‘It’s totally wrong’: Action 9 investigates extra car rental charges

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Texas couple on a Florida vacation turned to Action 9 after they dealt with what they describe as a car rental nightmare. They booked a car through Expedia.com, but ended up paying more than twice as much as the original booking after showing up at the office for Advantage Rent a Car in Orlando.

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After landing at Orlando International Airport, Dawn Austwick and her husband took a shuttle to Advantage Rent a Car’s off-site location on Butler National Drive.

The Austwicks used to live in Florida and Dawn Austwick explained, “We have a lot of friends in Florida.”

They booked a car for three weeks through Expedia.com because at $437.09, including all taxes and fees, it seemed like a great deal.

But once they got in line at the Advantage rental office, Dawn Austwick saw some upset customers. She said, “We started noticing that there were a lot of people that were angry once they got to the counter.”

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She also noted there were signs in the lobby with this message: Kindly be advised that respectful behavior toward our personnel is paramount.

She soon understood the frustration and suspected why those signs might be posted. According to Austwick, the employee at Advantage Rent a Car wouldn’t accept their insurance card from State Farm as proof of liability. She claims the employee told them they also needed their declarations page, which Dawn Austwick didn’t have with her.

The fine print on her Expedia paperwork shows “please bring proof of insurance as liability insurance is the law in Florida.” The Action 9 team didn’t see any specific mention of a declarations page being required.

Austwick said, " I just think it’s wrong. It’s totally wrong.”

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She thinks it’s wrong because she and her husband had to either pay for the supplemental insurance through Advantage or try to find another car somewhere else. Since they were miles from the airport and unsure if they would even be able to find a car from another company, the Austwicks paid the extra money. It ended up costing $953.23. That’s more than twice the original price quoted by Expedia.

Austwick said, “It was clear to me that they knew that they had me over a barrel.”

Action 9 headed to Advantage Rent a Car looking to get some answers.

The man who seemed to be in charge of the Orlando location didn’t want to address the Austwick’s specific case, but did answer Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal’s question about the consumers’ experiences.

Deal asked, “What do you say to consumers who feel deceived?”

The man who seemed to be in charge answered, “Nobody’s deceived, sir. We don’t deceive anybody. We have a clear terms and conditions on our website and everywhere.”

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Action 9 checked and didn’t see one mention of insurance in the “Term and Conditions” section for the Orlando location on the Advantage Rent a Car website.

There are other online reviews and complaints, including with the Better Business Bureau, from customers reporting this insurance issue.

“The business currently has an ‘F’ rating due to a volume of unanswered complaints,” said Holly Salmons, President of the BBB.

Salmons recommends doing what the Austwicks tried to do after reading the fine print: know what you need to bring with you to the rental counter. She also stressed the importance of checking the online reviews before booking.

Salmons told Action 9, “You want to make sure you do as much research and preparation before you leave home.”

Dawn Austwick wishes she would have looked more carefully at the reviews for Advantage before booking, instead of just trusting a well-known site like Expedia.

“No one, no one should be treated this way. No one,” said Austwick.

The VP of Operations for Advantage, Elie Michaels, later called and said they are stringent on their proof of insurance because they have been provided false paperwork in the past and they want to make sure their assets are protected. He also added they would evaluate the company’s terms and conditions and look at Dawn Austwick’s case to see if the company can offer her a refund.

After Action 9 pointed out insurance wasn’t mentioned in Advantage’s Terms and Conditions for the Orlando location on its website, Michaels thanked Action 9 for bringing it to their attention. Michaels noted they found inconsistencies with the way the Terms and Conditions are displayed on the company website and he’s instructed the IT department to fix it.

In a follow-up email, Michaels wrote in part, “…we are always looking to protect our assets while providing our customers with a nice rental experience, and in many cases when a customer does damage our vehicle and realize after the fact that their insurance company does not cover rental cars, they often thank us for recommending our coverage so they are not stuck with a huge body shop bill.”

After the story originally aired on television, Expedia let Action 9 know Advantage has worked this out with the Austwicks and Advantage will provide a refund for the insurance fee.  Expedia also said it would be adding some “OneKeyCash” to their Expedia account as a credit that they can use toward a future trip.

Expedia also added the following information:

We also want to emphasize that it’s important to Expedia that our car partners provide clear understanding of everything a traveler will need to prepare for pick-up, including any required documentation and additional fees that may be incurred. We are working directly with Advantage Rent a Car to ensure the terms and conditions they list on Expedia to correctly outline this information for travelers.

We want our travelers to have a positive experience when they book with us, and if a partner is providing a consistently poor traveler experience, we will take action. We also recommend travelers always check the Terms and Conditions associated with their reservation as policies can vary by location.

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