DavidSXM

Hi Roger

For your information, I am absolutely NOT in the car rental business in any way, shape or form, nor have I ever been. It is very dangerous to jump to conclusions.

Obviously the incidents related above BY SEVERAL PERSONS - and the first hand experience of my son-in-law - do not appear to be isolated instances, and I have also heard a number of other tales of woe from frequent visitors here who I have met.

I fully accept that many people have probably successfully rented from this company (as can be seen from this thread) however, a very disturbing patern certainly seems to be emerging.

My concern is that this island already suffers from enough 'bad mouthing' - some certainly justified, but some certainly not - and it seems that the activities of at least some of the staff of the Dollar / Thrifty franchise - as convincingly recounted above - are just making matters worse.

Oh and by the way Roger, before you make ANOTHER incorrect assumption, I am in no way associated with the tourist industry either, nor have I ever been !

I retired here some years ago, having travelled extensively for both business and pleasure, and I am - I openly admit - very protective of the reputation of the island on which I now live - on the French side, of course !

blamona

David, I respect your love and defense of SXM!

I have a strange problem though, with the Users on this thread, the OP (original post) only has 2 posts to the user name, and both are of strange behavior. Additionally, none of these complainers never came back to address these issues, did anything about it, nor thanked you for seriously helping them out. If I'd been a "victim" I'd be all over the place and I'd be on this thread a bunch of times.

I smell a rat!

I think people that travel in general can see this.

DavidSXM

Hi blamona

I absolutely agree with you - in part !

If I had received the treatment that these 'victims' had, I would be the first to contact 'head office' to complain very loudly, and to revert to this thread regularly.

Unfortunately, as is frequently the case in situations like this, all they appear to want to do is just have a moan on a blog - and no doubt tell any of their friends who want to listen - what a 'rip off' island St Martin is ! It is the latter part which I find unacceptable, and rather worrying.

However I still do find it difficult to believe that these stories are ALL part of some sort of dark 'conspiracy' to blacken the name of Dollar / Thrifty Rent a Car (or more specifically this particular franchise).

I also say this, having personally witnessed the highly overt attempt to force my son-in-law to accept responsibility for minor (but no doubt potentially credit card expensive) blemishes - which to my certain knowledge - already existed prior to his renting the vehicle, but which were not detailed on the original rental contract.

He flatly refused to do so, and I don't think he will make the mistake again of not insisting that EVERYTHING is noted on the rental agreement before accepting a car !

A few weeks later I bumped into some friends at the airport who had arranged a rental from the same company, and who I strongly advised to photograph the car from every angle before accepting the vehicle. They subsequently told me that the staff there were not at all happy when they saw this happening - I wonder why ?

Caribheart

Sadly all of these threads do negatively affect tourism in SXM too don't they? Negative impact on the overall feel of travel in St.Martin. Extremely frustrating if untrue.

jimmcc58

I am from Long Island and I love St. Maarten!
I wish I could go every year, but every other is the best I can do. I rent my cars from HERTZ when I do go and never had a problem. I DO take photos of all angles of the car, I DO make sure all damage is noted on the paperwork. I had my worst rental experience here in the states, in Florida, and learned my lesson. A picture is worth a 1000! See you in St. Maarten next year!

saurerbear

I'm so sorry to hear that so many people have had such a bad experience in St. Maarten. I don't know what side of the Island that your visiting but the Dutch side is much more friendly then the French. Not say that they aren't friendly on the French side, but the dutch rely much more on turist. Anyway, I have been going to St. Maarten every year for the last 18 years and have never had the problem that anyone has mentioned. To be honest I know they want to make money but for them to lie about damage on cars is shocking. I use to rent my car from bugget car rental, but for the last 6 years I have rented from Kevin from our time share at the Belair Beach Hotel. It is much eaiser than unload and reload your luggage into several cars the hotel car rental will pick you up from the airport then when you unload it into your room not another car then when your ready to leave they load you up again and take you into the airport instead of having to tip the other guys to bring you bags from the curb to the line. Anyway I hope to hear better stories then this because St. Maarten is a wonderful Island on both sides and everyone should enjoy there vacation there. Tip: try to rent a car from the Hotel your staying at most of them offer this.

robmarble1

I just returned from St Martin and had a similar experience. We had 2 locks broken on our car when we picked it up. The guy made note of it but on the form he checked the locks were OK. The trunk was up and the guy never looked at it. I made the error of signing the sheet that he had , never looking at the fact that he had marked OK next to the locks. When I returned the car, lo and behold , they wanted 700 dollars to fix the "damage". I argued for a while but really to no avail. I have filed a claim with my CC company as well as one with Thrifty to look into this blatant fraud. I also called Scott Anderson at 1-918-6607700 to voice my concerns but have not yet heard back. I encourage all of you who have been scammed by this company to call and complain.

jacquesf

Sorry to hear all the bad experiences...We had our share, but on the bright side, we tried a new company last year, and I must say...we're hooked! They're called 'Leisure Car Rental St. Maarten' It's good to know some companies still put customer service as their number one priority. Try them out. Tel:011(599) 581 8577. Email: [email protected]. Site: www.leisurecarrentalsxm.com

SarahJames12

I recently rented from Dollar/Thrifty Car Rental and I have to say it was the most pleasant experience I have ever encountered at ANY car rental. The facilities were stunning(!), service was tremendous and was very happy with our vehicle.

Basically from what I have read on this post, everyone here has a problem with damages. No one likes to pay for damages. I would hate it. But I believe if you are a principled person, you must understand that while the vehicle is in your possession, you must understand that anything happens to it will be our responsibility. I think its best to go over the car very detailed to avoid problems period.

I dealt with a gentleman by the name of Vic, who was extremely courteous. Email him directly at [email protected] to get the best rates. I am happy to give them a shout out as they were absolutely terrific.

BellaClaire

I agree SarahJames - Vic is a great guy and very professional!

ICgirl

We rented from Payless oer Thanksgiving 2008 and lost our keys in 80-10 feet of sea grass. We were charge $845 for the lost keys, the justification being that the keys could be used, if found, to steal the car and all the locks needed to be replaced. The charge was not covered by our private car insurance or credit card, which had rental car coverage. We disputed it with the credit card, to no avail. This ended up costing more than the entire rental - way more. Disappointed, to say the least!

We're going back to the island this Thanksgiving, and very gun shy about renting.

DavidSXM

Believe you me, I have no axe to grind, but the stories that I have heard about Dollar / Thrifty would definitely make me think twice about renting from this outfit - even if Vic is apparently a "very nice guy".

My son-in- law (see an earlier post) was (almost) ripped off by the check in people there, but he is, fortunately, sufficiently well travelled to know how to deal with the problem.

As there are so many other alternative companies from which to rent, why take the chance of having aggravation.

By the way, if the car is on Dutch plates, the insurance is also rather different from that of a car on French plates - be aware !

robmarble1

UPDATE!!!!!!!

I recently posted about this company trying to claim that I was responsible for damage that was already on the car. However, I called Dollar and complained. They started an investigation into the situation and LO AND BEHOLD , THE SAME CAR HAD CLAIMS FOR THE SAME DAMAGE THREE TIMES IN THE LAST MONTH!

Where I am from, that is called FRAUD. They refunded the money that was charged to me illegally and refunded the cost of the rental. They stated that they are looking into the situation.

BUYER BEWARE

DavidSXM

robmarble1

That only goes to emphasize what I have said in previous posts on this thread.

Quite why anyone reading the various horror stories would want do business with this franchise - which appears to be run by a bunch of cowboys - blows my mind !

There are plenty of other rental options which do not have the unsavoury reputation of this one.

Caveat emptor

RayUSA

I just left ST Maarten yesterday and experienced similar scam where 3 employees pointed out a tiny ding that broke off a thumb size break light cover.

They saw the ding so fast as if it was in the back of their heads.

While sitting in shuttle waiting for the ride back to the airport, I saw 3 others people that came after me got upset and have to file damage report like I did just to keep going so that we will not be late for our flight home.

Thrifty/Dollar car rental scam at this location is still is still live and well.

Having a hidden camera to expose this scam in action to educate people via youTube, TV show or blog like this one will eventually do some good one day.

I'm not coming back to this island and I'll tell my friends, families and everyone else about it for the 50 years or as long as I live.

May a huge hurricane wipe them out one day.

moondog46

I had a similar experience where I knew that the scam was planned and that the guy performed it like a trained actor.
My specific problem was a passenger door lock scam that was neatly played by the boss/manager of the day. The girl, who had checked my car out three weeks before just sat there and I believe is fully in on this scam. The manager came directly out, saw no dents or other marks on the body and then walked over to the passenger door lock and tried to lock it with the key. He did not try any other lock. It would not lock and he claimed that it was damaged when I had the car. It had not been checked by agent before we took the car and not marked on my rental car sheet as being defective. The door worked fine and the doors all locked with the key using the driver's side lock, which as the only driver I used every time. The car was at Oyster Bay Beach Resort the whole time, except for our few trips out when nothing had ever been left in the car and no one ever seems to have been near it. This was so well played that I am sure it was done on that vehicle many times before and will continue to be done in the future. The car was a white I 10 , license # R 1041. I would be interested if anyone else had this happen to them at Europcar and especially with the same car.

grinch49

I read the posts on the rental car damage rip-off scam by Thrifty/Dollar car rental agency in St Maarten. I usually do not post in any forum, however I feel compelled to add my comments to this issue. My wife and I have been going to St Maarten regularly for the last five years and have twice been charged for “damages”. The first time was two years ago for a dent in the rear of the car. At that time I did not think much of the issue, as if you are a frequent traveler to St Maarten you are familiar with the creative parking habits of the island, and just had the insurance cover the charges. However the July 2010 visit on return of the car the person that checked in the car found the front passenger door lock to be broken in record time less than 10 seconds, this threw up the red flag for me. As I question the finding I heard another renter discussing the same issue on the vehicle they had just returned, broken door locks must have been the damage of the day. I did not have time to argue the charge, as I needed to get to the airport to catch my return flight. In my August credit cart statement I received a $696 additional change from Thrifty car rental St Maarten. Upon investigating the charge I was informed it was for door lock repairs on the vehicle I rented in July. I complained to my credit card company, Thrifty Rent A Car and the car agency in St Maarten, to date have not received any response to my claim. The only action I was able to take was to protest the charge to my credit card company, which also was a futile endeavor. The credit card company Diners Club Carte Blanche reply was the merchant has a valid charge slip and honored the charge.

Something needs to be done about this situation, and as I have seen in the previous post and my experiences we cannot expect any assistance from certain credit card companies and Thrifty Car Rental. I guess we the travelers need to be more vigilant and pass on information to make it harder for these thieves to flourish. I include Diners Club in the category as thieves, as their only interest seems to be receive their payment from the cardholder and fees from the merchant.

Blatant plug, I also have an AMEX card, have been a member for over 20 years and have never experienced any dissatisfaction when I had issues with merchants charges. In the future I will be using my VISA card in St Maarten at merchants that do not accept

DavidSXM

Hi grinch49

Can I suggest that you - and the other persons - who have been ripped off by this franchise contact the Dollar / Thrifty HQ in the US and make sure that they are aware of these scammers.

There is plenty of evidence of the nefarious activites of these characters, and even though Head Office has already been made fully aware of the problem, nothing has been done to stop what is, apparently, happening very regularly.

I think you ave a valid case for re-imbursement.

Mike_Deneen

We just returned from St. Martin and also got ripped off at Thrifty/Dollar but with what appears to be a new scam. Having read about other scams, we took pictures (video actually) of the two cars that we rented. The cars were fine and had the usual small dents and scratches that we noted. We drove the cars all week without any damage and inspected them before we left the house to return to the airport. When we got to Thrifty, there was the usual commotion of unloading the bags, etc. Several of us noticed an older yellow car that was trying to squeeze in between our rental car and another parked car but did not think anything of it. A couple of minutes later, 3 or 4 Thrifty employees were all on the side of the car where the yellow car had gone by and were pointing at an area on the left rear quarter where there were several scratches and a slight dent. Clearly, the yellow car had caused the damage. One of my friends told them that he saw the yellow car and that it had caused the damage. The employees pointed to a new yellow car that was now in the back of the lot and said that it could not have caused the damage. When we went to the rear of the building the older yellow car was nowhere to be found. It was clear that this was done deliberately--not enough damage to make the vehicle look too bad but enough to make an insurance claim. We vehemently argued with them, especially Sunil who was mentioned in prior posts but he would not give me my credit card slip back which covered the security deposit for the car. We ended up leaving to catch our flight (which they were counting on--when I said I wasn't leaving without my credit card slip, he said "fine, miss your flight). I refused to sign the accident report form. When I got home, I called my credit card company and tried to pre-report this and dispute it but because it had not posted on my account yet, I have to wait for it to hit my bill and then dispute it. My credit card appears to cover it under the Car Rental Collision Damage Waiver Insurance but I won't be sure until it hits my bill. Two pieces of advice: film or photograph the car at the rental place when you get it and DO NOT LEAVE THE VEHICLE UNTIL THEY INSPECT IT AND RETURN YOUR CREDIT CARD SLIP. Also, make sure to put it on a credit card that has the damage waiver. We actually took out the insurance because we had 8 people and 2 cars and wanted to make sure we were fully covered with different people driving the cars. When we pointed this out to Sunil the weasel, he pointed out that it has an $850 deductible. These guys are crooks so do whatever you can to protect yourself. I would use another rental company if you can find one that is honest.

carltonjohn23

I am stunned to hear of all of the malicious articles I am reading on top. I am part of a group that visits St. Maarten 4 times a year.

I have been visiting this wonderful island for over 20 years. Myself and our many friends, sometimes rent as much as 25 cars in one setting, ALL from Dollar/Thrifty Car Rental for over 7 years.

Let me first state, that this is by far the best and most professional car rental we have ever dealt with. Their service, cars, rates, staff, just everyone is superb.

From what I see above, people who are complaining are writing about damages. When you are picking up a vehicle, with any car rental, it is your duty to go over the vehicle in detail, to ensure that all damages are marked. This way there will be no issues when you return.

A yellow car driving intentionally to scratch a vehicle? OMG this is so ridiculous. Takes a agent 10 seconds to notice a broken lock? It takes one second to notice that. Deductible? All car rentals have this. Read your contract. Professional actors? I cannot help but laugh. These posts I have been reading are so ludicrous! If you have a damage on your vehicle, you should acknowledge your responsibility.

As far as I know, Dollar/Thrifty is regarded as the best car rental in St. Maarten, and they are the largest car rental also I think. I know the owners and they are extremely reputable people. Such a huge operation could not have been built with 'SCAMS'. It is apparent that people know about this negative article, and are just writing to blow up this article even further. I know this company, and my friends are familiar with all the staff, and they are very genuine and professional people.

In regards to damages- I have had to pay for damages a few occasions from Thrifty. I acknowledged all my responsibilities because I knew I was wrong, and that the damages were not there when I picked up the car. I have had to pay for a broken lock already recently. The agent went around the vehicle and showed me the locks. My most recent trip in December to our timeshare at Pelican (crazy whats going on there with the employees, but thats a whole other topic), they made me check the locks myself. When I returned the vehicle, the passenger lock was broken. I noticed this during my rental. I know for a fact that the vehicle was not like that when I picked it up. I acknowledged this, worked with the manager and settled the damage. It is not fair for the company to absorb the loss of replacing the locks. Many persons here are very unreasonable.

To whomever is reading these posts, I strongly consider you renting from Dollar or Thrifty. They are the best down there and makes you have a much more pleasurable stay on this lovely island. To all fellow timeshare holders, I recommend you to use Dollar/Thrifty. Tell them you are a long time visitor to St. Maarten. Try them. I bet you will become a long time renter with Thrifty.