared to what appears in step 3, as the amount due).

I am serious considering referrng this complaint o Trading Standards .

I look forward to your prompt response.

Regards, Michelle

(NB I had difficulty uploading email and screenshot but these can be provided)

I booked a car for a break in Portugal & Spain. I was uncomfortable that I could not find the excess on the web site. Indeed, when I concluded the booking I left a 5/10 feedback stating ‘could not find the excess’. I went ahead because the company renting was Budget – and I have always considered them a good name.
I have just had a call from the booking company, RentalCars.com [protected] and feel as if I am being extorted.
I was told there is a €2000 excess and I would have to pay half at collection, my card would be ‘blocked’ (?) for half of this. This appeared excessive and then there was mention of the ‘protection’ I could buy ….
It appears the failure to supply the excess is so a follow-up call can be made; that having pulled in a customer, they then seek to obtain more money, put you on the spot because you are, to an extent, tied in, committed.
I asked why the excess was not shown on the web and was told ‘it’s in the terms and conditions’. I said that I did not see this before purchasing. I was told ‘it was in the email’ … that I received after I had input all my details etc.
I asked on 2 occasions why the excess was not on the web site – the question as avoided. I told the man why the excess was not on the web site … so that a customer’s detail were obtained, they felt engaged with the hire company, did not want the hassle of having to re-do (possibly being unable to locate a car) – that their conduct was intentional; designed to enable them to make the follow-up call and sell a further product.
I have cancelled the hire. I will book elsewhere.

Date: 13/10/2016
Rental agreement number: [protected]
Vehicle number: [protected] (Chrysler mini-van: odometer out: 31595; odometer in: 31786)

I feel ripped off by budget and rentalcars.com, because when i booked this car it was clearly written that us$93, 75 was the total cost (I have kept all the e-mails for security). I have payed for it months in advance and followed every rule to pick-up and drop-off the car in perfect conditions. It is simply outrageous to be charged almost 100% more without my consent and for no reason.
I understand that i have signed a document in which i read that "i agree the charges listed above are estimates", so i was deliberately led to think that those 75, 74 were estimates, especially because i was emphatically told by the employee on the counter that there wouldn't be any extra charges involved (As the terms of agreement are presented to the client in a computer screen, very quickly and in tiny small letters). I find it outrageous that this "fuel service option" is included in those us$ 75.74 (Costing us$55, 04!) that i consciously have not agree on paying (And that's why i'm putting so much effert in complaining about it), once the vehicle was delivered fully fueled. After all, it is an option, as the title says, and i haven't opt in.
I understand that such an amount could be charged if, and only if, i didn't comply with my obligations as a costumer, but i did. I must mention that, being a foreigner and having arrived in the airport after a very long flight, i feel ripped off by rentalcars and budget, since it is budget's role to make absolutely clear to the client that extra charges are being made. I feel i had my civil rights overlooked to generate improper profit for both companies and i'm going to spread the word over the internet.
I see no other way to deal with your modus operandi. Me, my friends and family will never use rentalcar's and budget services again. And i hope other clients unite against practices that only aim at trick honest people.

Sincerely,

Charlene miotti.

This two companies are the same company based in the UK. I booked a car within twenty-fours of needing the car. I told the rental car company that I was a citizen of israel. I also told them I was returning to different location free see picture below. When I arrived at Hertz to pick up the car, they advised me that I had to pay an additional 17% tax and drop off fee. I called to cancel the rental car reservation and Kate in the Poland office told me the policy is to charge a 3 day penalty for cancelling within 48 hours. I advised I booked the car rental with less than 48 hours. She said she would speak with her supervisor. She told me they would not cancel the reservation or reduce the 3 day penalty. I asked to speak to the supervisor or the manager and she refused and also refused to provide their name. Worst customer service I have ever experienced in over 100 separate car rentals in numerous countries.

We rented a car (through Rentalcar.com as a broker for Goldcar) to be picked up at the Pisa airport in Italy. After a 2 hour wait at the Goldcar counter we finally received a car, which was not the make and model we had asked for. We were told that the insurance coverage which we had paid through Rentalcars.com was not sufficient and that we would have to pay and additional amount. Not realizing that we were being scammed we agreed. When we received our monthly visa bill it would appear that Goldcar had also charged us for an extra driver which was supposed to be included according to the contract we had with Rentalcar.com and that they also failed to reimburse us for the gaz we had to pay even though we had a full to full clause with Rentalcar. Goldcar refused to acknowledge this and charged us for gaz prior to using the car. We were told that whatever gaz we didn't use would be reimbursed. In total we were charged and additional 500dollars in charges on top of what we had paid Rentalcars. When we tried to contact the brocker from Rentalcar who had provided us with the agreement. We were told to complete a complaint form on-line and someone would get back to us. Well guess what- no one ever got back to us, despite emails, calls etc. I hold Rental cars totally responsible for these extra charges. It would appear that Goldcar Pisa is being investigated for fraud (we of course found this out too late). Goldcar Pisa is a disreputable company and any good broker should not be sending their customers to this car rental agency. At the very least they should reimburse a customer who has been fleeced because of this. Attached is a website which I found easily online after being so totally ripped off. If I can find this, so could Rentalcar.com. It would appear as well after reading complaints of various forums that Rentalcar.com has been bombarded with complaints about Goldcar and yet they continue to send clients to Goldcar. Why? I found this website easily: Website: http://tuscany-toscana.blogspot.it/2013/08/what-you-need-to-know-before-renting.html#.WBTLnyTMKLU
Guess in the end it is buyer beware. DO NOT use Rentalcar.com and stay far away from Goldcar. Pisa.

I used www.rentalcars.com and needed a simple advice regarding their service, so I found their contact details and called their customer support. Their rep wasn't very happy that I called and after I explained the situation he asked me to wait 5 minutes and put me on hold. I was on hold for over 30 minutes and then disconnected. I called again and no one picked up.
I called the next day and when I explained who I was and why I was calling they put me on hold again! I'm very disappointed with RentalCars!

After booking my car through rentalcars.com I called the rental company and was advised that the office will be closed and I will not be able to pick up the car. I cancelled the reservation and was charged 80% of the booking as a cancellation fee. I called the customer service number in order to ask for a refund as it is not my fault I had to cancel and was put on hold for 20 mins with no answer. I then went onto the chat where the agent advised me to call another number and then proceeded to close the chat on his own. I called the second number and was put on hold for 15 mins before someone answered. The agent told me he cannot refund me and when I ask to speak to the supervisor he hung up the phone. I called again and then time was put on hold for 20mins before I was put through to someone. I talked to the same person who then put me through to the supervisor which did nothing to help and did not even care. This company is the worst company I have ever dealt with.