Just back-a caution about National rentals

[frannn]

We rented a mid size with DC coupon and old discount for 256 for 14 days (considered 13 days as per National). Upon return of the car, we were charged 503! Luckily I looked at the slip and went straight to the office in the rental garage. Apparently, when DH picked up the car, even though he denied the additional coverage, they showed him where to initial on the contract, which included the "I accept insurance line". I was not at the counter with him, so I can't say that they deliberately tried to bamboozle him into paying extra, but it seems fishy to me. Bottom line, they subtracted the insurance as a "one time courtesy, even though his initials were on a legal contract". When they subtracted the insurance, the total was still over $320. Luckily, I had my email rental confirmation, and the agent found they left off one of the discounts. They got it down to 260, which I accepted cause it was only a few $ difference from what we were supposed to pay. Lesson learned- always check what the rental agency charged you, bring the email confirmation of your rate, and do not initial the insurance portion of the contract (unless you want the insurance). Otherwise, had an amazing trip!

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

Thanks for the heads up. We are renting from National for the first tme in years. I will make sure to keep paper work handy for checkout, as we have a good rate for a premium car.

 

[Puffy2]

Never let the husband do anything that has to do with money

Seriously, if you are the one that sets everything up and knows what the discounts are, cost are supposed to be, etc.... - handle all the transactions.

My dear husband has a tendency not to even LOOK at receipts - takes forever to straighten out this sort of stuff (like when he was overcharged for a hotel stay and didn't even know it till he got home) - what a pain! Never again.....

 

[DMRick]

The easiest way to deal with National, is to join the Emerald Club. Then all your wants are already on record and there is nothing to sign. YOur hubby can't mess it up : )

 

[LeftCoaster]

Originally posted by Puffy2
Never let the husband do anything that has to do with money

Seriously, if you are the one that sets everything up and knows what the discounts are, cost are supposed to be, etc.... - handle all the transactions.

My dear husband has a tendency not to even LOOK at receipts - takes forever to straighten out this sort of stuff (like when he was overcharged for a hotel stay and didn't even know it till he got home) - what a pain! Never again.....

ROFLMAO! True Confession time. Hi. My name is David and I am a "wife". My best friend and I had this bizarre substitute relationship going for a long time. (EVERYONE thought we were a couple) While planning our trip to WDW, I would faithfully read the boards and see the postings. One day, I thought to myself "I sound like all the wives on the DIS." It was a pretty funny moment and this reminded me of it because it was pretty darned true.
Needless to say, I'm one of those people that have every confirmation and piece of paper that I could possible use on a vacation. you never know when you'll need to whip out that paper and save your vacation.

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by DMRick
The easiest way to deal with National, is to join the Emerald Club. Then all your wants are already on record and there is nothing to sign. YOur hubby can't mess it up : )

I just joined not long ago as it sounded great. Do you really like it much better than the "regular" way of renting?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by jcemom
I just joined not long ago as it sounded great. Do you really like it much better than the "regular" way of renting?

IMHO, it is the only way to go. Quick, easy and you are outta there.

 

[jcemom]

Thanks Gail! That's what I'm looking for!

 

[dcfromva]

Originally posted by jcemom
I just joined not long ago as it sounded great. Do you really like it much better than the "regular" way of renting?

I just have one word of caution for you--EA is totally addictive!...

I joined several years ago and told my family not to get used to it, because we were just "trying it out"... But after enjoying the convenience, I can't go back to the counter. We are lucky in that we don't absolutely have to have a larger car (there are just 3 of us), so if we rent from the EA and end up with an intermediate car it's no big deal. But, in the past few rentals (in L.A., Hartford and Kansas City), we have been lucky to get SUV's and vans on the EA (Mostly, we find intermediates on the aisle in Orlando. )

It has really worked out well for us.

-DC

 

[Arielle22]

I had the same problem in August with Budget. I stayed with the girls while DH got the car. It was about 11pm and we were all tired. I walked over to see how it was going and dh showed me the total of $450. The total should have been around $225. Turns out when asked about insurance he said "the lowest amt" which in his mind meant none. I had the clerk redue the contract.

On the plus side there was no more full size available so we got a small SUV. The luggage fit great in the back.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by dcfromva
I just have one word of caution for you--EA is totally addictive!...

I joined several years ago and told my family not to get used to it, because we were just "trying it out"... But after enjoying the convenience, I can't go back to the counter. We are lucky in that we don't absolutely have to have a larger car (there are just 3 of us), so if we rent from the EA and end up with an intermediate car it's no big deal. But, in the past few rentals (in L.A., Hartford and Kansas City), we have been lucky to get SUV's and vans on the EA (Mostly, we find intermediates on the aisle in Orlando. )

It has really worked out well for us.

-DC

Wow, we always have lucked out with FS on the aisle once we even got a Bonneville (either premium or luxury). While it was a nice treat to find such an "upgrade" IMHO the car was like a land yacht. Hard to make a big fuss, however, cause it was 9/14/01, we felt very fortunate to be there and more fortunate to have a car, even if it was a WHITE land yacht.

 

[danicaw]

EA is the way to go.
We joined a few years ago and since then have only rented with National. Totally takes the hassle out of renting a car.
Make your ressies online, get in a car and go.

 

[Mustangdi]

I have been an EA member for 7 years and it
has been so wonderful until my Sept 20-27
trip. I reserved 2 cars, one for myself and
one for a friend. We got our cars and I got
into the line on the right MCO and that is
where my problems began. I gave the lady my
EA card and she did her computer thing. She
gave me a receipt and I almost fellout. lol
My res was for 7 days for $195.00 and she
handed me a receipt for $350.00. She could
not speak English very well and I was getting really upset because she couldn't
change the big mess. I even gave her my
online info with my res # and all my correct
info. She was so confused and told me to get
in the left line. Great, cars lined up behind me and I had to park in the out lane.
Ok, now I am holding up the cars in the left
lane and a security guard is telling me to
move the car. My friend is still in the right line and the lady is telling her to get in the left lane. Ok, the guy in the
left lane finds the mistake and says that it
can't be fixed until I return the car. I did
have him get my friend's amount right and I
was so glad to get out of there. Lesson
learned, avoid the non-English speaking lady
in the right line. Got everything taken care
of when I returned the car. I still love EA
but I hope this never happens again.

 

[jcemom]

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble! The only part of our trip I am not looking forward to is renting the car...well, that and coming back home, lol.

 

[Maddle]

Oh - it's not just National, and it's not just Orlando....same problem, different company, in Honolulu. That time we were almost charged a per diem for the second driver, which was included in my original reservation. Fortunately, my husband stuck his head around to where I was watching the luggage, "Do you want to drive, too? Should I pay extra?" WHA.....?

Well, you can bet I just marched right in there, and whipped out my paperwork, and the guy was so nice about it...."oh, sure, no problem." Well, how come if there was no problem, it was wrong in the first place, and so easily adjusted when I called him on it?

So I've learned - ALWAYS bring the printouts from any online reservation, and ALWAYS check the details and the bottom line. (...and always look over DH's shoulder...)

Maddle

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

I will never use National again. We had a horrible problem with them in May. It took 2 hours to leave the airport and finally ended up renting thru Alamo. If you use National, be sure to get your quote in writing - not just the confirmation number. I rented a van using EA but was told at the airport I was mistaken - I had reserved a car. I had six people!! What a mess - never again will I use National.

 

[walt's assistant]

So glad to have seen this thread...we're using National in just a little more than a month. I will make certain that I have a print out of the entire reservation including the pricing.

I am a member of Emerald Club but after reading this thread I won't take any chances....

Thanks all!

WA

 

[castleri]

Two years ago at Christmas time we had an EA reservation but it said full size car - none on the aisle - none in the full size lane. To make matters worse our plane was 1.5 hours late - By the time we found a manager who let us have an SUV and got to the gate to leave it was another day - well after midnight. The lady swiped my credit card and said Oh you don't want to pay this! The amount that came up was $1400. My original reservation was $210.83 with discounts etc. She finally said she had it cleared up and away we went. She didn't give me any paperwork and being the worrying type I called the CC company and sure enought there was a hold for $1400 against the card. After several conversations with National Customer Service it was all set but I had a few nervous hours there. The first rep looked up the contract and said in response to our statement that we had a problem - "you're driving an SUV at an intermediate rate - what's the problem?". I had all my computer printouts with numbers and always take them since then. This is the only time we ever had a problem and I feel that it probably would have been okay as the charge was not actually made until I returned the car but it has made me very aware of paying close attention when signing the papers and when discussing the contract with the rental agent. We used Alamo for our October 2003 trip and other than trying to get me to say I would take the minimum insurance had absolutely no problem. The people two cars ahead of us (in the right lane) took rather a long time though so I will try to stick to the left when we go in December.

 

[buzz2400]

We used the Emerald Isle last year for the first time and had problems. We picked out our car and drove out of the airport. At our next stop I noticed there was very little air in one of the tires. That was a hassle. Well anyway when we returned the car, they had no record that I had taken the car. We had to stand there for a very long time while they tried to figure out what to do. My son thinks it is great though that you get to pick your car. Word of caution, look at your tires before you leave (on any car rental).

 

[pjlla]

Just a small bit of helpful information.... I also carry along any and all print outs, confirmation numbers, etc for our rental car (and entire trip for that matter). But as a matter of extra caution, I leave a copy of all of that information with someone back at home (usually my mother), in the event that my purse/backpack is stolen. And I usually have two sets of the information with me, one in my purse, one with my husband. I haven't needed to call my mom yet, but it is a good feeling to know that she has all that stuff in the event of a problem!