West Coast Road Trip

Take note of my painful experiences and let this be a reminder for those planning to rent cars. The Budget store near Los Angeles airport is very sketchy! They especially like to rip off Chinese customers! We needed to rent two cars and had booked and paid in advance. Normally, we would just go to Budget and pick up the cars. However, the customer service there misled us and tried to force us to upgrade the vehicle or change the insurance from partial to full coverage. Here’s what happened: I rented a full-size Chevrolet which was the cheapest option on the car rental website. A woman who looked to be of Mexican descent named Rose attended to us. She immediately tried to get us to upgrade to an SUV, claiming that small cars don't have EastPass (similar to ETC in China, for automatic toll payment). I was baffled because I had rented cars before and knew that EastPass had nothing to do with the size of the car and could be rented for a few dollars a day. When I insisted on a small car and said I didn't need EastPass, she seemed to concede but then pulled another trick. On the small screen, there were several options to agree or disagree with. When I repeatedly asked if there were additional charges, she said no. I didn't read carefully and agreed. Then she charged my credit card over a hundred dollars, claiming it was a deposit that would be refunded. This was the biggest scam which would become apparent upon returning the car. My friend rented an SUV and was serviced by a black man. He insisted on changing to full insurance for more money. I said we only wanted partial coverage and had already paid. He argued that since the car wasn't in my name, I couldn't decide and my friend had to agree. Wasn’t that absurd! My friend repeated what I said and he finally gave up. Getting the car: The woman must have been angry about not scamming me (pre-charging my credit card was already a scam), so she gave me an unpopular Chrysler with strange gear settings. The car was in poor condition. Luckily, I managed to switch to a Toyota with the help of a black guy at the car park. Returning the car: It was quick and they handed me the invoice after a brief check. I noticed they charged me an extra hundred dollars from the so-called deposit. I couldn’t accept this and inquired at the return desk. The woman there said it was for full insurance and since I signed, it couldn’t be refunded. Furious, I demanded to speak to her manager. After lengthy arguments, they finally canceled the charge. I was still determined to complain about that woman named Rose as I couldn't swallow this injustice. Lesson: Always read thoroughly before signing. Don’t rush. Understand everything clearly to avoid being misled or scammed. If your rights are violated, insist on speaking to the manager and fight for your interests.