DO NOT RENT HERE -- stranded in Ireland, nonexistent roadside assistance, and a $3,000 hold five weeks later
We rented two cars from Enterprise for a trip to Ireland for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Pickup took a little while, but otherwise we had no complaints initially and both cars seemed fine.
Three days into our trip, one of the rentals suddenly stopped going into gear while we were coming down a hill. Thankfully, we were able to get it off the road with the help of FOUR incredibly kind locals who helped us push the car down a side street.
That was just the beginning of the nightmare.
The roadside assistance/contact information Enterprise provided us was essentially useless. The roadside assistance number and complaint number we were given were OUT OF SERVICE. This included numbers printed on the paperwork/pamphlet AND information provided with the car. The Shannon Airport location would not answer the phone. We spent HOURS stranded trying approximately 20 different numbers before we finally managed to reach someone by calling Enterprise at Dublin Airport.
Once we finally got through, there was no replacement car available until the following day. Between the hours wasted on the side of the road, multiple Ubers, phone calls, and waiting for another vehicle, we lost essentially an entire day of an already short and very special family trip.
When we returned the vehicle, we were told we would be refunded for the rental. Instead, FIVE WEEKS LATER, Enterprise still has a roughly $3,000 hold on our credit card related to the vehicle.
Two weeks into this ordeal, a very helpful woman told us she expected the issue to be resolved and the hold removed by the following week. It wasn't. Today, I was told it could potentially take ANOTHER MONTH before the $3,000 hold is removed.
There is absolutely no reason for us to believe we caused damage to this vehicle. Both my father and I regularly drive manual-transmission cars, and we have rented manual vehicles many times without ever damaging a clutch or transmission. The car simply stopped going into gear on the third day of our rental.
Mechanical problems can happen. What is unacceptable is renting travelers a vehicle, providing emergency contact numbers that don't work, leaving them stranded for hours, failing to provide a replacement until the next day, disrupting a once-in-a-lifetime family trip, promising a refund, and then tying up $3,000 on their credit card for weeks while telling them it may take another month to resolve.
For international travelers especially, this is completely unacceptable. If your rental breaks down, you need to know you can actually reach the company you rented it from.
Based on our experience, I would strongly recommend renting elsewhere. read more
