I wanted to redeem Air Miles for a car rental and Budget was the only option so I did it. We arrived around 2:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed with people waiting to pick up their vehicle, with only two agents working. It took about 30 minutes to get to the front of the line and I'm sure it would have been much longer if they hadn't added two more agents halfway through the wait. The agent was friendly enough. However, he did not go over a single thing with us. I realize this is partly my error and should have asked, but this is after 6 hours of travelling with an infant and toddler who are getting to the end of their patience, so when he said to just initial in the various spots, we did. Turned out we 'accepted' a loss damage waiver of $32.99/day, adding another $230 to our rental cost. This was never explained to us - he didn't mention that this is optional, and when he took our credit card to make the payment, he didn't mention how much he was charging us. So folks, be warned - be vigilant about going over the fine print! On the plus side, the car we got was clean and fine to us. And thankfully they had infant and toddler car seats available, as reserved, but the toddler one wasn't on site so the agent had to call someone to bring it over. But then he forgot to come out and give it to us so we wasted more time waiting for this. The seats were the flimsiest things though - I couldn't get the baby car seat secured as tight as necessary, the straps were so hard to tighten and loosen, and they cut into my baby's neck. The toddler seat straps were very awkward to use too. If you have the ability to, I'd recommend bringing your own car seat on the plane. read more

Budget - Loss damage waiver fees that were not explained to me - Car Rental Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

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booked vehicle 7 months in advance.Not available upon pickup. 8 people with luggage in a minivan is what i was given . I argued and left. customer service no help, lied to 4 times. return minivan and told $150 discount for the downgrade. I walked out. get call from agent at desk stating my rental would be free after all lies. oh she lied. here's her cell number , call her for a rental, she's a manager 813-401-3324 You're the worst rental agency. Maybe get more competent employees And stop lying to the public read more

They fraudulently added extra coverage without my knowledge. Seeing from the reviews, it seems to be a consistent scam that they have been running for quite a while. It's shocking that corporate has not intervened. I noticed and called after I picked up the car, but they were closed so I called the next morning. They assured me it would be removed, but it was not. I also noticed that my car wasn't quite full, but marked as full. I think that the pace they work at is all part of the scam. The line was not abnormally long, but the time in between customers was. The staff noticeably was going extra slow in between people, so by the time you finally get up there, you just sign and leave. The car, for being almost brand new, had issues. The key kept saying not detected randomly, half the time you started the car and put it in drive, it just was off (it was a hybrid) and the rear seatbelt sensor went off with nothing back there. Make sure to pay attention! Total scam artists!!! read more

My back hurts from waiting. Am currently in line and have one person checking cars. If you're on your vacation prepare to wait because this company loves to waste your time. Think you have a reservation, welp everyone in line dose too read more

There are 50 people ahead of us. We have been in line for over an hour. We have a minimum of 2 hour wait ahead of us. They have 1 person at the counter. He not only has to check people in he has to go around and get the cars. They are archaic here. Everything is on paper. Pre registration gets you nothing. Not worth any discount offered. I do not recommend using this company. Extremely disappointing! read more

Waited almost 3 hours to get our reservation. Had to turn one car in due to mechanical issues. After we get home we find out they charged us for an additional vehicle and overcharged for fuel. I would avoid at all costs. If you do go here, pack your patience and take lots of pics. You'll need them when they overcharge you and it's up to you to prove them wrong. Horrible company. read more

Tried to fraudulently charge insurance coverage. They tried to do the same to other family we were vacationing with. This company is a scam. Customer service seem more like sales people, offering is 30% refund, "final" 50% refund, until eventually giving is our full refund for something we had already declined. read more

Further update. The cost of the rental ended up less than my pre-pay amount: my non-refundable pre-pay amount. You get penalized for planning ahead here. read more

Rating = zero, overcharged, service and waiting is horrible. Don't expect them to honor the Costco agreed rate. it is better to not use them period. read more

Budget car rental at Punta Gorda Airport was a big disappointment. We rented a car on May 3 and the line of customers waiting numbered about 50 and there were only two staff working. we waited in line over an hour along with other unhappy customers. the young man who waited on us, Matthew was very nice and treated us professionally but the wait time was unacceptable. budget car rental needs to hire more staff. read more

Friday, December 27, my reservation was not honored because they DIDN'T HAVE ANY CARS. Waited in line 1 hour with several others. No one getting cars. Around 12:30am, they said "sorry, even though you had a reservation, we don't have anything!". No taxis were around... no car services. No compensation. Ended up needing an Uber for a 90 mile trip to and from with no car for 4 days! I can never trust this location ever again! read more

We reserved a Mustang Mach E for vacation. We waited in line for 90 minutes, once got to the counter it was another 30 minutes before the attendant came to tell us they did not have our vehicle or anything comparable available. The only car that was close was a Tesla that was only charged to 20%. We ended up taking a brand new Volkswagen Atlas which we thought was a very nice car. 30 minutes from the airport it just died going 75 MPH down the highway. We coasted into a fire department and were stuck in 90 degree Florida heat. They wanted us to wait 1-2 hours for a tow truck. We said no and took an Uber to the nearest airport where we were given a Nissan Titan pickup that was very badly scratched, dented and had orange paint scraped down the side. On our way to the hotel a tire pressure light came on so we stopped and filled the tire. Later that night we got a phone call from Budget mad that we abandoned the vehicle. They were aware as they told us where to leave the keys. We got to our hotel 4 hours late. We had diner and went to bed so they whole night was wasted. The next morning, 1 mile away from our hotel, the same tire was down to 20 pounds of pressure so we stopped to air it up again and drove directly back to the airport. We dragged all out luggage into the airport again and were given a Ford Escape. We then had to abandon the day trip we had planned and move on to the next city. The entire first day of vacation was ruined with no way to enjoy the plans we had. We then dove to the next city where we spent the rest of vacation and did not really have to drive anywhere. I contacted customer care when I returned and explained the trip. They could only offer 2 free days of rental on my next trip. What a joke! read more

UPDATE: 9/22/21 Budget refunded the overcharge. Kudos to them, however, this still never should have happened. I'll score them an F on the mistake, but an A on not dragging this out and rectifying a refund payment... (Original post) APPARENTLY I CAN TELEPORT FROM FT LAUDERDALE, FL to KENTUCKY - must be magical. And I didn't feel a thing! Until now. So here's a good one for you. I just rented a vehicle from Budget Car Rental in Punta Gorda, FL Airport location online (9/9/21 to 9/12/21). I picked Tahoe (or similar, as it indicates on their website), set my pick up location from Punta Gorda, FL Airport on 9/9 and set drop off at the same Punta Gorda, FL location for 9/12. This is exactly what I did, for the pick up and drop off times that were set accordingly on the website. When I picked up the vehicle, they said they did NOT have a Tahoe, so they gave me a pink customer receipt that said "white Chevy Traverse", along with the keys for the Traverse, to which I located in the lot in spot #28, opened it with the keys I was given and drove to my location and then on 9/12 returned the vehicle to the exact same Budget Car Rental location in Punta Gorda, FL Airport in the time slot previously agreed to, dropped the keys in the key drop box and got on my flight and came back home to KY. What I didn't realize (as they quickly step you through the epic agreement initializing process for wants and not wants, is that the rental agreement apparently still said "Gray Chevy Tahoe", although I was given a pink customer receipt stating it was the Chevy Traverse (as well as keys to the Traverse). Furthermore, today (9/14) which is 2 days after my return home, I get the final receipt stating that there is an additional 2 extra days extension charge past 9/12, along with a one way fee to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Yep you heard me right. 2 days after I'm already home, the TAHOE that I was supposed to get, that I didn't get at all, shows up in Ft. Lauderdale FL and THEY ARE CHARGING ME $643.99 extra for it. I'm disputing this with Budget Car Rental with their national customer service center (of which is a term I use VERY loosely), obviously, because you can't get a real person or ANYBODY in Punta Gorda, FL on the phone (which would be the person who could actually fix this Budget screwup). But no, my 47 phone calls (count them - 47 calls) and can't get anybody in FL - Keep getting diverted to a national call center, who also can't fix the Budget screwup and has to generate a report to send to a different mysterious department (who you can't actually talk to in person either, strangely enough) and have to wait an additional 3-5 days to "see" what they say. So, I had a trip of a lifetime to go to Florida to deep sea fishing, and I go online and get a really good price on Budget.com, rent the vehicle, have to prepay online IN FULL, get to the Budget Car Rental in Punta Gorda, FL, NOT get the vehicle I ordered, was physically given a receipt (attached) that says what the vehicle was a (Chevy Traverse), physically given the keys to the Chevy Traverse, picked it up, drove it, filled the tank up upon return, brought it back, used the drop box (like everybody else was doing along with the other 30 cars that had been dropped off), got on my flight and went home. Only to find out 2 days later that the vehicle that I was supposed to get (that was obviously given to somebody else) was dropped off (not by me, unless I can magically teleport from Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 197 miles away, on a TOTALLY DIFFERENT COAST AND OCEAN by the way) which was dropped off on a day when I've already been back home in KY 1,059 miles away for 2 days? Are you freaking kidding me? I WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER rent a vehicle from Budget Car Rental EVER AGAIN. AND I WANT MY $643.99 back. I've heard of trying to making an extra buck, but you don't have to rip innocent people off like me in the process. That amount is almost DOUBLE of my original rental in the first place! I never should have avoided Enterprise. Bet I never make that mistake again. read more

Budget - Written proof of the vehicle I was given (NOT A TAHOE) and the starting mileage, along with the person who issued it at Punta Gorda, FL - Car Rental Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Overcharged 200 dollars. They claimed I turned the car in with an empty tank. I have a receipt from the gas station the day of return. A customer service rep said I would be refunded the 200 dollar charge. I was refunded, but then got a second 200 dollar charge after the claim was closed out. I will NEVER rent from Budget again! read more

If you're considering renting from budget at pgd airport, I highly recommend reconsidering. They're attempt at handling customers reservations in a timely manner is simply ridiculous. Each time I've used budget here (and recently at JAX), they have one overworked employee trying to handle 20 -30 frustrated customers. I think I've finally learned my lesson; hello enterprise!! read more

Do not rent if you care about cleanliness, or worried about covid-19. We paid top dollar for our suv for a week. When we picked the car up we found chips and marks on the car. Sand was all over it as well. We were assured it was disinfected and the cleaner had just missed some parts. After we left and started on our journey we found a cigarette that rolled from underneath the car. My 8 year old picked it up and handed it to me! In every cubby there was dirt. When we got it home we cleaned the car ourself. We found bbq sauce(i hope) all over the back seat by the belts. It was really disgusting. We do take covid seriously because our son has respiratory issues. We took the car back today and the general manager gave us $40 back. A $500 rental....and he thinks thats sufficient. I cleaned the car more than their own staff. This is completely unacceptable. read more

Why can't I give this place negative stars? DO NOT RENT FROM HERE. Pay a bit extra and rent from another agency with GOOD reviews. Just like Aurelija W. in another review, we prepaid for our rental about 3 weeks ahead and then were charged another $400 to $500 on our credit card the day we picked the car up. This was on hold on our credit card for SEVERAL days cutting into our vacation budget, not to mention the hour or so my husband had to stay on the line with an incredibly RUDE "customer service" rep that ended up not helping us and hanging up on my husband. The topper........we were charged again today another $40.83 for additional fees!!! Never ever again Budget!! I will WALK before I rent another car from your pathetic operation. read more

Upon returning home from my trip, I received the final amount for charges on my credit card. There was a difference of $65.00! After trying to contact Budget for approx 3 days I finally got a representative to help. Budget claimed that the extra charge was for an upgrade that I supposedly requested. This is NOT true! I explained it to the representative but he claimed that the charge could not be removed! BTW, I received the car with only a half tank of gas! Do not rent from Budget! read more

If I could give a negative feedback I would negative 0. On October 19, 2021 my mother returned a Rented car from budget rental car in Punta Gorda Florida. She realized after she had returned her car that she had left her cell phone in it. Upon arrival in St. Louis a few hours later we Begin to call continuously but there is no one that answers the phone in Punta Gorda and calls are always auto forwarded to the main budget telephone number. 27 calls and many incompetent untrained employees conversations later...we still don't have a cell phone even though there has been a lost and found put in. We went to a budget rental facility in St. Louis for some direction and even they were less than helpful. I guess that's the sign of the times but for such a big company to show such poor organization is frustrating. Does anyone care anymore? Obviously not at Budget in Punta Gorda or their national call center. If you are over 60 years old, it's obvious you will be treated poorly and needs will not be addressed. I am disgusted with this business. read more

Never ever had such a rip off experience as through Budget! Left the car with a gas tank full (maybe used 10-15 miles to drive to airport) - got charged for extra gas & they charge $9/gallon. The gauge showed full tank!!! Then there is a pending charge for another $100, which they couldn't explain where it was from & said it should disappear. Rented full size car & it was a piece of junk - car remote didn't work right. Never again will use Budget for our trips! Used to be a great company. read more

Great customer service. Max and Ryan are so helpful and do a great job to sort out any issues that arise.