Dollar Car Rental - Tampa International Airport There are 5 more car rentals right at the airport -- PICK ANOTHER!! Tampa Florida

August 2014 - I rented from Dollar via Hotwire and got a good deal.  When I got to the airport I was going to get the Liability and Damage Waiver so I called Dollar and asked how much it was and they said $14.  I like to be prepared so I can be reasonably aware of what it will cost.

Waited 1.5 in line...a HOT line....because they only had 2 employees and one of them only worked on 2 customers the whole time I was there.  Anyway, the man who waited on me told me that the Damage Waiver was $25.  I told him I had called and she said $14 and he said they made a mistake. I argued but didn't want to make a scene and I was already late so I said fine. Because of the wait, he upgraded me to a better car. I told him it wasn't necessary because I liked small cars, but he did it anyway.   (I called again about the Damage Waiver when I got home and they again said $14.  I asked if it would be a different fee when I got there, and she said no.  I told her it had happened which is why I was checking and she hung up on me.)   

I asked if he could tell me a rough estimate of how much gas it would take to get to Inverness in FL because I was ONLY going there and back and that would decide if I pre-paid gas.  He said he did know, as a matter of fact and he knew it would take a full tank or just slightly more so I prepaid for the gas refill.  I realize this add-on fee was MY own fault because I didn't do that bit of research, but in my opinion as someone who rents frequently, if he didn't know it would he should have said so because as it turned out, it was an obvious lie -- it took a tad more than a quarter of a tank for the round trip.  This obvious bit of padding the bill does not buy goodwill and also makes me wonder what the h*ll else is a lie on Dollar's part, such as car safety.

When I returned the car and spoke to a 'manager' about this she kept repeating the same thing in a robotic voice....You signed it and it's binding.  You shouldn't have signed it."  Yes, she is right--rude, but right.

In my opinion, everything from start to finish was designed to rip me off and I didn't once feel like I was in good hands.