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Wallet left in returned car was found by agent and never returned as promised
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

NEWARK, OREGON -- Don't EVER Rent from Budget

I had the misfortune of leaving my wallet in the Budget rental car we were returning to the Newark Airport location prior to leaving for Europe. When I got to the terminal and was looking for it, I realized it was gone. Frantic, I telephoned them and a lovely woman volunteered to personally go back to the car to look for it. She said she'd call me back.

Meanwhile I called the credit card companies of the cards I had in there and canceled them. Fortunately I had my passport, and I was traveling with my husband who had other cards. Surprisingly the woman called me back, asked me to describe my wallet and we were able to ascertain without a doubt that she had my wallet. Since the plane was boarding and there was no way to go back and get it, we agreed she would mail the wallet to my home and would email me to confirm details. I gave my husband's card number to pay for any charges she might incur.

Well I never heard from them so a week later I tried to contact the office. Well if you aren't in Newark there's no way to directly contact the office, you are connected to some global office who knows where. Called customer service, and there apparently isn't such a thing because each number given in literature or referred to me by agent as customer service, is in fact an agent trying to rent you a car. I was told I had to file a lost and found claim which I did, and I also contacted lost and found several times and they responded they had done everything they could but the item hadn't been located. Try as I might to explain that the wallet wasn't in fact lost, because it had been found and was now missing, I kept getting the run around each person saying they had done everything they could.

When I returned to the states we flew through Newark, and made the trip over to the Budget office to try again to get information. I lovely manager there was very apologetic and tried to get information for me, but his response finally was that no one there knew anything about it. Well of course not, because some one was hiding the fact they had it and were using my identity themselves or sold it to people who would. Someone at that office ought to have the authority to conduct an investigation of this!

So, I will certainly never rent a car from them again for two main reasons:
there's no customer service when you need them and the numbers identified as customer service are a sham if the issue doesn't fir into any of their ‘boxes.'
local offices, at least Newark, are so poorly managed that they can't investigate a situation like this. Surely they have a work log and would/should be able to figure out who was working the day and time this transpired.

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Beware and Avoid this company at all costs!!! You will be cheated!!!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MIAMI, FLORIDA -- Beware and Avoid this company at all costs!!! You will be cheated!!!

Budget advertises the Port Miami Cruiseship free Shuttle:

locations.budget.com/us/fl/miami/p2f.html .

Before I made my reservation I called Budget to confirm that Budget really offers a free shuttle. It was confirmed.

On November 18, 2016 I made the reservation for a mini passenger van.
The pick-up date and time on the confirmed by Budget reservation is March 4, 2017 at 9:30am. The pick-up Car Rental Location for this booking is 89 SE 2nd St, Miami, FL, 33131. The drop-off date and time for this reservation is March 4, 2017 at 6:00pm. The drop-off location is Miami International Airport. The total on the reservation including car, fees, and taxes is $74.27.

We made this reservation from Budget because one of the four people in our party is an elderly man, and he has difficulties standing and walking and other health issues, and because we saw the promise of the free shuttle right from the Miami cruise port to the Budget car rental location.

We had only until 6 pm of that same day to have an important meeting and to spend some time in Miami, and wanted a quick and convenient way to get a car.

After the debarkation, when we took our luggage and went outside to the designated car rentals area for the shuttle pickups, we saw many shuttles from various car rental companies, but there were no shuttles from Budget! We waited for over 20 minutes, and then I called the Budget location's local number 305-377-4410. The only option was to listen to the automated line for the shuttle's schedule. The message said that the shuttle was going continuously and comes every 15-30 minutes depending on the traffic. We waited more, but only shuttles from other car rental companies were going continuously with zero shuttles from Budget in sight.

I called the Budget 800 number, and the person who finally answered my call only said that I had to call the local number, that nobody could help me here, at 800 number. This person advised not to press any options when I dial the local number, and then someone from the local office will answer my call. It was not true. It was not possible to reach anybody from the local office! After waiting for over 50 minutes we saw a Budget shuttle van with the license plate number DZG-I61. He took only 3 or 4 people and said he did not have space to take any of us. I asked him to contact the office and to ask to send another shuttle, but he refused. He just left without even making one short call to the office.

After we waited for more than 1 hour and 15 minutes standing outside with our entire luggage the Budget shuttle bus came and we finally went to the Budget Car Rental office.

The rental office was overcrowded. We stood in the long line only to learn that everybody in front of us (the same happened to many people behind us as well!) got the same answer from the counter: “We do not have a car for you. Wait. If and when someone returns a car, we will give it to you.”. When we reached the counter we got the same reply. They did not have a car for us! When we asked how long we had to wait they said that maybe between 15 minutes and 1.5 hours there would be a chance to get a car, but there was no guarantee.

Let me remind you that the reservation was for the car available for us at 9:30am.

The pick-up time on the reservation did not matter to any employee in this office. The location's manager Juan Perez was very rude, he laughed at us and did not really care that 4 people with all the luggage were completely stuck.

I called the 800 number again. The Budget representative did not offer any solution or help and hung up the phone. The only day, which we were supposed to have in Miami, was totally ruined!

We finally got the car only at 12:45pm! We still had to return it at 6pm in order to catch our flight on time. We missed the important meeting, which we scheduled in the morning.

In addition to our day being ruined we were overcharged by this office! They charged us $89.96 instead of $74.27, which was confirmed on the booking. After we came home we had to spend more of our time and call the billing for adjustments.

Budget failed us in every way!

I highly recommend replacing Juan Perez, the manager of this location. He does not have any respect for people and for their plans. For him renting for a day or for a half a day is the same, but for people it is not the same! Budget clients have plans, and their plans deserve respect from this company!

I also recommend improving Budget processes. If Budget promises free shuttles, then they have to have the shuttles running as did the shuttles from other car rental companies.

If Budget confirms the reservation for a certain pick-up time, then Budget has to have a car available at the promised by them time!

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Incompetent Personel, Greedy Company
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA -- Two or three years ago I had very pleasant, courteous and professional experience with BUDGET in Sunnyvale, CA. And the price was right too. At that time, I decided to stay with BUDGET for my future needs. Disclaimer: I do need to rent a car once, sometimes twice a year. In other words, I am not a heavy user of the rent-a-car service(s).

My experience from Jan 14th, 2015: I needed a car for 5-7 days from Sunday Jan 11th, 2015 onwards. Called BUDGET's 800 number to make reservation. A lady on other side was very nice, polite, friendly and fast. Her name was Aisha, Usha or something similar - Japanese name. We agreed about the car (Ford Focus or similar). She gave me a quote for CCA $580, including full insurance, unlimited mileage and taxes. She said that cancellation of the reservation will cost me $10. If I do not pick up a car (or something similar) I have to pay $50. I agreed and gave her credit card number.

Unfortunately, my traveling plans changed before the pickup day. I needed to cancel or change the reservation. I was willing to pay $10 fee. Called 800 number. After many automated questions, I got on the phone a live person. I do not remember his name. His attitude, during the conversation was "I do not care about anything, I have to do what I am paid for." No friendliness, very annoying attitude.

On the bright side. He understood what I want to do. I wanted to change the reservation day from Sunday, Jan 11th. He said "No." He also said, "The full price is going to be $40 less than the original quote ($580)." I said, "Great, I like to Wednesday Jan 14th, 2015." He said, "No problem, I can do it for you." I asked him if I need to pay for the change outcome.

On Jan 14th 2015, I've showed up at the BUDGET office (San Jose International Airport) to pick up the car. The sales associate asked for the reservation number. I gave it to him. He checked his computer and said that I need to have another reservation number, because my reservation number was for the past Sunday Jan 11th 2015. I told him, I do not have any additional or new reservation number.

He said, in such a case, he will use the original reservation number to proceed with the process. The price is going to be $880 + $80 for GPS. Total of $960. I could not believe my ears. The price went $300 UP just because of the change of the pickup date. If I would have known that, when I changed the pickup date, I would cancel the reservation and go shopping elsewhere for the better price.

Reminder: the person, who made a change over the phone four days before, told me that the price is going to be $40 less than the original quote. I told sales associate that I am going to one of the competitors to get a better deal. Another reminder: I was at San Jose International airport where are CCA, 10 other Rent-a-Car offices in one row. He said, that I will not find a better deal, because today was a very busy day for all of them. Most of the cars in my category were gone. I said to myself... "Hmm this is a bummer."

Then I told him that I would like to talk to his manager. He said, "Ok...just wait, please, for a sec." Then I waited, 5 - 10 minutes. Nothing. I got bored and decided to talk to another car rental company (SIXT). The lady was very polite and friendly. She said, "Yes, we have car for rent, but not in Ford Focus price range. It is going to cost you $680 all included + GPS as a complimentary." So, I got 4-door BMW with GPS.

Went back to the BUDGET front desk. The manager did not show up yet. The initial sales representative was not there either. Few minutes later another gentleman came to the front desk. I thought... "Wow...great." This is the manager. I approached him and started to explain my case. He listened to for a minute, saying nothing. Then a lady next to him said, "No, he is not a manager. He is sales associate on training." Few minutes later the first sales associate came back (no manager yet) telling me that they cannot do anything to accommodate me. The price is $880.

I said to him "Ok, then please cancel my reservation." He answered, "No, I cannot do this. You have to talk to the company who gave you the reservation." I told him, "The company was the BUDGET and you work for BUDGET." He was firm. He said few times in a row, you have to call the company who gave you reservation. I wished him a nice day, left the BUDGET's desk and went to SIXT. Paid $680 to SIXT. Got a better car, paid $200 less than BUDGET and got GPS for free.

Came home, called BUDGET, one more time, to cancel the reservation. I explained to the gentleman the whole situation and asked for refund. He said, "Ok, I can cancel the reservation. It will cost you $50." Again, I could not believe what I heard. I told him that I was in the BUDGET's office to pick up the car on time. He still did want to waive the $50 fee. Then I asked him to transfer the call to his manager.

A nice person (Daryl) answered the phone. He was very polite, he listen to me, and he apologized for all troubles I had with their sales representatives. He also told me that I will get a full refund in 2-3 days. Conclusion: Stay away from BUDGET. You can spend your time better.

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Truck Rental
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

NEW JERSEY -- I reserved a rental truck from Budget and even received a reminder email on 11/26/2015 verifying and reminding me of my reservation **. When we went to pick up the reserved truck located at (Budget of Federal Way) 34225 Pacific Hwy S, Federal Way at 8:00 AM, the dealer was not open and was about 25 minutes late in doing so. Is this how you want Budget to be represented?

When they arrived at approximately 8:25 AM, we were told they did not have any trucks and could not help us. I was at the very least upset but it gets worse. I contacted your Corporate Customer Service at 800-455-1332 and I was literally told the same thing but they added, “Someone from Budget should have contacted you about not having a truck available.” These comments were made by a fleet manager, I believe his name was **. I did not get any phone call only the confirmation and reminder email. I was also reminded by ** to look at my rental contract.

Only a hint that Budget does not guarantee anything and it appears your contract is only downside for your customer. I trusted that I would get the service I expected. You should be ashamed!! I am a mid-level manager for a large corporation and if anyone that worked for me provided the same answers to our customers, I would at a minimum given them some sort of corrective action if not fired them.

While looking up the Budget Corporate office address, I noticed social media posts about Budget which I included in this envelope. Have you ever read these? You should be ashamed of the postings about Budget's poor service. I also realize that often time people do not share good experiences, only bad. I do share both bad and good. I have already signed up for a Twitter account so I can share my Budget experience with the world. I contacted Penske and they were very professional and found a truck for me.

I do not expect anything from Budget. You should be thankful that there are some people that share experiences with you so you can make things better, based on the social media postings that does appear it will happened. I will also contact my company's corporate Travel Manager about my Budget experience. I want to make sure others at our company do not, nor have the same experience while traveling as I did with a truck rental. I feel sorry for you, I am blessed to work for a company that cares for its customers. I do hope your admin gives this to you. My admin gives me the bad news too. I am still flabbergasted!!

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Worst Customer Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

WINDSOR LOCKS, FLORIDA -- I have NEVER interacted with such unknowledgeable staff or had such a difficult time retrieving information. When I placed my order online, I paid for the entire rental of the vehicle and was required to pay the "estimated taxes and fees" when I picked the vehicle up. When I arrived, the employee who was helping me informed me that my remaining charges were more than THREE times the "estimated taxes and fees."

When I asked how this could be, he simply said he didn't know. At this point, I asked to speak to a manager. Instead, he sent me to a different counter with another employee. This woman looked at my reservation and told me, "Can you read? It says estimate." I was irate. That is no way to speak to a customer. Again, I asked for a manager and was told that there was no manager on site.

I was appalled at the service I was receiving and wanted to cancel my order. However, they had already charged me before I signed for the payment. My card was charged, and there was "nothing we can do, ma'am." I became upset and asked for the keys so I could leave, deciding to worry about the situation later. After all, I was on vacation.

When I returned home, I received two more charges from Budget. I called the toll- free number to ask what they were for, and one woman told me that they were for tolls (which is understandable). Another woman told me I was incorrectly charged when I retrieved my vehicle so she refunded a little over $100. Each time I received a charge and called Budget, I asked to speak to a supervisor.

Each time, I was told that they were unavailable and would be called back. It has been two weeks, and I am still waiting. The service is unacceptable, and my entire experience was frustrating. I will never rent from Budget again, and I would certainly not recommend that anyone else does either.

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Ineffective Contract Modification Policy and Dealer Vetting
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

PARSIPPANY, NEW JERSEY -- We rented a truck for 5 days, things got complicated, and we needed to extend our contract 2 more days. I called the 1-800 number on the confirmation email that said "to cancel or change a reservation call..." The Budget phone representative said we need to change the contract with the dealer where we originally picked up the equipment. The dealer, who was asleep and unaware we were scheduled to pick up a truck on the day we went to get it, absolutely will not answer the phone, and we're no longer in that area so we can't go there again to wake him up and modify the contract.

I called Budget customer service back and told them the dealer doesn't answer the phone. Budget gave me an alternate phone number, which the dealer answered and told me he (1) doesn't know how to modify a contract and (2) can't get to his paperwork at that time because he has another job that prevents him from returning to the dealer/rental location. I called Budget customer service again - side note: customer service reps constantly transfer you back to the main menu and you have to make the selections all over again and explain everything to yet another customer service representative who says the same thing and transfers you again. I explained that the dealer is unable to access contracts at this time.

I told the representative I'm certain that Budget has access to the contracts because they're able to identify my reservation/contract number and they received payment, so why can't they update the contract themselves? Instead of resolving my request the representative was very judgmental of the dealer and stated that he's "unwilling" to handle my request. I clarified that the dealer did NOT say he's unwilling, he said he's unable, and that we don't know the circumstances for certain, and, furthermore, doesn't Budget have a procedure for when a dealer is clearly unable to fulfill a request, for example a hurricane or whatever?

Why doesn't Budget have a contract modification protocol for circumstances when the dealer can't/won't modify a contract?... Especially since Budget can access contracts and has far more employees and locations than a single dealer... Budget said they'll have their regional manager check up on the dealer, which is fine because a sleeping, unaware dealer wasn't really what I was expecting anyway, however, Budget NEEDS a procedure for contract management that DOES NOT INVOLVE THE DEALER.

ALSO, it seems inappropriate that, if customers DO need to arrange contract modifications with a dealer, WHY WOULDN'T IT BE THE RETURN LOCATION DEALER instead of the pick-up dealer? Just the runaround, failure to accept responsibility and failure to handle my request has been among the absolutely worst customer service experiences of my life.

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SCAM ST Thomas Virgin Islands
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

ST THOMAS -- I am writing to help others avoid the overcharge scam that I encounter through Budget rental at St. Thomas. I rented a vehicle through Costco travel membership and it was through Budget. Being a “bigger” chain rental vs a small island rental, I assumed all would be good. I was wrong. I got my vehicle at the Cyril King Airport and when picking up my vehicle she asked if I wanted the Loss Damage Waiver, to which I replied “no” she then indicated since my 23 year old son was underage I would need to sign and pay $20 a day(which I did even though he is a pilot and they rent to them without age restrictions), to which I signed the small signature device. Once we arrived at our place, I was looking at our contract and noticed we were also being charged an additional $ 34.99 per day. ($244.93). I also noticed they charged us $7.50 per day ($52.50) for the “additional driver” that Costco offers for free. I called Budge and was instructed they could not fix my issue prior to returning my vehicle and to continue my rental to term and dispute it AFTER we completed the rental. HOW CONVENIENT, because now they are indicating that the charges stand because my initials are in a box “that I signed” stating I wanted the Loss Damage Waiver. I explained that they verbally tell you what you are signing before you sign the box and that all 3 of us heard her specifically indicate that was for the underage driver. I explained that on my original rental agreement, it specifically shows I declined the Loss Damage Waiver. At this time, Budget indicated that the car rental at Cyril King Airport is independently owned and they can do as they desire. I indicated I would not have rented from Budget if they couldn't stand behind all their agreements, as I have heard of independent franchises “scamming” tourists for their own gain. I am disheartened that Budget would offer their name to a franchise that operates business this way. I am no longer going to use Budget for any future travel but want to warn others to avoid this scam. Look at your contract PRIOR to leaving the desk and learn not to trust businesses to operate ethically. Lesson learned.

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Horrible
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MARRERO, LOUISIANA -- I rented a moving truck from Budget on Aug 15th, 2015. I was moving from Louisiana to Texas. About an hour into my drive, the truck started smoking. I pulled over only to notice transmission fluid leaking terribly. I called their roadside assistance at 5:30 pm. They told me the ETA for a mechanic to come out was 9:00p. Around 9:30p no mechanic, so I called back only for them to tell me that the mechanic said he'd come and I'd abandoned the truck.

Mind you I was on I-10 in the middle of NOWHERE! Why would I, a female by herself risk walking on a dark interstate? Anyway at 12:00 midnight a wrecker came to recover their truck only because they thought I'd abandoned the truck. Little to their surprise I was still inside of the truck.

The wrecker took the truck to the truck yard and then brings me to a hotel to get a room for the night. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get a resolution from Budget. I was told that a mechanic will be there 7:00 am Sunday morning. Guess what? NO mechanic! I had to call my mom to come and find me on the highway to bring me to another moving truck company to rent another truck.

Once I got another truck, we had to unload the Budget truck onto the other truck (Very tiring by the way). I got a call from Budget around 11:00 am Sunday asking me what hotel am I at, just so they'll know, but she'll contact me later with an update on getting me another truck. By then I'd already purchased another truck from another company on my own.

Monday morning comes around 10:00 am, Budget called me again about an ETA on an mechanic coming for 3:00 pm. Are you kidding me?! Good thing I'd already gotten a new truck from another company or I'd probably still be sitting on the side of the road today which is Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. Budget is the worst company I have ever dealt with!

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Absolute Crooks!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- In May of this year, my wife and I rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee from Budget. It had less than 200 miles on it when we picked it up at SFO. After five days and about 800 miles, we returned it to the same lot at SFO. It was full of gas, that they initially tried to charge me for, but we got that straightened out before we headed to the terminal. After an inspection by the attendant, found no damages, we unloaded our luggage and went inside.

Now it's August. I received a call from the Claims Department telling me that I owed another $206 for damage to the windshield. I was never notified that the windshield was damaged, but they tried to tell me that in the summer heat, the windshield cracked because of damage that was done while I was driving. I asked if they had rented the car in the last three months to anyone else. I was told that they did rent it out, but it was my fault, even though the damage was never pointed out to me at the time I returned the call. I asked for **'s manager and he was conveniently at lunch at 3:00 in the afternoon, and he couldn't afford me the courtesy of a return call. What a joke.

I can't believe they are even in business if this is the way that they treat customers. I called the Budget office at SFO to get a copy of the damage report and the lady that I spoke to on the phone had no clue what I was talking about. She did send me another copy of my receipt, which showed no mention of damages, but she couldn't find any notes about damages. Like I said above, they are absolute crooks. They wait until 90 days after the rental and then try to steal from a customer.

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They keep tacking on charges
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

DENVER, COLORADO -- I rented a car at the Denver Airport at the end of May for one week. The car had not been cleaned and had trash still inside. There was a crack in the windshield and various scratches and dents on the exterior. I took pictures but was not able to find someone to speak to without going back inside and waiting in line, so I took the car and went on my way. When I dropped it off I was an hour and half late due to my plane flight back. When I got my charge, Budget charges another full day of rental for the car. I call and complained and they took $27 off a $60 charge. Now 3 and half months later, I noticed a $187 charge on my credit card from Budget with no explanation. I thought that someone had stolen my credit card number, so I called Budget and ask what the charge was for. To my disbelief, the man said that it was for a broken window which was already cracked when I picked the car up. I told the man that and that I had taken pictures of all the damage when I picked up the car because I could not believe how bad of shape the vehicle was in. Luckily the picture of the windshield was still on my phone. The man asks me to email it to the company and they would investigate. I will never use Budget again or Avis since they are both owned by the same holding company.

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Budget Rent-A-Car Rating:
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1.4 out of 5, based on 46 ratings and
162 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Budget Rent-A-Car
Customer Relations Mgr, PO Box 111580,
Carrollton, TX 75011-1580
800-214-6094 (ph)
www.drivebudget.com
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