Hit the brakes! Before your next trip there's something you
need to know about the car rental business. An unexpected surprise may be lurking in the fine print of your
rental agreement. It could cost you a bundle of bucks.
And it may cost at least one car rental company its reputation for being, well,
Thrifty.
I learned the hard way. On a recent trip to Florida I flew
into West Palm Beach and rented a convertible from Thrifty. I put the top down
and headed for Key West. I was dreaming about snowy white beaches and fruity
blue cocktails blissfully unaware of the financial pothole I was about to
hit.
Hurtling past the palm trees I didn't notice that toll
booths had disappeared from Florida's turnpike. Not that I missed them. You
might have heard that Florida has gone to a cashless toll system. As I
understand it, Floridians use the SunPass system -- you buy a transponder and tolls are automatically deducted from your account. If
you don't have a transponder a camera snaps a photo of your
license plate and you get billed.
SunPass costs $25. But it's a whole different ballgame when you rent a
car.
The brain trust at Thrifty car rental apparently sees
cashless tolls as a cash cow. Thrifty charges $7.99 per day
to use it's "Pass24" system which pays the tolls for you. The maximum charge is
41.99 per week. Keep in mind you can actually buy SunPass for $25. I declined
Thrifty's toll paying service along with an offer to prepay my gas at $9.29 a
gallon. I also declined the Navigation system for $13.99 per day. Oh, and the
rental agent warned that if I returned the car early I'd pay extra. For giving
them back their car early?
I sure missed those old toll booths a few weeks after
returning home. Turns out I racked up seven toll charges
totaling $2. Thrifty hit me with a $15
fee for each of the tolls -- $105! That's not a typo. I was charged $105 to
collect $2 in tolls. I sure didn't feel like a valued customer. I felt like Thrifty pulled a
"gotcha". Obviously, Thrifty doesn't see this as a questionable
practice for a company that's staked its reputation for providing low
cost car rentals.
I called Thrifty and asked to have the charges removed. A
supervisor told me that the Pass24 option is clearly visible on Thrifty's web
site. It is -- but you have to read the fine print to find information about the
$15 per toll fee. As a courtesy, the supervisor said he'd drop the $105 in fees
if I retroactively paid for Thrifty's Pass24 service at the low, low, low weekly
price of $41.99. Just so you know, it's not just Florida. Thrifty also offers
it's Pass24 system in Texas and Colorado.
Here's the kicker: According to the SunPass website almost
all other car rental agencies are charging $14.75 per month for their cashless
toll systems. That's per MONTH. Of course, you also have to pay the tolls. Here's a link to the rental car rates that are posted on
the SunPass web site: https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar
Writing about cars had me thinking about the old Ford TV ads. They featured the tag line "Quality is Job
1." Maybe it is, maybe not. But one thing many great companies have in common is the
belief that reputation management really is a top job. Good managers understand
that when consumers think you're out to
get them -- it's bad for business. That's why reputations matter. A ruined reputation can be costly. Ask Charlie
Sheen.
On Thrifty's web site it says "Thrifty Saves You
Money." Sounds good. But the best way to save yourself some money may be to rent a car from
somebody else.
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