I am decidedly not in the habit of writing individuals or company executives for redress of grievance and Im loath to initiate the process now, but just plain fairness (not to mention a need for common courtesy), a powerful sense of wounded justice, and a flagrant violation of my rights as an abused customer compel me.
This past weekend (Friday, February 24 through Sunday, February 26) I was scheduled to visit my 78-year-old mother who had recently undergone emergency surgery in New York, for a broken right tibia (in two places) and a broken left foot and had just been placed in the Nursing and Rehabilitation, in New York, to recuperate in a painful recovery process. My fiance and her 75-year-old mother accompanied me on the drive to New York from Maine, on this mission of mercy only to discover that at every possible turn we were thwarted by the sheer incompetence, the indifference to our plight, the initial predatory salesmanship offer, and the blinding bureaucratic rigidity of company representatives at every level of management.
I had contracted with rental agent in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to pick up an economy car for a special weekend rental fee of $9.99. The agent explained, however, that this rental fee was virtually meaningless because the real cost, never spelled out in the 2 explanatory billing, was actually roughly 25 cents a mile (or a similar figure) for every mile over 26, making my actual bill come to $118.15 for three days. After some finagling with the figures, the agent magnanimously reduced the fee by $56, presumably to look generous and sweeten the deal. According my bank statement The amount has not been refunded me at all. I had no idea what the rationale was for the preliminary figure nor the basis for the subsequent reduction. They were never explained to me, and nothing in the contract I received ever illuminated the issue.
That initial gaffe, however puzzling, unprofessional and manipulative, was relatively minor compared with the run-around I received once I arrived at the Nursing and Rehabilitation on Long Island. When we left the rental car, a blue Hyundai Elantra, at the Center at approximately 8:30 P.M. Friday night (February 24) to visit my mother in the Center, the alarm went off, and I had no means available to remedy the problem, nor any apparent way of restarting the car. When I phoned the company, I was told that I needed but was not given an electronically controlled, remote key (only a plain starter key, along with the contract), without which the car would not restart and the alarm would continue to go off every 30 seconds or so. No further information about the car was provided. Naturally, I phoned the Enterprise roadside assistance office only to discover at 8:45 P.M. That that dealership and all other dealerships useful to me were closed for the evening and that I should call back in the morning. The agent, a Caylin (spelling uncertain), gave me a confirmation number and concluded by instructing me to call back for roadside assistance at 9 A.M. On Saturday, February 25, in order to obtain a replacement car.
Then, believe it or not, for 9 hours and 20 minutes, starting at 9 A.M. The following morning I was reduced to impotent fury by one agent after another, each of whom, and there were at least eight (8), promised me that a replacement car would be obtained from a variety of Enterprise offices, including JFK airport, at the Center, with a time lag that was typically pegged at 30 minutes, one hour, two hours or two and a half hours, first at 11 A.M., then 11:30 A.M., then 11:45 A.M., then 2:30 P.M., then 4:30 P.M., then 5:45 P.M., finally 6:15 P.M. 7 long and frustrating calls to Enterprise dealerships, and 8 more times, just as frustrating and unresolved, to Enterprise for roadside assistance.
No tow truck ever arrived when they said it would and on at least three occasions, after I had called back time and again, the agent informed me that they had no record of my request for a replacement car. There is obviously no meaningful or working telephonic or computer interchange, and on weekends, when, no doubt, business peaks, no one is available to answer questions, even for emergencies. One time they informed me that I had to go to JFK and pick up the replacement car myself even though it was perfectly clear that I had no means of getting there, either by car or by alternate conveyance.
Furthermore, the wait time that I experienced while hanging on the phone for a response ranged from half an hour to one hour and 30 minutes. And only twice during the entire 9 hours and 20 minutes did anyone acknowledge that they had ever received my request for a 3 replacement car. Finally, a tow truck appeared at 6:20 P.M. With a replacement car. The driver, an understanding and competent young driver, indicated the absolute folly of working with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Only the previous day he had assisted a woman with a similar problem. She had waited at least 6 hours for a replacement car.
I should perhaps place this most distressing and miserable experience in the context in which I found myself. Friday night and all of Saturday were completely ruined by this interminable run-around, My fiances mother never really had the chance to establish more than a fleeting, fly-by visit with my mother in her rehab room. Furthermore, my 81-year-old father was obliged to accompany me in his car the only one available for our use on either day.
We must have sat five or six hours in freezing weather (punctuated by intermittent snow flurries) in his car out in the parking lot waiting for the always promised and never-arriving tow truck. We were finally able to stow my fiance and her mother in my fathers house, but only after it had become abundantly clear that they would not get to spend any useful time the whole point of the trip with my mother in her rehab room. Needless to say, the whole point of the trip was destroyed by the folly and feckless incompetence of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
In my humble judgment, your company owes my family and me reimbursement for essential rental services never rendered, for critical family time lost, for relationships frayed unconscionably, and for good will squandered.
After, clearly exaime my bank statment online and notice that Enterprise is trying to retrieve $300.00 out my account. I did not authorized this transaction at all. I was uninform of any action that was taken on my account just to rent a car for three days. It does not add up $300.00. Enterprise is misleading and stealing funds out consumer funds. I have contact and filled out complaints reports at several websites of this issues like: BBB, TrustLink and others as well several medias
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