For a real treat rent a car from Budget and then wait to see waht they add to your credit card bill. After a 2 week rental we were dinged for a $1 toll charge plus a $20 "convenience" charge for supposedly using the eToll device that is mounted in the car. We never activated the device. Apparently there is no way to turn off the device so you have to hope it does not activate as you get near a toll plaza. When we called Budget they simply said it was not their device and said we needed to speak with eToll, the vendor that supplies this lovely service. eToll is about the rudest bunch of thieves you can imagine. My adice: Next time you get in a Budget car make sure you yank out the eToll device unless you want to get robbed.

When your car rental goes Budget-Bad!
Her email started with huge bold red capital letters saying - DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. Anel Walker, was the 6th customer care representative from Budget to contact me following a complaint I made back in December 2008. Her communication was informing me that she had ruled against my request, judging it impertinent following a series of lies claimed by the Budget rental office in Mar del Plata, Argentina. At the end of her email, just to make sure I had heard her loud and clear, the same sentence in huge bold red capital letters - DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. It is one thing to be caught at the wrong place, at the wrong time, but it is another to suffer from the lack of service and professionalism from international brands which want you to believe that you are important for them.

In a world of mobility, the modern traveler often seeks reliability in his choice of brands he deals with. Those companies, those brands become more than simple product. The minute a company decides to establish itself on an international level, her product mutates to a service of reliability, not matter what it is. As a customer, you seek and buy expectations. And you are willing to pay a premium for that. As you travel and often find yourself in uncharted territories, with people that don’t necessarily speak your language, the sign of a brand you know is greatly welcomed.

Back in December, I needed to rent a car to go pick up my kayak at the Buenos Aires airport - a 800 km round trip. After checking the yellow pages, I decided to go with Budget - a company I had dealt with before and was so far satisfied. I went online and looked at rates and options they had. After settling on what I wanted, I went to the rental office and proceeded with my rental. To my surprise, the rate I was given was not the same advertised on the website. In fact the rental contract showed no rate, just a total, no explanation. It was, I must admit, pretty much the same I had calculated, so I went ahead and took the car.

We left the next morning for the airport, leaving at 5h30 am. Unfortunately, a huge miscommunication between the custom and me had me show up at a closed office. Biting my nails real hard, and swallowing this more than frustrating situation, I drove back empty hand, with no kayak. I returned the car, with no problem, telling them I would need to rent it again, for the same exact trip, sometime the following week.

The next week, after clearing any grey spot with the carrier, I went back to the rental office and got another car. By 5h30 am, we were on the road, heading for another long day of driving. Shortly after driving off, I decided to pull my window down and discovered that it was malfunctioning. A bit too far for turning back, the matter was not that trivial so I stayed on course and forgot about driving with the window down. About an hour before the airport, the car started to act bizarre. The contact in the engine seemed to break and the power was greatly diminished. It was also getting worse. Pressing the gas, the car would slowly accelerate, showing signs of missing power. I was now not sure that the car would last the entire trip, so when we arrived at the airport, we called Budget and told them that the car was broken and we needed a new one. Being at the airport, and in Buenos Aires (not a third world city!!) I figured that the company would bring another car, or would have a car onsite. I assumed that the matter would be taken care in less than 30 minutes.

Our first call was to the rental office. Their answer - not their problem! Call the customer service number. We called the customer service number. Their answer - can’t do anything, you have to drive back the car back to Buenos Aires downtown - a 2-hour round trip. Called the rental office in downtown Buenos Aires, not much they could do either. I was left with no choice but to drive the broken car into Buenos Aires - the last thing I wanted to do. The city is known for its traffic, tolls, complicated streets which more than often ends up in the tourist getting lost. Great! I was seriously not happy but had no choice and headed to the city.

In Buenos Aires, I missed the exit and had to do an extra 30 km to get back on the right street. The way for the rental office was not that obvious either. After going around the same corner twice, I finally managed to find it. I gave them a car that I had refilled in gas briefly before discovering the problem and took a new car. Once the exchange done, I sped my way back to the airport. Bare in mind that the original trip is roughly over 8 hours of driving. The whole ordeal was now adding another 3 hours. Time I simply didn’t have since I spent just under 2 hours at the custom, paying the fees, signing never ending forms, just to get my kayak. Don’t forget about the $40 in tolls and also gas for 2 hours driving at 70 mph.

By the time I had the kayak and was ready to drive back to Mar del Plata, the clock showed closed to 5pm. I called the rental office in Mar del Plata to tell them that I was not going to be able to make it on time. They said I had until 8h30pm no more. Honestly, I was not happy at all. This situation with the car had totally messed up my plans and the office was showing no understanding whatsoever. I had 3 ½ hours to cover over 450 km with a kayak strapped on the roof. Which I did by driving at 130 km/h!

I arrived at the office shortly before 8h30pm. Not happy at all, I told the clerk we needed to work something out because of the problems encountered and the extra expenses (tolls and gas). The man told me there was nothing he could do and I had to come back the next day at 4pm to meet the manager. Unpleased yet tired and wanting to relax, I told him I would be back the next day to speak to the manager.

I showed up at 4pm expecting to settle the matter. The clerk, the same as the day before, told me that he had spoken to the manager and there was nothing they could do and I would have to pay the full fare, not caring at all about the extra expenses. I obviously disagreed and told him that he had told me to come back at this precise time to speak to the manager and now, the manager was not here, and the clerk could not do anything. I made myself clear, I would not leave until I speak with him. Seeing me obstinate, he walked in the back and came back, his head tilted forward, announcing that the manager would see me. I was furious! The manager simply didn’t want to deal with the situation. The manager finally decided to walk to the front after another 15 minutes.

We sat at his desk and proceeded to explain the problem. His attitude and reaction were beyond what I expected - Sorry there is nothing we can do, you will have to pay the full fare! And my answer was simply - No! On top of his insult, he added that I had driven a lot more mileage than I was supposed to. I told him it was surely because I had to drive to Buenos Aires, and got lost. I also told him that it was for sure unlikely, since this was exactly the same trip I had done the week before, with a correct amount of mileage. After going back and forth for quite a while, he finally said that he would give me 15% discount and I would not have to pay for the extra miles. Basically the 15% was only covering the extra expenses for the trip to Buenos Aires. It was not taking in consideration all the complications resulting of the broken car. My offer was to pay half the fare, and I would absorb the extra expenses. His answer was no.

I informed him that his proposition was insulting. He told me to call the office in Buenos Aires because there was nothing else he wanted to do! I left the office that day in disbelief. I told the manager that I would not pay until the matter was cleared.

Some days later, I noticed in my bank account that the rental office had charged my account with the deposit slip I had done for renting the car, and refunded the balance from the rental cost. In other words, the rental office paid itself with the full fare from the my deposit slip, not wanting to deal with the situation. The account showed a debit of $900 with a refund of $600. This had gone too far. I contacted Budget, email them, and filed a complaint. After 5 months, the matter was still unresolved. I would get an email telling me that someone was on the case and that he or she would get back to me within 2 weeks with an answer. The 2 weeks would go by, then 3 weeks, and with no news I would email them wondering what was happening. I would get the same answer, that someone was on the case, and would contact me soon. The nonsense went on and on and on. On May 4th, I received the last email from Ms.Anel, telling me “I apologize for the delay but we have advised you twice that the customer service department in Argentina advised us that you were not charged for the second rental. We have now closed our customer service file. If you have any further question, please contact the customer service department in Argentina at 011-5411-43112777/4555.” I have since, send them copies of my bank statement showing them the transaction, but Budget still denies anything and refuses to act.

I reserved a truck on line for $115.20. Per their web stie if the 10 foot truck I rented was not available I would be rented the next largest size for the same price. When I picked up the truck-16 foot as they had no 10 foot truck available--I was charged $155. I had no choice but to rent as my lease had expired. 5 calls to Budget and they still refuse to correct the charge.

Our horror show started in calgary. Ford edge had tire low light go on. Budget cant even check tires. Replace with buick rendezvous. 3 hour delay when leaving calgary. Transfer all luggage and boxes. Two days later, wipers go out in manitoba. Check fuses in dauphin on sunday. Drive to yorkton in rain, to gm dealer in yorkton monday morning. Wiper motor shot--2 days to get from Edmonton. Get budget addresses in saskatoon off internet, and drive there in rain. Almost halfway there--big warning light comes on--oilcan with wrench. Stop car on shoulder and call gm on cellphone. Will send towtruck from wadena. Insists that if it costs more than $100 i will be responsible. Tell him i think otherwise. Tow truck arrives. Oil level ok. Don't want to spend days in wadena sask. Tow driver follows as i drive west. Oil light goes out. Comes on twice more on way to saskatoon. Get to address for budget. No longer a budget. Locate one. Patronizing girl says they are all separate franchises and i will have to deal with calgary. Ready to blow stack. Girl thinks, and then says i am "really lucky", in that they have a calgary car that needs to go back to alberta. Transfer luggage again, and proceed to calgary, with third car. Big oil warning light apparently means oil needs to be changed (which gm rep obviously didn't know). Calgary offered a 10% discount for the hassle.
Will avoid budget henceforth. And general motors.