Cautionary Tale: Beware of SHIFTY THRIFTY – A Company of Deceptive Practices and Unforeseen Charges. This company employs deceitful tactics and outright theft. If I could give 0 stars, I would.
Beware: if you can't locate Thrifty on Google Maps, it's the same as Dollar—a joint entity.
My harrowing encounter last Saturday deserves a cautionary tale. We rented through Priceline and reserved compact SUV with thrifty because of a decent price for this trip. We arrived through terminal C.
Keep in mind, I arrived later than anticipated due to delays because of the tropical storm coming up through the east coast so I’m tired as our flight was delayed by 6 hours.
This seemingly endless check-in line at terminal C, with a mind-boggling pace, and an agent hell-bent on upselling. While every other rental brand has gone through at least 2 times the amount of people in the time I have been standing in line.
Finally, 1 hour later, my turn arrived, and optimism waned. The agent, seemingly pleasant, presented options: prepaid tolls, an upgraded car, all while assuring the price consistency. This was all that was presented to us. I declined the tolls as we would be using the tollpass. The agent understood and stated that he would try to get us a Rogue as we would have 4 suitcases. This wasn’t an upgrade, it was part of my reservation. The agent was clicking around, said to sign and that was the end.
A mirage of smooth sailing shattered upon car pickup—a tank half full, no documentation, and a makeshift blockade of vans. Ive had this half-full tank scenario happen to me before with another company. So the employee working in the garage states “just return it back the same level”. I should’ve noted the red flags as this man had no iPad with him or anything to note the half tank of gas. The man moved his blockade of vans and off I went.
Fast forward to today, I'm hit with an absurd $354.70 charge—gas, uncommunicated fees that I didn’t sign up for.
Non-communicated fees: The initial agent at the counter had signed us up for the LIS insurance, and Premium Road Service. This was not even mentioned once during check in. Instead he was too busy chatting and stating the computer was slow.
Declined fees: We still were charged the Prepaid tolls despite us DECLINING them during check in.
The agent who returned the car states she charged me 5 gallons of gas at 11.00 the gallon. I explain to her the situation and she points to her iPad and states that “since it’s not in the system, then you’re responsible for it Mami”.
Contesting meant revisiting the line of my initial agony. Driven, I run in and speak with the agent at the counter. Luckily, no line this time. The agent, powerless, directed me to a distant manager located in another terminal or the elusive Customer Service. However before leaving the counter the agent was able to remove the gas charge in question.
We get through TSA, and I call immediately Customer Service, and explain the situation.
The agent on the other line stated they will reach out to the Location and will have an answer by tomorrow.
This ordeal stands as my worst car rental experience, emphasizing the need to approach Thrifty with extreme caution.
These are predatory practices that take advantage of the everyday customer. The agent might be racking up a lot of commission on these reservations and add-ons but Thrifty should be warned that he is doing them illegally. Thrifty, he is a man who is bald and light colored eyes. I know he’s Hispanic, possibly Puerto Rican (I’m Puerto Rican) and a chatterbox. He shouldn’t be difficult to find. I would definitely investigate his “sales” as I’m positive I am not the first victim to this scam. If he made these charges by mistake, then he should receieve additional training or find another job because being the counter agent might not be his calling.
Not everyone will fight these charges but I will. Don’t fall victim to their dubious practices – choose a rental company that values transparency and customer satisfaction.
On September 2, 2023, I arrived at SFO Thrifty Car Counter. First, the wait was very long (~90 minutes) and kept growing. I had reserved an EV, so I asked if the car I will be getting uses a CCS or CHADEMO port, and the agent said he didn't know. This is equivalent to not knowing what octane of gas a car takes. He then says they don't have the Kia Niro, which was the car I was supposed to get, and that they have Chevy Bolts but are running low and ask if I want to upgrade to an SUV at $50 a day. I did not know whether the Chevy Bolt would have enough range or a fast enough charging time for my trip, and the agent was not helpful. The Thrifty agent was also not knowledgeable of the type of SUVs that were available, but at least knew that the SUV takes premium gas. I agree to the upgrade and am given an estimated receipt for nearly triple the $350 I was told. I ask, does the prepaid amount apply after this, and the agent says he can’t see how much I prepaid. It seems way too high to have already applied the prepaid amount. Furthermore, the additional taxes were double the amount quoted in my original prepaid payment and were not explained to me why. Lastly, it was not clear to me which of the fees and insurance I had already paid would carry over or how they would apply. At this point I am already an hour late and the agent has not been able to answer any of my questions so I leave. Waiting for the car was a long and unpleasant experience. Being told my car was not available and sprung with a modification to the reservation at the counter was frustrating. They are using bad customer service to ignore a prepaid agreement and tack on extra fees. Another issue I had: I called customer service to make sure I could return the car early 12 hours early (instead of 9/9 @ 10AM, changed to 9/8 @ 10PM) and make sure I do not incur an "early rental fee." The wait was not terribly long (~15 minutes). I let the lady on the phone know that I am returning it early, and she said the rate would change to a lower amount and she would e-mail the reflection in 30-45 minutes. I did not receive an e-mail and the rental agreement remain the same on there. I decided to call back two days later to make sure the change was reflected. The guy on the phone was confused, because he said in his system it said 9/8 @ 10AM! So I had him confirmed to change it to 10PM. He then said it will change the amount, and that amount was higher than the amount the lady said, but also $3 lower than the estimated amount I originally had, which doesn't make sense because I am returning it 12 hours earlier. I asked for an e-mail and had him read it out to me. Never got an e-mail and my rental agreement remained the same online. Overall, customer service was not engaged and not helpful because they misheard me. Also, Thrifty's systems need to talk to each other. I have let Thrifty know of my poor customer experience and they said they would get back to me in 10 business days and that has never happened. I will not rent from them again.
I acctualy booked a car online through Expedia for a 4 day stay in the SF bay area. I needed just a basic transportation car to get from the airport to my destination and return so I booked a economy car at $27 per day. My total charges were to be $258 including ins., they required a deposit of $186 of witch I paid. When I got to the rental car counter I gave them my info and they proceeded to complete my reservation (this was after waiting 2 hours inline to get to the counter). I then picked up the car and went on my way not really paying much attention to the paperwork at the time being totally annoyed after the long wait I made it to my destanation and thought nothing about my charges because all of my charges were confirmed on my original booking through Expedia. After returning the car on the day I stated in my contract I was in a slight rush to get to my gate to catch my flight. During my flight I recieved my final bill from Thrifty by email but not having wifi I wasn't able to open it untill I landed hours later. After reviewing my charges I see that they automatically gave me a upgraded car that I NEVER requested and a complete additional day of rental charges for being 30 min late upon my return. Also the deposit from Expedia was not deducted from my total. After checking with Thrifty they said I reqested a larger vehicle witch I did not! After checking with Expedia they said that the total from Thrifty was on top of my deposit, my total charges went from the original quote of $258 to over $600. So it was one thing to get charged for an additional day of complete charges including all of the BS taxes and other charges and insurance. As it turns out they charged me an additional $40 per day for a upgaded car on top of the qriginal charge of $27 per day I selected then all of your charges are increased by the increased charge. NEVER AGAIN WILL I USE THRIFTY NOR EXPEDIA!
Made a reservation with Thrifty Car Rental through Expedia! Was race weekend in Indianapolis from SATURDAY through MONDAY! I paid in ADVANCE!
When I arrived THRIFTY said my rental was MONDAY into TUESDAY, which was their changing the dates, since they were probably sold out for the race weekend, and still wanted the booking at any cost! By the time that reservation they made, we would have already been back in Florida!
When I arrived and found the problem, I asked Expedia for a refund, and they agreed to give me one, but the price was not correct for the original rental, which I figured they had deducted. They offered $75 back, when off the original rental was over $100, and I said refund was not correct. I said that I would call them back.
When I looked it up and found they had not taken the full money and only the $75 I called back and said I would take that refund! At that point they said they had to check, jerked me around for a week, putting me on 30 min holds, and disconnecting my calls, etc! Anything to screw with me when I called!
They then told me I would not get my refund, after they already promised I would! Total liars & scumbags! I would never use either again! Thrifty always the bottom of the barrel, and proved themselves worthy of the title!
Rented a car from Thrifty Car rental- Orlando (MCO ) Airport. There was over an hour wait to see an agent. The line behind us was over an hour as well. It was chaotic and they rush you through your rental service. I rent cars often and am aware of the extra services you can purchase. I DECLINED the insurance. They did not physically show you on a screen what you have accepted & denied, or on paper. Other rental agencies have you go through and inital. The was one signature at the end. I did not physically view a contract. I did not even see my total.
I signed for my charge which I beleived was for the taxes, toll fee ( which I agreed to) and deposit. I signed only 1x. Again, other agencies have you atleast inital things. I noticed later looking at the reciept they charged me for the insurance I clearly declined. Once you sign, they will do nothing about it. They say you signed the contract. I complained to the BBB, in doing that I found many complaints identical to mine from the Thrifty Orlando Airport. That is when I realized, they have a scam going on. The rental agency seems to be consistently busy ( it was by far the busiest one when we were there). You are tired from your flight and now you are waiting an hour plus for your car.
You are exhausted when you get to the agent. They rush you throught the rental agreement verbally, but show you NOTHING physically on a screen or paper. So you may say "no" to insurance but you can not see if they added it until after you sign and you have the reciept. So, they add on insurance and when you realize, they will not budge. They say you signed the contract and it was your responsibily to catch it. But there is no way to catch it until after you sign! There they got you and your money! It is fraudulent.
I declined the insurance. My husband was next to me as a witness. Yet, I was charged. Thrifty Customer service was no help. But I became suspicious when I saw many complaints just liked mine from Thirfty Orlando Airport all with the same generic response from Thrifty. They do not care, they found a loophole to scam customers and get away with it.
I was about to miss my flight and knew I wouldn't have time to fill the gas tank. I figured oh, ok I'll have them fill it. Gas in portland Oregon is $2.35 a gallon. A Toyotoa Corolla has a $13 gallon tank. If I had filled the tank it would have been $30.
Thrifty charged me $115----- TEN DOLLARS A GALLON to fill it!! That's pure ROBBERY!
I calld them and they said I signed it in the contract. Well ok, whatever. But nobody mentioned that at the time I was at the rental desk. Any company who would rape their customers financially is not worthy of my business.
I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN. DON'T USE THRIFTY.
Besides that, their service to get to and from the airport was super slow because they only had one driver running the routes that two or three should run. So the buses were plum full of people and standing room only during a COVID EPIDEMIC!
I cant reiterate this enough. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. See the bad reviews. As a a frequent business traveler I rent cars on a weekly basis. As a Thrifty Blue Chip member I book directly with thrifty.com.
Whatever you do, do not rent from Thrifty Car Rental with a prepaid rental at any of their locations in Florida. When you get a discount offer on thrifty.com for prepaid rental the website redirects you to a third party website cartrawler.com only after you have given your credit card info on the thrifty web site. The confirmation email came from cartrawler.com stated in order to meet the terms of rental I would need to provide two forms of photo ID. Also stated this is non-refundable prepaid deposit. This was not disclosed on thrifty.com when I entered my booking info. As a Thrifty Blue Chip member and US citizen this was not acceptable to me. Immediately after receiving my confirmation my credit card company sent a fraud alert email stating I made a international purchase from Dublin, Ireland. I called Thrifty customer service and was told I booked with a third party and need to call them. I cancelled the prepaid reservation 7 days prior to rental date and received a email stating 10 days for applicable refund. I called my credit card company and disputed the international charge. Cartrawler fought it stating a prepaid reservation is non refundable.
Contacted Thrifty & Hertz over multiple days. Pushed around from department to department. Multiple dropped calls. No call backs.
Only recent rentals were from 2 international Thrifty locations in November of 2018. Was told that most of Thrifty's international locations, including the pair in question are not actually Thrifty locations, but independently owned franchises over which Hertz/Thrifty has no real oversight. This is deeply problematic and dubiously legal at best. Not only are these franchises falsely presented as actual Thrifty locations (reservations made directly through Hertz/Thrifty phone reservations) the biller on the credit card is "THRIFTY RENT-A-CAR." Yet, there's no ownership on the part of Thrifty/Hertz. Their solution was to contact the locations directly while I waited on hold. When they couldn't reach anyone (despite at least one being an airport location), they told me I couldn't be escalated any further and someone would be contacting me directly.
I received an email on 1/3/19 from Customer Correspondence Administrator Randi S., which stated that if I provided them with the following they would be "glad to assist": "1. Reservation confirmation number, which starts with an "H" or rental agreement/record number, which is 9 numbers. 2. Name of primary renter exactly as it is on contract. 3. Beginning and ending dates of rental. 4. Location of rental." I replied with copies of both reservation agreements which included all of the requested information. I received a reply the following day stating "Since I am required to contact them directly, it may be approximately two weeks before you hear from Thrifty again. Please be assured I will notify you as soon as I receive the requested information. Thank you for your patience in this matter. Your business is appreciated."
Over the ensuing weeks I attempted to contact the franchise locations myself - at the expense of $5 / minute, but never received followups to my calls. After two weeks. I received the following email on 1/15/19: "Regrettably, I have been unable to obtain a copy of the rental invoice requested. In some cases, the country will respond directly to the customer without sending a copy to this office."
I contacted Thrifty/Hertz once more and was told there was nothing they could do to help, since their own franchisees hadn't replied to them. To reiterate, this company represents these franchisees as proper Thrifty/Hertz rental locations, without disclaimer that any ensuing issues are not ultimately their issue to resolve. There's no ownership of fraudulent charges made by those franchisees, despite the biller listed on the charge being Thrifty themselves. I've provided ample corroboration of my claims and the franchisees didn't even bother to respond to the company under whose umbrella they operate. On top of everything I have been a loyal customer of theirs for years. I will never give these grifters my business again. Neither should any other smart consumer.
I rented a vehicle from thrifty rental also known as dollar rental at San Diego airport on April 22, 2018. When I rented the vehicle from the woman named Maria at the dollar rental counter she assured me that all services were declined except for the rental and that any charges were just holds and would not be placed directly upon the credit card… When I receive my credit card bill she a process that has a full charge and when I looked at the rental agreement it actually went through as an agreement and when I tried to rectify it with thrifty they said that they don’t go by verbal agreements of declining they only go by what she pushed through… Total rip off I only wish I can get my money back but I can’t… Do not trust thriftier dollar rental car ever again!
When I picked up the car, I did not agree to the use of the PlatePass device. In fact, when asked if I wanted to use it, I specifically declined. I knew I would be incurring the expense of one toll during my trip. When I declined, the representative checked the box marked "decline" on his paperwork.
I was given a car that, unbenounced to me, had a PlatePass device in it and that the device was active.
When I learned, within an hour of renting the car, that the device was active (at the only toll station I would encounter on my travels...with a 30-cent toll), I called the office from which I’d rented the vehicle to report the error.
I was given instructions on how to deactivate the tolling device (which I should have been given when I declined its use at the time I made the rental). I then deactivated the device. (Since I’d refused it at the counter, the device should have been deactivated before I took the car.)
When I asked that the representative make note and fix the contract, I was told I would be able to correct the contract when I returned my vehicle.
When I returned the vehicle, I was told they couldn’t do anything, that I could correct the issue when I received an invoice.
When I received the invoice from Thrifty Processing Services, I responded in writing explaining what had happened.
Shirtly thereafter, I received a letter invoice from American Traffic Solution (ATS).
On receipt of the ATS letter, I called American Express to dispute the charge. I provided all documents and correspondence...several times.
I specifically declined use of the tolling device. The device was set to the active position when I got the car, not by me. It should not have been.I was not informed that it was active and, that because I'd declined its use, I must deactivate it. Therefore, this was a mistake or, at worst, a deceptive practice by Thrifty. And, given all the things I was told about resolving the problem by Thrifty representatives, I very much believe that this was deception to the point of fraud.
The reps had to know what they were telling me was not correct. And I end up being charged for eleven days of use of a device I declined. This for a single toll on the first day of my rental, within an hour of my renting the vehicle. This could have easily been avoided…and should have been:
I could have…indeed should have…been informed that the device was active and, since I’d declined its use, that I needed to deactivate it, with instructions on how to do so.
I could have returned to the Albany Airport, turned in the car and re-rented it with the tolling device in the deactivated mode.
When I called to report the error and then when I turned the car in, I shouldn’t have been told I could rectify the error at a later time. I’m sure the representatives knew it would not be an easy thing.
Thrifty Auto wants to charge an extra $900 for a 7 day rental. They already took $309 from my account. Although I called the office everyday to extend the rental, they towed the rental from my college campus with all my personal belongings. They claim the $900 and change is non negotiable fees and refuse to return my proprty until they get their money. The manager stated that she would keep my property and add $500 for not returning the keys to the rental. Not only did they leave me stranded, but the staff refused to put me through to the manager for two days, apparently they keep accruing fees until the keyd are returned and they get their money. At this point the amount is unknown.
This company is sending unsuspecting renters out in unsafe vehicles, and this is after they have tried to rip them off by lying about toll roads fees and unneeded insurance coverage they claim is required by Florida law!
In my case, I agreed online to rent a compact car for a full month for a total price of just over $800.00. This was the best deal I could find. However, when I arrived to pick up the car, the high-pressure salesperson behind the counter insisted that Florida law required me to carry liability insurance (which I know is a lie!) at an additional cost of $13.00 to $54.00 per DAY! When I explained that all the insurance I needed was covered by the Chase credit card I was using to pay for the rental car, she kept insisting I was taking a "grave risk" that could cost me "millions" if I hurt someone while driving the rental car.
When I finally convinced her I was NOT going to be buying any additional insurance, she then began high-pressuring me into buying a 'toll road plan' that would save me from being fined $25.00 each time I passed a toll booth that would not accept cash, but only a special sticker on my car. She "warned" me that EVERY time I passed a toll booth, a photo would be taken of my license plate so that Thrifty could then charge these fines against my credit card. When I told her I would simply avoid toll roads, she insisted that it was "impossible" to navigate Miami without using toll roads (I managed to do this with NO problems whatsoever, by the way!) She wanted me to give her $47.00 per week (for a total of over $200.00 including the additional taxes) to "protect" myself from these fines.
She kept pushing me to buy this "plan" even after I told her I would only be in Florida for about TWO days, as the majority of my month would be spent visiting my new granddaughter in North Carolina! I again told her I did NOT want the plan, only to find out later that she had put the cost of it on my credit card DESPITE me telling her to NOT do that!
As if all this wasn't bad enough, just as I was pulling away from the final checkpoint, the "flat tire" indicator light came on, so I stopped the car and looked at all the tires. The lady at the checkpoint asked me what I was doing, so I told her the "flat tire" light had come on, so I was checking the tires. She laughed and said that indicator is only to let me know the tire is LOW on air, so I should just stop at a gas station to add air, which I then did (it was the passenger rear tire that was low on air).
The next day, as I was heading up I-95 about 50 miles outside of Miami, the light came on again, so I added more air. This happened several times, so when I arrived in Charlotte, my daughter's town, I finally stopped into a Discount Tire shop to have the tire checked. They told me the tire had a screw in the sidewall, so it could not be repaired and needed to be replaced. They also showed me the front tires which were nearly BALD!!! (NO tread left!) . Since they knew it was a rental car, they asked to see the contract and called Thrifty to get authorization to replace AT LEAST the unrepairable tire, but Thrifty REFUSED to authorize the repairs. In fact, they insisted I was responsible for paying for the replacement tire since the screw was discovered during the time I was renting the car, totally IGNORING the FACT the air was already LOW as I LEFT their facility, and totally ignoring the fact the front tires were dangerously BALD! The Discount manager tried his best, but Thrifty eventually HUNG UP on him!
He then told me he could add air to the tire and let me try to get back to Miami, but he wouldn't recommend driving such a long distance (nearly 800 miles!) on such an unsafe tire, so I had to pay for the replacement tire MYSELF, which cost over $75.00!
When I got back to Miami, the manager there REFUSED to refund my $75.00 AND insisted I had to pay for the 'toll road plan' that I never even USED or WANTED! I had to put in a dispute with Chase to try and get that charge REMOVED, but that dispute is still pending.
My advice is to AVOID this crooked company at all costs! Even if you have to pay another company a few more dollars per day, it will be well worth it in the long run to avoid these THIEVES!
Thrifty car rental doesn't tell you their cars are smoke free until you return them and then they charge you an additional 300 dollars if they find evidence of smoking in the car.
I booked a prepaid rental car with Thrifty through my Chase Rewards program on 1/11/17 for 14 days which came to a total of $280.80. I picked up the vehicle, a Nissan Altima, on 1/16/17 from the Thrifty branch at 2300 Rental Center Pkwy in Atlanta, GA.
I declined all additional insurance coverage on the rental vehicle. I signed the basic paperwork that was handed to me and drove the car away. I returned the vehicle on the night of 1/29/17. I signed the electric handheld device the attendant was holding, and left.
The following day I saw an email with a receipt totaling $487.49 including $389.86 for a Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW), $44.31 for a Concession Fee Recovery, and a 10% tax of $44.32. All this was in addition to the $280.80 in rewards I already paid for.
My wife contacted Thrifty via phone about the additional charges and was told because I signed the paperwork, I would not be entitled to a refund.
I’ve tweeted both Thrifty and Hertz about the issue and have been apologized to, but offered no assistance, explanation, or refund.
I’ve researched this practice by Thrifty online and have found numerous complaints of the same manner. I feel like Thrifty is knowingly deceiving its customers into signing paperwork without notifying them of the additional charges that apply. I’ve been renting vehicles consistently for over nine years and I always refuse additional coverage.
The simplest resolution for Hertz/Thrifty to make is a refund of $487.49 that they incorrectly charged me for. Someone should look into this shady practice that Thrifty appears to consistently pull on its customers.
I rented a car from Thrifty rental at the international airport in Orlando Florida, I returned the car with a full tank of gas as agreed. When I returned the car I asked attendent if they wanted my gas receipt, she responded no I was good. After returning home I checked my credit card statment to find out the charged me more than double of what my contract stated.
I contacted company their response was I had been charged for full tank of gas at $9.97 a gal and when I responed that the tank was full when I retured it and the attendent checked it, she asked if I still had the gas receipt .I replied yes so she sent me a form to attach the receipt, so I did. After a few days I contacted them about a refund the said my receipt had to be dated on 05/02/2016 for them to issue a refund. My receipt was dated 05/01/2016 at 7:37 pm thats when I filled up because the rental was due back my flight was at 7:30 am and I was traveling with my 84 year old mother. when I rented the car the only thing that was stated was that I had to fill up with in 10 miles of airport.
In closing this whole incident is rediculas but what is really invconcievible is the fact to try to charge $9.97 for a gallon of gas when the going price was only $2.15 a gallon.
I was quoted a total price online via PRICELINE for $391.59. When I arrived at the location, Thrifty Employee Abraham told me that under Panama law he cannot accept insurance provided by my credit card company Chase and I will have to purchase Thrify's coverage or he will not release the car to me. Accordingly I purchased this coverage to get the vehicle. Later I did online research and found out that Abraham misstated the facts to me and my credit card provided insurance would have been fine. Upon return, I saw Abraham and he flatly denied that he required Thrifty's insurance. He said that he told me that he could accept my credit card insurance and I chose to purchase Thrifty's insurance. Abraham simply lied to me . My online reasearch shows that this is the way Thrifty does buisness in Panama. I understand that this is a franchise but Thrifty's Brand Protection should take corrective action. Upon my return I called Thrifty's Customer Service and was told that since this is a franchise Corporate office cannot do anything about it. I am a lawyer by profession and I refuse to believe that Thrifty's Brand protection cannot take corrective measures. I ask that your office look into this and refund the excessive charge of $608.85.
Thrifty Car Rental of Wilmington NC are thieves. Do not Rent from them. You will be robbed. They tried to add on 278 fake charge claiming they had to get a new tire when I got stranded. I rented the car late at night and could not see anything. The girl at the counter pushed a new truck on me when I orded a small ford. She said that was what they had at the moment or I could come back or wait. She must have know the truck was bad to begin with since she offered to sell me extra road side assistance on top of their insurance. I declined both as I had my own. I drove the car less than two miles got stranded and they would not help me. They told me to bring it back and they would exchange it. She knew that tire was bad and waiting to rip some one off. I was told that it would need a plub and I agree to pay 25.00. They gave me another car for 3 more days. I then checked out and saw a 278.00 tire fire which I did not authorize or was I told about it. My credit card company is investingating them now. I saw 6 other reviews on them for the same tire scam they did this month to me. They are shady and do not rent as they try to rob people any way they can. They made me sign a paper that said I was paying 25.00 for a tire plub which was only to trick me to be blamed for new tire which they have no evidence of getting. They only make sure they rob you and do not care about their customers. I hope they get shut down soon.
When I picked up a rental car from Thrifty at Bradley International Airport, the bill included a Connecticut state tax rate of 9.35% when the state tax is 6.35%, so my bill was more than the quoted price. I mentioned this to the manager, and he said that the governor had recently raised the tax rate to 9.35%. Being a tourist from out of state, I didn't know what to say, and because I was in a hurry, I just took the car and left. The next day I found out that the tax rate is 6.35% in Connecticut, so the manager was obviously lying. When I returned the car, I tried to get the bill adjusted, and they refused. If Thrifty is doing this routinely (at Bradley and other airports in the US), then they are going to have massive legal problems with the tax authorities in various states.
My wife and I arrived at the Albuquerque, New Mexico Airport's Thrifty Rental Car terminal on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 @ approximately 2:15 pm.
The counter person on duty and with whom we dealt identified himself as David.
Prior to our travel we contacted our credit card company and automobile insurance carrier. Both assured us we were covered for liability, comprehensive and collision and should waive all car rental “optional” coverages.
During checkout while reviewing Thrifty's rental agreement we noticed a $313.38 charge for Loss Damage Waiver which David said included collision coverage. We emphatically told him that we contacted our insurance company and credit card company and were assured we were completed covered.
David instructed us to:
1) Decline Collision Damage Waiver and
2) Decline Loss Damage Waiver;
3) Pay the extra fee for the waivers
While attempting to tell David this information he said four times he had Geico automobile insurance and it is required by Thrifty. Furthermore" he said some states require it and some don't.
Bottom line: We had to pay for the optional items; that is, Thrifty's Loss Damage Waiver" or not be allowed to rent from Thrifty.
We asked for a manager and were told none were available.
We learned there were no other rentals available from any of the other agencies at the airport; hence, we reluctantly agreed to pay the waivers. In addition; we had an excellent package and did not want to lose it. When our agent tacked on the additional options) we felt we had been scammed since it increased our package by $313.38; a sizable and unplanned sum.
What's more, after we rented the vehicle and arrived at our hotel we read through our
agreement and the agreement folder it was inserted into.
Two items stood out (see #1 and #2 next paragraph). Had we not waited more than two hours in the rental car terminal and been told by all agencies that no rentals were available without a reservation, we probably would have caught this. Actually, the agreement is not available until after it is printed out and the folder given after the agreement is printed out.
1. Printed on the inside of the folder Paragraph #4 and #5 it specifically states that..."You should check with your own insurance carrier."; ... before deciding where to purchase LDW, you may wish to determine whether your own insurance affords you coverage ..."
2. Printed on our agreement as "NEW MEXICO-OPTIONAL INSURANCE AND LOSS DAMAGE WAIVER ("LDW")" ... Your personal motor vehicle insurance policy may already provide coverage for such claims".
The following morning we contacted “Connie” at Thrifty corporate (Specialty Department) Agent ID: 2710016 at 8:19 AM Central time and discussed our situation. She said it would be best to go directly to the counter where we rented our vehicle and have the charges removed. They couldn't be removed via telephone.
After Connie, I spoke with “Will’ in Sales Support at 9:41 AM Central Time the next day and requested he contact the rental car manager (Mary Ann) to explain our situation. He spoke to Mary Ann and told us she would be available until 5 pm to meet with us to remove the optional charges.
Fortunately for us the manager was available and instructed a male employee to remove the optional coverage(s) and re-issue a revised agreement for $603.45. She asserted we should not have been charged the optional waiver fees.
Before leaving, she offered us the opportunity to make a written statement regarding David's actions which I emailed to the manager. I never heard back that it was received or acted upon. No apology, nada.
I seriously doubt David, the Thrifty agent, is a Roque player. With all of the negative press online about rental car agency scams it isn’t a stretch to believe Thrifty may pay agents a bonus for signing up unsuspecting customers for optional waivers. The agreements and agreement folders clearly state customers are not required by Thrifty to pay for any waivers and should consult with their credit card and insurance company before purchasing Thrifty’ optional waivers.
Thrifty Car Rental, Inc. Reviews
Cautionary Tale: Beware of SHIFTY THRIFTY – A Company of Deceptive Practices and Unforeseen Charges. This company employs deceitful tactics and outright theft. If I could give 0 stars, I would.
Beware: if you can't locate Thrifty on Google Maps, it's the same as Dollar—a joint entity.
My harrowing encounter last Saturday deserves a cautionary tale. We rented through Priceline and reserved compact SUV with thrifty because of a decent price for this trip. We arrived through terminal C.
Keep in mind, I arrived later than anticipated due to delays because of the tropical storm coming up through the east coast so I’m tired as our flight was delayed by 6 hours.
This seemingly endless check-in line at terminal C, with a mind-boggling pace, and an agent hell-bent on upselling. While every other rental brand has gone through at least 2 times the amount of people in the time I have been standing in line.
Finally, 1 hour later, my turn arrived, and optimism waned. The agent, seemingly pleasant, presented options: prepaid tolls, an upgraded car, all while assuring the price consistency. This was all that was presented to us. I declined the tolls as we would be using the tollpass. The agent understood and stated that he would try to get us a Rogue as we would have 4 suitcases. This wasn’t an upgrade, it was part of my reservation. The agent was clicking around, said to sign and that was the end.
A mirage of smooth sailing shattered upon car pickup—a tank half full, no documentation, and a makeshift blockade of vans. Ive had this half-full tank scenario happen to me before with another company. So the employee working in the garage states “just return it back the same level”. I should’ve noted the red flags as this man had no iPad with him or anything to note the half tank of gas. The man moved his blockade of vans and off I went.
Fast forward to today, I'm hit with an absurd $354.70 charge—gas, uncommunicated fees that I didn’t sign up for.
Non-communicated fees: The initial agent at the counter had signed us up for the LIS insurance, and Premium Road Service. This was not even mentioned once during check in. Instead he was too busy chatting and stating the computer was slow.
Declined fees: We still were charged the Prepaid tolls despite us DECLINING them during check in.
The agent who returned the car states she charged me 5 gallons of gas at 11.00 the gallon. I explain to her the situation and she points to her iPad and states that “since it’s not in the system, then you’re responsible for it Mami”.
Contesting meant revisiting the line of my initial agony. Driven, I run in and speak with the agent at the counter. Luckily, no line this time. The agent, powerless, directed me to a distant manager located in another terminal or the elusive Customer Service. However before leaving the counter the agent was able to remove the gas charge in question.
We get through TSA, and I call immediately Customer Service, and explain the situation.
The agent on the other line stated they will reach out to the Location and will have an answer by tomorrow.
This ordeal stands as my worst car rental experience, emphasizing the need to approach Thrifty with extreme caution.
These are predatory practices that take advantage of the everyday customer. The agent might be racking up a lot of commission on these reservations and add-ons but Thrifty should be warned that he is doing them illegally. Thrifty, he is a man who is bald and light colored eyes. I know he’s Hispanic, possibly Puerto Rican (I’m Puerto Rican) and a chatterbox. He shouldn’t be difficult to find. I would definitely investigate his “sales” as I’m positive I am not the first victim to this scam. If he made these charges by mistake, then he should receieve additional training or find another job because being the counter agent might not be his calling.
Not everyone will fight these charges but I will. Don’t fall victim to their dubious practices – choose a rental company that values transparency and customer satisfaction.
On September 2, 2023, I arrived at SFO Thrifty Car Counter. First, the wait was very long (~90 minutes) and kept growing. I had reserved an EV, so I asked if the car I will be getting uses a CCS or CHADEMO port, and the agent said he didn't know. This is equivalent to not knowing what octane of gas a car takes. He then says they don't have the Kia Niro, which was the car I was supposed to get, and that they have Chevy Bolts but are running low and ask if I want to upgrade to an SUV at $50 a day. I did not know whether the Chevy Bolt would have enough range or a fast enough charging time for my trip, and the agent was not helpful. The Thrifty agent was also not knowledgeable of the type of SUVs that were available, but at least knew that the SUV takes premium gas. I agree to the upgrade and am given an estimated receipt for nearly triple the $350 I was told. I ask, does the prepaid amount apply after this, and the agent says he can’t see how much I prepaid. It seems way too high to have already applied the prepaid amount. Furthermore, the additional taxes were double the amount quoted in my original prepaid payment and were not explained to me why. Lastly, it was not clear to me which of the fees and insurance I had already paid would carry over or how they would apply. At this point I am already an hour late and the agent has not been able to answer any of my questions so I leave. Waiting for the car was a long and unpleasant experience. Being told my car was not available and sprung with a modification to the reservation at the counter was frustrating. They are using bad customer service to ignore a prepaid agreement and tack on extra fees. Another issue I had: I called customer service to make sure I could return the car early 12 hours early (instead of 9/9 @ 10AM, changed to 9/8 @ 10PM) and make sure I do not incur an "early rental fee." The wait was not terribly long (~15 minutes). I let the lady on the phone know that I am returning it early, and she said the rate would change to a lower amount and she would e-mail the reflection in 30-45 minutes. I did not receive an e-mail and the rental agreement remain the same on there. I decided to call back two days later to make sure the change was reflected. The guy on the phone was confused, because he said in his system it said 9/8 @ 10AM! So I had him confirmed to change it to 10PM. He then said it will change the amount, and that amount was higher than the amount the lady said, but also $3 lower than the estimated amount I originally had, which doesn't make sense because I am returning it 12 hours earlier. I asked for an e-mail and had him read it out to me. Never got an e-mail and my rental agreement remained the same online. Overall, customer service was not engaged and not helpful because they misheard me. Also, Thrifty's systems need to talk to each other. I have let Thrifty know of my poor customer experience and they said they would get back to me in 10 business days and that has never happened. I will not rent from them again.
I acctualy booked a car online through Expedia for a 4 day stay in the SF bay area. I needed just a basic transportation car to get from the airport to my destination and return so I booked a economy car at $27 per day. My total charges were to be $258 including ins., they required a deposit of $186 of witch I paid. When I got to the rental car counter I gave them my info and they proceeded to complete my reservation (this was after waiting 2 hours inline to get to the counter). I then picked up the car and went on my way not really paying much attention to the paperwork at the time being totally annoyed after the long wait I made it to my destanation and thought nothing about my charges because all of my charges were confirmed on my original booking through Expedia. After returning the car on the day I stated in my contract I was in a slight rush to get to my gate to catch my flight. During my flight I recieved my final bill from Thrifty by email but not having wifi I wasn't able to open it untill I landed hours later. After reviewing my charges I see that they automatically gave me a upgraded car that I NEVER requested and a complete additional day of rental charges for being 30 min late upon my return. Also the deposit from Expedia was not deducted from my total. After checking with Thrifty they said I reqested a larger vehicle witch I did not! After checking with Expedia they said that the total from Thrifty was on top of my deposit, my total charges went from the original quote of $258 to over $600. So it was one thing to get charged for an additional day of complete charges including all of the BS taxes and other charges and insurance. As it turns out they charged me an additional $40 per day for a upgaded car on top of the qriginal charge of $27 per day I selected then all of your charges are increased by the increased charge. NEVER AGAIN WILL I USE THRIFTY NOR EXPEDIA!
Made a reservation with Thrifty Car Rental through Expedia! Was race weekend in Indianapolis from SATURDAY through MONDAY! I paid in ADVANCE!
When I arrived THRIFTY said my rental was MONDAY into TUESDAY, which was their changing the dates, since they were probably sold out for the race weekend, and still wanted the booking at any cost! By the time that reservation they made, we would have already been back in Florida!
When I arrived and found the problem, I asked Expedia for a refund, and they agreed to give me one, but the price was not correct for the original rental, which I figured they had deducted. They offered $75 back, when off the original rental was over $100, and I said refund was not correct. I said that I would call them back.
When I looked it up and found they had not taken the full money and only the $75 I called back and said I would take that refund! At that point they said they had to check, jerked me around for a week, putting me on 30 min holds, and disconnecting my calls, etc! Anything to screw with me when I called!
They then told me I would not get my refund, after they already promised I would! Total liars & scumbags! I would never use either again! Thrifty always the bottom of the barrel, and proved themselves worthy of the title!
Both companies deliberately cheated me!
Caviot Emptor
Rented a car from Thrifty Car rental- Orlando (MCO ) Airport. There was over an hour wait to see an agent. The line behind us was over an hour as well. It was chaotic and they rush you through your rental service. I rent cars often and am aware of the extra services you can purchase. I DECLINED the insurance. They did not physically show you on a screen what you have accepted & denied, or on paper. Other rental agencies have you go through and inital. The was one signature at the end. I did not physically view a contract. I did not even see my total.
I signed for my charge which I beleived was for the taxes, toll fee ( which I agreed to) and deposit. I signed only 1x. Again, other agencies have you atleast inital things. I noticed later looking at the reciept they charged me for the insurance I clearly declined. Once you sign, they will do nothing about it. They say you signed the contract. I complained to the BBB, in doing that I found many complaints identical to mine from the Thrifty Orlando Airport. That is when I realized, they have a scam going on. The rental agency seems to be consistently busy ( it was by far the busiest one when we were there). You are tired from your flight and now you are waiting an hour plus for your car.
You are exhausted when you get to the agent. They rush you throught the rental agreement verbally, but show you NOTHING physically on a screen or paper. So you may say "no" to insurance but you can not see if they added it until after you sign and you have the reciept. So, they add on insurance and when you realize, they will not budge. They say you signed the contract and it was your responsibily to catch it. But there is no way to catch it until after you sign! There they got you and your money! It is fraudulent.
I declined the insurance. My husband was next to me as a witness. Yet, I was charged. Thrifty Customer service was no help. But I became suspicious when I saw many complaints just liked mine from Thirfty Orlando Airport all with the same generic response from Thrifty. They do not care, they found a loophole to scam customers and get away with it.
Rental Agreement No: 652015604
Web: www.thrifty.com Date: 12/13/2020
Document: 960003750996
I was about to miss my flight and knew I wouldn't have time to fill the gas tank. I figured oh, ok I'll have them fill it. Gas in portland Oregon is $2.35 a gallon. A Toyotoa Corolla has a $13 gallon tank. If I had filled the tank it would have been $30.
Thrifty charged me $115----- TEN DOLLARS A GALLON to fill it!! That's pure ROBBERY!
I calld them and they said I signed it in the contract. Well ok, whatever. But nobody mentioned that at the time I was at the rental desk. Any company who would rape their customers financially is not worthy of my business.
I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN. DON'T USE THRIFTY.
Besides that, their service to get to and from the airport was super slow because they only had one driver running the routes that two or three should run. So the buses were plum full of people and standing room only during a COVID EPIDEMIC!
DON'T USE THRIFTY!!
DO NOT RENT FROM THRIFTY IN ORLANDO,FLORIDA !!
I cant reiterate this enough. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. See the bad reviews. As a a frequent business traveler I rent cars on a weekly basis. As a Thrifty Blue Chip member I book directly with thrifty.com.
Whatever you do, do not rent from Thrifty Car Rental with a prepaid rental at any of their locations in Florida. When you get a discount offer on thrifty.com for prepaid rental the website redirects you to a third party website cartrawler.com only after you have given your credit card info on the thrifty web site. The confirmation email came from cartrawler.com stated in order to meet the terms of rental I would need to provide two forms of photo ID. Also stated this is non-refundable prepaid deposit. This was not disclosed on thrifty.com when I entered my booking info. As a Thrifty Blue Chip member and US citizen this was not acceptable to me. Immediately after receiving my confirmation my credit card company sent a fraud alert email stating I made a international purchase from Dublin, Ireland. I called Thrifty customer service and was told I booked with a third party and need to call them. I cancelled the prepaid reservation 7 days prior to rental date and received a email stating 10 days for applicable refund. I called my credit card company and disputed the international charge. Cartrawler fought it stating a prepaid reservation is non refundable.
Credit card charged on 1/1/19. Not authorized.
Contacted Thrifty & Hertz over multiple days. Pushed around from department to department. Multiple dropped calls. No call backs.
Only recent rentals were from 2 international Thrifty locations in November of 2018. Was told that most of Thrifty's international locations, including the pair in question are not actually Thrifty locations, but independently owned franchises over which Hertz/Thrifty has no real oversight. This is deeply problematic and dubiously legal at best. Not only are these franchises falsely presented as actual Thrifty locations (reservations made directly through Hertz/Thrifty phone reservations) the biller on the credit card is "THRIFTY RENT-A-CAR." Yet, there's no ownership on the part of Thrifty/Hertz. Their solution was to contact the locations directly while I waited on hold. When they couldn't reach anyone (despite at least one being an airport location), they told me I couldn't be escalated any further and someone would be contacting me directly.
I received an email on 1/3/19 from Customer Correspondence Administrator Randi S., which stated that if I provided them with the following they would be "glad to assist": "1. Reservation confirmation number, which starts with an "H" or rental agreement/record number, which is 9 numbers. 2. Name of primary renter exactly as it is on contract. 3. Beginning and ending dates of rental. 4. Location of rental." I replied with copies of both reservation agreements which included all of the requested information. I received a reply the following day stating "Since I am required to contact them directly, it may be approximately two weeks before you hear from Thrifty again. Please be assured I will notify you as soon as I receive the requested information. Thank you for your patience in this matter. Your business is appreciated."
Over the ensuing weeks I attempted to contact the franchise locations myself - at the expense of $5 / minute, but never received followups to my calls. After two weeks. I received the following email on 1/15/19: "Regrettably, I have been unable to obtain a copy of the rental invoice requested. In some cases, the country will respond directly to the customer without sending a copy to this office."
I contacted Thrifty/Hertz once more and was told there was nothing they could do to help, since their own franchisees hadn't replied to them. To reiterate, this company represents these franchisees as proper Thrifty/Hertz rental locations, without disclaimer that any ensuing issues are not ultimately their issue to resolve. There's no ownership of fraudulent charges made by those franchisees, despite the biller listed on the charge being Thrifty themselves. I've provided ample corroboration of my claims and the franchisees didn't even bother to respond to the company under whose umbrella they operate. On top of everything I have been a loyal customer of theirs for years. I will never give these grifters my business again. Neither should any other smart consumer.
I rented a vehicle from thrifty rental also known as dollar rental at San Diego airport on April 22, 2018. When I rented the vehicle from the woman named Maria at the dollar rental counter she assured me that all services were declined except for the rental and that any charges were just holds and would not be placed directly upon the credit card… When I receive my credit card bill she a process that has a full charge and when I looked at the rental agreement it actually went through as an agreement and when I tried to rectify it with thrifty they said that they don’t go by verbal agreements of declining they only go by what she pushed through… Total rip off I only wish I can get my money back but I can’t… Do not trust thriftier dollar rental car ever again!
I reserved car online.
When I picked up the car, I did not agree to the use of the PlatePass device. In fact, when asked if I wanted to use it, I specifically declined. I knew I would be incurring the expense of one toll during my trip. When I declined, the representative checked the box marked "decline" on his paperwork.
I was given a car that, unbenounced to me, had a PlatePass device in it and that the device was active.
When I learned, within an hour of renting the car, that the device was active (at the only toll station I would encounter on my travels...with a 30-cent toll), I called the office from which I’d rented the vehicle to report the error.
I was given instructions on how to deactivate the tolling device (which I should have been given when I declined its use at the time I made the rental). I then deactivated the device. (Since I’d refused it at the counter, the device should have been deactivated before I took the car.)
When I asked that the representative make note and fix the contract, I was told I would be able to correct the contract when I returned my vehicle.
When I returned the vehicle, I was told they couldn’t do anything, that I could correct the issue when I received an invoice.
When I received the invoice from Thrifty Processing Services, I responded in writing explaining what had happened.
Shirtly thereafter, I received a letter invoice from American Traffic Solution (ATS).
On receipt of the ATS letter, I called American Express to dispute the charge. I provided all documents and correspondence...several times.
I specifically declined use of the tolling device. The device was set to the active position when I got the car, not by me. It should not have been.I was not informed that it was active and, that because I'd declined its use, I must deactivate it. Therefore, this was a mistake or, at worst, a deceptive practice by Thrifty. And, given all the things I was told about resolving the problem by Thrifty representatives, I very much believe that this was deception to the point of fraud.
The reps had to know what they were telling me was not correct. And I end up being charged for eleven days of use of a device I declined. This for a single toll on the first day of my rental, within an hour of my renting the vehicle. This could have easily been avoided…and should have been:
I could have…indeed should have…been informed that the device was active and, since I’d declined its use, that I needed to deactivate it, with instructions on how to do so.
I could have returned to the Albany Airport, turned in the car and re-rented it with the tolling device in the deactivated mode.
When I called to report the error and then when I turned the car in, I shouldn’t have been told I could rectify the error at a later time. I’m sure the representatives knew it would not be an easy thing.
Thrifty Auto wants to charge an extra $900 for a 7 day rental. They already took $309 from my account. Although I called the office everyday to extend the rental, they towed the rental from my college campus with all my personal belongings. They claim the $900 and change is non negotiable fees and refuse to return my proprty until they get their money. The manager stated that she would keep my property and add $500 for not returning the keys to the rental. Not only did they leave me stranded, but the staff refused to put me through to the manager for two days, apparently they keep accruing fees until the keyd are returned and they get their money. At this point the amount is unknown.
This company is sending unsuspecting renters out in unsafe vehicles, and this is after they have tried to rip them off by lying about toll roads fees and unneeded insurance coverage they claim is required by Florida law!
In my case, I agreed online to rent a compact car for a full month for a total price of just over $800.00. This was the best deal I could find. However, when I arrived to pick up the car, the high-pressure salesperson behind the counter insisted that Florida law required me to carry liability insurance (which I know is a lie!) at an additional cost of $13.00 to $54.00 per DAY! When I explained that all the insurance I needed was covered by the Chase credit card I was using to pay for the rental car, she kept insisting I was taking a "grave risk" that could cost me "millions" if I hurt someone while driving the rental car.
When I finally convinced her I was NOT going to be buying any additional insurance, she then began high-pressuring me into buying a 'toll road plan' that would save me from being fined $25.00 each time I passed a toll booth that would not accept cash, but only a special sticker on my car. She "warned" me that EVERY time I passed a toll booth, a photo would be taken of my license plate so that Thrifty could then charge these fines against my credit card. When I told her I would simply avoid toll roads, she insisted that it was "impossible" to navigate Miami without using toll roads (I managed to do this with NO problems whatsoever, by the way!) She wanted me to give her $47.00 per week (for a total of over $200.00 including the additional taxes) to "protect" myself from these fines.
She kept pushing me to buy this "plan" even after I told her I would only be in Florida for about TWO days, as the majority of my month would be spent visiting my new granddaughter in North Carolina! I again told her I did NOT want the plan, only to find out later that she had put the cost of it on my credit card DESPITE me telling her to NOT do that!
As if all this wasn't bad enough, just as I was pulling away from the final checkpoint, the "flat tire" indicator light came on, so I stopped the car and looked at all the tires. The lady at the checkpoint asked me what I was doing, so I told her the "flat tire" light had come on, so I was checking the tires. She laughed and said that indicator is only to let me know the tire is LOW on air, so I should just stop at a gas station to add air, which I then did (it was the passenger rear tire that was low on air).
The next day, as I was heading up I-95 about 50 miles outside of Miami, the light came on again, so I added more air. This happened several times, so when I arrived in Charlotte, my daughter's town, I finally stopped into a Discount Tire shop to have the tire checked. They told me the tire had a screw in the sidewall, so it could not be repaired and needed to be replaced. They also showed me the front tires which were nearly BALD!!! (NO tread left!) . Since they knew it was a rental car, they asked to see the contract and called Thrifty to get authorization to replace AT LEAST the unrepairable tire, but Thrifty REFUSED to authorize the repairs. In fact, they insisted I was responsible for paying for the replacement tire since the screw was discovered during the time I was renting the car, totally IGNORING the FACT the air was already LOW as I LEFT their facility, and totally ignoring the fact the front tires were dangerously BALD! The Discount manager tried his best, but Thrifty eventually HUNG UP on him!
He then told me he could add air to the tire and let me try to get back to Miami, but he wouldn't recommend driving such a long distance (nearly 800 miles!) on such an unsafe tire, so I had to pay for the replacement tire MYSELF, which cost over $75.00!
When I got back to Miami, the manager there REFUSED to refund my $75.00 AND insisted I had to pay for the 'toll road plan' that I never even USED or WANTED! I had to put in a dispute with Chase to try and get that charge REMOVED, but that dispute is still pending.
My advice is to AVOID this crooked company at all costs! Even if you have to pay another company a few more dollars per day, it will be well worth it in the long run to avoid these THIEVES!
Thrifty car rental doesn't tell you their cars are smoke free until you return them and then they charge you an additional 300 dollars if they find evidence of smoking in the car.
I booked a prepaid rental car with Thrifty through my Chase Rewards program on 1/11/17 for 14 days which came to a total of $280.80. I picked up the vehicle, a Nissan Altima, on 1/16/17 from the Thrifty branch at 2300 Rental Center Pkwy in Atlanta, GA.
I declined all additional insurance coverage on the rental vehicle. I signed the basic paperwork that was handed to me and drove the car away. I returned the vehicle on the night of 1/29/17. I signed the electric handheld device the attendant was holding, and left.
The following day I saw an email with a receipt totaling $487.49 including $389.86 for a Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW), $44.31 for a Concession Fee Recovery, and a 10% tax of $44.32. All this was in addition to the $280.80 in rewards I already paid for.
My wife contacted Thrifty via phone about the additional charges and was told because I signed the paperwork, I would not be entitled to a refund.
I’ve tweeted both Thrifty and Hertz about the issue and have been apologized to, but offered no assistance, explanation, or refund.
I’ve researched this practice by Thrifty online and have found numerous complaints of the same manner. I feel like Thrifty is knowingly deceiving its customers into signing paperwork without notifying them of the additional charges that apply. I’ve been renting vehicles consistently for over nine years and I always refuse additional coverage.
The simplest resolution for Hertz/Thrifty to make is a refund of $487.49 that they incorrectly charged me for. Someone should look into this shady practice that Thrifty appears to consistently pull on its customers.
I rented a car from Thrifty rental at the international airport in Orlando Florida, I returned the car with a full tank of gas as agreed. When I returned the car I asked attendent if they wanted my gas receipt, she responded no I was good. After returning home I checked my credit card statment to find out the charged me more than double of what my contract stated.
I contacted company their response was I had been charged for full tank of gas at $9.97 a gal and when I responed that the tank was full when I retured it and the attendent checked it, she asked if I still had the gas receipt .I replied yes so she sent me a form to attach the receipt, so I did. After a few days I contacted them about a refund the said my receipt had to be dated on 05/02/2016 for them to issue a refund. My receipt was dated 05/01/2016 at 7:37 pm thats when I filled up because the rental was due back my flight was at 7:30 am and I was traveling with my 84 year old mother. when I rented the car the only thing that was stated was that I had to fill up with in 10 miles of airport.
In closing this whole incident is rediculas but what is really invconcievible is the fact to try to charge $9.97 for a gallon of gas when the going price was only $2.15 a gallon.
I was quoted a total price online via PRICELINE for $391.59. When I arrived at the location, Thrifty Employee Abraham told me that under Panama law he cannot accept insurance provided by my credit card company Chase and I will have to purchase Thrify's coverage or he will not release the car to me. Accordingly I purchased this coverage to get the vehicle. Later I did online research and found out that Abraham misstated the facts to me and my credit card provided insurance would have been fine. Upon return, I saw Abraham and he flatly denied that he required Thrifty's insurance. He said that he told me that he could accept my credit card insurance and I chose to purchase Thrifty's insurance. Abraham simply lied to me . My online reasearch shows that this is the way Thrifty does buisness in Panama. I understand that this is a franchise but Thrifty's Brand Protection should take corrective action. Upon my return I called Thrifty's Customer Service and was told that since this is a franchise Corporate office cannot do anything about it. I am a lawyer by profession and I refuse to believe that Thrifty's Brand protection cannot take corrective measures. I ask that your office look into this and refund the excessive charge of $608.85.
Thrifty Car Rental of Wilmington NC are thieves. Do not Rent from them. You will be robbed. They tried to add on 278 fake charge claiming they had to get a new tire when I got stranded. I rented the car late at night and could not see anything. The girl at the counter pushed a new truck on me when I orded a small ford. She said that was what they had at the moment or I could come back or wait. She must have know the truck was bad to begin with since she offered to sell me extra road side assistance on top of their insurance. I declined both as I had my own. I drove the car less than two miles got stranded and they would not help me. They told me to bring it back and they would exchange it. She knew that tire was bad and waiting to rip some one off. I was told that it would need a plub and I agree to pay 25.00. They gave me another car for 3 more days. I then checked out and saw a 278.00 tire fire which I did not authorize or was I told about it. My credit card company is investingating them now. I saw 6 other reviews on them for the same tire scam they did this month to me. They are shady and do not rent as they try to rob people any way they can. They made me sign a paper that said I was paying 25.00 for a tire plub which was only to trick me to be blamed for new tire which they have no evidence of getting. They only make sure they rob you and do not care about their customers. I hope they get shut down soon.
When I picked up a rental car from Thrifty at Bradley International Airport, the bill included a Connecticut state tax rate of 9.35% when the state tax is 6.35%, so my bill was more than the quoted price. I mentioned this to the manager, and he said that the governor had recently raised the tax rate to 9.35%. Being a tourist from out of state, I didn't know what to say, and because I was in a hurry, I just took the car and left. The next day I found out that the tax rate is 6.35% in Connecticut, so the manager was obviously lying. When I returned the car, I tried to get the bill adjusted, and they refused. If Thrifty is doing this routinely (at Bradley and other airports in the US), then they are going to have massive legal problems with the tax authorities in various states.
My wife and I arrived at the Albuquerque, New Mexico Airport's Thrifty Rental Car terminal on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 @ approximately 2:15 pm.
The counter person on duty and with whom we dealt identified himself as David.
Prior to our travel we contacted our credit card company and automobile insurance carrier. Both assured us we were covered for liability, comprehensive and collision and should waive all car rental “optional” coverages.
During checkout while reviewing Thrifty's rental agreement we noticed a $313.38 charge for Loss Damage Waiver which David said included collision coverage. We emphatically told him that we contacted our insurance company and credit card company and were assured we were completed covered.
David instructed us to:
1) Decline Collision Damage Waiver and
2) Decline Loss Damage Waiver;
3) Pay the extra fee for the waivers
While attempting to tell David this information he said four times he had Geico automobile insurance and it is required by Thrifty. Furthermore" he said some states require it and some don't.
Bottom line: We had to pay for the optional items; that is, Thrifty's Loss Damage Waiver" or not be allowed to rent from Thrifty.
We asked for a manager and were told none were available.
We learned there were no other rentals available from any of the other agencies at the airport; hence, we reluctantly agreed to pay the waivers. In addition; we had an excellent package and did not want to lose it. When our agent tacked on the additional options) we felt we had been scammed since it increased our package by $313.38; a sizable and unplanned sum.
What's more, after we rented the vehicle and arrived at our hotel we read through our
agreement and the agreement folder it was inserted into.
Two items stood out (see #1 and #2 next paragraph). Had we not waited more than two hours in the rental car terminal and been told by all agencies that no rentals were available without a reservation, we probably would have caught this. Actually, the agreement is not available until after it is printed out and the folder given after the agreement is printed out.
1. Printed on the inside of the folder Paragraph #4 and #5 it specifically states that..."You should check with your own insurance carrier."; ... before deciding where to purchase LDW, you may wish to determine whether your own insurance affords you coverage ..."
2. Printed on our agreement as "NEW MEXICO-OPTIONAL INSURANCE AND LOSS DAMAGE WAIVER ("LDW")" ... Your personal motor vehicle insurance policy may already provide coverage for such claims".
The following morning we contacted “Connie” at Thrifty corporate (Specialty Department) Agent ID: 2710016 at 8:19 AM Central time and discussed our situation. She said it would be best to go directly to the counter where we rented our vehicle and have the charges removed. They couldn't be removed via telephone.
After Connie, I spoke with “Will’ in Sales Support at 9:41 AM Central Time the next day and requested he contact the rental car manager (Mary Ann) to explain our situation. He spoke to Mary Ann and told us she would be available until 5 pm to meet with us to remove the optional charges.
Fortunately for us the manager was available and instructed a male employee to remove the optional coverage(s) and re-issue a revised agreement for $603.45. She asserted we should not have been charged the optional waiver fees.
Before leaving, she offered us the opportunity to make a written statement regarding David's actions which I emailed to the manager. I never heard back that it was received or acted upon. No apology, nada.
I seriously doubt David, the Thrifty agent, is a Roque player. With all of the negative press online about rental car agency scams it isn’t a stretch to believe Thrifty may pay agents a bonus for signing up unsuspecting customers for optional waivers. The agreements and agreement folders clearly state customers are not required by Thrifty to pay for any waivers and should consult with their credit card and insurance company before purchasing Thrifty’ optional waivers.