Reviews of Budget Car Rental (Travel Agency)

Richard Bowlby

This whole experience was terrible. The issues are as follows: 1. I booked a pick-up Time of 10:30am as I had other things to do throughout the day that required the use of my rented car. When I got there at 10:30am, there was a sign saying 'back at 10:40' the employee didn't return until 11am. This wasted a half hour of my time. When I told the customer service rep this was inappropriate - he told me he did the best he could... If a reservation is for 10:30, the car should be available for pick up at 10:30. 2. When I booked online I specified a pickup in Kingston Ontario and a drop off at Toronto Pearson Airport. I was quoted a price of $89.91. The overwhelmingly obvious implication being that My cost to rent the vehicle would be $89.91 to complete my journey from Kingston to drop off at Toronto. Clearly fuel is not included in this cost - as is indicated when making this booking. What I did NOT expect was that my booking only included a maximum of 200 Kilometers travelled. Let's review: I booked a pick up at 1412 Princess St Kingston Ontario - with a specified drop off at Toronto Pearson Airport and was given a price of $89.91. When I arrived to pick up my car, I was told that my rental only included 200km (there was NO information provided about this when I made my reservation). The distance from 1412 Princess St, Kingston Ontario to the drop off location at Toronto Pearson Airport is 266km. The additional charge per km is $.15. This is literally a hidden cost of $9.90 if I drove directly to the airport. When I raised this issue with the customer service rep I was told too bad. 3. The car provided to us for rental was an American vehicle - the odometer read in miles - not kms. The allowance for miles that the customer service rep and later his manager provided to me was 120 miles. When I pointed out this was not equal to 200km in distance, the agent and his manager proceeded to argue with me. When I finally pulled up a reference for the conversion from km to miles, the manager conceded that the appropriate conversion was 124 miles to 200kms (actual is 124.27). The cost per additional mile is $.25. Although this represents only an additional dollar in cost - it also represents fraud on the behalf of the location, agent and customer service rep. 4. When I raised these issues I was told I could opt for unlimited kms for a total cost of $18. When I agreed to this surcharge to provide me with a buffer for any necessary detours, I was told this was no longer an option for me. When I suggested we cancel my existing reservation and rebook directly at their terminal I was told thye are unable to do this, when I pressed for an alternative they told me I could rebook an alternate car for the same day from their sister company Avis, when I checked the cost of this it was in excess of $300. This is entirely unreasonable, and should not have been presented as an option if you were unwilling to do it. 5. When I addressed these issues with a manager I was repeatedly told 'we'll take care of you' when I pushed for what this actually meant I was given NO information. 6. When I returned the car to the Toronto Pearson Airport I was charged for using 213 miles. This was in excess of what I had actually used (266km + 30km ancillary driving = 185 miles) but as I had had an absolutely abysmal experience with Budget at this point - and they had already charged my credit card and told me I would need to wait a minimum of 15 minutes to even speak to a manager let alone have the matter resolved I gave up, paid, and went to catch my flight. In conclusion - don't rent from Budget at this location (1412 Princess St Kingston, ON) under any circumstances, in my experience they had abhorrent customer service and fraudulent business practices.

Tony Lew

I rented a cube van for 3 hours and when I picked it up, they forced me to pay an extra 44.00 for "optional" insurance or I couldn't get the van (I came from Toronto to help someone move). When I phoned customer "service" they said I should've declined the insurance.

Andrew Louis

Otherwise everything I asked for great environment helpful definitely recommend for renting a vehicle

Scott MacKinnon

One of the best experience I had when renting a car.

Robert Z

One of the worst deals. A Worst review.

Melissa Redfern

Just rented at Penticton Budget Sharon Jose was excellent to work with. Highly recommend. Quick and efficient. Will definitely be back.

Yousef Dawleh

Do NOT ignore the reviews. The absolute worst rental experience of my life. I spent a lot of time deciding on the best truck rental for our move and Budget seemed to have the best deal. Nothing could be further from the truth. To put it shortly, based on pricing and kilometers I was suppose to pay under 200$. I ended up being charged over 300 and had to spend 150 on Gas because it isn't diesel so it burns MUCH quicker. The secretary at the location is grotesquely rude and unprofessional. Furthermore, they do NOT inspect the vehicle. The person who rented after us returned the truck without a full tank of gas and blamed it on the company saying it was not full when he received it. THIS LOCATION THEN BLAMED US AND CHARGED US. Please save yourself the stress and rent from elsewhere. I have never been more ripped off before or been treated with such poor customer service.

Cindy Scouten

Open all week. The cars are decent. Recommended.

Michael Schoberth

My favoured place to rent a car. The staff is super, helpful, fast, and professional. Thumbs up for Budget in Penticton!!!

Alejandro Fadus

I have rented both cube trucks and cargo vans (summer 2020). The best thing about this company is that their trucks are BRAND NEW. Low mileage, 2020 year. Not garbage 20 year old trucks that u-haul provides. Great customer service and fast rentals. The manager and the lady at the desk are really nice.

Keith Bevan

Car wasn't ready for pickup. Staff didn't mention additional charges and fees at time of booking. Not very friendly.

Yuri Grozenok

I wanted to rent a monster truck, but settled for a Ford Fiesta.

Michael Lau

Great staff but a lot of unexplained charges

Kenneth V. Moorman

Pleasant friendly staff. Brand new vehicles. Good prices. Good location.

Severus Ko

Terrible service. Absolute scam rental place. This is the type of car rental place CBC Marketplace should feature on what people should watch out for. How does Budget continue to have their brand attached to this location. Never again!!! Not worth it! Pay the extra couple dollars and use Enterprise.

Abby Neufeld

Awesome location, very friendly and helpful staff, especially Sharon Jose, he is the best!!! Thanks for helping me out so much. Cheers and great company!

Alireza Sedghi

Wicked good Awesome

John Vreden

Very friendly and helpful staff. Much cheaper than renting from the airport.

Tyler P

Staff are always helpful and friendly!

Frank Castle

Once again incredible service from Budget! They went out of their way to find my mother a vehicle when they were sold out. We had no idea on how insurances worked and they thoroughly explained it to me without trying to “sell” me on their coverage. I greatly appreciate the integrity of the staff!

Vincent Wu

I was returning a previously rented car on the same day and saw a sign outside this location that said 14.95 weekend rate. I wanted to make another reservation with the weekend promotion rate. I spoke to the manager Tyler Mittelsteadt, and he confirmed with me that the rate only applied if I had rented it for 3 days. (The staff weren't knowledgeable and had to call out the manager to help). He told me specifically that there weren't any rentals available for the coming two weekends but would be able to reserve for me for the third weekend. So I reserved it for the third weekend from Friday 5:00pm to Monday 5:00pm to take advantage of this promotion. However, I did not get a reservation confirmation email. So I called them a week later to ask for my reservation code. This lady picked up and told me I was on the reservation but for a day rate of 24.95. She said she talked to the manager Tyler and this was what it was. I was furious at the way she handled the situation. She didn't even give me a chance to speak to the manager. The service was extremely terrible. She told me there was no more weekend rate. There was no explanation at all as to why my reservation wasn't done properly to the weekend rate. Now I'm left with no car for that weekend, while I had always thought I would get one. SERVICE AT ITS WORST. THIS LADY STAFF MEMBER ALSO HAD NO CUSTOMER SKILLS -------------------------------- 03/14/2016 Tyler was able to address the issue with a follow-up phone call and compensate for the confusion by given me the weekend rate for the Easter weekend in March. Tyler was very thorough and understanding and I got my confirmation email right away. But I still think other staff members need further training. Thank you. --------------------------------- 03/28/2016 I returned my vehicle today and I had a much better experience this time around. Tyler greeted me right away when I arrived at budget and I had complimentary vehicle upgrade and mileage (I was a bit over the mileage limit for the weekend). Tyler made sure everything was right this time. He offered me a ride home at the end but I didn't need one. I will rent from this location again if the weekend rate is still available. Thank you.

Giuseppe Baiamonte D'angelo

worst experience when I contacted them to pick me up the guy said it would be 5 to 10 mins they show up 2 hours later and I missed my appointment. Then when I return car they said it would be 2 hours before I could get a drive back to my camp which was only 5 km away. They would not even pay for a taxi which places would have paid a taxi ride. this is my second experience with Budget and I will not rent from them again after this experience.

YOGA PETE

Efficient front desk services. Lots of variety of vehicles. And Moving boxes and supplies. Good hours and central location. They will also pick you up.

Krista

Fast service!

Dennis Robertson

These came back to the office to help stranded VIA passengers after our trains were halted because a protest. Honestly a godsend and helped us out in crisis. Thank you so much

Lee Bridge

Way too pricey

Chip Zelinsky

Good last minute service.great staff.

Patrick D

Thanks Bastian and Sharon

Rob Bernhardt

We stopped in at this Budget office with a question relating to a Budget car rented in another city. The engaging staff provided immediate assistance, processing the change we requested quickly and pleasantly.

Brad Nunes

I always rent from budget. They are quick and I've never has any issues. Very friendly and quickly come to learn repeat customers.

Kim Grey

Great service

pierric

Excellent and friendly service. Great customer service. 5 stars

Nasie kazemi

My previous experiences with Budget have been fine. Not so much this time! I picked up an Elantra on Aug.20and came home and packed up to leave for Hamilton for 10 days. Just as we walked out the door Budget called and asked that I return the car for a Chevy Cruz as the Elantra had been booked previously. I unpacked and switched. The Chev was older during the last three days developed a grinding noise sometimes when I braked. Upon returning the car I let the desk person know and asked also how the 407 payment was made. They did not know the answer and promised me a call from the owner of the franchise. I also felt some compensation might be forthcoming. I got no call the next day(Aug.31) and went in to check. Again no call.Tues.Sept.3 I again went in and was told over the phone from the airport location that the form had already been processed so that ended that! I finally did get the info for 407. Very dissatisfied with the lack of communication!!!!

Maggie Gram

Great experience so far. Flight was cancelled and Krissy at the airport location was able to get us set up in town for the next day when our flight was cancelled. They knew exactly what was going on when we arrived. Kudos to Bastian Jose! He was super friendly and helpful! He was a wonderful welcome to our vacation, keep up the great work!

STRONG

The worst car rental experience of my life. Myself and a friend showed up at 3pm on a Sunday only to find out that they haven't updated their hours of operation on google. An employee showed up despite that and charged us an additional $25 for "after-hours". Our Car was supposed to cost $69.99 for the day which "happened to be the cheapest car in the lot" despite many other visible options. When returning the car we found a bunch of extra expenses we weren't told about despite only opting for the $33 insurance as our only option. We ended up paying $176 for a bunch of charges we weren't informed about. (we filled the car up so that $176 excludes gas). Thieves.

L L

nice truck but boy it was filthy. Even had left over food in console.. Gross. What's the point of a cleaning checklist when it's not cleaned? Employees couldn't careless except a "sorry". Tried to let them know about a broken switch, only get a call center #, again, nobody cares....

Chris Duran

Had an issue with our first rental and they looked after us right away.

Pat K

We are on our way to Toronto and stop to add another driver and the place is closed, during their business hours, for half an hour!

Mitch Dizdar

I rented a van for my son and his family in early December. My son was 2 hrs late, returning it BUT he was there when they opened at 10 AM...they charged me for another whole day -$50 and THEN rented the same van to another customer at their daily rate...talk about double dipping!!!!

Wendy Alaric

I am not pleased with this location of Budget as I returned my vehicle today and was charged more than what I was quoted before I left. It boils down to an incorrect/lack of explanation of the matter beforehand, and when I asked for an explanation in the aftermath I was treated like I was the one who did something wrong. All I expected was an apology and a proper explanation of the matter but I didn't get it. The guy just played dumb. And the girl gave me a snot nosed attitude "Have a nice day!" when I walked out the door. I will not use this company again.

Raechelle Bennett

Fast, courteous service. Rental vehicle was clean and a dream to drive. I won't hesitate to use this agent again. Just beware, they will try to sell you extra insurance that you don't need. Be prepared and bring your own vehicle insurance policy with you so that this doesn't happen to you.

John Smith

I don't understand why such bad reviews. I rent from budget-avis on a regular basis. Never had an issue. Usually get an impala or SUV. Always great service and quick.

rob beau

friendly staff

Micah Steinke

Excellent service here. My own car broke down and was being serviced in Penticton under warranty. Had to grab a rental from Kelowna, but the Penticton staff here coordinated everything to make it so that I could bring the car back to them instead, which was especially important because they had to coordinate with the dealership/change all the paperwork to ensure the warranty claim was smooth and covered. Dan in particular was incredibly helpful in quarterbacking the whole thing and I'm very grateful for his assistance.

Adam S

Great quality cars

Sherif

Good service

Rob Burr

Disappointed they would not accept Interac!

abhi vansia

Was scheduled to get a temporary rental for icbc claim. Was late for appointment however, Sharon Jose managed to get me a SUV 4runner at last moment from the Penticton airport location.

frank marshall

Rented a van from Sharon Jose. He went out of his way to accomodate my situation. Very good customer service. The van was perfect. Thank you very much Sharon. Frank

Matthew McMillan

I was running late for a train when dropping off a car...the representative offered to drive me to the train station and was extremely prompt and professional throughout.

james daniel

No good entrance closed can't enter Main entrance shut down so car return problem

Sarah Hebert

Great staff and service, excellent prices.

James Hodge

Great service. Special thanks to Sharon. He was able to find me a rental at very short notice when my truck broke down. Car was clean and reasonably priced. A nice central location made for an easy pickup.

Michelle Gray

Place was clean. Workers were neat. Worker was efficient and knowledgeable

Fife Milton

Prompt friendly and helpful staff. Great selection of rentals available.

Slightly silver

Super helpful and understanding also extremely efficient, so it gets my seal of approval ????

Ilbeom Kwon

GREAT service! They also drove us to the train station after we returned the rental! :)

Timothy Eaton

Last time i rented it was a great experience fingers crossed this time!

Garry & Mary Ann Steen

I’ve visited this place many times. Roy is the best guy ever! Perfect place to rent a car, and it’s very close to a petrol station which makes fueling before returning the car much easier!

Paul Triffen

Great service from Sheay...

Michelle Blinkoff

Worst car rental experience. They gave me a brand new car and the plate expired during the rental term. They called me to come in and get the sticker for the car. I was 350km away from the rental place. One of the tires blew up because of a manufacture issue (as per a tire expert adviser). As you can see in the pictures attached, the tire blew up right where a manufacture line was printed and no cuts can be seen past the main layer (if a knife or blade was used to make this cut, it would have gone right through the inside rubber too). And you can clearly see that no physical damage was caused to the rim neither. The tire blew up on its own while in a parking lot. The company charged my credit card $160 separate from my rental price, without letting me know of the charge or showing me a bill, or anything similar to it. I do not recommend this company at all. Enterprise is down the street and the customer service is 100% better than this place. Don’t waste your time. Update: After doing a chargeback with my credit card provider, the rental company could not provide enough proof (45 business days) so I won the case and the money was refunded back to my account.

Dom Wheeler

Really great staff. Excellent customer service.

Shawn Wood

Worst service i ever had....Was told i would get a car then ended up with a suv not what i wanted ...manager and sales rep are rude and willing to help i paid 209 for 2days never again i will go back to enterprise much better to deal with

Filipe Oliveira

Great car selection and unlimited kilometers.

Carly O

After the stress of losing a vehicle due to an accident, Wally at the Penticton branch took great care of me, and got me covered right away. Excellent professionalism, with the right touch of humor in an otherwise stressful situation = five stars for expedience and customer service. Thankyou Wally and Budget Penticton

Lindsay Wilson

Excellent customer service with friendly welcoming staff. My vehicle was involved in a hit & run and ICBC provided a car rental via Budget. I can understand why they have chosen to work with them and I appreciated their patience and sincerity. Thank you Sharon Jose!

Maryam Garabedian

My supervisor had rented a car for me but they had not taken my travel day into consideration. I was so worried about getting charged for the extra day and not getting covered by work. Bastian and Shanon Jose were very understanding and offered to reimburse me for the extra day if my work place refused to cover me. Thank you!

Leeza Yosofzai

this place is amazing. Roy is the best guy. with his help I could manage my trouble with my car. god bless him.

Warrant

Friendly and helpful staff, clean new vehicles, good locations

Ryan Lethbridge

We Ignored The Reviews... Wish We Didn't. Absolute GARBAGE service, these people are Liars who will Steal your money. Very poor at communicating and will not clearly communicate with you until they bill your credit card. We rented a Grand Cherokee Jeep from Avis for one day. It was to be returned by 12:30. We called to let them know we were running about 1 hour late from across the boarder. Staff CLEARLY TOLD US we wouldn't be billed for an extra day. The Whole Point of The Call Was To Check Whether or Not We Needed to Rush Home. We raced back through the boarder and made it to Avis within one hour. The guy behind the counter proceeded to tell me they were going to bill us for two days anyways. Naturally I was upset as we could have just stayed in our accommodations for an additional 24 hours. There was no reason to race back. Their staff will lie to you directly over the phone and bill you anyways. DO NOT TRUST THEM. Watch the owner/rep will respond to this review and LIE AGAIN saying they told us to have it back by 12:30. They Did No Such Thing. We Were Told We Wouldn't Be Billed, They Knew Our Time-frame!

Charles Harry

left due to lack of attention from staff. We were just ignored. never seen a Budget like that.

Mikey Yateman

Beware... even though you return the car at the same fuel level you received the car at- the Owner will still take it upon himself to charge you the FULL Fuel Surcharge

Shawn Brost

Rented online downtown location . Realized I was coming in after the downtown location closed. Phoned, had it modified and noted to pickup at the airport, for more cost, of course... Landed, no one at the desk, guy had left minutes before a plane full of people landed... needed a car as I was driving an hour away. Two phone numbers on the desk, one for the closed downtown location, and an emergency number. Called both, never received a call back from either. Spent about an hour at the airport, the national guy next door was amazing, gave me the same rate and an upgrade to boot...(customer service). Called several times to try to encourage a call back from budget, local girl was quite good, although very clear, no authority to do the right thing, unlike national.. Phoned no fewer than 6 times over the next two weeks, offered to pay the small difference in price to the national rent, and $100 off of a future rental (discount on future bad service, or no show at the counter, which I noticed on my return flight, no one there..). Not pleased, never did get to speak to the regional manager, even tho specifically asked. Budget is largely a self policing organization, and if they are not financially motivated to help, they likely won’t. I’d suggest national, I travel a lot, and have found the budgets have become the Alamo of old in the US, they are more worried about the commission based extras they can sell you, vs the service and satisfaction. Sad.

Reginald Kaip

As it was the only place open on Sunday I tried to rent a car - was told I only needed a visa and my drivers license, get there and I needed proof of coverage, (which I could not get on the spot as insurance company is closed Sunday) and they wouldn’t allow me to buy the coverage from them either. Great way to be stranded. If I could give 0 stars I would.

Tzina Korres

Unfortunately the car I received had a broken windshield wiper when I received it. I spent approx $200. Driving in the snow and constantly having the get off the 401 to clean my windshield was extremely dangerous and inconvenient. I called Roy (who was a very nice man) and told him my windshield wiper was broken. He advised me to just adjust it and smack the ice and snow off - this did not solve the problem. My road trip was sketchy as I could barley see through the window at times. Upon returning the vehicle, I mentioned they must take a look at it because it was functioning poorly like that since I rented it out. Turns out a piece of the metal was broken off. They thanked me for letting them know, said “sorry! Looks like we’re gonna have to get a new windshield wiper” and that was that. As a result of the fact that the car wasn’t properly inspected after the guy who returned it before me, I had a bad experience and was not helped. The staff were friendly though. Probably will not rent a vehicle from this location again.