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A traveler was charged almost $600 for returning a rental car a few hours early

I have to admit that when I first started to read this, I thought it would be some egregious thing that the guy did, but all that happened was that he returned his car several hours before the two-week period was over that he had rented it for. And unfortunately, Budget charged him an extra $595. It turned out they were within their rights, although its a pretty crappy thing to do (and then they refused to respond to his questions about this charge). They also charged him border fees when he didn't actually cross the border. (NOTE: I am editing this to add that this was because of a mistake in booking he made that could easily have been corrected—read article for further information and tip in how to avoid this).

According to the article, both of the above are something that every traveler should look out for and be aware of. The first relates to Budget and their policy, but there is also a second issue about the border crossing that can be fixed by just using the correct language when you're searching for "Geneva."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/travel/budget-rental-car-discount.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XFA.EGJ6.AB-ebLZx3Y6Y&smid=url-share (article is unlocked)

Posted by
3489 posts

European rental agencies are strict! I once rented from Europcar at CDG and got the car at 10am. I returned it a week later at 10:10am and got hit for an extra day. No grace period whatsoever.

Posted by
2152 posts

“They also charged him border fees when he didn't actually cross the border.”

He did actually cross the border. The article even explains why. He rented from Budget Switzerland, picked up the car in Switzerland and then drove it to France.

Posted by
11619 posts

Yes, that was a mistake on my part, and I edited it to add some more information, but the point was that the traveler didn't realize there were two cities and that Budget could have easily clarified this when booking. The article further noted that Hertz and Enterprise DO give the traveler the option for both cities there.

Posted by
5710 posts

Yikes. If there's ever a lesson to read the fine print, this is it. Admittedly, even doing so I'm not sure it would have computed in my brain that Budget would do that.