Thrifty Car RentalReviews of thriftycarrental.com

DESPITE IRREFUTABLE PROOF, THRIFTY REFUSED TO REFUND MY $523 & FOUGHT ME THROUGH A FORMAL ARBITRATION PROCESS OVER A 75-DAY PERIOD (which they lost) I prepaid $523 for a Thrifty rental at Los Angeles Airport, booked via Expedia on 6/4/26. The booking terms allowed free cancellation w/in 24 hrs I cancelled ~20 hrs after booking, doing so more than once & documenting each step -- by phone w/ a Thrifty agent on a recorded call (who confirmed no charge) & again by email (Note: I had tried the online cancel'n, but the Thrifty site wouldn't register it, which meant I had to place a live call & be on hold before getting to a live person.) At cancellation, Thrifty's website confirmed "Cancellation fee: FREE" and "Refund amount: $523.35." On 6/12/26, Thrifty emailed a cancel'n confirm'n: "I have processed a refund of $523.35...", but saying it was granted as a "one-time courtesy." I asked why it was a "courtesy"/ favor for them to honor their express policy. They responded "We apologize if this wording caused any concern, as it was not intended to diminish your eligibility or experience." However, the refund never appeared. Rather, Thrifty fought to keep my $523 that it wasn't owed -- despite their express policy marketing on their website, their own recorded call & their own written confirm'n This dispute ran 75 days from 6/5/26 to 8/19/26. On 8/6/26, my bank notified me Thrifty was still refusing to refund the charge despite full, unequivocal proof of proper cancel'n having been provided My bank then submitted the claim to a formal Arbitration process, which reviewed both sides and ruled in my favor on 8/19/26 This process consumed a large amount of my time at real cost to me. However, I pursued it -- and write this review -- on principle given many consumers wouldn't have been able to successfully fight back

Worst hire company ive had the displeasure of dealing with got a parking ticked on mobility hire car i didnt realise I hadn't swiped my disabled badge properly the hire company took 42 out of my bank account leaving me nothing to live on for a week as on benefits and now I still have to pay the 70 parking fine on top of there charges I would never trust this company they basically told me to pay it or ide get a bigger fine absoluty disgusting behaviour with disabled people

Hertz is the parent company of Thrifty Rent a Car; I believe a similar experience can happen with Thrifty as it did with Hertz. A reservation for a car made on the Hertz website was not honored, this San Diego California "franchisee" apparently can add a "facility" fee (possibly other fees for any reason the franchisee chooses) that increased my cost by almost 40% over the rate quoted on the website--and Hertz will not admonish the franchisee for doing so. The reservation included an "airport fee" which should have included any possible "facility" fee. I feel this is a classic "bait and switch" procedure. Arriving with a printed reservation means nothing, one either pays the added "facility fee" or they are potentially left stranded. On a tight schedule, I had no choice but to take the car offered--one that had almost 60,000 miles. I'll always avoid Hertz, and their affiliates: Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly.

I booked a car rental through Booking.com for a rental vehicle from Thrifty Car Rental at the Tampa International Airport (TPA). With this booking I even purchased additional insurance coverage for the vehicle in case of an accident. I reserved a Nissan Rogue but what I got was a complete downgrade from that vehicle at the Thrifty counter at TPA. I was given a hassle because I had a voucher from Booking.com and the additional insurance coverage. The agent told that Thrifty doesn't accept third party purchases. Then why are you allowing to have my rental? I was also charged an additional sixty-six dollars ($66.00) for concession fees and such. WHAT! I already paid for this rental and I am getting charged more because I didn't rent it directly through Thrifty? Disgusting. When I got to my vehicle it was a Chevy Trax! This was clearly a downgrade from what I reserved and what I paid for through Booking.com. I am done with Thrifty and will never rent another vehicle through them. This is a disgusting business practice. I am fed up with companies who go through Booking.com to have people reserve vehicles then do not honor the contract! This was irritating and disgusting!

I rented a car online. Filled out what exactly I wanted to pay for. When I got to the counter to pick up the car, the woman behind the counter kept trying to add things on. She then told me I had to prepay for fuel, but that it would be refunded when I returned. I questioned this two more times because the wording was xxx on the form she was showing me. I finished the rental and was charged the amount she said was refundable. You can not call and dispute this. You can only send an email, and so far, no response. I was blatantly lied to and given a form that did NOT state the information correctly.

I had a frustrating experience with billing after extending a rental. The extension was agreed to at a specific weekly rate, but the final charges were later increased significantly beyond what was originally documented. The final charge was $983.89. However, Thrifty later confirmed in writing that the correct total was $546.88 and that the $437.01 difference had been cleared. Despite this, I was still left paying the higher amount and no refund was issued. The process to try to resolve this was time-consuming and confusing, with inconsistent information along the way. Communication with customer service was also difficult. I would recommend documenting everything carefully and confirming all rates in writing if you extend a rental.

A complete farce of a company. Tried to rental me 2 cars that didn't work, only finally getting the 3rd one. Then after 2 hours delay due to their incompetence, I could get out of Alicante parking area as the man on the intercom at the barrier said Thrifty hadn't paid their bills. Steer clear of this company. Never again

Thrifty charged me after I turned in my rental. I recall during the counter process that I stated that I did not bring reading glasses with me and could not read the agreement. My fault in asking where I needed to sign. While my signature created a legally binding agreement, this was a deceptive ethical practice. My voice will be louder. I will never use Thrifty again and I will tell my circle about the less-than-1-star experience.