Budget Rent A Car - Use caution

Two weekends ago, I needed to rent a car.  I searched the web for the best price and found that if I pre-paid with Budget Rent-A-Car, I would have a rate about 5 percent below Enterprise, which I usually use.  While the pick-up and drop-off locations were more convenient, I went with Budget.

I arrived at Budget about 30 minutes before the rental schedule and said I could wait until the rental visit.  The worker stated there was no issue, and I left with the car 15 minutes earlier than scheduled.  Again, he offered, and I said I could wait until the planned rental time.

I returned the car 90 minutes early the following day and gave it little thought.  When I looked at my credit card, I had a 70 percent increase in total charges.  I questioned this, and they responded as follows (quoted):

After reviewing our records carefully, we have determined that this happened in your case.  

When your rental circumstances changed and you returned sooner than 24 hours, 

a different rate (that accurately met your new rental parameters) was applied to your contract.  

We are sorry for any miscommunication or inconvenience.

Really, I returned a car early, and there was a 70 percent increase in the rental fee!  That is an idiotic way to run a business.  What would the fee have been if I had returned four hours early?  So, if you ever use Budget Rent-A-Car, please be careful; they find sneaky ways to add fees for doing something like returning a car 90 minutes before it is due.  I would hate to see what happened if I was two minutes late.

Carry on, my friends, Carry on.