Thrifty are terrible, unprofessional - do not use them

[SYDTraveller]

I am a corporate travel manager and have been appalled by the supposed service provided by Thrifty. Last year and again this year I have identified that they are more expensive than other car companies in the market for almost every vehicle type they offer.

When I approached them to close our corporate accounts I initially did not receive any response, then a month later called to find out if they had actioned my request. After what turned out to be a heated discussion with our "Account Manager" he flatly refused - even though we are no longer under contract. The National Sales Manager also refused to do so some days later.

We're now going through legal channels to sort this out. What a nightmare. Whatever you do, don't get involved with them.

 

[Travel Guru]

I stopped using them years ago, they're impossible to deal with, and if a company wont back up the back end of their business with professional, ethical service then it matter little what they offer on the front end.

TG

 

[docjames]

Classic, the advert immediately beneath the post was an ad for Thrifty "Weekend Deals".

I'm another who wont touch them.

A friend of mine booked a car with them, booking confirmed, and they sent her an email saying the car was unavailable after she had left to fly over from Tassie then proceeded to tell her they only had higher classes left and she would have to pay the higher class price and wouldnt refund the original booking which was already paid. :evil:

 

[Warks]

My former company always used them and I can't say I ever had a complaint. That said, I never saw a bill but I could almost be certain we were being ripped off. The company I was with seemed to have "corporate rates" everywhere that were significantly higher than normal rates! That's a multinational for you. It's only since striking out on my own that I've realised how much cheaper a lot of hotels can be!

I use Avis now. Seem pretty good and reasonable.

 

[Evan]

My former company always used them and I can't say I ever had a complaint. That said, I never saw a bill but I could almost be certain we were being ripped off. The company I was with seemed to have "corporate rates" everywhere that were significantly higher than normal rates! That's a multinational for you. It's only since striking out on my own that I've realised how much cheaper a lot of hotels can be!

I use Avis now. Seem pretty good and reasonable.

Thrifty is a now go on our work bookings. Hertz is prefered by Europecar, Budget and Avis are also allowe from memory.

Funny you should say about hotels, i have the reverse situation normally, our corp rates are good if not better than anything else that can be found for the same room.

 

[jamesatfish]

I stopped using Thrifty several years ago, after we booked a car from LAX and spent an hour waiting at the terminal for a Thrifty courtesy bus to pick us up and take us to the rental office. It took 3 phone calls (from my Australian mobile) to finally get through to the Thrifty office and ask when the bus was coming - turns out their office was understaffed that day so to ensure they didn't get too busy they decided to stop picking up customers from the airport.

Once we finally collected the car we got about 500m in LA traffic before the boot popped open - it refused to stay latched anytime we put luggage in the boot so our suitcases spent the next week on the back seat of the car.

I've had plenty of good experiences since with other firms since so no interest in giving Thrifty another try - ever.

 

[Myrna]

I stopped using Thrifty several years ago, after we booked a car from LAX and spent an hour waiting at the terminal for a Thrifty courtesy bus to pick us up and take us to the rental office. It took 3 phone calls (from my Australian mobile) to finally get through to the Thrifty office and ask when the bus was coming - turns out their office was understaffed that day so to ensure they didn't get too busy they decided to stop picking up customers from the airport.

This same thing happened to us in March this year. We booked a car with Thifty (personal account, no company) from LAX and we waited for ever - more like an hour before the courtesy bus turned up to take us their rental office. Like James, hubby had to use his blackberry phone (australian moible) to call them a few times. Very disppointing in the service!

We have rented from them a few times - always personal account, and "touch wood" each time was OK, but the interior of the cars always looked very dirty.

We had a problem with Hertz a few years back - auto charging our credit card account for a small amount claiming we scratched the car, without ever telling us about it. So, Hertz has been out of our book!

 

[N860CR]

I rented a car for the day in Brisbane not long ago from Thrifty. I booked a Camry and when I arrived they advised "oh you have been upgraded to a Mitsubishi 380"... great, I think, a domestic tank to chew through the fuel.

Anyway, I drove 120km's in the day and the trip computer said I averaged 13 L/100km. You can imagine the supprise when I refueled it with 32L that afternoon!

I emailed Thrifty who sent back an email saying (and I quote) "The fuel tank on the Camry is 67L while the 380 is 70L so it doesn't really make a difference in consumption" :shock::shock::shock:

I asked them again why that hadn't addressed that they ripped me off by providing a less than full car, and if they had the slightest knowledge of how a car actually used fuel... but never heard back from them after a few followups.

Needless to say that crosses Thrifty and Europcar off the list! Dollar in LA wasn't too bad, can't fault them too much (nothing special though)

 

[Zorro]

I believe that Dollar are a subsidiary of Thrifty - I plan to pick up a Dollar rental at La Guardia airport next month - booked rate on the internet was exceptional compared to today - should I expect a surprise upon collection?

 

[oz_mark]

I believe that Dollar are a subsidiary of Thrifty

I thought they had a common parent company (called Dollar Thrifty), rather than one being a subsidiary of the other

 

[N860CR]

Hmm well it appears my stance on not using Thrifty again has failed!

 

[davidj]

We have rented from them a few times - always personal account, and "touch wood" each time was OK, but the interior of the cars always looked very dirty.

We had a problem with Hertz a few years back - auto charging our credit card account for a small amount claiming we scratched the car, without ever telling us about it. So, Hertz has been out of our book!

Exactly the same with me. I originally used Hertz at Cairns and Brisbane, both overcharging me. Several phone calls and email didn't seem to fix much so Hertz is off my list. I choose Thrifty because it seemed to have the most recently fleet. Used Thrifty in Cairns, Brisbane and Melbourne with great service. I must agree with how dirty some cars are on the inside. So far for me Thrifty is a keeper, however I have heard similar disaster stories about them a few years back.

I have researched rental car companies (which is best) and it seems they all have some sort of issues. So which do you go for?

I'd only ever consider Avis other than Thrifty. Hertz is off my list, and have heard horry stories from Europcar. Other smaller operators usually charge more and sometimes offer lower km allowance.

 

[odysseus]

I thought they had a common parent company (called Dollar Thrifty), rather than one being a subsidiary of the other

You are right about Thrifty US, but Thrifty in Australia is an independant group.

 

[ric_melb]

I understood Thrifty Australia is owned by NRMA.

 

[oz_mark]

I understood Thrifty Australia is owned by NRMA.

It's a joint venture with NRMA as the largest shareholder. It operates under licens from Dollar Thrifty. I was more responding to hiring a car, in the US, from Dollar rather than Thrifty as a way of avoiding thrifty.

Personally, I have not had any trouble with Thrifty, but I tend not to use them due to being more expensive than Avis or Hertz

 

[serfty]

It's not just Thrifty.

I've had trouble with many companies including Thrifty, Hertz, Avis and Budget. I have been able to resolve them all to my satisfaction. This is with literally 100's of car hires over the years.

It's the nature of the beast.

Some issues I have had include:

• Hertz - Being Charged $110 after the rental for having a Flat spare tyre - I never opened the boot let alone looked at the tyre.
• Avis - Being stung an extra days rental as I had "returned the car 3 hours late". I was able to prove I was actually in the air at the time their paperwork indicated I returned the car.
• Budget - Being charged for ~25 litres refuel. Considering my paperwork indicated a total travel distance of ~30Km this was a bit much, beside a I had a receipt indicating a refuel of 3 litres.
• Thrifty - charged for a broken fog light - even though this had already been noted on the condition paperwork upon collection.

With all the issues I have had such as these, I first became aware of them with an additional charge to my credit card.

I have been able to resolve all, however. It somewhat time consuming and in several cases, it required the employment of a Statuary Declaration.

I now have a check list I try to adhere to when hiring cars, to summarise:

Steps to take when collecting a vehicle are:

• Ensure the rate being charged is that actually booked.
• Check the condition sheet with the actual vehicle making sure they agree.
• Ensure the tank is full
• Check inside the vehicle and the condition of the spare tyres and any tools.

If there are ANY discrepancies, make sure it is documented and you have that in writing before leaving the depot.

Before you return the vehicle:

• Fill the tank up.
• Pay for this fuel and get a receipt showing litres, cost along with time and place of refueling - keep this. CC payments work best for this - with cash you may need a manual receipt.

On return:

• Recheck the vehicle for any new damage; take images of the vehicle with your 'phone camera.
• Keep a record of the odometer.
• Finalise paperwork before leaving the depot, ensure this shows your correct time of return. Keep a copy.

This is all a pain and you really need to allow an additional ½ hour on both collection and return in case of problems.

I currently use Thrifty as I get a corporate staff rate of under $50 nett for an FCAR with unlimited KM anywhere in Australia.

 

[medhead]

I've had limited car experience and Thrifty is middle of the road in this respect. I had a similiar experience to drron's to do with a unwanted paid upgrade at easter. I refused to pay it and insisted that they honour the internet booking rate. Luckily they didn't call my bluff.

When I worked for mid sized diversified mining company from the west, but connected to the melbourne mining elite, that no longer exist (not to mention any names ). I got a very good coporate rate with thrifty (50% to 75% of what was available on line IIRC). In fact, so good that the thrifty lady commented on how good it was, that is she couldn't believe the rate I got. Of course, when your employer hires all available 4wds in South Australia for 6+ months, I guess the car company sometimes gives out a good rate for employers.

To those that think thrifty corporate rates are a rip off compared to public rates, perhaps your CEO needs to join a different club, or went to the wrong school.

 

[oz_mark]

When I worked for mid sized diversified mining company from the west, but connected to the melbourne mining elite, that no longer exist (not to mention any names ).

Sounds like a company I used to work for!

 

[Warks]

To those that think thrifty corporate rates are a rip off compared to public rates, perhaps your CEO needs to join a different club, or went to the wrong school.

I've always had the sneaking suspicion that certain people in the company I worked for were 'benefitting' from the over the top rates charged by the hotels, car hire companies and airlines (probably via the corporate travel agent).
But no names...

 

[FlyboyAl]

I been a dollar express member for over 4 years, and I have to say we have never had a major problem with them. We regularly rent from LAX and whilst they do not have as many buses as the rest, they are clean (most are brand new at the moment!) and get us to the office easilly.
The "express" service has worked everywhere except LAX!
But I don't mind waiting a few extra minutes. Gives the legs a chance to stretch, and the blood a chance to start flowing after the flight over.
I have had about 10 free days rental from them so far, and several upgrades, and as the dollar Express costs nothing, I'd urge anyone using them to join it and pick up on whatever freebies you get!!!!!