National - Free Day Scam

I recently needed a car for a one way rental, it was going to be a little over $50 for an unlimited miles rental so I used a free day which national showed on their website would lower the price to $4 (fee/tax).
Credit card bill comes a few weeks later and they have charged me $273!!!!! When asked I was told because free days require a .36 per mile fee, so by using a free day I earned the right to pay an extra $200 for my rental. I rent over 50 cars a year, I hope their $200 was worth losing a customer.

Welcome to FlyerTalk incu!

Did you use a particular contract ID? Which locations did you rent between? I've never heard of the rate changing so dramatically like that, especially if you were quoted unlimited mileage on your confirmation.

Did you save your confirmation email? I would try disputing it with your CC since you never agreed to that. It's part of the problem with National not giving EC members a copy of the RA upon checkout, who knows what could be on there. I've never had a problem personally, but it would still be better to see the contract and then resolve any issues before taking the car out.

Welcome to FlyerTalk incu!

Did you use a particular contract ID? Which locations did you rent between? I've never heard of the rate changing so dramatically like that, especially if you were quoted unlimited mileage on your confirmation.

Did you save your confirmation email? I would try disputing it with your CC since you never agreed to that. It's part of the problem with National not giving EC members a copy of the RA upon checkout, who knows what could be on there. I've never had a problem personally, but it would still be better to see the contract and then resolve any issues before taking the car out.


The mileage charge is never indicated in the total.. they don't know how far you will drive. The confirmation email should show all the details, including how many miles are included, extra charge, etc.

The details for a one-way, Vancouver to Victoria:

Pickup Information
Location: Vancouver Downtown - W Georgia St. (YVRC06)
Date & Time: Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 12:00 PM
Address: 1185 West Georgia Street
National Car Rental
Vancouver,BC V6E 4E6
Phone: (604)609-7150
Fax: (604)685-6179
Hours: Sun-Sat: 07:30 am - 06:00 pm

Dropoff Information
Location: Victoria Downtown & Inner Harbour (YYJC01)
Date & Time: Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 12:00 PM
Address: 767 Douglas Street
Halt Holdings Ltd
Victoria,BC V8W2B4
Phone: (250)386-1213
Fax: (250)381-1184
Hours: Sun-Sat: 07:00 am - 07:00 pm

Rate Information

Item: Prices
(CAD)

Car Class: Fullsize 4-Door/Automatic/Air

Rates:
Time & distance 1 DAY @ $56.00 $56.00
Time & distance 0 HOUR @ $24.50 $0.00
Time & distance 0 WEEK @ $336.00 $0.00
Extra distance-time & distance 0 DISTANCE @ $0.25 $0.00

Contract I.D. 5007125
Guaranteed Base Rate Included
0 Free Kilometers Included
$0.25 each additional kilometer, calculated on return and actual kilometers driven

Sub total............................................. .........$56.00

Discounts
Ee/ev Reward -$56.00

Surcharges:
Vehicle License Fee .78/day $0.78

Taxes:
Pvrt Bc 1.50/day (0.0%) $1.50
Provincial Sales Tax Bc (7.0%) $3.97
Ca Goods/svces Tax B.c. (5.0%) $0.11

Total Estimate.......................................... ........$6.36
(Country of Residence: CA) (CAD)
Approximate Estimated Conversion: $6.36

Ron.

Sounds like you may have used the wrong contract ID; be sure to read the T&C very carefully, as some contract IDs may still require you to pay the per-mile surcharge.

The word "scam" seems a bit harsh, don't you think?

The mileage charge is never indicated in the total.. they don't know how far you will drive. The confirmation email should show all the details, including how many miles are included, extra charge, etc.


Did the original booking stipulate Unlimited mileage? As newfbc mentions, some one way bookings include zero miles.

Hopefully (for the OP), unlimited mileage was included.

I just created a one-way rental from YOW > YUL. Here's the pricing the system presented (didn't actually book the res):

Base Rate - Fullsize (CAD)
(1) Time & Distance ($360.00/Day) $360.00
Discount -$36.00
Discount Coupon Accepted -$324.00
Contract ID 5025938
Inclusive Rate Items
Guaranteed Base Rate Included
(1) Additional Driver Included
Unlimited Kilometers Included

Subtotal $0.00

Taxes, Surcharges and Fees Concession Recoup Fee 14.29 Pct $46.39
Conservation Surcharge $.10/day $0.10
Vehicle License Fee .60/day $0.60
Provincial Sales Tax Ontario (8.0%) $29.69
Ca Goods/svces Tax On (5.0%) $2.35
Subtotal $79.13

Calculate Estimated Total Estimated Total $79.13

I would expect that the "Unlimited Kilometers Included" (bold mine) means that the "free days require a .36 per mile fee" wouldn't hold water. I hope the OP tells us the outcome of the dispute.

As an aside, it's interesting that the system first applies the 10% discount (in blue) owing to the Costco Contract ID (in red), and then discounts the balance with the free day coupon (in green). But it calculates the concession fee based on the rate with the 10% discount.

I recently needed a car for a one way rental, it was going to be a little over $50 for an unlimited miles rental so I used a free day which national showed on their website would lower the price to $4 (fee/tax).
Credit card bill comes a few weeks later and they have charged me $273!!!!! When asked I was told because free days require a .36 per mile fee, so by using a free day I earned the right to pay an extra $200 for my rental. I rent over 50 cars a year, I hope their $200 was worth losing a customer.

I'm not sure why people throw the word "SCAM" around as if its acceptable everytime something goes wrong. Reputable companies do not "SCAM" their clients, otherwise they wouldnt be in business very long and the word implies intentional dishonesty. Errors can happen, and can also be easily fixed. That not SCAMMING the consumer. In this case, one of 2 things happened. Either an error occurred, at which point if you call National they will adjust it, or you booked a rental with the per mileage charge on your reservation but didnt properly read it. As an fyi, most (not all) contracted one ways now charge a lower daily rate (the corporate rate) plus a per mile charge vs. a flat daily rate with unlimited kms.

As an fyi, most (not all) contracted one ways now charge a lower daily rate (the corporate rate) plus a per mile charge vs. a flat daily rate with unlimited kms.

It pays to do the math. I've seen $130/day - unlimited mileage OR $50/day, plus 25c per mile. If the drive is < 320 miles, the lower daily rate is better. Of course, if you're using a free day (a GREAT idea I learned on this forum), go for the higher rate as the coupon should discount it in full -- and you get unlimited too!

It pays to do the math. I've seen $130/day - unlimited mileage OR $50/day, plus 25c per mile. If the drive is < 320 miles, the lower daily rate is better. Of course, if you're using a free day (a GREAT idea I learned on this forum), go for the higher rate as the coupon should discount it in full -- and you get unlimited too!

Heads will roll if ERAC ever touches that benefit...

I've noticed that unlimited km rates are disappearing at some locations, I guess as a means of curtailing free rides. However I'm referring mainly to YVR, which I can only assume is trying to hang onto as much fleet as it can to survive the Olympics.

My contract rate (with included LDW) includes 0 miles on one way rentals. So whenever I redeem my free days for one way rentals I have to double check to enter the standard Emerald Club # (5007125) which has a LOT higher rates but includes unlimited miles.. and since the free day discounts the rate completely, that's a big savings (I've seen it charge as much as $270 a day and the free day worked just perfectly). So I'm thinking the OP had the same situation; booked with his standard rate and got 0 included miles.

i almost got tripped up by this too -- I had to call the desk and change how they priced the rental. Apparently when you drop in a different Canadian city from where you rented they can either a) charge a normal price but include a mileage charge that ends up being massive, b) charge a massive per-day price but with unlimited miles. When using free days, you totally want b). I did that and got a free day from Montreal to Boston that would have been over $200 otherwise.... but I had to call to do it, there was no way to set it up online.

That's a cross-border rental, and so might be subject to restrictions. For instance, did they give you a US-plated car? Rentalguy once said the Canadian division can not rent locally US cars and vice versa. So, one-ways to Buffalo, for instance, can be done with Canadian cars because they will eventually come back. But if it was to NYC or Boston, which are further away, those Canadian cars wouldn't likely come back via paid rental and would cost the company money to retrieve them.

They gave me a US car with Michigan plates in Montreal. Suspect that, as you mention, they were reluctant to surrender a Canadian car for anything beyond, say, BTV

I'm just back and had no issues.

I was driving from Toronto (YYZ) to Buffalo (BUF). I was fortunate that there were a couple of mini-vans in the full-size area as there were five in my party, all with luggage. I selected one with Quebec plates and was on my way.

At the gate, the agent asked me to pull aside while she checked with the garage for a US-plated vehicle. I told her I need the van (I was worried they'd force me to take a FCAR) and after a few minutes she waved me back and signed me out with the original van, saying no US-plated vans or SUVs were available. She also printed a copy of the RA before I asked for it. I gather it's not at all unusual between these two cities.

It works the other way too: We flew back directly to YYZ and the Charger we selected had Missouri plates (and with < 7000 miles on it, it was the lowest mileage on any of my rentals this year). :D

Canadian cars going to Buffalo aren't such a big problem, because a paying renter will eventually turn up going the other way. But I can see why they wanted to try to scrounge up a US car first- no idle time across the border. Likewise, the Missouri car is not supposed to go on local rent in Canada. But it's highly unlikely that a state in the Southern Plains would happen to have a Canadian car in stock. Just out of curiosity, where in the US were you taking the Missouri car?

Likewise, the Missouri car is not supposed to go on local rent in Canada. But it's highly unlikely that a state in the Southern Plains would happen to have a Canadian car in stock. Just out of curiosity, where in the US were you taking the Missouri car?

Nowhere in the US. The Missouri car was used for a one-day local rent. It was out on Emerald Reserve and passed my boys' "coolest car" test.

It must be the contract being used, I have two upcoming 1 day 1 way rentals DFW-DAL and DAL-DFW in which I'm using free days. I just checked the reservations and they show unlimited milage included, and I'm using the company's contract.

It must be the contract being used, I have two upcoming 1 day 1 way rentals DFW-DAL and DAL-DFW in which I'm using free days. I just checked the reservations and they show unlimited milage included, and I'm using the company's contract.

It could also be a "co-terminal" situation - DFW & DAL are very close - some locations do not have one-way drop rates anyways - like in FL.

...... When asked I was told because free days require a .36 per mile fee, so by using a free day I earned the right to pay an extra $200 for my rental. I rent over 50 cars a year, I hope their $200 was worth losing a customer.

Didn't you look at your receipt when you returned the car? If your free day was reserved under your Contract ID, then it is subjected to the agreed terms of the contract. If no Contract ID was entered in the reservation, then buyer beware! Funny, if you rent over 50 cars a year, you would know to ask about mileage fee when you book a one way rental. If I was quoted $50 for a one way rental with unlimited miles, I would have jumped on it!