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Budget Rent-A-Car Truck Rentals Consumer Reviews - Page 2

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Crooks and Scammers
By -

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- I called on 5/29 in regards to renting a 24' truck. An employee at the 2000 South Western location in Chicago said that he had one and I could come get it. I was relieved because I had tried 3 location before that one. I showed up with my father and we walked into the office and ** had me complete all the paperwork in his office trailer except the damage inspection report. He informed me that all vehicles are on a full tank of gas and that they must be returned on a full tank or I will be charged for filling it up.

After completing the paperwork, he then took me outside to the lot behind the trailer and unlocked the gate where the truck was kept. This was the only truck in the lot. We walked around the vehicle and he pointed on the dents and notated it on the paper. He had me sign the damage form and handed me the keys and asked if I needed to be guided out. I said yes, because this is the first time I've driven a truck this big.

I got in and was really nervous but he guided me out and after pulling off the lot. I seen that the gas tank was just a little over a 1/4 of a tank. I called ** from my cell phone immediately and informed him that he had me sign for a full tank but there was only a 1/4 tank in there. He said "Really?... I'm sorry I don't know how that happened. Don't worry about it, just let them know when you turn it in." I was leery of the situation and I asked was he sure. He said "You'll be fine... Have them call me if you have any problems. I'm always here." I hung-up then called back again because I remembered that he forgot the hand truck.

He was really apologetic and instructed me to come on back. My father and I came back and ** met us on the side with the hand truck. I asked if he could give me any paperwork to make sure I would be cool with the gas and he said, "Don't worry, you'll be okay. If they give you a hard time, just call me."

We packed the truck and hit the road at about 4:30am the next morning. The ride was long but we made it to Atlanta at about 7:30pm on 5/30/08. We unloaded the truck the next day but we didn't finish until after close of business at the Destination Dealer. I wanted to just drop the truck off at the location but my intuition made me want to make sure we wouldn't have any issues with the gas. Therefore, I waited until Monday at 2:45 (EST) to drop it off.

I informed the dealer of the gas situation and they shook their head and said that they'll call the Dispatching Dealer but once you sign for it you're stuck. This let me know this is not an abnormal thing that happens. He said he would call back to Chicago. When he did, they said they didn't remember anything but they would check the paperwork.

The guy on the phone also said that may be it was his brother who rented it out. However, it sounded like ** because I was on the line. He came back and said he remembers the hand truck but nothing about the gas. I became furious and still am. I called Customer Service and they weren't very helpful. They said if the Dispatching Dealer denies it, there's nothing they can do. (I was speaking with **.) I was really upset and I asked to speak to a manager.

She said she was transferring me, however, I was on hold so long that I ran out of minutes on my phone. To make a long story short, they still charged me more than $100 in gas plus a $25 fee and they were not motivated at all about talking to their dishonest employee about it.

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$150.00 Security Deposit That Has Not Been Sent To Me
By -

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- I rented a Budget rental truck in Maine to move my belongings to New Hampshire. When I picked up the truck rental in Maine I put a cash deposit of $150.00. I was told by an employee of Budget in Maine to make sure I received that back In cash when dropping the truck off.

A couple of days later I dropped the vehicle off In New Hampshire, told the man I would like my deposit In cash since that is the way I had paid it. He said he did not have any cash In his draw to pay me my deposit. He then said he would send a check. I asked If could speak to someone above him because I could not understand how it was that this man did not have the cash in his draw to give me when he was also running an auto mobile repair shop, gas station, moving company and Budget Truck Rental services.

His mother then got up out of the chair she was sitting in, got In my face and said she was the owner. The son then said that he in fact was the owner. I told the son fine just send me my check In the mail. I then told a friend of mine what had just happened because I found It odd that the mother and son both said they were owners then the sons correcting the mother saying he the owner.

At this point I did not care who was the owner. I just wanted my deposit back, so my friend then entered the business to try to get my deposit refunded. I was watching from inside the car and I could see this woman In my friends face. I then tried to contact local police and was unsuccessful in reaching an operator because It turns out this woman had tried pushing my friend out of the store and then slammed the door in her face.

I then called Budget Truck Rentals customer service line and was told an investigation would be established. I have not heard anything back from them, so I took It upon myself to call Budget's customer service to find out what was going on with this investigation and they said "it's he said", "she said" - that there's nothing they can do.

I have been calling Budget's Customer service line every week now to find out where my deposit is and their response is that on their records it shows the check was sent out to me and is on it's way. I live less than a mile from where I dropped off the truck. I find It really hard to believe that it can take longer than two weeks for a check to arrive to my location.

Budget truck told me that I have to wait another two weeks before they can do anything, meaning I have to wait an entire month before they can do anything about the matter. I just want my $150.00 this whole thing is ridiculous. I will never rent from Budget again and their Customer service does not service. I find them to be very rude and unhelpful.

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(Cont.) Budget Worcester MA had overcharged me - some "funny" facts
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WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS -- This is updates for my post that Budget has overcharged me twice. Since the last post in Oct 7 and more update in Oct 12 and 13, until today Oct 20, I was paid back $50 for no-show fee charged by Budget Denver, CO - that's all. I have sent by fax my letter, a print copy of my reservation online email, and a copy of my rental agreement with Budget Worcester, MA written in Sept 23, 2005 to **. This is the third time I have sent my papers to Budget Truck Rental Customer Service. The first time was sent to an officer name Tommie- however she didn't answer me back even though she said that she would call me when she receive my fax.

I had to call Budget Customer Service again and was told to send my papers the second time to an officer name Beth. She also didn't answer me back. I called again and at this time I talked to a woman who spoke very slowly and deeply like a male voice- I only remember that her name is started with "D"- like Dilma, or something like that. She had taken all my papers but didn't read those carefully. Despite my papers in her hands, she questioned me rudely, told me to be insistent with Budget Worcester, MA in order to get the new reservation number that Budget Worcester, MA had made up in September 23.

She also told me that Budget Worcester, MA had written a local rental agreement for me, then she hung up on me. However, in my rental agreement, it was written very clearly my drop-off location in Washington DC. (she didn't look at my papers at all!!) Every time I called Budget Customer Service, I was always told that my rental could not be found out- or there's no information about my rental. Seriously, some officers told me that the truck I had rented was in fact rented by FedEx since some months ago. It sounded like I was the one who made up a rental agreement or I stole the truck from FedEx.

After numbers of calls to Budget Worcester, MA, I was told that I needed to talk to **, the manager of that agency, since he was the person who has written the rental for me. I had tried to contact Budget Worcester, MA in Sept 26, in three times, but I was always told that ** wasn't at the office. Anyway, I had contacted Budget Worcester, MA again in October 17. After many times tried to contact **- the manager of Budget Worcester, MA- in October 13, 14, and 15. For the third time calling Budget Worcester, MA (he wasn't at the office before at 8AM, at 9AM, until 10AM- as I was told every time I had called in).

I heard him talking with the officer who was on the phone with me: "About what?" he asked the person who was on the phone with me. This person told him that I was calling in about my one way truck rental was overcharged. And, not surprised me, ** told his officer that "tell her that I am not here! Tell her to call back one hour later." That's all I had heard on the phone.

I am very unsatisfied with this agency and the way the manager treats Budget clients. I hope that at this time, **- or you or someone at Budget Customer Service will help me. I do honestly think that **- the manager of Budget Worcester, MA- had taken my money for himself after seeing in the Budget Rental Database that I was charged $50 for no-show fee already.

I do really think that that is the reason why he always refuses to talk to me or anyone about my rental reservation number, or why my rental agreement has not been found in Budget Database, because it has never been in any database, and because it was still considered as rented by FedEx. I am thinking of calling ** for help from Tom Martino and his talk show. I think that Budget Worcester, MA at 500 Lincoln Street is needed to bring up to the air for the manager's behaviors. Thanks for reading my long posts.

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Do Not Rent From Budget
By -

PARSIPANNY, NEW JERSEY -- As many other reviewers have said, Budget truck rental is horrible. Here is my experience: I rented a 10' truck for 5 days for a move from Denver to Chicago with pickup and dropoff times at 3pm. On the day of pickup, I called the dealer and asked if it would be possible to pick up the truck early. They said "sure, come on in." When I got there they only had a 16' truck and failed to mention that until I brought it up.

Their response was, "The two trucks have the same gas mileage. You can call around for a 10' truck if you want." They claim that a 16' and 10' truck have the same gas mileage is BS. I did not need all that space and the extra hassle of driving a larger truck so I called around for a 10'. In the end, I got stuck with the 16' truck because no other locations had a 10' truck. What use is a reservation if it reserves nothing?

On the day of the return, we show up to the return dealer at 2pm to find that they are closed. There was another person there trying to drop off a truck as well as someone trying to PICK UP a truck they had RESERVED! I called the store and they tell me that I would have to drop off the truck at another location that was open and had parking space. Frustrated, but wanting to leave the truck in a safe spot, I drove to the next location and found that it too was closed. At this point I left the truck there and dropped the keys through the key return.

A week later, I find an extra $150 charge on my credit card. I called Budget and was informed that this charge was for an extra day's rental. Apparently, by picking up the truck early, I had moved my RESERVED return time to the earlier time. Had I known this would happen, I would have waited to pick up the truck. But I'll accept that as my fault for not reading the fine print of the new contract that was printed. Apparently, the word RESERVED means nothing to Budget.

**, the woman I spoke to at Budget customer service informed me that there was nothing that they could do because, "The rentals are on a 24 hour cycle." When I asked if there was a manager I could speak to about it, she said, "There's nobody else you can talk to" and HUNG UP on me. Even allowing for my mistake of not reading the changed contract, the customer service of Budget is unacceptable. Failing to uphold reservations and treating customers like a chore. NEVER RENT FROM BUDGET! Save some time, money, and hassle and go with another company.

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Budget Truck Rental - Unreliable, unethical and dishonest
By -

CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS -- I called Budget for an estimate on a 10 foot truck rental. The customer representative gave a reasonable price and I made a reservation. When I went to the pick-up location to get the truck I was told that they did not have a ten foot truck available and that they would then give me a sixteen foot for the same price. However, my move was small, I didn't have enough to fill up a 16' truck and, more importantly, I did not want to pay for gas for such a big truck. (About $130 to fill the tank).

The representative at the location said "This [not having the reserved truck] happens all the time" and that "the phone reservation representatives do this on purpose to rent the bigger trucks." I asked him to check on other close locations for a truck with the description I reserved. He checked and said none of the locations within 50 miles had one. Therefore, I told him to cancel everything and that I was very upset because I had my move all planned and packed. He then tells me that he will cancel but that I would lose the deposit money.

Unbelievable, right? I know! I told him I would not pay one cent to this terrible, dishonest company. He kept saying that the computer system simply would charge my card and there was nothing he could do. I called and complained until the phone representative told me she would remove the charges.

Budget is UNRELIABLE and has a terrible customer service. Do not count on them for a rental. They are likely to leave you hanging and you are likely to have to change all your plans. Also, after not meeting your expectations, they might charge you for a service they failed to provide.

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Nightmare Truck Rental Experience
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I recently rented a 10' truck from Budget and had a horrible experience with the drop-off. They have few if any 24-hour drop-off facilities, and their after-hours drop off arrangements can be horrible. The pickup was friendly and convenient. I had previously used U-Haul, but decided to try them because the pickup location was closer. However, when it came time to drop off the truck, that is when the nightmare began.

I was unloading the truck at one location and was planning the drop off the truck nearby and then drive home in our car (another 120 miles). Our unloading took longer than expected, and I needed to make an after-hours drop off. I called the drop-off location as required and the person answering the phone told me to park the truck in their lot and leave the keys and rental agreement in their box. He said the guy who handled the trucks wasn't available just then, but agreed to have him call me back.

I never did get a call back, and when I called before their closing time, their phone line seemed to be out of order. Anyway, I went on over to their address with the truck with my wife following behind me in our car. When we got there, it was in a seedy part of town with a locked gate all around the property. There was absolutely no place to drop off the truck.

I called Budget customer service and they directed me to a different address. This one turned out to be located in an even seedier part of town (hard to believe) and when I got to the address, there was nothing there. Finally, I gave up and just drove all the way home with the empty truck and my wife following behind me.

The next day I return the truck to a place local to my home only to find out that the extra charges totaled up to be two times the original cost of the rental. The man at this location called to my original drop-off location and this time the person answering said they didn't have an after-hours drop off, but that you could leave the truck there and come back in the morning. What good is that?

Having used U-Haul before, I doubt something like this would have happened with another company. At least other companies have drop off locations with longer business hours (some are 24-hour locations) and in better parts of town. I will never go with Budget for a truck rental again.

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Please, & Please Trust Me - Don't Use Budget !!! -- Zero Rating
By -

I am an active military member. I trusted Budget Truck Rental on my PCS move on May this year. Many problems: The car dolly broke down. They replaced it, but after driving 30 minutes to another location that had a different car towing unit that wasn't the one I initially rented, in other words, a downgrade. Decided to return the truck & equipment on a different location, of course, calling their "Customer Service" staff first complying with my responsibility of providing w/ enough notification in advance.

They accepted the change in the returning location because of the inconvenience that we had with the towing unit at first. After returning it, I called them once again to make sure I was clear w/ them. They responded that they will get the "clear" from that returning location (Budget authorized, of course) a day or two later. A day or two later I called again, their computer showed that I returned the whole package (truck & towing unit) making clear that nothing further was needed from me.

After that, BUDGET SENT ME TO THEIR COLLECTION AGENCY CLAIMING OVER $700, FOR A UNIT THEY NOW CLAIM THAT "WASN'T RETURNED" - after their so CUSTOMER DIS-ORIENTED staff (3 different ones who could not have any history on my case since day 1, so that other customer representative could identify my case/needs) closed the agreement, did not refunded the difference of the towing unit downgrade, and did not refunded the balance of the deposit as agreed.

This is such an aggravating inconvenience. I truly do not wish that happen to any of you reading this may be inquiring for some feedback of this company before deciding to make business with this people. Please don't, please. Nowadays, a lot of people are trying their best to sneak some extra money, affecting honest people that trust a name wrongfully; not expecting this kind of aggravation.

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Avoid if Possible
By -

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- I'm not much of an internet reviewer, but this place treated me so poorly that I've decided to create an account here just to let others know. The person with whom I spoke by phone was quite friendly and willing to alter my arrangements from a car dolly to a car carrier at the last minute. Though he wouldn't quote me a firm price by phone, it ended up being pretty reasonable. The morning of my rental, though, he called at 11:00 am and demanded to know whether or not I was coming for the truck, since he had other people interested. I said yes, thinking that this is why we called it a "reservation".

When I did pick up the truck and started to drive it off the lot I saw that the gas gauge was on empty. I immediately returned and complained. He told me just to have the place where I dropped it off call him. This is exactly what he told another internet reviewer who ended up having to pay to have it filled, so I made him write "empty" on the paperwork and sign it. (Thankfully, this ended up being sufficient for the people where I dropped the truck off.)

Despite his friendly demeanor, ** failed to give me any instructions (including the brochure that I later learned I was supposed to get) for loading the car onto the car carrier, which meant that we spent a ridiculous amount of time getting it secured. (We ultimately had to drive to another Budget garage that was open at 3:00 am to get it secured. Thank God for those guys.)

Finally, when I got to my destination, I realized that all the rubbish on the car carrier that I had ignored that morning was actually roofing tiles, including a number of nails (at least one of which was sticking straight up). Somehow I avoided a flat tire, but God only knows how. Concluding thoughts? This place should be your last resort for truck rentals. If you have to go with them, be prepared.

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Budget Truck Rental / Arlington Motor Sports
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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS -- DO NOT RENT A TRUCK FROM BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL VIA ARLINGTON MOTOR SPORTS IN ARLINGTON HEIGHTS ILLINOIS. They are rude to their customers and are possibly scamming the average consumer. We recently moved and decided that Budget truck rental would meet our needs. The truck was fine but the service was absolutely horrible. We had scheduled for the truck to be picked up at 9:30 am. When I arrived the employees were just getting to work and slowly looking over the truck.

At about 9:45 a worker took the truck and drove to get fuel. 20 minutes later, The worker returned and I received the truck. I was instructed to return the truck with a full tank. So our move started with just a minor glitch of the truck being late. No big deal. During the move I drove approximately 25 miles. That includes the distance to and from the rental facility Arlington Motor Sports (which will be receiving their own review). I fueled the truck up (diesel) with 3.8 gallons and returned the truck at night and left the keys in the drop box.

The next day I called to find out the total for the bill. The lady says "Oh you're the guy who didn't fill the truck up and is getting charged $30.00 fee plus the cost of 7 gallons of diesel." I responded by saying I did fill it up and I did a visual check and it was full. She starts screaming at me asking if I want to talk to the guy that drives the truck to the gas station. No that's OK I just don't want to pay for something that I know is unwarranted.

I filled it up. Check the mileage. I don't think a truck could use 7 gallons in 25 miles. She continued screaming and being very very rude. A manager took off the $30 charge but they still charged me for the fuel. Since I was moving I didn't have time to argue over the cost of the fuel but I am going to call Budget's corporate office to see if I can straighten this out. I advise everyone DO NOT RENT A TRUCK FROM BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL VIA ARLINGTON MOTOR SPORTS IN ARLINGTON HEIGHTS ILLINOIS. They are rude to their customers and are possibly scamming the average consumer.

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Budget Truck Break Down No Help For 11 Hours
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA -- My son rented a Budget truck in OKC, OK. 20 miles from OKC, it broke down. When he called the office where he rented the truck the woman said "I gave you a blue book in which it had the road assistance info." He replied he had received no such booklet. Her response was, "I give this book to everyone" and immediately hung up on him. He is broken down in their defective truck filled with his household goods and this is her response.

He eventually got the road assistance number from another source and after finally reaching them, was told it would be 4 hours before they could deliver another truck to his location. After waiting 4 hours and no truck. He started calling repeatedly and at that point Budget Road Assistance would tell him someone was on the way within the next hour. This went on for 10 hours.

At this point it is very dark and getting dangerous. Finally someone showed up at 9:30 PM. (His first call to Budget Road Assistance was made @ 11:30 AM.) The repairman said he was told he had a dead battery (which was not true, as the battery turned over just fine). After fiddling around on the engine, the repairman said he could not fix the problem and he would have to be towed. To call Budget Road Assistance and have them get a tow truck.

My son knew this was a laugh, as no one would ever show up. He prevailed on the repairman to please not leave him stuck out there. This man took mercy and called a friend that had a tow truck that could haul this Budget Truck. One hour later the tow truck arrived and the tow man dropped him and the truck off at a Motel.

The next morning, he called this sarcastic witch that had hung up on him the day before and asked when he could expect a replacement truck. She said they had none and did not know when one would be available. At this point, he had no choice but to call a moving company to come get his goods out of this faulty truck and move them for him. He had started a new job in Arkansas and was due to be to work and could not wait around to receive another faulty truck that might again break down on him. This is the attitude of Budget Truck Rental. Always, always, get PENSKI.

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Budget Rent-A-Car Truck Rentals Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.0 out of 5, based on 7 ratings and
40 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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