Thrifty changes price 2 days before trip!!!

[keatmon]

Has anyone had any experience with their rental car prices mysteriously changing just before your trip? We are leaving Saturday and I was just confirming all of my reservations but when I pulled up my Thrifty reservation the price showed $593 instead of the $285 that is on my emailed confirmation. I called the 1-800 number and all they could see was the $593 so I spoke to an account manager who couldn't get me off the phone quick enough. She did tell me to bring my paper confirmation and that it would be fine but I feel I will have a fight on my hands when I arrive at the counter. I'm sure they will tell me the rate was an error (it is a very low rate for our rental period of 20 days) but it's the principal that I have the confirmation email and it clearly states $285. Has this happened to anyone else and how did it work out in the end for you? By the way, I went back in to make a new reservation and the cost of $593 is actually today' rate, not the rate when I originally booked the car.

 

[OKW Lover]

Bring the documentation with you when you pick up the car. Don't sign any documents at the counter until you verify the price. If its different show them your confirmation. Escalate to a manager if needed.

 

[keatmon]

Bring the documentation with you when you pick up the car. Don't sign any documents at the counter until you verify the price. If its different show them your confirmation. Escalate to a manager if needed.

That is exactly what I plan to do. I have multiple copies of the confirmation and we will not pay more. I have been checking rates multiple times daily for months and this one popped up one evening so I jumped on it. We got a similar deal a couple of years ago that was only on their website for a few hours. I hope it isn't an issue at the counter but it's better to be prepared. I usually rent with Alamo to avoid this mess but the Thrifty deal was half the price of Alamo, maybe now I know why.

 

[OKW Lover]

One other thing you can do is to make a backup reservation at another company. If Thrifty won't budge, walk.

 

[seashoreCM]

Not that things would go this far but, if the agency head does not budge, then be prepared to call the national 800 number using the pay phone at the back of the rental office (or using your cell phone) to argue your case.

They can change the advertised price for your dates and times but, except for typos, they may not change the price or terms of the reservation you already made. It is possible that all they are doing is hoping to catch some poor schmuck, er, traveler who failed to bring confirmation/proof of his reservation with him.

If this is a price that does not look obviously bogus or that has appeared from time to time for different dates then it is not a typo.

 

[keatmon]

Not that things would go this far but, if the agency head does not budge, then be prepared to call the national 800 number using the pay phone at the back of the rental office (or using your cell phone) to argue your case.

They can change the advertised price for your dates and times but, except for typos, they may not change the price or terms of the reservation you already made. It is possible that all they are doing is hoping to catch some poor schmuck, er, traveler who failed to bring confirmation/proof of his reservation with him.

If this is a price that does not look obviously bogus or that has appeared from time to time for different dates then it is not a typo.

It actually occurred to me that they may pull this more often than people think because most people are tired from traveling and just want to get their car and be on their way. It is a legitimate reservation using only an automobile club discount code, it just happens that the rate was very good the night I booked. I booked it directly on Thrifty's website so there is no third party involvement and no questionable codes. I would hope if it were a typo that I would receive an email informing me of the issue at least. It should be interesting on Saturday.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

If you have an email confirmation, I'd print that (it will be date/time stamped too). I would also create digital PDF's of this reservation and have them on my phone too. Let us know how it works out

 

[seashoreCM]

Automobile club discount code?

Be prepared to bring and show the source of the discount code, such as the page of the Entertainment Book you found the code in or the page of the AAA magazine or print-screen of the web site, plus your club memberhip card, etc .Again, not to say that the rental agent will ask for all that but in general, non-members are not permitted to use club discount codes.

 

[keatmon]

Automobile club discount code?

Be prepared to bring and show the source of the discount code, such as the page of the Entertainment Book you found the code in or the page of the AAA magazine or print-screen of the web site, plus your club memberhip card, etc .Again, not to say that the rental agent will ask for all that but in general, non-members are not permitted to use club discount codes.

I had a CAA discount (Canadian equivalent to AAA), no coupon needed, and I had my membership card ready to present at the rental counter. I was well prepared with all of the necessary documentation. With that being said I knew I wouldn't want to waste my time arguing with them after flying 5 hours with a very active 19 month old so we went ahead and made a reservation with Alamo the day before we left. It was $115 more but the whole issue with Thrifty left me a bit apprehensive and I didn't want to start my vacation by having to argue with the rental counter.
Our Alamo reservation saved us so much time as used their Skip the Counter process. We have used all of the major car rental companies in the past but generally prefer Alamo because we don't have to stand in line. We booked a Full Size car and ended up with a Hyundai Sante Fe SUV that has lots of room for us and our baby gear. There were quite a few Smaller SUV's on the full size aisle and I noticed some smaller Kia mini van type vehicles in the compact aisle. Most people were driving away quite happy with their vehicle selections.
I travel to Florida often and typically make a few different reservations and cancel as my trip gets closer but he Alamo reservation I made the night before we left was the best price I have seen for our dates in months. I just used the Alamo Insider's discount with a $50 off weekly rental coupon and we got an additional driver free so it actually works out better than the original Thrifty reservation because my husband and I can both drive.
Lesson learned to always double check the rates on my reservations prior to departure as you never know what may "change". I have emailed Thrifty customer service but have not received a response as of yet, nor do I actually expect them to acknowledge my issue.

 

[Yellowjj]

I had a CAA discount (Canadian equivalent to AAA), no coupon needed, and I had my membership card ready to present at the rental counter. I was well prepared with all of the necessary documentation. With that being said I knew I wouldn't want to waste my time arguing with them after flying 5 hours with a very active 19 month old so we went ahead and made a reservation with Alamo the day before we left. It was $115 more but the whole issue with Thrifty left me a bit apprehensive and I didn't want to start my vacation by having to argue with the rental counter.
Our Alamo reservation saved us so much time as used their Skip the Counter process. We have used all of the major car rental companies in the past but generally prefer Alamo because we don't have to stand in line. We booked a Full Size car and ended up with a Hyundai Sante Fe SUV that has lots of room for us and our baby gear. There were quite a few Smaller SUV's on the full size aisle and I noticed some smaller Kia mini van type vehicles in the compact aisle. Most people were driving away quite happy with their vehicle selections.
I travel to Florida often and typically make a few different reservations and cancel as my trip gets closer but he Alamo reservation I made the night before we left was the best price I have seen for our dates in months. I just used the Alamo Insider's discount with a $50 off weekly rental coupon and we got an additional driver free so it actually works out better than the original Thrifty reservation because my husband and I can both drive.
Lesson learned to always double check the rates on my reservations prior to departure as you never know what may "change". I have emailed Thrifty customer service but have not received a response as of yet, nor do I actually expect them to acknowledge my issue.

So you never actually went to the Thrifty counter to at least query? Kind of disappointed, as your experience might have been beneficial to others in the future.

 

[keatmon]

So you never actually went to the Thrifty counter to at least query? Kind of disappointed, as your experience might have been beneficial to others in the future.

No I didn't end up dealing with Thrifty at all. Sorry to disappoint but my priority was getting my vacation started with my family and getting my 19 month old out of the airport and to our hotel so she could get settled and have a nap after a long day, not standing in a long line at the rental counter to make an inquiry. The line was long and I was not wasting time from my vacation to ask a question about a reservation I cancelled. I can think of a million other things to do in Orlando than that! If I ever hear back from Thrifty customer service I will update but I don't actually expect to hear from them.

 

[bumbershoot]

See, I would have been so curious about it that I would not have been able to leave without going to the counter.

I might now remember this mystery forevermore. Such is life with a personality filled with questions about the world.

Makes me want to book with Thrifty and hope the price changes weirdly.

 

[keatmon]

If I didn't have a small child with me I would have stopped too because I would like to know the reason but I was led to believe that the manager on site wouldn't be able to tell me why it happened, only that honouring my original price was at their discretion. I was ready with all of my original paperwork, confirmation email and screen shots of the original booking stating the lower price but I just couldn't wait in that long line with my daughter after being confined to an airplane for 5 hours. I have learned as a parent of a small child that there are things I have to just let go and forget about and this was one of them unfortunately. I think it will forever remain a mystery to me also. I did notice however that the computer generated rate code on my original confirmation was different from the one wit the higher estimated total so I suspect it was all about the rate code. It should not have changed because I only used a Canadian Autombile Association corporate code which I am entitled to as I am a member.

 

[nacho113]

You know: I've never actually pulled up my reservation just before we leave, I just print the emailed copy of my reservation and take that with me (never had any issues).

Just out of curiosity, for our September rental, I'm going to try pulling my reservation up online a couple of days before we leave to see if the price is the same.
If anyone is leaving in the next few weeks/months I would be interested if they are seeing any discrepancies. Wondering if this is related to Thrifty or is something that happens with other companies.