I am sitting on the sofa now and my kid is playing with toys on the floor. When I look at him I think about my car rental in Houston. I booked the car on QEEQ because I wanted to stay a few more days in the US with my kid.
Around the end of April I went to pick up the car at the airport. It was about the 26th at noon. The staff at the counter spoke very fast. They showed me many insurance papers. I had to watch my kid and listen at the same time. My head felt a bit messy and I just wanted to finish the process and leave with the car.
Later when we came back home I checked my credit card bill. I saw one extra insurance fee that I did not really understand. The amount was not small. As a parent I have to plan every dollar so I became very worried. I thought maybe I agreed to some extra insurance by mistake at the counter. I called my bank to ask about this charge. I also checked the photos and papers I took. I read them many times but I still felt confused.
So I contacted their customer service. From the start there was one main person or one small team following my case. Every time I called or wrote to them they already knew who I was. I did not have to repeat my full story again and again. I told them that I have a kid and my time is not very fixed. They tried to contact me when I said I was more free. They spoke with patience and did not ask me to send all documents at once. They just reminded me what I should prepare like my own insurance paper and told me I could take some time.
One night I only replied to them after I put my kid to sleep. It was pretty late and I felt a bit sorry. Their reply was still very calm. They helped me sort the bill step by step. They told me which part was charged by the rental company and which part might be extra insurance. When I did not understand some terms they changed to simple words. They said things like this part was bought at the counter and this part was not in the original order. It made the whole thing easier for me.
The claim process was not easy for me. I had to take care of my kid and my work and still find time to look for papers and check every number. For a few days there was no clear result and I started to feel nervous. I worried that the problem would just stop there. Their side still kept following up with me. When there was any small update they asked me if I got any refund or any new news from my bank. I felt like someone was pushing this case forward for me instead of leaving me alone.
The final answer from the rental company was not what I really hoped for but during the whole time I felt that someone was standing on my side. I could put more energy on my kid and less on the bill and the contracts. For a parent like me this feeling of being looked after and being remembered is very important in real life.
I was sitting on my sofa at home with my credit card bill in my hand and I finally felt calm when I thought about my car rental in the US a few weeks ago. I booked the car through QEEQ. I chose a Ford Mustang convertible from San Francisco to Los Angeles and I was really excited at the start.
The real trouble started at pickup. That day in San Francisco I arrived at the rental desk about half an hour late. I was already a bit nervous. The staff at the counter told me there was no car left in the group I booked. I was confused. I booked early and I was not that late. They said they could only give me a more normal Mazda SUV. I felt it was a downgrade.
I waited inside the office for a long time. I think around one and a half hours. My mood went from excited to annoyed. The people at the counter did not sound very friendly. I felt like I was begging them for a car. In the end I had no choice and took the Mazda. I felt it was unfair so I contacted their support and explained everything. I said I was downgraded and I waited too long. I also said I thought I should get the price difference and some extra compensation.
In the next days I was worried the problem would just disappear. I returned the car in Los Angeles around the middle of May in the afternoon. After I dropped off the car I kept copies of my rental papers. During that period they kept giving me updates. They asked which car I used at first and if I changed cars later. They also asked me to confirm which days I used the Mazda and which days I used the Mustang again.
The biggest stress for me was not only the money. I was more afraid that nobody would care. The people at the rental desk made me feel bad from the start. I was alone in a foreign country. I was always worried that my English was not clear enough and that the rental company would just say something and end the topic. So every time support contacted me and told me what the rental company replied and what they would ask next I felt much more relaxed.
They did not use difficult words with me. They just told me in a simple way that the first few days I used a downgraded car so they could try to get the difference for these days and also ask for a bit more because of the bad service. I could feel that they did not just send one email and forget. They were really watching the case.
After some time they told me that the rental company agreed to give a partial refund and that it would go back to my credit card. Later I saw the refund of a bit more than ninety euros on my bill. The amount was not as high as what I first hoped but it showed that my complaint was not ignored and that someone really helped me push it to the end.
For me the most important part was that someone followed my problem from start to finish. It was not just a simple message telling me to talk to the rental company by myself. I felt like I was taken care of. When you are in another country and something goes wrong it means a lot when someone keeps an eye on your case. Even if the process is not perfect I was glad that there was a clear result in the end.
I will start with the problem. In the middle of May I went to San Diego for a business trip and I booked a car through QEEQ. I picked up a Toyota Corolla at the airport. It was an automatic four door car. I think I got the car around the afternoon of May 18, a bit earlier than the time in my booking. I wanted to get the car first so I could drive slowly to the hotel and get ready for my meeting. At the counter I added a prepaid fuel option. The price was a little over 80 dollars. I had that number in my mind.
The real trouble started after I returned the car. That day I had a noon flight so I went to return the car early, around 9 am on May 22, about an hour earlier than the scheduled drop off time. I parked the car, gave back the key and went straight to the airport to check in and go through security. I was only thinking about not missing the flight.
A few days later I checked my credit card bill and I just froze. Besides the prepaid fuel I already knew about there was more than 300 dollars extra. One part was written as a late return fee. When I looked at the breakdown I kept thinking one thing. I clearly returned the car on time. They wrote that I brought back the car the next day before dawn and that meant they added one whole extra rental day on me.
Since this was a business trip all these costs needed to be cleared in the company report so I felt a lot of pressure. I checked all my emails and papers by myself. The more I checked the more confused I felt. Some amounts did not match what the rental company said. I sat in front of my laptop alone, feeling annoyed, and work emails kept popping up on the screen.
I reached out to the customer service and told them the whole story. It felt a bit like replaying everything to a stranger. When I picked up the car, when I dropped it off, why it was impossible that I returned it one day late. After they heard me they spoke in a calm way and checked some details with me. Then they asked me to find my flight booking and boarding information. I could still find the noon flight record in my email so I sent it to them right away.
Later they asked me for anything that could prove my drop off time. I did not take any photo when I returned the car. I felt a bit upset about that. So I just collected all the trip records and bills I could find. During the whole time it was the same person talking with me. Every message was based on the last one. I did not need to repeat who I was and what happened. I could feel that someone was watching this case for me instead of just sending one standard email and leaving it there.
One time on my way home from work I got another email on my phone. It said they had already sent my flight information and other proof to the rental company and asked them to check again the real return time and the extra charges. I read that email on the bus and I finally felt a bit relaxed. At least I was not fighting alone with the rental desk.
They also helped me look at a few different charges, like the one a bit over 200 and another close to 90, and explained what they might be. Which part looked normal and which part was worth arguing about. I work in business travel and I am careful with numbers but I am not an expert in overseas rental rules. It helped a lot when someone explained things in simple words and told me which might be a deposit and which might be extra service.
After some time they told me the rental company had agreed to refund the extra day that was wrongly charged. They also showed me the proof of the refund. Of course the money matters to me but for me the more important thing was that during the whole process I knew my case was not forgotten. Someone kept following up, pushing for progress and coming back to check details with me. If I had to deal with the rental company all by myself with the time difference and all the calls and emails I think I might have given up on those extra hundreds of dollars.
I booked my car in Frankfurt through QEEQ. I arrived in Germany in the evening around May 13 and picked up a Volkswagen Touran around May 15 at a city office. It was a manual car. I was on a business trip but the car felt more like a family car. The driving part was smooth. I followed my plan and returned the car in the afternoon around May 19, then went straight to the airport. I thought the rental was finished. The real problem started after I went back to Japan. On my credit card bill I saw a charge close to 600 euros. It was a big amount and did not match what I had in mind. I felt nervous. The paper contract showed only the time when I picked up the car. There was no clear return time and the fee details were not clear. I could not understand how they got this amount. As a business traveler this kind of unknown charge is also a problem for my expense report. My first thought was that maybe they charged the rental fee twice. I contacted their customer service and sent the contract and my card screenshot. At first I did not expect too much, because this kind of case is across countries and with the rental company too. I thought it would be very complicated. One thing surprised me. From the start it was the same person following my case. For me this is important. I did not need to repeat my story again and again. He explained things in simple English and often checked if I understood. The pace of the talk was easy for me even though I travel a lot for work. After some time they checked everything with the rental company and then explained the result to me. He told me the rental company first charged 512.29 euros in total. Because of a system problem they did not subtract my prepaid part, so some rental fee was charged twice. The rest 363.35 euros was for extra insurance, one extra driver and the related tax and surcharges. Later the rental company refunded 148.94 euros which was the duplicated rental fee. He also reminded me to check my credit card statement and told me I could contact them again if something was wrong. For me the main point was not only the money they got back. The key feeling was that someone was really taking care of this for me. When there was an update he reached out and the explanation was clear and direct. I did not feel brushed off. My work schedule is quite tight, so this time I did not need to fight with a foreign rental company by myself. It saved me a lot of time and energy. As a business traveler this feeling of being looked after is quite rare.
That day in Malaga in Spain, the sun was really bright. The Mini Countryman was parked there and I walked over with my suitcase, feeling pretty relaxed. I booked it through QEEQ. It was automatic with four doors and good for me and my friend for two days. I picked it up around April twenty third at about eleven in the morning. At the GOLDCAR counter I checked the paper and I did not see any extra service, so I just drove away. I did not think there would be some strange charge later.
I found the problem many days after I got home. One day I was bored and checked my credit card bill. I suddenly saw a charge of 148.65 EUR. My first thought was what did I buy again. I went through all my spending from those days and found this one was from the car rental company. Then I remembered the drop off. It was around April twenty fifth, late at night near eleven. I parked the car in the return area, the staff walked around the car, did not say anything bad, so I left to catch my ride.
So where did this money come from. I had three big question marks in my head. Did I miss some service on the paper. Or did they find a scratch later. I checked my email and the paper contract again and again and still could not find an answer. I decided to contact their support team. I sent the screenshot of the charge and my rental agreement and told them what happened from my side.
After that it felt like a long Q and A. I asked why they took 148.65 EUR. They said they would check with the car rental company. I asked what if the company did not admit anything. They told me they would keep following this for me. I could not see what they did inside, but I could feel that someone was really watching this case, not just pushing me away.
One thing I remember very clearly. I had just finished class and was walking on the street when my phone buzzed. It was a new update. They said the car rental side mentioned it was a car damage charge. I got nervous right away and stopped on the sidewalk. I tried to remember everything. Did I record a full video of the car. Did I miss one side. Was the parking lot too narrow and I hit something. All kinds of scenes played in my head and I got more and more worried.
I told support about my fears and asked what I could do if they said there was damage, because I really did not remember hitting anything. They told me again to stay calm and that they would keep asking the company to check the details and see if it was a wrong charge. I usually do not like to bother people, but during that time they kept sending me updates. Every time I opened the messages, there was something new. I felt like someone was helping me hold this problem, so I was not alone facing a strange charge.
After some time I got another message saying the company had already refunded the 148.65 EUR and the final cost was 0. I stared at the screen for a moment, then opened my bank and credit card apps and checked line by line. I saw the refund record and the amount was exactly right. In that moment all the question marks in my head just went away. I did not need to think about writing long complaints anymore.
When I look back, the scenes are very clear. First it is me frowning at the bill. Then it is me on the street refreshing my phone again and again. Then it is me letting out a long breath after I see the refund number. During each step I just kept asking when I had questions and they kept answering. The way they talked made me feel I was not trouble. For a young person like me, renting abroad and suddenly seeing a random charge, having someone follow up closely like that really made a big difference.
At first I felt kind of mixed about my booking with QEEQ. The car itself was fine. I picked it up around noon on March thirtieth in San Juan. It was a Hyundai Kona with automatic transmission and it drove well. But when I came back to San Juan and dropped it off in the afternoon on April eighth, my credit card later showed an extra charge of more than one hundred seventy euros. That really confused me. I travel for business, so every cost has to match my reports. A random charge like that is very annoying. I first asked the staff at the rental counter. Their answer was very unclear. They mentioned some cleaning fee and a toll admin fee, but they could not explain exactly what part was what and they did not give me a proper breakdown. I remember thinking that if I had to fight with the rental company by myself, it would take a lot of time. So I reached out to the customer service team and I was surprised that they kept following my case. It was not just one or two replies and then silence. I was busy with work and some days passed, but they still came back to me with updates. They told me when the rental company gave new explanations and if there was any new detail about the charge. One time they told me the rental company said I had added extra insurance at the counter and some toll service, and there was also a cleaning related fee. I was not very happy about that, because when I returned the car it was pretty clean. Of course it was not perfect like a new car, but it was not dirty enough to need a special cleaning fee. What made me feel better was that the team did not just stand on the rental company’s side. They kept asking more questions for me and pushed for a clearer breakdown and proof of the car condition. My English is fine, but arguing over many small terms and numbers takes a lot of energy. Having someone keep an eye on it for me made a big difference for a business traveler like me. The whole process was not super fast, but I could feel that one person was always looking after my case. When something was not clear, they went back to ask and then explained it to me in simple words. I am not the type who writes good reviews all the time, but this kind of dedicated follow up really took a lot of pressure off me. I did not have to deal with the rental company alone and I could focus on my work instead. For business trips, this feeling of being cared for and having things explained clearly turned out to be more important than I expected.
