CBC: Ex-employees reveal ripoffs at Budget Rent a Car

[ruthless]

Originally Posted by Great68

A number of years ago, the company I worked for rented me a car. As I was driving it around during the day, the car started smelling like burnt oil really bad. I pulled over, popped the hood and found the motor had no fucking oil cap, oil was everywhere.

I drove it straight back to the place, they gave me a new car, but not without charging me the exhorbitant amount of money for the little bit of gas I used. In retrospect, I should have just driven until the motor ran out of oil and seized up.

EXACT same thing happened to me...wtf coincidence? or someone fuckin around

I just cleaned it up best I could, put more oil in and returned it

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by Drow

rofl CBC on a roll eh?

going around pissing off businesses wit that 'haters gon hate' nosey ass little prick lmao

first it was DPS then it was Ebisu now its Budget

not that i'm complaining or anything but i just think they're being lil fags ya nomsaiyan'

underage liquor is the government dummy.

I got offered a job to do this regarding ciggs when I was 17.

[Drow]

Originally Posted by Meowjin

underage liquor is the government dummy.

I got offered a job to do this regarding ciggs when I was 17.

yah i know its the law. like i said, not like i'm mad or anything i personally hate diamond and im gonna add budget to the list now that i read cbc's story.

what i do find funny is that CBC is being a little faggot. WHICH IS TOTALLY COOL BY ME YOU GUYS. I'M SUPPORTIVE. just i find it funny is all

[l2_narain]

Its obvious CBC is on this forum. They already got their share of gold on some of the infomation members post here..

[Drow]

i hope they dont make a headline " DROW CALLS CBC A FAGGOT "

[jpark]

Originally Posted by Great68

A number of years ago, the company I worked for rented me a car. As I was driving it around during the day, the car started smelling like burnt oil really bad. I pulled over, popped the hood and found the motor had no fucking oil cap, oil was everywhere.

I drove it straight back to the place, they gave me a new car, but not without charging me the exhorbitant amount of money for the little bit of gas I used. In retrospect, I should have just driven until the motor ran out of oil and seized up.

wow, that is some straight up crap. i would have refused to even give them a dime for wasting my time with their shitty service. Guess there is nothing much you can really do though

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by Drow

yah i know its the law. like i said, not like i'm mad or anything i personally hate diamond and im gonna add budget to the list now that i read cbc's story.

what i do find funny is that CBC is being a little faggot. WHICH IS TOTALLY COOL BY ME YOU GUYS. I'M SUPPORTIVE. just i find it funny is all

the job to go into businesses and order liquor is A GOVERNMENT job.

It had nothing to do with CBC.

[TRDood]

Most of the time the renter can protect himself/herself. I have propbably rented 10+ times with Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, Avis. Even in Vancouver once (paid by ICBC for accident rental).

You get a peice of paper when you check out the vehicle. Mark down ALL damages and scratches and door dings. I sometimes take pictures if it's major. Tell the manager or CSR and ask them initial or sign it. I see many people just drive off the lot. Big mistake.

When you return the car, make sure you get the FINAL receipt indicating the amount charged. After that the vehicle is no longer my responsiblility.

Last time when I was in Ottawa. I got rear ended by a bus in a VW Golf. Minor scuffs but no dents. I told the lot attendent about the accident and he just shrugged it off. I make sure I get my final receipt without damages though.

For those of you that have rental coverage through credit card.. Some don't cover collision, and some have limits for liability. Just buy the $75 roadside plus package from ICBC. Any claims through a rental won't affect your CRS.
Posted via RS Mobile

[UFO]

^ well put. The CBC Marketplace shows and investigative reports can paint a very one sided picture. A lot of the issues they report on could have prevented if the customer showed some due care, read the fine print, did their research beforehand, etc etc.

In this case, if the car is scratched or dinged while in your possession, why is it not fair for you to get charged for the damage? We all know well that getting that damage repaired can range from bargain basement cash only prices to high end quality refinishing, so the range of pricing should not come as a surprise. So what if Budget charges you for damage, and doesn't repair the car, it's up to them what they want to do with that money. Now if they take that same damage and claim a second renter caused it and double charge, that is dirty. And that is really the main fault that I see in what has been reported.

Agents upselling and pushing their own insurance? Of course, it's their job. If you don't know what credit card coverage you have and double insure, that's your fault as a customer.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by jpark

wow, that is some straight up crap. i would have refused to even give them a dime for wasting my time with their shitty service. Guess there is nothing much you can really do though

Since work was paying for it, it wasn't worth me getting upset about it.

If it was my own money, it'd be a completely different story.

[bing]

Originally Posted by UFO

^ well put. The CBC Marketplace shows and investigative reports can paint a very one sided picture. A lot of the issues they report on could have prevented if the customer showed some due care, read the fine print, did their research beforehand, etc etc.

In this case, if the car is scratched or dinged while in your possession, why is it not fair for you to get charged for the damage? We all know well that getting that damage repaired can range from bargain basement cash only prices to high end quality refinishing, so the range of pricing should not come as a surprise. So what if Budget charges you for damage, and doesn't repair the car, it's up to them what they want to do with that money. Now if they take that same damage and claim a second renter caused it and double charge, that is dirty. And that is really the main fault that I see in what has been reported.

Agents upselling and pushing their own insurance? Of course, it's their job. If you don't know what credit card coverage you have and double insure, that's your fault as a customer.

If car rental agencies are really doing this, I think they are operating in a grey area: at the very least, they should have a clear policy and people should learn to ask questions.

I think its fair if people have to pay for the damage they did (and a reasonable fee for loss of use), but is it fair to charge a customer full price for repairs each time and yet not fix it until they chose to? This can result in situations in which customers who don't do an adequate walk around may be charged for previous damage unknowingly simply because they did not do their due diligence. I also do not see why non-luxury rental companies would have to bring their vehicles to a "high-end" shop when they rent out basic models of vehicles with no specialized paint and expect their vehicles to be regularly damaged in the course of their business operations. Without clear company policies and accountability, the end result is an environment that creates incentives for managers who are also under pressure to act in unethical ways and treat vehicle damages as another stream of revenue - which is probably even part of their business model.

edit: looks like people are claiming they are overcharging for the repairs as well, their "independent auditor" is someone under their employ, and the company they do the repairs at is a subsidiary.

[H.Specter]

Originally Posted by bing

If car rental agencies are really doing this, I think they are operating in a grey area: at the very least, they should have a clear policy on this issue and people should learn to ask questions.

My feelings on this are mixed: On the one hand, I would assume that most people think they are being charged only for the damage incurred, yet that would not take into account the downtime of the vehicle not earning $ for the company while it has to be repaired and the administrative expenses incurred (paper work, phoning around, dropping off/picking up the car).

On the other hand, is it fair to charge a customer full price for repairs each time and yet not fix it until they chose to? This can result in situations in which customers who don't do an adequate walk around may be charged for previous damage unknowingly simply because they did not do their due diligence. I also do not see why non-luxury rental companies would have to bring their vehicles to a "high-end" shop when they rent out basic models of vehicles with no specialized paint and expect their vehicles to be regularly damaged in the course of their business operations. I even think it would be in their interest to have the repair adequately completed at minimal costs to keep customers happy and returning. Without clear company policies and accountability, the end result is that this creates incentives for managers (who face pressure meeting performance targets and incentives to make money) to act unethically and look at vehicle damages as another stream of revenue.

Repairs are done according to ICBC standard. All repairs are certified and documented as the manufacturers and car auctions that receive the vehicles require this paperwork to sell the vehicle back to the public. There are renters that have taken the estimates from Budget/Inland and then have it checked out at ICBC to verify, to come to a conclusion that they are exact same repair hours/refinish times/approximate part prices.

[bing]

^Don't be a selective reader. That part you highlighted is in response to UFO's argument that "we all know well that getting that damage repaired can range from bargain basement cash only prices to high end quality refinishing, so the range of pricing should not come as a surprise." You missed the entire issue of the article, which is if Budget charges customers for repairs every time there are damages to the vehicle, but doesn't necessarily fix it right away. In other words, are they keeping the money 4 out of 5 times for instance? Certified by who when the repairs are done at their own shop? and their considered "private" deals. Also, it's obvious that the repairs will be adequate - how do you mess up when the repair jobs are mainly minor cosmetic damages or windshield repair/replacement? Since these will be mainly private jobs at their "private" shop, it'll be up to Budget to complain in the first place and I don't think they'll be as picky with things such as the paint not matching as people are with their personal cars. I'm sure Budget will have a record of the repair, but I don't know if minor cosmetic damage information would be passed along to car auction companies if that is where the vehicles go after.

there are renters that have taken the estimates from Budget/Inland and then have it checked out at ICBC to verify, to come to a conclusion that they are exact same repair hours/refinish times/approximate part prices.

Do you have supporting evidence for that claim? Car rental agencies overcharging for repairs is not a new phenomenon that hasn't occurred in the past. For example: 7 years ago, "Hertz was made to pay almost $7 million in fines, after New York's attorney general went after the company for overcharging customers $13 million for repairs." There are also tons of complaints and by the looks of the comments section in the articles, many many people seem to think that they were overcharged and charged for things they did not do.

I expect a better reply from someone who uses the pseudonym Harvey Specter.

[Sunfighter]

I have rented extensively in the UK with Hertz (basically every year for a couple of weeks)... driving a car in the UK, especially in the countryside with narrow roads, huge hedges, tiny streets, and virtually no parking space results in LOTS of scratches no matter how good of a driver you are.... In the last 10 years we only ever got charged for one damage (a couple of drunks one night got in a fight and dented the rear hatch).... they have been amazing of us... and we have handed back cars that are BEYOND filthy.... and they have never batted an eyelash... will continue to rent Hertz... at least in the UK....

[Soundy]

Budget Rent a Car fraud claims probed by RCMP - British Columbia - CBC News

[TheKingdom2000]

Originally Posted by penner2k

lol who would pay for extra insurance if they have it on their credit card... my buddy did $5k worth of damage to his rental car and his credit card company paid the bill..

This happened to my cousin. He was in Hawaii and even though he had a platnium visa that covered insurance he was duped into getting insurance because they said that his visa insurance didn't cover it. They claimed that Canadian insurance wouldn't cover any damages.
He obviously believed the girl. He said she sounded like she knew her stuff.. Turns out she just lied to him to sell the extra insurance.

[bing]

Class action lawsuit time.

[UFO]

Everytime I've had to rent a car the agents make it pretty clear that my CC may cover any damage, but if they don't I'm obviously responsible for the tab. And I would have to pay the rental company up front and get the CC to reimburse any coverage that IS covered. So if I have a vague idea that I'm covered for something but don't know what or how much exactly, it is easy to get sold on their insurance. They say that their insurance will cover everything and I won't have to pay for any damages up front. If you DO run into problems, it's just extra piece of mind, and that's something even your CC insurance can't provide.

[valent|n0]

so is it all budget location in BC that do the fraud ??
or is there a specific location?

my second question is each location owned by different owner or
All BC budget is owned by Belzberg ?