DONT RENT FROM THESE THIEVES I returned the vehicle 1month…read moreago. I still have not recieved my $1000 bond I intend to expose these thieves. They don't return calls or emails. Renter BEWARE. There are numerous reviews on line with the same story. I am going through ACCC, POLICE AND MEDIA. TO EXPOSE THESE THIEVES.

I am extremely dissatisfied with the service I have received from this company. I booked a truck…read morefor last Saturday to pick up at the Melbourne City depot in order to move house that day. I received an email on Thursday to say that the reservation had been cancelled for no reason, at which point I called Atlas and was assured that the reservation was still active and had not been cancelled. I arrived at the Atlas depot in Melbourne CBD on Saturday morning at 9am ready to collect the truck, only to be told that you are unable to collect a truck from the depot in the city ever, and that my reservation was not active and had in fact been cancelled. On top of this there was no trucks available at all for me to use on that day in the Melbourne fleet. As a result, I had to frantically call every other truck hire company I could think of and ended up paying double the amount I was originally expecting. The main issue I have is that the direct website booking system allowed me to book a truck to collect and drop off at the Melbourne CBD depot, even though this is not a service that is offered. Then when someone realised that the booking wasn't able to be serviced, instead of calling me to explain and re-organise the pick up address, the booking was cancelled for what appeared to be no reason to me. When I called Atlas customer care team they couldn't care less and gave me an email to report my complaint to. This is outrageous customer service for company that has supposedly "been in business for over 25 years" and are "committed to providing all our customers the best vehicles for their needs at the best possible price". I will be actively discouraging people from using your service going forward.

Most horrible rental car experience ever…read more The guy that works there is racist. Every time I tell him something such as "Give me a minute to think' or 'Let me wait for my friend,' he'll respond with "Whhhaaattt?" 'Whaaaat?" I'm from the states. I dont have an accent--only American accent. He's Caucasian... if he cant understand English then I don't think he should be there. On top of that, he's very pushy!! He sells a lot of unnecessary package such as 'upgrade car size' and 'returning your car with your tank empty even if that means pushing your car back (seriously, who would want to push a rental car, thats just embarrassing)' In fact, he kept on scaring my friends and me since we dont want their insurance. My credit card provides rental insurance (which is already enough) but he told us that 'even a tiny scratch will result in a $3000.00 charge on my credit card.' Oh, and the GPS that I rented..they didn't updated it for over 12 months. So, while I was driving, the GPS keeps on telling me to "make a U-turn' but we cant cause its a "one-way" Rent here if you want to commit suicide!

Thrifty stands out as the meanest car rental company I have encountered, for their handling of…read morecosmetic damage to the cars. When I rented the car I was told they don't worry about minor damage. But when I returned it to the Elizabeth St Melbourne office, Robert searched all over the car till he finally found the tinyest scratch on a bumper (about 1 cm). He triumphantly announced that he was charging $4,000 to my credit card for that!! He promised they would refund the difference after they received the repair bill, but after one untruth from the company, that wasn't worth much. If this happens to you, do what I did - it worked well. I took a few photos of the mark on the bumper. Then I went on-line with my credit card company and disputed the charge, telling them the circumstances. As a result, Visa did not require me to pay this bill, and I bet Visa didn't pay Thrifty either! Two months later Thrifty gave me a $4,000 credit to my card, minus about $200 plus some minor expenses for the repair! Do you think they would have been so prompt if Visa wasn't withholding any payment? I doubt it. So avoid Thrifty if you can. They DO disclose their policy of charging blanket $4000 in the contract, but you can't believe they would do it for such tiny damage. Next they'll be charging for every scuff on the tires!

Living fairly close to the CBD, I sold my car a few years ago in favour of PT and walking, but I do…read morehire cars regularly for day trips or days when I just can't get around without one. The customer service at this particular Thrifty outlet was definitely the friendliest I've ever received. Everything was sorted when I got there and I was ready to drive away within a few minutes. It was a freezing morning, so they even pulled it up and left the heater going to warm it up for me. I hired it overnight but was told if I didn't make it back before they closed the next day, I could bring it back the next morning at no cost. I've had prior experiences at other rental places where they threaten you will all kinds of charges, these guys just seemed to be a little more human! The car was immaculately clean although unfortunately had that very old 'a smoker has been here' smell to it. Not their fault though, people that smoke in hire cars are jerks. Add to this that I got velocity points for my booking and it was $20 cheaper per day than the other option, I will definitely hire from here again.

I needed a car for one day at Melbourne airport and just could not believe how cheap the deal was…read more I even asked them twice to make sure I had got it right. Got a late model Ford Focus, clean and fresh and the deal was so easy. Just walked across the road and 5 minutes later was zipping down the freeway. After a day's driving around Melbourne it only cost $11 to refill the tank.

We've hired cars for local and interstate trips from Budget a couple of times and I would say these…read moreguys are pretty middle of the road. We usually hire here because the price is decent, but it's definitely worth shopping around as it's not consistently the cheapest. Cars are always in good shape and very clean. Service in the actual centre is incredibly slow and impersonal, so allow another 20-30 mins to get the hire car sorted before hitting the road. Even when giving a pick up time, the cars aren't always ready and sometimes you need to wait for them to be cleaned. 4 stars because I would recommend them over some of the others, but certainly not rave about them or their customer service.

As an expat and now a resident of Melbourne, I want to 'cut my teeth' on the roads in this fine…read morecity to ensure I am oak with the conditions: trams, driving on the other side of the road, and overall confidence. Budget has always been my worldwide choice for cars so I decided to give the a shot here in Australia. I was not disappointed. Budget in Southbank did their job and provided me a great SUV with low mileage and did not penalize me for being a half hour late on the return. Another weekend with budget and I hope to be ready for my own vehicle in the land of 'keep to my left'.

I've rented cars from Budget on a number of occasions. They have always been helpful, polite and…read moreprofessional. Car hire has the ability to strike fear into the renters! Budget have always been good to me. I've taken cars back covered in mud - not a problem; covered in squished bugs - not a worry, as long as you top up the fuel, you are good to go. Happy adventures :-)

Worst service ever. We booked a car online, which showed that there was a car available, but when…read morewe got there, we were told no car available. We were not given an upgrade and had to walk away to find another car elsewhere. The people there were rude and not helpful at all. It seemed as if they did not want our business. We will never go back to Budget again.