Renting a Car in Cancun - Cheated by Alamo!

Alamo - Return Unhappy?*

Jen & I just spent a few days south of Cancun in the Riviera Maya. We rented a car from Alamo & had a slight problem. Here's the letter Jen wrote (& sent to the local office and the American HQ). I've added some comments in square brackets & I'll post an update if/when the issue is resolved:

I have a BIG issue. I rented a car from Alamo on Sunday [at a booth in La Quinta Inn on Tulum Avenue here in Cancun] and just returned it today. I went in to rent the car on Saturday (apparently at your mexico locations you can not book in advance???). I had to wait around for 2 hours as your "representative" was MIA. They said he had gone to lunch (for 3 hours? with no one to man the desk?). When we finally rented the car he told us he was upgrading us to the next best car without extra charge. The car we got had LOTS of dents, had NO RADIO, and NO AIRBAGS [& no floor mats, which meant we had to clean the floors or risk an extra charge]. Features I would assume would be a part of any rental at a reputable rental agency.

My husband and I have previously rented from another agency in Mexico and got way better customer service and their cheap car was MUCH better for a comparable price. Because of the hassle the "representative" put us through he said that he would give us a late drop-off time. He said we could bring the car back late as long it was before 10 am. We returned the car about 15 min before 10 am. Of course your "representative" was NOT there. When he finally arrived he told us that he had said to bring it back by 9:00 am. This is NOT true. He then proceeded to charge us for an extra hour (that we did NOT use) [after threatening to call the police when Jen grabbed his binder and tried to find our pre-signed credit slip LOL].ALSO on our agreement it states that it costs 112.80 pesos per day plus 11% tax. This would equal 125.21 pesos. He charged my card 345.80 pesos. And this is all for a charge that is not legitimate! He called his "supervisor" but lied to him and told him that he had told us 9 am. His supervisor would not help us [even after I spoke to him & told him he could charge us an extra $15 or risk a boycott of his booth]. We currently live in Mexico and make our living online. Not only will we never be renting from Alamo again (in Mexico OR USA OR anywhere else Alamo rents cars), nor will anyone we know personally, this will be documented online (with pictures) if this matter cannot be resolved.I have witnesses that can corroborate my story, as well as a copy of a rental agreement. This is unacceptable customer service. The man who helped us was named Guillermo. He is NOT a good representative. I do not like being lied to and having your representatives stealing my money. 

We're still waiting to hear back from Alamo. It is nice that they have a parent company in America. If we'd rented from, say, Blueway (which also has lots of negative reviews), we'd be SOL.

We were stupid to trust a car rental clerk (named Guillermo no less). Guillermo was stupid to mess with us.

We'll fight the extra charge until the day we die as a matter of principle. We might even rent from Alamo again if, eg, we end up with a discount or a free rental. Wouldn't it be nice to take a voucher back to Guillermo & rub it in his face?

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Update: To their credit, Alamo Mexico responded within 24 hours, and reversed the bogus charges :)