The worst experience ever renting a car (NOT). These guys are incompetent at the least and thieves and liars at the worst.
Yes, I am ready to prove that in court. I have witnesses, electronic records and my reports to American Express.
Basically, from what I can tell, this is a UK-based company that uses Dollar Rent-A-Car to (probably) sublease their cars. If I had known, I would have went directly to Dollar.
Nothing excuses being told 3 separate non-existent locations for a shuttle pickup by your car rental agency.
I rented a car at the Philadephia airport from this unfortunate excuse for a business. When I arrived I stood outside waiting for their shuttle with my service dog in the rain.
Exhausted, wet, after waiting for an hour for a shuttle, when no cab would take me the short drive, but hard walk to the rental agency.
After 40 minutes and seeing no shuttle I called. They told me I was in the wrong area and said “Go to Section D.” This happened twice as I was directed to totally inappropriate areas (even though they had my rental details – the guys on the phone had no idea where I was and were obviously making it up).
That became apparent when after my 3rd call they directed me to an area that did not exist. I can barely walk due to misdiagnosed Lymes disease. I was dragging heavy suitcases, with my service dog in a backpack. After two hours of going back and forth, and being told that a cab wouldn’t take me to the address of the rental place (it was too close), I ended up dragging those suitcases and my dog, in the rain across unlit busy roads with no pedestrian crossing, in the dark.
When I finally found the address, (A Dollar Rent-A-Car), it was closed and locked up. I was furious, I called American Express to cancel the charges. The rep said to contact the car rental place first. I told them, “They’ve already lied to me several times, and I don’t trust them. This is unacceptable. Please just cancel the charge.”
I got a friend nearby (who I from the beginning of this trip desperately planned not to put out) out of bed to come and rescue me and my service dog.
Doing my taxes now, over one year later – I now see American Express did credit me and then CHARGED ME AGAIN!
The American Express rep said “they said you were a no-show.” I said, “Yes, I didn’t scale the barbed wire fence and break into the closed building to get a key and smash down the gate to drive out a car – that is true.”
American Express for their part did not bother to call or text (which they otherwise do liberally), but sent me an email when I was charged again.
I get literally, 1200 emails a day. I also have a severe reading disorder. I am not a whiner, but this is not like garden variety dyslexia.
I have severe scotopic sensitivity. The world expert, Helen Irlen (the disorder is also known as “Irlen Syndrome”), explained to me that in my case it was so severe that within 5 years it would have killed me.
My brain was shutting down my immune system because it was taking so much energy for me to read.
A one-off email from American Express, was not gonna work. Especially, IMHO, when they have in their records my statement telling them “I could not pick up the car” – and the charge was due to me being a “no show.”
What kind of car rental agency lies to the customer, who has been left in the rain, dragging bags in the mud and across dark streets with no crosswalks, knowing full well their offices were closed then imposes “no show” charges?
Even though there is no excuse for any of this, I generally try to take it easy on Customer Service Reps. That has to be a tough job.
I am sure that in the 5 calls to American Express – my frustration must have been audibly evident.
In my defense, if I am going to pay the ridiculous interest charges on a credit card (loan shark level these days!), I expect them to at least have my back.
In this case, after discovering over a year after the charge dispute that I had been charged “again” — I was ready to cancel my 14 years of doing business with American Express.
If I had not been saving up my points to use for a trip, I would have.
Unbeknownst to me, after being told “nothing could be done,” I just now noticed a new email.
I saw this after returning from a car trip to see the 2024 eclipse – two days late!
I had been given a new deadline to provide more information?!
American Express had indeed withdrawn the charge AGAIN – but then, after issuing this email (which I did not see by their deadline) – they charged me again!
I called (again) and the rep said since I had not produced any new proof or documents, that I was charged again.
I explained, that there was nothing to prove or show. The situation had been fully explained.
The car agency was closed. I probably would have gotten there on time had the agents on the phone not lied and kept directing me to fictitious parts of the airport for a shuttle pickup – until Dollar was closed for the night.
Who does that?!
Being charitable, all I can think was it was just barely post Covid and good help was hard to get!?
My phone call this time produced a representative who promised that all communication in the future would be done by phone. He also promised I would not have to do anything else concerning this charge.
However, the merchant will be able to respond and I fully expect them to AGAIN charge me for the full rate of the entire rental as a “no-show.”
I explained to the American Express representative that there should be enough information in my records to help them understand that it was not me — but it was the car rental agency that was the “no-show.”
I expect to be explaining all of this again to yet another American Express customer service rep when the merchant responds.
We are on a bit of a “not so” Merry Go Round.
This blog now exists as a public record to fully illustrate the situation.
IMHO as a lifelong business owner myself – VIPCars.com is a business that should not have a merchant account with any reputable credit card company.
This “no show” wasn’t willing to climb over razor wire, break into a closed building to get the keys for his rental car and then crash out of the closed gate. Call me timid.