My brother rented from Alamo in TPA and was given a car that had less than 1/4 of a tank of gas. By the time he discovered the fuel was short, he was 30 miles away, so he filled up the tank and kept the receipt.

He then returned the car 1/4 full expecting for them to waive the refueling charges. Instead they would only waive half of the refueling charges and billed him for 3/8 of a tank ($27) - even though he returned the car with the same level it was checked out with.

I think Alamo is completely accountable. Whenever I rent from Hertz, they check the gas gauge at the security gate, so there is never any confusion later on. Alamo apparently doesn't bother with such a process.

This is the same Alamo that tells you "your coupon is invalid", until you produce a printed confirmation that clearly indicates the coupon. This is the same Alamo that insists you have reserved a compact car, until you produce a printed confirmation that indicates you've reserved a full size. Oh yes, did I mention the "free" upgrade they once offered to a "SUV", which ended up being a Jeep Wrangler?

Of course, it makes sense to check the gas gauge before checking out of the lot, but to be told you are lying about the empty tank when you produce a gas receipt with a $16 gas purchase 30 minutes after taking out the car is completely insulting.

He's going to pursue this with customer relations, but a warning to FTers to be careful that Alamo doesn't give you an empty tank, and that Alamo considers customers to be liars (even though as mentioned above Alamo consistently lies to its customers).