Alamo - Watch your Charges!!!

[JayhawkFans]

We have always rented with Alamo and have never had a problem until this most recent trip. I picked up the car on Saturday afternoon and returned it on Tuesday morning (a very short trip). I should have tracked the mileage because we didn't put that many miles at all on during our stay in fact when I filled it up the night before driving back to the airport it took a whopping $6.70 to fill it up .. pushed it up to $7.00 to be sure it was topped off.

I checked my credit card transactions and noticed a charge for $10.57 from Alamo. Called and spoke to an agent who informed me that was a fuel charge b/c I failed to return the vehicle on full. I disputed it saying I had verification of when I filled it up and knew that the only miles we put on after filling up were from the Hess gas station close to Hollywood Studios to All Star Movies to the airport so at most it used 2 gallons of gas. We have always filled up the night before near our hotel and driven straight to the airport the next morning with no problem .. he put me on hold for 10 minutes and came back on the line to say he was going to process a credit for that charge. I should have taken a photo of the fuel gauge as well for good measure but didn't.

So my question is .. where do you fill up with gas in Orlando .. near your resort hotel or close to the airport?

 

[Moparlar]

We usually go to DD before we leave and fill up at Hess across the street before we head to the Airport

 

[OKW Lover]

We always fill up at the Hess or 7/11 just before we get on 417 headed back to the airport. The tank always reads full when we get there. Avis has never given us a problem.

 

[tjmw2727]

I have had this happen with Alamo and Dollar -

Now I do take a picture of the gas guage with a date and time stamp when I return the car. I also save the gas receipt as it has the name of the station and the date/time of the fillup.

Alamo gave me a credit after a phone call, dollar only after I disupted the charges with the CC'd.

 

[ice cube]

Have 25+ Alamo MCO rentals and have never had an issue with fuel. We fill up at the DTD Hess and I squeeze the fuel up to the top so when we get to MCO it still reads full....

 

[Lewisc]

Dollar requires fueling the car within 10 miles of the airport. The Hess Station near DTD is about 30 miles.

Your car isn't full if you top off at one of the gas stations near WDW. You're probably down almost 2 gallons. 2 gallons of gas, at the penalty rate charged, is probably at least $10.

A picture of the gauge might not be enough. Credit card dispute might make sense if you have a receipt showing you got gas at a gas station within the required distance. Otherwise you might lose the dispute, or worse wind up on one or more companies "Do not Rent To List"

I generally "overfill" the car at the Hess station, the gauge reads F and I assume the previous renter did the same thing.

BUT

I understand the rental agency doesn't have to agree with my logic and they are within their rights to charge.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Usually its noted on the receipt they give you when you drop the car off if the fuel gadge is on full. That is the first thing I check when they hand me the receipt followed by the total I am being charged.

 

[puffkin]

We always fill up at the Hess when leaving the MK. Never had a problem with Alamo at the airport except for one time with a Nissan Altima rental. The pump clicked like it was full and we left and about half way to the airport, my husband looked at the gauge and it was only about 3/4 full. We were running pretty late so we just ate the fuel charges rather than finding another gas station....lesson learned to check the guage before leaving the station!

 

[Donna M]

We usually fill up at the Hess station at WDW but the time we rented from Dollar and they wanted a fill up and receipt within 10 miles we just topped it off within 10 miles; only a couple dollars. We weren't asked for the receipt at MCO, but were asked for it in San Antonio just a month earlier.

 

[seashoreCM]

The gas gauge could read three different things in a span of five minutes if the tank is not really full. If the car is going uphill the reading could be different than when it is going downhill. If you stop and get out and stand on the back bumper to bounce it up and down and make the gas slosh around in the tank, you may see a different reading on the gas gauge when you get back in.

Leaving Disney via I-4 East (northeast) , get on 528 (Beach Line) east. To pay toll (about a dollar) using cash, watch for and go down what looks like an exit ramp.

Get off 528 at its exit 9 (Tradeport). Left and cross under. Nice cheap gas station is right there on the left. A bit tricky leaving the gas station, you want to take a left or two to face north on Conway, then get into middle lane, then required right (east) onto McCoy. Next light is 436 (Semoran Blvd); turn right to enter airport (or turn left to see a really expensive gas station).

 

[Lewisc]

The gas gauge could read three different things in a span of five minutes if the tank is not really full. If the car is going uphill the reading could be different than when it is going downhill. If you stop and get out and stand on the back bumper to bounce it up and down and make the gas slosh around in the tank, you may see a different reading on the gas gauge when you get back in.
.

Fill the car at a Hess station near WDW, drive 30 miles (or more) and your gas tank won't be full when you get to MCO regardless of what the gauge says. Doesn't the receipt you get when you return the car have some verbiage that says it's subject to review (or audit?) If they actually top off the tank and the car takes 2 or 3 gallons the agency might be within their rights to bill you.

 

[delilah]

I think a lot depends on who checks in the car and their mood for the day. Like others in this thread, we usually fill our car at the Hess station near HS. In the past, we had consistently rented from Avis. The last time we rented from Avis, we did the same thing we always do, and were assessed a fuel charge of about $27, which is more than it would have cost to fill up the car. I say this was the last time we will rent from Avis,because this was also the trip that they charged us about $30 for the toll transponder for our trip, when we actually only put one toll on the transponder the first day, and when we noticed it was turned "on" we turned it off. I guess Avis won the battle, but lost the war, and a long time customer. $50 is a good chunk for unexpected expenses, and a large percentage of our total rental.

 

[Senator Tressel]

It's about 18 miles to the airport, not 30. Less than two miles to get to I-4 from the gas stations mentioned, five miles on I-4, 11 miles on 528. You're at the airport.

That's less than one gallon of gas (about 2/3 of a gallon with highway driving). If you top it off, the tank will still show full when you get there.