Thrifty Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

My quote from Thrifty was $261.54 for a one week rental of a mid size car on 10/09/2009. They gave me a bill for $674.62 on 10/16/2009 and I charged it to my AAA Visa card.
I had already talked to my Insurance agent about my rental coverage and said I was completely covered with any rental car and gave the Thrifty desk person my Insurance Card to copy. They insisted that I buy from them additional daily insurance at $177.68 for the week. I was driving 200 miles into Nelson BC which my Insurance agent at home told me was covered.
The car was a 4 door Mazda that could only be described as a sub-compact. I compared it to a Honda Civic which was parked nearby and the Civic was much larger.
I shall try to block payment on my credit card as I believe their practices are predatory.
I have kept all documentation from them and would hope that other consumers are duly warned about Thrifty Car Rental and their deceptive business practices.
I shall go on line and tell my story to as many possible renters as I'm able.

I requested a different car after being given a car that had a stench of cigarette smoke. Five minutes before I was told that I had a choice, but when I requested a change - "there is nothing available" ... you have to go back to the place that I originally checked in at the airport. Persons name was Elizabeth. I said that I had been offered a different car 5 minutes ago. After insisting - I received a car that was sitting there. It had scratches and a 1/4 tank instead of the full tank it was supposed to have, but it was better than the other car.

The key to this complaint is that Elizabeth - when told about the cigarettes smell - said under her breath and then very clearly audible "I don't care.". I said that it was clear that she did not care. Pathetic.

My wife and I reserved an auto from Thrifty in Frankfurt Germany but after reading review comments about their Loss Damage Waver (LDW) policy and refusal to honor the insurance provided by using a MasterCard Gold/Platinum credit card in place of the LDW, we requested a policy statement from their home office and a copy of the benefits from MasterCard.

In the MasterCard benefits statement it clearly states the insurance is effective in all countries except Ireland, Israel, or Jamaica. I emailed Thrifty quoting the statement from MasterCard and asked if this was acceptable by Thrifty. Rick Moss of Thrifty responded that Thrifty accepted the Master Gold/Platinum in lieu of LDW. I then requested that Mr. Moss send me a statement that I could take with me to Germany confirming that Thrifty accepted the insurance provided by the Gold/Platinum MasterCard. I did not receive a response to that request or another request a few days later.

We took the MasterCard benefits booklet with us in case we had problems. Upon arrival at the Thrifty counter, we were told the MasterCard was not acceptable in lieu of the LDW without a specific letter from MasterCard stating that we (by name) were covered by their insurance in Germany and we would have to buy their LDW or put up a very large deposit. We immediately cancelled the Thrifty reservation and went to Hertz who had no hesitation in accepting the MasterCard in lieu of the LDW.

It appears Thrifty is playing a con game. Since Thrifty refused to provide a written statement confirming they accept the MasterCard insurance, they are obviously aware of the Thrifty Germany policy. The day may come when they make this a company wide policy, don’t get caught. After making a reservation and arriving at your destination, they feel they have you cornered and can force you to buy their LDW. Don’t accept this blackmail. There are other auto rental companies that will accept the MasterCard in lieu of the LDW.

I rented a car from thrifty and the guy that ran my card "accidently" charged both cards they had on file instead of just the one for the rental. Resulting in me paying for the rental twice... Now over 2 weeks later they still have not refunded the money. Even though thrifty admits to the double charge and said the case has been "expedited"... Never use thrifty! Enterprise is usually the same price and has much better customer service... I rent a car at least a week a month... Guess thrifty doesn't need the business

Warning to all that have the misfortune to have an accident in a rental car owned by Thrifty. In Albuquerque New Mexico in the Summer 2008 I had such a misfortune. Bottom line, in New Mexico and several other states which follow the NAAG (National Association of Attorney Generals) guidelines, a rental company cannot charge Loss of Use that is not proportion to their local fleet usage rates. Thrifty charged 100% (fleet usage around 75%) and did so based on a fictitious body shop labor day of five hours instead of the industry standard of eight.

After several months of obfuscation from Thrifty, I am now forced to file a law suit to have them honor the law. If anyone has a similar situation and would like to participate in a class action suit, please leave a response to this post. Thank You.

June 2009. We went to pick up our 'Toyota Yaris, Chev Aveo or similar' from Thrifty LAX. Our rental was fully paid with all insurance, CDW etc - yet he still tried to sell us, pushed and cajouled us, to buy TRIPSAVER® 24-hour Roadside Assistance, which was included anyway, but didn't cove if you lost your keys ETCETERA - an extra $5.99 per day - I asked for a brochure as to what the ETCETERA was and he slid open a few drawers and 'can't find the brochure' - A COMPLETE RIP OFF an extra $84 plus tax for 2 weeks in case you lose your keys. (There was a spare key in the glove box anyway which we carried separately) The Yaris does 42mpg so is not so bad for the environment given we were to drive over 3000 miles in 2 weeks.
They ONLY have Chryslers, which was confirmed later by Thrifty staff. There are NO Yaris or Aveos available. The smallest available was the Dodge Caliber or, as we know it, the Dodgy Low Caliber - a truly dreadful car - that does less than 30mpg at best. Such uncomfortable hard rubbery seats for thousands of miles of piles! The front tyres were about 1mm from the fully worn line when we picked it up. The issuing guy didn't care and there were only much larger PT Cruisers and people movers as an alternative. The WORST aspect is that not one of the cars in the economy/ compact class has ANY way to hide your luggage no boot/trunk or cover - so if you are visiting a National Park or stopping for a meal YOU ARE VULNERABLE. The caliber thing screamed around every corner due to the tyre wear and bad handling charactistics, it also had out of balance tyres - things you don't notice till you have taken it. And yes, it was covered in scratches which you MUST REMEMBER TO NOTE on the condition report.
It was so bad we changed it for a PT Cruiser (slightly better) after a week.
As Chrysler is bankrupt, Thrifty staff told us that instead of the lease system they used to have, which I assume requires full maintainence of the cars - they dispose of them at auction - so maintaining condition may not be a priority!
If you INSIST on renting from Thrifty - Don't pay extra for a 'compact' over an 'economy' they are the same cars at LAX and Las Vegas at this time!
We are worried about our Credit Card bill - yet to come - given the horror stories we have heard about being blamed for other peoples damage to Thrifty cars ... awaiting outcome ...

Do not rent from Thrify or Dollar Rental Cars. They will try to mislead you into buying their premium insurance by not even asking you if you want insurance. They'll just say: "you want the basic coverage?' They don't even use the word insurance. What a ripoff. When you get off a long flight and wait on their longer lines, you're not at your best and they count on that. My $165 weekly rental turned into a $440 nightmare. What a ripoff.

do not rent from thrify or sister company dollar rental cars.

Never, I my life have I been scammed by a car rental company. Until I made a reservation wit hthrifty car rental. I made a reservation with thrifty car rental in norcross, ga. I cancelled my reservation wit hthem because the clerk had a nasty attitude when he ask me if I had a major credit card and told him yes. I guess by me being an african american he thought that I didn't. Well I didn't like his attitude and I cancelled the reservation. Although I canceled the reservation he charge my credit card anyway. Then got an attitude therefore I called the local police. This is considered theft and fraud I never signed anything. Or gave him permission to do this. What the hell is thrifty doing these days... I promise you I give this company another 3 years and tey will if they haven't already be filing bankrupt.

I rented a car (Chrysler Dodge Caravan) from Thrifty two days ago. This morning, the car had a flat tire. I discovered that the tools needed to retrieve the spare tire were not in the car. (That's the first instance of Thrifty incompetence.)

I called Thrifty Roadside Assistance and they said they'd send someone out to help me.

A tow truck came 45 minutes later, but the two truck driver hadn't been informed about the missing tools (that's the second instance of Thrifty incompetence), so he was unable to fix the tire. But he said he could tow the car to Firestone to have the tire fixed. I called Thrifty and asked them what I should do. The Thrifty representative told me: "Whatever the tow truck driver wants to do, do that." She assured me that Thrifty would pay for it. The car was towed to Firestone and the tire was patched.

When Firestone called Thirfty to get payment ($23), the Thrifty representative refused to pay. He said that Thrifty would pay to have the flat tire removed and the spare tire put on, but not to have the tire fixed--thus going back on Thrifty's earlier assurance that they'd pay for whatever I decided to do. At best, Thrifty was unintentionally misleading in its communication to me (the third instance of Thrifty incompetence). At worst, Thrifty took advantage of the unclarity to make me shoulder the cost of having the tire fixed (a cost that Thrifty would otherwise have shouldered itself). My primary complaint is that Thrifty went back on its assurance to pay.

In addition, the manager of Thrifty Roadside Assistance was super annoying. He was snarky and dismissive. He didn't take seriously that I could be giving a correct account of my earlier conversation with the Thrifty representative.

I authorized a $250 deposit on my debit card to rent a vehicle. I was told at the time of the rental that the hold would be released when I returned my car. 2 days later, the hold still remains. My total charges for the rental $41.44. Customer service supervisor, Iona, gave me the run around when I requested the corporate office number and instead gave me the basic customer service number. I even double checked with Iona that the number was for the corporate number.

The customer service at the airport is slow. It took well over 30 mins to receive my rental. The customer service representative do all they can to avoid their customers so they are not bothered. Of course this is only after you've signed your agreement and paid your deposit. Terrible customer service and poor billing practices. Not work the headache.

My husband and I took a trip to Washington State and reserved a rental car from Thrifty Car Rentals (worst mistake). We arrived at the SeaTac airport in Washing State on March 20th, 2009. The Thrifty rental booth was closed at the airport. We were told that we would have to take a Thrifty shuttle bus to their place of business to get the car. Once we arrived there was a small line with about 4/5 parties waiting for a car. It took over an HOUR to get to the counter! The worst customer service ever! Once to the counter we learned that our rental (11:00 pm Friday start returning car early Sunday Morning) would cost us an extra $150.00+ in additional taxes and surcharges. This was never disclosed in the details when booking on-line. Our total bill was over $300.00. On top of this, when I was looking for some items that I dropped on the floor in the car I ran my hand across the floor and felt a stinging sensation. I look at my hand and it was dripping blood. The car apparently had a windshield replaced as there was broken glass all underneath the seat where I ran my hand which was cut from the glass. They did not take to time to thoroughly vacuum underneath the seat. When we reported this upon returning the car the attendant said I don't know what to tell you sorry. Very unorganized, very unprofessional and I seriously question their billing practices (thrifty my [protected]@!#). They really put a negative start to our mini vacation. I would absolutely never ever use Thrifty Car Rental again (ever!).

I had a Reservation with Thrifty at Denver int'l Airport. My reservation on 2/26/09 was for an SUV with a Ski rack for our Ski trip. I made the reservation about a month in advance. Upon my arrival "Brooklyn" the rental attendant told me they didn't have the SUV I reserved but did have a bigger SUV for $50 more. I didn't want to pay more than what I reserved. Between him and his manager they decided to honor my reservation and send me to a competitor (Advance car rental). They told us they talked to Advance and that they would honor the rate we hade with Thrifty. When arriving at Advance they said Thrifty had never called them but they could help us and get us a SUV. The rental was more than my reservation.

Long Story short..THRIFTY SUCKS and jeopardized my ski vacation! I will never rent from them again and I will make sure no one I know will rent from them either.

Tap

My wife and I had a terrible experience at the Denver Airport Thrifty. We had booked a car through orbitz and it was to be about 120 for the couple days I needed it. I had the confirmation papers and even called before we left from Detroit to make sure they would have the car.

Well after our flight, we took the shuttle to the Thrifty and I showed them our paperwork. The guy behind the counter said Okay, and which insurance plan do you want? He gave us a middle-tier insurance program.

I then asked what the average cost of gas was in the city, to which he replied "about "$3.15" and we can guarantee your rate of only $2.99 a gallon if you purchase a full tank. - I thought about it and then declined. (I later found out that the average cost of gas there was $2.45)

I give him my card and he wants me to sign the disclaimer/contract.. I read it over and it says the cost is $350.00
I questioned him and he came up with some BS about insurance, taxes, fees. Really a bunch of bull. But we weren't left with much of an option. I asked about if they had cheaper cars I could rent. He said they do.

So I said okay, give me a sub compact and leave that insurance charge off. To which he replied, we cannot do that.
I said, why not? You just said you had smaller cars available. He responded that the computer has my name reserved with that first car we booked weeks earlier and it cannot be voided. I said, I never signed anything. He just said sorry, that is how the system works.
So I said, okay, my wife would like to rent that car then. To which he replied, "We are not taking walk-ins"

I ALMOST LOST IT. I immediately said, I need to speak to a supervisor. 5 minutes later he came back and said that he was in a meeting. I went over the whole situation again and he said we had to leave.

This pathetic rat of a human being had me pretty upset. So we walked out with no car... We walked into Advantage and I was expecting to run into the same thing. This was not the case. We received great help and were so happy with the service, I had the girl add insurance and a full tank of gas to the order so she would get commission. Even with gas and insurance, it was still 120 less than thrifty and the bogus rate.

Stay away from them.

My business colleague and I were kept waiting to pick up our reserved car at the Omaha Thrifty Car Rental desk in Eppley Airfield terminal on January 26, 2009. The desk person apologized for our long wait and said he would put us in a better car as compensation for our inconvenience. Upon returning the car two days later, I discovered that he had charged us a $38/ day upgrade fee on our daily rate of $44. He had never told us anything about an upgrade fee. I spoke to the supervisor of the Thrifty operation by telephone, but he was totally unsympathetic, felt no obligation to remove the charges or to investigate the behavior of his desk personnel. I will never rent from Thrifty again and I urge anyone who reads this tale of woe to do the same.

Warning to all that have the misfortune to have an accident in a rental car owned by Thrifty. In Albuquerque New Mexico in the Summer 2008 I had such a misfortune. Bottom line, in New Mexico and several other states which follow the NAAG (National Association of Attorney Generals) guidelines, a rental company cannot charge Loss of Use that is not proportion to their local fleet usage rates. Thrifty charged 100% (fleet usage around 75%) and did so based on a fictitious body shop labor day of five hours instead of the industry standard of eight.

After several months of obfuscation from Thrifty, I am now forced to file a law suit to have them honor the law. If anyone has a similar situation and would like to participate in a class action suit, please leave a response to this post. Thank You.

Letter i sent to Thrifty regarding my complaint:

I am terribly disappointed with Thrifty car rentals business practices. I am considering taking further action legal action if this issue is not addressed immediately. Your manager at the Surrey, B.C. Canada location was unwilling to reverse a $200.00 deposit that I never signed for. The deposit should have been returned after the vehicle was returned undamaged. At first when I rented the car I was told by the girl at the counter that the deposit was refundable (this was fine with me), and it would be put back on my credit card upon return on the vehicle. A normal business practice from my understanding. Now, I am being told by the manager Paul that this $200.00 was added on top of my 16 day car rental which should have only come to $398.00. I have been charged $398+$200 for 16 days. Totaling $598.00. This works out to $37.37 per day. I did not agree upon this rate. I am sure that you would agree that this is not a good rate either. Also, I have not signed for an extra $200.00 charge on my credit card. I only signed for a refundable deposit of $200.00 which is clearly stated on my receipt. Your manager has been extremely rude and unhelpful in this situation. Also, the receptionist told me a different price and she said the $200.00 was an extra fee. An extra fee for what? Paul the manager also could not precisely explain to me what the charge was, and was stuttering.
During the time of my car rental I called Thrifty and talked to them because I found a cheaper rate at National and I was told that Thrifty was going to give me the best rate possible! I thought great they will match my rate at National. However, $37.37 per day is what Thrifty has charged me where National was giving me $18.00 a day. I called and asked the girl at the Thrifty location if I should return the Thrifty car and rent the National car. She put me on hold; then came back on the phone assuring me that Thrifty was going to give me the BEST rate. She told me to hold on to the thrifty vehicle as they will take care of adjusting the price. Upon this agreement on the phone I kept the car. I have been charged the amount of $598.00 dollars; this works out to $37.38 a day. I am sure you to would agree that is not a good rate.
I rent cars on a monthly basis, and I know the details of renting cars and business practices. I am saddened to know that Thrifty has no consistency or credibility in there business practices and no customer service skills and they like to undermine customers.

If you are a first time car renter do not go to Thrifty in Omaha, Nebraska. The counter people are paid commissions to add on things that you don't need. They tell you that you have to have insurance, insurance for collision, for uninsured drivers, for you trip, etc. They try to get you to get a GPS when you already have one, They ask you what kind of car you want and don't tell you it's an upgrade charge. It's difficult enough to learn they correct questions to ask but when you have a liar behind the counter, even if you think you know the correct questions you get ripped. Don't rent from them, use Avis or Hertz or anyone else because they are honest, reputable companies. And if you complain to Thrifty Car Rental, they tell you that it's your fault and so what.

This weekend I received through the mail a notification that my credit card was going to be charged approximately Pounds Sterling 380, for "repairs" to a car that was purportedly damaged during its rental period. The letter was addressed to "Mrs. Xcccc", how nice, I was not aware that I underwent a sex change along with all the other indignities showered upon me by Thrifty.

I was astonished, I could not have been more surprised. I have absolutely no idea what it is about, there was no sender information, return address or contact mentioned, it was sent to my wife and not me (and she did not rent or travel) just some information about an Insurance group I have never heard of.

Let me take this opportunity to review the sorry story that Thrifty put me through over this rental.

I arrived at the rental office around 12.30 pm on Friday October 24th. I automatically declined Insurance as my credit card company provides this. I was then told that I needed to provide proof of coverage. This is a first for me. From the website where I booked the car (The THIFTY site in the US) there was no mention of that requirement and I showed the sheet that I printed out to the sales rep, and he agreed it was not there, but in the end without it I was forced to pay the useless, unnecessary and costly Thrifty Insurance package. Unfortunately it was too late to go elsewhere for a vehicle.

After my car was readied, we noted the left front side tire had considerable scuff damage to the wheel and it was stated on the damage form. I started my drive to Hertfordshire. The car pulled very slightly to the left immediately, but I just thought it was a slightly low pressure tire which I would check at fuel fill up. After joining the M25 we continued clockwise, and then about 15 -20 miles into the trip the car started rumbling badly and pulling to the left strongly, so I pulled over to the hard shoulder. The front passenger side tire was flat.

I'd had a long trip but started to change the wheel, seeing there was a locknut on the wheel I looked for the key piece. I turned that car inside out looking for it, no key. Called the office they said I had to call emergency service. I asked if someone could instead come out with a new car and let me go on my way, but they refused to help. 2 HOURS LATER ! the Jaguar emergency service arrived, found a correct key from their stock, and changed the tire to the compact spare. By this time, of course I was into rush hour. So I drove the 20 miles back to the renting office through the rush hour to change the car. Guess what, instead of apologizing and trying to expedite me on my way, they wanted to conduct a forensic on the tire ! After they reviewed it they concluded it had just gone flat as there was no evidence of puncture or other damage.

The replacement car did not have operating navigation but otherwise was OK.

I then re-started my drive to my intended destination, of course now in the worst Friday evening traffic clockwise on the M25. I finally arrived at my destination at 7.00 pm that evening, having had to take 6 hours for a 45 minute journey. Upon returning the UNDAMAGED rental to the office at 7.00 am the following Wednesday, there was no shuttle to the airport for 30 minutes, I had to wait and pay for a taxi !

Not ONE WORD of apology, and guess what, a unsigned notification in the mail that I was going to be charged for damages. WHAT DAMAGES ? Oh and a "thanks for your custom and we look forward to serving you in the near future".

I (we) arrived at McCarran Airport about 12.30 am on 11/07/08 and agreed to add a driver to my reserved iternary for the total sum of $234.51 as documented. The attendant swiped my credit card and announced 'this card is not activated, give me another credit card', So I did. It was late and my being AA frequent flier accepted AA's promotion with Thrifty as honest.

The following day I called HSBC bank for inquiry and discovered: Unknown to me INSTEAD of $234.51 That $350.00 was immediately debited/collected by the Thrifty attendant WHO LIED collected the money, stating the card was not activated, documented my card inactive on the computer, then used my second credit card and froze $350.00 on a second card! He collected $115.49 overcharge+ froze $350.00 without explanation/my knowledge/consent. Also, I refused the GPS. insurance/any other offers.

On 11/07.08 I spent about $5.00 on my cell phone (as documented) calling Thrifty for explanation for the difference in prices, or credit without results. My friend and I drove to Thrifty's terminal at McCarran Airport where we rented the car and spoke to Thrifty's supervisor seeking my credit due... Although I showed my bill and requested an explanation for the difference of $350.00 debited instead of $234.51 there is no explanation!

The supervisor looked in the computer and said' when you return the car with a full tank of gas, you'll get your refund... KNOWING I AM OVERCHARGED! I replied that I had contacted my bank with explanation. Also, stating the fact that I will pay ONLY $234.51 as documented and evidenced by my roommate whom paid an additional $70.00 as included in the total bill. Thus, Thrifty, left me no options and I reported the second credit card as: being lost/stolen with unauthorized $350.00 from the second card. Also, an overcharge of $115.49.

On 11/13/08 I (we) returned the rental to Thrifty at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas with a full tank of gas as promised, with a bill documenting $234.51. Then asked Terry (Customer Service) for an explanation of the overcharge of $115.49 on the first credit card that the attendant said was not activated plus a frozen $350.00 on my second credit card... He looked at my customer copy... then in his computer... stating that' according to the first check in attendant the first credit card was not activated... therefore, the second credit card was frozen.

I explained that THE BANK TOLD ME THAT UNKNOWN TO ME the attendant had ALREADY TAKEN OUT $350.00US Then told me the first card was inactive, charged me additional $115.49 THEN used my second card and froze $350.00 without explanation, authorization... All thrifty will say is 'we'll pay $350.00 frozen +$114.49. My bank first said 'it is between the merchant and you'. Then, we will honor the bill of $234.51. I am filing a complaint with The State Of Nevada's Attorney General, BBB+. Watch out for these guys especially late night travelers!