My complaint letter to Budget Rent a Car

[Chloe'sMom]

This seems long but we had so many issues. Any suggestions

Customer Service Management
Avis Budget Group, LLC
6 Sylvan Way
Parsippany, NJ 07054 U.S.

Dear Manager:

On October 13, 2007 I rented a vehicle from the Budget Rent a Car office at the Orlando International Airport (MCO). My RapidRez Number is _____. Upon arriving at the kiosk I had to wait in line for over 20 minutes as it seemed the person working the counter had no idea what they were doing. He was neither efficient, or helpful in regards to working with the current client he had, this did not change when I finally approached the counter. I gave him my RapidRez card along with my driver’s license and confirmation sheet promptly. Here are the following problems:

• Although my confirmation clearly stated I arranged to rent a standard 4 door automatic car – your employee offered me a hard top Mustang. This is not what I reserved and considering we were traveling with a small child it would have been impratical.

• He then asked me if I wanted the fuel purchase option. I said yes – when handing me the receipt the amount was almost $100.00 more then my confirmation said it would be. When I inquired as to why he said it was the fuel purchase option. If I would have been informed about the additional charge I would have turned down the offer. I then proceeded to have to wait 10 minutes while he redid everything again without the fuel option.

• I was directed as to where to get my toddler seat, and where my car was. When I retrieved the first seat – it was broken. So I went back and got another seat – this one had no safety latches. I then got a third seat and realized this had no safety latches either. Why does your company remove the safety latches from their car seats? These safety latches is what allows you to put the car seats in correctly and holds the car seats in place.

• My husband and I struggled to put the car seat in as is – but could not get the seatbelt to secure tight enough as to be safe. When I asked your employee for assistance I was told due to liability reasons he could not. When I asked to speak to his supervisor as I was beyond fed up – he said he would “get them.”

• After 45 minutes we were finally able to install the car seat adequately although not as securely as we would like. We were at the center in front of your employees for over an hour. Not once did I see their supervisor or talk to them. When I asked for a name and phone number I was given the general 1-800 number.

Due to the lack of response from the supervisor I have to conclude they were never contacted or they are just as inept as the employee we had to deal with.

I am highly disappointed in the level of service that I received as well as the fact that your company removes safety equipment from their car seats. I travel to Orlando twice a year, and will no longer be using or recommending Budget Rent A Car to my friends, family, or on my website.

I hope this complaint letter will be taken seriously and that your company will do what is necessary to improve upon not only your customer care, but the quality of your toddler seats, as a childs safety should be your #1 priority.

Sincerely,

 

[Chattyaholic]

I'm sorry you had such problems with them, and I do hope they are resolved to your satisfaction. We've rented cars from Budget many times and have never had a problem.

Personally, I would be happy with getting a Mustang. But I can understand, since you had a toddler, that wasn't what you wanted.

I would think you should receive some kind of response, your letter seemed very well written.

 

[safetymom]

I would suggest in the future to bring your own car seat. You just don't know the rental history of the car seats.

 

[DawnCt1]

I am a very big proponent of consumer advocacy, and I would write the letter as you have written it in hopes of getting a coupon or a discount on your next rental; HOWEVER, the only real problem that I see, is that the car seats provided were broken. That is unacceptable because you need one and you paid for it. As someone said earlier, the best thing is to bring your own. Considering that even the non broken car seat wasn't up to 'par', I would ask for reimbursement for that. With regard to the Mustang, if they didn't have the type of car you requested, (4 doors) you should have been upgraded to the next level. I would have hated the Mustang with a toddler. With regard to the "fuel purchase option", that is standard. If you plan to run the car empty and bleed every bit of gas from the tank, its an okay deal, otherwise, return it full. Most people understand what that is, so you can't blame Budget for that. With regard to getting help from the attendant. I agree with him. That really is a liability issue. Something happens, you can blame Budget for faulty installation. So write away but you may need to lower your expectations.

 

[Poohlovr]

I had to read this, because I just this minute got off of the phone with Budget customer service!

My problem is that I was charged twice. First, the hold that they put on my card was never released, and went through as a charge ($268.00). AT least, that's what I think it is--the hold + tax. Then, the next day, the actual charges for the rental went through.

So, I called Budget. The customer service rep I got had a real attitude and kept telling me that it did not happen. They released the hold, and anyway, it was for $250.00, not $268.00. I kept insisting that it did happen--I'm looking at the charges and give him the dates they were posted to my card. He said we have to call the bank. Fine--did a 3-way call and the bank customer service rep told him exactly what I had already told him.

Is that good enough? Nope. Now he says I have to go to the bank and get a mini-statement and fax it to him so that he can see the charge. OK--so why did we just have to call the bank????

Can I just print off a statement from my online banking and fax that? Nope--I have to get the bank to print out the same thing that I can print from home (And pay for the statement, BTW) and send that.

I will have to leave work early to get to the bank before it closes. And then pay for a statement. I could do it all right now, while sitting here and fax it in just a few minutes and get it taken care of. After all, they messed up, not me. But no---I have to jump through hoops to get my money back.

I will never rent again from Budget. Never.

 

[LoraJ]

Wow! That's unacceptable.
Your letter sounds good though.

 

[DawnCt1]

I had to read this, because I just this minute got off of the phone with Budget customer service!

My problem is that I was charged twice. First, the hold that they put on my card was never released, and went through as a charge ($268.00). AT least, that's what I think it is--the hold + tax. Then, the next day, the actual charges for the rental went through.

So, I called Budget. The customer service rep I got had a real attitude and kept telling me that it did not happen. They released the hold, and anyway, it was for $250.00, not $268.00. I kept insisting that it did happen--I'm looking at the charges and give him the dates they were posted to my card. He said we have to call the bank. Fine--did a 3-way call and the bank customer service rep told him exactly what I had already told him.

Is that good enough? Nope. Now he says I have to go to the bank and get a mini-statement and fax it to him so that he can see the charge. OK--so why did we just have to call the bank????

Can I just print off a statement from my online banking and fax that? Nope--I have to get the bank to print out the same thing that I can print from home (And pay for the statement, BTW) and send that.

I will have to leave work early to get to the bank before it closes. And then pay for a statement. I could do it all right now, while sitting here and fax it in just a few minutes and get it taken care of. After all, they messed up, not me. But no---I have to jump through hoops to get my money back.

I will never rent again from Budget. Never.

Did you use a debit card or a credit card?

 

[Nikel]

I had to read this, because I just this minute got off of the phone with Budget customer service!

My problem is that I was charged twice. First, the hold that they put on my card was never released, and went through as a charge ($268.00). AT least, that's what I think it is--the hold + tax. Then, the next day, the actual charges for the rental went through.

So, I called Budget. The customer service rep I got had a real attitude and kept telling me that it did not happen. They released the hold, and anyway, it was for $250.00, not $268.00. I kept insisting that it did happen--I'm looking at the charges and give him the dates they were posted to my card. He said we have to call the bank. Fine--did a 3-way call and the bank customer service rep told him exactly what I had already told him.

Is that good enough? Nope. Now he says I have to go to the bank and get a mini-statement and fax it to him so that he can see the charge. OK--so why did we just have to call the bank????

Can I just print off a statement from my online banking and fax that? Nope--I have to get the bank to print out the same thing that I can print from home (And pay for the statement, BTW) and send that.

I will have to leave work early to get to the bank before it closes. And then pay for a statement. I could do it all right now, while sitting here and fax it in just a few minutes and get it taken care of. After all, they messed up, not me. But no---I have to jump through hoops to get my money back.

I will never rent again from Budget. Never.

Did you use a debit card? Sounds like it. The reason both charges showed up is because of the amount of time your bank took to release the charges. Same thing happens when guaranteeing a hotel room with a debit card. It can take, I believe, up to 3 weeks for the bank to release the hold. My bank releases the funds within an hour, so it's never been an issue for me. My dh has gotten treated like absolute crap in the past though by hotel clients that thought it was the hotel's fault.

 

[MosMom]

The only thing I would change is this...

These safety latches is what allows you to put the car seats in correctly and holds the car seats in place.

to

These safety latches are what allow you to put the car seat in correctly and holds the seat in place.

 

[Jpgirl]

I'm guessing you don't travel much. A 20 minute wait for car rental in Orlando??!! You got off lucky. Anybody who rents cars often knows to NEVER get the fuel option-they charge an arm and a leg for the gas-fill up before you return the car. I agree with the above poster-the only problem I see is the car seat-we always travelled with our kids car seats-used them in the plane and carted them to the car rental place. Good luck with your complaint but I wouldn't hold my breath for a coupon or refund.

 

[Nikel]

I'm guessing you don't travel much. A 20 minute wait for car rental in Orlando??!! You got off lucky. Anybody who rents cars often knows to NEVER get the fuel option-they charge an arm and a leg for the gas-fill up before you return the car. I agree with the above poster-the only problem I see is the car seat-we always travelled with our kids car seats-used them in the plane and carted them to the car rental place. Good luck with your complaint but I wouldn't hold my breath for a coupon or refund.

Really? We rent rather frequently and, assuming we'll use at least a tank of gas, always pre-purchase the gas. They're no ridiculous charge, just the cost of a fill-up from empty at current gas prices. It's easier, in our opinion, to just return the car at almost empty than to have to worry about filling up again when we get home.

We do always use our own car seats though. The thought of using the ones they provide grosses me out.

 

[MosMom]

I always find gas to be cheaper on Disney property and we rarely return it right on empty.

Isn't one of the perks of being a rapidrez member is super quick check-in?

 

[Chloe'sMom]

I always find gas to be cheaper on Disney property and we rarely return it right on empty.

Isn't one of the perks of being a rapidrez member is super quick check-in?

YES! I was in line a total of 30 minutes waiting for the correct reciepit and then another hour trying to install the stupid car seat.

I thought about bringing my car seat, but I also have a past history with Budget being quite reliable. Please believe in the future I will be bringing my own car seat - if we rent a car again. We may not rent again as we didn't use the car as much as we thought.

I am not hoping for a refund or discount. Although I may add what Dawn said in my letter about being refunded for the cost of the toddler seat since it was not up to my standards. But even that I won't hold my breath on. I'm writing the letter because I work in customer service as well and I feel that poor performance should be fixed.

~Amanda

 

[jgmklmhem]

When you say safety latches...what are you talking about? Is it the tethers or the latch that goes above the harness latch that is across the chest?

 

[swilphil]

You should be upset about a 30 min wait in the Rapid Rez line. We went three days before Christmas and didn't wait at all. I'm glad for our Spring Break trip that we went with Avis. They had a better rate, but I was thinking of changing to Budget.

 

[Andrea]

I am not hoping for a refund or discount. Although I may add what Dawn said in my letter about being refunded for the cost of the toddler seat since it was not up to my standards. But even that I won't hold my breath on. I'm writing the letter because I work in customer service as well and I feel that poor performance should be fixed.

~Amanda

I think that is a great letter, we just had problems with some tires on my husband motorcycles and they gave him a full refund and we were not looking for money back, he was just sending them a letter about the tires. the refund was over 400 dollars

 

[AlexandNessa]

He then asked me if I wanted the fuel purchase option. I said yes – when handing me the receipt the amount was almost $100.00 more then my confirmation said it would be. When I inquired as to why he said it was the fuel purchase option. If I would have been informed about the additional charge I would have turned down the offer. I then proceeded to have to wait 10 minutes while he redid everything again without the fuel option.

I'm sorry, but I have to ask ... a fuel purchase option by its title alone implies that an additional charge would apply, no? Did you think they were going to give you fuel for free? I don't think you should blame your naiveté on Budget. Perhaps it should not have taken him so long to reprint your forms, but if you weren't sure what the fuel purchase option is, you should've asked before agreeing to it. JMHO. I've rented very few cars in my life, and even I know what that is. To me, leaving in this complaint would mitigate your other valid arguments: 1) because it's one of your very first complaints and 2) because it's questionable as to what your particular complaint about this issue is.

 

[MosMom]

She had a standard 4-door car. Gas is high but not that high.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Good point, but perhaps that should be made more clear. To me, it sounded like she was just complaining about the additional charge (any additional charge).

 

[kdibattista]

Totally OT but Chloe is getting so big ... and she is absolutely adorable!!!