Hidden costs and quick to take money without authorisation

<p>After my experience with Dollar Thrifty, I strongly advise anyone against using them. Their customer service was non-existent from the day I collected my hired car until the day before I was to drop it off. All they care about is getting their money one way or another. Please do not involve yourself with this company or give them your credit card details and this is why:</p> <p>My husband and I live and work in the UK. He booked the hire of a car through Atlas Choice for the price of ₤226.58 (which is approximately R3965.15 depending on the exchange rate on the day) on 14 November 2016, who in turn, booked the car through Dollar Thrifty in South Africa. We collected the car at the Dollar Thrifty Cape Town International Airport branch on 12 December 2016. It was at this point we were told that there would be a R6000 refundable deposit reserved on my credit card, an amount that we were not made aware of upon making the booking. My husband even phoned Atlas Choice in November to confirm any charges we should be made aware of and he was told by someone at Atlas Choice that there was just an R800 deposit to pay. The woman at the Dollar Thrifty branch explained that this R800 fee was a drop-off fee for having to drop it off in Port Elizabeth. So Dollar Thrifty and Atlas Choice communicate conflicting information. It is a good thing we had that amount available on my credit card as R800 and R6000 are two VERY different amounts. Of the R6000, R5000 was an excess we would be liable to pay should the car endure any loss or damage, R500 for damage/loss claim handling fee per incident in event of damage or loss and another R500 as a fuel deposit should we not return the vehicle with a full tank of petrol. I seriously hope we are refunded as I have been reading reviews about Dollar Thrifty both on Facebook and HelloPeter regarding people not receiving their rightful refunds. I then had to sign a rental agreement and my husband and I signed another multi-page document, which we understood to be the contract. We asked for a copy of both, to which we were told their printer was not working so they couldn’t give that to us. We got a copy of the rental agreement but not the signed original that I handed back to them. I asked them to scan and email this to me. I am still waiting for it to this day. We thought the worst was over and went on our way.</p> <p>HOWEVER, THE WORST WAS TO COME: I received a phone call from someone at the Cape Town International Airport branch (whose name I did not get) on 23 December to inform me that Atlas Choice was experiencing financial difficulty and that Dollar Thrifty would be charging me R8600 on my credit card for the hire of the car. This was a huge shock to me. Despite me trying to explain that my husband had already paid Atlas Choice and that surely Dollar Thrifty need to take that up with them, her attitude towards me was that Dollar Thrifty WILL be charging my credit card for the amount of R8600 and that we need to take it up with Atlas Choice. I DID NOT authorise the transaction during the phone call and Dollar Thrifty took money from my credit card without my permission. After some investigating we found out that Atlas Choice had indeed filed for bankruptcy on 22 December in London. Instead of Dollar Thrifty waiting to be paid out by Atlas Choice after their assets have been sold, they came straight for all their customers. There are certain aspects that I do not understand nor appreciate about Dollar Thrifty: Firstly, the amount for the hire of the car that we were quoted by Atlas Choice (R3965) and the amount that Dollar Thrifty took without my consent (R8600) are different. Secondly, why did Dollar Thrifty allow us to take the car on 12 December when they had not received payment from Atlas Choice for the hire of the car? Why had this not been resolved when we came to collect the car on 12 December? Dollar Thrifty and Atlas Choice have a business relationship so if we have paid Atlas Choice (and we have the proof of payment and confirmation) and they didn’t pay Dollar Thrifty, then how does that become my problem that Atlas Choice didn’t pay Dollar Thrifty? More importantly, why let us take and use the car for 11 days and then slap us with the bill that we had already paid on 14 November AND then charge us a completely different amount that was quoted to us? I feel completely cheated by both companies, especially DOLLAR THRIFTY and the manner in which they dealt with the situation. My husband and I were on our honeymoon on 23 December when they called. They were absolutely rude and forceful in their manner. They put our budget out by R8600 on our honeymoon (we saved up for over a year) and two days before Christmas. They were only concerned about getting their money there and then; instead of waiting for Atlas Choice, who they had partnered with, to pay them out. DOLLAR THRIFTY make their problems, their customers problems and I do not think people should take the risk of doing business with them. I am STILL waiting for the contract both my husband and I signed despite phoning and speaking to Nolan at the Port Elizabeth Airport branch and Daniel at Head Office in Kempton Park on 24 December and Alicia at Cape Town Airport on 28 December. In fact, we have been charged R43.86 for a contract fee on our invoice and we haven’t even received a contract. This is absolutely appalling. Additionally, I received an email with my invoice, with the same invoice but a different amount. Dollar Thrifty have charged me R51.34 for 4 litres of petrol when we made sure we filled the car up before returning it 1.93 kilometres down the road to the PE Airport branch of Thrifty (and I have the proof of payment for that, too). There is no way we used 4 litres to drive 1.93 km.</p>