DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET!
March 16, 2025
Mr. Joseph Ferraro
President and CEO
Budget Rent A Car System, Inc.
6 Sylvan Way
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Mr. Ferraro,
I am writing to you LIVID, utterly outraged by an appalling experience at your Sanford International Airport Budget Rental Car location (1 Red Cleveland Blvd., Sanford, FL 32773) on Friday, March 14, 2025, at approximately 6:30 p.m. Your company’s failure—compounded by a rude associate—cost me dearly, and I am DEMANDING, not asking, a full refund of $668.16 for the reasons below.
On February 14, 2025, I reserved an intermediate SUV via Costco Travel for pickup at this location, costing $111.03 (Costco Confirmation: Cxxxxxxxx9; Budget Confirmation: 1xxxxxxxxx5). I arrived at 6 p.m. on March 14, presented my valid Tennessee driver’s license (held without issue for 39 years since age 16), and a credit card. Your associate scanned my license, triggering a red light on a device her coworker called “flaky,” suggesting it often requires rescanning “the other way.” After a second failed scan—limited, they said, to two attempts—she handed it back, barking, “Your driver’s license is invalid and I cannot help you.” I demanded clarification; she snapped that the device connects to the DMV and deemed it invalid, refusing me the rental with zero empathy—just a cold, mechanical repetition of “Your driver’s license is invalid and I cannot help you.”
I explained my license has NEVER been suspended—no DUIs, no tickets, no accidents, nothing. I’d just flown in, needing to drive 3.5 hours to Fort Lauderdale to pick up my daughter for a cruise. Your associate didn’t care—same robotic dismissal. Humiliated in front of other customers, I left, checked Alamo (no cars), and Costco Travel (no availability). Hertz, as a last resort, had one overpriced one-way rental for $668.16—SIX TIMES my Budget cost. Their system instantly verified my license as VALID, proving your machine and associate were wrong. I had no choice but to pay this in order to make the 3.5 hour drive to Fort Lauderdale to pickup my daughter from the airport there.
Your failure forced me to pay an extra $557.13, nearly stranded me with no flights or trains available, and left me humiliated by your associate’s rudeness—all because Budget relies on a “flaky” system and untrained staff. Without that Hertz car, I’d have missed my daughter’s cruise—a 14-hour train was sold out, and next-day flights were too late.
I have attached the original reservation details from Costco Travel, as well as the summary of charges from Hertz as 2 separate PDF documents.
I DEMAND $668.16—the full Hertz cost—as reimbursement for your breach of contract, negligence, and the emotional distress inflicted. Your company denied a reserved service due to YOUR error, not mine. If you’d honored my reservation, I’d have paid $111.03, not $668.16.
Confirmation of this refund may be emailed to
[email protected] as well as mailing a check to me to the address listed above.
If I don’t receive confirmation of this forthcoming refund by March 21, 2025, I will pursue legal action against Budget for:
- Breach of Contract: You failed to deliver a reserved vehicle.
- Negligence: Your faulty system and associate’s incompetence caused this humiliating, failure of an experience.
- Intentional/Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress: Public humiliation and stress were outrageous.
I’ve consulted a lawyer ready to act upon my direction. I’ll also file with the Florida Attorney General and FTC for deceptive practices if you refuse to refund the amount of $668.16. The experience I had was caused by utter incompetence by your employees and a faulty driver's license verification device that evening and was completely unnecessary.
I expect your immediate attention to this matter and swift resolution. I'm a long-time Budget customer and this experience was a complete failure start to finish.
Update: This was their response, saying they'll decline a reservation based on any of the following. NONE of these "red flags" mentioned below have EVER applied to my driver's license nor do they currently apply to my driver's license.:
Budget reserves the right to deny rental if the driving history reveals any of the following:
* Invalid, suspended or revoked license
* One or more convictions for reckless driving within 48 months
* One DUI, DWI or DWAI conviction within 48 months
* Failure to report an accident/leaving the scene of accident within 36 months
* Possession of stolen vehicle or use of a vehicle in a crime
* Expired license
* Three or more convictions for moving violations within 24 months (excluding seatbelt violations)
* Two or more accidents within 36 months
* Other activities that suggest an unsatisfactory driving record