Online Travel Snafu

This story from Internet Travel Tips reminded me of a really annoying situation we had recently with Orbitz / Hertz. Here's the story and I'll tell you about our issue after:

I reserved a car and arrived at the airport counter         late in the afternoon of Christmas eve.  However there were no cars         so the agent told me that they would provide a car from a competitor but         it would cost me $14 more.  They said that they were going to do         this only because I was a member of their "frequent renter" program         (which I always recommend joining for all rental companies).          Pulling out a copy of my reservation, I politely but firmly told him         that the price would be the same as my reservation and no more.          Fortunately one of their customers returned a car a minute later so they         were able to provide a car.  Don't pay more, or fall for their         "upgrade pitch" when they don't have a car or the car size you         reserved.

So here's what happened to us. After dropping the ball on getting a good, early deal on the rental car, we made a last minute booking through Orbitz. We SPECIFICALLY declined any coverage because it is a rip off and it's covered by our credit card anyways. At the end of the reservation form there is a spot to put your frequent renter number, so my husband entered his Hertz Premium number which he uses for work. Turns out that when you do this, Orbitz automatically defers your profile to your frequent renter profile (although they don't make this known). In this case, my husband's profile accepts insurance coverage because  he generally rents cars for corporate purposes.

You can imagine our surprise when we were rushing to drop off the car (because waiting at the airport when you're on holiday is annoying) and we discovered that an extra $400 in charges had been included on our bill. Both Hertz and Orbitz were quick to wash their hands of the issue but after several calls and 'on holds' we managed to get them to admit that this was indeed misleading and they removed the charges.

The bottom line: don't pay more and always ask for a manager...

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