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Alamo Complaint - Additional Driver Scam with Priceline in Hawaii - Car Rental In Hawaii
Car Rental In Hawaii - Complaint
KONA, HAWAII -- We reserved a 2-week rental car via Priceline and were "accepted" by Alamo. When we got to Kona, they wanted an additional $9.99 to add a 62 year-old spouse as an authorized driver (much more with airport charges etc.) -- effectively converting a $18 a day rental to a $28 a day rental (high for two weeks). We complained like crazy to Priceline which claimed no responsibility because they booked a single driver rental (your only choice on Priceline)--even when we asked if they thought a $100 a day extra driver charge by Alamo might be their business. (Many companies do not charge extra in order to permit driving by a spouse.) We tried for two days to get by without my wife driving the car but finally went back to airport and paid up. We were third in line and waited half an hour. When we turned car in, every single person on the Alamo shuttle was telling a story about the reasons they would never use Alamo again. Most about waiting more than an hour to pick up a car at the tiny Kona airport. Morals: Don't use Priceline or Hotwire in Kona if you want a second driver--it's a bait and switch consumer fraud. If you book a tour, specify that you don't want Alamo and specify that reservation must cover the needed authorized drivers for the car rental. Want to ignore this? There is a saying: Fool me once: Shame on You. Fool me Twice: Shame on Me. --Jeff Strathmeyer
Comments:
Posted by Hugh_Jorgen on 2006-11-09:
I wish people would learn the meaning of "bait and switch". But back to the issue at hand - I rent cars frequently and I don't know of a single major car rental company that doesn't charge for extra drivers - it's a revenue maker for them, just like insurance and $5/gal gasoline if you decide to let them fuel it for you.
Posted by Skye on 2006-11-09:
Anytime my husband and I rented a car, they always charged extra for an extra driver. Why not just make the car rental reservations yourself, instead of going through Priceline. I still don't understand why people use this service, when you can do it yourself, and more then likely not be dealt the bait and switch. And always fill the gas tank up yourself when you return the car, unless you want to pay what price hugh is mentioning.
Posted by Jim B on 2007-05-25:
Very interesting. I just ran into the EXACTLY the same thing in KONA Alamo last week. I have rented many ALAMO cars and was always told that my same-sex partner could drive for free just like a spouse would. This has ALWAYS happened to me at ALAMO. Last week I was told in KONA that ALAMO just changed its policy and that my partner had to pay $9 a day to drive as well. Interesting!
Posted by Jeff in Pleasant Hill on 2007-05-27:
Following up on my original comment: The June 2006 issue of Budget Travel had an article on additional driver charges for car rentals. According to the article many companies do not charge extra for spouses or domestic partners. Other companyies don't charge if you belong to the company's frequent renter's club or a lot of other organizations such as AAA or AARP. Alamo is in the latter category. So you may avoid the charge at Alamo if you reserve directly with them, but get nailed if you use Priceline or have purchased a package vacation. Of course you will probably pay less for the car if you use Priceline.
--Jeff
--Jeff
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