Budget Rent-A-Car Truck Rentals Consumer Reviews - Page 3

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- I was quoted $307 for both truck $ tow dolly over the phone - the reason I went with Budget. Upon pickup I was charged $600. Apparently the $307 "estimate" I received upon giving Budget my credit card over the phone didn't include a 150 deposit I wasn't told of, or a $50 unexplained charge (later I was told it would be refunded but I haven't yet received it). The unexpected cost of the rental overdrew my bank account and I was unable to refill the tank upon return. I returned the vehicle to the location which could never be reached by phone, not even by their own "customer service", dropped the key off, and still fully expected some form of credit from Budget.

Finally a rude foreign man called me - it was AutoMotriz Monterrey, the people with a tiny fenced in shack under a railroad track in Chicago - who don't ever answer their phone. He told me to come refuel the tank or I wouldn't get my $150 deposit back. I explained that this was an outrageous cost for a tank of gas, especially since I rightly feel I was overcharged in the first place - not even Penske charges what I've paid so far to Budget Rental. The foreign man commented that I came from Ohio laughing "This isn't Kansas anymore" and proceeded to hang up on me.

I called and requested a supervisor AGAIN, and got ** who refused to give out her direct line, and had no skill in customer satisfaction but pointed out basically that the location can charge what they want for gas and that $150 sounded about right to her. She refused to report my grievance against the location that laughed and hung up on me, saying "You can only file one complaint and you've already filed one". Then I discovered ** was not a "supervisor" as she presented herself, but was in a call center somewhere - her words. And then, ** hung up on me.

I just checked my bank account, still no 50 dollars for being overcharged on insurance. And now, Automotriz Monterrey has charged me NINETY more dollars on TOP of pocketing my deposit. I guess I made him mad when I said he was running a scam operation and decided to charge me even more. Today it cost me at least $690 to rent a budget truck and so much time, energy, and frustration. Horrible customer service. The worst. U-Haul isn't any better either. Next time I'm going with Penske...

MIAMISBURG, OHIO -- Sept 14 I rented a 10' truck, and returned it Sept 17, as agreed. I thought this would be a clean, simple transaction. No. Budget blocks $xx amount on your charge card to cover the rental, and when it's turned in, they subtract the deposit and then actually apply the charge to your card. Well, the guy waiting on me began helping someone else at the same time, and applied THEIR $570 block to my card instead of theirs! Budget will only offer a verbal apology HOWEVER, I've gone a full week in a new location three states from where I moved without being able to use what SHOULD HAVE BEEN OPEN TO ME ON MY CREDIT CARD!!

The FIRST clue I had something was messed up was the first time I stopped for gas; in front of a store of people the clerk informed me that my card was declined!! Not just a little embarrassing! I couldn't believe and had him run it through again, as I should have had over $600 open on my card, in spite of the block for my rental truck.

Their error left me with NO MONEY to pay for gas, groceries, etc until the block fell off!! And I didn't learn this from Budget! NO!! I learned it a full week after my move from US Bank, where I have my card!! THEY looked into the situation and called to tell me there were TWO blocks on my card, BOTH from BUDGET RENTAL. This has been a major inconvenience to me, and it's taken me over a week to find out exactly what happened.

The person in Customer Svc at Budget said "Why didn't you call us right away?" I told her "because I didn't learn it was YOUR screw up till yesterday from the BANK!" All she offered was an apology and to say they would file a complaint against their facility where I rented the truck. Right. I bet that'll happen! And if it does, it'll be blown off! She did NOT care about what had occurred to my finances nor the problems I'm still having because of it. Budget doesn't care about how it mangles its customers' credit cards.

I will be letting a lot of folks know how Budget helped themselves to my open balance on my credit card. I was very lucky I was able to borrow the money to get THEIR FLIPPIN TRUCK back to where it was to be returned in another state!! While the blockage has now been removed, I am left with paying people back (they don't take credit cards!!!) for helping me out when it should not have been needed... had Budget not been careless with MY credit card!!!

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK -- I rented a 14 foot truck on April 1st 2007 to move. The problem wasn't with the truck but the seatbelt and the subsequent response or lack thereof I got after. Upon pulling up to my new residence, my friend who was helping me move and sitting in the passenger seat tried to unbuckle the seatbelt and it would not disengage. He is a bigger guy, around 275lbs. and there was not any slack to wiggle his way out of.

While trying to manipulate the belt, it became tighter and my friend began to feel light headed, claustrophobic and was having a bit of a hard time breathing, after several attempts to unbuckle, our only alternative was to cut the belt with a razor blade that my new landlord grabbed from his set of tools. I notified Budget via note that I slipped in the box with the keys and agreement.

When I stopped there the next day, six hours into the day the agent had not yet notified her boss but sat on her chair like a bump on the log, staring at the wall when I walked in. I left a message on her manager's v mail the next day and when she finally returned the call, she had no idea that the incident occurred but did not offer an apology but did say they may charge me for the belt.

I suppose it is reasonable to expect the seat belt to malfunction when you rent a vehicle. What if I crashed or the truck started on fire? My best friend could have been killed or maimed but that did not seem to cross her mind. The following day 04-04-07. Maria ** called me to tell me the truck was being looked over by an "independent" repair person and "if" the seatbelt was not deemed defective. I would be charged for it.

This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. I know this is not a normal occurrence but the research that I have done today on the internet, cites several instances of seat belt malfunction and wear and tear, just as any other component of your vehicle and many seat belts are replaced. This company has insulted common intelligence of the consumer and I would not advocate using their rental vehicles anywhere in WNY as apparently Maria ** is the area rep/manager and complaints and other issues are handled by her.

SAVANNAH, SOUTH CAROLINA -- We picked up a Nissan Versa at Savannah airport, took pictures but didn't notice the license plates were expiring the next day (there were temporary plates on the car). We noticed the plates once we got to our resort on Hilton Head, and since we were going to Charleston the next day I called Budget to see what we should do. Budget said the closest place we could go was the Hilton Head Island Airport, which was great - only 2 miles away. They said nothing else.

I drove the car to Hilton Head's airport, and the woman there was short, rude and downright insulting. She made it clear (or tried to, I didn't really care) that the Budget at Savannah's airport was Corporate and this location was "private" and she was doing ME a favor by accommodating me. She said I would need to fill the car up with gas if it wasn't full when I returned it.

She refused to call corporate or anyone for that matter so I did and made it clear I was NOT paying for any $9/gallon charge. I'm still not sure why I was on the hook for Budget's mistake. She was so snide and condescending afterwards. If this is how they treat customers, it will be worth it to pay extra to not have to deal with Budget ever again.

My brother and I confirmed out 16-foot truck via Budget 3 days BEFORE we needed it. Confirmation number was issued and we gave credit card #. We were to pick it up at Whitey's Auto Body in Medina, OH. Owner called as we were leaving to pick it up. No truck! Huh?? We spent over 5 hours with customer service. No truck since it was Labor Day Weekend. And what good is a confirmation? Absolutely none. They were not helpful and do not take responsibility. Do not use Budget!! I will never use Budget again. They could not even locate us a truck in the entire state. They are useless and liars besides.

Everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong with a Budget Rent a Truck reservation. First, their website doesn't return a receipt to your email account. The time you request to pick up the truck means nothing. After an hour waiting with only one employee on duty, the truck I reserved wasn't available. Instead of a ten foot truck, I was handed keys to a 24 foot truck. The larger truck was in terrible condition, and the engine vibrated violently and quit several times along the way.

When returning the truck, the unbelievably rude employee (still the only one working at the Orange City, FL, location) argued about the condition of the truck and couldn't answer any questions, which included whether the mileage qualified for the discount code shown online, what taxes were charged on the bill, or even why the mileage being charged conflicted with what was recorded at the time the truck was rented. When I complained both by telephone to the corporate office and online for the unprofessional treatment and being overcharged and for being provided an unsafe vehicle, there was no response at all (this was almost two weeks ago).

Budget is a terrible rental agency, and this makes two horrible experiences in a row. The last time I rented a car, Budget again didn't have the car and fixed me up with a much smaller vehicle that also vibrated terribly and had to be returned within ten minutes and the rental agreement canceled. Don't waste your money or your time; find a much better and more ethical rental company unless you enjoy pain, suffering, and terrible treatment.

Customer service doesn't get any worse. I reserved a truck online with Budget on Aug. 15 for Sept 3. On Aug. 25, I called the location only to find it had no trucks for over a month. When I called Budget to complain, they did not try to help me and said the reservation does not guarantee a truck will be available. I tried calling corporate headquarters and even with my reporting skills, I could not reach a real live person. I finally got a call back from a media relations representative at Budget who said again they don't guarantee a truck will be available. The only help she offered was suggesting I try a competitor. There are a lot of bosses who would fire her for that.

DO NOT USE BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL!! My friend reserved a truck to move out of state weeks in advance. Yesterday he called and confirmed his reservation. I took him to get his truck this morning only to find out that Budget had overbooked their reservations (10 trucks and 24 reservations!). We then found out that every Budget center in Austin (where we live) was overbooked, and that this is a common practice for Budget.

My friend spent almost an hour on the phone with Budget "customer service", only to have the terms and conditions curtly cited to him by a less than helpful or compassionate representative (a reservation only guarantees the rate, not the size of truck or that one will be available). If moving is not stressful enough already, add to the mix scrambling last minute to find a moving truck and you are well on your way to an unfortunate comedy of errors. SAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE! SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY WITH ANOTHER COMPANY AND REST AT PEACE KNOWING YOUR TRUCK WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU!!

Do not rent from this place. My husband and I rented, while trying to move. I am 9 mos pregnant, so our rental needed to take a few days longer. The manager came out, took the truck, charged us over $900 for nothing (our rental rate was about $15/day), took our belongings on the truck, and trumped up a bogus accident claim for a dent on the bumper that was there.

We are talking to legal counsel now, as the charges are trumped up. They've debited vast amounts of money out of our account, and the manager seemed like he truly had an issue with us due to our race! It is the most awful experience we've ever had. These guys are lunatics and low-lives who try to prey on customers. As soon as I have the baby, we will be pursuing this full force to make sure they never do this to anyone again. He took our TV, and gave me (9 mos pregnant) the option to lift it off the truck if I liked!!!

Please take my advice and do not use Budget if you want to rent a truck. They lie to you and misinform you of the drop and pickup times. I picked up a truck in Queens, NY. They said you can drop it off by 5PM on Sunday, however, when I went to drop off the truck in Braintree, MA, they close before 5 PM. When I called the Braintree location, they said just leave the truck outside with the keys and paperwork and you will not be charged a late fee.

When I received my bill there was a $125 late charge! I called customer service to complain. Their response was, we spoke with someone in the Braintree location and they remember telling me they could only waive a $10 fee for drop-off.

How could someone remember our conversation two weeks later, when all they wanted was to get me off the phone. They didn't care about any late fees I was going to incur. The customer service attendant was rude and did not listen to anything I had to say. They definitely do not follow the policy that the customer is always right! Avoid BUDGET at all cost. It's not worth dealing with them no matter how good of a deal they are promoting!