rpjepson

I pretty much always rent from CRW, where the Avis guys treat me very well. Though I know it makes me sound an utter novice, renting via their website always seems to provide an all-inclusive price.

I recall, many years ago, renting from Budget at PIT. The price I have paid online somehow increased significantly due to mysterious sounding "taxes." Given it was my first trip abroad, I simply nodded politely.

Anyway, apologies for a deeply silly question, but if I rent from the Budget site (in the UK), and rent out of PIT, will the price include all the insurance/taxes etc, or will I be stiffed for more on arrival?

Thank you.

jackal

Yes. If you book at budget.co.uk, it looks like your total price should include all of the necessary insurance options and taxes:

You might try booking the car and then calling Budget PIT (+1-412-472-5471; Skype makes international calls super cheap and easy) to verify the total price with all necessary taxes and fees for a UK resident. If it comes out different than your booking, be sure to rectify any differences there and have them make notes in your reservation. It's always better to try to head off any problems ahead of time. If they refuse to budge, contact the UK booking office at (013) 4448-4100 and/or the U.S. customer service line at +1-800-214-6094 (free call via Skype; also try (084) 4544-3455 from the UK).

If you are forced into anything during the rental process, be sure to get a clear explanation of why they are charging you more. If possible, right at the counter, I would call the UK booking office customer care line at +44 1344 484100 before signing anything or, failing that, the U.S. customer care line at 1-800-214-6094 (free call from any nearby payphone). Try to get it resolved BEFORE you sign the rental agreement (or at least before you leave the parking lot).

If all of the above fails, be sure that you are very clear that you are unhappy about being charged more than your quote--you probably can't simply not sign the agreement, but you can make sure the manager on duty knows you do not want to take any additional options (get a card from the manager if possible). Then, file a complaint with Budget U.S. customer care or Budget UK's booking office (or both!) for the issue, making sure you clearly told the agent and manager at pick-up that you were not intentionally agreeing to anything additional beyond the reserved rate and included options and believe you were forced into purchasing something additional you were not informed that you needed to before making the reservation.

Most of these kinds of bits of confusion are due to being unaware of certain policies and requirements. If you do all the due-diligence possible beforehand (read through the FULL terms and conditions of your booking, call the rental office and speak to someone about what your exact charges will be and what you'll be required to take, etc.), you shouldn't encounter any surprises. The above info is all really just a guide to dealing with a worst-case scenario; armed with the info you gain along the way, you shouldn't really have any issues you can't resolve in a minute or two during pick-up.

When you do call, be sure to notate the employee's name and the time/date of your call. This will help make your case to customer service more bulletproof if it comes down to it.