Alamo Consumer Reviews - Page 5

WICHITA, KANSAS -- Cars smell horrible. I ended up renting 2 different economy cars from them in a 2 week span. Both cars reeked of bad odor so much that I worried I smelled like the car. The first car smelled like ass. The second car smelled like a sweaty man with too much deodorant on. I do not recommend pre-paying for a full tank of gas. It is a scam. I paid about $30 for a full tank, only used half and still had to fill it up before returning. Do the math. It does not make logical sense.

Customer service stinks! Wichita, Kansas is a licensee location - not corporate. This means if you have a problem, you must reconcile it with the manager of the Wichita, Kansas Alamo center. I had a problem. I was rushed while picking up the car and told to sign a bunch of stuff that I did not have time to read, one of which was car insurance. I told them I had my own insurance and did not need their insurance. However, there must have been a misunderstanding as I was charged an addition $22 a day.

By the time I realized this, I had turned the car in and already paid. (Two different credit cards were used to pay for the rental as part of a gift, which is why I did not realize sooner of the problem. This charge is also conveniently labeled as CDW charges.) When I called to explain my situation, the manager there was nasty and refused to help in any way. Prior to getting in touch with the manager, which took over a week, I was told that it would be no problem and the charges would be removed.

It is not worth it to extend your car rental beyond your expected return date. I would have incurred a $12 charge for each day to do this. Instead, I had to return the car and pick up another car at the same time. Of course this leads to paying for an extra day - $21 in my case. If you bring back the car early, you will incur another charge. The same applies to bringing it back late.

On Sept 9th, I made a reservation through NWA World Perks and reserved a car with Alamo. I was given a CONFIRMED total price of $105.57 for a 4-day rental. When I got to the airport, I was told the price would be $179! I was told this was the option that would allow me to return the car with an empty gas tank. No thank you, I will put the gas in. I just wanted the reservation I had asked for. The counter person then told me the price would be $149. Even though I had the printed confirmation, this person, and her manager insisted that $149 was the price, period.

Because I had to get to my appointment, I took the car and told them I would just deal with corporate when I returned. I thought since I had this in writing, it would be a simple matter to get the $43 credited back to my credit card. WRONG! First I was told that, after a review, $149 was the correct price. Done. I asked for someone higher up and emailed copies of all my documents. Then I was told that the additional $43 was charged because I stayed an extra day. Again I referred to my documents. I did not stay extra, drop off late or anything of the sort.

Then I was told that Priceline had confirmed the rate would be $149. I pointed out, again, to please read my documents. I did not book this through Priceline, I booked through NWA Work Perks. The response, the price through Priceline was $149 and that's what I would be charged. There would be no refund, period.

$43 is not the end of the world but it is my money and I work hard for it. I was not quoted a price of $105.57, I had a CONFIRMED price of $105.57 and for Alamo not to honor this is dirty and disreputable. I have not finished with them but I told them that I would tell everyone about their shoddy, dishonorable business practices and I will walk before I rent from them again. I am personally tired of the games car rental companies play with the "upgrades" and "extra charges" but this was the last straw. To not honor a confirmed price is really low.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- I had an experience with Alamo Car Rental at Stanford Airport Orlando USA which I feel I should warn all UK holidaymakers about. I booked a mid sized 4x4 in the UK on the internet and paid for it in full -- around £280. On arrival at Stanford I went to pick the car up and was asked for a credit card by a very helpful member of staff whose first question was "have you ever visited the USA before?" Having been fobbed off that they could not pursue the rental without the details which was a formality and only for the purpose of ensuring that the car was returned with the same amount of gas and clean, I had no option but to agree.

I was directed to the car lot and had a car pointed out to me -- a large 4x4 which I said I did not want. I asked for the car I paid for as I had been forewarned that US car rental agencies forced upgrades. I was then shown two 4x4's one blue, one silver. "Which do you want?" I was asked. As this looked similar to the photograph I chose one and set off on holiday. On returning the vehicle I was charged $399 on top of the £258 I had already paid in the UK. I asked to speak to a manager who was totally unsympathetic and arrogant who claimed I must have agreed to the upgrade???

I feel that this company pay employees on the amount of upgrades they sell. A friend at work also had the same experience with the same company, same location. Shame I wasn't told till I returned home. I have logged a complaint with the customer services here in the UK and been told I will have a reply within 14 days.

This method of extracting money from holidaymakers would I feel be classed as fraud in the UK. I have read a number of similar complaints about this SCAM, how do they continue to get away with it? On the whole I found the American people very polite and very friendly by the time I had boarded the aircraft home. My feelings had changed to contempt and disgust. BE WARNED.

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- I am very dissatisfied with the Alamo location at Columbus Airport. I rented a car and when I returned it, my keys were left inside and I was told that I had to pay to have them delivered to me. When the keys were left, it was very busy and I was trying to find out what I needed to do with the car as the entrance to the lot was full. The attendant walked away, and I had to find him to ask what I was to do with the car. He told me to pull it up. But that would have meant leaving it over the “do not reverse” bar.

Another associate told me to leave it where it was. I took my bags and I was not sure if I had to do anything else. I never rented from Alamo before. In the meantime, the attendants came and took all of the cars away. I did not realize that my keys were still attached to the bunch that belonged to the rental car. The attendant did not say anything to me as they took the car away.

I was at the airport for over 3 hours waiting for my flight. They had my phone number, but they contend that it is not their responsibility to call people. I don't feel that I should have to pay to have the keys delivered. I was treated as though I should know how things work there and that it was completely my fault. This is totally unacceptable and I feel that I would never use Alamo again.

An Alamo rep sympathized with me and asked me to talk with the manager. That's when I found out that this location is a franchise and that the company itself will not do anything about complaints like this one. So I feel that I can never trust ANY Alamo location. Know this, that if you have a problem with Alamo, you are on your own. Alamo will wimp out and will not help you if you are dealing with a franchise.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- Since most of what is listed happens to be complaints, I thought it would be good to let you know we had a terrific experience with Alamo Car Rental at LAX July of 2007. After a 9-hour saga of delayed flights, lost luggage and all from Detroit to LAX, it was 3 am our time in LA when we got to the car rental building. Not waiting to stand anymore (we stood for 2 hours at the airport trying to find our luggage), we got in line at Alamo.

One person was at the counter and another family ahead of us. Our daughter said, "can we use the kiosk thing over there?" I decided to try since I wasn't sure (we booked online through some place like Travelocity). Sure enough we put in our information, page quickly through about 25 pages of terms and conditions, selected NO to insurance since I asked our company if we needed it before we left, got a print out for the price I was quoted online and was told to pick our car on the lot, keys would be in it. How easy was that!?! Everyone waiting in the building looked at us and said, "can we do that too?" We had a great, clean vehicle for $140 something for a week!

We filled it 2 miles away and kept our receipt. Drove back when we were to return it. They asked us if we had any questions or comments - which we said "it was a great trip and thanks." They gave us a receipt and we waited a few minutes for the shuttle back to the airport. No extra fees, no waiting, no hidden costs and a nice vehicle too. Like I said it was the best part of our trip besides seeing family! I would recommend Alamo.

DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA -- I rented a car for 14 days. Reservation was made on internet - Alamo gold package. Came to Alamo office and this guy prints out the contract and offers 'roadside assistance'. Since I'm not US resident I asked what is it for. His answer was: "Replacing a flat tire and when you lock your key inside the car." So I assume I don't need it. I go on a trip and hit a deer. So the front of the car is damaged and fluid leaking... So I call that 1-800 - the person there is hard to understand and I'm not native speaker (what a talk!). And so tells me to call highway patrol (they were already there) and bring the car to closest Alamo office and get a new one there.

The closest office was about 1 hour 20 min drive, so we have the highway patrol call a tow truck and take us to the airport. When it came to paying for towing, the person behind the desk there tells me - I don't have the money to pay this, "You did not get roadside assistance, so Alamo is not going to pay for this. Our policy is that we bring a new car on the tow truck to you and take the damaged car from you."

So am I the one who decided to take the harder way and go for a ride with the tow truck to town, where I started my trip in the morning just??? Why didn't I just wait for the tow truck to bring me a new car??? Because I didn't have an idea, nobody told me and the helpful line 1-800 told me to bring the car to them!!! To get the car from the tow truck, I had to pay $450. Nobody will pay me this money back. Nobody bothered to explain when I asked. What a informative talk at the 1-800 line... Alamo never again!!!

FT. MYERS, FLORIDA -- I could not believe that your web site (aka your company) deceived me into believing I had a rental car lined up and ready to go via your online check-in service. I put in the “required” confidential information on your web site to include our debit card that I hereby request you to delete immediately from your data warehousing server. You do not need any of my information ever as I will never use nor recommend Alamo Car Rental to anyone. You can believe me when I say I will go out of my way to make my friends, relatives, and co-workers aware of the service I did not receive.

I was allowed, via your online check-in web site, to believe that the rental car was not only ready and available for pick-up that the debit card I provided was debited and the transaction was paid for. Never in my life have I been so mislead. I get to the rental car company to pick up the car and apparently your company does not take a debit card to pay for the transaction. I secured the rental with my credit card; however, I did not have enough of a balance available to use my credit card to pay for the rental – that's why I used the debit card.

The supervisor sent me down the counter to Dollar Rental which was able to handle the car rental payment using my debit card. Now either you have antiquated software or you people have some sort of agreement/kick back with credit card companies. I was late leaving and therefore, late arriving at my destination due to your negligence and deception. I really should take this up with an attorney. As it is, I believe letting the ten thousand acquaintances that I know of your lack of service and deception will be sufficient. Dissatisfied sought after car renters.

LUBBOCK, TEXAS -- I rented a minivan from 9/5-9/8/06, all weekdays, at a pre-paid cost of 262.xx. I needed the vehicle because mine had been hit and was in the shop. Friday I found out my vehicle wouldn't be finished and called Alamo to extend the rental one more day. I was informed there'd be a $10.99 late return fee and an upcharge on the next days' rental, unless I drove to the airport and basically re-rented the vehicle in person.

I rent vehicles all the time, but never did from Alamo before. I only did so this time because the prepayment option made the rental $50 cheaper than the other guys. Little did I know I'd be paying that 50 bucks over and over again. I told him I'd be up that evening to re-rent the vehicle, that it would be my husband actually because he is the driver as I am handicapped. My husband went in, said his name and told the guy he was here because the rental ended and he needed another day.

When we got home my husband mentioned to me the new total was $408 and change. WHAT!!! That's $164 for ONE DAY. I could rent a LIMO for that price. He then mentioned a $10.99 fee. I had him call Alamo and explain that it was a re-rental he'd come in for which they knew but naturally they took advantage of the situation (our little one insisted ongoing in with daddy) and charged him as much as possible. Right now my husband is driving all the way BACK to the airport, to do the re-rental they were supposed to do in the first place.

Add to that the vehicle is very dirty. There are tons of dark stains on the carpets and the seats, so much so my daughter didn't want to sit on one seat without a towel. The passenger side slider door has drops of what looks like white paint on it (it's a blue vehicle). No one ever came out to do a vehicle inspection before we took the vehicle. I've never rented from Alamo before, and I will never rent from them again. My little $300 every two months' or so will go to another rental company that has treated me right every time.

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA -- I took a flight back into Erie PA, which arrived on a Saturday afternoon (08/12/2006). My usual rental car company (Enterprise) for some stupid reason does not keep their Erie airport location open past noon on Saturdays, so I went to the Alamo counter and rented from them. The car was very nice, and I had it for 3 days with no problems. But when I brought it back, I was in a hurry to drop it off and catch a bus, so I didn't fill up the tank, and they charged me $6.00 per gallon ($48.00 for half a tank). Enterprise only charges $3.90, and the retail price in Erie is currently about $2.83. That was the first ripoff.

The next day I noticed that my American Express account had an additional Alamo charge for $31.80. I called to ask why, and they said it was because that they had to take the car to a carwash and vacuum dog hair off the seats. I have 3 short-haired dogs, who were in the rental car for a grand total of 30 minutes. No other company has EVER charged me a dime for vacuuming a car - it is a minuscule part of their cost of doing business, for God's sake!

I even had a 4-day, cross country rental with Hertz last year, when my dogs were in the car for 4 days, and there was no "cleaning fee" charged. Besides, what national car company DOESN'T have the capability to clean their own cars on the premises?! And, hello, any flunkie can pump 4 quarters into a machine at a gas station and have a car vacuumed in 60 seconds. $31.80 (which I am sure Alamo never actually spent) would have been enough money to get the car washed and waxed too!

I couldn't let the second rip-off go uncontested. I have challenged the $31.80 charge with American Express, and sent a nasty letter to the Alamo at Erie Airport, copying Alamo Corporate and also American Express customer service. Now that I've seen other complaints on my3cents.com, I know never to rent from the scam artists at Alamo/National again.

DALLAS, TEXAS -- I rented a full size car from the Dallas Love Field office on Sat the 17th for 2 days when I went to help our with a grandson who had serious surgery at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. Due to his medical complications, I could not leave Sunday so I called to tell Alamo that it would be several days until I would be returning the car. On Tuesday, the 20th, the car would not start so they instructed me to call an 800 number. I had to wait out on a dark parking lot for 2 hours until someone came to jump start the car that they said had a faulty alarm system that ran down the battery.

Anytime I have rented cars in the past and had any kind of problem they have adjusted my bill due to the inconvenience, so I called to ask if some type of adjustment was in order and to tell them I would be bringing the car to Love Field to a charter plane, but I was put on hold and no one ever came back on. When we reached the Piedmont Aviation that is in Love Field about a mile from the Alamo office, I called to tell them I could not bring it back since it was a charter and the Piedmont people said all the rent car agencies pick up their cars there so to leave it and they would call Alamo.

I also called Alamo back and was told it would now cost me an $100.00 to leave it. When I called tonight to see if they got the car and what the charges were, I was told that my 40.41 charge for a two day weekend had gone to 160.00 plus tax, plus charges for extending the rental agreement, and 100.00 for the pickup...for a total of 380.00. If they rolled my rate over to a weekly rate, then why were did they charge me a daily fine for keeping the car over? I had it 5 days of a weekly rental.

If this is the way you do business, I will not ever rent from Alamo or National again and I do intend to let everyone know how I was treated at a time of great stress for our family. People on the Internet need to know how you treat people and the Better Business Bureau of Dallas needs to know how out of town people get the shaft when they are in a bind. The newspaper in Dallas needs to know how Alamo takes advantage of people. All I am asking is to be charged the 160.00 weekly rate for the 5 days plus tax. I am protesting the 10.99 daily fine and the $100. pick up charge.