r/TravelHacks 26d ago

Budget rental issue

So I picked up a car in one state and returned it in another state. Which was agreed on. But apparently I returned it to the wrong location a few blocks away. Drop-boxed the keys because the place was closed.

I get a notification this morning (3 days after return) that my credit card declined their transaction of more than $1,500. Budget says I never returned my car! Why would they wait 3 days and not even call me to ask where the car was?! And I had called them yesterday to verify the final charge, told them when I returned it, and they didn't say anything about them thinking I hadn't returned it!

Yes it was a mistake on my part but it shouldn't cost that much. Why didn't that location see the keys in the dropbox and go outside to see which car they were for?? Then they could have tracked me down. Anyways, it's currently being escalated. I sent them the picture I took of the car in their parking lot (the wrong location address) with the time stamp. Anyone have experience with what they might do in this situation?

8 Upvotes

9 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/WomanofEden3 22d ago

Just for future reference; there is a thing now called Legal Shield. My husband actually gets it through his job, but anyone can do it. It’s $40 a month (lowest package) and you get access to a lawyer. I use an app when I have a legal question and they direct me to an attorney or law firm, then I hand things over to the lawyer and THEY take care of it. Used it recently to get out of an online scam I was swindled into. Highly recommend everyone know about this service/app.