Thrifty Car Rental Charged Hidden Fees No Refund Deception Damage Waiver Atlanta Georgia
I booked a prepaid rental car with Thrifty through my Chase Rewards program on 1/11/17 for 14 days which came to a total of $280.80. I picked up the vehicle, a Nissan Altima, on 1/16/17 from the Thrifty branch at 2300 Rental Center Pkwy in Atlanta, GA.
I declined all additional insurance coverage on the rental vehicle. I signed the basic paperwork that was handed to me and drove the car away. I returned the vehicle on the night of 1/29/17. I signed the electric handheld device the attendant was holding, and left.
The following day I saw an email with a receipt totaling $487.49 including $389.86 for a Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW), $44.31 for a Concession Fee Recovery, and a 10% tax of $44.32. All this was in addition to the $280.80 in rewards I already paid for.
My wife contacted Thrifty via phone about the additional charges and was told because I signed the paperwork, I would not be entitled to a refund. I’ve tweeted both Thrifty and Hertz about the issue and have been apologized to, but offered no assistance, explanation, or refund.
I’ve researched this practice by Thrifty online and have found numerous complaints of the same manner. I feel like Thrifty is knowingly deceiving its customers into signing paperwork without notifying them of the additional charges that apply. I’ve been renting vehicles consistently for over nine years and I always refuse additional coverage.
The simplest resolution for Hertz/Thrifty to make is a refund of $487.49 that they incorrectly charged me for. Someone should look into this shady practice that Thrifty appears to consistently pull on its customers.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Yes, it's true, I expected a company to be ethical.
#3Author of original report
Mon, January 30, 2017
It's true, you got me. I failed to read every last inch of the contract and expected the company I'm paying money to to treat me ethically and not attempt to rip me off. I have sinned.
I also have a credit card with rental vehicle coverage already on it, so therefore I never get additional coverage because I'd rather not pay twice for something...forgive me. In the nine years of continuous car rentals and good customer service, mostly by the likes of Enterprise, I tried to save some money and went through Thrifty.
So, the next time a rental company asks if I want additional insurance on my vehicle, I'll won't simply reply, "No", but rather jump over the counter, drop kick the attendant, and type it in myself. Lesson learned.
Jim
USAYou Thought???
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, January 30, 2017
Come on now...we're talking about YOUR money, right??? In your report, you said in your text message exchange you "thought" you were paying for a car rental without the CDW. Since this is YOUR MONEY , shouldn't you have known for sure what you were agreeing to??? You didn't even bother to read the contract, did you? You just signed where they said to sign and didn't even look it over to protect your own interests. In view of this, his is this their fault? They could have written anything in that contract and you would have been clueless and blame them! First off, I never can understand why you people rent cars without some type of damage protection. Secondly, I will never, ever understand how any of you sign contracts without using common sense to read what you are agreeing to before you sign!!!