Be aware: Alamo Return

[Redsnapper]

Your suggestion that they "charge $2 per gallon more" is wrong/made up - they charge around 30 cents per gallon more.

[Guest]

Looks like i need to be added to the list i have just got back yesterday and checked my account today and low and behold £25.05 to my account. i even asked the lady quiet clearly i wanted to return the car full and have no fuel charge placed on my account, for so many years i have trusted alamo and now they play these stupid tricks. NEVER AGAIN.

[Redsnapper]

Not sure how people are being caught out - they hand you a receipt when you give the car back - are people not checking it as its handed to you ?

Also £25 is not a full tank of petrol...

[adypem]

I filled ours up on Saturday (a wafer under full - $34) and then drove to the airport - got stuck in a lot of traffic and the fuel level had dipped a bit.

They just charged me for 5 gallons ($28). I was annoyed at the time but there wasn't much I could do about it.:angry:

[mestew87]

DId you use any sun pass lanes as alamo is done via plate recognition and activates as soon as you drive through one of the lanes

[tspill]

Originally Posted by Redsnapper

Your suggestion that they "charge $2 per gallon more" is wrong/made up - they charge around 30 cents per gallon more.

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If they charge $3.76 (from an earlier post) and I paid $3.24 on Saturday that is a 52 cent difference.
But this is only if you elect to take the pre-pay.
If you select return full and you don't - then they charge much more.

[DavieBhoy]

This happened to us in 2012 with Alamo when we returned the car to Tampa and the guy that viewed the car on return issued the bill. I queried it with a different Alamo employee while still beside the car and she refunded it. I had returned the car full so no charge was applicable although it was slightly below the full mark but she let me off with it and issued a nil receipt.

I have just checked my credit card receipt from last year and I was charged £45.69 ($73.88) for returning the car empty as I never pre-pay for the fuel. I had a mid size SUV.

[holidaysaver75]

I got the extra $2 from the sign on the window as we were leaving the garage when we arrived, which stated that, if you had booked to prepay in advance, you'd be charged the $3.76 but well over $5 per gallon if this option hadn't been chosen, which is in effect what we would have done. The original bill they gave us for the refuelling was in excess of $80 so there was no way that came to just 50c extra per gallon as we'd filled up for $50 the week before. So, on reflection, that's worse because not only would we have paid to refill, we'd have got no credit for the fuel already in the tank and effectively have paid twice!

Our package was called Gold when we booked it, with the fuel included being called Platinum, but I think that's just what the travel agent chose to call it, so sorry if that caused anyone confusion.

Also, I was not intending to "make up" a figure to sensationalise. The point of the post was not to be critical of Alamo as a company (who we have used many times and always opt for), particularly as their staff were most helpful in getting the refund sorted promptly, but just to urge others to check carefully when they're receipted. It's very easy to shove a receipt into a bag when you're struggling with cases and kids and not check till later, but I wouldn't want anyone to be caught in error.

[Guest]

we chose silver this time and to bring car back full,when i looked at paperwork before i left the garage he had stamped pre paid fuel option i queried this and he said ok just bring it back full but we asked him to re do our paperwork which he did although not very happy,when we returned car the final receipt was nil balance,we do check everything now.

[mousemad]

Same thing happened to us this year. I had hired 2 cars as there was 8 of us, a compact car & a 7 seater minivan. We did Alamo Savetime & on leaving the garage, DH & DS went to a different exit booth. The one manning DS's booth made me get out of the car & walk around to him to ask, 'do you wan to prepay fuel@ to which I Said ' I've already stated on my booking I will return the car full', so I got back in the car & off we went. Unbeknown to us, while I was talking to the guy, the guy in our booth asked DH the same thing & he also said no we would bring it back full. However he didn't look at the paperwork he was given as we were trying to keep the 2 cars together so DS could follow us & I just got back in the car & didn't see the paperwork ( I usually check everything, but I was annoyed at the guy making get out of the car).

On returning the cars, DS's car was fine whereas when we looked at the paperwork we were given we had been charged for fuel. Went straight to the booth where a very snotty guy was adamant we had selected prepay for fuel. I showed him my original paperwork & he said 'as a gesture of goodwill I will refund your fuel payment'. As you could imagine I was furious & asked how could he in all honesty charge us for fuel that they wouldn't be able to put in the car anyway. We got our refund, but he got a few choice words from me as well!

In future we are NEVER going to leave the car rental garage without checking we have a zero balance on the form & make sure they have not gave us the prepay option. If its happening to so many people its obviously another scam they have cottoned onto so please people, READ YOUR PAPERWORK!