I booked a Light Commercial (Isuzu Tautliner or similar) for the weekend that has just passed with your company. I was told I was not allowed to return the vehicle to another location, which I dealt with.
When I was given a price of $240 for Friday at 5.45pm until Sunday at 8am, Plus a trolley from Footscray I thought the booking was incorrect, so I confirmed it was going to be a truck, not a ute and that there was going to be a ramp or a lift. The man who I was speaking to told me it was all right and it would all be ready for me to pick up. I had advised that I have a very large couch which I didn't want damaged in the move and I needed at least 3m of length in the truck. I was told I could not take it back to a different location that closed later on the Saturday so I had to pay the extra day until Sunday. I dealt with this and if it had been our only problem would have been happy enough.
When we went in to pick it up they did not tell us, despite requests to know, which vehicle it was until after they had taken my credit card payment. The Darker Skinned man was unable to read the licence of the person we had there to drive the truck (there is nothing wrong with the licence. It is very clear), R**** M G******, and filled in the forms Margret G*******. When she pointed it out he changed it to G***** R M*****, then back to the original name, despite us being very clear and even writing it down.
When I arrived to pick up the truck it was not a truck but a Ute with a box on the back that has 2.7m of length. I told them they had messed up my booking and no one would take responsibility, telling me that I must have made the booking through head office because they don’t even have a vehicle like this. I was sure it was the darker skinned man who I had spoken to, as he sounded identical, but he denied it.
Mysteriously after I told them I would have to go to Europcar to get a truck because I wasn’t going to pay for something that was only going to hinder my move they found an Isuzu Tautliner. There were 3 other vehicles that looked identical, however they gave me the one that was bashed up and didn’t work properly, and also did not give me a trolley, yet still charged me for one. The only way they could get me the truck I had ordered was if we had it returned by 8am the next day. This left us with 3 hours to load the truck and an hour to unload it either side of noise restrictions.
Where we were required to park the vehicle meant a corner stuck out, so we were required to leave the Hazards on. Having the hazards alone on for 2 hours sent the battery so flat 3 RACV cars had to come out to jump start the truck, leaving us waiting 2.5 hrs in total. This meant we had use of this lemon of a vehicle for 1.5 hours. I had to get a truck driver from work, who might I add had had 25 years experience with driving trucks of all sizes as we couldn’t stop it slipping into reverse, however she was of the opinion it shouldn’t even be on the road. She also told me Hazards should be able to be kept on for up to 8hrs without effecting the battery.
We dropped back the truck and went to get the little ute later as we had been required to work all night to get my couch moved, due to their incompetence, and the ute had boxes of brochures all packed in it, which we had to take out! There was also a piece of toilet paper which had what looked like faecal matter on it.
When I went to return this I was given an increased invoice of $330. I do not believe the cost should have been increased, as their incompetence and lack of understanding has cost me, as I was meant to be moved out by Saturday at 5pm, but was still left making CAR TRIPS at 5pm Sunday which would not have happened if I had the truck I had ordered had been provided as we had to make 3 trips to every 1 we would have with a real truck.
I am also appalled that they didn’t even have the decency to let me know the cost had risen, the only way I found out was by reading the invoice. I don’t understand how they can charge more to my credit card when what I had signed for was so much less, and the only reason for any hold ups was their continuous failures. Janaya was very nice to us and did all she could to help us, however I believe she was responsible for the increased price.
I have rented 5 trucks from Budget and have never had an issue at any other location. I have also told my friends to come to you and have influenced the rental of an additional 20 trucks.
I am seeking reimbursement for this as this is very inconvenient experience that has cost me hundreds of additional dollars, due to the incompetence and lies that spewed from their mouth when they knew I would be unable to contact head office until Monday.
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