??? Returning rental car late, but within 24 hr paid period ???

[auger]

Can someone tell me what happens if you need to return a car later than the drop off time?
Here is the scenario...
DS is booked for 5pm drop-off on a Friday.
They may need to stay a little longer and drop off at 9am Sat morning.
Rates have jumped since they booked, and now they are stuck with the original drop time, or they will have to pay over $100 more for a new booking.

What would happen if they kept the original, then Friday they call Budget and say they need the car till Sat morning.
The drop time is still within the 24 period that is already paid for.
Meaning, the rental is for 7 days and 8 hours, so they are already being charged for the 8th day.
If they return before 9:30 am on Saturday, they would still be in that 8th day they are already paying for.

So would Budget just extend their time without additional charges, or would they charge some ridiculous rate for those extra hours?

Thanks for any help!

 

[gmeh1]

Can someone tell me what happens if you need to return a car later than the drop off time?
Here is the scenario...
DS is booked for 5pm drop-off on a Friday.
They may need to stay a little longer and drop off at 9am Sat morning.
Rates have jumped since they booked, and now they are stuck with the original drop time, or they will have to pay over $100 more for a new booking.

What would happen if they kept the original, then Friday they call Budget and say they need the car till Sat morning.
The drop time is still within the 24 period that is already paid for.
Meaning, the rental is for 7 days and 8 hours, so they are already being charged for the 8th day.
If they return before 9:30 am on Saturday, they would still be in that 8th day they are already paying for.

So would Budget just extend their time without additional charges, or would they charge some ridiculous rate for those extra hours?

Thanks for any help!

Anything past the 2 hour mark on return time will be charged for an additonal day. Better you call and change the times to reflect what you want.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Yes, he will be charged for the extra time. He needs to see what would be the least expensive, adding the time or doing a new booking.

 

[donnaf516]

We ran into the same issue once when our flight was delayed. Since we returned it within the 24 hrs there wasn't any additional charge but we did call before keeping it longer to confirm that and to let them know we would be returning it later.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

It really depends on your contract. Advice on here is just general.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

We ran into the same issue once when our flight was delayed. Since we returned it within the 24 hrs there wasn't any additional charge but we did call before keeping it longer to confirm that and to let them know we would be returning it later.

This was our experience. I had a contract with orbitz or Priceline not a bid, with Alamo. in fact I called a second time to stay an extra day for a week rental and was only charged $2.83.
Just contact them now to make sure that company will honor the same 24 hr period. Within The time frame if paid is just a scheduling convienance I would believe. Hope it is your experience too.

 

[HookdonWDW]

If you keep the vehicle past midnight, but are still within the 24-hour period, the system automatically assesses you with a $10.00 late fee. This is due to the fact that the vehicle was not returned on the date specified, and could potentially cause a vehicle shortage for other renters. To avoid this, when your ds picks up the car, he should just ask the rental agent to extend the check-in time to include the full 24 hours of the last day, which will eliminate any potential problems and keep him from being charged extra.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

He is better off calling Budget and having the reservation modified. Budget is the only one who can give you the answer you are looking for. Since the reservation is in your Sons name he will have to be the one to call them.

 

[auger]

Thanks for the responses.
Sounds like it is hit or miss on what would happen.
They already called budget and budget said they had to rebook at the new rate.

I know that a few years ago, I rented from budget while my dad was in hospice. We were told he had a couple of days to live.
He held out for 15 days.
So the rental car we had began as a one week rental. We had to extend it twice while we were there.
Both times, budget simply extended the rental at the same rate.

So based on my experience, I would think the worst case scenario would be that they would charge one more day at the rate of the rental.

Maybe I will suggest they call budget counter at Mco and speak directly with them about it.

Thanks again to everyone!

 

[HookdonWDW]

He is better off calling Budget and having the reservation modified. Budget is the only one who can give you the answer you are looking for. Since the reservation is in your Sons name he will have to be the one to call them.

My answer IS how Budget works. I work for the company. Calling won't necessarily help, because if he booked through a travel agent/Priceline/Prepaid Reservations, there is a charge to modify the rental (although it can sometimes be waived). Once he is checking out, it's a quick change to modify the return time, and since he is still in the 24-hr window, the price won't change. Just let them know before they process the reservation. The caveat on this is that it might not work if he is changing from a Monday to a Tuesday because he would be changing from weekend to weekday rates, but the OP stated that this was a Friday - Saturday issue. Regardless, the system would never charge for an extra day in this situation - just the $10 late fee.

 

[auger]

Thank-you, HookedonWDW!
I appreciate you giving first hand information.
I think the $10 late fee would be a much preferred choice over rebooking for more than $100 more!!!

I told them their best bet might be to simply wait and speak with an agent at check-in, or if all else fails, call mid-week to ask for the extension and see what happens.

If no one will work with them, it is possible to turn the car in and rent from Alamo for the remainder of the time for only $23.
So, worst case, that is what they would do.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[Rpsemont]

Thanks for the responses.
Sounds like it is hit or miss on what would happen.
They already called budget and budget said they had to rebook at the new rate.

I know that a few years ago, I rented from budget while my dad was in hospice. We were told he had a couple of days to live.
He held out for 15 days.
So the rental car we had began as a one week rental. We had to extend it twice while we were there.
Both times, budget simply extended the rental at the same rate.

So based on my experience, I would think the worst case scenario would be that they would charge one more day at the rate of the rental.

Maybe I will suggest they call budget counter at Mco and speak directly with them about it.

Thanks again to everyone!

Here is what I would do...

Book a one day rental picking up on the day you were supposed to return and returning the next day - hopefully you can find something inexpensive - and it doesn't need to be the same rental company. Then when you pick up the first car, ask if they can modify the reservation for a return the next morning. If they want to charge you a bundle, tell them to leave as is. Maybe a few days later, call again and try to extend for the time needed. Hopefully you are right and they would charge the extra day fee. If it ever looks like you might be charged a bundle, make the extra trip to the airport to pick up the one day rental at the end. I would not bother to call now. Better to have a back up plan and try your best to negotiate when you're standing at the counter or call every few days while you have the car. Alternatively, keep pricing with your new times. Often times, I've gotten my best rates a week or so before my travel dates.

Good luck!
Anne

 

[Rpsemont]

Sorry, I didn't read ALL the posts before posting.
You had already come up with my suggested plan...

 

[jensen]

Can someone tell me what happens if you need to return a car later than the drop off time?
Here is the scenario...
DS is booked for 5pm drop-off on a Friday.
They may need to stay a little longer and drop off at 9am Sat morning.
Rates have jumped since they booked, and now they are stuck with the original drop time, or they will have to pay over $100 more for a new booking.

What would happen if they kept the original, then Friday they call Budget and say they need the car till Sat morning.
The drop time is still within the 24 period that is already paid for.
Meaning, the rental is for 7 days and 8 hours, so they are already being charged for the 8th day.
If they return before 9:30 am on Saturday, they would still be in that 8th day they are already paying for.

So would Budget just extend their time without additional charges, or would they charge some ridiculous rate for those extra hours?

Thanks for any help!

My situation was slightly different, but I'll share it as a warning. I booked for a weekend rental and then decided to keep the car for a whole week. I went back and renegotiated for a weekly rental.

But, when I did that, they put a generic time on the contract (12 Noon) instead of the actual time of the original rental (3PM). When I returned the car at 4PM on return day, I should have been within the 2-hour window. But, because the contract had been changed to 12 Noon, they charged me for an extra day.

The kicker here was that the contract didn't specify what the extra day charge would be (it actually said $0.00). So, they charged me some crazy amount that was higher than what I had paid for the whole week.

In our rush to drop the car and get our bags to security, we didn't even glance at the paperwork they handed us... just shoved it in a pocket and off we went.

Imagine my shock when I returned home and noticed that I was charged twice what we'd negotiated. Fortunately, when we called to complain, they dropped the charges back to what we'd originally negotiated.

 

[auger]

OMG!!! That is crazy!!
Thank goodness they dropped the charge!!

They ended up finding a rental from Alamo and it is only about $8 more than Budget.
They were able to book it for the Sat time, so they are going with it and not taking any chances.

Thanks again for all the help from everyone!