Most frequent travelers including Consumer Traveler readers have learned to look over a rental car closely before leaving the car rental lot. A little ding that may not mean much to you could mean big dollars if the car company claims you put it in the car.
However, lately I’ve had a slightly different issue with some clients, and once myself; not with the car, but with the rental contract.
In general, when you or your travel agent book a rental car, the rate is returned, along with an estimated total. This total is often substantially more than the basic rate due to taxes, airport fees, surcharges etc. Plus, it doesn’t even include optional extras like gasoline, extra driver charges and insurance. But, okay, it is what it is, and that basic rate should be guaranteed.
To be fair, most of the time the actual rate is what is quoted, though travelers who don’t pay attention to a rental agent spiel or what they are initializing can pay substantially more in added extras.
Occasionally, however, there can be a major disconnect. That’s where reading your contract can save you time and money.
Today’s situation came from a client who originally booked a car for a week with Budget Rent a Car for a family trip one way from Boston to Philadelphia. Five days before he left, he decided to take the train to get between cities, and we changed the car to a three day rental in Boston, to be returned to Boston.
And the rate went down from about $670 including tax to about $130 including tax. More than enough to offset some train costs. I sent the new confirmation and didn’t think any more about it.
Until I got the call today from the client, who was about to drop the car off, asking why their rental agreement showed $450 plus tax? I verified what I showed, called Budget to double-check, and gave them the confirmation number again.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that somehow the company must have done a rental agreement based on the one-week rental and called the client back. I told them to explain they had a previous booking, and give them the new number to make sure the rate got adjusted.
As it turned out, there was a very competent manager on duty, who looked at the contract, the confirmation number I had given them, and quickly fixed the problem. He apologized for the mix-up and even gave them an extra discount. So no harm done.
But had the client just dropped off the car and not waited for a receipt, or not looked carefully at the receipt, it could have been a lot messier. On the other hand, had he just noticed the problem at pickup, since he had the itinerary and confirmation with him, it could have been fixed right then.
Other occasional problems I’ve had with contracts include the wrong return date, or an involuntary car upgrade where the price was adjusted to the higher car type. As frequent renters know, while sometimes a rental car company will offer an upgrade for an extra charge, companies also routinely run out of smaller cars and upgrade clients, but in that case, the upgrade should be free.
Another very occasional problem can come up when a waitlisted flight upgrade clears. In some rare cases when the car is booked as part of a larger itinerary with an airline or agent, this actually sends a message to the car company saying that the outbound flight has changed. Which can then make a discount rate booked in advance, to a last minute higher rate.
A car rate can also get changed by mistake when an airline changes a flight due to a delay or canceled flight and the new arrival flight triggers a new car booking.
This tripped me up about a year ago when a mileage upgrade opened up about 2 hours before departure. I had a confirmation including price with me. But with a flight arriving near midnight, and confirmed Hertz express service, I was tired, and didn’t take the time to turn on the inside car light to read the rental agreement carefully. I did get it fixed, eventually, but it took several phone calls, including a few after I returned home.
And that’s the whole point of reading the contract in the first place. As a good manager once told me, if you think you don’t have time to do something, you really don’t have time to do it over.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
