Alamo Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

I received a letter from Alamo's Damage Recovery Unit recently after my trip to MD. The letter stated that we caused damages to our rental car and asked for either our insurance or credit card information, but mentioned nothing about location, cost etc. It is only 2 days rent during the labor day. I did not run into any accident or hit any thing. When I picked the car on Sept. 3rd in the morning around 7 am, there was nobody there to help me and check the car. The guy in the front desk just told me to pick any full size car in the parking lot and drove it away. What was super wired was that when I returned the car, the guy check the car told me there is a scratch in the rear bumper, when I told her it should be already there, and she just filed the document to me and I need to catch the flight. It is a super terrible experience with alamo. I will never rent the car with this company. No one solved the problem.

I received a letter dated July 16, 2016, 14 days after returning a rental vehicle, stating the Damage Recovery Unit had received notice of damage or loss to the the vehicle I rented.

The vehicle was checked upon return and was deemed perfect by the inspector, and "No worries about gas - you're good to go".

Claim #[protected]
Date of Loss: 07/02/2016
Vehicle YMM: 2016-GCAR-DODG
Rental Agreement #[protected]

I don't want to spend any more time on this as it is an error on Alamo's part and has nothing to do with me. I cancelled the credit card I used so there would be no surprises.

Please confirm this error is corrected.

Date of Incident: 31-May-2016
Rental Date: 31-May-2016
Return Date: 14-May-2016
RA# [protected]
RES # [protected]
EXT REF # [protected]
Description:
I had rented a car from Alamo to travel around USA with the following characteristics: SUV, 6 passengers, enough trunk for 6 large suitcases. I found these features in the vehicle Dodge Grand Caravan and 6 months before traveling I made the reservation and payment.
When I got the vehicle at Alamo in Salt Lake City, I was informed that it would be a similar car. Similar to me means vehicle with at least 6 seats and trunk with volume at least equal to the rental on the Internet.
It was delivered a Chevrolet Traverse, smaller vehicle with 8 tight seats and trunk much smaller than the Grand Caravan. Even folding the 2 backrests of the third row seats, the trunk remains small and the last passenger is very tight between the bags and side of the car.
To enter and exit the last seat is a struggle, to slide and fold the seats is very difficult. In short, the Traverse is a horrible interior space car.
We had to leave 2 bags stored in a residence in Salt Lake City to be able to travel around the country comfortably.
I was very unhappy with this company, in addition I was not treated well by the clerk of Salt Lake City office when I came back to complain about the car. He was ironic to me, speaking so as I did not understand anything about cars. By the way, I am Mechanic Engineer and I work for a car maker in Brazil.

Date of Incident: 31-May-2016
Rental Date: 31-May-2016
Return Date: 14-May-2016
RA# [protected]
RES # [protected]
EXT REF # [protected]

Description:
I had rented a car from Alamo to travel around USA with the following characteristics: SUV, 6 passengers, enough trunk for 6 large suitcases. I found these features in the vehicle Dodge Grand Caravan, 6 months before traveling I made the reservation and payment.

When I got the vehicle at Alamo in Salt Lake City, I was informed that it would be a similar car. Similar to me means vehicle with at least 6 seats and trunk with volume at least equal to the rental on the Internet.

It was delivered a Chevrolet Traverse, smaller vehicle with 8 tight seats and trunk much smaller than the Grand Caravan. Even folding the 2 backrests of the third row seats, the trunk remains small and the last passenger is very tight between the bags and side of the car.

To enter and exit the last seat is a struggle, to slide and fold the seats is very difficult. In short, the Traverse is a horrible interior space car.

We had to leave 2 bags stored in a residence in Salt Lake City to be able to travel around the country comfortably.

I was very unhappy with this company, in addition I was not treated well by the clerk of Salt Lake City office when I came back to complain about the car. He was ironic to me, speaking so as I did not understand anything about cars. By the way, I am Mechanic Engineer and I work for a car maker in Brazil.

I would like to request a refund, it was the second time I rented a car from Alamo, maybe the last.

Notes:
Trunk Capacity
Grand Caravan: 33 cu. ft.
Traverse: 24.4 cu. ft.

Total cargo Capacity
Grand Caravan: 143.3 cu.ft.
Traverse: 116.3 cu.ft.

Thanks
Alexandre Brom

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Alamo Dispute Letter
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Walls, Denise

Attachments8:58 AM (26 minutes ago)

to me, Craig

_______________________________________________________________________

BERMUDA HOSPITALS BOARD INTERNET E-MAIL CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT:

For the Bermuda Hospitals Board, on behalf of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, the information contained in this transmission including any and all attached files is STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL and is intended solely for the individual(s) or entity named above in the To and Copy fields. If you received this transmission in error, please delete it from your computer system and notify us immediately. If you are not an intended recipient, please be advised that any use, including viewing, printing, disseminating, distributing, copying and retransmitting of the information contained in this transmission including any and all attached files is strictly prohibited. Notify us by E-Mail at Wrong.[protected]@BermudaHospitals.bm

By Order of The Bermuda Hospitals Board.

__________________________________________________________________________

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

I rented a car from Alamo, Detroit, MI November 22-30, 2015. I received correspondence in January 2016 (letter dated Dec. 2, 2015) stating that the Damage Recovery Unit had received notification of damage or loss to the vehicle I rented. The letter asked me to contact my insurance company or credit card Company to report the claim. When I received this I was appalled as there was no damage incurred to the car on return the morning of Nov. 30. The agent did not point this out to me, nor was I asked to sign anything to this effect. I thought this was a joke. I then went online to search for contact information or customer service to dispute at a higher level. Within the search, I found that there were over 500 complaints over this nature. Persons had reported that they received letters from the damage recovery unit when there was no obvious damage to the car.

The next correspondence I received was dated Jan. 19, 2016 with the enclosed documentation to support ALAMO claim. Attached were pictures of unimaginable damage and charges for $1, 138.50 in which I was asked to pay. From the looks of the picture, there is no way this damage would have gone unnoticed. I then sent the pictures, copies of the fraud claims from the internet and again disputed the damage. This was sent to Twyla Harrigill.

On Feb. 9 I received a voicemail message from “Audette” in regards to the above. When I attempted to return the call it appeared to be a personal number and the voicemail was full. I also received another correspondence with the same date.

On a correspondence dated March 16, 2016 a letter was sent email to acknowledge my recent contact to ALAMO regarding my claim. It stated that an investigation would be done.

On April 29, I received an email from Victoria Bowles who stated that she agrees that something like this could not have been overlooked; we are not claiming you personally caused the damage and she apologized if no one mentioned the damage that was found at the time of return. She attached a return contract that stated the panel was dented and the tail light cracked. I stated again, it would have been impossible for me to ignore this damage. My family travelled with six suitcases. We opened the
trunk three times that morning (two drop-offs at two different terminals, McNamara and North and lastly at ALAMO return). I asked to speak to a supervisor who I was never able to get as well. A voice message was left with Tanya.

On the correspondence of May 9, it stated that they must continue to hold me responsible for the damage. I responded back to state that I don't understand how based on the email comment made by their rep Victoria Bowles.

The most recent correspondence was received on May 26, 2016 stating that the claim had not been resolved and it would go to collections if not paid. It has been difficult to resolve this dispute as I live outside of the Unite States if Bermuda. I am quite disturbed as I have had a thirty year relationship with ALAMO in which I have rented successfully and amicably. I am finding ALAMO to be fraudulent and not disclosing to its customers and it is very unsettling. I have also tried to contact the Damage Recovery
Unit multiple times buy phone and email. I have receive acknowledgement of receipt of my emails but have not had further follow up. I have sent numerous emails to Twyla Harrigill [protected]@erac.com and have also phoned her only to find her voicemail full. I also called the DRU number over the past two weeks and was answered by Nancy who then told me the Audette Harrigill was handling my case. She transferred me, only to get voicemail again. I am at wit's end and desparately need help with this situation.

A very Disgruntled Customer

Denise Walls
2 of 2
Alamo Dispute Letter.docx
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I rented a vehicle from Alamo in Toronto, CA Airport. When I picked up the car, I was told by the attendee that when if I wanted to take a different vehicle . I was offered an SUV and agreed. This was my first mistake. He told me to go the car slot and check vehicle for damage and tell them at the parking lot exit if I saw anything. I went and walked around the vehicle in a very dark parking lot where the vehicle was backed into and did not see any damage. However, when I went to check out the vehicle two men came out with a clipboard to inspect the vehicle writing information down. It took an extremely long time and when I questioned it, he apologized and said that people in Quebec were crazy drivers (the car had license plates from Quebec). I thought it was strange at the time but didn't think anything of it. However, when I returned the car, the worker said there was damage on the passenger side bumper and showed it to me. (It was down and a little underneath so not noticeable unless you were looking. I said immediately I did not do that damage the car. He said not to worry about it if it was reported earlier on the vehicle, I would not be responsible. And they would call if there was an issue. No phone call, but around two weeks later a letter . I have emailing them requesting a copy of the incident report and to inquire if the vehicle was damaged prior to my possession and response. They told me they were going to charge my credit card the amount of damage. I contacted my credit and filled out a claim with them and they have requested that I provide a list of documents one being the incident report. Alamo has refused to answer any of my emails and just got a letter from a collections group that Alamo has put the damage amount I owe in collections. I called them and they said they were going to get all the documentation that I requested and email to me and that this isn't the first time he has had this similar complaint from Alamo. I want this resolved and feel like I am being bullied to pay for something I did not do and have no recourse with no response from them on providing the information that I am requesting. Claim #[protected] from Alamo

I recently took a trip back to Hawaii (Oahu) for some personal business and to visit some friends. I had a car booked through Alamo Rent A Car, who I had used on several occasions when I lived in Hawaii, so I expected this to be a very easy experience. I t could not have been further from the truth.
I rented the car on January 24th and returned the car on January 27th. When I was leaving the lot, I asked the individual about making note of the large amount of scuffs and chips in the paint. I was handed a card with a hole cut in it. I was told that any dent, scuff or chip larger than the hole should be noted on the contract. The hole in the template card was a little bigger than a golf ball, which none of the blemishes on the vehicle was bigger than that, so I left the car rental facility.
I returned the vehicle on January 27th. The gentleman that met me when I return the car pointed out the scuffs and scratches. I explained to him that I noted the marks earlier when I rented the car but was told they were smaller than the hole in their own template. I went inside and spoke to a woman at the customer service desk and explain what had just happened outside. She spoke to an individual behind the counter and made a phone call. After the woman got off the phone she informed me that I was all set and printed my receipt. At that point I left the facility and took the shuttle bus to the terminal, not giving the situation another thought. At no point did anyone tell of any physical damage to the car, nor was there any that I witnessed.
On Saturday, February 6th I received a letter from Alamo notifying me of damage to a vehicle I had recently rented. I call Alamo’s Damage Recovery phone number on Monday, February 8th. After being transferred to no fewer than 4 different people I finally spoke to a woman by the name of Letitia, who worked in the Customer Contact Team group. I informed her that I was unaware of any damage to the vehicle I rented other than some scrapes and scuffs in the paint, which were all smaller that the size of the Alamo template for damage. I also told her that I spoke to an individual in the facility who I can only assume reviewed the finish damage and informed me that I was all set and gave me my receipt and told me I was all set. I assumed if there was any damage to the vehicle it would have been pointed out at the time the vehicle was returned. I had a firsthand opportunity to see how the staff reacted to the scratches and scuffs, I pointed out to Letitia. I assume this was all the same issue. Letitia informed me that she would start and investigation to look into the matter. The investigation would take 7 to 10 days and that someone would be in touch with me. If I had any questions I could call the main number and ask for her because she was the only person in that group with that name.
On Friday, February 19th, I received another letter from Alamo Rent A Car. This letter included a bill for $1, 049.39, and itemized list of repairs and photos of a dented fender. I placed a call to Alamo Rent A Car after I opened the letter. After being passed through several different individuals, I finally requested to speak to a manager or supervisor. I was connected to a manger by the name of Lisa. I explained the situation to her and that I had already spoken to a woman named Letitia ad that there was supposed to be an “investigation” going on and that someone would be in contact with me. No one from Alamo Rent A Car had reached out to me (I had given home and cell numbers to Letitia) when I spoke to her. I was not very happy to be getting a bill for a repair for damage I did not cause. I asked her that if there was damage to the car, why it wouldn’t have been pointed out when the car was returned. Would some at the facility make an issue of it or bring it to my attention at least fill out and paperwork? This all sounded far too suspicious for me. Lisa informed me that she would request an investigation into the claim and that it would take 7 to 10 to complete and that someone would get back in touch with me. Sound familiar? I told her that that was the same thing Letitia told me and the next thing I received was a bill. I told her that I will not be held responsible to anything that happened to the vehicle after I returned it to the facility.
I find this a very deceptive practice to try to bill individuals for repairs to vehicles after the individual has left the facility and most likely do not have the opportunity to return to review the claim of damage. There is no way of knowing if the damage happened after the car was dropped of and after the receipt for the rental was issued. The fact the Damage Recovery department does not know what is being done or said by their staff is also a poor reflection on the organization. Every time I speak with someone I have to give them the claim number, you would think there would be a record of the conversation and notes to support the questions and comments. I have yet to see how this plays out.

I rented a car from Alamo on 12/6/15 from Nashville International Airport. Before I entered the car, I made sure the representative inspected the car for any damage and noted it on the vehicle inspection form. I looked at the car after his inspection and had him note some additional scuffs/scratches on a few areas, and in particular, behind the left rear door where there was an area of some black scuffs/scratches. He looked at the damage, circled that area on the car on the vehicle condition form and marked it as 'scratches'. I mentioned to him that I wanted to make sure this was documented before I took possession of the car - for obvious reasons.
I only had the car for a 4 hour rental period in which I drove from Nashville International Airport to Tyson-McGhee in Knoxville where I dropped it off.
Fast forward to January 15th (over a month later) and I receive a letter in the mail with a damage estimate of $887.42 (claim #[protected]) with photos (taken at a collision repair shop) of the EXACT damage that I pointed out to the attendant before I drove it off the lot, which he noted on the inspection form! I'm hoping they will do the right thing and review the initial condition report which reflects that the damage that was already there and drop this improper claim.

I've just paid $ 673 for renting a Kia Soul with Alamo for 14 days at Miami International Airport fm Aug 8 to 21. Does it seem a big deal for you guys?

This is what happened.

I reserved an Alamo car through Expedia for 14 days and prepaid EUR 335, 43 ($ 368) for that.

When I got to Alamo desk on Aug 8 to pick it up I was told that that the car that I had reserved was too small for me and my family and baggage (3 people + 2 bags). At that moment, after a 15-hour, double flight from Europe, I did not remember correctly that I had reserved 3 months earlier a Nissan Versa or similar car, that can easily fit 3 people + 2 bags. Even though I have rented many cars worldwide in the past 30 years, and I know about sales pressure and tricks of the business, I made the mistake of not arguing with the representative, that was giving me misleading information.

So I agreed for an “upgrade”. I was given a Kia Soul, for $ 305 on top of what I had already paid. Indeed, that makes $ 673 for the whole rental.

I complained with Alamo, but the company denied any wrongdoing, even though the customer care was not able to confirm that a Kia Soul is worth much more money than a Nissan Versa.

Next time I will be much more careful when picking up a car.

And, of course, I will never rent a car with Alamo any longer.

Regards,

Marco Liera

PS: If I would rent now a Standard vehicle (5 people, 4 bags) with Alamo at MIA for 14 days I should pay $ 334.92, that is roughly half what I actually paid. I just got this rate on Alamo website.

I have been renting cars for business use with National for several years. In particular I have rented from Edmonton Airport location (Alberta) four times over last six months. In general things were OK until my most recent experience. When I returned the car the check-in clerk went directly to the right side of the car and pointed out scratch on the rim. It definitely felt like he knew that damage was there from before. I was foolish enough not to do detailed inspection of the car at the pickup. When travelling on business one does not always have time to do that. I simply trusted their “detailed” inspection. To my surprise I was provided with the repair bill of for $329. After several phone calls I have quickly realized that they really do not value my business (they sold 3, 000 worth of my business for one 300 fraudulent claim…I do not get it). In addition they charged me for 1/8 of the tank although I refueled minutes before returning the car. I even presented the receipt. To be fair, I managed to get that money back after talking to the branch manager.
In any case, they will never see me as a customer again. For all of you out there BE AWARE, they’ll get you if you let your guard down for just a minute.

This complaint is a Bait and Switch tactic practiced by Alamo Rental HQ/main website.I recently booked a trip to Costa Rica and decided to rent a car from Alamo. I went directly to Alamo.com and purchased our vehicle. I was sent my agreement, I read through the small print/terms and conditions and thought I was good to go for $173 which included taxes and fees.We arrived in Costa Rica around 5pm and were driven to the Alamo rental HUB located in the middle of nowhere (about 5-10 miles from the airport). When we gave the Alamo attendant our agreement he states we need to purchase mandatory insurance if we want the car, the total cost changed from $173 to $512. It was getting dark, we needed to drive 3 hours north to La Fortuna and we are in the middle of a foreign country with no phone or internet. I was forced to take the insurance so I signed, because at that point we were stuck and what else was I going to do?After we arrived at the Hotel around midnight I went to the business office and researched, Alamo Costa Rica was correct, the government in Costa Rica does require mandatory insurance. My problem, in my agreement and at the time of booking I was never informed. In addition I had CDW insurance thru my credit card. I emailed Alamo and told them I was covered and wanted to cancel the insurance (the same night) and no response.I disputed these charges when I returned and had access to phone and internet. Not only was I never informed of these charges on their website or the small print, I was covered and tried to cancel the same night. The first manager at Alamo said he cant refund the full amount of insurance only $100. I pushed and said I want the full amount refunded, so he opened a mediation. 2 Days later he said his bosses discussed and they will only refund $51. I ask "it was $100 now its 51?" This is his exact response "Once a mediation process is started, the result will supercede any courtesy offer" It has been 22 days and I haven't even received the $51 dollars

I rented a car in April 2015 from Alamo in Chattanooga, TN. I returned the car 6 hours later and left my purse in the car. I locked the car and returned the keys. I went back in 20 min and the car was in the wash bay. The Alamo attendants had gone through my purse and took all on my cask $330.00. They would not give it back and the airport police told me this operation was "very shady" and that they had numerous complaints. I spoke to district managers, corporate numerous times and they did not care or do anything to get my money back. HEY ALAMO - GIVE ME MY MONEY

My family rented a truck from alamo car rental out of orlando airport. When we received the car there was dent on the bumper, my husband asked the person who brought us the car about it and he was told don't worry about it. We leave the airport and return the truck a week later with no problem, in fact Alamo credited us $50.00 at the return because we complained the car was not running smoothly while driving and stopping, plus it had a lot of spiders in it. A week later i receive a letter at home that there was a dent on the bumper, requesting my insurance information. I am so upset for them trying to scam me claiming that wasn't there prior to me. I did not make that dent, and that dent was brought to the attention of the attendant who brought me the truck from the garage upon pick up. when i called the number on the letter they asked me if they inspected the car upon return in front of me and the is answer is"no" they did not...they said they should have...I will not be blamed for something i didn't do. I find them to be very shady, untrustworthy, and i will not be scammed. I will do everything needed to fight this. I am very disappointed in them. I do not recommend this company at all, if you choose to rent a car from them make sure you take pictures of it before you pull out of the pick up area.

I rent convertible for a week via CarTrawler from Alamo. When I arrived at Miami Alamo did not have a convertible. I did pay extra for another car and arrange I returned it after two days. They told everything was ok, but when I asked my money back nobody did not take responsibilyt of this. Alamo told they only got voucher from CarTrawler who charged this from my credit card so they can´t refund cause I did not pay for them at the first place. CarTrawler tell it is not on they responsibility if I don´t get the car I ordered. And they will not get my money back! This sucks, I did not get the car and lost over 400 usd ! How this can be even possible?

MY EXPERIENCIES WITH ALAMO

I’ve rented cars with Alamo for a long time. I was very satisfied with the service and rental cost, compared with other agencies, but my last 3 experiences have been terrible:

June 2013: family vacations to Davenport, FL. I rented a Dodge Journey at the Miami Int Airport and hit the road to Davenport. Once in the Turnpike I noticed the car had an important vibration in one tire. I got worried about my family safety, so once in Orlando I looked for an Alamo agency to get a car exchange. They told me they didn’t have a SUV available and they suggested me to go to the Orlando airport. Next day, I traveled to the Orlando airport. People at Alamo excused for the inconvenience and gave me another car. Problem solved (I thought, see case 2) but I lost one vacation day dealing with the car.

2014, don’t remember the date (may I think). Weekend trip with my wife to Miami. I rented a car and did the “Skip the Counter” procedure online. I was going to surprise my wife skipping all the lines and saving time for our romantic trip! The reservation procedure was straight forward with no advice about any problem. I picked up the car at the rental center in the Miami Airport but when driving out of the parking lot I showed my credit card and driver’s license to the guard, “the system” dropped a “Don’t Rent” alarm and I had to park again and go to the customer service. I spent about 2 hours on the phone with a guy at a credit office, who made me pay almost $300 for a tire damage on a previous rental (see case 1). They doubled my rental cost…

May 2015. My wife and I are traveling to Miami but arriving on different dates. Since she arrived earlier, she needs to rent the car but I wanted to be able to drive the car once I arrived. I wrote to the customer service asking what to do. CS wrote me back and told me my wife needs to ask for an authorized driver, not an additional driver. That way I did’t need to show up to the counter. Sound’s great! I made the reservation online for my wife but there was no “authorized driver” option on the form. Anyway, I made the reservation and wrote back to the customer service. They wrote me back telling me that my wife had to ask for the authorized driver at the counter. I printed that email and also a copy of my passport and drivers license (just in case) for my wife to show that at the counter. I also told my wife to decline any additional insurance coverage since we have coverage by the credit card. When my wife got to the counter, the sales rep told her she can not do the authorized driver procedure because I needed to show up to the counter…. And also, the sales rep made my wife take de CDW for $25/day because it was mandatory! THEY DOUBLED MY RENTAL COST, AGAIN ! I wrote back to de customer service and they say I do need to show up to the counter, ask for an ADITIONAL driver and pay $10/day. I got no answer about the CDW…. Is that ethic at all?

That’s the end of renting with Alamo for me. You get what you pay for… I’m paying much more than with other agencies and getting very angry and frustrated on my vacations trips.

Be careful with Alamo. They play with your vacation time, rest and budget.

Juan

[protected]@hotmail.com

In short - The Alamo staff member told us we could pay $300 for an upgrade to a bigger car (a car that Alamo themselves said we at 24 were too young to drive) but then decided to run our credit card off for $1, 400 instead. He completely lied to our face and charged us almost 5 times as much.

Myself and two friends pre-booked the largest car we could rent at our age (as we were just under 25 at the time) through rentalcars.com, Everything worked great and we arrived at the airport to pick the car up. The staff member noticed that we were carrying ski gear, and suggest that we get a 4wd. I said yes we would have loved to however we are only 24 and you need to be 25 to rent any of your big cars. He said oh don't worry about that, I can't "rent" you one of the big ones, but I can "upgrade" you to it (with a bit of a snigger at the stupidity of the policy and how easy it was for them to get around). Of course we were happy with hearing what the options were. He showed us a bunch of different cars which he said would all be the same price to upgrade, and that the price would be $300. We said great for $300 we will certainly take it (sounds like a lot but we were renting the car for a month).

He then printed off a bill for about $1, 468 odd and said just sign down here. I read the print out and said very very clearly to him - hold on, you said the price was $300 not ~$1, 468, we are NOT paying $1, 400. He said oh no don't worry about that - its just because you guys have booked through a broker that he has to run it off as if it was a full booking or something. He circled the $300 charge that was listed on the page and said that is all you have to pay as you have already paid a whopping $3500. We weren't sure about it, but considering he was so clear, and we made the massive point that we were certainly NOT going to pay $1, 400. He said oh of course sir don't worry about that.

I have just recently got the credit card bill for that month and lo and behold, they had charged us the full $1, 468.

There is the possibility that the staff member just made a mistake when processing it, and ran off the wrong amount. In which case Alamo should have no problem refunding the $1, 100 extra they charged. However based on reading a few other complaints, it seems reasonably common for Alamo staff to do things like this. Just on our scale it has involved a LOT more money that the usual extra $50-100 charges that some others complain about.

To add insult to injury, he said he was going to run it off then. However they didn't actually run off the charge until we returned the car, a full month later. As we had Australian credit cards, the Australian dollar took a massive dive over the course of the month. So the actually charge that we got, was actually $1905, a full $500 extra! (our exchange rate was roughly 1:1 when we agree to pay the charge - the $300 charge that is, not $1, 400)

This is a real shame because everything else to do with our booking was absolutely great, and I was more than happy to spread the word about my good experience to others (I actually work in a ski travel agent that recommends things like this, we are actually currently in talks with many US ski providers to source packaged US ski holidays to Australian with rentals cars etc. - I also run a university ski club with many people constantly heading over to the US looking to do similar trips). The car was fantastic, and the service up until the point when then charged us 5x as much as they said they would, was actually very good. So I'm hoping they will be able to resolve this with me without the need for further complaints to the Consumer Protection board and legal action.

In December we rented a vehicle in Kona, Hawaii from Alamo and I wish to share my experience and express my dissatisfaction. To add insult to injury, following our trip, I was contacted by phone for a customer satisfaction survey, and was told that a company representative would contact me. Two weeks later we submitted a complaint to Alamo. We have yet to hear from the company.

My wife and I made the rental car reservation in September through Costco for a Jeep Wrangler or similar. We were vacationing with a senior couple and needed a four door vehicle. The Wrangler is available in both 2 and 4 door models, but to make sure, I called Alamo to confirm that my reservation reflected my need for a 4-door vehicle. This call sounded like it was routed out of the country, and the representative could not say if a 4-door vehicle was available but said she would make a note on my reservation.

When we arrived in Kona, sure enough, a 4-door Jeep was not available. This was in of itself not a problem since both Standard Size Sport/Utility and Full Size Sport/Utility 4-door vehicles were available. The shocking part, was that the representative did not move me to the lower class vehicle (Standard Size Sport/Utility Vehicle) for the same price as my reservation, but instead charged me as though I was making a new reservation! This increased my rental cost for a 10 day rental by $500.

I have never been treated this way by any other car rental company. My last experience with National had me showing up in Seattle this summer only to find that the class of car I reserved was not available. They immediately offered a higher class vehicle and did not change the rates of my reservation.

For Alamo, it was the exact opposite. We showed up and the requested vehicle was not available and we were charged more for a lesser rental! From our perspective this was a classic bait and switch.

The attendant at this location executed a "Bait & Switch" when we arrived, aggressively pushing a car class change that cost an additional $299.94 on our bill, which is unreasonable, since our reservation was for $372.00. Normally, class upgrades are given for free. Although we were given a credit for $100.00. when we complained, plus $37.50., this is not enough.
I cannot in good conscience recommend this location to any one.

In October 2013, I rented a car from Alamo which we were driving on a tour of Yosemite Park. On our way to the Park, the service light went on. When we called Alamo, they instructed us to have the car serviced: we were to pay for it and they would reimburse us when we returned the car. (This wasted a valuable half day of our trip.) However, when we returned the car, they would not refund the money - instead, they said that a refund would be mailed to us. I have corresponded with them almost a dozen times - each time, I deal with a new person who gives me a different reference number and an assurance that the matter will be seen to. This has not happened. Most recently, they asked me for copies of the rental agreement and the invoice for the car service, which I provided. Still no refund has been forthcoming. It is bad enough that they gave us a car that had not been properly serviced in the first place but then to make us pay for the service and not refund the money is disgraceful.