Budget Car Rental — Local services in Fort Lee

Wait what?!

I picked up a rental (Toyota Corolla) and I want to start off with saying, the woman who assisted me with completing the rental purchase in person at this location was nice. I needed to drop off a vehicle of a family member back to their home location and needed to leave the rental in the parking lot at Avis so I can come back to pick it up.

However, before, during, or after our check out there were no previous damage reports provided to me, or a sheet of a damage report check given to me, which I have received in the past, with Avis, as well as Hertz.

Usually with that information I am prompted to check the vehicle before leaving.

Absent of that information I put my belongings in the trunk of the vehicle, and when it was time to drive, there was a maintenence required indicator on the vehicle. I didn't feel it was my responsibility, the store was closing, I didn't want to bother letting the woman know this was an issue.

I went on about my journey and drove safely the whole time. The Toyota also has driver assist that provides indicators when you are too close to a vehicle, not only with parking, but on the road as well. It literally corrects the path you're on when driving to make sure you avoid accidents and driving out of the lanes.

I did not get into any accidents driving, parking, and I wasn't in any parking situations where the vehicle would scrape another vehicle or item.

I returned the vehicle today at 12:38PM 10 minutes before the due date. The person who took the keys asked if my journey was alright. I said yes. Black polo, no Avis/Budget logo,  or handheld in his hand to check the vehicle. He took the key and said I'm all set.

Usually the employee scans the vehicle while someone is present, or ask if I had any questions, or if I have everything I needed out of the vehicle. They also most importantly, check for damages.

3 hours later I receive a damage report indicating the vehicle was damaged via windshield, and 2 right rear door. The pictures of the issues are poor quality, and I did not cause this damage.

Again, the lady from Jefferson Road location was nice. But didn't provide me with any physical details on the condition of the vehicle, and didn't provide me with a damage report, and neither did the gentleman at the Fort Lee Location.

After I left was when I received this information and that isn't fair to me as a customer, nor is it proper protocol at rental companies whether owned by a franchise or franchisee.

I tried calling the local phone number provided to get in touch with an employee that actually works at the location and it reroutes to customer service. My case was escalated but will take 3 - 5 business days for a response and I'd already about go into panic mode because this type of behavior from a rental company does not seem to have the customer experience in mind, but extra money from them by violating standard practices.

I do not deserve this and neither do any other customers. I tried to give Budget/Avis the benefit of the doubt after my previous experience with the AVIS in Yonkers NY who wouldn't rent to me over a coupon that I was allowed to use and I wasn't told I required a Govt ID when using the coupon.

I think I am truly done with Avis, Budget, and any other subsidiary or sister company after...

I am not sure if this is the right location to complain but this is where we were. We had taken a Budget rental car from New Hampshire to Virginia for a family wedding. On our way back up, the car broke down on the freeway. We were told we had to get a tow off the freeway into a random parking lot and then Budget would send a tow to pick up their car. Once they picked up the car, we would be able to get an Uber to LaGuardia to pick up a new rental and go home. We got to the parking lot and had to wait there for Budget's tow. We waited for 9 hours before they sent a tow. We kept calling and explaining and asking where the tow is and they just kept lying to us to shut us up! They were treating us like we weren't real people in a tough situation, they were treating us like we didn't exist if they didn't think about it. Instead of getting home at 4pm we got home at 3am. It is UNACCEPTABLE to lie to your customers and completely insane that we had to wait 9 HOURS for you to just pick up your car! We were told that if we chose to leave the car before it was picked up then we would be responsible for anything that happened to it. That means that Budget pretty much just kept us hostage in a broken down car for 9 hours without really trying to fix the problem. Budget will never take our money ever again, and I hope everyone sees this review and chooses never to use them either. Absolutely unacceptable. You should all be ashamed...

They did not give me the car I reserved. The car I got from them was larger than I wanted which meant more money to fill the tank. None of the amenities in the dashboard worked: couldn't charge my phone, couldn't pair my phone through the car for calls, couldn't even set cruise control. I finally had to drive out of my way to exchange the car. The next budget representative apparently had "no notes in the system" of the 3 hour conversation I'd had on the phone with customer service and claimed that "you're not listening" because I couldn't understand how comes he refused to take my confirmation number as evidence/reference from the call. He was flippant and unprofessional by rolling his eyes when I spoke to him and dismissing every concern I raised regarding the electronic malfunctioning of the car. Eventually, he brought around a newer vehicle but only after making me wait half an hour. I'm disgusted by the way I was treated after spending nearly $500 after I was quoted a cheaper price over the phone initially. These people don't know how to run a business where they keep or even honor their word. When I returned to the place of origin, the representative took off just $50 for my "inconvenience." Precious little consolation for the terrific insult and unprofessionalism I encountered. I'd have to be desperate to do business with...