kurjan

Today, when I picked up my rental car at Thrifty Salt Lake City airport, I found a bogus "trip saver" line item for $4.99/day mixed in with taxes and fees on my contract. It turns out that this Thrifty franchisee automatically adds this charge to all rentals, even though it is not listed on the reservation confirmation, and is not disclosed in any way prior to car pickup. It is removed only if the customer notices it and specifically requests that it be deleted.

The charge covers free roadside assistance for the rental car.

This franchisee also engages in at least one other unacceptable practice - they categorize the Hyundai Sonata as a full-sized car, even though it is listed as a mid-sized car on Thrifty's corporate Web site.

jackal

That's odd. I didn't think franchises offered TripSaver. It's a corporate program that franchises don't have access to. This franchise must have negotiated it with area service providers on their own--I wonder if it covers the entire U.S. and what the terms are.

As to the Sonata, though, most other rental car companies classify the Sonata as a fullsize, and the Sonata has the same interior volume as the Dodge Charger. Take a look at the Avis and National forums, and you'll see that those companies classify it as a fullsize, too. Although it's a practice you don't like, it's an industry-wide practice, so you can't really fault them for doing so.

ColoBill1

Think you may have missed the OPs point, and that was, "... even though it is listed as a mid-sized car on Thrifty's corporate Web site."

jdk_74

Same thing happened to me when I picked up a car from SLC 1/13/11. I specifically asked the girl at the counter what the trip saver charge was and asked if this was a mandatory fee. She told me "yes."

I left and then the next day, called the phone number on the invoice and the moment I said "trip saver" on the phone, they jumped right in, said they would take the charge off, and then got off the phone.

When I returned my car, the price had indeed been taken off... but very shady indeed. How many people pay for this fee I wonder? As the OP stated, they never mentioned it, explained what it was for, etc.

suzyhale

You are not the only one.

akenizzle

just returned my thrifty rental at slc and can confirm this ridiculous trip saver fee auto add on is still occurring....unreal

andymo99

I returned a car to SLC yesterday and couldn't figure out why my total was not as quoted upon reservation. The agent hemmed and hawed and finally acknowledged the "Trip Saver." She explained that it is for when you lose your keys or have tire damage. I couldn't help but laugh. I think I said "that's cute." She said "well it is if you lose your keys."

Anyhow, I let her know that she could remove that fee or I'd dispute the whole charge with my credit card company. She removed it. I got the sense that they'd been through this before.

If I'd been in a pissier mood, I'd have concocted a reason to get the keys back from them and then I'd explain (with the keys in my hand) that I'd lost the keys and they could have a nice day as I walked off with them.

neknek

"Trip Saver" was crammed into my charges at Salt Lake City Airport Dollar location. I wonder how many hundreds of people are paying this charge without realizing it. I only noticed because my total amount owed, was double the rate for the car alone once all the fees were added (despite having filled the tank and declined all the insurance options). It was while researching those additional fees that I stumbled onto this page.

darthbimmer

I've rented from Thrifty SLC a few times. I've never had an issue with Trip Saver being added to my bill but I have had a few other disagreements with how they run their operation. On my last two visits the folks at the counter asked lots of questions.

It started with insurance. The desk agent wanted the name of my insurance company and my policy number. I understand why a company that rents cars would be interested in this info, but this Thrifty office is the only place I remember being asked for it.

Next, they wanted to know where I'd be going. As in, names, addresses, and contact phone numbers of the places I'd be going. At that point I objected, stating it was personal information they had no rights to.

"Management requires us to ask," the person at the counter explained.

"Will Management refuse to let me sign this contract if I don't answer?" I asked.

"No."

"Then please let your management know that I, as a customer, object to being asked these prying questions."

jackal

The reason they run things differently is that Thrifty SLC is a franchise.

To effect change, telling a front-line CSR won't do anything (even if they were inclined to bring your complaint to management, it won't be taken seriously if relayed from an employee). Options to actually get what you want to say to the people who can change it:

• Call the office directly (number's on your rental contract) and ask to speak with the owner
• Write a letter to the local address on your rental contract (the address in SLC); address it to "Team Owner"
• Write a comment into Corporate using the feedback fomr; those are forwarded to upper management/owners at franchised locations, and corporate requires the franchise to respond
• Send a note into the executive office at DTG (now Hertz, I guess); an executive assistant will reach out directly to the franchise owner for a response

None of these will necessarily make the policies change, and corporate has limited say over how franchises actually run the nuts and bolts of their business (they can back-bill the franchise for erroneous, unsubstantiated charges, and a significant number of complaints can put the licensee's franchise rights at risk, but aside from image and compliance requirements, there isn't much actual oversight from corporate), but by using one of the above methods, you can at least ensure that the people who can change the policies will get your message.

World2Travel

I had a trip saver fee added this week at the Austin Thrifty airport.. I left a message for the manager and hope to speak to him on Monday. If that doesn't work, I will speak to the owner. I was told TST was the Texas state tax, but I researched further and found this thread.

jackal

That location is known for doing that (although I've never heard it quite as bad as outright lying that it's a "Texas State Tax"--that darn near makes my blood boil).

I used to know the former AUS Dollar/Thrifty GM and he basically told me they put it on every rental contact (kind of throwing it against the wall to see what sticks) but would immediately without question take it off if challenged. Hopefully your challenge goes smoothly.