Recent MCO car rental experiences?

[crazycatlady]

Dollar, 10/9/21.. I posted this on another thread.

I had a reservation with Dollar for a midsize SUV at MCO from 10/9-10/12. I made it about 2 months ago through AutoSlash.com, which found the rate thru Priceline. $196, which in this market is GREAT. We got to the airport today to discover we'd been re-routed (what is UP with Southwest these days?) and would be arriving at 8:30pm instead of 6:30pm. I contacted Dollar as I didn't want them to think I was a no-show and give my car away. No problem, said the friendly man on the phone. No problem, said the customer service agent on FB messenger. We got to MCO and Dollar had a car for me- with a $125 surcharge, PER DAY- and that's with a 20% discount the supervisor gave me ("That's all I can do," he said). I said I didn't care what size, I was only concerned with them honoring the price, and they ignored me. I asked about downsizing to a smaller vehicle and they said that'd be a whole new, walk-up reservation and cost even more. The agent kept saying, "It's our fleet, we're out of cars." I'll tell ya, the garage wasn't out of cars when we got there. Now the vehicle has cost me more than the entire rest of the trip has cost for airfare and hotels! I have NO IDEA where to go with this complaint, although Dollar has already heard from me, and AutoSlash and Priceline will hear from me tomorrow. GRRRR

Yikes! That stinks! I am so sorry to hear that you had to go through that! I have a reservation with Dollar through Priceline through Autoslash for December and I am going to cancel it. It's too expensive anyway and I don't want this to happen to me. I will just Uber to Universal unless I find a different company with a better rate. Thank you for sharing your experience!

 

[EACarlson]

Can I ask where you are finding the great deals on cars right now? I need a car for 10 days at the beginning of December and the lowest I have right now is $550 for a compact, so we are planning on not renting. I have been using Autoslash, which I have found to be really good in the past.

I only use Autoslash, stories below are a big reason why.

Dollar, 10/9/21.. I posted this on another thread.

I had a reservation with Dollar for a midsize SUV at MCO from 10/9-10/12. I made it about 2 months ago through AutoSlash.com, which found the rate thru Priceline. $196, which in this market is GREAT. We got to the airport today to discover we'd been re-routed (what is UP with Southwest these days?) and would be arriving at 8:30pm instead of 6:30pm. I contacted Dollar as I didn't want them to think I was a no-show and give my car away. No problem, said the friendly man on the phone. No problem, said the customer service agent on FB messenger. We got to MCO and Dollar had a car for me- with a $125 surcharge, PER DAY- and that's with a 20% discount the supervisor gave me ("That's all I can do," he said). I said I didn't care what size, I was only concerned with them honoring the price, and they ignored me. I asked about downsizing to a smaller vehicle and they said that'd be a whole new, walk-up reservation and cost even more. The agent kept saying, "It's our fleet, we're out of cars." I'll tell ya, the garage wasn't out of cars when we got there. Now the vehicle has cost me more than the entire rest of the trip has cost for airfare and hotels! I have NO IDEA where to go with this complaint, although Dollar has already heard from me, and AutoSlash and Priceline will hear from me tomorrow. GRRRR

I would be astonished if AutoSlash isn't able to get it worked out for you. I can tell you what happened though. The Dollar agent on FB edited the reservation to show the new time and that caused an issue with the discount code that was applied. Then you basically ended up with a walk up price. What credit card did you use for the rental? Worst case you can show the price in the email vs the price you were charged for a partial chargeback. Depending on what was said in the FB Messenger thread you might be able to win that one. A complaint to the AG's office of FL might be worth it as well.

 

[leebee]

I only use Autoslash, stories below are a big reason why.

I would be astonished if AutoSlash isn't able to get it worked out for you. I can tell you what happened though. The Dollar agent on FB edited the reservation to show the new time and that caused an issue with the discount code that was applied. Then you basically ended up with a walk up price. What credit card did you use for the rental? Worst case you can show the price in the email vs the price you were charged for a partial chargeback. Depending on what was said in the FB Messenger thread you might be able to win that one. A complaint to the AG's office of FL might be worth it as well.

I'd guess that either editing the pick up time is what did this (although he specifically said that they have our flight numbers so they know if we are delayed and won't assume we are just a no-show), or maybe they were out of the SUV size class on the reservation and "upgraded" us, at our cost. I've already contacted Dollar, and am about to contact AutoSlash. I also contacted Chase, explained the situation, and said I was protesting anything over the original reservation price. Haven't heard back from them yet, but they are usually pretty good about putting a hold on things so I don't have to pay them until there's resolution.

 

[EACarlson]

I'm in FL now, picked up at MCO Wednesday. No issues, right out the garage, picked my vehicle from the Emerald Aisle and could have been out in 5 minutes. I had to wait on someone. Plenty of cars out there and no wait at the counter in the terminal or in the garage.

 

[keishashadow]

Dollar, 10/9/21.. I posted this on another thread.

I had a reservation with Dollar for a midsize SUV at MCO from 10/9-10/12. I made it about 2 months ago through AutoSlash.com, which found the rate thru Priceline. $196, which in this market is GREAT. We got to the airport today to discover we'd been re-routed (what is UP with Southwest these days?) and would be arriving at 8:30pm instead of 6:30pm. I contacted Dollar as I didn't want them to think I was a no-show and give my car away. No problem, said the friendly man on the phone. No problem, said the customer service agent on FB messenger. We got to MCO and Dollar had a car for me- with a $125 surcharge, PER DAY- and that's with a 20% discount the supervisor gave me ("That's all I can do," he said). I said I didn't care what size, I was only concerned with them honoring the price, and they ignored me. I asked about downsizing to a smaller vehicle and they said that'd be a whole new, walk-up reservation and cost even more. The agent kept saying, "It's our fleet, we're out of cars." I'll tell ya, the garage wasn't out of cars when we got there. Now the vehicle has cost me more than the entire rest of the trip has cost for airfare and hotels! I have NO IDEA where to go with this complaint, although Dollar has already heard from me, and AutoSlash and Priceline will hear from me tomorrow. GRRRR

Sounded like you did everything right as to informing dollar you would be late in your above post.

Curious as to dollars’ official policy, I googled it

oddly enough the following popped up

https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-long-will-car-rental-agencies-hold-a-reservation.3816859/
It’s an old thread you started (small world lol) asking how long dollar would hold a reservation in case of a flight delay

it was answered in post #6 (see below). However, no official link to that info was provided to confirm it is official policy You might want to start there when you do reach out to corporate. Make sure to share the results, good luck


From: ilikecarrentals
“Here is Dollar's airport policy:

In Canada and the USA reservations will be honored for 6 hours after the original scheduled pick up time unless the location is closed. Customers with reservations who experience weather or mechanical delays with airlines will be accommodated.”