Complaint Review: Budget Truck Rental - Nationwide

On April 29^th, 2016, I picked up a 16’ truck that I prepaid for online via their website.  It was late in the afternoon, just prior to their closing time.  The location I picked the truck up at is:  1501 N State Road 7, Margate, FL.

I signed the appropriate paperwork and also took out their insurance, as I was to make an 800+ mile journey from South Florida to North Carolina.

At this point they took me out to inspect the truck.

I walked around pointing out dings and scratches as people typically do, but then I looked down and noticed deep gouges in the sidewall of the passenger rear tire.  When I brought this up, I was assured that the trucks are fully inspected and are perfectly fine.  Now, I was inspecting much more closely and found a second tire with a big chunk taken out of the sidewall as well; this tire is the front driver side tire.

The Budget representative called the mechanic whom assured him that everything was fine, but I was not ok with it.  That being said; I had a schedule and they were about to close, they didn’t have another truck available and weren’t able or willing to replace the tires.  I had to take the truck because I needed to load it up that night so I could leave in the morning since the lease at the current apartment ended that day, so the plan was to drive nonstop to North Carolina.

Uncomfortable as I was, I had my sister take pictures with her cell phone of the two tires and took the truck.

I was also given the truck with a nearly opaque windshield due to the large amount of dead bugs and road grime on it.  I didn’t think much of it, since I can just flick the wipers on and wash it, of course when I did that, nothing came out.  I figured they neglected to put windshield washer fluid in, but when I looked, the reservoir was full, it just didn’t work.  I called Budget, but no one answered so I just bought some Windex and paper towels and hand washed the window myself.  (I had to pull over several times en route to North Carolina to hand wash the windshield).

That night we loaded the truck.  My family (mother and sister) were moving to North Carolina and left in the predawn hours driving straight through.  I was to leave a few hours later and meet them up there between 8 and 10pm where we would at least unload the beds.

At 7am I started the truck, but noticed a message on the dashboard that read:  “Service Battery Charging System”.  I didn’t recall seeing that yesterday, so I thought… ok, let me go to the store (1/4 mile away) to get a drink for the trip and see if that will turn off, it didn’t.

I wasn’t sure what to make of it, so a few minutes later when I came back from the store I went to start the truck and it was dead.  Now I’m stuck in a supermarket parking lot.  I called the locale where I picked my truck up at, but they weren't open yet, so I called Budget customer service, spoke to one rep, then another and another when finally it was determined that they needed to call a 3^rd party mechanic to come out and look at the truck, but that was going to take 90 minutes!  

And so I waited…

A mechanic came out and he jump started the truck and determined it wasn’t the battery, but the alternator.

The option now was for him to call his office, which in turn has to call Budget who then decides whether to have them fix the truck or if they themselves will take care of it.  A decision that should take under 5 minutes, took over an hour!  The mechanic waited for 30 minutes before he came to me and said that he could no longer just sit here, understandably, he had other work to do and so he left me there with a broken truck just telling me to wait for Budget to call with what they’re going to do.

And so I wait… another half hour goes by and I call Budget back, they still had no answer!  I hung up, about 10 – 15 minutes later they call me and finally say that they’re going to have that 3^rd party mechanic fix the truck, but now they had to find an alternator, then install it here in the parking lot.

When it was all said and done, I had been delayed 6 and a half hours!  Sitting in the hot Florida sun and humidity, sunburnt and miserable I call Budget and say, listen, at this point, I can’t make this trip in one day, I’m sunburnt and exhausted, I’ll need to get a hotel tonight because I’ll be too tired to continue.  Additionally, this means that my elderly mother whom is recovering from a major stroke, my sister and our dog had to sleep in their car tonight or on the floor since all our finances are tied up in this move and they couldn’t afford a hotel. 

Generally, if a family can afford to hire a moving company, they do it.  Budget (as the name states) is a lesser expensive option because you don’t have the money for a better option.  Of course, they didn’t care about how they displaced my family and now I had to start this drive in a truck that I really wasn’t sure about at this point, I mean an alternator was installed in a random parking lot, was it new or refurbished?  Was the mechanic competent or not?  I didn’t know.

So I began my trip, but didn’t notice something until I was on the highway going highway speeds and that was that the wheels were unbalanced and severely misaligned.  The truck was pulling so hard to the right, and the steering wheel shook so badly it was like driving a shake-weight.  I was literally fighting this truck just to keep it straight.  Again I called Budget, but what could they do?  I was already delayed so much I lost a day, if they towed this truck the furniture and boxes in the back could get damaged and I’m not going to unload this truck and repack everything into another one, especially not at the side of the highway.  The only feasible option was to suffer and deal with it as best I could.

That night when I got a hotel, I was in so much pain, I couldn’t even lift my arms up over my head.  I also have multiple back injuries (herniated discs etc…) that were aggravated at the constant contorting of my body as I struggled to drive this unsafe and unreliable vehicle.  Had this truck operated safely and without duress, I would have physically felt fine.

When I did finally arrive in North Carolina the following day, I had to drive through some heavy rain; it was not raining when I arrived.  However, when the truck was unloaded less than an hour later, several boxes were water damaged because the truck leaked!  If anyone has any doubts about the weather conditions during my trip, several websites keep detailed daily historical records.  It was dry and sunny when the truck was packed, dry and sunny the day it broke down and for most of the drive until the second day.  No boxes were wet prior to moving and nothing was broken in a box or leaked from within the truck.

Did I make it to North Carolina?  Yes, eventually, but I was clearly and knowingly put in danger by Budget Truck Rental.  Had one of those tires blown while I was on the highway, not only could I have been killed, but I could have hurt or killed someone else as a result.  Is that what it takes for Budget to acknowledge their negligence?  Someone dying???

I have actively pursued a full refund, which Budget has categorically denied.  I have been in touch with their corporate office: who after 3 weeks of correspondence is willing to refund at most 25% of the total truck rental which is $1074.10.  

This is completely unacceptable!

Upon further inspection (looking at my sister’s tire pictures for the first time) you can clearly see what looks like steel threading poking through on both damaged tires.  It wasn’t noticeable in person, but the pictures are not photo-shopped and that is what it looks like.

Budget Truck Rental should be ashamed of themselves: they should feel humiliated at what they put my family through.  To even consider not giving a full refund is morally reprehensible and irresponsible.

Budget Truck Rental was fully aware of every issue I had with this truck as they occurred, and did absolutely nothing about it, barring the replacement of the alternator, which took a ridiculously long time.

I understand being inconvenienced, and Budget offering a 25% discount for that, but they knowingly put my life and health at risk because of their incompetence and inability to provide the one and only thing their company is supposed to do… provide safe and reliable transportation.

How is it that a truck gets mechanically cleared to be rented, with deep gouges in the sidewalls of two tires, an alternator that in all likelihood was never inspected, no wheel alignment especially before long distance travel, a windshield washer that didn’t work and a truck bed that leaked?  Not having a working windshield washer alone should deem that truck unsafe and unfit for driving; a person needs to be able to see the road, I mean really?  A child with a fisher price tool kit and 3^rd grade education could have done a more thorough mechanical inspection of that truck!

What’s it going to take for changes to be made to their safety regulations, not to mention their robotic customer service and location reps whom are largely unqualified to sit on a couch eating potato chips let alone hand an individual the keys to a deathtrap?

How many of the approximately 32,000 trucks at more than 2,800 United States locations are unsafe to be put on the road, which (like my rental) they are currently renting? 

I’m writing this to help prevent any future loss of life due to Budget Truck Rental’s irresponisibility and greed.  I did everything right in accordance with my rental agreement, and Budget did everything wrong, yet here I am… getting screwed  by not (minimally) offering me a full refund no questions asked.  Putting all this added stress and aggravation upon me by not accepting full responsibility and forcing my hand in writing to the BBB, consumer blogs and social media.  

Since the problems began, I have been professional in my approach.  I have exhibited patience and I have given Budget Truck Rental every opportunity to do the right thing, but they have refused over and over again.

Budget Truck Rental’s revenue is approximately $374 million dollars.  It’s parent company Avis Budget Group’s revenue is $8.5 billion as of 2014 and likely higher now.

One way or another, Budget will pay for my experience.  And by that I mean, had they done the right thing and fully reimburse me, I would have let it all go, instead, I am going to go out of my way to make sure people looking at renting from them look elsewhere.  In the long run, Budget will lose thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in business, and all because they wanted to flex their muscle and step on the little guy.

I have no problem standing up to corporate giants, my voice will be heard and hopefully in writing this, and reporting them to the BBB etc... lives that Budget are currently putting at risk by renting out structurally unsound vehicles due to their lackadaisical approach in management and mechanics will be saved.

Yes, I survived (and I’m not saying that to be dramatic) because without drastic changes to the way they unethically conduct business, at some point, I am fearful that someone will not.  

G-D forbid that happens, it will cost Budget / Avis and family(s) so, so much more.  Budget Truck Rental’s shady business practices and poor business ethics need to be addressed! 

I hope to be the catalyst that prevents any loss of life from ever happening.