I spent over a year working in the rental car industry in that time I witnessed 7 out of 10 customers being taken advantage of by the rental agent in a multitude of ways. Many customers are not even aware they are being ripped off when rental agents sell them upgrades,optional coverages,perform personal credit checks,include miscellaneous fees,taxes,pre paid gasoline,& charges for damages to a vehicle.

It was making me sick to observe all the shady tactics rental agents were using to make a few dollars, and meet or attempt to exceed the goals set by the company. Car rental companies often require rental agents to meet certain goals before giving them commissions or earning incentives. This really brought out the absolute worst in sales people. All of the agents I worked with blatantly lied to customers just to get a sale.

I recall witnessing a rental agent boldly lie to a customer. Claiming the car they were booked in was unavailable because the customer didn't want to buy the optional coverages. The agent swindled the traveler into paying for an upgrade they didn't want. The customer took it because the alternative vehicle the agent offered was no where near comparable to what they booked.

In another instance a foreign customer came in with a reservation to rent a car for 28 days. The customer denied optional coverages, but the rental agent put it on anyway quadrupling the customers bill! The customer didn't even realize they were cheated until they were back home a month later looking at their credit card statement.

This customer was swindled because he understood very little english, and rental agreements place a final total as an estimated charge. The agent can easily misrepresent charges about a customers total if the customer doesn't read the agreement carefully. Various things affect the final cost such as bringing the car back late or early, not refueling the vehicle, & taxes.

The rental agent was more inclined to cheat this customer because having all those unprofitable rental days under their name lowers the percentage needed to reach a goal to get paid a commission. The work environment in this industry is very high pressure, & stressful. Often managers are constantly looking over an agents shoulder. Some will even antagonize an agent after the customer leaves if they didn't sell anything extra. Agents can even lose their jobs for falling behind ridiculous goals set by the company.

Many of the goals set by the company were unfair. Too many variables affect if an agent has an opportunity to meet the goals. Lack of fleet inventory, poor sales motivation from management, weather conditions, current events in town, the number of agents staffed at the counter, & certain shifts had an effect on the performance of sales.

Many customers get ripped off because the overall experience of traveling wears down a person. And by the time they get to the rental car facility they just want to get the keys, and go. Travelers rarely fully understand what there signing, and many of them don't read the rental contracts because they place a false sense of trust in the person standing behind the counter.

It gets even worse if a traveler arrives late at night or if their flight was delayed. These travelers are usually not mentally alert to deal with intricate details of renting a car unless they are frequent renters. They often get tricked into paying for a frivolous upgrade, buying prepaid gasoline, & adding an additional driver when they may not have one.

I would like to hear any stories a person has to share about being ripped off from a car rental company in any way. I am writing an ebook to show travelers how to avoid being taken to the cleaners. Your feedback would be much appreciated.
You can email him your stories, comments, or suggestions at. maximillionrichman@gmail.com