Online reservation process was smooth but as soon as I showed up at the rental counter, I felt ripped off!

Very typical amateur customer service and errors all over the returned receipt. I returned my car after hours and dropped the keys in the key drop. I only had the car for 8 hours and went 19 mi. I returned the car full of gas. The e-receipt I received from the company headquarters charged me $24 extra for gas. But when I walked back up to the window where I actually rented the car, it was open the next day, they only charged me $26. After waiting on hold for 27 minutes I spoke with the customer service agent. Very typical abysmal rental car company customer service, that agent swore up and down I was only charged $26. He said I must go to the location where I rented the car. The location person said I must call customer service. Incidentally, the customer service person only understood about 1/3 of what I said on the phone. read more

A month after I returned car to this difficult to navigate and park location I received a tiny notice in the mail- wanted to charge me for some phantom dirt- asked for photos and even customer service agent said it looked like some dust under the mat! got $125 charge removed after 3 "disconnected" calls to customer service - seems like a fraudulent cash grab hoping customer doesn't notice- shame on you Budget read more

Worst service ever also still waiting for my refund three months the later when I call no one answers the phone such bad service I never complain but please don't go here if you want a good experience and your deposit back read more

Allow me to pile one on the bad reviews. I had a work trip which required me to drive to Northern CA, and I arrived promptly at 9 AM to pick up my reserved car. Well, the employee didn't waltz in to open up the kiosk until 9:30. And there was a customer in front of me. And he moved like a snail! I was running an hour behind at this point. Then he makes me sign a stupid amount of paperwork, more than any of the other rental car companies have EVER required, and that takes another 15 minutes. Then I was forced to find the rental car in this underground labyrinth that is the "Budget" designated area of the garage. I get in the car, start driving, and notice the backseat is dirty (sand and debris on the seats and floor mats). I try to call Budget to report it, multiple times. Nobody answers the phone. At this point, I just need to get on my way. About halfway through my 300 mile drive, the check engine light and coolant light come on in the car. I'm freaked out, because I'm in farmland with no cell service. These lights went on and off throughout the drive there and back. When I returned the car, the same employee was at the window. I told him about the warning lights, and he said, "Oh, yeah. These cars have recalls on multiple things." Uh, how about you let the customer KNOW that in advance? Or, I don't know, get it FIXED?! His cavalier attitude was ridiculous. The whole experience was ridiculous. I will never rent from Budget again. It's not worth the nominal amount you save. Save yourself the headache and go to ENTERPRISE! read more

Worse ever. People are there to get paid not to attend customers. Needless to say I didn't get that service. Rude people.

I had a reservation at this hotel based budget at 0800. I showed up at 0750, no one there. Okay. Then I proceeded to wait. Every time I'd walk away the little clock would say later and later. 0930 - he still never showed. We called Budget to see if we could pick a car up at the Long Beach Airport... sure for $125 more.... Even though your loser of an employee doesn't show up at all ... I guess that means the customer is BOTH inconvenienced and get to pay more. Eff that ... we cancelled. They can scam someone else. read more

There is a reason why this place got 1 Star, chances are it's because of the guy in the first picture WIL! This condescending, lazy, unprofessional clerk is rude and as unhelpful as I met. I made a mistake on my rental for the wrong day, although this was my fault I did not blame anyone, but WIL was unwilling to check to see if he had any other cars available that day while I was searching through the computer. He could have easily checked but didn't. I was also subjected to his critical, ridiculing comments along the way. This guy is a major ..... read more

Our reservation said the cost would be $35. When we returned the car they charged us over $100!! We only had the car for 6 hours, the gas tank was full, and we drove very few miles. When we asked about the price, it turns out that they charged us a gas fee, even though the car was full! Luckily they removed that fee and explained that it automatically charges people and they "forgot" to take it off. As for the rest of the charges, they couldn't really tell us why they were on our bill. Eventually we had to leave as we had another engagement. We still ended up paying over $70 instead of the initial $35 we had agreed to. Very unfriendly and very unhelpful. Will not be using budget rentals again if this is how they treat their customers. read more

I felt like I was on an episode of Seinfeld!! Me: Picking up a car, please. Clerk: Do you have a reservation? Me: I do (handing driver's license) Clerk: oh... Sorry, we don't actually have the full sized car. Would you like a minivan? Me: No thanks, but I would like the car I reserved... Clerk: but we're out of that car... Me:...(trying to remain calm) have you ever seen Seinfeld? I told her I'd find another company, but no one else has cars available, so I had to return to Budget. I felt like I was on a sit-com! I would've given one star, but it was so pathetic it was almost funny. read more

Mr. William was completely helpful when I rented a vehicle. He made clear of the qualifications needed to purchase a rental. As wells as informing myself about the coverage Budget provides. The cars are always cleaned & the tanks are always filled. Beautiful hotel by the way (: read more

Budget Car Rentals - Car Rental Near Me - Long Beach, California

There is a reason they have such bad reviews. Use exteme caution when renting from this location. You pick up the car in a poorly lit parking garage. My car was still dirty. Hard to see if there is any damage. Well i learned a hard lesson bc after returning i was told there was a mark on windshield. The agents exact words were I couldn't even see it from the drivers seat and had to clean the windshield to find it. This makes me feel I was set up to pay for something I didn't do. I do not recall any cracks in the windshield when i got the car and did not have time for them to wash it. DO NOT RENT FROM THIS LOCATION NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE DEAL IS. read more

My family from Italy rented a car on August 10, and the clerk was rude and not very helpful. Luckily I was there to help them find the car. The car was dirty inside and out. I have never rented a dirty car and I travel a lot. His answer was there is only one person there. I reported it to Budget and will complain to the owner or manager when they return the car. So sad because customer service was very poor and I was quite embarrassed. He should have offered another clean car. Since they were in a hurry I didn't pursue it. His answer was to stop at another Budget to obtain a clean car when I called him shortly after. I will never rent here and the owner needs to take care of this. This is unacceptable and quite frankly not the way to conduct a business!!! No Customer Service!! read more

Here is my feedback quality of service and support for you on Case # 28127517. I am presently in contact with 3 local agencies investigating to make sure this was not a fraudulent transaction. First, I received no support from neither Budget, Avis nor Car Rental 8, all involved in this car rental transaction. I am appalled at the degradable state of these companies business practices, which I can only called "THIEVERY" and abusive, taking advantage of trusting seniors like me. I rented a car from Car Rentals 8 on online and prepaid for the rental on May 6th, 2019. They PREOVERCHARGE ME for the rental of a Budget car to begin with. Then when I went to pick up the car, the young agent at the Downtown Long Beach Hotel location in California charged me again for the same rental. I advised him that I had prepaid my rental ($90.12) and he said it was a security measure and I would get back my $56.96 he charged, Since I do not rent cars usually, I assumed it was a normal practice. upon I returned of the vehicle in Sacramento California, I expected to be issued a refund of what I paid Budget, only to be told that I would get no refund and to contact Car Rental 8 about it. I did that only to receive an e-mail from Car Rental 8 stating that their charges were correct, and will issuer no refund. Budget's same response. I was further told by the Budget customer service agent that in order to pursue further resolution to send copies of my bank transactions and rental information to an e-mail that DID NOT WORKED, and after three calls to your customer service number, an agent gave me the AVIS alternative email and sent the information successfully to Avis/Budget Rental Cars; they also denied my claim. In my experience, CAR RENTAL 8 AND BUDGET/AVIS COMPANIES, are maliciously abusing seniors unaware of your dishonest practices. read more

This is how you will find the desk at this rental car location!! Empty!!! Nobody to help you with either returning or picking up a car. If you are dropping off a car expect to be a difficult and confusing process starting with the parking. I have been waiting for 25 minutes to return a car that was due at 8AM and still nobody has showed up. This location sucks!! Don't do it, you will regret it. read more

Budget Car Rentals - Car Rental Near Me - Long Beach, California

This place is Horrible, First off they only take credit cards no debit cards and no options for other forms of payment. Then they have some kid at the register who doesn't know anything about anything, and to top it off they overcharge me telling me that they will charge me the fuel because it's cheaper with them but the charges are refunded if i return it full. Well Guess what. I returned it full of gas and they still charge me. And now they won't answer the phone... read more

I run a business and reserved a car for my employee. Upon arrival the agent was rude and said she would have to pay extra due to she arrived 30 Minutes early to her reserved time. She also said there were no cars available that I reserved. Finally, when I spoke to my employee I told her to just pay the upcharge. The agent said she would need to go back in line again. Once she came back she said oh she gave that car to someone else and now she has to wait and should have took it. The employee case number for this agent is 22523897. We reported her to corporate. read more

This review is from 2 weeks ago... I had a reservation for 3pm on Friday. When I got there a little after 5 pm my reservations was cancelled. So I get it, I was two hours late but I tried calling them more than 5 times throughout the day to say we would be late and no one picked up. So we talked to the guy working there (a younger Asian guy) and he was not helpful at all. When we got there he had the closed sign up already and looked like he didn't want to be there. So going in he was already reluctant to help. He tried to give us a new reservation but it was almost double what our initial rate was. I tried calling the customer service and they told me the reservation can be held for up to 15 hours after the actual time, so basically this guy just chose to cancel mine because he didn't work. Bottom line terrible customer service, avoid if you can. read more

Let me just begin with how excellent the customer service was here. Manager Jace was very professional and helpful. Being a member of the military I travel to Long Beach often as it is my hometown. I decided to go with budget and I'm glad I did. Jace helped me into a great rental and thanked me for my service. I was blown away. I will absolutely come back and I hope that Jace is still working there to help me. Thank you Jace for your professionalism and thank you for supporting the US Military. read more

The guys at the Budget counter at Long Beach Airport were great, but the company they work for sucks. I booked a 4-day car rental well in advance at what I thought was a great $20/day rate (plus about $36 of the typical BS taxes & fees) for a total of $116. My business was wrapped up after only 3 days so I jumped on an earlier flight and turned the car in a day early. Instead of realizing a bit of savings for a 3-day rental instead of 4 days, I was charged $152. They tacked on about $11 to the per-day rate because I did not keep it for the full 4 days. That's 55% per-day penalty. I should have let some bum sleep in the car for a day and turn it for me. But the icing on the crap cake is that they also gave me some bullsh*t story that I had checked a box called "counter upgrade" when I booked the car and this was $24 additional. They said that even though I did not use the "counter upgrade", I was still being charged for it. I guess it means I should have received an upgrade on the car at the counter. Nice of them to tell me. I have no recollection of clicking any damn box on the website. If I did, it certainly wasn't intentional and it amounts to a "gotcha" price gouging trick. To be perfectly honest, I have always had a problem with the final billing from Budget - it never matches the amount promised when you book with them. I have no problems with other rental agencies and I travel a lot for business. Buyer beware with Budget. They are thieves. read more

Budget Car Rentals - Car Rental Near Me - Long Beach, California

So bothered by this company. First and last time I will do business with Budget. This particular location requires you to have 2 forms of ID. The male in the window made me feel stupid when he was pointing at the signs near him re needing 2 forms of ID. Yeah like thats what I read when I came to the window???? Then he shows me the budget website that you really have to navigate through to see you need two forms of ID. So upset that when you book online there are helpful hints..it says NOTHING about 2 forms of ID. What a waste of time. So I had to go back home and get my passport. I tried to cancel the reservation but since I already paid in full I would have to call to see if I can get my money back. I took the car. The car was dirty inside and out. I couldn't do anything because I had to leave. I returned the car early. Please do not pay in full!! You will not get your money back! Instead they offered me 2 days free for a rental. Mind you I returned the car 4 days early. So upsetting. Lesson learned :( read more

This was the easiest, fastest, friendliest car rental experience I've ever had. We rented ON Thanksgiving Day. While I feel bad for the young man who was working, I AM happy he was there to get us in and out quickly. How nice to go inside the beautiful Westin hotel to rent instead of a gross car lot. The desk is right in front, so there is no confusion. Drop off was easy too. The young lady working was sweet and efficient. Thank you, Budget! read more

Check your final bill after returning the car. They added several charges, including gas which I filled up just 3 miles down the road. My reservation clearly stated that I had the car until 3pm; however, they close at 2pm and so the "convenient" key drop off cost me another day of rental. Shady and misleading. I suggest Enterprise. read more

Services rendered: One-day rental of an intermediate SUV. I live nearby, but needed a bigger car for the day to pick up some friends (and all of their luggage) who were returning to L.A. after living overseas. Pros: 1) I got a phenomenal daily rate for the intermediate SUV, which turned out to be a new Chevy Trax. The car was clean. 2) Extremely easy check-out process. Despite the line (when is there NEVER a line at a rental car office?), it took about five minutes for the representative to get my paperwork in order and hand over the keys. 3) Extremely easy check-in process. I simply drove the car to the designated level in the parking structure and parked in a spot marked for Budget. 4) I don't think I've ever rented a car where I was in and out so quickly; I think this is the advantage of renting a car from a non-airport location. While the airport branches might have more selection and longer business hours, you save a lot of money by renting from a non-airport branch. 5) Great location. It's very conveniently located if you can't get someone to drop you off; it's less than five minutes from the Blue Line terminus and the bus depot on 1st Street. (I parked my bike at the Bikestation for the day.) Cons: 1) When I took possession of the keys, I was told to take the parking elevator down to P-3. That was it. The paperwork doesn't indicate which spot the car is in. I was a bit confused for a quick second, but figured out that unlocking the car (lights flashing) would show me the way. 2) The engine oil warning came on about an hour after I drove the car. This has never happened in my many experiences with rental cars. 3) I didn't realize that I had additional paperwork to do when dropping off the keys after hours. I had to note the mileage; by the time I got to the desk for key drop-off, I was in no mood to go back downstairs. I know, I was lazy. (It was after 10pm on a Sunday night.) I didn't note the mileage, but I did note that I paid to fill the tank with gas. 4) The underground Budget parking area is VERY confusing! I had to make a few U-turns. The lot isn't laid out well. 5) This very small branch is located in the lobby of the Westin Hotel. I imagine that they mainly serve hotel guests who don't bring their cars, so make sure that you allow extra time when picking up the car since there was only one representative working the desk and since they don't pick up the phone or leave you on hold for a very long time when they're slammed. (Call back later, don't wait more than 2-3 minutes.) Summary: For something as simple as needing a bigger car to haul more stuff for just a day, this experience, the car, and service were perfectly suitable. If I were a guest at the Westin, I'd say the same thing. The cons I list above don't detract from this recommendation; they simply made the experience a bit more confusing than getting a rental from an airport location, where everything is clearly outlined and easy to find. I will go back to this Budget branch in the future when I need a rental car in Long Beach. read more

Terrible and rude service! Who forces a disabled man to walk all the way back to the car to write down the license plate number down?! Isn't that their job!? They also yelled at him for bringing the car to their location when the website clearly said to drop it off at their location. Do not rent a car from them! Not worth their demeaning service. read more

Expensive and not very friendly. Wont use again. We had the car for 4 hours and the estimate didnt match the charge on the card. I called and they were still kinda rude assuming I was angry which I wasnt. They stated it will match up later. Very bizzare but ok. read more

AVOID AVOID AVOID THIS PLACE!!! If I could put less than a star I would. This was the absolute WORST rental experience ever. They didn't honor the costco contracted rate. They also then changed the rate AGAIN upon return. The stupid girl behind the desk didn't know what she was talking about and just kept babbling on about different reasons why we were somehow wrong. Even though they changed the price 3 separate times. And she was looking at all three reciepts. She then said she could change anything because she had already closed the transaction. What an idiot. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!! read more

I reserved a car here on 10/26 prepaid. Less than an hour I cancelled my reservation with the request to have me refunded. They charged me a cancellation fee for $50 and it hasn't even been more than 2 hours from time I made the reservation nor was it 24 hours within pick up time. I don't think it's fair nor should they charge me a cancellation fee since I have cancelled on the same day. They will not give me back my full refund. Learned our lesson and will not rent from Budget anymore... read more

Budget better get it together with this Long Beach location. They have one person at a desk in the lobby of The Westin who's expected to attend to the line of people alone, PLUS run out to pick up others. I've never seen so many frustrated customers at a car rental place; everyone was late to their appointments. The poor guy was doing the best he could, so points for him! But the company's lack of strategic staffing makes it a losing proposition, regardless of any price advantage. Long time Enterprise customer here; I'll stick to them from here on out. read more

save your money and more important a big headache!! worst possible service iv ever had with a car rental. car was unwashed & filthy inside and out. i immediately called zac, agent who rented me the vehicle. he dismissed my claim amd asked me "did yiu take pictures"? he asked me to bring the car back the next morning perfectly knowing he was off that day. complete lies and deception. there is hertz, avis and enterprise rentals all within a 5 block radius. i asked zac to speak with his manager, his response was you have to, let me give you his email. why would the customer have to waste more time? just read the reviews....they speak for themselves . alex read more

Reserved midsize car at 2:00 p.m. today online, and received confirmation. Arrived at the location at 5:30 p.m., and was told they only had vans. My wife doesn't drive vans so we had to leave without a car. Why confirm if you don't have availability? Should have just notified me of no availability. I give them one star for the price, which was half the price of major companies. Additionally, they offered a van at midsize price. read more

This review is specifically for Danny. I was scrambling to rent a car last minute on a Saturday. He was fantastic: friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and conveyed a sincere demeanor to help me obtain the rental I needed. I highly recommend this location for your car rental needs. read more

The lady working behind the desk was extremely incompetent and uninformed about company policies and was unable to answer my questions. I called the day before and asked if I could pick my rental up 2 hours early. The associate I spoke with on the phone said it would be no problem and I would just need to return the rental 2 hours earlier the day I brought it back. When I arrived to pick up my rental the lady working said that was not true and I would have to pay an additional weekend rental fee for picking it up early. Clearly no communication between employees. Extremely frustrating rental experience. I will not be returning to use this service. read more

I rented a car last minute on-line. Yes, small desk area and only one employee there; however, Will was courteous, helpful and friendly. I was thrilled to be able to secure a car, for 48 hours, without a hassle. Yes, Will needed to leave the desk area to show me to the car, but, seriously, I would not have been able to find the area without him! The car was clean, had a full tank of gas, and was ready to go. I will rent from Budget, within The Westin, when needed! Thanks Will! read more

If I can select half star. I would definitely do that. Be careful what they said make sure you sign and read the contract don't rush yourself or else they will charge twice. They can charge you whatever they want. read more

* I rent cars several times a month, several companys based on discounts * and for the last 30 yrs * This location is the worst service I have ever experienced in all those years :( 1. I use this location for convenience, but you will have to call several times to make sure your car is ready and clean, if you use them, I strongly suggest you pay on line, dont wait on the desk worker. 2. only ONE person works the desk, do not expect get your car on time. Give yourself a 30 minute window to work with, especially if there are several people in line... This is a busy Hotel Lobby Location 3. Good Luck * read more

I rented a car from this location from Will, I happened to arrive a half hour early to pick up my rental and because of this an additional charge showed up of $28.78 on my rental agreement, Will assured me that he reversed the charge for me. When I dropped off the car to Rebecca two days later, she printed out my statement and the charge was still on there, I questioned her about it, she said that even though the net charge was still on there, it shows as $0 total due, Will must have fixed it. So I left trusting things were in order. Guess what...they charged my cc for the $28.78!! To make matters worse I called 3 days in a row, always went to voicemail, I left 3 messages for the manager, and not a call back. I am really disappointed with my experience at this location. I will not return. Beware of extra charges when you rent from this location, especially when someone tells you to your face that they have taken care of things for you, this will NOT be the case. NOR will the manager call you back. read more

The worst experience I have ever had! The staff are the most unprofessional people I have ever met. I will never go back!

By far the worst service ever. Waited at the desk for OVER 20 minutes for someone to come so I could pick up my rental. When he finally arrived there was no sorry for the wait or anything!!! I asked why did I have to wait so long, he shrugged it off and replied it was only about 15 minutes!!! I will never return to this location. EVER read more

First time using budget rental. Only one employee working the front desk the three times I've been there. This is a management issue and not the employee. The line is long and the employee leaves for 20+ minutes because the cars are in the parking structure floors below the hotel. The car I received was dirty inside and out. I tried to call directly to extend my rental because my car was in the shop and could not get a hold of anyone. Must call the Westin hotel directly and transfer to Budget to finally get a hold of someone. Will not return. read more