To be honest I felt quite relaxed at the start. I booked the car through QEEQ and then flew to the US. Around the morning of January 16 I went to the counter in Cape Coral and got a Chevrolet Cruze. It was automatic and a four door car. The car looked fine. I even asked the counter staff if all the fees were already covered. He nodded and I did not think too much.
The real stress started after I returned the car. Around the morning of April 15 I brought the car back on time. Everything looked normal. A few days later I checked my bank account and saw a big charge. It was more than one thousand euro. I was confused and a bit shocked. This money was not in my plan. Then I scrolled back and saw that in March there was already another high payment. I felt angry and also a bit cheated.
I tried to remember what happened. Near the end of the second month the rental staff told me that the car I was driving was sold. They asked me to drive back to the station and change to another car. I felt it was strange but they said it would be quick and that all the payment was already done. They gave me a new paper. I thought it was just a normal swap form. I was on a business trip and my time was tight so I trusted them and left with the new car. I never thought the final bill would look like this.
When I saw the extra charges I contacted their customer service right away. It felt like falling into a time zone hole. I was working and at the same time explaining all these numbers. I told them clearly that I had paid in advance for three months and now it looked like only one month was covered. The next two months seemed to be charged again with a very high price. I was worried that I could not match all the contract numbers and also that there might be language problems.
They arranged someone to follow my case all the way. It was not just one short reply and then silence. This person checked on me from time to time. He asked if I had new statements and reminded me to send screenshots when needed. Sometimes the reply was not instant but I could feel that there was one person who remembered my case. I did not need to explain everything from zero every time.
One night I was working late in the office. The lights were bright and my head was full of contracts and figures. Then I got an email from them. The update said they were already talking with the rental company and told me not to worry too much. He also turned the rental company explanation into simple English so I could understand it. At that moment I felt someone was breaking down the complex things for me and I could finally breathe a bit.
The whole process was not easy. Waiting for news made me nervous. I kept thinking if I could really get my money back. Each time I asked for progress they could tell me which step they were at and if there was any new answer. Many platforms just say you should contact the rental company by yourself. This time they stayed in the middle and spoke for me. They kept saying that I paid for three months in advance and it should not only cover one month.
Now things are much clearer and the extra part has a proper way to be handled. I am not as anxious as at the beginning. As a business traveler I really hate to waste time on billing problems. Having one person follow my problem from start to near the end made me feel I was not fighting the rental company alone.
When that seven hundred plus dollar charge was finally confirmed as normal I was already back home for a few days. I was still thinking about my time in St Thomas while scrolling my credit card bill. I saw those numbers and thought if this money was taken by mistake I was in trouble. At that time I had been talking with support for several days. I was worried but also a bit hopeful.
The story started a few days earlier. I booked my car on QEEQ. I picked up the car around April 27 in the afternoon in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. The pick up time was near two o clock. I chose a Budget Dodge Durango automatic with seven seats because I wanted my family to sit more comfortably. The sun was very strong that day. I walked into the rental counter with my luggage and showed my passport and booking paper to the staff at the counter. When we did the paperwork they gave me a contract with many fee items. I stared at it and felt a bit lost. I asked them one simple question “Are all these required?” The counter staff just said “Yes yes just sign.” I did not feel fully safe in my mind but I was in a hurry so I signed it.
I used the car and around April 29 I returned it in St Thomas before noon. The car was fine and the fuel was full. I thought everything was done. After I went home I checked my credit card and saw a few strange pending charges. One was a bit over three hundred another over five hundred and one was more than seven hundred. My first reaction was that I was charged too much. My heart jumped and I thought to myself maybe I just got cheated.
I went to the rental company website and tried to find my name and booking number. I could not find the final invoice or any clear bill. Not even the FI showed up. That feeling of having no proof made me very nervous. I decided to contact their support and I told them I thought I was maybe overcharged and I wanted to know what these pending charges were.
I was surprised that this time I really felt that someone was in charge of my case. From the beginning they confirmed my basic info and after that the same person kept following my problem. One time I even made a small joke and asked if they were only taking care of my order. The person replied that they would keep helping me. At that moment I felt some weight leave my chest. I did not feel like I was talking to a cold system. I felt someone was watching this for me.
Soon they reminded me to send photos of the documents from the rental counter. I opened my suitcase and searched for the papers. I found one contract that was not very clear and one FI. Even I thought they were hard to read. I sent them and they told me to also watch my credit card bill because the charges were still pending. They asked me to see if anything changed in the next days.
During those days I opened my credit card app almost every day. In my head I kept saying please do not really post. The support person checked in with me every few days and asked if the pending charges changed. One morning I saw that the three hundred and the five hundred charges were removed. Only the seven hundred plus charge was now clear and fully posted. I quickly took a screenshot and sent it to them. I said the two smaller ones were gone and only this one was left.
I felt a bit stuck inside. One side of me thought maybe this was just normal rental cost. The other side still feared that I was overcharged but I could not say where the problem was. The support checked everything again and explained that from the current info there was no wrong or repeated charge. I felt a little disappointed at that moment because in my heart I was hoping for a refund of something. At the same time I knew that they had gone through every detail with me and gave a clear answer. It did not feel like a lazy reply.
What stayed strongest in my memory was that they did not end the talk with one simple sentence. They went through the whole thing again with me. I asked if the two canceled charges were just old pre authorizations. They answered based on the status in my bill. I asked if I only had this one left. They checked again. I felt like a nervous student who kept asking questions. They did not show any impatience. This feeling was very important to me as an overseas tourist because when you are in another place you always feel a bit unsafe.
Later I slowly accepted that this seven hundred plus charge was the normal rental fee. I compared it again with the contract. Even though the words were blurry they still kind of matched. When I think about the whole thing if there was no feeling of one person following my case I would probably keep guessing and maybe write bad reviews online. This time the Dedicated customer service made me feel like someone was really taking care of me and my problem. Even if the result was not what I wished the most I did not feel that I was ignored.
Now when I look back at those days of chat messages I can see clearly that they kept asking me for updates and new changes. When they told me that the case could be closed I felt quite calm. This experience of having a person stay with my case and follow every step gave me a strong feeling of being looked after. As an overseas traveler this made a big difference in how I remember my whole booking with them.
When you drive with kids, what is the scariest thing? For me it is a bill that comes from nowhere. I booked my car on QEEQ. I thought everything was very clear. We picked up the car on May 9 in Nice in the morning. It was a 9 seat Peugeot Traveller and we planned to return it on May 16 in the morning. The booking said unlimited mileage. I checked this many times before I paid. When we returned the car, the counter staff suddenly said we went over the mileage and we had to pay 175 euro. I just froze. I asked myself in my head. Was it not unlimited mileage. Did I read it wrong. My English is not very good for long arguments. I also speak French more, so I was afraid I could not explain well. I paid first because I did not want trouble in front of my kids. After we left, I put the kids to rest and then opened my booking again. I checked line by line. It really said unlimited mileage. I felt very upset. So I sent a message to their customer support. I explained what happened and sent a photo of the paper from the car rental desk. I asked them if they could also see that it should be unlimited mileage. They replied very fast. They used simple English and tried to make it easy for me. They told me that this order was indeed unlimited mileage and told me to keep all the receipts. They said they would talk to the car rental company and try to get my 175 euro back. When I read this, I felt a big relief. I was also a bit surprised that someone really wanted to fight for me. I asked how long it might take. They said they would keep following my case and tell me once they had a result. In the next days I spent the day with my kids and only checked my mail at night. Each time I saw they still gave updates I felt I was not alone against the rental company. One day I got a message that the 175 euro would be refunded to me. When I saw this line I felt so happy and I was glad I did not give up. This problem was quite annoying at the start and made me worry more during the trip with my kids. But there was a person from their side who stayed with my case from the start and always talked to me. The replies were clear and they checked details and the amount with me. I really felt they took care of me and my family.
I want to start with how I felt. On this business trip in Bogota the one who really helped me was not the rental counter but the person who followed my case from the booking side. My schedule was very full. Around April twenty seventh at noon I picked up a Kia Soluto from Budget at Bogota airport. It was an automatic car and the pick up seemed normal. I rushed out because I had meetings to catch. Then I jump to a few days later. When I was back at the hotel at night I checked my credit card bill and the numbers did not match. I remembered the prepaid price on the platform was around two hundred ninety dollars. On the bill the new rental charge showed about three hundred seventy four dollars. I felt something was wrong. I also saw another charge for about one hundred ninety dollars and I had no idea what that was. Those days I was running around the city for work in the day and at night I was counting money on my phone. I asked the rental counter and they were not very clear. Sometimes they even said they could not find my original booking. That really annoyed me because cross border talking like this takes so much time. The thing that calmed me down was that I always had the same person from their side following my problem. Every time I sent an email or called I felt it was the same line taking care of me. They knew how much I had already paid what the rental company said and they also remembered that I did not want to give out my bank account. They asked me for the new rental file receipts and bill screenshots. I sent them when I had a break. I said I do not want to give my bank account to the rental company and I asked if there was any other way. They did not just say one sentence and push me away. They really tried to find another path and kept talking with the rental side. After some days they told me the rental company agreed to return the price difference and the amount was even a bit higher than I first thought. Then I started to worry again about how to receive the money because I only wanted the refund to go back to the card I really used and I did not want to spread my bank info everywhere. The person who followed my case stayed patient and also respected my choice. They explained in simple words why the rental company could not send money back to the new card and why they needed to send it through their side. I asked if there was a more safe way. They offered to use a virtual credit card so they could send the refund to me in that form. I felt this was a good idea for me. It made me feel more safe and I did not need to give a bank account. During my trip the busiest days for me were also the days when they were going back and forth with the rental company. For me the important feeling was that I did not have to repeat my story every day. The person on the other side always knew which step we were on and what would be the next move. The case was not solved super fast but compared to my past experience with other platforms where I had to explain from zero to a new agent again and again this time I really felt someone was watching my case and not just leaving me alone. As a business traveler I hate wasting time on these small money problems. This time thanks to having one person keeping an eye on everything I finally got my price difference back and I could focus my energy on my work.
I booked my car on QEEQ and planned to pick up a seven seat car in Venice around ten in the morning in early May and then return it in Verona in the late afternoon two days later. I already planned space for luggage and the kids. When I reached the rental desk everything went wrong very fast. The staff looked at my voucher and shook his head and told me this was not a prepaid booking and I had to pay the full amount again at the counter. I just froze for a second. My kid pulled my sleeve and asked me if we could still drive to our next place.
I tried to ask the staff again and again. The answer was very firm. No payment no car. Time was already a bit past my pick up time and I saw my schedule starting to break. I did not want the kids to wait too long in the airport so I finally paid again with my card and took the car. In the car the kids were happy and talked about places they wanted to see. I sat in the driver seat and only thought about one thing. Will I be charged twice for the same rental.
On the same day I contacted their customer service and told them the whole story. I said the desk asked me to pay again and this means I might pay twice for one booking. I looked for my old voucher on my phone and also the new contract and payment slip from the desk. My kid asked me who I was talking to and I just said I was checking if the money was correct.
During the next days they kept checking with me and asked me to send photos of the new contract number and the invoice and card record. At night when my kids were asleep I sat by the bed and put all papers on the table and took photos one by one and sent to them. I felt a bit tired but I also felt better because someone was really following this case and I was not alone. They also told me they would explain to the rental company that I did not use the first booking and the desk made me pay again so the first payment should be refunded.
One day in Verona after I returned the car I was walking on the street looking for dinner and my phone showed a new message. They told me the rental company agreed to waive the charge and would refund the money and also deal with the extra product I had asked to cancel. I read it twice to be sure. I finally let out a long breath. During this whole time I could feel that one person was always watching this problem for me and moving it forward. When they needed something they asked me clearly and they also told me each new progress so I did not need to chase them every day. For a parent traveling with kids this kind of dedicated customer service really makes a big difference.
"Please do not worry first. We can check every charge together." This line stayed in my mind the most. I had already gone through my credit card bill many times after I went back home and I still felt something was wrong with the fuel and the border fee. I booked the car on QEEQ and used it in Charleroi in Belgium.
It started when I saw the final bill. I stared at the charges on my phone and kept thinking that the total looked higher than I expected. It was almost ninety something euros. The fuel part confused me the most. I was sure I filled up the tank before I returned the car. I stood in the cold wind at the gas station and took several photos of the fuel gauge because I was afraid of this exact situation. Then I saw a fuel charge on the bill and also a border fee and my mind just froze a bit.
I felt pretty annoyed at the beginning. It felt like I was charged extra but I did not really understand all the papers from the rental counter. When I contacted customer service my speaking speed was fast and in my head I thought it would be some copy paste reply. The person who answered surprised me. They listened to my whole story and did not cut me off. They only stopped me to confirm some facts.
After some messages I noticed that the same person was always following my case. They asked me if I had any new screenshots from my bank and they repeated the amounts they found on their side in a simple way so even someone like me who is not great at numbers could follow. They said the rental company showed a total charge of a bit more than ninety euros and they broke it down into the basic amount the border fee and the fuel charge. Then they asked me to check if my card had only one charge or two. If there was a second smaller one then it could be a double charge for the border part and they would go on with that. In my head I felt it was like someone checking the bill with me so the pressure on me was smaller.
The fuel issue was the part I could not let go. I remember very clearly driving to a station not far from the highway before I returned the car. I filled the tank until the pump stopped and the gauge went up to the top. I took photos of the gauge when I picked up the car and when I brought it back. When I sent these photos to the customer service they did not just say it was my fault. They said they would ask the rental company how they judged the fuel level. During those days I kept thinking about this again and again on the metro or in my room. I kept asking myself if I would just lose that money.
Every time I had a new question like when I checked the contract and saw a border fee printed there I would ask again if that meant I paid it twice. They explained again in simple words that the number on the paper was only a display and the real payment was what showed on the card. They did not make me feel stupid. I could feel that they were trying to stand with me and not only speak for the rental desk.
One moment I remember is when they told me they had already checked with the rental company and the local staff said the fuel was not full and they went to add more fuel and they even said they had a receipt. My first thought was why they did not show that proof to me. I told this to the customer service and they passed this question back and asked for more proof. Later the rental company only gave an inspection sheet with my signature on it and it showed a fuel level as six out of eight or something like that. The numbers confused me and I only remembered that I had signed it in a rush when I was trying to catch my next plan.
During the whole process I felt that no matter if the reply from the rental company was good or bad for me the customer service would first tell me the result in a calm tone and then explain step by step. Sometimes they also said honestly that some internal papers could not be shared with me and they had to explain with what they were allowed to see. I still felt a bit upset inside but I could understand how things worked.
For someone like me a young person renting a car alone in Europe and trying to read many English documents this kind of problem is very stressful. Those days I often had class or work during the day and at night when I came back to my place I would open my phone and see that they had sent me a new update. Even when it was not the result I hoped for I still felt a bit safer because I knew someone was still following my case and I was not alone staring at a bill with strange numbers.
Now when I look back I feel the hardest part of this rental was not driving the car. It was the confusion about the charges after I returned it. If I did not have this one to one follow up from customer service I think I would have given up the complaint much earlier and just swallowed the cost. Because they stayed with me through the whole thing I dared to ask every question and learned to check the documents and the fuel gauge more carefully next time and to take clear photos as proof.
For me this experience was not perfect and I still have some regret about the fuel part but having someone stay on my side and walk through all these fee items with me made a big difference. As an ordinary student I was still able to understand what really happened and that part mattered a lot to me.
