- Report: #134172
Complaint Review: Advantage Rent A Car aka Autowise - Montreal Dorval Quebec
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Advantage Rent A Car aka Autowise
635 Marshall Montreal Dorval, H9P 1E1 Quebec, Canada
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Advantage Rent A Car aka Autowise ripoff fraudulent billing insurance scam ridiculous customer service Namita Khatri Montreal Dorval Quebec Canada
THIS LOCATION HAS AT LEAST 2 OTHER RIPOFF REPORTS... STAY AWAY!
This complaint is specifically in regards to the Advantage Rent-a-car location in Dorval, Quebec (the affiliate) and is not necessarily representative of the service provided by other Advantage Rent-a-car locations.
The following complaint items represent substantial negligence, fraudulence, and general deceptive business practices on the part of the Advantage Rent-a-car location in Dorval, Quebec. The complaints are listed in order of perceived severity:
Complaint 1- The representatives at this affiliate location deceive customers into buying insurance that they do not need or have waived by claiming that the insurance is a requirement of the Province of Quebec.
Upon arrival at the affiliate location, I was asked about insurance coverage. I declined all coverage since my personal car insurance company covers rentals worldwide. I was told that the bodily injury coverage is required in Quebec and was forced to accept the bodily injury portion of the coverage. I protested to no avail and was truly duped into accepting coverage that I did not understand nor needed.
I investigated this matter further with the Societe Assurances Automobile du Quebec and confirmed that the bodily injury coverage is optional and absolutely not required to enter a rental car agreement.
Complaint 2- Unexplained fees, labeled miscellaneous are added to the contract upon return of the vehicle.
A $4.95 charge was added, labeled MISC. To this date, no explanation has been provided for this charge.
Complaint 3- Estimated rental charges provided to the customer are computed incorrectly and these incorrect charges are provided to leading travel web sites, often under-pricing any local competition.
The estimated rental charges provided by the Advantage Rent-a-car website are grossly misstated for this location. Namely:
The V.L.F. was originally shown as $1.95 per day in the Estimated Rental Charges section. Upon returning the vehicle, the clerk simply wrote $3.95 over that number and did not bother explaining where that number came from. To make matters worse, the fine print in the Important Information section reads Vehicle license fee of 5CAD. It's impossible for the customer to tell which number is the correct one: $1.95, $3.95 or $5CAD? In the case of conflicting information, most respectable businesses would give the customer the lowest price ($1.95). In the case of this non-respectable business, I was held responsible for the $3.95 price.
The estimated rental charges make no mention of a $4.95 MISC fee, which appears on the final bill
By deliberately and grossly misstating the rental charges, this Advantage Rent-a-car location easily under-prices local competition thus attracting customers to a lower price before adding hidden and deceiving charges to the final bill. This is yet another example of the fraudulent nature of this location's business practices and reason enough to be removed from leading travel web sites.
Complaint 4- The car type reserved was not the car type received.
My reservation was for a full size car. Upon arrival, I was given a Toyota Corolla. I did not question this as I thought this car may be considered full size in Canada. After further investigation on the Advantage Rent-a-car website, it is clear that a Toyota Corolla is a mid size car. Traditionally, mid-size cars have lower daily rates than full size cars. As such, it is reasonable to assume that I was overcharged yet again.
Complaint 5- The Canadian/US Dollar exchange rate charged is unfair.
The desk clerk at the affiliate location explained that they apply a 30% exchange rate between Canadian and US Dollars. This exchange rate is unfair and grossly disproportionate to the daily advertised and widely accepted Wall Street Journal rate for February 21st of 23%.
Complaint 6- The affiliate advertises as an airport location but does not have any affiliation whatsoever to Montreal Trudeau Airport, nor do they provide a clearly marked shuttle, nor do their employees clearly identify themselves as Advantage Rent-a-car representatives.
This affiliate again misleads and deceits consumers by claiming they are an airport location. Although their office is technically close to the airport, the affiliate has not established any relationship with the Montreal Trudeau Airport. There is not a single sign advertising Advantage Rent-a-car within the arrival or departure terminal, nor is there an advertised shuttle stop. The customer must call a toll free number to arrange pickup which is then made in an unmarked car by employees not wearing nametags or any form of identification. This affiliate clearly does not meet the requirements to be classified as an airport location or even an off airport location with shuttle and is yet another reason why this location should be de-listed from leading travel websites
Complaint 7- The affiliate handles credit card payments in a dishonest and deceptive manner.
Upon my return of the car, I was quickly rushed to take a shuttle to the airport without my receipt. I protested and the clerk told me it would be a few minutes before a receipt can be printed out. I strongly believe this practice is yet another attempt to deceive customers into leaving without a receipt or a clear estimate of rental charges, making it much harder to complain at a later time. While I was waiting for my receipt, the clerk explained how customers who leave without a receipt simply get charged using the credit card number on file. Given the unfair charges explained above, I find this practice alarming.
Complaint 8- The affiliate's level of customer service is appalling.
Upon my arrival to pick up the car, I waited at least 20 minutes before being attended to. A single clerk was slowly handling a long line of frustrated clients and was obviously having a difficult time keeping the situation under control. Right in front of my eyes, a customer who was complaining about their car and not being attended to simply walked out and said they did not want to rent from this location and requested that the contract be voided. The clerk obliged and the frustrated customers simply stormed off. I would describe the scene at the rental office upon my arrival as utter fiasco.
Upon my return, I found the affiliate's location void of any clerk or representative. The front door was open and I walked in to find that I had to call someone presumably on their cellular phone for someone to come to the location and process my return. Ten minutes later a clerk arrived in a car and attended to me. In my many years of car rental experience, I have never seen an unattended rental location during standard business hours.
Conclusion- I seek no reimbursement, damages or compensation whatsoever as a result of this complaint. My goal is to expose this affiliate as a fraudulent, deceptive business and to inform Advantage Rent-a-car Corporation, San Antonio TX of the practices taking place at this affiliate location so that further review can be conducted. I also request further review by the leading travel websites included in this complaint so that this location can be de-listed until the correct estimated rental charges are published. I also urge these websites to list this location as a non-airport location in the future. I urge the Better Business Bureau of Quebec to conduct an investigation of this fraudulent business.
Finally, I urge Mr. Walker, CEO of Advantage Rent-a-Car to dissolve all ties to this affiliate location as I am sure it does not comply with the corporation's mission and standards of service and only hurts the corporation's public image. Given multiple pleasant prior experiences with Advantage Rent-a-car locations in the United States, I am convinced that the Advantage Rent-a-car location in Dorval, Quebec is a unique case of fraudulence and deception run by embezzlers and con artists of the worst kind.
Nicolas
Centreville, Virginia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Advantage Rent a Car
STOP! ..before you think about using the Better Business Bureau (BBB)... CLICK HERE to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! It has been reported, when there are thousands of complaints and other investigations underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNsatisfactory rating, then reportedly shake down that company to become a member of the BBB. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. But what about all those BBB member businesses that had complaints filed against them? Consumers never get to hear about them. What about the BBB advertising to the public? Is this a false and misleading perception they are giving about consumer confidence when dealing with a business? Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide. ..Remember. The BBB membership is not earned, it's paid for!
This complaint is specifically in regards to the Advantage Rent-a-car location in Dorval, Quebec (the affiliate) and is not necessarily representative of the service provided by other Advantage Rent-a-car locations.
The following complaint items represent substantial negligence, fraudulence, and general deceptive business practices on the part of the Advantage Rent-a-car location in Dorval, Quebec. The complaints are listed in order of perceived severity:
Complaint 1- The representatives at this affiliate location deceive customers into buying insurance that they do not need or have waived by claiming that the insurance is a requirement of the Province of Quebec.
Upon arrival at the affiliate location, I was asked about insurance coverage. I declined all coverage since my personal car insurance company covers rentals worldwide. I was told that the bodily injury coverage is required in Quebec and was forced to accept the bodily injury portion of the coverage. I protested to no avail and was truly duped into accepting coverage that I did not understand nor needed.
I investigated this matter further with the Societe Assurances Automobile du Quebec and confirmed that the bodily injury coverage is optional and absolutely not required to enter a rental car agreement.
Complaint 2- Unexplained fees, labeled miscellaneous are added to the contract upon return of the vehicle.
A $4.95 charge was added, labeled MISC. To this date, no explanation has been provided for this charge.
Complaint 3- Estimated rental charges provided to the customer are computed incorrectly and these incorrect charges are provided to leading travel web sites, often under-pricing any local competition.
The estimated rental charges provided by the Advantage Rent-a-car website are grossly misstated for this location. Namely:
The V.L.F. was originally shown as $1.95 per day in the Estimated Rental Charges section. Upon returning the vehicle, the clerk simply wrote $3.95 over that number and did not bother explaining where that number came from. To make matters worse, the fine print in the Important Information section reads Vehicle license fee of 5CAD. It's impossible for the customer to tell which number is the correct one: $1.95, $3.95 or $5CAD? In the case of conflicting information, most respectable businesses would give the customer the lowest price ($1.95). In the case of this non-respectable business, I was held responsible for the $3.95 price.
The estimated rental charges make no mention of a $4.95 MISC fee, which appears on the final bill
By deliberately and grossly misstating the rental charges, this Advantage Rent-a-car location easily under-prices local competition thus attracting customers to a lower price before adding hidden and deceiving charges to the final bill. This is yet another example of the fraudulent nature of this location's business practices and reason enough to be removed from leading travel web sites.
Complaint 4- The car type reserved was not the car type received.
My reservation was for a full size car. Upon arrival, I was given a Toyota Corolla. I did not question this as I thought this car may be considered full size in Canada. After further investigation on the Advantage Rent-a-car website, it is clear that a Toyota Corolla is a mid size car. Traditionally, mid-size cars have lower daily rates than full size cars. As such, it is reasonable to assume that I was overcharged yet again.
Complaint 5- The Canadian/US Dollar exchange rate charged is unfair.
The desk clerk at the affiliate location explained that they apply a 30% exchange rate between Canadian and US Dollars. This exchange rate is unfair and grossly disproportionate to the daily advertised and widely accepted Wall Street Journal rate for February 21st of 23%.
Complaint 6- The affiliate advertises as an airport location but does not have any affiliation whatsoever to Montreal Trudeau Airport, nor do they provide a clearly marked shuttle, nor do their employees clearly identify themselves as Advantage Rent-a-car representatives.
This affiliate again misleads and deceits consumers by claiming they are an airport location. Although their office is technically close to the airport, the affiliate has not established any relationship with the Montreal Trudeau Airport. There is not a single sign advertising Advantage Rent-a-car within the arrival or departure terminal, nor is there an advertised shuttle stop. The customer must call a toll free number to arrange pickup which is then made in an unmarked car by employees not wearing nametags or any form of identification. This affiliate clearly does not meet the requirements to be classified as an airport location or even an off airport location with shuttle and is yet another reason why this location should be de-listed from leading travel websites
Complaint 7- The affiliate handles credit card payments in a dishonest and deceptive manner.
Upon my return of the car, I was quickly rushed to take a shuttle to the airport without my receipt. I protested and the clerk told me it would be a few minutes before a receipt can be printed out. I strongly believe this practice is yet another attempt to deceive customers into leaving without a receipt or a clear estimate of rental charges, making it much harder to complain at a later time. While I was waiting for my receipt, the clerk explained how customers who leave without a receipt simply get charged using the credit card number on file. Given the unfair charges explained above, I find this practice alarming.
Complaint 8- The affiliate's level of customer service is appalling.
Upon my arrival to pick up the car, I waited at least 20 minutes before being attended to. A single clerk was slowly handling a long line of frustrated clients and was obviously having a difficult time keeping the situation under control. Right in front of my eyes, a customer who was complaining about their car and not being attended to simply walked out and said they did not want to rent from this location and requested that the contract be voided. The clerk obliged and the frustrated customers simply stormed off. I would describe the scene at the rental office upon my arrival as utter fiasco.
Upon my return, I found the affiliate's location void of any clerk or representative. The front door was open and I walked in to find that I had to call someone presumably on their cellular phone for someone to come to the location and process my return. Ten minutes later a clerk arrived in a car and attended to me. In my many years of car rental experience, I have never seen an unattended rental location during standard business hours.
Conclusion- I seek no reimbursement, damages or compensation whatsoever as a result of this complaint. My goal is to expose this affiliate as a fraudulent, deceptive business and to inform Advantage Rent-a-car Corporation, San Antonio TX of the practices taking place at this affiliate location so that further review can be conducted. I also request further review by the leading travel websites included in this complaint so that this location can be de-listed until the correct estimated rental charges are published. I also urge these websites to list this location as a non-airport location in the future. I urge the Better Business Bureau of Quebec to conduct an investigation of this fraudulent business.
Finally, I urge Mr. Walker, CEO of Advantage Rent-a-Car to dissolve all ties to this affiliate location as I am sure it does not comply with the corporation's mission and standards of service and only hurts the corporation's public image. Given multiple pleasant prior experiences with Advantage Rent-a-car locations in the United States, I am convinced that the Advantage Rent-a-car location in Dorval, Quebec is a unique case of fraudulence and deception run by embezzlers and con artists of the worst kind.
Nicolas
Centreville, Virginia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Advantage Rent a Car
STOP! ..before you think about using the Better Business Bureau (BBB)... CLICK HERE to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! It has been reported, when there are thousands of complaints and other investigations underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNsatisfactory rating, then reportedly shake down that company to become a member of the BBB. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. But what about all those BBB member businesses that had complaints filed against them? Consumers never get to hear about them. What about the BBB advertising to the public? Is this a false and misleading perception they are giving about consumer confidence when dealing with a business? Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide. ..Remember. The BBB membership is not earned, it's paid for!
