Good experience but very poor administration from Alamo

Overall quite satisfactory

Hidden charges. Complete scam.

Generally satisfied with the rental and return process, but the efficiency in handling breakdowns was notably low, even though I had bought full insurance at the counter. During the drive, the front left tire burst, and I stopped by the roadside to call in the accident. I wanted to change the tire myself, but the A200 car had no spare tire, only a compressor. I called at 6 PM, and the wait time on the phone was quite long, at least 15 minutes. After explaining the situation, they said they would contact the relevant personnel and mentioned that it would be completely free. They arranged for Alamo at Luton to handle it, but the Luton staff clearly didn't want to deal with it and just gave us the number of a towing company. We contacted them via WhatsApp, and they provided an account and asked for £65 upfront before they would send help. After transferring the £65, a Romanian arrived at 8:30 PM, charged £245 in total, and towed the car about 6 km to Luton Airport. Upon arrival, they said all tire repair shops were closed and suggested either replacing the car or getting the tire fixed the next day. Replacement would only offer a manual car, which I declined, opting to fix the tire the next day. The Luton staff suggested I drive to the tire shop myself the next day despite the flat tire, claiming it would be fine to drive slowly as it was a premium tire. I didn't trust that and didn't want to ruin the rim by driving the 4 km with a flat tire. We had a hotel booked in Manchester, and Luton suggested we let Gatwick Alamo handle it. We had the car towed to a Holiday Inn for the night. The next morning at 7 AM, I called Gatwick Airport, and they said they would send someone within three hours to take us to get the tire fixed. By 10 AM, I called again to confirm, and they assured me someone would come by noon. By noon, they said they would arrive by 3 PM. Haven't they heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? We called the towing company from the previous day, and a Pakistani guy arrived within 25 minutes, towed us to the repair shop, and even took us out for lunch while the tire was being fixed. Thanks to the brotherly friendship of Pakistan! I called Alamo to inform them not to send anyone as we had it handled, and they said to invoice Gatwick for the charges. No issues after that. When returning the car, I mentioned the accident report to the staff, and she couldn't find it in the record. She asked which number I called, so I showed her my call log. Luckily, I had a recording of the first call; otherwise, she might have dismissed it. She took photos of our receipts and said the bill would be sent, and refunds would be processed within 10 days. It's been five days now, and I haven't received any email. Watching for further developments.

There is some upselling of insurance, but you can just tell them you don't need it.

Please make the Alamo a bit larger so the customer can see it easier. Now it's a bit hidden below the enterprise sign so it took me a minute to find out which is the stand. Everything else was excellent.