Car rental company double charged me

J

Jocker

New Member
Jurisdiction
Kansas
I rented a vehicle for 1 day only thru Priceline, starting on Saturday 11am returning Sunday 11am. The location was closed on Sundays, i asked if they had a drop box for keys, they said yes. They told me i should return it to a different (airport) location that was open on Sundays which wasn't convenient for me. I rented at the non airport location for a reason, it was super close to my house, I could walk. I replied i wasn't interested returning to a different location. He told me "ok return here but it will be closed Monday". I understood this phrase as if somebody will come monday morning, look at the vehicle and release pending deposit hold changing it to my 1 day charge. I have rented at different companies before and couldn't think of someone doing such thing as charging me for an extra day just because they were closed on Sundays .
My Priceline reservation says i have it until Sunday 11am. The receipt Budget gave me also says i have the vehicle until 11am on Sunday. When they closed transaction on Monday, It looks like they have modified my reservation without my permission extending it by one day. They were also trying to modify my reservation by making me return to a different location. In my opinion if cars cant be returned on Sundays, they shouldn't allow reservations with return to that location that ends on Sundays since they are closed. At least this is how other companies do it.
I talked to the person who was working there today and she told me: Didn't the previous worker tell you to return to the airport location? Well he did but i didnt want to return there, and he never explicitly told that not returning to the airport will result in being charged for one extra day. Then she said there was nothing she could do for me , its the company's policy. She gave me phone numbers for her supervisors or managers but I haven't had any luck talking to them just yet.
Of course one day charge isnt a tremendous amount of money but still . I just don't like when people try to take advantage of you in this manner. The location has very bad reviews but again I picked it because of very close proximity while my car was broken. Any advice?
 
adjusterjack said:
I learned a long time ago NEVER to drop off a rental without somebody there to check it in and give you your receipt.

This is not the rental company's fault.
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I dropped off vehicles when rental was closed several times. Never had a problem before. Most have cameras allowing them to know exactly when you dropped off the keys. Of course there is always a slight chance somebody could vandalise the car while its unattended and you'd be responsible. Or the second scenario, a rental would say you returned it damaged while in fact you didnt (they would lie to you). Returning always during their not very generous hours seems not even possible
 
Wow. If you don't like their policies, don't rent with them. What do you think makes you special and different from everyone else they rent to that they should change their rules just for you? They told you they were closed on Sunday and to return to a location that's open on Sunday. You chose not to do that. You owe them for the second day.
 
EeeeekitsaMouse said:
Wow. If you don't like their policies, don't rent with them. What do you think makes you special and different from everyone else they rent to that they should change their rules just for you? They told you they were closed on Sunday and to return to a location that's open on Sunday. You chose not to do that. You owe them for the second day.
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I have an agreement that says i have rented on 8/16 and returning on 8/17 (Sunday) AT THIS LOCATION.
They agreed to THESE conditions at the time when the reservation was made. This is written in agreement on paper in black ink
Then they tried to change the AGREEMENT twice: first time by trying to change location for the return, and the second time by changing the end date of the reservation without my consent.
If they are not able to end the reservation on said particular Sunday at this particular location, then they should not allow such reservation to be made. Plain and simple!
 
zddoodah said:
You're free to dispute the charge with your credit card issuer. Did you really not know that?
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As far as I know you should have valid reasons in order to dispute a charge with a credit card, like I didn't rent the car at all but they charged me.. this is not the case
I submitted a ticket on budget site
 
Maybe I didn't make it clear from the very beginning. My reservation states that I am renting at this particular location starting on Saturday and ending on Sunday. My rental agreement says the same , that I agree to return the vehicle on Sunday at this location, this is what I signed. I didn't sign anything else , I didn't sign to return it on Monday, I didn't sign to return it to a different location
 
Jocker said:
I have an agreement that says i have rented on 8/16 and returning on 8/17 (Sunday) AT THIS LOCATION.
They agreed to THESE conditions at the time when the reservation was made. This is written in agreement on paper in black ink
Then they tried to change the AGREEMENT twice: first time by trying to change location for the return, and the second time by changing the end date of the reservation without my consent.
If they are not able to end the reservation on said particular Sunday at this particular location, then they should not allow such reservation to be made. Plain and simple!
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You didn't reserve it with the rental car company. You reserved it with Priceline.
 
EeeeekitsaMouse said:
You didn't reserve it with the rental car company. You reserved it with Priceline.
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Im sorry but the agreement that they gave me and I signed is by BUDGET. You know its very easy to setup Priceline reservations in the way that reservations ending on Sunday can't be made... Enterprise near my house does exactly this. Can't make such reservation
Again, I didn't breach any agreements, they did.
 
Jocker said:
Again, I didn't breach any agreements, they did.
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If the rental company saw it YOUR WAY, you'd have NOTHING to kvetch or complain about.

Unfortunately, they disagree with your point of view.

You've made your point of view known to the agency's management/supervision, perhaps someone in charge might think you've made your position known.

Bottom line, it might behoove you going forward to no longer patronize Budget, by renting from Enterprise, National, Dollar, Thrifty, Hertz, or SIXT.

The information below might bof some use to you going forward.



Ranked: The Best Car Rental Companies For 2024

  1. National
  2. Enterprise
  3. Sixt
  4. Advantage Rent A Car
  5. Alamo
  6. Hertz
  7. Ace Rent A Car
  8. Payless
  9. Avis
  10. Fox Rent A Car
  11. Thrifty
  12. Budget
  13. Dollar
By the way, Budget ranks next to last on Forbes' list.

www.forbes.com

The Best Car Rental Companies, Ranked In A New Report

Looking for the best car rental companies? From Hertz to Avis to National, a new report ranks the best rental car companies in North America for 2024.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
 
Aren't they all franchises where everything depends on the local owner/GM? I mean one budget can be super good while the other mediocre? Do they even have any "central" supervision / management?
 
Aren't they all franchises where everything depends on the local owner/GM? I mean one budget can be super good while the other mediocre
zddoodah said:
Being improperly charged twice is a valid reason.




For the company you said you rented from, no.
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Its not "charged twice" (that would be easy) . Its one charge, twice as much as should be
 
There seems to be zero accountability. I was given a phone number but they transfer you to nowhere. Impossible to speak with anyone. Left a voice mail for the manager but I'm pretty sure he won't call back. Feels like im in a 3rd world country
 
Jocker said:
Feels like im in a 3rd world country
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Your observation/suspicion is smack, dab, spot on!

Our once great nation began it's death spiral, somewhere between 1990 and 2000.

There were many signs, even near the beginning.

Our once astounding education system began to sputter.

Our nation's children began demonstrating violent, antisocial behaviors.

Families, once the backbone of our nation, began spiraling into oblivion.

Our educational system began it's eventual destruction/dissolution.

Violence was being tolerated, as our courts began pacifying and Molly Coddling career criminals.

We're not a third world SEWER, YET.

Sadly, we're tracking where the once great Roman Empire once tread, before it's demise.
 
There is one more matter that i will have with them. I drove our turnpike that uses new payment system . Before i departed, i told the guy that was working at Budget who gave me the car about my intention and asked how we should handle the payments. The system now is all remote, you cant pay at the booth. He gave me instructions how to set up an account and put the charge from my travel on my account, and I asked do I have to do it before I travel or can I do it after. He said, you can do it after. When I returned I followed the instructions but it was impossible to add the vehicle because my travel date has passed. As soon as Monday I called the phone number for the Turnpike and asked them to add my travel date for that vehicle to my account and they said it was impossible because Budget uses out of state transponder and the only way to have charges transfer to your account is to do it before the travel. Later on I talked to Budget associate one more time and she again told me: no you should have no problem doing it after you travel. Which wasn't the case.
I know that they have hefty fees if your toll road expenses come to their account, I already was told about it. And they told me they going to charge my toll charge plus the fee on my card on file.
Which again is unfair because they gave me wrong info.
Do you think I should lock that card to avoid being overcharged again? I don't mind paying the toll but i shouldn't be paying their fee
 

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