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December 2023 by Johnny B.
NEVER rent from Budget! I was offered an e-tolls service to pay for any toll roads or bridges, which I declined. They told me at the counter that I could pay for toll charges online but never said it had to be within 48hrs of crossing a toll or i would automatically be enrolled in their e-toll program. I crossed one bridge ($7) and was charged $12.95 twice. $7 for the toll and $5.95 for the service. When I went back to complain about not being informed of the 48hr deadline or the automatic enrollment, the girl at the counter said it wasn't their responsibility to tell you how to pay a toll. The customer service representative from Budget disagreed with that statement but couldn't remove the charges from my credit card because the service was provided by a separate company. I would have to call e-toll's customer service to get the charges removed. I could care less about the $25+ I was billed, but I can't accept shady business transactions from corporate thieves. 0 stars if it was an option.
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December 2023 by Twisted C.
Sorry to say, but I would actually give Budget Rent a Car at the Oakland Airport zero stars. I had to rent a truck for a function at my sons elementary school. I reserved a one day rental. As I was leaving the lot, I told the attendant at the gate who told me to "make sure I fill the truck up with gas" that the gas gauge wasn't registering all the way full. He then told me to just "make sure I replaced the gas I use". I went a total of 17 miles. 14 of those miles were to go round-trip from the car rental agency to my house and back. I put 2 gallons of gas in a vehicle that said it got 15 miles to the gallon on their website. So I pretty much doubled the gas I used. Upon returning their truck the same guy checked me in who checked me out. he asked if I filled the truck back up with gas and I told him I replaced the gas I use just like he told me to do the day before when I rented the vehicle. He checked me in. Told me to have a nice day and we sent our goodbyes. As I was driving home, I got an email alert from budget saying they were charging me an extra $20.94 for not filling the truck up fully with gas. I filed an email dispute. Got an email back from somebody named Alice Chihuahua, Job title as operations manager. She apologized and said that she would not only credit the gas back to my card but it also give an additional $25 credit for the inconvenience. Sounded good - but it never happened. I waited a month to see if the credit would appear on my current bank statement and there was nothing there. I filed a dispute with my credit card company, and they said they would take care of it. I don't like liars. I don't like people who smile at you and then stab you in the back when you leave. Meaning - the guy at Budget never said anything about how he was going to charge me for not putting gas in the truck. Probably knew if he did it would've created an issue. I will never rent from Budget Rent-A-Car again, and I discourage anyone else who thinks about it to choose another rental agency.
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November 2023 by Tracy Pease
Easy pick-up, courteous customer service checking out the car and return. Vehicle was spotless and when there wasn't a car in the size I rented the CSR issued the next size up so I wouldn't have to wait an hour for a return from another customers. Thank you
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November 2023 by Juanita Cooley
The staff at the Alamo car rental in Oakland, CA was outstanding. The initial contact was Mary. She was nice, sweet and kept a smile on her face while helping me find a great vehicle. Next, Alma there are no words. She provided customers care with a big smile and she assisted and made sure I had the right safe vehicle for me. While driving, I ended up with a flat tire. The service call for help wasn’t great; however, it took long to process the approval to replace the tire, so I paid out of pocket. However, it was noted for me to receive reimbursement. Finally, I returned the vehicle and the night manager Tyrone reviewed the notes and listened carefully to what I stayed what happened and his customer service was beyond outstanding. He was very detailed with explaining the credit deductions to my credit card and provided the receipts. I will not forget Joemar - he checked in my car and my package of gum was struck in the cup holder, and he worked more than 10 minutes to get it out. Excellent customer care… Please provide them with my gratitude because of their kindness; it made my trip home safe and welcoming. Ms. Cooley
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October 2023 by Jade J.
This is a cheating Car Rental....I rented a car on Aug 7 2023 to Aug 12 2023One week Rental...Signing up a Deposit Was 200.00 charge up front ...They claim that the Amount will Reimburse back once the car has returned, and it would only take 3 to 5 business days to credit the 200.00 back to your card ... Little do I know when I came back from my trip my statement came and I was billed for the full amount of $638 and change .... Little did I know so I pay my whole bill off until week later it came to my senses why did budget overcharged me for the amount of $638 in change supposedly one week of rental is $328 and change.... so when I called budget at the SFO airport in Oakland, the representative told me that it was a $300 deposit and my payment should be half of the price of $638 and change. I call my credit card company and dispute the only $200 $100 was extra. So make the story short The company of budget they give you run around and said that it's only for deposit it'll charge you to the account but no I was fully charge of the amount of $638 and change so I recommend people travel ..think about other car rental, and not do business with budget shame on them...I Have Been CHEATED should pay less in my car rental of amount of 328.00 but instead I pay more Double amount 638.00...Made NO Sense...Misleading All I Can Say For NowBudget Rip You Off Money Grabber ZERO STAR
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October 2023 by Shayne Sawyer
Oakland Airport has streamlined their services. If you are a FastTrak member you now can get an email with your car assignment, where it is and directions to the parking spot and best of all, a code to check out without having to stand in line. Leaving the lot is simple - just flash the code and the gate opens. It saved me a good 15 minutes off of my normal Oakland Airport experience.Budget has generally been reasonably priced and their cars are generally new and clean. But this was the best!
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October 2023 by Ophir Gilad
We are a group of 4 adults and planned a trip to Yosemite and the San-Francisco Bay Area. After the 45 minute wait in line (which is annoying, but not something we haven’t experienced before) we were told the only available vehicles are either a sports car, which cannot hold 2 large bags and a trolley, a pickup truck with an open back (and it was pouring that day) and no tarp to cover it or an electric car which needs to be charged for long periods of time and have limited charging locations. We ended up taking the electric car since it was the only one we could fit our luggage in. We ended up spending 1-2 hours a day looking for charging stations and charging the car. I don’t know how these 3 options are equivalent to what we booked months in advance, but this has definitely ruined our vacation. The staff at the counter did not seem to care that all options are bad and did not try to come up with a solution. This is not the kind of service that gets return customers.
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October 2023 by Cassie Fennell
Do not use this location. Can I give it zero starts? One person ahead of us in line, and we waiting 20 minutes. No cars available. What is the purpose of even reserving a car ahead of time when it is not even remotely honored or matched. They stick us in such a small car with no room for any bags. Wasted an entire day having to find a different. Budget that had cars available. The agent was extremely unhelpful, unpleasant, and hard to understand
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October 2023 by Ana P
The line was horrible and took an hour to get to the counter. Then, once we got to the counter, they didn’t have a car ready despite us being on time for our reservations. We just stood up there waiting for who knows what without any communication by the agent. I had to ask them what we were waiting for at which point they said they didn’t have a car and didn’t know when they’d get one. We waited another 30+ minutes at the counter for them to find a car and “clean” it. The car was filthy but after waiting so long with 2 little kids, we left. Never going there again.
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October 2023 by S D.
If I could give negative stars, I absolutely would. They sucker you into the pre pay amounts and then charge you extra days with additional charges afterwards. I included the daily loss waiver in my prepaid, it was listed as charged, but didn't show up, so charged again. Limited supply of vehicles at the time of pickup, left to take gas guzzling Challenger. Billed for a full day and another day of loss waiver for 15 minutes late. When their agents were late checking in the vehicle. At the end of the day, I will definitely be deleting my fastbreak account. No intent to ever use Budget again. Extremely disappointed with this process PERIOD!
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September 2023 by Tc C.
* When I arrived at the Budget office near the Oakland Airport to pick up the car at the time for which I had made the appointment I was told by the woman at the counter that my appointment was for noon. I had a paper in my hand that said 10 AM but I didn't argue and told her I'd wait. Her curt reply was "just go somewhere and come back at noon." I did come back at noon and was told the car wasn't there yet. No explanation of why or how long it might be, just "go sit down." I did. 30 minutes later, my husband went up to the counter, when all the customers in line were gone, and asked for an ETA. It'll be here "soon." 15 mins later (now almost 1PM, 3 hrs after what I believed was my appointment time) they said a car was here but they'd wash it. I said I didn't need it washed but he insisted. We got the car about 10 minutes later and it just reeked of B.O. and the car looked like it was rinsed off but not dried at all. Fine!* The mileage was great (up to 79 mpg) but I'm sure that Budget rigs the mileage to look higher so that you'll want to buy the car? Even the manufacturer claims only 59 mpg max.* One tire was bald, the low tire pressure light went on a lot and I was surprised that not a lot of gas stations have air pumps, especially when you're driving through the desert with many, many miles between gas stops. Of course those that do charge 8 quarters for 3 mins of air. Had to find a convenience store that sold tire pressure gauges. And, the light only came on during heavy rain storms. None of the air pumps were under rain canopies. * The window washer fluid was EMPTY. We found a NAPA auto parts store to buy some and the poor car took the entire gallon!* Registration had expired 9 months prior to our renting of this vehicle.* The "maintenance required soon" light came on every time we started the engine.* Finally the "maintenance required NOW, go do dealer" sign popped up on dashboard and wouldn't go away. That happened when we were on our way to our last motel, the day we drove 8 hours so I really wanted to get to the motel before dark. I called Budget's emergency number (because there's no other way to contact anything but a recording) and the man (with heavy accent, probably not located in the USA) said, "I'll find a dealer in the area and you can get it serviced." NOT! Then he said we could go to the nearest Budget office (airport about 30 miles out of our way). He assured us that there would be a hybrid ready to pick up in 30 mins. GREAT! GPS guided us to a "road closed" sign on the way to the airport. 16 miles out of the way later, we got back to the same Road closed sign. Finally we found a man who gave us alternate directions to the airport and we finally got there. The woman at the Budget desk knew nothing about any hybrid that was supposed to be available. She swore that she hadn't heard a word from the "emergency guy." She too suggested that we take the car to "Tony's" car repair. We have a contract with them. They'll do the required maintenance and get you back on the road." NOT HAPPENING!* She said there were no vehicles available but when she saw my face, about 10 seconds away from crying, she miraculously pulled a Ford Malibu out of her rear end. Its registration expired in April! Not a hybrid but I'd have taken ANY vehicle with 4 wheels.* Now, somehow, Budget seems to have forgotten that I paid $250 deposit when I picked up the car. Good luck getting that back!* I got my final receipt today and see that there's an additional charge for $9.91. That's what they charge per gallon of gas if you don't bring it back full. I did bring it back full to the brim!
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September 2023 by MICHAEL HOYLE
Terrible experience. One hour plus waiting in line because the employees have no concept of time or customer awareness. I did the online pre rental paperwork which is supposed to speed the process -it doesn’t. I had requested Wi-Fi…didn’t get it. Apparently the car was not equipped.The counter agent offered me the ezToll option free so I accepted it. Dollars to donuts it was not activated and I get charged via mail alter for tollsUpon renting car signing paperwork just before I left the desk I heard the clerk in the next computer tell their client their car was in the same slot as mine, THEY HAD RENTED THE SAME CAR TO TWO PEOPLE. So I was required to do paperwork all over again for a different car.Do yourself a favor rent from another company and not the Avis/Budget folks at Oakland.
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September 2023 by Roger Robot
Budget has long been my favorite car rental place, the Oakland crew is great, and I'm happy they now rent Tesla EVs. In my experience, a Tesla Supercharge costs $15 to $25, depending on amount and local rate per kWh. But Budget charged $44.40 for each charge session AND they could not give a breakdown of amount, rate, and fees! They need to give customers the option of charging directly to their own Tesla account, just like users can pay for their own gasoline.
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September 2023 by Michelle Duren
Would not recommend- the engine failed on the rental vehicle I was provided. Despite calling for roadside assistance at 3pm, we were stuck on the highway for over 10 hours and not given a replacement vehicle until over 24 hours after the car broke down.
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September 2023 by Aliza Warwick
Mystery charges and impossible to get in touch to understand why. Returned a car in perfect condition, on time, and received an extra charge without any notice. Their customer service phone line says it's "closed" when Budget's website says the line should be open for another 30 min. No way to contact them easily via email, only to submit "feedback." Won't be renting from Budget again.