Budget Car RentalReviews 

I booked in Feb for a trip in June. The day before pickup they called me at 1:15 and told me they didn’t have any cars. No help, no explanation, no apology. Then tried to argue that I didn’t make my reservation months ago. I cancelled the entire reservation and went with Alamo.

Rented and paid for 8 day car rental via Booking.com to be picked up and dropped off at Cairns Airport.
At the desk at the Airport I requested Insurance cover as an extra cost which is listed as $360.00 on my Invoice (and I'm ok with) but was charged $530.27 and told that that amount included a refundable $200.00 security deposit.
Car was returned in same condition as when picked up but now Budget are saying there was no $200 deposit required and refuse to refund that amount and also refuse to refund the $170.27 difference between the $530.27 that was taken and the $360.00 that should have been charged.

I prebooked and prepaid for a car hire for a recent holiday in Croatia. When I attended the Budget desk, we clarified a few points about the hire and I signed the agreement without looking too closely. Big mistake! The car itself was fine and it was returned a week later filled up and on time. When I got home, their emailed invoice showed additional charges of £220 for "optional services". At no point when I picked up the car were any additional services and costs discussed so these came as a complete shock. I acknowledge I should have checked the paperwork more carefully before signing but I feel like these charges were "slipped in under my nose". Dealing with the Budget helpdesk has not been a great experience and I'm not getting anywhere contesting the charges after 2 weeks so I've taken it up with my credit card company. Safe to say I won't be using Budget again and I would urge anyone using them to really check the paperwork BEFORE signing.

Deshawn, a customer service representative at Budget car rental, was the best. He kindly listened to my concern about a mistake on my invoice, and after looking over my account, he was able to see that my husband and I had been overcharged, and so he provided us with a refund without any hassle. Thank you, Deshawn, you are a true example of excellent customer service and honesty.

I would give it a zero star if that option was available. I rented a car in Palm Springs that had a bad tire that I didn’t realize until I drove for about 20 min. I was slowly leaking air. When I pulled into the gas station to fill up the tire which was not free. I noticed that the window had writing on it that said tire needed fixing. ( my bad for not seeing this earlier but there was no walk around the car with anyone. ) they just give you the keys and you go.
We called several times to inform them of the bad tire with no help at all. Ok all I spen about $40 on filling and taking the tire to shop to get checked.
After our holiday and months later my CC was charged $115 for the tire.
This is the worst place to ever rent a car.
Never again!

First time I used this location, (BUDGET SHERATON , PANAMA CITY , PANAMA) it was amazing. This time, it was a complete disaster from beginning to end.

Never in my life will I use Budget again. A week ago, I called this location and the lady, very polite, gave me a quote. By the time we arrived, she told me that the car she quoted me was on its way from another location, but she could give me an SUV for about another 39 dollars extra if I didn't want to wait, which I agreed to. When I presented my driver's license and my credit card, she reminded me that I needed my passport as well. When I came back with my passport, maybe 15 minutes approximately, she said that she made a mistake and she only had the other car for rent.

After waiting 30 to 45 minutes for the car due to some computer problems, she gave me a car that had a huge dent on the door. Not only that, the brakes made some nasty noise, plus the suspension made horrible noises every time you went over potholes. For a company like BUDGET to provide that kind of service, plus substandard equipment like the car they gave us, is unacceptable. Never again.

Recently we rented a vehicle from the London Heathrow branch. We were given a 4-year-old Nissan Qashqai with a little over 80K miles. We had the vehicle for 9 days and put on approximately 1% of the total mileage. On returning the vehicle clutch failed on the M1 about 2 hours away from the airport branch. Using the recovery service was rather painful. Due to our location, we were put on emergency and picked up within the hour. However, the recovery service only relocated us 5 minutes away from our destination to a service and asked us to call back for further assistance. After calling back we were advised we would be collected within the next 2 hours. 2 hours passed and no sign of recovery. We called back and were told they would be another 3 hours. 3 hours passed and still no recovery. We called back and were told they were on their way and would be with us in the hour. About 50 minutes passed and the same recovery driver came back. He collected us and moved us 20 minutes further down the M1 to another services, this time in the right direction, but still only 20 minutes further. We had to then call back and at this point were running the risk of missing our flight home. This time the recovery service arranged a taxi to collect us for airport transfer and said they would take care of the vehicle. About an hour passed and a taxi arrived and hot shot us to the airport, we arrived with barely enough time to check in but made it. Two days later we received a final bill email charging us a refueling fee. After contacting customer services, we were advised that if the vehicle had in fact broken down and it was not possible to refuel, they could reverse the charge. After providing proof of breakdown recovery from AA, we then received further correspondence advising that in light of the evidence proving the breakdown, I was still responsible for the refueling charge. So, not only did they provide a vehicle that was not fit for the term of the rental period. But they will charge you for the inconvenience of their poorly maintained vehicles.

Charged for 'extra' products not agreed to and understated prepayment voucher - a 5 day small car hire turned out to be over Euros 540 - rip off

Do not waste your time booking with BUDGET. Worse Customer service I have ever seen.
They have overcharged me over $150 and there is no way I can even talk to them to claim it. …

We started the day at 5 AM so we would have plenty of time in Kona when our flight landed at 11:30. Our flight was on time our bags were already off the bag carriage and yet for a 2 1/2 hours in counting budget car rental. It is absolutely astoundingly and efficiently run we had booked already we had checked in already and yet we waited in the line for at least an hour only to walk outside and sit on a bench waiting for the actual car to be brought around for another hour. I will never use budget again and I recommend you don’t either

I am contacting Budget once again regarding Reservation Confirmation Number 41509473CO5 at Miami International Airport.

To date, I have received neither a formal explanation for the cancellation of my reservation nor any documentation supporting the decision made by your employee at the rental counter.

As previously reported, I complied with all requirements necessary to collect the vehicle. I arrived on time, presented all required documentation, and possessed a valid credit card for the security deposit.

The cancellation occurred solely as a result of the conduct and decision of the Budget employee assisting us. At no time did I fail to comply with any requirement of the reservation.

What is particularly concerning is that, despite the reservation being cancelled by Budget, I have still not received:

• Any cancellation receipt;
• Any written explanation;
• Any formal cancellation record;
• Any confirmation that the refund process has been initiated.

Meanwhile, the charge for the reservation remains on my credit card account, despite Budget having refused to provide the contracted service.

Under basic principles of fair dealing, consumer protection, and contractual performance, a customer should not be charged for a service that was not provided due to the unilateral actions of the service provider.

Accordingly, I formally demand:

A copy of all cancellation records relating to Reservation 41509473CO5;
A written explanation of the cancellation;
Confirmation that Budget has instructed the refund process;
Confirmation of the amount to be refunded;
A clear timeline for reimbursement.
I request that Budget treat this matter with urgency. I have been patient while waiting for a response, but the continued absence of documentation and reimbursement is unacceptable.

I look forward to your prompt resolution of this matter.

Sincerely,

Paulo Ansel
Reservation Number: 41509473CO5

This company ALWAYS finds a way to add extra charges. NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH Hertz !!!!

I rented a car and didn’t pay attention. It was supposed to be 169 for two days but I picked it up on Friday I had to I drove 40 miles and had to drive back. The car was beeping the whole way and said maintenance required so I drove 40 miles back so it put us two hours behind my trip. Then I get home on Sunday and I’m filling the car back up. The gas stations were out of power because of the storm so I had to go down the street to get gas but I filled it back up before I dropped it off then they tell me I don’t owe 169. I was supposed to drop it off on Saturday. I would never pay 169 for one day so I agreed to the $301 today they’re charging me $450 the car still had maintenance required when I drove at home so when he had to reset it which put us two hours behind our original trip in the first place so we couldn’t even use the car on Friday until late so we picked it up at 5:30 and had to drive back 40 miles so now it’s after seven that we had to leave on our trip would put us behind the entire trip so we couldn’t even enjoy the evening when we got to our destination. All we could do is go to sleep then we wake up and it said maintenance required so we didn’t drive it. we ended up parking and getting a shuttle everywhere then we drove it back, but it wasn’t on full on the way there I had to stop and fill it up myself so that was $47 and then on the way home I spent another $50 filling it back up so I dropped it off full cause we didn’t really drive it other than to our destination and back from our destination so I returned it on Sunday. I only had it Friday and Saturday. So I got angry because they charged us more and he said well you agreed to $301 I said yeah today is $450. They had a bunch of people at the counter and it was getting dark and I had to walk to pick up my car. I just parked the car cleaned it out cleaned it so it was clean and full of gas so $301 is now $450 but I dropped it off and gave them the key so on Sunday they charged us another hundred dollars $150 so they totally ripped me off.

We rented a car two weeks ago at Bilbao airport. The car was lovely and customer service at the airport was good . We used the key drop to return the keys as it was very early in the morning. After returning home we got an invoice for a scratch to the wheel , nothing had happened to the wheel. There was various scratches on the car when we got it that hadn’t been fixed however they were charging us for the scratch and for the time off the road to fix it!!! I couldn’t get through on the phone to customer service( wait time was over an hour ) so I raised a ticket on their online portal . I am still waiting for them to get back to me. They said in their email they had included photos of the scratch which they hadn’t . I feel they are trying to get money for nothing and can’t get to discuss it with anyone. If possible I would stay clear of this company

I booked a car paid for 7 days and supplier canceled my order , how is that possible???

I had to make another reservation and pay again budget are scammers , be careful

This a review for car hire at Pisa airport. The car was fine, not the one I had ordered, but ok. On return, I filled up and left the car with more range than when I picked it up. The attendent said that he couldn't check the vehicle because he had no internet (?) Stupidly, I accepted this as a reasonable excuse. Two hours later, I received an email to say that all was fine andnothing to pay. The next week, I checked my card statement to see a 23euro charge. I phoned customer service who said it was afull charge. Obviously I disputed it and got the charge refunded. They must think that people won't notice or won't bother disputing because it is relatively smal. Beware!

I made a reservation in la linea / Gibraltar.
It was difficult to find the counter you have to cross porter.
When I arrived at the counter they told me that the daily rate changed and I had to pay 170 euros more.
What a fool! No more!

Ben from East Midlands Airport car hire.
Super helpful and efficient as it was busy too. Always use Budget now as more personal and customer service above and beyond. thanks

Absolutely HORRIBLE experience renting a vehicle from Budget rent a car in June '26. Not only was the rental process cumbersome, but I was not given the class/ kind of vehicle that I had requested... and paid for! And the one they finally gave to me had a horrible shudder on the left side, so i took it back.
To top it off they tried to tack on in additional fifty five dollar charge two weeks AFTER the rental... with no explanation whatsoever.
Budget never even responded to my voicemails, emails and posts on social media.

Save yourself a migraine - go somewhere else and rent from a reliable company. These people are crooked and need to be investigated.

The car is fine. The line at the airport is not. Give yourself another 2 hiurs before your flight to return a car at the Fresno airport. I wont use Budget again. Would rather pay more and get reasonable service.