View Full Version : Budget "Optional services"
Just received my Credit Card statement the first since my holiday in Florida in June and Budget have charged me an extra £142.00 for "Optional services". Checking my Budget documents I must say I did initial this service, but I know 100% that I verbally did not say yes to these services which apparently on checking are extra insurances. As a frequent visitor to Florida the guys at the Carhire desks are always offering extra and to which I always decline, but after a long flight and having on this occasions waited over one hour in the queue at Budget I did not read all the small print, but know that I alway initial a few boxes and sign at the bottom so did so without reading everything to my cost.
So please be warned everyone, read the small print.
All I can say is that this has never happened to me before but have never used Budget before and never will again.
I was impressed with the girl at [name edited] who is trying to fight my cause.
Val
Katys Grandad
25-07-2009, 20:14
I'm sure that's very annoying. I must admit I usually succumb to the temptation to just sign and get on my way and was once caught out by something similar. The thing that leaves a nasty taste for me is the thought that the agents know exactly what they are doing.
mfairhurst
25-07-2009, 20:34
We hired from Dollar and we have always brought the car back full they have now changed the rules and just imagine the money they make on a 18 gallon tank on a Dodge Charger ,We did not hire it from this site but someone else we had a car from them last December and give it in Februay 2010 .
This time the atitude of the man on the desk was not very polite .
We could have paid $2.43 this year to fill it up and a lot more was charged by them on our agreement as you said coming on a long flight and in holiday mode you do noy want to argue my last comment to them was last time with Dollar and we have used them for at least 8 years ,I think it time for a change now .
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx
We always stress you MUST read the rental agreement. Any optional extras are quite clearly marked, although I know what you mean about being tired and having just come off a long flight etc.
It's always worth the extra minute to read what you are signing, as you are never required to take any extra insurances, and once signed for you can not later claim it back.
canarypam
25-07-2009, 21:51
Just checked my credit card statement we have been charged for toll fees even though we rang Budget and told them we have our own sun pass transponder and they said don't worry yours will overide ours so you won't be charged.
Val - did you sign up for Budget Fast Track? By doing this you bypass the 'hard sell' department and can go straight to pick up the key and I have never found there to be any questioning of 'additions'
mary and colin
27-07-2009, 14:24
Hi i have just received my card statement and budget have taken over a Hundred pounds from us as well. Fuming to say the least we took out the gold package and had hassle while we were there. Told them we did not want any extras as we had the top package. The guy said fine all sorted and after about an hour we were on our way.
Just wanting for hubby to come home tonight to check the agreement.
In twelve years of renting cars we have never been caught like this, i will certainly not reccommend to anyone to use budget again as this is not good.
Sorry for rant just so upset and worried as we have friends using them next month on our say so.
Mary
Katys Grandad
27-07-2009, 14:38
I know lots of people are perfectly happy with Budget but I don't see myself using them again.
We are off tomorrow and have booked the gold package with Budget. Have only used Dollar before but Budget was much cheaper this time.
How do we ensure, apart from reading everything that we are not charged any extras. Seems asking doesn't make any difference either.
Surely this is not right, just adding on extras without the customer knowing.
We're about to book through Budget. We have used Budget in Old Town Kissimmee before and its been fine but we are concerned at how many have been caught, presumably at the airport.
We always try to read the agreement and question where they want us to initial but this isn't always easy after a long flight. We will be collecting in Miami this time.
sundowner
27-07-2009, 18:43
We have used Budget through this site for years now (2-3 times a year). Never had any problems with them but I had best warn hubby about this one as we go in a few weeks time.
Ive booked through Budget aswell, what airport did you all fly into? Im flying into sanford and have already done the fast track option, did any of you who have been charged do the fast track option,?
mary and colin
28-07-2009, 01:17
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steelo
Ive booked through Budget aswell, what airport did you all fly into? Im flying into sanford and have already done the fast track option, did any of you who have been charged do the fast track option,?
[/quote]
We flew into MCO and did not have the fast track as we had more than one driver.
Hubby has got out our contract and it is halfway down the page it says agree/disagree we disagreed and the guy said okay sign there so he thought he was signing disagree. Neither has been crossed out on our copys.
So all be very careful. Never had this before as i say 12 years of hireing.
Have a great holiday
Mary
Hi we have registered for fast track, however there will be my hubby and myself driving, does this mean we have to queue in the terminal with everyone else?
Suzy
Hi everyone,
Had a phone call from the nice girl who was fighting my case and Budget are going to credit the money back to my card, hooray......and they did apparently apologise but think I will go back to Dollar, never had any trouble and also have a Dollar express card.
Val
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Suzy
Hi we have registered for fast track, however there will be my hubby and myself driving, does this mean we have to queue in the terminal with everyone else?
Suzy
[/quote]
No, you go straight to the kiosk, I presume you are flying into Orlando. If you are going to Tampa you go up to the 3rd floor in the lift which is to the left of the main car hire desks. We have used Budget many times for years and years under the Fastrack system and never had a problem.
You just add extra drivers at the kiosk, no need to go to the main rental desk.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Suzy
Hi we have registered for fast track, however there will be my hubby and myself driving, does this mean we have to queue in the terminal with everyone else?
Suzy
[/quote]
I knew that if I was patient I would get the answer I was looking for as well.
Thanks for asking the question and thanks for the answer Roger.:D:D
lafifille
06-08-2009, 20:25
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chris c
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Suzy
Hi we have registered for fast track, however there will be my hubby and myself driving, does this mean we have to queue in the terminal with everyone else?
Suzy
[/quote]
I knew that if I was patient I would get the answer I was looking for as well.
Thanks for asking the question and thanks for the answer Roger.:D:D
[/quote]
Well I tried to have my name added at the kiosk and the guy said we didn't need to as we're husband and wife. I didn't push it and as we were at the Kissimmee Old town office the next day (to change cars as we had trouble with ours)I asked again they said the same thing.
Before signing the rental agreement I asked them to point me the extra insurance part to make sure it's crossed a big NO. They don't like it most of the time ("I wouldn't try to cheat on you" look), but who cares?
We rented from Budget and Alamo this trip, and I must say that Alamo people were more service oriented. Both companies took the airport charge off our bill, and we didn't extra charge for anything else afterwards. Fuel price with Alamo were actually cheaper than at the gas station in Kansas City.
Mickylidd
14-09-2009, 20:40
I to was subject to a con by a budget desk clerk after a 21 hr journey arriving at 11:30 pm at MCO was asked if i wanted to pre pay fuel which i agreed $90 (another con)filled up at kissamee for $50 was then told to initial circles which I asked what for and was told for the pre-paid fuel and my licence number On returning vehicle i was handed a bill for $306 went down to budget desk to speak to someone and was given a well rehearsed speech about not reading a contract before I signed it I told the manager i signed for my fuel and licence number and was told I signed for medical insurance which i argued did not mention anything on the contract and was told it was under a code will certainly not be using budget again.
We have just returned from our house in Kissimmee,this year we rented through Budget as they offered the best value. We always use US car hire because they really know what they are doing and we have never had an issue. This year however despite the fact we were not travelling at peak time(eg not August)at MCO we we not even offered our free upgrade car and on querying it were told -'none available' despite not even checking and the car park heaving with the upgrade size cars! We were also told that we needed to upgrade our insurance to cover any medical expenses of anyone we had an accident with as we were not covered for this. We declined as I like to think we are pretty experienced with US car hiring and believed we were 100% covered however there was a nagging doubt that something had changed. That is pretty scary for a novice bearing in mind the sort of expenses that could be incurred with medical things in the US. As a parting shot the agent said -would you like to upgrade to the size above your 'free upgrade' as we have those available-yes I bet they did as it meant another $7.95 a day if we wanted it-suffice to say we didn't take the bait but resisted telling them what to do with it and declined gracefully!
Don't think Budget will ever see us again at their desk but looking at the queues at both Alamo and Dollar and none at Budget I can't help wondering how much longer they will be there if this is their tactics.Having read comments here it seems that MCO budget desk are excelling themselves .
Obviously I am very concerned for our guests who may not have the experience we have to know what they are being told is complete rubbish and just an attempt to get more money from them, I am going to warn all my future guests that if they book Budget to be very wary.:(
We have always rented from Dollar but when we went in July we went for Budget due to price.
We pre-registered with Budget and went straight to the kiosk in carpark to pick up the car and have to say we had no problems with them trying to sell us any extras.
When they asked my husband to initial he did say 'I hope you haven't added any extras on', the lady pointed out where he should initial and showed him that nothing had been added on.
I have kept all the paper work just incase and have just received our credit card statement and the only thing that has been charged is £13.22 for a toll which was our fault, we went through the sunpass lane by mistake.
The car we were given was fine, not the cleanest inside or out and had a few scratches and marks on the outside and some crayon inside but overall it was fine.
Would you use Budget again if the price was right but preferred Dollar.
Unfortunately we missed the boat and forgot to do the fast track registering within the timescale however I doubt it would have helped as all the computers were down in the kiosk and they were referring everyone back to the main desk at the terminal so at least we missed that issue too!
Does anyone know know if budget hold an amount on your credit card when they take a swipe? A friend of mine told they locked $500 off her card , which is alot if you are on a budget spending money wise.
I was there in June and used dollar , we werent even asked for a credit card , were given a free upgrade and told just to bring the car back full ....
my son is going in January using Budget so I am worried for him as he doesnt have much in the way of spending money but if they lock $500 he will have even less.
Michelle
25-09-2009, 02:16
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by dsv77
Does anyone know know if budget hold an amount on your credit card when they take a swipe? A friend of mine told they locked $500 off her card , which is alot if you are on a budget spending money wise.
I was there in June and used dollar , we werent even asked for a credit card , were given a free upgrade and told just to bring the car back full ....
my son is going in January using Budget so I am worried for him as he doesnt have much in the way of spending money but if they lock $500 he will have even less.
[/quote]
I have been using budget for quite a few years now ,and my card has always been swiped when picking up the car and never has there been a lock charge shown on my card. Last time we were in Florida was May and we used Budget then, due to go again December and have booked car hire using budget.
Hi everyone looks like im also a victim of budget taking whats not rightfully theirs, i hired my car through us car hire with budget, picked my car up at sanford and paid for the pre fuel which was $64.00, they also locked off an amount of $220 and have conveniently forgot to give it back, what was strange though they took the money for the pre fuel the day i came home which sent my card into overdrawn, whats even more strange is the card i used was a thomas cook pre paid card and i now have thomas cook on the phone insisting i owe them money because budget demanded to ne paid, what a palave, has anyone else had this happen did you manage to get it sorted in the end?
Katys Grandad
17-10-2009, 18:42
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steelo
Hi everyone looks like im also a victim of budget taking whats not rightfully theirs, i hired my car through us car hire with budget, picked my car up at sanford and paid for the pre fuel which was $64.00, they also locked off an amount of $220 and have conveniently forgot to give it back, what was strange though they took the money for the pre fuel the day i came home which sent my card into overdrawn, whats even more strange is the card i used was a thomas cook pre paid card and i now have thomas cook on the phone insisting i owe them money because budget demanded to ne paid, what a palave, has anyone else had this happen did you manage to get it sorted in the end?
[/quote]
That hasn't happened to me but I won't use Budget again for other reasons. May I ask what the $64 worked out to per gallon?
Hi not to sure but it was probably well over the top as in three weeks we only filled up twice and we got a full tank for just under $50
Katys Grandad
17-10-2009, 23:42
Thanks for that.
Thanks for the heads-up regarding Budget. It is good to know what others experience.
Maddie
Cant believe i have contacted uscarhire and no one seems to want to get back to me. looks like il have to send them yet another email regarding money taken from me, usually they are very quick to respond but i suppose thats when i was booking my car hire and handing over money.
lafifille
19-10-2009, 17:33
Have you checked your spam box? USCarhire mails sometimes ended up in mine, for who knows what reason...
Steelo - Roger of US CarHire lives in Florida so operates on US time. I had a problem with a car rental booked through USCarHire which was not of USCarHire's making but they intervened on my behalf as far as they were able. Be patient, they will try and sort out your problem.
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
19-10-2009, 17:43
Not at all. We respond to all emails promptly so all I can imagine is the message went into your Spam folder. Perhaps send another email to us with the details and we can check things for you?
Edited to add that the only email I can see outstanding from you is from about half an hour ago. Our US office has only just started for the day so I'm sure they will be in contact very soon [msnsmile].
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steelo
Cant believe i have contacted uscarhire and no one seems to want to get back to me. looks like il have to send them yet another email regarding money taken from me, usually they are very quick to respond but i suppose thats when i was booking my car hire and handing over money.
[/quote]
Hi will send an email now explaining all
Have sent you another email.
Just to let you know we received an email from you this morning at 8:13am (UK time) and we replied to you at 9:30am Florida time (we are 5 hours behind you).
I wonder if perhaps any previous emails you sent directly to our supplier rather than to us, as we do always respond very quickly.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steelo
Have sent you another email.
[/quote]
Hi Roger, Hoping you can help me on the above matter, As you are probably aware i have been dealing with Roulla regarding the matter with budget, so far budget have no record of taking $220.00 from my card so then i emailed all bank statements to roulla which clearly showed that budget rentacar have taken 2 amounts 1 for $64 dollars which was the pre fuel and then another for $219.00 for which i can only assume was the deposit they lock of so when you return the car they are supposed to return the locked amount on to your card, conveniently they did not do this, now today i have a phone call from my card supplier saying that budget have taken another amount of $21.75 from my card which has only left me further over drawn, now theres no possible reason they should still be taking money from me i returned home from my holiday over 5 weeks ago so i can only assume there is some criminal activity going on with budget, As you are probably aware im absolutely disgusted that budget can treat people like this and get away with it, People need to be very aware when booking through this company, Im also sure that im not the first to have this happen to me and i certainly wont be the last and ask why you would want to advertise such companies?
Regards
Rebecca
I'm really sorry Budget are being so slow to resolve this. Roulla is passing everything on to our supplier and chasing this up on a regular basis for you. I know she will be doing so again today.
I'm sure there is nothing criminal going on, as Budget don't operate illegally, but I know it's frustrating for you when charges are made that they are yet to explain or refund.
The car hire suppliers operate on approx 28 day turn-around for customer service issues, and I believe it's been about that now, so we're hopeful for a response very soon.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steelo
Hi Roger, Hoping you can help me on the above matter, As you are probably aware i have been dealing with Roulla regarding the matter with budget, so far budget have no record of taking $220.00 from my card so then i emailed all bank statements to roulla which clearly showed that budget rentacar have taken 2 amounts 1 for $64 dollars which was the pre fuel and then another for $219.00 for which i can only assume was the deposit they lock of so when you return the car they are supposed to return the locked amount on to your card, conveniently they did not do this, now today i have a phone call from my card supplier saying that budget have taken another amount of $21.75 from my card which has only left me further over drawn, now theres no possible reason they should still be taking money from me i returned home from my holiday over 5 weeks ago so i can only assume there is some criminal activity going on with budget, As you are probably aware im absolutely disgusted that budget can treat people like this and get away with it, People need to be very aware when booking through this company, Im also sure that im not the first to have this happen to me and i certainly wont be the last and ask why you would want to advertise such companies?
Regards
Rebecca
[/quote]
Hi Roger, Thankyou so much for your quick responce, i know you guys are doing your best and i very much appreciate this, I understand Roulla is dealing with my first complaint concerning the $64.00 and the $219.00, but am very confused as to why budget have taken $21.75 from my card on the 13th november, I have only found out about this today!! its very frustrating as to why they continue to take money from me, please can Roulla investigate this aswell today, I can understand things can go wrong from time to time and obviously we will eventually get this sorted but why are they still continuing to take money as i quoted above i have been home over 5 weeks so why take money onlu 4 days ago?????
Rebecca I can understand fully your frustration over your problems with Budget.
Two years ago I had a situation whereby having prepaid through USCarHire, Budget charged me again through my credit card in error.
You have to realise at the end of the day that USCarHire is an agent and whilst they will do their best to resolve problems it is Budget who ultimately have to sort the problem. My refund was slow in coming and Budget UK took over the issue and by doing this they are compelled to resolve the issue within a space of time. For me this involved a Christmas and New Year period so I was not expecting a speedy resolve but give Budget their due my funds did arrive within the specified date.
Hi Claire, Thanks for your comments, firstly id like to say i have no problems with uscarhire, i think they are a great company and would definately use again, Im just really frustrated and confused as to why Budget have taken more money from my card only 4 days ago its cheeky really considering my booking with them is under investigation, more to the point why do they need to take more money from me, i returned the car on the 9th october its now the middle of november, sorry to rant and rave but they have really made me angry.. :(
Out of interest why are people using Budget?
Just doing a quick comparison, Dollar are the most expensive with Budget middle and Alamo are cheapest.
So if your going for price alone, then why not Alamo?
florida4sun
19-11-2009, 00:25
Depends when they booked, competition on prices is different at certain times of the year.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Frosty
Out of interest why are people using Budget?
Just doing a quick comparison, Dollar are the most expensive with Budget middle and Alamo are cheapest.
So if your going for price alone, then why not Alamo?
[/quote]
Does anyone have any good or bad comments regarding Alamo?
They are the cheapest for the period over the New Year holiday when we are going.
We have always used Dollar in the past.
As said, the prices can vary based on time of year etc.
At present, looking at customer service issues, Alamo have the fewest issues, then Dollar then Budget. That said, they all usually resolve any issues eventually, unless items have been signed for on collection of the car then we can not easily progress a complaint (customers would then have to deal direct with the supplier so we don't usually then hear the final outcome).
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Frosty
Does anyone have any good or bad comments regarding Alamo?
They are the cheapest for the period over the New Year holiday when we are going.
We have always used Dollar in the past.
[/quote]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Frosty
Does anyone have any good or bad comments regarding Alamo?
They are the cheapest for the period over the New Year holiday when we are going.
We have always used Dollar in the past.[/quote]I am just about to use Budget and the choice was made because although Alamo are cheaper I could not face their queue again. If you land at a busy time both I and some of my guests have had to wait well over an hour just to get to the desk. It then took about 10 minutes just to get a pre-ordered car.
At least with Budget I have done the on-line registration so should be able to bypass the queue. If you are going to be arriving at a peak time then you may want to think twice about the Alamo queue. If Dollar go back the reasonable prices then I will transfer back to them.
Dave
jeansusrentals
19-11-2009, 04:11
Got to say I agree with Dave - in September we waited for almost 2 hours - and then the car we finally picked - had a fault - a warning light came on - however we took it back the next day to Alamo at Disney- and they changed it over within minutes! I'm looking for 2 cars for January and although Alamo is the cheapest - the thought of those queues at 6.00pm really put me off!But...if Alamo staffed all the counter there wouldn't be the lines! The Manager and Assistant Manager finally arrived after 90 minutes - and then the line went down!
Jean
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
19-11-2009, 13:07
Just before no-one ever books a car again [msnsad], the above stories are the absolute worst that's happened. We have many, many very happy customers who have had absolutely no problems with their rentals from any of Dollar, Alamo or Budget. As is usual in these situations, happy customers rarely mention their experience, but people who are less happy do mention it.
I know we've used all three suppliers ourselves many times and never had anything other than a great experience. We've never had a really long wait and all cars have been great and with no problems [msnsmile].
Have booked through USCarhire many many many times... always used Dollar and never a problem. For the past two visits I have used Budget as they were cheapest by far, and it was a big decision to change from Dollar but have to say we had no issues at all and I liked the fact that at Orlando you choose which car you take.
I also had guests who somehow put Diesel in a Petrol van, who with were budget and everything got sorted very quickly and to my surprise the charge for the mess up was minimal.
Ben Jorell
19-11-2009, 16:55
Have used Alamo, Dollar and Avis (once) on various visits. No problems at all with Alamo, but prefer to use Dollar, as I have an express card and am usually only 5 mins at the counter. They also let my children choose the colour of the vehicle - Red last time.
I would never use Avis again.
lafifille
19-11-2009, 17:12
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Father
they know and exploit the fact that people are tired and just want to get away.
[/quote]
You should see what they try to do when you don't speak the language. Last time I traveled with my Mom, she was alone dealing with the first few minutes of the process at the rental company counter. She doesn't speak any English. I wish I had asked a copy of what the guy was trying to make her sign [msnwink][}:)], while she was trying to find out what was written on the papers... hard when you don't speak the language and the salesperson doesn't feel the necessity to make everything clear, by printing a copy of the contract in the customer's language for example! I talked to the manager that day, but I'm not sure it has been of any use.
I've rented cars in the US many many times, from a lot of different companies, if not all of them, I've had problems with some of those rentals, all settled eventually (can be long sometimes). I can't honestly say one company is better than the other, IMHO mostly it depends on the person you're dealing with. As previously said, happy customers rarely relay their experience on forums [msnwink].
I just told about a bad experience above, I have one to counterbalance it. When we last travelled to Kansas City the lady at the counter naturally handed my husband (who doens't speak much English either) a copy of the rental agreement in French, so that he could understand what he was signing. She then offered extra insurance, pointing at what she was refering to on the paper, he declined, period. Some people are honest doing their jobs, some are not. Happens everywhere I guess.