Q: I am hoping you can assist me with an issue I had with my car rental. For my son’s wedding last August, I rented a car from Payless Car Rental in Denver.
It was move-in time for the surrounding colleges, and after waiting in line for almost two hours to rent the car, I was worried about returning it, since I had a long drive to get back to the airport and a limited amount of time to catch my return flight.
So, I decided to prepay for my fuel at a charge of $35. I don’t normally prepay, but because I knew that I had a great chance of using all the gas, and because of my tight schedule, I decided it was the smart thing to do. I also allowed Payless to talk me into an “upgrade” because I was worried about the cargo space needed for luggage and wedding items.
When I returned the car, I was thrilled with my decision to prepay because, as expected, my schedule was tight and I used pretty much all of the gas. I did not receive an invoice when I returned the car.
I was not thrilled when I noticed an extra $44 charge on my credit card — effectively billing me twice for the prepaid fuel. I immediately contacted Payless via email, and the company was quick to respond when I asked for the invoice. However, that was the last time it has responded to any of my inquiries. I have contacted Payless via email numerous times and have been ignored each time. I tried to call, too, but could get no one to help me.
I would like the erroneous prepay charge, plus associated taxes and fees, refunded to my credit card. Can you help? — Marena Henne, Lodi, California
A: Payless should have only charged you once for the prepaid fuel. If it wanted to charge you again, it should have at least explained why you had to pay more. To you — and to me — this looked like an erroneous charge.
Errors can happen with any car rental company. But good customer service is about an effective recovery, and here’s where Payless proved to be worthless. Repeated requests by email and phone went unanswered. You received an invoice followed by a long radio silence.
You could have disputed the $44 charge on your credit card. It appears you didn’t swipe your card or sign your receipt, so the dispute would almost certainly go your way.
The fuel purchase option can be a good deal if you return the tank on “empty.” But if you don’t drive the car enough, you’re overpaying for your fuel. So, nice work on using the system to your advantage.
After contacting Payless on your behalf, the company refunded your $44.
