Hi all and firstly sorry if this is OT as not technically related to the Alamo Membership Scheme.

2 Weeks ago I booked a 2 Day Car Rental from Alamo through Expedia with a pick up at Washington IAD. On collecting the car the agent advised me that as I had booked through Expedia I had to take the Pre-Purchase option so was charged $38 for a tank of gas. I only ended up using just under half of it so was unhappy that I was "forced" to take what I thought should have been an option! I would have been happy to fill up on the return as I knew the mileage would not have been a full tank.

On my return I emailed Expedia(.co.uk) and they responded with ...

Thank you for your recent email regarding your recent car hire with Alamo Car Rental.

We are sorry to hear that you feel that you was not provided with the service that you deserve.

I have investigated your account and can advise you that when you made the booking it would of asked you to read the rules and restrictions from here you could of had the opportunity to select 'detailed car rules'.

Under the additional charges segment mentioned the following statement 'Additional charges may be payable locally and/or applied at the time of hire such as refueling, additional driver charges, young driver surcharge and delivery and collection fees. Where expressly stated ‘Expedia Special Rates’ include insurance, taxes, and surcharges. In all other events you acknowledge that in no event shall Expedia.co.uk be liable for such additional charges as detailed or otherwise.'

We understand that this is not the answer you are looking for but we will be unable to offer a refund on this occasion.

I hope that this incident has not stop you from being using us in the future and to provide you with the customer service that you deserve.

We are sorry we cannot assist on this occasion, but we hope to see you soon for your next trip.

Yours sincerely,

As you can imagine I am angry not with the cost which is relatively low but the fact I was forced to take the fuel option. No pre-purchase meant no Car Rental. And after a long haul flight I really wasn't in the mood to argue, though I did ask them to clarify where the booking stated this fact!

Can anyone else tell me if they have experienced this and is it policy or was it the car agent chancing it to increase sales and are Expedia just ducking out of dealing with it by quoting legal jargon?

Many thanks, Rich