Budget Reviews 

I've used Budget twice in the last two months, booking through British Airways alongside a flight. The first time (Mexico), they charged me for insurance for which I'd already paid. The second time (France), they charged me for petrol when I returned the car full. Both times I got an apology and a refund after I complained, but I won't use Budget / Avis ever again.

Booked a car via Holidayautos claiming a deposit of 200 USD . Later the receipt said 331 USD and they still haven’t cleared it after 3 weeks. A really shitty company!
Book with someone else. You will be scammed by these!!!

I recently hired a Renault Easpace. It was less than £300 for a week. Good value. I came to collect and told I had to have either snow chains or winter tyres. Chains were €15 per day, so £105 per week and Snow tyres are €50 per day or €350 per week. If you buy new chains, they cost €80 and snow tyres cost €260. What a total rip off. To make matters worse, we struggled for an hour in a snow storm trying to fit them only to find they were the wrong size and were broken. When we returned them and complained the Budget rep said 'Oh yea, someone else said that' and they put them in the bin.

Definitely not budget snow chains!

Complained about this so called company to bvrla who are meant to regulate the car hire companies , surprisingly my complaint was rejected, what did I expect as who pays for bvrla us the car hire company, what a joke ,don't use budget, lies, thieves and cheats all backed up by bvrla

After 3 attempts at Tampa Airport finally got a car with satellite navigation. After we returned the car we received an e receipt charging us an additional £451. I have filled out forms, written numerous emails & waited on hold for hours. Received one email back saying they are keeping the money. When I asked them to justify the figure, have never received a reason.

Budget charged my husband twice for car rental at Orlando International Airport. My husband got delayed at Manchesetr Airport so went out the next day and got charged again. Budget said it was beccause the rates changed from when we first booked the car on the 4th Oct and this was now the 7th Oct. On the 4th October we paid £498.86 then when he went to pick the car up on the 7th Oct we were charged £449.88. HOW. They are so unhelpful and they don't always get back to you. I have to keep getting in touch with them and once I spent 1 hr 40 mins on the phone waiting in line before they answered. My husband passed away on the 14th Dec after a short illness and he was furious about this at the time so I will fight his case no matter what I have to do. People out there DO NOT USE BUDGET RENTAL please please please

MINUS 10 stars (but of course cant put this is unfortunately) - AVOID, AVOID, AVOID, these are scammers/fraudsters and totally incompetent with no idea how to liase with themselves let alone customers!!!

I had car insurance with them last year (2023/24) at the time I took the insurance I notified them I did NOT want auto renewal - I also switched off auto renewal on my account on their website - latter part of last year while still insured with them I had an accident and the car was warded a total loss - 2 months later when the policy would have become due, they reinsured the extinct vehicle, which bear in mind they had made extinct, so they insure this extinct vehicle and try and take the premium from my bank account (which they were not supposed to keep the details, but clearly did) luckily the funds did not go, tand this brought to my attention they were trying to take money!, untill this point I had not been notified of any renewal premium, why would I? the vehciel was extinct, made extinct by Budget (crap) they then tried to take the money again adding charges, no matter how many times i reiterated that I had opted out (many times) of auto renewal, excepting at one point where they finally realised I did not want the policy and spoke about cancelling it, they asked me to send proof of who the vehicle was insured with and because its non existant obviously was not insured anywhere else, and because of this they would not cancel the policy, they then totally ignored all my communication which was par for the course as it was also a nightmare trying to reach them about the accident - myself and many other people, including their underwriters had tried contacting them on the phone numbers provided for accident line and customer services (obvioucsly false), when I put in complaint their reason for not upholding said complaint was that their phones did not ring at that time - errr - derrrr - or course they wont ring if they are not working!!! anyways after this they tried another couple of times to take money from my account for the non existant policy , adding charges along the way, eventually they decided to cancel the non existant policy and put on yet more charges, they passed to their credit control who has today told me that the debt will stand untill someone from customer services (a robot just repeating previous statements and not listening to what I am saying, which I cant get through to), tells them otherwise - anyway I have had enough going round in circles, making no headway with these deliquants and I wish to see them in court and I wish for them to go out of business asap - they are totally fraud oriented and need to clear my name and pay me compensaiotn for the hassle and anxiety they are causing!!! I am putting this negative feedback on social media and I hope people listen up and DO NOT use budget, they may be cheaper but they are totally fraudulent/scammers

We rented a car from the 20 12 24 to the 23.12.24 at Edinburgh airport. We returned the car on the 23.12.24 at 4am as agreed. Due to the time there was noone at the car rental centre so the car was parked in a budget space and the keys left in the drop box as instructed. On the 24th we get a bill for £136 saying we dropped the car off late, that it was returned on the 24.12.24 at 3.10am. We boarded EZY309 6.10am flight to stansted on the 23.12.24 and landed in England at 7.10 am on the 23.12.24. I have our boarding passes, timed footage of us arriving on CCTV at out house and I can get a statement from the car park at stansted proofing we collected out car on the 23.12.24. THIS IS FRAUD! They have completely made up a drop-off date and geld back £136 of our deposit. I can't get through via telephone and I have had no response via email. I have emailed all the details of our flight etc. We even walked through the car rental centre on the morning of the 23.12.24. I have sent you our description and the time so I am sure you can find us on cctv. You will see us entering the car park on said date. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY THEY ARE THIEVES AND FRAUDSTERS!!! I will keep calling and emailing, I will not let this go.

Shambolic experience from Budget Glasgow Airport and the central customer service people.

Reserved a car online and when I went to collect I asked about upgrading and was quoted a price of £35 per day for a 2 day hire, what wasnt explained was the amount of hidden surcharges and extras. I ended up paying £50 in additional charges plus the £70 upgrade. Tried to query this with customer service, Tiago who simply tells me I signed the agreement so there would be no refund.

From my part I am guilty of not checking through the small print thoroughly, so it's a lesson learned. Please check your paperwork folks as the extras were not explained to me.

All in all a poor experience with budget and will not be using them again.

Here's a polished version of your review:

I’m genuinely surprised by the number of negative reviews for Budget Car Hire on Trustpilot. My experience has been absolutely fantastic! I hired a Mercedes C-Class (what a car!) at Manchester Airport after initially having a frustrating encounter with Alamo Car Hire. (Shame on you, Alamo, for turning me away at the airport just because I didn’t have a boarding pass—I needed a local hire!)

When I approached the Budget Car Hire desk, Victoria and Carly were outstanding. They clearly explained all the options, vehicle availability, and any additional charges. They were polite, patient, and accommodating, even when I realised I’d forgotten my PIN and had to head to an ATM to unlock my card.

It was a genuinely pleasant experience, particularly considering it was late at night when most employees are understandably tired and eager to finish. At no point did I feel rushed or pressured into making a decision, and I felt completely confident with my purchase.

Victoria and Carly are a real credit to your team. If you could bottle up the "magic dust" they have and sprinkle it across your organisation, I’m sure you’d see even greater success. Well done, Budget—keep up the excellent work!

Absolutely awful customer service. Complained that I had been forced to take out additional insurance I did not want on a booking made through their UK operation (otherwise I would not get the keys). Told them that this was coercion, bullying and legally unacceptable as a contract cannot not be enforceable if it is signed under duress. They basically told me to f--k off and tough s--t. Can only assume that this is a reflection of how the CEO passes down his ethics through the company!!

Where do I start, first off the booking process was great, nice and easy, we arrived in Tampa, as I had already paid for every extra I needed before hand I gave my booking details to the member of staff, who quickly processed everything and told me everything is on there, I asked him out right if there was anything extra to pay and he said no you have paid for your extras, I then told him again that i didn't want the fuel package I would return the car full so please don't add that on. I refused the tolls as and he said if I went through one they would just charge me a standing fee plus the tolls for each one, so I agreed to that as I only knew of 2x for the trip and have been traveling across the usa for 13 years. I signed the machine, which again I asked if there was any extras and was again told no. We went to the collection point to collect our car, which unfortunately had a dashboard issue, so I went to the desk downstairs to report it and they changed the car for me, I asked the lady if there would be any extra charge and she said no, so we proceeded to the new car, everything was great. We had a wonderful 3x weeks with the car and returned it no issues. Until I got home and checked my credit card statement to find I had been charged £256 from Budget, I have contacted the company multiple times, no one gets back to you. They are not interest once they have your money they really don't care. Completely ignored, all I want to know is what I have been charged for and why, it's not an unreasonable request, no one is giving me an answer. I have sent over all the documentation and still nothing in response. I would avoid this company and go somewhere else, keep in mind Avis is also part of the same company.

What a shambles of a company,l arrive late to pick car at reception no one there security sleeping when I try and phone for assistance,when they eventually come after 1.5hours l find there is no car as been a mix up with my details but they did not mix up the payment as it was gone from my account and on the form I filled out for rental it had my flight number and time arrival .The paperwork had me a arrive at 11.30am which I was not aware of but I filled in the fight details which clearly showed arrival 11pm which was also on the rental. I was stranded with no help from security as he was upset I had awaken him up and I was left which as now 1.30am to try find my way from the rental place back to the airport and then get myself to my hotel which was 30mile away.I then got to the taxi when the taxi driver was a total idiot and could not find my hotel I had to put the address on my Google maps to find.It took us straight there then taxis driver wanted to charge me 3x the amount which was more than my flight. I am saying don't not hire from Avis/budget they had no one on reception to help they did not study my rental agreement to see when I would arrive absolutely a complete shambles of a company l worry if this had been a young lady on her own and the help I received a shambles.minus 10 out of 10.

Where to start. What an atrocious company. Raised a complaint over 3 months ago and no one has responded. Chased multiple times.

Hired a car for £365 from Pisa and was told everything was covered in my package. Upon returning back to the UK, they had added close to £600 of extras. The lady had me sign an Italian document and discussed no extras. I did sign, by mistake, but when i received the contract, nothing is signed in English. They are solely out to rip you off and despite multiple attempts to complain, they just ignore you. Avoid at all cost.

Apart from the 1hr queue to get our car from Orlando Airport, we had a very nice car with lots of room and I enjoyed driving it. It was a large SUV Chevy Suburban and we loved it. After a couple of long drives the yellow light came on saying we needed to fill the fuel tank. Not a problem, but inside the fuel cover we had no sticker saying if it was petrol or diesel? Nothing in the manual, nothing on the paperwork. After checking online about what engines were available for that year and make, I worked it out to be petrol. So we filled it up and it cost under $80. We had paid for the re-fill at Budget as the guy said it would save us hundreds because their fuel is much cheaper then paying in that area……
It wasn’t. $172 they charged and the car had just under a half tank when we returned it. Don’t fall for this trap. Always take it back with a full tank and turn down their ridiculous offer, because its a con. I still can't fathom where they got the price from?

TOULOUSE AIRPORT
A BRIEF RUNDOWN
- they do not give you a record of all the recorded damage to the car so we are basing our rental on trust which (please see next point) isn’t really something I would go by
- we asked to add on a driver, they did not state a cost, nor did they ask us to sign anything to confirm our agreement, naive of us maybe, but a business should be clear about these things - not this rental company (look up the Google reviews it’s rife!). Upon returning the car (see issue with this on next point), we receive an invoice including an additional misc charge for €50 or so euros - the invoice does not specify what this charge is for, we can only assume it is for adding an extra driver. It’s shameful of the company quite honestly.
- drop off - there was a huge queue of cars waiting to be checked in. There is no way people dropping cars off before a flight can wait around for ONE person to check the car over. There was a queue of about 5 cars. No doubt this is a dodgy tactic to add on additional costs unknowingly to the drivers.

Overall very disappointed in the checkin people primarily as had they STATED as any good reputable company would, that there is an extra charge for adding more drivers I simply wouldn’t have done this. We also had to ask about how we record any damage already on the car - rather than giving us a document of their already recorded damage, WE were told to take pictures - so essentially; we are doing their job! If they want they can charge us for any damage and WE then have to deal with the additional admin to prove this wasn’t us.

They also do not inform you how you have to return the car. E.g full to full etc. luckily I read the terms so knew to return it full. Our other family member was given an electric car not fully charged (at 75%) but was then charged for not returning it full…
Good clear communication would have completely changed this review and our experience of budget rental but clearly all they care about it scheming more money from customers

What a joke of a company - will never use again!

I have a horrible and discriminatory experience with the car rental with Budget Heathrow booked via 3rd party platform KLook.

Sunny and Max at the Heathrow Airport location kept complaining that I booked via a 3rd party but not directly via budget. My flight was delayed and first I was refused a car. Then they gave me a car after pleading multiple times. When I went to retrieve the vehicle, they showed me the wrong parking location of the car and blamed that I didn’t read the car model carefully but relying on the car parking number that Max put down incorrectly.

I was then given another car without full fuel and I had to wait for another 30 minutes. When the car was filled up, the car system was malfunction because the car play was on and off. I didn’t trust the computer system of the car and requested a new one.

Sunny at the Budget Heathrow location said that I was not cooperating and should have just taken the faulty car. He then went on to cancel my contract and said that I was being uncooperative. There abhorrent services and manner scared me and the entire situation made me feel being punished for all the wrongdoing done by the Budget team and for me not booking directly with Budget. This is unacceptable and demand a proper response.

Rented car from Edinburgh Airport. Car had barely any engine oil in it. We had to get roadside recovery out and were thankfully at the hotel but still had to wait 3 hours for them to turn up. Killed an entire day for us of our holiday. I am beyond furious with how inept these people are. It's a basic check: fuel, oil, screenwash, tyres. Absolutely livid. The car could have broken down in the middle of nowhere.

I did notice a small scrape on the rear bumper that wasn't on the diagram when I went out to the parking lot to take possession of the vehicle. I carefully took pictures and video to document the damage, and figured I had good evidence if it became an issue. When I returned the car, they billed me $440 for the damage, and I submitted the pictures of the damage on the vehicle in their lot before I took possession. They haven't responded after nearly 3 days.

Personally I have never had an issue with Budget car hire. I use them exclusively when visiting Knock airport and the Staff there are excellent. My low score is a reflection of the misnamed Help desk. After Enquiring a discrepancy in my car hire charges over 8 days ago there has been zero communication past the automated email to say they will be in touch. This proved to be frustrating but a call to the Knock desk sorted it in minutes. So Budger need to up their game on customer service given via helpline.