Dollar Car Rental - Kansas City International Airport — Local services in Kansas City

Recently my mother in law suffered a mild stroke and a brain aneurism that caused her to be life-flighted to a bigger hospital where she was admitted into ICU. My family loaded our car and went to Wichita KS not knowing what we were in for. When Sunday (23-Sept-2018) evening came around, my wife wanted to stay with her mom (understandably). The kids and I needed to come back to the KC area for school and work.

I made a reservation online Saturday afternoon with Dollar, using my debit card, which Dollar was happy to take and charge. My wife dropped me at the airport and went back to the hospital to be with her mom, thinking we were all set for the rental. When I got to the counter to pick up the car, I was told that Dollar was unable to rent to me without either an airline ticket or a major credit card. I don't use stand alone credit cards; I use debit cards and cash.

As I was standing at the counter, I was told that the reason I wasn't able to use my online reservation was because too many vehicles were stolen and the debit cards were attached to bank accounts without funds to replace the stolen vehicles. The woman working that day at the Dollar counter in Wichita, did tell me that I could get a refund for the online reservation charge. (I even attached the card I got there so you'd know I was at Eisenhower Airport in Wichita.)

After 2 weeks, and no refund, I called the service desk at Dollar and retold the situation. The woman who took my call simply could not comprehend why I didn't have any airline information. I tried to explain that I simply needed a car to get from point A to point B and that because the distance was short, it didn't require a plane ticket. They transferred me a couple of times and finally someone delivered the "We're sorry to hear about your family member but you are not entitled to a refund" speech.

The reason that I selected an airport terminal to airport terminal rental, was because I didn't need the transportation for more than a few hours, to get from Wichita to Kansas City. I had no need for an extra day's rental so I chose an agency location that would be open on Sunday afternoon.

This was a medical emergency and I can still provide any documentation to prove I wasn't trying to commit fraud or anything like that. I only hope that you don't find yourself in our situation where they take your money, and keep it during a challenging time, like they did to us!

Rest assured Dollar Staff, this is getting cross posted anywhere I can think of, but enjoy the ~$62 that you took from me. I will not be doing business with this agency going forward. Oh, and by the way, Budget was happy to rent a car to me on the same card,...

RENTER BEWARE:

1. DOLLAR CANCELS PREPAID RESERVATIONS WITHOUT NOTIFICATION.
2. NO SKIPPING THE LINE LIKE BEFORE
3. LOCATION IS ACTUALLY CLOSED
4. AGENTS ONLINE DO NOT SEE WHAT COUNTER AGENTS DO.

I always prepay and call to speak with multiple agents so I know exactly how much I need on my credit card at time of pick. I did that and was told an amount. When I arrived at the counter I was told my prepaid reservation had been canceled. I paid months in advanced and was told I would have to pay only for taxes and the incidental hold amount the night before, this was not true. Being a dollar member did not matter, I skipped the line and was driving out with the only full size vehicle available when the agent says you can't skip the line anymore. (THIS IS AFTER INSTALLING 3 CAR SEATS IN THE REAR) When arriving at the counter. They tried to charge me the entire price of my reservation and informed me that within 10 days I would have my refund from the cancelation. I already paid and should have only had to pay THE TAXES AND INCIDENTAL HOLD LIKE THE AGENT TOLD ME THE NIGHT BEFORE WHEN I SPECIFICALLY CALLED AND ASKED HOW MUCH AT THE COUNTER. IT TOOK ME 2 HOURS BECAUSE I WAS GETTING NO HELP FROM HERTZ AND DOLLAR WAS FREAKING CLOSED AT THIS LOCATION AT 130 IN THE AFTERNOON. HOW THE HELL IS THE RENTAL LOCATION CLOSED!!!!??? I WAS OFFERED NO FREE UPGRADE NO ACCOMODATION. SO I RENTED FOR ONE FREAKIN DAY INSTEAD OF 2 WEEKS JUST SO THEY WOULD LET ME TAKE THE CAR WITH MY FAMILY. THE CAR WAS DIRTY WHEN I GOT IN I DISINFECTED THE VEHICLE BEFORE MY FAMILY COULD GET IN! WORST EXEPERIENCE EVER. WHY WOULD SOMEONE CANCEL MY RESERVATION, A DAY BEFORE AND NOT EVEN TELL ME!!?? I PRE PAY MONTHS BEFORE BECAUSE I CANT AFFORD TO PAY THE TOTAL AT ONE TIME. I WILL NEVER AGAIN USE DOLLAR. NO ONE COULD HELP OPEN THIS RESERVATION! WILL BE REPORTED TO BBB AND REVIEWS LEFT FOR OTHERS TO SEE. I HOPE DOLLAR GOES OUT OF BUSINESS FOR THIS. THANK GOD AMEX LET GAVE ME A TEMPORARY CREDIT INCREASE IN THIS TIME OF NEED! I actually returned the vehicle overnight and was charged an extra day because no one was there...

I rented through a third party with Dollar. I did not get the loss and damage protection (would have been cheaper through the 3rd party). When getting to Dollar the front desk agent did not speak very good English and it was EXTREMELY difficult to understand him. He talked super fast as well. None of the 4 people in my party understood what he was saying to us either. I hated to be the person to ask for a different agent for his poor English. He did ask if i wanted to add loss and damage to the car for which I said I DID NOT want.

I knew I would have to put a credit card down and they would hold a certain amount just in case for a deposit. After leaving my friends and I all looked at each other and said "I have no idea what he just said to us." I paid all the tolls on the Florida toll roads (I was never told that they were pre-paid for with my card I laid down).

I returned the car in perfect condition with a full tank of gas. That weekend my credit card was charged $321. I called Dollar the following Monday about why. The customer service person said that it was for the $28/day loss and damage fee as well as a $10/day toll fee charge. I told them I waived the loss and damage fee and was not aware of the toll fee. Because I had signed after he ran my card (thinking they just needed my signature to take the car). I felt like they conned me. They also said there isn't an option to waive the toll fee. They said they could only refund me half. I wrote a complaint email to dollar hoping to get a full refund, they said because I signed they could only refund half and that I am "always more than welcome to read the contract before leaving the desk."

Needless to say I would not rent from Dollar. The desk agent screwed me and customer service wouldn't fix...