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January 2024 by Antonio Ponce
Had a reservation arrived and was told I'd have to wait 4+ hours for a car. Noticed a line before I even arrived with people waiting for cars. It got so bad that they started turning people away due to not having any more cars. Staff was nice dealing with the situation the best they could but definitely a massive corporate screw up.
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January 2024 by Tee H
I am a repeat Thrifty customer and sadly this location has given me a different outlook of Thrifty. The only person available was at the counter to take payment/security deposit and stated to me that I chose managers special and would be given an electric car. No further information was given. WhenI walked to the available cars there was one person that directed me to the Aisle but no further instructions. I conversed with another customer that gave me more info than the actual staff. I never drove an electric car before and had no idea how,when,or where to charge it. I also was not given the option to prepay for charging. The person that checked me out told me an app to download about charging stations and gave me minimal info on the process but pointed out a line on how much to bring it back. I ended up paying for ubers (which defied the whole purpose of a rental and caused me to spend double the money) because I didn't have time to charge the car and wanted to bring it back with the amount i was told to bring it back on. There was no one I could talk to for questions when returning and then I get an updated receipt where my credit card was charged a fee for recharging the car. When I called the main customer service I was told they have to submit to the location to get an approval for a refund. My history of several years and rentals with thrifty should show accuracy of my claim since I always return my vehicles on full or prepay. My local Thrifty has been wonderful but unfortunately, This incident if not resolved fairly will be the last of my rentals.
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January 2024 by Nilam Vaughan
If zero was possible. I'd give it. I booked a reservation for my wife and when she went to pick up her rental they would not honor the prepaid reservation because she did not have the CC used to make the reservation. The car was in her name and the published Thrifty policy states "The drive must present a valid driver's license and credit card in their name upon pick-up." No mention of original card used for purchase. They were more than happy to offer to rebook it with her card at 4X the original cost, however.
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December 2023 by Marcus Vendrúscolo
Be aware! Not enough cars available. Dollar/Thrifty has overbooked their capacity, so you will be frustrated when you arrive in Washignton DC. I needed to spend half hour there trying to find a solution, and they have not offered any assistance. So I needed to call the rental company and request a refund of my reservation. TERRIBLE SERVICE. Take UBER and enjoy the city.
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December 2023 by Marco Kaiser
I recently used Thrifty Car Rental at the Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington DC and had a surprisingly smooth experience, though I understand this may not be the case for everyone.Personal Experience:I arrived when it was not crowded, which gave me the luxury of choosing any car I liked from the available selection. The staff were friendly and helpful, making the process quite pleasant.Potential Concerns for Other Travelers:However, I acknowledge the validity of other reviewers’ concerns. The system at Thrifty doesn’t guarantee a specific car for each reservation. In peak times, this could mean limited choices or having to settle for whatever is available.Rental Process:1. Arrival: Reach the rental car area in Parking 1, either by shuttle bus or, if using a ride app like Uber or Lyft, use the designated drop-off zone on National Avenue.2. At the Counter: Be prepared for a sales pitch for additional insurance, upgrades, or services, but stick to your original booking if you prefer.3. Car Selection: In the adjacent parking lot, choose any car that suits your needs. This freedom of choice is a plus, especially during less busy times.4. Departure: Show the paper from inside the car and your driver’s license at the exit cabin for a final check.5. On Your Way: After verification, you’re ready to hit the road.In summary, while I personally had a great experience and faced no issues due to the timing of my visit, I understand that this might not be the case for everyone, especially during busier periods. The flexibility in choosing a car is a significant advantage, provided the availability aligns with your timing.
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November 2023 by Lisa N.
Beware - secured a car with Thrifty at DCA through a Travelocity package. Arrived on Thanksgiving day only to be told they had no cars and it would be a 5-6 hour wait for one - at 2:30pm on Thanksgiving Day! Unacceptable after having already paid for the car. Had to spend $90 for an Uber ride to get to family for Thanksgiving dinner. Thrifty would not refund the money, $386 for the rental car that they never provided because I could not possibly return to the airport almost an hour away on Thanksgiving night to get a rental. Checked on line the following day and they still had no rentals available at the airport, yet they won't refund the money! Criminals. Will NEVER use Thrifty again.
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November 2023 by Patrick
User beware with scummy and predatory practices ESPECIALLY when renting thru 3rd party services:THRIFTY-•$500.00 hold when using a Debit card and $200 Credit card.•Credit background charge. (Is this even legal?)•Need to return car on day of leave.•In Person Customer Service terrible- manager extremely rude and unprofessional within one minute of conversation threatened to call “airline security” and said “never rent to this person again.”•Attempts to call Thrifty directly proven fruitless with ALL automated services ending with abrupt disconnect.•This customer has contacted DC Airport security informing that security is used for empty threats and scare tactics. Poor Management and Customer Care Service should not be the responsibility of DC Security.PS- as I write this review there are currently 5 customers in-line with 1 person at desk.11.17.23 @ 1600 hoursThank you.
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November 2023 by M S.
The worst car rental experience ever at thrifty lax. Two hours on line amd once I made it to the front of the line told they are out of cars. They said it would be up to two additional hours for cars to be ready. They knew this before we ever stood on line, but didn't bother to tell us.When I expressed concern about being lied to and requested an Uber to my hotel, the operations manager told me he is not obligated to do anything, I could come back tomorrow if I want, and if I continue to complain he would have me banned for life from thrifty. There were infants and seniors waiting on this crazy line for the two hours....and thrifty managers could care less.....horrendous. I will be filing complaint with bbb and the airport authority. Stay away!
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November 2023 by Carlos Rivera
Rented a car from the airport. I had a reservation and had my information. I used my wife’s card to put the hold on the vehicle. When we get here the clerk said he couldn’t use that card. However, we didn’t have another one. We had to jump through hoops to get our information downloaded. Then when we get that squared away he tells us it’s going to be an additional charge for gas and we have to pay it. I refused. Many times. He also asked my wife and I why are we making this harder than it’s suppose to be. Now, we won’t make it to the event that we came here for and all that money down the drain. Because you have no cars left. The clerk is telling us it’s going to be a 2 hour wait. And that there many people in front of us. Could be more. But, why, we paid for our reservation. Now they are saying it’s not for the car just for the price. What kind of manipulation is this. I will never ever recommend this company to anyone. Not even as a last resort. Run away as fast as you can. There customer service reps are not professional just rude and sarcastic like we were less than them. Very dissatisfied with this experience .
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November 2023 by Gille W
I’ll start by saying, the workers seemed nice and helpful. Getting to the rental car place near the airport was also a short shuttle ride. Maybe ten minutes but smooth. The issue was that we arrived to an long line - one that was working for two places and one person at each counter. We waited for thirty minutes to get to the front. When we did, we were initially asked for our ID and card which is expected but we nearly booked before being told there was about a one and half to two hour wait for cars. We had wondered why people were sitting and hadn’t left. They had no cars and people were waiting to be called. I don’t know if that’s a usual issue but it was an issue today. Having a sign listing availability would have helped. Don’t have cars? Say so ahead of time. Again, the workers were not at fault, but the communication was lacking.We ended up going to Sixt in the same section which was new to us but we got out with a car in under 15 minutes. They had a sign out.
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October 2023 by Thatcher Olson
DO NOT rent a car here. I had a reservation for 8am and had to wait until 11am to get my car. They said they were out of cars. They weren’t helpful and were not friendly at all. They offered no discount or refund and no explanation. Browsing previous reviews this seems to be a common problem.Avoid them at all costs. I’ll do all I can to tell others not to book here. They’ve had many of these same reviews and the response is hollow and obviously hasn’t changed the issue. Don’t listen to their responses to the reviews, they haven’t changed anything.
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October 2023 by Arvind Krishna Parthasarathy
Could give a 0 star review if I could.We had a confirmed booking prior to getting there and when we got there well before the close time, the counter was closed. Apparently they ran out of cars and just closed the section and left.We spoke to Hertz who owns the company, and the person was just rude to everyone around. They did not take responsibility for overbooking and leaving us hanging and when I told them I had no where to go because my stay was 2 hours away by car, the person at the counter said - "go sleep in a hotel or whatever, I don't care". He also said they would have cars in the morning and said "You better come by 7am if you want a car". Disgusting treatment of a customer.We had to book a hotel for the night, thus losing money. Then the morning we had to go to the airport to get our car, and they did not even charge us less for the lost hours, saying they would only reduce the cost if 24 hours passed.What a joke! If this company really cares, they would reach out to me and offer to pay for the hotel at least, which was a cost incurred to me completely because of their fault.
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October 2023 by Stefanie Prilla
Rented a car via Opodo with Thrifty and couldn’t be more happy (well, I could as car wasn’t properly cleaned, hence no five stars). The counter was empty, so easy check-in. Lucky me I guess, considering other reviews. All in all, I got exactly what I booked - a very reasonably priced car with smooth and friendly service.
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September 2023 by Andrea R.
Horrible, horrible experience at DCA. 2+ hour wait and still waiting. Flew in for an event that I don't even know that I'll make because of this horrible company. So angry and disappointed.
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August 2023 by Laurentius Huber
They have an efficient capitalistic machinery there. That does not work in your favor. There is not a single person that can answer questions. When you get there, you need to talk to someone that takes you credit card info and wants to sell unnecessary insurances that I already payed for. They were also deceptive about the category of the reservation (maybe because they wanted me to upgrade). Then they refered me to another person to get the car. But they only directed me to the garage and asked me to take car of your choice.I took one and then at the exit of the garage, there is a third person noting the car that I took.There is no one you can ask questions about the car. All the cars in my categorylooked like the same model (but different colors). And I had no idea that the one I took was an electric car. When I wanted to charge it, I also noticed that the cable was incomplete! I ended up spending many hours of the trip to learn about standards of electrical charging. Finding charging stations etc.The same principle applied for the return. There is no one I could talk to for questions. They directed me to a specific lane and asked me for the key.I have not received an confirmation that everything is OK.
