Complaint Review: Budget Car And Truck Rental - Parsippany Nationwide

In July, 2004, I vacationed in Vancouver and rented from the Budget Rent A Car at the Vancouver airport. Big mistake.

The actual rental was fine. When it was over, I dropped the car off and settled the account - routine. The full balance of the rental was charged to my card at that time.

A month later, Budget added a charge with no warning - about $50 or so. I thought it might be related to a parking ticket, but I wasn't sure and I wanted details in any case. So I called the U.S. customer service number to inquire. They had no info on the charge due to segregated Canadian and U.S. billing systems, and referred me to the Vancouver location specifically.

That's fine, so I called the Vancouver location's customer service number (not a toll-free call). They didn't answer their phone, and after many rings I got voicemail. I decided to call back later. Again, they didn't answer their phone and I got voicemail. This time I left a message explaining that I was inquiring about a new charge to my card, gave my name and phone number, etc.

I waited a week, and they never returned my call. So I called the main Canadian customer service line. They could not or would not help me and simply referred me back to the Vancouver location. I tried calling the Vancouver location several more times, but they never answered their phone - not ever.

So I called U.S. customer service again. They opened a "case", and said they would get back to me in a week or two. This was about ten days after I first called the Vancouver location.

Two weeks later, I had not heard anything, so I called them back. The rep on the phone suggested I wait until Friday and call back again (this was on a Tuesday).

I waited a bit longer than he suggested, until the following week, and called back. The rep could not help me, and setup a callback for that same afternoon. Presumably someone who could help me was going to call me back.

The afternoon was almost over, and no one had called me, so I called back. The rep again could not help me, but I wasn't going to wait anymore for callbacks, nor was I going to be referred to some other part of the company. I was a customer. Budget had made an unexplained and irregular charge to my card. I wanted an explanation of the charge. It's all very simple, and any legitimate business should competently deal with countless such instances every day. At this point, I had been trying to get an explanation for over a month, and I wasn't going to accept any further delays.

So I insisted that the rep do something to get the information I was asking for. I was even willing to be transferred to Vancouver if he could actually get someone over there on the line, which I had never been able to do. But the rep refused to transfer me, saying it was not possible. I asked to speak to a supervisor. He was very reluctant and dragged his feet. Finally he put me on hold for a while only to report back that his supervisor was busy.

In short, I was getting nowhere. But I wasn't interested in any excuses or explanations. I wanted the same thing I had always wanted - a detailed explanation of the charge - and I wasn't going to call back. I wanted answers now. He wasn't trying to do anything, and eventually took to mocking me. I quote: "OK, let's play a quiz: Why can't I give you a supervisor?" It was unbelievable that he would mock me like that.

Two things at this point were unprecedented in my experience: A call center where you could not speak to a supervisor, and a customer service rep who mocked me. Never have I experienced either reality.

Eventually, the guy hung up on me. I did not yell at him. I did not use profane language. I merely insisted on service, and I wasn't going anywhere. So at one point, he cut me off in mid-sentence, thanked me for calling Budget, and hung up.

That's the third unprecedented experience here: being hung up on by a customer service rep. Unbelievable.

I immediately called back. New rep. Same story. Supervisor busy. She promised a callback the next day from the "International Team". Also, same refusal to just get someone on the line at the Vancouver office and transfer me over.

The next day, I never got any callback from the two parties that were promised to call back: a supervisor, or a member of the international team. No one called.

Eventually, I called the PR people at the corporate office in Parsippany, New Jersey. Alice Pereira referred me to another lady at corporate. I spoke to her and within minutes she faxed me full details of the charge.

This was far and away the worst customer service experience of my life. At every point, the system failed. Their locations can't be bothered to answer the phone or return calls. I was never, at any point, able to speak to a human being who could simply explain the charges. Not ever. The US customer service center is populated by liars and creeps. They lie about callbacks, again and again. They have no provision to escalate calls to a supervisor, which is absurd. They mock their customers ("Let's play a quiz!"). They hang up on non-irate customers. They simply are not setup to help people, and they don't. I will never rent from Budget again. I shudder when I imagine going through something like this again.

By the way, Budget is wholly owned by Cendant Corporation, which also owns Avis. I will lean against renting from Avis too.

Joe

Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Budget Car & Truck Rental