Thrifty made us pay for a baby chair and now wants to keep it without paying for it

Do not rent any car at Dollar Thrifty Rental.

We rented a car in Dollar Thrifty Rental with a baby chair in Port Elizabeth. When we arrived to Thrifty branch in Port Elizabeth they gave us a broken baby chair, that they even did not know how to fix it to the car. Then we were offered another baby chair. When the Thrifty staff tried to fix it to the car, the chair moved left, right, front and back. Then Thrifty staff tried with another baby chair that did not fix at all to the car either.

It took Thrifty staff almost 3 hours to try to fix their baby seats to the car. We lost those three hours of hour holidays and we had finally to buy a new baby chair because there was not any other solution and we were not going to sleep at the airport.

At the Thrifty branch in Port Elizabeth we were told that they will sort everything out and when will arrive at Thrifty branch in Cape Town they will keep the baby chair and will refund us for it. However when we arrived at Thrifty branch in Cape Town there they were not aware of anything. That is not very professional either.

In Thrifty Branch in Cape Town we were told to leave the baby chair there as they will refund us for it. I told Thrifty staff in Cape Town to confirm me the refund because otherwise I would take the baby chair with me to Pretoria, and they told me that they will keep the baby chair.

Once back in Pretoria, Thrifty has sent me an email telling me that they will pay me R500 for the baby chair when it cost me R1,700 and they know the price perfectly as they have a copy of the ticket.

So Thrifty not only was able to offer us a safe baby chair that we had rental with the car, but also wants to take advantage of us, keeping a chair that is not theirs and paying for it less than one third of its price. That is not legal.

They say that the baby chairs at Thrifty branch in Port Elizabeth were fine and that the manager at Thrifty branch in Cape Town was sick.

If the baby chairs were fine, why did it took Thrifty staff 3 hours just to try to fix them to the car? Why weren´t they able to fix any of them and told us so?

Thrifty offers online baby chairs for clients to hire their cars, but the baby chairs thay Thrifty offers are not safe, so Thrifty is not really offering them. It is Thrifty´s responsabilty to respond for the safety of their cars and the baby chairs that they offer.

When we were at the airport in Cape Town I told the lady at Thrifty branch to call the manager to confirm the refund, but she told me thar she only could send him an email. If Thrifty did not want to refund me the baby chair Thrifty should have told me then, so I would have taken the baby chair with me to Pretoria.

I am not part of Thrifty company. I am the client. So I am not responsible if Thrifty manager in Cape Town was sick (I am sorry for him). It is Thrifty, not me, who has to manage the office and to cover that post in his absence.

Because of Thrifty we lost three hours at the airport in Port Elizabeth and we were stressed when we were supposed to relax in our holidays.

Because of Thrifty I had to pay 1,700 rands for a baby chair.

Because of Thrifty we had to spend almost an hour at the brach in Cape Town because nobody explained to them what had happened.

And now Thrifty is only thinking of making business and tanking advantagae of us, keeping a baby chair valued 1,700 rands paying me only 500 rands for it.

Sorry, but no. You are not going to take advantage of us anymore.

It was Thrifty responsability to offer us a safe baby chair, because Thrifty offered it online and we had reserved it at Port Elizabeth. When we arrived in Port Elizabeth neither of the two chairs that we were offered (plus the broken one) were safe and that is not a responsability that we, the clients must assume.

Do not keep the baby chair. It is ours. Sen it to us in Pretoria or refund us the money.

Cristina