Two weeks after returning from Switzerland/Germany, we received a statement from National /alamo car rental (switz) showing that we owed roughly $900.00 dollars more than both our reserved price and our rental agreement at car pick-up. We contacted national (USA) who said they needed to contact Switzerland...... three weeks later and no resolution. Anyone have similar problems? The bulk of the overcharge was on the daily rental- different drop off stayed same ,
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
I had the same issue with Sixt in Florence, but they fixed it right away with just one phone call. They said their printer was down and couldn't give me a receipt upon return. I always ask for a final receipt when renting a car after a few charge dispute nightmare experiences.
Based on experiences here in the US with Alamo with overcharges (after the final receipt) and bogus damage claims, my suggestion would be to dispute the charge with your credit card company right away. I believe there is a time limit on disputing charges - they might keep telling you they are working on it until it's too late to dispute. Not sure if that's true or just a rumor I heard. You could try calling the National/Alamo office where you returned the car as well as sending a certified letter to National/Alamo headquarters.
Good luck!
Posted by
DeWitt, MI, USA
199 posts
Joanne - Keep fighting it and demand satisfaction from Alamo/National. Last September we arrived at the Belfast, N. Ireland airport to pick up our rental car from Alamo. We were to pick it up there and drop at Shannon in the Republic of Ireland, at what was a very good rate. When we arrived at the counter the young woman asked us if we knew of the 450-pound (close to $900 at that time) drop fee. We of course knew nothing of it, and I demanded to talk with a management person. I was connected by phone with someone in London, who said he would work it out...and he did. We received a refund of the $900. But, it really soured us on Alamo.
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
Do you have a copy of your original quote? Keep bugging National, make sure to email them a copy of your original quote. We had a slight overcharge from Thrifty this summer, and extra processing fee that wasn't part of our original quote, and I emailed the company with the quote and had it removed immediately.
Unfortunately, I think a lot depends on if you are able to contact someone who cares about resolving your problem. I was very fortunate to find someone helpful.
Can you challenge the charge through your credit card company? That may be another option.
Posted by
Mansfield, GA
850 posts
I would contact the credit card company as suggested and lodge a dispute. Hopefully they will get it resolved for you. I have been billed incorrectly on two different occasions but both times I had rented through Gemut who contacted the rental companies for me and got a refund for each time. It saved me the hassle of dealing directly with the rental company.