Budget truck rental

I've had an experience similar to the others I've read

here...

not as serious, but indicative of how Budget operates.

Rented a large (24' I think) truck and tow dolly for the

car.

Things seemed ok and we finally hit the road. After

pulling off for

fuel, I noticed a tire on the tow dolly was really out of

shape,

bulging, worn through tread, basically unsafe looking.

We were done driving for the day, so pulled into the hotel

and called "24hr roadside assistance" from budget. I WAS

ON HOLD,

WAITING FOR A HUMAN TO TALK TO FOR OVER A HALF HOUR!. You

don't want this

brand of "assistance" if you are stuck on the shoulder of

the road somewhere.

Eventually got their operator to send out a (local) tire

service guy,

who, in addition to being a great guy who took some pride

in his job,

also told me that I was super-lucky that the tire hadn't

blown already.

I checked the truck's check-out info... tires and

pressures for the truck

had been checked but nothing on the dolly had been. And

with the contract,

they shift all risk of damage to the car being towed onto

the customer.

So after struggling across country (w/ traffic speeding

by), we unload the

truck and return it to a local joint a few hours late. It

was July 3rd so the

local shop closed at 12 noon; we brought the truck back at

2:00 and it was due

at 10:00 that same morning. I figured that at worst, they

might charge me the $70

per day late fee, but then found out that taxes, fees, and

crap added up $96!!!

So part two of this is about Budget customer service. I

called them and got a

dismissive, rude, and just generally mean woman who

essentially said all these

problems were either mine or could not be helped, and that

Budget was entirely

within their rights to charge me like this (hey, no one

was renting the truck

on the 4th!, and there was a fleet of them there anyway).

She also pretty much

told me I was stupid for not reading the contract, which,

during the stress and

work that comes with moving isn't terribly sympathetic.

Yes it could have been worse; but I want anyone out there

to know:

Budget Truck Rental will attempt to screw you out of your

money and/or deposit

at every turn, and they cannot be relied upon to provide

sound and well-functioning

equipment, nor roadside assistance.

Do not support them.

Mike S.

Comment On This

I too have had a simliar experience both with the customer service side of Budget as well as the corporate office correspondence and their level of professionalism.

My experience is from 2004 when I moved from Roanoke, VA to Greensboro, NC. They were offering a 2-day package (unlimited miles or $99.00).

Though there weren't any issues with the actual truck (24' Truck w/o car tow), when asked about the insurance for the truck...I had called my insurance company in advance and they cover any claims on rental vehicles (including truck rentals) so I told them that I did not need it.

Upon returning the truck on a Sunday (the office was closed) I dropped the keys off and notated the time appropriately...It was due by noon, I returned the truck @ 12:30PM because I had forgotten to re-fill the tank prior to turning it in, so I had to go back out and re-fill it with fuel.

Two days later I phone to make sure everything was taken care of and when informed of the amount that was going to be charged to my credit card I was in complete shock...try $220 for a 2 day truck rental. Not only did they charge me for an additional day...I was also charged something ridiculous for the insurance fee even though I had signed the waiver. I don't recall the breakdown of charges, but that $99 dollar deal wasn't such a great deal in this event. I could have paid a company to move my stuff for me considering the cost of gas and time spent moving.

I immediately called Budget's corporate office only to be bounced around to different people who "supposively" could help me with this situation. I was on the phone over an hour talking to different people who said they would not be able to help me. I finally got off the phone and did some research and found the CEO's information on the internet and contacted him the same day. I got his secretary who was extremely rude and inconsiderate...not professional at all. She informed me that this situation was to be handled at the Roanoke, VA office and there was nothing they would do...I asked why not if they were the people responsible for Budget Truck Rentals. She said that they were very busy and this is not their problem since I didn't have my copy of the agreement.

I filed a report with the Better Business Bureau and the response that came from Budget was nonetheless forged paperwork with the box checked for insurance even though I know for a fact that I had NOT checked the box. Unfortunately I left my copy of the agreement in the truck upon returning it which was a very expensive mistake on myh part.

Long story short...I cut my losses and refuse the use the company ever again.

I hope this may help some of you out there beware of what you're getting yourself into and make sure you keep your agreement and all correspondence with this company if you ever do use them. I felt completely helpless because they had my credit card on file (have to leave it in order to reserve a truck). I tried cancelling it through my bank but they had already ran the transaction so there was nothing I could do.