Budget @ANC airport lied and forced me to buy their insurance(LSI)!
 

I really hate Budget , two of my most terrible experiences all are Budget , However , this Budget @ANC airport definitely was the worst one.

I arrived ANC airport around one hour earlier than actual pickup time , but they told me my car wasn't ready.Even I told them I would return the car very early but I still had to wait for entire an hour. I returned to the waiting line around seven minutes before my pickup time,their clerk A(he) helped check my booking and then their another clerk B(She) passed my car key to her colleague(clerk A) and implied that it's my car key. ( My car actually was ready for a while but they didn't inform me) He then checked my booking again and then asked me to showed my insurance for this car.I just told him that I have purchased it from expedia. Then he carefully check my insurance T&C and then told me it's only a CDW but not included LSI. If I didn't buy any LSI they refused to rent this car to me base on Alaska's law. He even impolitely asked me to stand aside to bypassed me to service next customer.That meant I didn't have any choice back then. They ultimately forced me to buy their insurance.(Only I could do was signed and claimed their insurance as what he asked)

However I think it was not right for my dozen rental experiences. So I contacted next counter's clerk(another company) about this LSI stuff and Alaska's Law related. She told me basically it's optional and they cannot force me to buy it. But she also told me maybe there will be different rental policy base on different company. Then I crossed the rental Hall to consult Hertz again. Their clerk(She) specifically told me they(Budget) cannot force me to buy any insurance,she also kindly help me contact Budget(by phone) this situation.She finally helped me settle my problem and told me to return to Budget counter and Budget would help me remove this LSI from my contract.But I didn't know whom she contacted with. When I ran to their (should be)intern manager to ask them to remove it. Guess what,he still insisted that they refused to rent a car to me if I didn't buy this insurance. So I returned to Hertz again for another help. She told her manager(He) whole story and then he told me he would go to Budget counter with me in person to resolve this issue for me.Either had been informed by their colleague or saw Hertz's manager coming with me,This budget's (should be)intern manager changed his words immediately and then asked his colleague(she) to remove this LIS from my contract.Finally I got rid of this nightmare with Hertz's help and I always appreciate it.

Basically I have used Budget several times,some were good but this was the most dishonorable rental location and the worst one I encountered, I definitely won't use this brand anymore and just FYI

Unfortunately, this story is not surprising given that Budget in ANC is a franchise. This is not the first time we've heard of issues with them. The corporate-owned locations tend to be a lot more reputable. We'd encourage you to relay your story to Budget corporate so they are aware the of the types of games the ANC franchisee is playing there.

FWIW, Budget ANC is indeed a franchise and is owned by the local Kendall car dealership. I've rented from them several times, but I also knew several of the employees/managers there (no more, though--I think they're all gone), so that was probably my free pass to avoid problems.

State law does not require you to purchase SLI (best to use the term Budget uses for it; LIS is Hertz's term for the same coverage) to rent a car, but Alaska is relatively libertarian and doesn't have any consumer protection laws on the books (AFAIK) that explicitly restrict the rental companies from requiring the purchase of coverage (several other states do). That said, a complaint to the state Attorney General may be fruitful, and I would echo the idea to file a complaint with Budget corporate as well. Be concise in your complaints, though: all the fluff about bouncing between counters and all that is immaterial; a simple two-sentence statement such as "After being forced to wait one hour to pick up my car, the agent refused to rent me the car unless I purchased Supplemental Liability Insurance, and a manager also refused. I was ultimately able to prove and convince the staff that I was not legally required to purchase it, but this significant hassle and coercive attitude reflects extremely poorly on the Budget brand" is all you need.

I think the most egregious part of the story is that OP went to the Hertz desk repeatedly for help with their Budget reservation.

The rest is about par for the course. This is the US, due diligence is always the buyer's responsibility.

"After being forced to wait one hour to pick up my car, the agent refused to rent me the car unless I purchased Supplemental Liability Insurance, and a manager also refused. I was ultimately able to prove and convince the staff that I was not legally required to purchase it, but this significant hassle and coercive attitude reflects extremely poorly on the Budget brand"

This was good advice

Already done , hope no one will suffer this .... again.

Replied by Budget as below

Budget Case: 21436560
Reservation: 13558720US0

Dear Mr. Lee,

Thank you for contacting Budget Customer Service team. We appreciate
when customers let us know when things are not right

We extend our most sincere apologies for any inconvenience you have been
caused, and we can certainly understand your frustration with not being
able to pick the car up earlier than scheduled, being forced to
purchased our optional coverages along with the wrong contacted
information. We are sorry your recent experience with Avis has not met
the usual high standards our customers have come to expect and deserve.

Reports such as yours are most appreciated, since they help us target
and correct areas of service which might be improved.

Please be assured that your experience was not typical of Budget usual
high standards.

Although we realize that we cannot make up for a disappointing
experience such as this, we do appreciate your contacting us. Only by being made aware of a problem can we correct it and offer the high quality of service that our customers and deserve.

Thank you for choosing Budget, we sincerely appreciate your business and
feedback.

Sincerely yours,

Representative | Customer Service
Budget Rent A Car System, LLC

PS. I left an iPAD when returned my car. They helped me to send to my home via Fed Ex with my wrong contact information,so this package got stuck at customs for two weeks and then got sent back to ANC airport.That's why I had not received it right after 30 days they sent it out.

The Budget (franchise) operation at the ANC airport has long "reflected poorly on the Budget brand". While some of the interactions I've had there were realitively quick, non-nonsense transactions, other times their airport counter agents have been real tools.

The off-airport, but nearby Budget location (a short, free hotel shuttle away) on Spenard Road was usually much better price and attitude-wise. Sadly it closed awhile back.

Typical form letter from Budget Customer Service. See if you get a personal message from someone at the franchisee which is what I'd expect.