Budget Car Rental

cr8tions · #1 05-03-2006, 11:20 PM

Back in August of 2004 I rented a car at Budget in the Santiago airport. A month later in September I recieved my credit card statement with 2 charges. One of the charges was legit for the car that I rented the month prior. The second charge was unknown to me so I called Budget and they said it was no problem that it would be taken care of. I did a few follow up calls during the week and the person that I need to speak with was on vacation so I was not able to speak with anyone who could help me find out what the status was regarding my dispute. After that I ended up traveling for 2 months and when I returned from traveling I called Budget again to follow up. I end up getting the round around and finally got fustrated and ended up calling my credit card company and filled a dispute with them. A year and a month went by and today (May 3, 2006) I recieved a letter from my credit card company stating that they contacted the merchant's (Budget) accounting office and they were unable to assist in resolving the dispute. The credit card company also called the merchant's bank for assistance. Unfortunately, they also denied the request to credit the account.

My questions are these... if I call the Budget headquarters in the US will they be able to help me out? Or is Budget in Santiago a totally separate entity? If Buget in DR is affiliated with its US based company and I file a formal complaint with the office in the US will it fall on deaf ears?

What if I decide to call a lawyer in the DR will my case stand in court and have Budget credit back the account and pay my legal fees?

Has anyone had these types of problems with Budget in Santiago or with Budget anywhere in the DR for that matter?

jackieboo · #2 05-09-2006, 09:15 PM

Sorry to hear about your problem with Budget. You'll need to be more specific about the type of charge. Was it a deposit that wasn't refunded?

First off, the car rental companies in the DR are franchises and pay to 'belong' to the rental company. Budget in the DR is a solely stand alone company from 'Budget' in the United States.

Having said that here's what I would do.

1) Ask your credit card company to provide you with 'proof' that the charge is valid. This proof should come in the form of a copy of the receipt you signed authorizing the charge.

2) Call Budget in the U.S. and ask for the number to their 'consumer relations' department. You'll most likely have to right an e-mail to them and wait for a responce.

3) After the above is done you're finished. Generally these matters can be moderated by your credit card company and if that fails you're pretty much screwed.

I had an issue with Hertz the last time I rented and came back to the states. I called and e-mailed Hertz and they credited me the money the next day.

Hope this helps a little.
Jack