CAR RENTAL PROBLEMS

Consumer Rescue often receives requests for help from our readers who have found themselves fighting a car rental agency over expensive problems or mistakes encountered during their rentals.  These stories are their experiences and our advocacy team’s attempts to fix their problem.

car rental might not have unlimited miles, car rental mistakes

Warning: Your rental car may not come with unlimited miles

by

Richard Wallerstein and his wife made an expensive car rental mistake when they assumed their reservation included unlimited miles. It didn’t. Unfortunately, they discovered the zero mileage allotment on their rented SUV only after they completed a 1,150-mile road trip.

If you’re like the Wallersteins, you may be unaware that not every rental car comes with unlimited miles. Their tale is a reminder that when making your own reservations, it’s important to pay careful attention to all details. The information this couple needed was in plain sight — if only they had looked — before they took their lengthy road trip.

Oregon coast, road trip down the Oregon coast, ocean and flowers to see on a road trip in a rental car.

Budget charged me twice for the same car rental! Can you help?

by

Eileen Wendorf says a Budget mistake caused her to pay twice for the same car rental. She wants her money back. But there’s a big problem with her discovery — it occurred nearly seven months after she returned the vehicle.

Now she’s asking our advocacy team to convince Budget of its expensive billing mistake and retrieve her $426. Can we do it?

This rental car went missing after it was towed. Now what?

My rental car was towed after an accident — now it’s missing!

by

Traveling through the mountains of Colorado at dusk during a snowstorm, Annoris Perez suddenly lost control of her rental car. She was shaken but unharmed. The vehicle? Not so lucky. The rental car was towed from the accident scene, and she assumed she was no longer responsible for it.

She was wrong.

Weeks later, when the rental company called asking for its missing vehicle, Annoris found out just how wrong. Now, she needs our team’s help to determine what happened to her rental car after the driver towed it away.

Hertz sent a customer to collections after it offered him a goodwill gesture. The car rental began and ended in Seattle, Washington.

Can Hertz give a goodwill gesture and still send you to collections?

by

Hertz customer Aaron Baird made a costly mistake during his last car rental. Because he returned the vehicle to the wrong location, the car rental giant slapped him with a $780 upcharge. Ultimately, in the spirit of positive customer relations, Hertz offered Aaron a goodwill gesture and erased the debt.

Lesson learned, and all was well – or so Aaron thought.

A few weeks after Hertz offered the goodwill gesture, a different department within the company resurrected the invoice. That Hertz team sent Aaron’s account to collections and put him on the Do Not Rent (DNR) list.

What happens if a drunk driver demolishes your rental car?

A drunk driver crashed into my rental car but I got the $22,158 bill!

by

Just days into Joe Vandetta’s recent Florida family vacation, a drunk driver crashed head-on into his rental car. Luckily, the hit-and-run accident didn’t cause serious injuries, and the Vandettas — bruised but otherwise unharmed — completed their trip as planned.

But the shock of getting smashed by an intoxicated motorist was nothing compared to the jolt Joe received a month later. That’s when Budget Rental Car sent a $22,158 bill — the cost of the vehicle damaged by the drunk driver. 

Car rentals: Here is everything you need to know about renting a car.

Car rentals: Here’s everything you need to know to protect yourself

by

Regular readers of Consumer Rescue know that our advocacy team tackles many fiascos involving car rentals. From surprise damage charges to accusations of grand theft auto, we’ve seen it all. A significant proportion of these problems could have been avoided had the traveler taken a few precautionary steps – before driving away with the vehicle.

In an effort to make sure you don’t end up in our case files, here’s everything you need to know about renting a car. 

This Budget customer says she returned her rental car as scheduled. So why doesn't the car rental agency know that?

I left my rental car at the airport, but now it’s missing!

by

Maureen Heller recently received a shocking message from Budget Security about a missing rental car. The letter accused Maureen of failing to return a Nissan Sentra that she had left at the Detroit airport weeks earlier.

But with no receipt to prove she returned it, will Maureen be on the hook for this missing rental car?

This traveler's car crashed in the sea! Now he's plunged into an insurance nightmare.

His rental car crashed into the sea. Now he’s in a $27,825 insurance nightmare!

by

Last fall, Russell Wayne’s rental car inexplicably crashed into the ocean in a picturesque seaside town in Spain. Unfortunately, the strange accident totaled the Europcar-owned Audi and plunged Russell into an insurance nightmare with Chase Eclaims.

Now Russell is asking our advocacy team for help in getting his $27,825 insurance claim paid.

Can we do it?