I rent through Costco more often than not, mostly for the price
Recently, I reserved a car with Alamo through Costco for my daughter, a fourth year medical student who was traveling for residency interviews. She is an associate member on my Costco membership. Since she is a student, she is still on my car insurance. She is also covered by my $3 million personal umbrella liability insurance. She is an authorized user of my Citi AAdvantage Executive Card which provides LDW and which she used to pay for the rental.
This was her first time renting a car on her own (she recently turned 25). I instructed her not to buy any of the optional insurance coverages that the rental agent will try to sell her. Well, they did a number on her, telling her that all my coverages will cover only repairable damage to the car, not a total loss of the vehicle. She was left with the impression that buying their insurance was required, not optional (she was unable to reach me). They ended up selling her Extended Protection, the absolute last coverage that she needed and one which did not cover the damage that they falsely claimed that my car insurance and credit card did not cover.
That was done after they unsuccessfully tried to charge her in excess of three times the price of the confirmed reservation (she had a printout with her). The so-called insurance added only ~60% the price of the rental.
I contacted Costco Travel. Within a week I received the following response.
Dear TWA884,
Thank you for taking the time to contact Costco Travel regarding your experience using our service. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns, as one of our goals at Costco Travel is to provide a high level of service to our members. When concerns like this are brought to our attention, it provides us the opportunity to evaluate our products and determine how we can improve them in the future.
We have contacted Alamo on your behalf and they have advised they send their sincerest apology for the inconveniences experienced during the rental period. They have refunded the extended protection coverage charged. Attached is a copy of the revised invoice.
We greatly value your membership no matter how small or large a concern. We are always assertive in assisting our members in any way possible, and are committed to providing you with the quality service that all of our members deserve. We sincerely appreciate your business and the opportunity to assist with your future travel plans!
Sincerely,
Brianna P.
Costco Travel
Rental Car Member Services
The credit appeared on my next credit card statement.