Forced upgrade due to sellout?
 

So I reserved a Compact Car for wife a few weeks back. She shows up today and they say they are sold out of Compact and just have mid-size and then print out the paperwork. She asks why the price is different and the guy says it was just a few dollars more for the Mid Size. She was in a hurry and didn't have the time to argue with him. Overall cost was about $45 (one week rental) Do I have any recourse on this? I think its dumb to force an upgrade when they sold out of our reserved car.

I agree 100%, and would pursue with Budget, but unfortunately they may consider her acceptance at the time as a voluntary upgrade. I would speak to the manager on return, as well as corporate customer service anyway though.

I've had other local agencies push hard to get me to upgrade ("That economy car is very small; you'll be much more comfortable in a mid-size"), and when I refuse get shown...a mid-size car. Clearly that's all they had at the time. Another time, at one of the cheapo places in those side corridors at the PHX car rental facility, the agent was spending a lot of time selling upgrades, telling people they'd have to wait an hour for their reserved car if not, etc, that after waiting 20 minutes in line, I walked away and called Hertz (our company contract, and were sold out thus the only reason I was at the other company). Best upgrade ever -- got a Nissan <something>Z sports car for the compact rate.

I arrived at National once, years ago, to be told they were out of compacts and anything else. But if I waited something would come in. After half an hour they gave me a Lincoln Town Car.

There was no extra charge. Nor should there have been. When you have reservation that should mean you have a car at the price you reserved.

[QUOTE=nic3456;19007552]So I reserved a Compact Car for wife a few weeks back. She shows up today and they say they are sold out of Compact and just have mid-size and then print out the paperwork. She asks why the price is different and the guy says it was just a few dollars more for the Mid Size. She was in a hurry and didn't have the time to argue with him. Overall cost was about $45 (one week rental) Do I have any recourse on this? I think its dumb to force an upgrade when they sold out of our reserved car.[/QUOI

It should be a a free upgrade if they did not have the car you reserved and had to upgrade you without your asking. However, the fact that your wife accepted the car and contract with the higher price, lnot much to stand on.

Avis/Budget are pretty bad about this, quite honestly. I had a recent Avis rental where the agent said "I recommend such-and-such car," I said OK, looked at the estimate, saw I'd been upcharged, and refused it. Don't recall whether I ended up with a car in my class or not. And when I was returning at Avis at ORD (had to go inside to rent b/c it was the middle of the night), the Budget agents were pushing upgrades hardcore ("oh, there's 3 of you and you've reserved an intermediate, you'd be SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE in an Excursion," etc.).