Car Rental in Florida - How to Complain?

glenwoolley

Hi,

here's details of a complaint i have regarding Budget Car Rental in Orlando. Any suggestions on what I should do next?

I rented a vehicle from you between 20th October until 10th November. I
would like to highlight to you the poor service I experienced from
Budget.


I drove from Orlando airport to Davenport. The day after my arrival I
turned the key in the ignition and noticed a warning light that said
'oil change due'. I thought this may be an error so drove the vehicle.


The following day, I noticed the same warning when I started the
vehicle. I contacted Budget and explained the situation. The agent
checked with a maintenance department who advised that the car had just
been serviced and the oil light had not been reset. I was assured that
it was ok to drive the vehicle, but if I didn't feel confident then I
should just take the car back to a Budget depot and I would receive
another rental car.


I checked the location of the Budget depot and found two relatively
close to my location. I called each depot and was advised that neither
had a similar model and it would be best to return it to the airport. I
checked the oil level and found that the level was at the minimum level,
which explained why the warning light came on. I called Budget again and
was advised that there was nothing that could be done other than driving
the vehicle back to the airport to get a replacement. By now I had
wasted 3-4 hours on the phone and was't prepared to waste more time
travelling back to the airport when I had activities planned for my
holiday, which I was spending with my wife, 2 long children and our
parents. I asked if I could just add oil and be re-imbursed. The agent
advised that this was fine and told me which oil the vehicle required. I
purchased oil rom Walmart. Despite the oil level been at the maximum,
the warning light still came one.


The second issue I have is with the 'hidden' charges that Budget have
taken payment for without my knowledge.


I rented a vehicle from you nearly 2 years previous and despite
specifying that I wanted to bring the car back empty, I was charged for
not returning with a full tank of fuel. After a number of correspondence
I was refunded. So, when I went to collect the vehicle this time I made
it clear to the agent on the rental desk at Orlando Airport that I
wanted to return the car empty. He confirmed that this would be the
case. After several attempts to get me to opt for an additional driver
and additional insurance, which I declined, he confirmed that there
would be nothing else for me to pay and I would just need to return the
vehicle.


When I returned the vehicle on the 10th of November, I was handed a
receipt by the person who took the key and checked the vehicle, which
stated $116.80 charged but no payment was due. I thought this was a bit
strange as it was below the rental amount for the car. When I queried
it, he said there was no additional charge and nothing else to pay. I
didn't think anything else about it until I received my credit card
invoice. I had indeed been charged $116.80.


I would like to know what this charge is for?
I would like to know why it wasn't explained to me?


The service I received from Budget, yet again, was poor. It seems to me
that you find ways to take additional payments from unsuspecting
tourists on a regular basis.


I will await your reply, which I hope will confirm a reimbursement of
the 'hidden charges', compensation for the time I wasted making numerous
phone calls when I could have spent it with my family and the cost of
the oil I purchased.

I'd like to suggest that you look into providing more clarity of charges
to your customers.
I'd like to suggest that you make sure vehicles are fully checked and
cleaned (I didn't mention that the vehicle contained a decent amount of
rubbish that I assume was left by the previous customer).
I'd like to suggest that, should a vehicle need to be replaced, that you
get a vehicle to them rather than set an expectation that they do all
the running around to collect the car.

I am, again, disappointed with the service that I was provided by
Budget.

I look forward to your reply.

glenwoolley

There response is
Thank you very much for letting Budget know about your disappointing
experience. On behalf of our entire Budget team, I apologize for the
mechanical problem you had with the vehicle.

Budget strives to provide a mechanically sound, well-maintained fleet,
and your experience is not typical. We are sincerely sorry that you were
inconvenienced, and extremely disappointed that we fell short of your
expectations.

When renting a vehicle with Budget, you have the option to accept or
decline LDW or CDW. LDW or CDW coverage is authorized by the renter, and
that decision is noted on the rental agreement when the customer signs
for the coverage. We have checked our records carefully and find that
the LDW or CDW option was offered to you, and you indeed signed the
agreement.

Budget takes great pride in providing dependable cars and attentive
service at a great price, with no surprises. Your feedback is extremely
important because it helps us maintain our high service levels. We hope
you will give us another opportunity to meet your rental needs in the
future.

glenwoolley

Looks to me like a standard response, hoping I'll go away.

Any suggestions on how to reply to this? Or how I take it further?

agrinnall

Did they refund you for the oil?

Their response give their explanation for the additional charge, does the paperwork you have correspond to what they say? If it does then I'm not sure what your issue is.

Caz3121

when you take a vehicle full and opt to return it full there is no charge for the fuel. As you opted to return it empty you need to be charged for a tank of fuel (at an inflated rate - which is why most moneysavers opt for full to full)
Did you pay for the tank of fuel initially when you took the car out and then again on the return or was it only on the return (they possibly did this in case you changed your mind and brought it back full and you would not be charged)

stoneman

We need to know if you had a prepaid voucher from a broker in the UK?
If not and you went in to book then the taxes and insurances would be pretty high. How about scanning the paperwork and putting it up on here.

If you accepted the insurances and signed for them then you have a problem.

Also Caz is correct. If you took a car with a full tank then returned empty then they would charge you in the region of $8 a gallon to refill, and if your tank held say 12 gallons then there you have $96.

Don't feel bad, Florida is particularly bad for car hire in my opinion. I've just been hit for $90 because I was told I had to take out an insurance that I was told was compulsory to later find out it's optional.