Blantantly adds extra charges for the unsuspecting.
Off airport rental car locations are always cheaper than the corresponding airport location. So this time, decided to take an uber back and forth from airport, and only rent for a week from the nearest rental agency.
So rented a car via Costco travel. The selection of cars is a lot less than at the airport. Was expecting the mileage to be a lot higher on this car, but it wasn't (about 35k miles). Got a malibu as intermediate which we liked. The agent has a lot of discretion of what car to give, so being really nice is expecially important here.
I was quoted around $260 for the week (all fees included) which is good. I returned right on time, with the gas full (actually filled it up near a gas station 2 miles away since I had time). I told the return agent that I had filled up, and that the car was great during the drive. He then gave me my receipt and I was on my way. Later, I realized the amount was $20 higher than the quote (which sometimes happens). But when i grabbed the detailed receipt from the website, it stated that I had returned it with 14.8 gallons out of 15.0 (which is impossible to gauge at that level)...so their argument must be that it is impossible to return it full, since I must have driven it here and that takes gas. Because I didn't fill up, it automatically kicked in the penalty of 2 gallon minimum (at $9.90 per gallon). I don't know then how one can return it 'FULL' unless you bring a gas canister with you OR buy their pre-fill option (which is the point). It's a scam....shame on you, Budget!
Yes, I should have noticed the discrepancy right away and confronted the guy, but didn't notice until I got home. And if you ever been on a phone call with a car agency, it's an extremely unpleasant experience.
Going through their website, it's difficult to figure out how to send a message to Budget to get this rectified, and can't go back to the location. Even if I did, I always feel worried that the agent will suddenly find a problem with the car returned (dings and what not), if I make a big fuss. It might just be 20 bucks that I have to chalk up to experience learned (unfortunately I already rented a prepaid week with Budget for later this summer, but that's from an airport location so this won't happen there). read more