Budget is a RIPOFF!!!!
 

Watch out for Budget. I filled the car with a full tank of gas (7 gallons) before I returned it. The guy checked the tank and said it was fine and printed me out a receipt. Three days later I got a bill for $64.70. They said they had to put in 10 gallons of gas (yikes! I paid $2.11 for the gas I put in). I called customer service. They said that unless I had a printed receipt the best they could do is credit me half. I said that I had a credit card statement showing the 7 gallon purchase 3 miles from the airport 5 minutes before I returned the car. Not good enough. This is a rip off of class action status. Think about it. Millions of customers all ripped off and then credited half. It’s worth millions to them. Any attorneys out there? I’m in.

I don't think I'd go to the extent of a class action suit but I would not give up on reimbursement after just a phone call. I would send a copy of your cc statement (with all your private info blacked out) and ask for reimbursement.

Sounds like its a good idea to save the gas receipt as proof which I never thought of before. Good luck.

Sounds like you are done dealing with Budget and need to contact your credit card company and let them deal with it. Dispute the charge. Just keep note of when you called Budget to contest and keep a copy of your receipt. CC Company will probably want you to fax a copy of it. If you have a good bank behind your credit card and you have the evidence, they will stand behind you. Don't let a company push you around.

A couple of years ago I was late for a flight and had to return my car without having filled the tank. Although I had put gas in it (driven it more than one tank), it was not full. I kid you not, the guy checking me in simply figured out how many miles I had traveled, divided by the mileage, and wanted to charge me for that many miles of gas. Only problem was, it was about one a half tanks of gas!!! And the tank was about 1/3 full. Why I would need to compensate them for 1.5 tanks of gas the most they could possibly pump into the car at their expense was 1 tank wasn't clear - although I did manage to get this cleared up before dashing off to my flight. I have no doubt that they ripped off many other people that way!

Your receipt should show how many miles you drove the car and you should be able to prove that 7 gallons of gas would cover that mileage, not 17

So Budget printed out a receipt and handed it to you and you didn't bother to keep it for three days. I don't get it.

I'd hand the whoe thing over to my cc company.

Presumably, even though you don't have the Budget receipt, you have the amount of the receipt as a separate entry on your cc statement, right? You can point to that as proof that Budget signed off on the amount when you dropped off the car.

I can tell you that cc companies don't take kindly to companies that charge without getting a customer signature for the charge.

Did you read the receipt? Just because the guy said it was "fine" doesn't mean he didn't screw up when punching the data into his touchpad device. Always check the receipt. Whatever he punches in should get uploaded into the system so if it's going to get screwed up, that's the point at which it should happen. Always check the receipt before you walk away.

"So Budget printed out a receipt and handed it to you and you didn't bother to keep it for three days. I don't get it."

I think he has the Budget receipt. He does not have the receipt from the gas station to prove he filled up just before dropping off the car.

The receipt from the rental agency should show TOTAL CHARGES. On the rare occasion when we return a car w/o a full tank the re-fueling cost is added to the receipt before we leave. That is what I don't get.

I'll also add that I'm a little skeptical considering peter is a first time poster, included his e-mail and is looking to join a class action suit.

I use Budget quite often and they've always been fairly good. All rental car companies have to be watched somewhat carefully when it comes to extra insurance, returning the car with gas, etc. I always wait until the "check-in person" prints out my receipt with the total before I leave. Never had a problem.

Class action? Not a chance.