I have dealt with Budget many times before but they were all corporate stores this was my first time dealing with one independently owned and the last. Here's my story. I rented a one-way rental from the Budget Car Rental in Memphis, TN on 2650 Rental rd. To be dropped off at the Budget Car Rental in Columbus, Ohio the next day. For those of you who don't know a one-way rental is when you rent a car from one budget location and drop it off and leave it at another Budget location somewhere else. There is usually a fee involved with this since one location is losing a car. I was going to buy a car in Columbus and needed the rental car to get there to buy it then I planned on dropping the rental car off at the specified Budget location in Columbus.
When I originally called the Budget in Memphis I was told there was no extra fee for a one way rental but when I signed the contract a fee was included. I really didn't mind because it wasn't that much and I would still be saving money. My rate for a one day one-way rental to Columbus was $170.
Long story short the car was great and I drove up to Columbus to buy a car I had been looking at but when I got there and had the car I was buying looked at there was some problems so I decided not to purchase it. I went to the Budget Car Rental in Columbus and they had all my information so I told them I would be turning in the car I got from Memphis and would be needing another one way rental from them to get back to Memphis and drop the car off there. The employee at the Budget in Columbus was very nice and he explained to me that this happens all the time. He told me that would not be necessary all I would have to do would be to drive the same car I got from Memphis back to Memphis and drop it off at the same Budget where they would convert my rental from a one-way rental to a standard 2 day rental. The Columbus employee informed me it would actually be cheaper since they would not be bill me for the fee of a one way rental.
I decided to call the Memphis location where I rented the car from to confirm this. I spoke with an employee who told me she was unsure and that a manager would have to call me back. I received a call back from the same girl about 10 minutes later and she told me that her general manager informed her that they could not convert me to a two day rental since the agreement for a one-way rental had already been signed. She told me nothing would change and I would just have to pay the original $170 I had agreed to.
I then asked again to confirm that all I would have to pay was the original $170 agreed to she said "yes". This seemed reasonable enough and I was ready to get home so I returned the car the next morning when I arrived back from Columbus. Upon arrival at the Budget I received a new bill which stated I owed $349.11 so basically they charged me for another day at the rate of $170. I told them what I was told over the phone and they said that since I didn't have anything in writing this is what I would be charged. I then asked how they could charge me the one-way rate for two days when they got their car back. The one-way fee is to make up for the loss of one of their cars to another Budget location. This did not happen and they received their same vehicle back.
So basically they told me first that they could not change the contract to a standard two day rental (since it would be cheaper) then second they did change the contract and charged me for 2 days at the one-way rate instead of just a standard two day rental. I was told no manager was on hand so I left and called back a few hours later. The girl who answered the phone was the same girl I spoke with the night before who told me the contract could not be changed. I asked her why she lied to me and she said she assumed I knew I would be charged for two days at the one-way rate. I then asked how could I be charged for 2 days at the one-way rate when they received their car back? She said I would have to speak with their manager who was only their between 10-5 on weekdays.
When I called the night before it was 9pm ET time so 8pm in Memphis which is on Central time. So the night before she claimed to speak to the manager about my situation who was supposedly there at 8pm when the next day she tells me he leaves at 5pm. I have left messages for the manager but have yet to have my calls returned. I realize this is a Independent Budget Licensee but their corporate parent is having its reputation smeared by these criminal practices. I have contacted a lawyer about the situation and plan to do whatever I can to expose this fraud.
SO to break it down the car I rented was a usually a $69 a day rental. I rented the car on a Wednesday night to be returned in Columbus, OH 24 hrs later. My total was $61 $109 one way fee. Plans changed and I returned the car back to the same Budget location in Memphis on Friday morning and was charged $349.11 Since I rented the car from the Memphis Budget and returned it to the Memphis Budget 36 hrs later I would normally be charged $122 ($61 x 2 days). But they are charging me the one way fee $170 twice ($170 x 2 days) even though they got their car back what a bunch of crooks.
Very angry with budget car rental
Memphis, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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