Thrifty Rental Car Warning

[dougp26364]

I'm not certain if it was this one particular franchise or if this has become the norm throughout Thrifty but, after several years as my prefered rental car company, they've lost my business. Why? Because I got scammed by them.

The first thing I noticed was in their fine print, if you cancel your reservation less than 24 hours in advance, they hit you with a 1 day rental charge anyway. OK, not to bad but it was something burried in the fine print that the typical renter isn't going to look at.

But that's not where I was scammed. We were members of Thrifty's Blue Chip prefered renters program. In Blue Chip, you select the options you want.....or don't want, you reserve, you sign and drive. No worries about extra fee's like damage waivers or pre-purchased gas right? WRONG!

This past month, I reneted a car, had my rental reservation with the estimated cost, picked up my car and drove off. I should have read the contract. This Thrifty location tacked on a new extra called Trip Saver for an additional $4.99/day.

My first thought was, what the heck is Trip Saver? When I looked it up, it's nothing more than road side assitance. This is something I have not elected on our Blue Chip prefered contract and it was NOT in the estimated cost for the rental. Thrifty simply slipped it in for an additional charge at my expense.

Since I signed the agreement I've choosen not to fight about the charge or challenge it on my credit card. I did send Thrifty an E-mail that basically said, fool me once, shame on you........but it won't happen again. I've since cancelled our Thrifty reservations and have moved them to other rental car companies.

This past year, I caught Thrifty trying to charge me a higher rate from a cancelled reservation. It seems Thrifty was hanging onto any/all reservations made and, rather than automatically giving their Blue Chip member the lowest cost reservation, they were trying to stick me with the highest cost reservation.

I had thought at the time this was odd and maybe just a mistake. Shame on me for letting Thrifty eventually get into my pocket by not reading what I was signing. But after all, isn't the pre-approved contract suppose to end the nightmare of upcharges and upsells? Not with Thrifty it doesn't. Oh well, goodbye Thrifty and Dollar rent-a-car. I'll move onto someone who treats their prefered customers with a little more respect.

 

[bogey21]

Wow!!! I haven't rented a car lately but used to use Thrifty all the time. Just sign and drive. Now I will have to learn to read all over again.

George

 

[Talent312]

The first and last time I used Thrifty, the Las Vegas agency used a night-time poorly lit lot to put me in a car with scratches. Fortunately, I managed to catch every one on their check-out sheet, but that didn't stop them from claiming damages after I returned home.

Eventually, they gave up and corporate aplogized with some coupons that I never used.

 

[dougp26364]

Apparently, they don't really read their E-mail. I sent them an E-mail letting them know I was a Blue Chip customer, that trip protector wasn't an option I had elected and that I found their practice of putting an option onto a Blue Chip contract that wasn't selected to be less than honest. I also told them I was finished with Thrifty as my prefered agency for car rentals.

This is the responce I received.

Thank you for contacting Thrifty Car Rental. We appreciate the opportunity to assist.

Please accept my personal apology for the misunderstanding or lack of a proper explanation of this valuable option on your rental. We recommend the purchase of this coverage as it offers the customer peace of mind in the event of unexpected roadside problems during the rental.


Again, thank you for contacting us. We look forward to serving your rental needs in the future!

Sincerely,

Kelly Russo
Customer Service Representative

Apparently, they thought I wanted to know what Trip Saver was, not that I was complaining that it was added to my Blue Chip contract without my permission.

The next e-mail was to let them know I didn't appreciate a canned responce, they obviously don't read their e-mails and that I had cancelled all future reservations with Thrifty.

Sure I might be paying $10 or $20 more going with someone else but, it's better than having to go over the fine print of a contract that is suppose to be pre-aproved with only the options I select, not the options Thrifty believes are important. In the end, it's cheaper to pay $20 more than get hit with an add on that runs $4.99/day.

 

[jaym]

Sure I might be paying $10 or $20 more going with someone else but, it's better than having to go over the fine print of a contract that is suppose to be pre-aproved with only the options I select, not the options Thrifty believes are important. In the end, it's cheaper to pay $20 more than get hit with an add on that runs $4.99/day.

dougp-
It looks like you are a Marriott owner. If so, have you considered using Hertz, as MDC members receive a free Hertz Gold membership and corp. discounts on rental reservations?
I am also an MDC member, as well as an AAA member (also offer good Hertz discounts), so I usually compare the savings and select the lowest rental quote when reserving. Check it out.
I know Hertz may not be the lowest cost rental car company out there, but I usually have no issues, relatively hassle-free rentals from them everywhere we've rented. You also get Marriott Rewards points when you link the Hertz reservation (RR#) to your MR acct.
I too despise "hidden fees" on anything and feel these companies act sleazy and look for cover when questioned about added and unprecedented fees.
Hope this helps u.

J-

 

[dougp26364]

dougp-
It looks like you are a Marriott owner. If so, have you considered using Hertz, as MDC members receive a free Hertz Gold membership and corp. discounts on rental reservations?
I am also an MDC member, as well as an AAA member (also offer good Hertz discounts), so I usually compare the savings and select the lowest rental quote when reserving. Check it out.
I know Hertz may not be the lowest cost rental car company out there, but I usually have no issues, relatively hassle-free rentals from them everywhere we've rented. You also get Marriott Rewards points when you link the Hertz reservation (RR#) to your MR acct.
I too despise "hidden fees" on anything and feel these companies act sleazy and look for cover when questioned about added and unprecedented fees.
Hope this helps u.

J-

Unfortunately, Hertz is usually at least $100 more expensive than just about any other rental agency.

I used Thrifty's Blue Chip to skip lines and simply sign and drive by pre-authorizing the contract. I guess pre-authoriztion doesn't work with them anymore and, we've been noticing there hasn't been a seperate line for Blue Chip members to pick up their contracts. Instead, they've been forcing us into the regular line. Since the pre-authorized contract isn't the pre-authorized contract I agreed to and, since they're not keeping someone on the Blue Chip counter so we can skip the line, there's no reason for us to continue with Thrifty. We're better off using either Hotwire or Priceline to obtain our car rentals.

 

[jaym]

Unfortunately, Hertz is usually at least $100 more expensive than just about any other rental agency.

Since the pre-authorized contract isn't the pre-authorized contract I agreed to......there's no reason for us to continue with Thrifty. We're better off using either Hotwire or Priceline to obtain our car rentals.

Perhaps they should rename themselves "Uber-Thrifty" but are probably too thrifty (cheap) to consider incurring any such costs.....good luck with whatever you chose to do for future rentals.
I've never used Hotwire or Priceline, maybe I should see if it fits our needs...

 

[Doogie]

In the past when I have had issues with various companies issues, I have sent a detailed email to the President of the company. In a lot of cases, these guys don't know what is going on. It may take a bit of work to find out contact details to send them an email, but I have found that it is worth it. You may get some satisfaction this way.

For example, a few months ago the spare ignition key to my car was defective again (it had already been rreplaced one due to a recall). The dealer and manufacturer refused to cover the $350 fee for a replacement. On top of that, the dealer's rep inferred that I was not considered a valuable customer. I sent an email to the President, who apoligized and covered the cost.

 

[gwenco]

Just reserved a car with them yesterday

$124 for a 5 day "speciality car" - minimum 5 person vehicle, in Vegas.
Thanks for the warning as we will scan the contract before we sign!

 

[DaveNV]

Every company has their perks, and I'm sorry Thrifty did this to you. I've always liked Alamo. If reserved through the Costco website, second drivers and unlimited mileage are free. If you provide your rental info in advance, you can use their kiosk to get through in a hurry, and avoid long lines at the counter. I've never used their frequent-renter program, but it may have even more going for it.

Dave

 

[Luanne]

Every company has their perks, and I'm sorry Thrifty did this to you. I've always liked Alamo. If reserved through the Costco website, second drivers and unlimited mileage are free. If you provide your rental info in advance, you can use their kiosk to get through in a hurry, and avoid long lines at the counter. I've never used their frequent-renter program, but it may have even more going for it.

Dave

It's funny how everyone has their favorites. I don't care for Alamo (have used them through Priceline a few times though) and it's either Budget or Thrifty I won't use any more. I've also had a couple of bad experiences with Enterprise at the ABQ airport, so don't know if it's that particular location or the chain in general.

My favorite is Avis. A lot of it is because I get a corporate discount that I can usually only beat by using Pricline. Whenever I try using coupons, or Costco codes, my corporate price still comes up better. Avis has done well by me over the years.

 

[Born2Travel]

I think this is becoming more common through all the companies. I don't have a favorite any more - we've used them all and had issues with most of them. These days you have to carefully check the paperwork. They tried to charge us a higher rate (Enterprise) in Maui until I showed them my confirmaiton in hand.

Same problem in Newport Beach, CA - they tried to charge more when I turned the car in (about $100 more) - luckily I had my confirmation in hand again and caught it before I left the counter and had time before my flight to get it fixed. They said someone must have charged the "today" rate rather than the rate I had when I booked.

Last week we rented a 7 pass premium crossover from Alamo in Portland but when the guys went to pick it up it wasn't "or similar" as advertised so we almost didn't take it. They managed to come up with something that "had to be cleaned" so they waited for it (I wonder if they didn't go get it from another lot somewhere) It seems they are all trying to squeeze every $$ they can. Have you also noticed that what used to be economy is now compact and what used to be compact is now a standard size? Oh, and some places don't include auto windows etc in a compact? geez...

 

[davemy]

Well They got me good recently! I rented a car from them last easter break out of west palm beach. We put alot of miles on the the car. We went thru tolls eight times. Wasn't really sure why there was no toll collectors in florida so we had to go thru them. 2 months latter a bill shows up on my visa for $204.00 dollars from thrifty car rental. I thought someone stole my credit card number and rented a car from them. I quickly cancelled my card. A few days later i get a bill from them in the mail. $4.00 dollars in toll charges and 8 services charges of $25.00 each for each time i went thru a toll! So i called them to get this resolved, Major disappoinment in the way they treated me on the phone! They have a seperate department to handle all the toll call basiclly saying your *bleep* out of luck! I am fighting it thru my visa! Oh also they said, didn't they explain this to you when you were signing the paperwork, I said NO.

 

[dougp26364]

$124 for a 5 day "speciality car" - minimum 5 person vehicle, in Vegas.
Thanks for the warning as we will scan the contract before we sign!

One of the few other times we've had an issue with Thrifty was in Vegas. This was back before we had internet service and I would just call reservations to reserve a car. The Thrift office in Vegas refused to honor the price I was quoted. Even though they were the same cost as Allstate, which at the time was right next to Thrifty, I made a point of walking to their counter to rent a car rather than submit to Thrifty's bait and switch tactic.

Other than that, the only other time I had an issue was in Palm Beach, FL, when they tried to use a cancelled reservation at a much higher rate than the one I was holding in my hand. The manager at the office made that right before we drove the car off the lot.

I sent a follow up message after getting the knee jerk responce about Trip Saver, which didn't address the main issue that this was added to my pre-approved Blue Chip contract where I was suppose to be able to sign and drive without worry. I've been given a CS number to call to give them the opportunity to resolve this matter. I'll call it but, IMHO, this is something that never should have happened and takes the ease out of Thrifty's pre-approved sign and drive Blue Chip contracts.

Thrifty was already on life support with me. Lately they didn't have a Blue Chip counter where I just walked up, gave my name and they handed me my contract. Instead I've been required to stand in line with everyone else and wait, which defeats the purpose of the program. If I have to stand in line, I might as well use Priceline or Hotwire. There's very little difference at that point except for price.

If companies feel they need to compete on price and price alone, I can do that. Sometimes I'm willing to pay a little more for service depending on if I feel the difference in price warrents the difference in level of service. I really love Hertz's #1 Gold program but, the price difference is to much to justify the cost for me. Thus, I stick with companies that offer similar benefits for much less. Then again, I did just get burned for $35 by trusting one such company and am having considerably more hassle than it's worth.

 

[dougp26364]

Every company has their perks, and I'm sorry Thrifty did this to you. I've always liked Alamo. If reserved through the Costco website, second drivers and unlimited mileage are free. If you provide your rental info in advance, you can use their kiosk to get through in a hurry, and avoid long lines at the counter. I've never used their frequent-renter program, but it may have even more going for it.

Dave

Two of our next three rentals are with Alamo. We had used them in the past before 9/11 and before they went bankrupt. Alamo abrubtly increasd their rates to a point that made Thrifty more competitive and, Thrifty's Blue Chip program started out great, with no lines and competitive pricing. Over the last few years we've found ourselves standing in line and twice they've been caught altering the contract. Once was corrected at the counter, this time I wasn't paying attention (shame on me).

I'll give Thrifty the opportunity to correct this issue and, if they do, I'll still consider them. However, their service has fallen off enough and the trust factor is completely gone now. Thrifty will most likely never be our first choice again and, if other companies are close in price, we won't be using Thrifty.

Of course I'm only giving them the opportunity to fix this issue. There's nothing saying they'll do anything about it and, I'm only willing to go so far over $35. In reality I feel that I shouldn't even be having to call their CS number. They were provided with my reservation # and should have been able to look up both my pre-approved contract and the actual contract given to me at the airport. This should have been a simple fix on Thrifty's part. For that matter, this should never have been an issue.

Then again I am a busy person and I work odd hours. Calling during "normal" business hours often is not convenient for me. If I'm put on hold, they may not even have the opportunity to fix how they cheated us.

 

[dougp26364]

It's funny how everyone has their favorites. I don't care for Alamo (have used them through Priceline a few times though) and it's either Budget or Thrifty I won't use any more. I've also had a couple of bad experiences with Enterprise at the ABQ airport, so don't know if it's that particular location or the chain in general.

My favorite is Avis. A lot of it is because I get a corporate discount that I can usually only beat by using Pricline. Whenever I try using coupons, or Costco codes, my corporate price still comes up better. Avis has done well by me over the years.

I wish I had a corporate code that would get either Avis's or Hertz's price down to that level. The only issue I've ever had was getting a bad car from Hertz once at Orange County Airport. It was high mileage, dirty with stained seats and had bald tires. Even though I complained at the location about the condition, the only option I was given was to go back in stand in line. That line had one person at the counter and was moving painfully slow, so I took the bad car and drove off. Hertz was unreponsive to my complaint. even at the corporate level.

 

[Luanne]

I wish I had a corporate code that would get either Avis's or Hertz's price down to that level. The only issue I've ever had was getting a bad car from Hertz once at Orange County Airport. It was high mileage, dirty with stained seats and had bald tires. Even though I complained at the location about the condition, the only option I was given was to go back in stand in line. That line had one person at the counter and was moving painfully slow, so I took the bad car and drove off. Hertz was unreponsive to my complaint. even at the corporate level.

I've had the opposite experience with Avis. We've been going to Santa Fe over Thanksgiving the past few years. I always rent a full size through Avis. And every year they've upgraded me to an SUV. I've always had to "ask". Usually the reason is that the full size they've chosen for us won't fit more than 2 pieces of luggage. The last time was because the car was filthy (also the trunk was too small for the luggage). I was really surprised about the condition of the car. Again, upgrade, no problem.

 

[dougp26364]

I think this is becoming more common through all the companies. I don't have a favorite any more - we've used them all and had issues with most of them. These days you have to carefully check the paperwork. They tried to charge us a higher rate (Enterprise) in Maui until I showed them my confirmaiton in hand.

Same problem in Newport Beach, CA - they tried to charge more when I turned the car in (about $100 more) - luckily I had my confirmation in hand again and caught it before I left the counter and had time before my flight to get it fixed. They said someone must have charged the "today" rate rather than the rate I had when I booked.

Last week we rented a 7 pass premium crossover from Alamo in Portland but when the guys went to pick it up it wasn't "or similar" as advertised so we almost didn't take it. They managed to come up with something that "had to be cleaned" so they waited for it (I wonder if they didn't go get it from another lot somewhere) It seems they are all trying to squeeze every $$ they can. Have you also noticed that what used to be economy is now compact and what used to be compact is now a standard size? Oh, and some places don't include auto windows etc in a compact? geez...

Thrifty wasn't even who we initially had this reservation through. As I mentioned, their Blue Chip service had already declined to a point we were considering other agencies. We had initially gone through Enterprise but, Thrifty dropped their price the last day so that we'd realize a savings of close to $60.

Despite the fact we had reserved just the day before, they did not have the class of car (economy) we had reserved. Instead, they attempted to give us a mini-van. Because we were staying at Marriott's Mountainside in Park City, UT, a resort I knew has underground parking and tight parking spaces, I refused and made them give us a Nissan Sentra they had on the lot. The girl at the counter had to get permission. This is probably where they decided to burn us for Trip Saver or another $35.

I miss the days with Thrifty's Blue Chip where they had the pre-approved contract ready and your car was parked with other Blue Chip cars in a special area. They had you're partiucular car ready and waiting for you. Those days have been gone and it had me considering and reserving with other companies already, but I still prefered Thrifty because I knew them and, unfortunately, had put my trust in them.

No matter what the final outcome might be, they've effectively destroyed any trust I had with them. That's a bad thing for a company to destroy and often is the first step towards failure.

 

[dougp26364]

Well They got me good recently! I rented a car from them last easter break out of west palm beach. We put alot of miles on the the car. We went thru tolls eight times. Wasn't really sure why there was no toll collectors in florida so we had to go thru them. 2 months latter a bill shows up on my visa for $204.00 dollars from thrifty car rental. I thought someone stole my credit card number and rented a car from them. I quickly cancelled my card. A few days later i get a bill from them in the mail. $4.00 dollars in toll charges and 8 services charges of $25.00 each for each time i went thru a toll! So i called them to get this resolved, Major disappoinment in the way they treated me on the phone! They have a seperate department to handle all the toll call basiclly saying your *bleep* out of luck! I am fighting it thru my visa! Oh also they said, didn't they explain this to you when you were signing the paperwork, I said NO.

Great way to destory what was once a good company. They may get you for the $200 in service charges when all is said and done but, they'll lose all future rentals and, get bad press in the meantime.

I have sent my story to a Consumer Reports web site called The Comsumerist at http://www.consumerist.com . I'd recommend you send them your story as well.

 

[Davidr]

Well They got me good recently! I rented a car from them last easter break out of west palm beach. We put alot of miles on the the car. We went thru tolls eight times. Wasn't really sure why there was no toll collectors in florida so we had to go thru them. 2 months latter a bill shows up on my visa for $204.00 dollars from thrifty car rental. I thought someone stole my credit card number and rented a car from them. I quickly cancelled my card. A few days later i get a bill from them in the mail. $4.00 dollars in toll charges and 8 services charges of $25.00 each for each time i went thru a toll! So i called them to get this resolved, Major disappoinment in the way they treated me on the phone! They have a seperate department to handle all the toll call basiclly saying your *bleep* out of luck! I am fighting it thru my visa! Oh also they said, didn't they explain this to you when you were signing the paperwork, I said NO.

The Florida turnpike has "Sunpass Only" exits and entrances. We own at Ocean Pointe and the nearest Tpke entrance/exit is Sunpass only. Those entrances little confusing for non-locals. I can't image what a non English speaker must go thru there. Since we go to FL every year and Sunpass isn't compatible with Easypass, we bought a Sunpass and bring it with us when we go.

 

[ace2000]

I will rent a car for short weekend trips to St. Louis or Kansas City. I'd rather put the miles on a rental than my own. I always reserve for the smallest and best gas mileage car they have (which is always the cheapest). When I arrive to the counter, they never seem to have the smaller cars and I almost always get upgraded. Even if I wanted a mid-sized car, I think I'd reserve a small car and take my chances. This past weekend, I was upgraded to a Nissan Altima.

By the way, I mostly use Avis. For me, not only do they offer unlimited miles, they also seem to be the cheapest.

 

[dougp26364]

I will rent a car for short weekend trips to St. Louis or Kansas City. I'd rather put the miles on a rental than my own. I always reserve for the smallest and best gas mileage car they have (which is always the cheapest). When I arrive to the counter, they never seem to have the smaller cars and I almost always get upgraded. Even if I wanted a mid-sized car, I think I'd reserve a small car and take my chances. This past weekend, I was upgraded to a Nissan Altima.

By the way, I mostly use Avis. For me, not only do they offer unlimited miles, they also seem to be the cheapest.

I'm looking at doing the same thing for a three night trip coming up. I'm finding relatively cheap rentals, would prefer better MPG's then our vehicles get and would just as soon not put the miles on our cars if I can rent cheap enough. $75 for a three day rental seems pretty reasonable for what I want. I just don't think I'll be using Thrifty after they burned me with an extra charge when I was using Blue Chip, which is suppose to only put on your contract what you tell them to put on your contract up front.

 

[dougp26364]

So, Thrifty finally understood my E-mails and gives me a CS number to call with a case reference #. I call the number and get put on hold, only to learn the CS rep needs to talk with the person who sent me the e-mail and they're out to lunch. So now I have a message given to that person by the CS rep so that they can call me and tell me what they can do.

No problem I told her. I've already cancelled my remaining reservations with Thrifty and have reserved cars with other companies. It's not a problem for me because it won't happen again with Thrifty. I still don't think they get it.

What I don't understand is, if the CS rep has to speak with the person I've been corresponding to in the e-mails to see what to do, why hasn't that person just handled it in the first place or, why didn't she just tell me to call her at her number? Better yet, why am I even putting up with this run around over $34.93? I guess I should have never called but, I thought it would be one call and I'd get some sort of explanation or decision. Silly me. :annoyed:

 

[ace2000]

I'm looking at doing the same thing for a three night trip coming up. I'm finding relatively cheap rentals, would prefer better MPG's then our vehicles get and would just as soon not put the miles on our cars if I can rent cheap enough. $75 for a three day rental seems pretty reasonable for what I want. I just don't think I'll be using Thrifty after they burned me with an extra charge when I was using Blue Chip, which is suppose to only put on your contract what you tell them to put on your contract up front.

Here's the clincher for me... I paid a total of $24 (with tax and fees) to rent a car for 24 hours. I probably saved half of that $24 on gas savings, even with the Altima they gave me this time. And then I saved my car a total of 650 miles of wear and tear...

 

[Kelsie]

One thing Hertz representatives do not tell you is that you can use up to 4 $25.00 dollar coupon's off a weekly car rental.

We rented through Budget 2 wks. ago in Key West, when we came home my husband was looking over the contract charges and saw a $15.00 charge, for not driving 75 miles. Talk about nickel and dimeing and losing a customer.