Report Abuse

Flag a comment for removal

Please use the form below to report a comment to us. We do our best to monitor user comments and we have zero tolerance for profanity, personal attacks and other malicious posts.

Thank you for taking the time to bring this comment to our attention.

Report Abuse

Original Comment My husband and I reserved a rental car from Budget at the airport in Portland Maine. When we picked up the car we decided to upgrade to a Ford Mustang. After driving the car for 2 days the rear tire blew out. My husband changed the tire while I called to find out where to take the car to have the tire fixed. We were told not to worry about it; they would send us a new car and pick up the old car. The only thing we were told was &quot;if it is determined the damage was your fault, you will be charged&quot;. Since we were driving down the road when the tire blew we knew it wasn't our fault. We were originally driving a Mustang and the car they brought us was a Buick SUV. We got our flat tire around 10 or 11 in the morning. We had to wait until 4:30 in the afternoon for our car to arrive. We still had 6 more days of our vacation left and didn't have a choice so we kept the Buick. While driving on the interstate we got stuck in a lane at a toll booth that didn't take cash or debit cards. The lady at the booth said to call the state of Maine and pay the toll by phone. When I called I was informed that since I was in a rental car the rental company would pay the toll and probably pass the charge on to me. I asked them if there was any additional fee associated with missing the toll and they stated the state doesn't charge any additional fee but the rental car company may. When I turned in the car I was told I couldn't pay the toll to them, the company would bill me. I returned the car on a Sunday morning. I called the rental car company Monday morning regarding the car. I stated that I didn't believe I should be charged the upgrade fee for the Mustang since I was only able to drive it for 2 days. She said she agreed and said that they would not charge me for the full upgrade fee. She would get back to me within 48 hours and let me know what I would be charged. On Tuesday morning when I checked my bank account they had charged me $360.79. I called Budget back and asked them what was going on. They apologized and said they would refund the over charge. Three days later I received $278.40 back in my account. On October 17 there was a charge by budget for $16.50. This I was informed was for the $1.00 toll I missed. On November 14 there was a charge on my account for $433.65. I did not become aware of this charge until November 16 when I received a letter in the mail dated November 6. The letter stated that I required the services of their Emergency Roadside Assistance program and this was the cost of the emergency service I requested. The letter also stated &quot;the expense listed above will be applied to the credit or debit card that you presented at the time of the rental approximately one week after the date of this letter&quot;. I didn't even receive the letter until 10 days after the date of the letter and after they had already taken the money from my bank account. When I called to explain I didn't request the car be towed or replaced, I was told yes I did and also that I was informed of what the charge was going to be. My response was &quot;seriously, I could have replaced the tire myself for less that half that and not lost a whole day of my vacation&quot;. They informed me no one else was authorized to work on the car. When I asked why they didn't just bring me a new tire I was told no tire was available. I was also told I couldn't drive the car to Budget because the closest place to take the car was 75 miles away and the spare was only rated for 50 miles. As of today, November 26, I have been informed I will receive $216.83 back for no other reason but because I complained about the way they conduct business. I was also informed there may still be additional expenses associated with any damage discovered as well as the cost to repair the vehicle back to a rentable condition. The only way to stop them from taking any more money from my bank account is to close that account and open a new one. Since all these charges are associated with the original rental dated September 21, they continue to use that authorization even though the card it was authorized with has been cancelled because it was lost. <br /> All of these problems because, as they informed me, it wasn't their fault the tire blew.

Feedback

Your Name

Your Email

Verification