Complaint Review: Priceline.com

Keep in mind that when you Rent a car from a car rental agency they don't fine or charge you if you don't pick up the car. So that being said means that Priceline makes a great deal of its profit from people having to change plans and not use the reservations that priceline has setup. Its all clear profit for them - EASY MONEY from unknowing consumers!

While they do let you know (if you read the very fine print) that the rentals are non-refundable, and that if situations beyond your control change, you can get a cancellation, they don't actually give you the refund. They just let you cancel the reservation (which is as easy as not picking the car up.) The wording is intentionally deceptive. Let me say that again. Intentionally. Deceptive. Those two words sum up the entirety of Priceline's business practices. "How is it a rip-off?" asks the Priceline employee? You're charging me for services that I don't use, and wish to cancel WELL in advance of my reservation, and then basically gloating that I "didn't read the fine print. Caveat Emptor." Any company with such deceptive marketing practices and policies that really should be illegal, doesn't deserve your money. The One and Only time Priceline has ever been cheaper than any other site I've been to for plane tickets, I wound up getting burned on the rental car that I'll have to pay to park at the hotel I'm staying at, and wound up not needing anyway.

That is why Priceline is a rip-off. They ripped me off.

While they do let you know (if you read the very fine print) that the rentals are non-refundable, and that if situations beyond your control change, you can get a cancellation, they don't actually give you the refund. They just let you cancel the reservation (which is as easy as not picking the car up.) The wording is intentionally deceptive. Let me say that again. Intentionally. Deceptive. Those two words sum up the entirety of Priceline's business practices. "How is it a rip-off?" asks the Priceline employee? You're charging me for services that I don't use, and wish to cancel WELL in advance of my reservation, and then basically gloating that I "didn't read the fine print. Caveat Emptor." Any company with such deceptive marketing practices and policies that really should be illegal, doesn't deserve your money. The One and Only time Priceline has ever been cheaper than any other site I've been to for plane tickets, I wound up getting burned on the rental car that I'll have to pay to park at the hotel I'm staying at, and wound up not needing anyway.

That is why Priceline is a rip-off. They ripped me off.

Why bash on Priceline? They offer great deals on airfare, car rentals, hotels, etc. for those who are serious about their travel plans. As long as you uphold your end of the deal and follow THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT YOU AGREE TO WHEN BOOKING YOUR RESERVATION, there are no problems. It is people like you who feel that they are "special" and therefore Priceline should breach their own contract to help you out when you want to cancel your nonrefundable reservation. There is no rip off here. Priceline remains a great discount travel company regardless of your self-entitlement issues.

I too learned a valuable lesson with these Priceline crooks. This is their way of doing business and the discount prices are also lies. They stole $374.25 from me by making me feel I didn't read the fine print, etc. and they know nothing about customer service. Priceline is reaping profits by stealing but someday will have to answer! I would never use them again for anything and discourage anyone from using their service.

Thanks for the Rebuttals. Yes I have learned a valuable lesson - I will not use priceline.com again, and I will recommend to anyone I know to not use them also!
My wife made the reservations, so I don't know whether she read all of the fine print or not.
The price that was given for the car rental was not a very good deal in my eyes anyway.
From now on I will definetly deal directly with the Car rental companies, and forget the middle guy that is there to try to catch the unknowing consumer, and reap the profits!

Please provide more information on your experience with PriceLine.

Which PriceLine service did you use? If you did the Name Your Own Price thing, then yeah, there are no refunds. It's pretty well covered in the Web Site Terms & Conditions:

"If priceline.com finds a rental car company willing to accept your Request, priceline.com will immediately charge your method of payment the total cost of the rental transaction including applicable Taxes and Service Fees (see above);

Priceline.com rental car reservations are non-changeable, non-endorsable, non-transferable and non-refundable"

If this is the case, than there is no rip-off here. PriceLine did exactly what they said they would, and you agreed to it.

Thanks.

... and they clearly TELL you this before finalizing and submitting your reservation.

It is unreasonable for you to expect to get a refund because you "didn't use the car." After all, you DID make the NONREFUNDABLE reservation. Whatever happened after that point is your responsibility.

If you "know" that the car rental companies themselves have much more lenient policies, then why didn't you book directly through any one of them, rather than booking with Priceline in the first place?

What you failed to understand before entering into your transaction with Priceline is that you were not making a "reservation."

Rather, you were purchasing the service. You paid for it up front in the context of a contract that didn't allow for cancellations.

The Priceline website goes to great lengths to ensure that you are aware of the nature of the transaction before your payment is submitted.

If you fail to avail yourself of the information that is being presented, and click the submit button without understanding even the most basic terms of the agreement, then I cannot agree that you were ripped off.

By the way, the no-cancellation policy is part of what allows Priceline to offer discounted rates. The rate you pay when you make a standard reservation includes a premium that reflects the administrative costs (and lost profits) associated with a potential cancellation. By avoiding the risk of cancellation, Priceline can reduce its rates by eliminating the cancellation premium.

So I do not agree that the no-cancellation policy is a ripoff. Without it, the service would be more expensive.