BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL Reserved TRUCK but didn't have one on hand!! ripoff Lincolnwood Illinois

A reservation is not a contract. Reservation only gaurantees the rate quoted and shows a customer's preferences for pickup location, drop-off location, time of rental, date of rental and equipement type. The pikcup location, drop-off location, time of rental and date of rental selected in a reservation is a preference only and if a preference selected is not available, Budget reserves the right to offer a customer alternatives.All equipement selected in a reservation is subject to availability at time of pickup. If the equipement requested is not available, Budget reserves the right to substitute equipement at no additional charge to the customer.

Budget is a self moving company. Their inventory is moved by the customers renting the trucks. When a reservation is made the computer system shows availability, but inventory is moved by customers that Budget can not control. If a customer returns a truck to the wrong location or returns a truck late, or gets in an accident or the truck breaks down, that can cause a delay and a shortage in inventory. Those are all things that Budget cannot control, so when a reservation is made, the reservation does not garantee a truck, the reservation only garantees the rate that cst was quoted.

I went on a trip for business and was to pick up a rental car when I arrived. I don't recall the name of the rental car company but when I got there the vehicle I had "reserved" was not available. I received an upgraded vehicle at no additional charge (after refusing a lesser vehicle). I read the contract carefully and held up the line at the counter (although I did apologize to everyone behind me). It was an inconvenience for everyone. However, if I had showed up at the rental car company at that time of night fresh off a long flight and was told THERE WAS NO VEHICLE, I would have been furious. Since this employee states that a reservation does not actually "reserve" a vehicle, is that what you advertise and do you tell anyone calling for a reservation that they are not guaranteed a vehicle? I know that I was never told when I mae the reservation that there was a chance I not get the vehicle I "reserved".

I'm a Transport Driver for a Budget Truck Rental Agent. I move Budget trucks all over the US. I just spent all last week moving trucks in and around the Chicago area. There are many rental trucks sitting dormant in Chicago.

One dealer, I know of, has a good 25 trucks that hasn't been moved for ages. I would venture to say, that a third of them wouldn't start, because of dead batteries. Two trucks, I know of, have spider webs spun between them. Why are all these trucks just sitting? Because Budget doesn't manage inventory properly.

I move trucks all the time, that are not really needed or reserved for rental. Agents will say, "Why did they send me a 24? I need 16's. I don't have room for these trucks." I hear these comments all the time. Large cities like Chicago, do tend to become truck heavy. That's why I have a job. Outlying areas, oftentimes, don't have enough trucks, while large cities have too many.

There is no reason why Lincolnwood can't have a truck for you when you need one.

My customers rent a lot of moving trucks from the big 3 truck rental companies so I've gotten my hands a several truck rental contracts.

All of the companies are pretty much the same as far as reservations go. When you make a reservation, you are next in line for a truck. That does not mean that the truck is going to be there, regardless of what the transport driver says. There are many factors involved. The biggest problem is that people dont return the truck when they say so then it is not available for the next person. I act like a concierge for my customers and try to find them a truck somewhere in town if they run into trouble finding their own.

No truck company guarantees a truck. The way the reservations work is that you are put on list for the truck. There may be more reservations than there are trucks. You should always call 3 days before and the night before to see if there may be any complications. And the biggest rule of all is BE THERE THE MINUTE THEY OPEN. Always make your reservation for first thing in the morning and be there first thing in the morning. If you show up at noon, you arent going to get a truck on peak weekends. Always make your reservation 2 weeks in advance.

I hope this helps you understand how things work and how to always get a truck.

to recap:
1.Always reserve 2 weeks in advance with a credit card
2.Call 3 days ahead and the night before.
3.Aways reserve at the time the business opens
4.Always be standing in front of the door, first in line, when the business opens.
5.Try not to rent the last weekend of the month.