Did I just get cheated?
 

I reserved a car online with Dollar to pick up at SFO, and the Airport Concession Recovery Fee, County Tax, and State Tax showed one figure.

When I picked up the car, these 3 items showed a higher number than what was on the reservation.

When I returned the car at the time promised, I was charged yet a higher number for these 3 items than the time I picked up the car.

I did not notice that until I got home. Did I just get cheated by Dollar?

As far as when you picked up the car, what do you mean by "higher"? If it was a little higher (i.e. less than a $1) then I don't think that would be too unusual as those items can/do change a little once in a while and I think you'll find your original reservation states that those are "estimated" and can vary slightly upon pickup.

However, on the return, everything should have been as listed on your "contract" which you received when you picked up the car .... unless, of course, something changed; i.e. you returned the car late (or early) outside of the allowable grace period.

However, the big lesson to be learned here is to verify those things at the time (of pickup and return) as, if there is an issue, they can most easily be resolved at the time. Getting these changed now can be a much bigger hassle.

Good luck!

Not a Dollar rental but a similar situation. I rented a car with Budget last week. The total charge on my paperwork when I picked up the car was higher than my emailed reservtion confirmation. When I compared the 2, I saw that, while my rental was for 5 days (although the weekly rental rate was used as it was cheaper), the charges for the extra fees were all $X times 6 days. When I returned the car, I pointed out that it was a 5 day rental and the fees were charged x 6 days. They tried to tell me that the rental was for 5 - 24 hour periods but spanned over 6 days and the fees were charged every day :confused:

Well of course the rental spanned 6 calendar days. If you pick up a car at noon today and return it at noon tomorrow, that is one rental day but spans 2 calendar days. I had to argue a bit but in the end, they fixed it. Moral here - check those extra fees very carefully.

Presuming that we're talking more than a couple of bucks (local fees change all the time) from reservation until pickup, I would simply send a complaint in via webform, noting what was quoted, contracted at pickup and then charged at drop off. Wait a few business days and initiate a chargeback for the excess amount.

Water under a bridge, but these things are best straightened out at pickup and dropoff by asking why the numbers are different than quoted and then contracted. Never worth a fight on the spot, but 99% of these things are eliminated with a simple ask.

It's also generally a good idea to travel with a printed copy of your rental car reservation that you obtained directly from the rental company's website. That way, you can show the reservation to the sales agent if there are any discrepancies, and the reservation printed from the rental company's website will both be the most believable copy to the rental agent and also show the most specific breakdown of charges, taxes, and fees.

One point I'd make: wait at least a week before initiating a chargeback with your credit card company, though. Dollar corporate has to process the request and send an inquiry to the rental location, which then has 72 hours to respond to HQ's inquiry. Allowing for processing on the customer care department's side, even a week might be a bit tight. IME, for simple complaints like in the case mentioned in this thread (where it's pretty obvious that there shouldn't be a difference from the reserved quote), Dollar's customer care department does a pretty good job of fixing them up with a minimum of hassle, and chargebacks are usually not needed. Where people run into problems is when it gets into "he said, she said" territory--an insurance product or upgrade that was added on to the rental, dispute over damage, etc.

Lots of good replies but, apparently, the op isn't interested .... must have just wanted to rant ....

Thanks for the insight. Very interesting info. It helps to know how the company processes work so that we don't have unnecessary cross-purposes.

I can't be alone in finding car rentals a significantly more stressful experience than the flying that invariably precedes and follows them.

Whether it's the insurance scamcharges levied against foreigners by various rental operations at LHR, the "bundled" fees at SFO, the brutal non-included taxes at BRU, or worrying about nicks/dents will be charged as damage at return in spite of employee #1's assurance that they are "below the quarter threshold," whatever, it is hard work.

I always worry about being ripped off until all the charges have posted and even then...