- Report: #1148426
Complaint Review: Alamo Rent A Car - Arlington Virginia
Reported By:
Mark V. -
Washington, Dist of Columbia,
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Alamo Rent A Car
1 Aviation Circle Arlington, 22202 Virginia, USA
Phone:
(888) 826-6893
Web:
www.alamo.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Alamo Rent A Car Alamo Damage Scam Alert Arlington Virginia
Whatever you do, AVOID this Alamo branch, if not, all of the Alamos in the DC area.
Read these reviews as well:
(((link redacted)))
(((link redacted)))
I have rented for years without ANY problems with companies such as Enterprise (which Alamo happens to now be under, ironically) and Avis, to name a couple. I have never had any problems with my rentals and their post-inspections.... until I used this company at this branch. I purchased a deal off of Hotwire, thinking "what a great deal Alamo has." I was even "upgraded" from a Dodge minivan to a Chrysler. I thought, "Wow, this company is great." That afternoon, I took some friends out to MD in this van, had a great evening, and returned the van back to DCA via the afterhours drop-off (a little past midnight), UNDAMAGED, with witnesses to verify. I dropped the keys AND rental agreement in their dropoff box, double checked the van for anything out of the ordinary, and off I went home to sleep.
Then, I get a voicemail in the morning claiming they found scratches on the vehicle. Of course, I am surprised, upset, and VERY suspicious. I have never gotten into an accident in my life and my driving record is clean. I denied the damages, of course, and yet they insisted they needed to write up a claim. They told me that they will look at video surveillance footage to see who caused the damages. Later that month, I receive an invoice of $1000 and a repair shop estimate with non-timestamped pictures of the alleged van with scratches. $1000 for scratches!!
To add to my skepticism of their validity, there were two very important discrepancies in their claim; the year and VIN number of the vehicle on their claim invoice did NOT match the vehicle information on the repair shop estimate. What a scam! And, yet, the Risk Supervisor and Branch Manager at the location both insisted that they were still pursuing this claim.
Let's just say that 1/2 a year later, I'm still fighting their bogus claim. They haven't explained why the VIN numbers didn't match, yet, in their response to my complaint to the Office of Attorney General, they claimed they explained it to me. What liars!
In addition, after multiple requests, they wouldn't show me any video footage, any timestamped photos, or any documents of the vehicle's inspections before and after my rental.
Furthermore, my rental agreement lacked any vehicle information - year, make, model, VIN, etc.. So, there's absolultely no way for anyone to verify any of their allegations.
As suggested by many online reviews regarding other bogus car rental claims from the same company, I've contacted the Office of Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I've also taken to social media to spread awareness.
Alamo has been uncooperative, unreliable, and, quite frankly, untrustworthy.
Learn from my mistake and the mistake of many others. This company, among many other car rental companies, will take advantage of you if you're not careful. Do your research and protect yourself.
Most importantly, avoid this company at all cost.
For an illustration of this scam and of my experience, check out my infograph, which has been shared on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, etc.
http://imgur.com/a/2QeHF
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Alamo Rent A Car
St. Louis,Missouri,
Alamo Cares
#2UPDATE Employee
Fri, May 30, 2014
Mark V,
Customer service and satisfaction are very important to us at Alamo. I would like to follow up with you. Please email me at [email protected] with the complete details, exact renting location, and any rental agreement numbers. Please reference #140530-002788. I look forward to hearing from you soon, thank you. Chris, Social Media Monitor, Alamo Rent-A-Car
Alamo Rent A Car
St. Louis,Missouri,
Alamo Cares
#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, May 23, 2014
Mark V.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. As customer service is of the utmost importance to us, we would like the opportunity to look into this for you. Please contact us at [email protected] with the complete details. Include the exact rental location, your contact information, rental agreement or reservation number and any further information regarding your experience with us.
When emailing, please place reference number 140523-000906 in the subject line. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Carol H.
Social Media Coordinator
Alamo Rent A Car
