Complaint Review: Enterprise Rental - Miami Florida

Went on Enterprise's website to inquire about renting a car for vacation in the FL Keys at the end of July 2006. After reading the information on the website, I found out that in order to use a debit card, you must call the actual location where the car will be picked up. In my case, it was Miami Airport. I called and spoke to a woman who told me that yes, I could use my debit card for the rental. I asked her if I could rent a Cadillac (as a surprise for my husband's birthday). She said that was no problem. Later that day I received an email confirming my reservation. About a week or so before our trip I called the Miami Airport location to confirm everything and was advised that my reservation was all set. My husband and I arrived at the Miami Airport location at 10:00 PM and were told that we could not rent a Luxury car with a debit card. I explained to the manager that I had called and inquired and was told it was okay.

The manager advised that it must have been bad employee training on their part and could they offer us a KIA. My husband was not happy. Finally, they said they would give us a Toyota Camry. We weren't happy, but it was 10:30 PM and we still needed to drive 2 hours to the Keys. They also said they would give us a discount, which I found out later was the actual price they would have charged for the Camry. We started our drive to the Keys and decided to roll up the windows and turn on the air conditioner. As soon as we did the car started smelling like a combination of Body Odor and lots of cologne. The longer we drove the worse it got. We were already on the Florida Turnpike and it was 11:00 PM by now, so we decided we would call Enterprise and ask them what they would do. I spoke to the manager and he said he would email the locations in the Keys and try to locate another car for us.

By the way, I have terrible allergies and asthma. By the time we arrived at our destination I felt like I was throw up and my head was pounding. The next day we had to get up early to go lobstering, so I brought my cell phone on the boat and waited for the manager to call me. He never called. Finally at about 2:00 p.m., I called him and was told that he had an emergency and was not coming into work. I asked if there was someone else handling this situation and was told that they would try to get in touch with the manager and call me right back. Again no call back. I called again and was then told that the manager had a death in the family. So, I waited for him to call me back. While I was on the phone, I received a message from the manager. He left his office number.

I called back and asked him why, if he was in the office, did someone call me and tell me he wasn't. He said he didn't know. At this point I let him have it. I told him that he and his employees were liars and that they should come pickup the car and bring me a new one. Isn't their slogan "we'll pick you up". Well, I found out that they will only pick you up if you are within 15 miles of their office. Anyway, the manager told me that I would have to drive an hour out of my way to get a new car, but he didn't know if there were any cars because of the Lobster Season. He also said that the manager from the other location was supposed to call me. He never did. So, I called him and he told me that the Miami manager was supposed to call me and that he had a car but that they were closing. Finally, I called the corporate office for Enterrpise and advised them of situation.

After a long time on hold, I was advised that they could tow the car back to Miami. We then would have no car for the rest of our vacation and would have to pay $100 for a shuttle to take us back to the airport. I said I wanted assurances that all my $ would be credited back to my debit card. They said I would have to speak to the manager in Miami. I called the Manager and told him the situation and he said he agreed to credit me once the car was towed back. I still don't understand why they didn't send someone down to exchange the car. Instead, they would rather credit my money back to me plus pay for the towing. Pretty stupid if you ask me. So, we called the corporate office back and spoke to roadside assistance and told them we wanted them to tow the car.

They connected us to AAA and AAA needed permission from the Miami manager. So, we did a conference call. However, the manager would not get on the phone to give his permission. We tried for over an hour to get him on the phone. Finally, my husband had to get nasty for them to get him on the phone. Because of all this wasted time, AAA said they didn't know if they would have time to make it to Miami to return the car. Finally they agreed to do it. I did get my credit the next day. But my first day on vacation was ruined and my husband and I were emotionally exhasuted. So much for a surprise birthday present. I also want to note that besides the employees lying about where the manager was, the manager tried to blame me for the initial problem after they initially admitted that they had poor employee training.

He said that when I made the reservation, the confirmation came from a completely different place than when I spoke to the initial person in Miami. I still didn't get it. You mean, after I told her that I wanted a luxury car and wanted to use a debit card, she didn't share that with the person or system that sent the email. How could that be, the email stated right on it that it was for a luxury car. In fact, I showed the receipt to them the night we arrived in Miami. WHAT A BUNCH OF LIARS. And, the other location in the Keys said that stuff like this happens all the time. But, yet, nothing is being done to stop it. Luckily, I got my $ back, probably because I told the manager I was a Paralegal and would be getting my money back one way or another. PLEASE DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH ENTERPRISE RENTAL. By the way, if anyone from Enterprise would like to respond, BRING IT ON!

Kristen

Frederick, Maryland
U.S.A.

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