Lesson learned: Dollar Rent a Car will try to rip you off.

My girlfriend and I arrived in Las Vegas ready for a great trip. Two weeks hiking around the grand circle. We had our rental car arranged and the price set.

We waited in line at Dollar for an hour while one clerk serviced the 40 people in front of us. This was starting off well. But hey, it was the cheapest.

We finally get up to the desk. I know the drill: just answer no, no, no to everything. So I did.

clerk: "Do you want insurance?"
me:    "No thanks, we don't need insurance. We have our own insurance."
clerk: "Do you want daily coverage?"
me:    "No. AAA will cover us for that."
clerk: "Do you want...?"
me:    "No. No. No."
clerk: "Ok, initial here, here, here."

I’m in a rush to get out of there at this point so I initial and we’re on our way.

The trip is great, we see lots of shit, I’m happy.

We get back to the northeast and find that Dollar charged us $340 more than we bargained for. They hit us up for an “LDW” charge, or Loss Damage Waiver. What the fuck?

I call them several times, dispute the charges online, send faxes with our original confirmation and price quote. I get the same bullshit: “Sorry. You initialed. We won’t reverse the charges.”

Ok, I did initial. I was in a rush. I didn’t read the fine print. Shame on me. But I did tell the clerk at least three times I didn’t want that garbage insurance or LDW and I have a confirmation letter from Dollar stating we would be charged $340 less!

I guess I’ll have to take this one because, well, Dollar scammed me legitimately. I initialed. Nonetheless it’s still a scam. I feel insulted and pissed.

My takeaways from this experience:

• Dollar Rent a Car will try to rip you off with LDW charges – buyer/renter beware definitely applies
• The customer is not so important as a person but is very important as a wallet
• The immediate bottom dollar is much more important than long term revenue or return revenue

Dollar has lost my business, my friends’ business, and hopefully your, the reader’s, business.

Check these links for other customer experiences or search google for “dollar rent a car scam”:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/dollar-rent-a-car-a59315.html
http://www.rateitall.com/i-7022-dollar-rent-a-car.aspx
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/dollar_rates.html
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/dollar-rent-a-car-c265415.html
http://www.planetfeedback.com/dollar+rent+a+car+systems+inc/billing/payment/dollar+rent-a-car+insurance+cost+fraud/179207