"I couldn't believe it," said Steven Dentali, who was charged the fee in October after renting a car from Dollar Rent A Car in Manchester, N.H. "I said to them, 'You're telling me I'm penalized no matter what? There's no way around me having to pay something?'"Dentali received a personalized response and a refund after complaining to the corporate office:That's precisely what the rental car agreement said. Here's the exact wording he received in his e-mail confirmation:
"Gasoline Policy: Vehicle must be returned with full tank or local refueling charge applies. If car is returned full a $2.00 top off fee will be applied."
When Dentali started asking questions, he said he was told that the fee was being test-marketed by Dollar at select locations in New England.
Dentali demanded a refund and was told he had to talk with a manager, who in turn told him to call Dollar's corporate offices. He did, and said he was promised a refund. But the $2 never arrived.
"I am unable to advise you as to whether or not this is a permanent policy or what the purpose is for it, but in an effort to regain your confidence in Dollar Rent A Car, I have requested a refund check in the amount of $2.16 to be forwarded to you from our accounting office. Please allow up to three weeks for processing and mailing."A corporate spokesman claims the fee is the creation of a local franchise and is not a standard charge for corporate-owned locations.
At least it's cheaper than United's $50 fuel surcharge. Has anyone else seen and fought the top off fee? Send your experiences to tips at consumerist dot com.
Sneaky fee alert: rental car 'top off' [The Red Tape Chronicles]
(Photo: fabbio)
You win!
]]>@ Dollar Rent-A-Car
Does. Not. Compute.
]]>@SuperJdynamite: I learned about that bit where the vapor recovery system will suck up any gas that you overfill your tank with, I've had some good luck by pulling back on the nozzle so the rubber hood doesn't cover the gas filler.
One time in California a treehugger got pissed off at me because I spilled a little gas. I calmly told her not to worry, it would soon evaporate and not leave a mark. Have you ever seen a treehugger with a face so red you'd think blood was going to shoot out of her eyes?
]]>@RagingBoehner: No way they would be that devious! In fact, I rather think that they must have a team of highly-trained top-off specialists that handle these situations as they come in. That's what you're probably paying for: The top-off specialist.
]]>My wife and I rent from Enterprise all the time and have never had a bad experience. What's nice is that you only have to return the car with as much gas as you started, no bogus fees.
]]>I've never had a problem with Enterprise; in fact, I totalled one of their cars in Savannah, GA, and they replaced it same day. But boy was I glad I bought their insurance.
]]>Don't they know that "topping off" is not recommended and potentionally dangerous??? And how about the cars which kick the pump off before the tank is full due to pressure/tank design?
If they want to charge me this fee then I will want to rent a car where I see the gas sloshing around under the gas cap- ie topped off. I usually can over-pump (pumping after the pump automatically shuts off) enough gas into a car to get me 20-30 miles to the airport rental place and the guage still show full.
]]>However, that also gave me a huge dose of incentive to never, ever play that game again. Pushing a car through O'Hare airport totally sucks.
]]>The car had 4k miles on it and was spotless, it drove great.
I returned the car, drove up, they looked it over and handed me my receipt. No extra fees, no troubles whatsoever and they were easily the cheapest rental place in Tucson.
So the fee was certainly not universal and as Dollar said it was not being charged by corporate but by the regional franchisee I presume.
The sad part is that people here will slam Dollar simply because of this one story when I can produce a counter story and corporate has already stated that this was a fee from the regional area.
Moving towards the additional fee, it's a fine line in the business. You certainly can't tell if a tank is full just by looking at gauge, it's impossible. Requiring a person to fill it up within 5 miles of the location and produce a receipt is really not that ridiculous a request. Think of it this way, they can ask that, or they could just assume you won't do it and raise the rates to compensate. I'd rather avoid the fee by simply showing a receipt than be charged regardless.
]]>They eventually picked him up, he cancelled the rental and went elsewhere, and everything seemed hunkydory. Until a month later when they billed him a bill for a full tank of gas.
]]>"Budget Rent-A-Car has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it failed to adequately disclose a "fuel" fee automatically charged to customers who drove fewer than 75 miles."
]]>The reason for the top-off fee is not to top off a full tank. It's because most cars can burn a gallon or 2 before the gas gauge comes off of F. So, if you rent a car, don't drive more than 30 miles or so, you could bring it back looking like it has a full tank.
So it's either 'show the receipt' as one commenter said, or charge the $2 to cover the non-full full tanks out there.
Not that I like or agree with the policy, but there's the reasoning.
]]>I rented twice from MCO airport in Orlando and wasn't overcharged one cent either time. In fact, I filled up each time and then drove 20 miles to the airport and had no problem. If they had charged my $2 to top-up, they would have been more than justified as the car got about 20 MPG.
After a long vacation where the money seemed to fly out of my pockets, I've got to say that I was thrilled with the Dollar car rental service and value.
]]>When I need a business rental, I wish I could Enterprise; they're close to home and they don't mind me leaving my car there. The company approved sources are a big pain in the neck for local, drive-to-my-destination rentals. Although with the price of gas, I can just about break even by taking the mileage reimbursement and renting the car on my own.
]]>We don't want to tell you why we're charging this fee (profit, actually) but if you'll shut up for 2 bucks then We've already written a check and it's on its way
]]>@dazzlezak: And speaking of the rear end, WALK! A fat ass wont get smaller by sitting in traffic.
]]>I wonder what they would say if you crossed out lines in the contract you didnt agree to?
]]>I got a 'Premium' car for an 'Intermediate' rate, even though I A: Stupidily made my reservation at a different store, B: Didn't call first (since I called the other store.). Because the only other 'intermediate' class vehicle they had was a cargo van, they honored the OTHER store, and didn't even try to upsell me / charge me more. The girl was all 'We recommend the regular insurance.' and when I said no, that was that!
I love my Enterprise. They didn't even D: at me when I brought back my last rental with a flat tire, even though I didn't have their insurance.
]]>Maybe we should siphon off the gas and use it to set off molotov cocktails in their offices!??!
(Please Do NOT actually do this)
America's rear end is more than a little sore at this point from being spanked with fees.
Vote with your wallet, shop elsewhere.
]]>normally, it's the business travelers who prepay since usually their company is paying for it.
as far as i'm concerned with dollar, the agents there make commission on everything and it's insane! i mean, everything: underage fees, car seats, added drivers, etc. i bet they get a piece of that ridiculous top of fee, too.
]]>@yg17:
enterprise can eat a bag of roadapples! On several occassions I have been refused a pickup even when I was close by..... despite what their commercials say.
]]>sadly dollar isnt the only company charging outrageous fees like this. recently my husband and i rented a car from avis. we refueled the tank and when we returned the car, Avis informed us that we would be charged for the refueling fee unless we could produce the gas receipt proving we filled the tank... cause a full gas tank was not proof enough!
]]>How do you "market" a fee?
"Excuse me, sir, but would you care to try out a few of our newest and most interesting fees and charges? Our new Platinum Fee comes with frequent-flyer miles!"
Consumers already know that any letter from a company that starts with the words "To serve you better..." will be announcing new fees. It would appear that the marketing people are getting high on their own supply and actually BELIEVE that more fees equal better service.
]]>@ben1040:
Usually the price difference is so close that to come out ahead you will have to figure out a way to bring the back with a bone-dry tank. The majority of renters do not drive nearly enough miles to empty the tank.
I tend to have my rentals for weeks and drive them thousands of miles. Even so, in order to bring the car back with a nearly empty tank, I have to buy gas a few gallons at a time on the last day or so. It's not worth the hassle.
My big problem with the policy is that they do not explain to the rubes that they will be charged for a FULL TANK of gas no matter how full the tank is when they return it. None of the signage includes this information and I have never heard a rep mention it.
]]>My Dodge Charger (with 2,600 miles) was a few cents under $90 with tax, Saturday to Friday. No hidden charges. No long waits. The folks there were quite nice.
Part of my price was an extra discount for AAA members (10% plus 1% additional per decade of AAA membership - 12% for me)
If you shop, you can find bargains.
Oh - this Charger had no hemi. It was more than a little underpowered, but got the job done.
]]>@BoC: damn, you beat me to it!
]]>Yeah, a lot of people figure they'll fill it up before they return it, but many people get caught out there because they are running late for their flight and have no idea where the nearest gas station is. THAT'S when they get you, and charge you an obscene rate (usually $1 or more per gallon) My mother works for a car rental agency and while their prepaid fuel IS higher than the local stations, it's not significantly so.....about 5 cents or so per gallon. In her expierence, foreign tourists and those people from states where gas is the highest tend to be the customers that buy the prepaid gas. Everyone else just figures they re trying to make a fast buck.
]]>Also, the last rental I got had a reported range of 400 miles to empty. Not everyone drives a car that much during one rental.
Anything left in the tank when you come back is pure profit to the rental company.
]]>Bottom line, it's a rip-off.
Where's Randy Taylor when you need him?
]]>And yes, I was running on fumes when I brought it back..they probably had to push it to the service area :)
]]>Apparantly, even most casual tourists have gotten wise to the "Do you want to bring it back full or buy the gas from us? We charge less than all the service stations in the area" scam.
It's not always the case it's a scam. Perhaps one is best served by looking ahead at gasbuddy.com to make an informed decision about prepaying for the gas.
A few months ago I rented a car at LAX with Hertz. I declined to buy the entire tank of gas up front. After leaving the rental car lot, I notice that every gas station close by the airport is selling for 15-20 cents a gallon more than the price charged by Hertz.
Had I prepaid I would have saved a few bucks on the gas, not to mention just the general headache of trying to find a gas station in an area that I know nothing about.
]]>All in an effort to upsell the worthless rental insurance.
I took a diet coke once from them and afterwards, they tried to make me feel guilty about declining. Needless to say I enjoyed a good chuckle.
]]>This is similar to the issue of hotels charging you to call room to room because most people are no longer dumb enough to use the hotel phone to call out.
Apparantly, even most casual tourists have gotten wise to the "Do you want to bring it back full or buy the gas from us? We charge less than all the service stations in the area" scam.
This scam is something close to low grade fraud.
This is another example of travel companies trying to advertise a low price online and make up for it with bullshit fees when you arrive.
If you're going to drive a bunch, just buy the tank. It's usually cheaper than the going rate, and it's almost like a drinking game to drop the car with just fumes in the tank :D
]]>So it looks like it's a way for them to come up on search engines as "not the most expensive", then later actually make more money than Alamo and Hertz.
Clever way to screw your customers, Dollar.
But since they're not the cheapest, it's easy for me to say "I won't ever rent from Dollar again." :)
]]>It would be easier to just raise the overall fees and avoid this bad publicity. But there are lots of people who never look at their receipts and always risk being taken advantage of.
]]>Screw you, Dollar.
]]>I know that at least one of the rental car places had something like this years ago when I traveled all the time. You had to present a receipt for gas, even if the car was returned full. It was a pain in the butt to get a receipt for 72 cents when you didn't drive much on the trip.
]]>Return the favor by charging Dollar a 100% "stupidity fee" -- aka giving them no business.
]]>Outrageous!
]]>