Beware if using Alamo: ADDITIONAL DRIVER FEE!

[serenitygr]

Just a warning- we were led to believe- actually we were told OUTRIGHT over the phone- if we are members of Alamo Insiders (which both my husband and myself are) one of us could reserve the car, and either of us could drive with no additional fee. Because our debit card is in my name only, we reserved the car in my name. When we got to the airport, the lady at the Alamo counter absolutely would not list my husband as an additional driver unless we agreed to the additonal $9 or $10/day (can't remember the exact price I was so mad by then)which added up because we had it for 12 days. Because we used a coupon code that I found right here on the disboard that gave us $35 off, she said that disqualified us for the free driver. Even after showing her our Insider cards, she refused. So a word of caution- what they tell you is not always the truth.

I finally got so mad, I grabbed his license back, told her fine, I'd drive the car (which I had no intention of doing because I'd probably STILL be driving around Orlando looking for Disney) while my husband took the kids on the ME because they REALLY wanted to do that! We then went and picked out our vehicle, drove thru the checkout and showed them my license, and then pulled over 50 feet later and I got out and took the kids back to the ME, while he took the car. It was so frusterating, especially since had they told us the truth when we booked it, we could easily have gotten another debit card in his name and just booked it under him, but they told us there was no need for that.

Sorry for venting- I just hated that our trip started out that way. But thankfully it ended up being a wonderful vacation!

 

[helenk]

Sorry to hear about your aggravation. We had no problem when we checked out at MCO. I had registered my son as the additional driver, his name was not on my credit card. They just asked for his drivers license and we were on our way. No extra charge.

 

[disneymarie]

I am glad for the heads up as that is what is advertised on the insiders site. I do have some codes off Mousesavers that allow the free extra driver. I think that SAMs and Cosco members had a code for a driver.

Alamo is a rare vendor that will allow stacking. I will have to make sure I get an email confirmation stating extra driver or will be out of luck.
Thanks for the heads up
di

 

[gmeh1]

I am glad for the heads up as that is what is advertised on the insiders site. I do have some codes off Mousesavers that allow the free extra driver. I think that SAMs and Cosco members had a code for a driver.

Alamo is a rare vendor that will allow stacking. I will have to make sure I get an email confirmation stating extra driver or will be out of luck.
Thanks for the heads up
di

First: you have to make the reservation via the Insiders log in. Second: if the OP's reservation confirmation showed a free extra driver, it should have been honored. Third: The OP should have asked to speak to a manager or supervisor. Fourth: Unfortunately, by letting her husband drive the car, he contract would be in default if something happened (God forbid) while he was driving, leaving her totally liable. Fifth: I hope she has that agent's name and calls the customer service number and speaks with a manager.
Without knowing what code she used or how she booked it, it is impossible to say the agent was wrong, but, if it comes to the customer being satisfied 110%, the agent failed.....miserably.

 

[gmeh1]

Just a warning- we were led to believe- actually we were told OUTRIGHT over the phone- if we are members of Alamo Insiders (which both my husband and myself are) one of us could reserve the car, and either of us could drive with no additional fee. Because our debit card is in my name only, we reserved the car in my name. When we got to the airport, the lady at the Alamo counter absolutely would not list my husband as an additional driver unless we agreed to the additonal $9 or $10/day (can't remember the exact price I was so mad by then)which added up because we had it for 12 days. Because we used a coupon code that I found right here on the disboard that gave us $35 off, she said that disqualified us for the free driver. Even after showing her our Insider cards, she refused. So a word of caution- what they tell you is not always the truth.

I finally got so mad, I grabbed his license back, told her fine, I'd drive the car (which I had no intention of doing because I'd probably STILL be driving around Orlando looking for Disney) while my husband took the kids on the ME because they REALLY wanted to do that! We then went and picked out our vehicle, drove thru the checkout and showed them my license, and then pulled over 50 feet later and I got out and took the kids back to the ME, while he took the car. It was so frusterating, especially since had they told us the truth when we booked it, we could easily have gotten another debit card in his name and just booked it under him, but they told us there was no need for that.

Sorry for venting- I just hated that our trip started out that way. But thankfully it ended up being a wonderful vacation!

Vent away, but, hopefully you have contacted Alamo directly, where it will do the most good. Try these numbers: (888)826-6893 ext:MAIN
(407)825-1800 ext:LOCAL
Ask to speak with a manager. If these numbers do not work, let me know, I will back to work on Tuesday and I will get you the number that should have been attached via business card to your blue rental jacket. I also hope you have the agent's name. What strikes me as wrong is the fact that you and your husband are both Insider members and there should not have been a issue.
As an employee of Alamo, I do apologize for this. I know the rules and I also know that policy dictates that we keep the customer satisfied 110% of the time. Which means if an issue like this arises, you let the fees slide (and the agent does not get a commission). Which, frankly, for me anyway, keeping the customer happy is more important than the commission. They tend to come back when they are happy.

 

[goofy4tink]

First: you have to make the reservation via the Insiders log in. Second: if the OP's reservation confirmation showed a free extra driver, it should have been honored. Third: The OP should have asked to speak to a manager or supervisor. Fourth: Unfortunately, by letting her husband drive the car, he contract would be in default if something happened (God forbid) while he was driving, leaving her totally liable. Fifth: I hope she has that agent's name and calls the customer service number and speaks with a manager.
Without knowing what code she used or how she booked it, it is impossible to say the agent was wrong, but, if it comes to the customer being satisfied 110%, the agent failed.....miserably.

Yep...have to agree.

 

[serenitygr]

First: you have to make the reservation via the Insiders log in. Second: if the OP's reservation confirmation showed a free extra driver, it should have been honored. Third: The OP should have asked to speak to a manager or supervisor. Fourth: Unfortunately, by letting her husband drive the car, he contract would be in default if something happened (God forbid) while he was driving, leaving her totally liable. Fifth: I hope she has that agent's name and calls the customer service number and speaks with a manager.
Without knowing what code she used or how she booked it, it is impossible to say the agent was wrong, but, if it comes to the customer being satisfied 110%, the agent failed.....miserably.

Hi gmeh1! I know you work there- wish I could've just asked for you there! You actually helped me alot before we left with questions and I think you sound like an AWESOME person! I did make our reservations after logging in- it actually had my Insiders number on the confirmation I printed out. It didn't show the extra driver because online it showed a charge. That's when I called to confirm with them directly on the phone to be sure that was not the case and was told that definately there would be no charge=all we had to do was go to the counter to check in and not use the kiosks.
When we got there, I know I should have asked for the manager or at the least gotten her name. But after traveling that day for 7 hours already with 4 little kids and an irate husband I just wanted to get us all out of there. I didn't see her name tag or I probably would have at least wrote that down and complained later. But there was another lady(behind the counter) standing within 2 feet of her witnessing this whole thing, and she didnt' say a thing, so I guess I figured it must be the policy and we'd just been duped.

I know we were out of luck if something happened, but that was a smaller risk to me than sending me out on the roads of Orlando with a rental car, and expecting me to find Disneyworld. Thankfully we only needed the car for 2 days of our trip- the rest of the time it sat parked, so I wasn't too concerned...

You are right as far as her customer service policies- would it do any good if I know the time we arrived at the counter? Could they track down who it was with that information? I know the approximate time and the exact date.

Again- wish you had been there that day to help us! Thank you for all the help you've given me!

 

[gmeh1]

Hi gmeh1! I know you work there- wish I could've just asked for you there! You actually helped me alot before we left with questions and I think you sound like an AWESOME person! I did make our reservations after logging in- it actually had my Insiders number on the confirmation I printed out. It didn't show the extra driver because online it showed a charge. That's when I called to confirm with them directly on the phone to be sure that was not the case and was told that definately there would be no charge=all we had to do was go to the counter to check in and not use the kiosks.
When we got there, I know I should have asked for the manager or at the least gotten her name. But after traveling that day for 7 hours already with 4 little kids and an irate husband I just wanted to get us all out of there. I didn't see her name tag or I probably would have at least wrote that down and complained later. But there was another lady(behind the counter) standing within 2 feet of her witnessing this whole thing, and she didnt' say a thing, so I guess I figured it must be the policy and we'd just been duped.

I know we were out of luck if something happened, but that was a smaller risk to me than sending me out on the roads of Orlando with a rental car, and expecting me to find Disneyworld. Thankfully we only needed the car for 2 days of our trip- the rest of the time it sat parked, so I wasn't too concerned...

You are right as far as her customer service policies- would it do any good if I know the time we arrived at the counter? Could they track down who it was with that information? I know the approximate time and the exact date.

Again- wish you had been there that day to help us! Thank you for all the help you've given me!

Thank you, but, not sure I am awesome, but, I do appreciate your kind words.
If you have your rental contract/agreement still, they can trace this person via that number. Every single thing that is done to your reservation by anyone is tracked by the employee number. I think they can also trace it by your name and date of rental.
I am NOT a counter agent, just a lowly exit agent. I would be rare for another agent to "step on the toes" of one interacting with a customer. That is why a supervisor or manager should be called.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

It was extremely foolhardy to let an unauthorized person drive your rental car. You're lucky that your husband was not in an accident.

I finally got so mad, I grabbed his license back, told her fine, I'd drive the car (which I had no intention of doing because I'd probably STILL be driving around Orlando looking for Disney)

Seriously?

 

[bumbershoot]

Looking online, I see:

Any additional driver (including a spouse or domestic partner) will pay a daily fee of approximately $10 per day.

Fees are waived for additional drivers who are:

* Members of Alamo Insiders Program; which allows for one additional driver to be added at no cost.

Does that mean the additional driver must also be a member of the Insiders? Is your husband? Maybe that made all the difference. ETA: I see he is a member...did the agent know this?



OP, I really recommend learning how EASY it is to get to WDW from the airport. I mean, seriously, very easy. WDW (and all routes that lead there) is incredibly well marked, and without a map or GPS, as long as you keep your eyes open and know where you're going (what specific resort, what park, or even what general area (like Downtown Disney)), you WILL get there.

 

[Day-Day]

It was extremely foolhardy to let an unauthorized person drive your rental car. You're lucky that your husband was not in an accident.



Seriously?

What would have happened if the husband had an accident and the renter had waived rental insurance (i.e. using personal auto insurance)?

 

[serenitygr]

Looking online, I see:




Does that mean the additional driver must also be a member of the Insiders? Is your husband? Maybe that made all the difference. ETA: I see he is a member...did the agent know this?



OP, I really recommend learning how EASY it is to get to WDW from the airport. I mean, seriously, very easy. WDW (and all routes that lead there) is incredibly well marked, and without a map or GPS, as long as you keep your eyes open and know where you're going (what specific resort, what park, or even what general area (like Downtown Disney)), you WILL get there.

Bumbershoot- yes she knew because we had BOTH membership cards laying right there for her inspection. I can only assume this was a very poor agent, and leave it at that... As far as learning how to get there- I am sure I probably could. However we live in the country of northern MN- about as far from a city as you can get. This was our first vacation as a family in our entire 9 years together, and I really have no reason to learn how to get around Orlando, since this was a once in a lifetime trip for us. My husband, however is a truck driver and has spent his lifetime driving not only in Florida but everywhere else. So which makes more sense? Sending an irrated Dad with 4 tired crabby young kids to ride the magical express(this was something very important to them, as well as making the whole luggage thing easier), while Mom proceeds to try to find Disney? Or having Dad drive the rental and cool down a little away from all of us, and Mom, (who is used to dealing with the kids every day whereas Dad isn't because he's a truck driver) bring the kids on the bus and cheer them up? A no-brainer as far as I was concerned.

 

[DebbieB]

It was extremely foolhardy to let an unauthorized person drive your rental car. You're lucky that your husband was not in an accident.

That was my thought. Even if you didn't buy the insurance from the rental company, if there was an accident your insurance might have been denied because he was not an authorized driver.

I would have paid it and then called to try to get it taken off before you returned it.

 

[serenitygr]

That was my thought. Even if you didn't buy the insurance from the rental company, if there was an accident your insurance might have been denied because he was not an authorized driver.

I would have paid it and then called to try to get it taken off before you returned it.

It was extremely foolhardy to let an unauthorized person drive your rental car. You're lucky that your husband was not in an accident.



Seriously?

To those feeling the need to question my "foolhardiness", that wasn't the purpose for this thread. Altho I realize after reading these boards for many many months that some people feel the need to try to belittle others for what they consider "foolish" decisions. All I can say is until you've walked in someone's else's shoes you shouldn't call them fools for their decisions...

The point to this thread was to caution others not to blindly believe Alamo's
2nd driver free promise- that's it.

 

[DebbieB]

To those feeling the need to question my "foolhardiness", that wasn't the purpose for this thread. Altho I realize after reading these boards for many many months that some people feel the need to try to belittle others for what they consider "foolish" decisions. All I can say is until you've walked in someone's else's shoes you shouldn't call them fools for their decisions...

The point to this thread was to caution others not to blindly believe Alamo's
2nd driver free promise- that's it.

I'm sorry, I was not trying belittle you. I just wanted to point out to anyone else thinking of trying the same thing that it was risky. I offered an alternative to anyone in the same position - pay it and then fight it. It's not worth risking everything you own.

 

[bumbershoot]

It does sound like a bad employee. I think we all urge you to contact Alamo with your exact reservation/information details (perhaps leaving out the fact that you didn't drive the car).



Last spring I was in a car that had been rented by my stepmom but driven by my father and half-brother. Stepmom wasn't in the car at all, she was driving her own car at a different time than us. Half-brother wasn't an authorized driver because he doesn't have a CC in his name, and father wasn't an authorized driver because he, for some mysterious reason, does not have a current driver's license.

The WHOLE trip (and I requested to drive repeatedly and was denied) I was worried we would be pulled over and whoever was driving would be arrested for driving a car they weren't authorized to drive, AKA auto theft.

So that, I think, could be a pretty big consequence.


And it's not said to belittle you, but to give other ideas for the future (since you didn't say anything about it being a once in a lifetime trip in the first post) and to make sure that OTHERS don't do this.


And...I find it thrilling to drive places that are new to me. And don't totally understand it when others don't feel that way. I've been enjoying finding new things to try (like knitting!), because it gives me a real sense of accomplishment to know how to do them. I knew how to change my tire and oil in my early 20s, and that gives me a great feeling, to know I can do those things if needed (though I'll admit once I had to STAND on the jack to get the bolts off my tire, because they were on so tight!). To find my way to and around WDW is an incredible feeling. Now, usually I'm the navigator for things like this, because I'm a better navigator than DH is, but I'm also the better driver, if number of moving violations in our pasts are a good way to judge, so that's where I'm coming from.



(my dad used to drive for Greyhound, so was a professional driver, and he has MAD driving skills, and felt no concern about being pulled over or in an accident....but the fact is, no matter how good they are, things CAN happen, and it wouldn't have been simple or easy or $10 per day to get your husband or my father out of a jam of being an unauthorized driver, someone unknown to the car rental agency, driving those cars.)

 

[pixeegrl]

We used Alamo last summer and it stated rated on my confirmation that hubby was the free additional driver because of Insiders. I have no idea why they did that to you. Definitely say something to someone higher up!

 

[TamaraQT]

Somewhere on the boards there is a thread or a comment in a thread about Alamo denying the additional driver at the counter and at the kiosk. I wish I could find it. Anyway, DH is an alamo insider and I had no problem last year being added as an additional driver. HOWEVER, as I stated there is a thread on here somewhere regarding this. There was a "glitch" or something in alamo system. If you tried to add the additional driver at the time of reservation the charge of $9.99 a day was added to the reservation. Someone on here gave us all a "heads up" that this was happening and informed us that the EXIT AGENT would remove the charge at the gate.
Last year I was successful with adding myself as an additional driver, but the year before it added a charge so I removed myself from the reservation and let the EXIT AGENT add me. I am wondering if this is the case of the OP. Using the counter agent caused the $9.99 to be charged. The EXIT agent should have removed it. Not sure if that is the case, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

To those feeling the need to question my "foolhardiness", that wasn't the purpose for this thread. Altho [sic] I realize after reading these boards for many many months that some people feel the need to try to belittle others for what they consider "foolish" decisions. All I can say is until you've walked in someone's else's shoes you shouldn't call them fools for their decisions...

The point to this thread was to caution others not to blindly believe Alamo's
2nd driver free promise- that's it.

No one called you a fool. Your decision to let an unauthorized driver drive a rental car was foolish. You are very lucky your husband was not in an accident. Additionally, you broke the terms of your contract with Alamo. You had other options.

The point of my post was to caution others not to behave as you did. That's it.

 

[gmeh1]

Somewhere on the boards there is a thread or a comment in a thread about Alamo denying the additional driver at the counter and at the kiosk. I wish I could find it. Anyway, DH is an alamo insider and I had no problem last year being added as an additional driver. HOWEVER, as I stated there is a thread on here somewhere regarding this. There was a "glitch" or something in alamo system. If you tried to add the additional driver at the time of reservation the charge of $9.99 a day was added to the reservation. Someone on here gave us all a "heads up" that this was happening and informed us that the EXIT AGENT would remove the charge at the gate.
Last year I was successful with adding myself as an additional driver, but the year before it added a charge so I removed myself from the reservation and let the EXIT AGENT add me. I am wondering if this is the case of the OP. Using the counter agent caused the $9.99 to be charged. The EXIT agent should have removed it. Not sure if that is the case, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

The exit agent could only remove it IF they saw it or it was mentioned to him/her. It is very easy to say "the exit agent should have removed it" when you don't even see the screen we see. All we have is the reservation number, the driver and the license number and a few other details. In other words, we don't see what the counter agent sees. If something like what the OP is talking about is brought to our attention, we need to contact a manager, then if he gives his/her approval, then we can modify, which is a totally different screen and we don't normally go into that when assigning a car. We are NOT mindreaders, so, please don't assume we can do things without knowing what needs to be done. IF the op had been at my booth and had told me what was going on, I would have done my dam*dest to get if fixed right then and there. As to the comment about the kiosk, yes, we can add drivers at the exit booth and can charge or not, depending on the circumstances.