I was charged an extra $250 for a mistaken car rental upgrade

Marwa Grimes

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently rented a car from Thrifty in Los Angeles. The car I had reserved was not available when I arrived, which I only learned after waiting over an hour in line! Thankfully, a kind agent found an available car for me, and I was able to get on my way. Unfortunately, it looks like Thrifty also increased the price of my rental by $250.

I was charged an extra 0 for a mistaken car rental upgrade
Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter 

Each time I ask about the charge, I get a different response. When I originally signed the rental contract, the agent advised me to contact Thrifty’s main office during my rental to correct the overcharge. When I contacted Thrifty during my rental, they told me to wait until after the contract was complete. Now I’m being told that I should have ensured this issue was addressed at the time of signing the contract.

I never asked for an upgrade. The Thrifty agent was just attempting to honor the original reservation. I’ve written to Thrifty and have asked for a refund, but it refuses. Can you help me?

— Leah Page, Portland, Oregon

ANSWER: Thrifty shouldn’t have made you wait more than an hour, and it shouldn’t have charged you an extra $250 without your consent. The industry’s standard practice when a location runs out of cars is to upgrade a customer to the next available class of car at no additional charge.

The kind agent should have been clearer about the additional expense of an upgrade or urged you to wait until the Thrifty location had a car in your class (which might have been a longer wait).

Unfortunately, I’ve been seeing a lot of these car rental shenanigans. The location runs out of cars, and then a “helpful” agent slides a contract under your nose that includes a hefty upgrade charge. If an agent ever tells you to call the 800 number to correct the overcharge, walk away from the rental. The moment you accept the keys to the vehicle, you’re on the hook for the full amount, no matter what an employee says.

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