Hotwire Car rental Internet

Why does it sound "fishy" to you, are you from Hotwire?

A customer for 10 years does not mean one has used all the different services.

I have booked air/hotel from Hotwire but not rental cars. The issues I mentioned still are valid:

1. Rental cars are not like airline seats and pre-paid. Every rental car company will courtesy hold for you. One should think twice before pre-paying for a rental car.

2. Normally refund policies depend on the ultimate 3rd party such as the rental car company policies. Hotwire is making it more stringent, for bigger commission plus fees which show up later? Remember, how every airline is asked to show prices including taxes/fees to avoid deception which can only go for so long.

Don't underestimate the power of consumers.

Let me get this straight. You are a 10+ year customer of Hotwire's but you did not know their HotRate car rentals were prepaid?! Sounds fishy to me. I too am a frequent customer of about 5+ years, even have Express customer status as I found out last time I had to call them. Which means you should know the company better than I do. There is no way this is a valid ripoff claim. It even states while you are booking a rental car that you will be charged in full for the reservation and that the car agency will still require a credit card for incidentals deposit. This is user error, not a ripoff.