I booked my Cairns rental on QEEQ. The whole trip went pretty smooth. I returned the car around the morning of June 5. Before I went to the return lot I went to a gas station and filled the tank again. I wanted to make sure there would be no extra charge. When I gave the key back at the car hire desk I even looked at the fuel gauge. It was on full so I felt safe and went on with my schedule.
A few days later I checked my credit card bill and saw a charge of more than fifty AUD. The line looked like something about fuel. I was confused. I thought in my head that I just filled the tank so why is there a fuel fee. I came on a business trip and I need to report every cost. So this kind of unclear charge is a real problem for me.
First I tried to check my phone and email by myself. I could not find any clear email from the car hire about this or any contract file I could read. I started to feel a bit stressed. Then I decided to contact their customer support. I sent them a screenshot of the card charge and said I did not understand this fee. I also told them that the fuel gauge was full when I returned the car and I wanted someone to check it.
At the start of the chat I was a bit nervous because I was scared they would just say this is normal. The support person stayed calm and polite. They checked my booking details and told me they would ask the car hire company. I still felt worried but at least someone was working on this for me.
After some time the support came back to me and said the car hire told them the money was for fuel and some credit card fee. My first reaction was that this made no sense because I really filled the tank. I tried to remember if I took any photos. Then I remembered that I did take a photo of the fuel gauge when I returned the car. I searched my phone and found it and sent it to them. When I sent the picture I also explained that I filled the tank right before drop off. The gauge was maybe a little bit lower than at pick up but it was still on full, not like half or anything.
After they got the photo they did not tell me to talk to the car hire myself. They kept following it for me. I could feel it was the same person talking to me each time because they knew my case very well and also remembered that I came from Korea on a business trip. The way they talked was simple and direct and I liked that. There were one or two times when I asked for an update. The chat was very short. I asked if there was any result and they told me the current step with the car hire company.
Later they told me they had already sent my fuel gauge photo to the car hire and they were asking them to cancel the fuel fee. When I saw this message I felt a lot more relaxed. I did not feel alone looking at a strange charge on my bill anymore. It felt like someone was speaking for me to the car hire and trying to make things fair.
After some more time they contacted me again and told me the car hire agreed to refund about thirty eight AUD of the fuel part. The rest was some card fee. When I heard this result my feeling was a bit mixed. On one side I was happy that most of the fuel money came back. It proved that filling the tank and taking the photo was the right thing to do. On the other side as a business traveler I still think that if the car hire checked the fuel level more carefully at the start maybe we would not need to go through all this.
Still when I look at the whole process the main thing I felt was that someone stayed on this case all the time. It was not like I sent one message and then got ignored. Every time I asked they could tell me what was going on and I did not need to explain my story again from zero. This feeling that my case was remembered made me feel taken care of. For someone like me who flies a lot and has a tight schedule this kind of one to one follow up really saves a lot of energy.
Once the refund was confirmed I just closed this chapter in my head. The exact amount of money is one thing. For me the more important part is that now I know if I face a similar strange charge again I can stay calm. I just keep any proof I can like photos and then pass it to them and ask them to follow up. Then I can keep my time and focus on my work. For me this kind of steady follow up and personal care is more valuable than only having a cheap price.
I have to say I was pretty upset at first. I was renting a car in Oviedo with my kid and I thought it was just a normal return. I booked the car on QEEQ and picked it up on April twenty ninth in the morning and gave it back on May second in the evening. A few days later the rental desk said there were two new damages. One was on the right front bumper and one was on the windshield. They also talked about charging my deposit. In my head I just thought this is bad and I have to explain all this mess to my kid. When I picked up the car I already saw a scratch on the front bumper. I took some video and photos and I told myself just in case. When I heard they also blamed me for the windshield I felt even more annoyed. With a child next to me I was already very tired. I contacted their customer support and sent all my photos and video. I explained that the scratch was there when I took the car. I could feel that one person was really following my case all the time. For a parent like me this was very important. I did not need to repeat my story again and again. They kept giving me updates and said they were talking with the rental company. Deep inside I was still worried and thought maybe I would still need to pay in the end. Later they told me the rental company agreed that the charge was wrong. The bumper damage was old and the glass would not be charged to me and my deposit was safe. At that moment I finally relaxed and felt someone was really taking care of me. I was not alone guessing what the English contract meant. For me as a dad with a kid the best part was that a dedicated customer service person stayed on my case from start to finish. I just needed to send my proof and let them handle the hard part and that saved me a lot of energy.
That day in A Coruña the sky was a bit gray and I was walking alone with my suitcase to the Budget counter. I kept thinking about the Citroen C3 I booked and how it would look. I knew I wanted a small manual car with four doors and five seats. I travel alone but I still wanted the car to feel like what I saw when I placed the order with QEEQ.
The staff gave me the keys and told me the car was outside. I went to the parking lot and I saw Renault Clio Zen written on the back. I stopped for a second. My first question in my head was is this a downgrade. My second question was did I pay for something better. I went back to the counter and asked if this car was the same level as the one I booked. The person at the desk just said it was the same group and there was no difference. I still did not feel very sure but I could not say any professional words so I just took the car and left.
When I reached my place I started to think more. I booked by looking at the Citroen C3 size and price. Now I got a Renault Clio. Is it one level lower. Did I lose money. Can I complain. These questions came one by one. At last I decided to contact customer service and ask.
After I sent my message I was a bit nervous and I was afraid nobody would answer me. Very soon someone started to talk with me and this same person stayed with me for the whole case. I threw all my questions out. I said I booked Citroen C3 and got Renault Clio and asked if they are the same or not and if this was a downgrade and if there was any price difference. They did not ask me to read any complex rules. They just listened to me step by step and then answered step by step. It felt like I asked is this car smaller and is it worse and they answered we will check with the rental company and we will see if it is the same group. The way they replied was simple but it made me calm.
A few days later they came back to me with an update. I was at work and my phone vibrated. I opened it and saw that they had already contacted the rental company and the case was sent to a higher level. New worries came again in my head. Will this be delayed for a long time. Will they just forget my case. I told them these worries directly. They did not make me call any foreign number and said they would keep following it and would tell me when they had more news. I could feel that they were not just trying to end the chat fast. They told me the general progress and that I just needed to wait a bit.
Later when they contacted me again they said the rental company checked the booking group and the car I got. They said both cars were in the same level and they also said the car I drove even looked a bit bigger in space and outside. My new question became did I think too much. Maybe I did not lose anything. I asked again so if it is the same group then it means there is no downgrade right. They answered again with patience and said based on the group and the price there was no downgrade and no price difference.
I do not really understand those codes and groups. I can only judge from my own view. Is the car enough for my needs. Did they clearly give me a worse one. So I thought again about how I felt when I saw the car in the parking lot and I compared that with their explanation. After asking and asking I slowly relaxed. I felt that at least someone was handling it and I was not guessing alone.
What impressed me most was the feeling that one person was always taking care of my case. Every time I had a new question I could still talk to the same person. I did not need to explain the whole story from the beginning again. There was someone following the problem and I felt my small issue was treated seriously. It was not ignored just because the money was not huge. A few times I wanted to just let it go but they still came back to update me and told me the progress so I knew the case was still moving.
For a solo traveler like me the biggest fear is not the problem itself. The fear is when a problem happens and nobody helps or when I need to repeat my story to many different people. With this Dedicated customer service my feeling was that I could throw all my doubts to one place and then wait for clear answers. I did not need to guess everything by myself. Even though the final result was that there was no downgrade and everything was normal I still felt much more at ease.
When I look back at this car rental in A Coruña from the first doubt about the car model to the moment the case became clear I know I would feel much more angry and tired without their follow up. Now when I think about future rentals I am more willing to book through them because when something goes wrong I do not need to fight with the rental counter on my own and I feel much more secure.
I was actually very excited about this rental. I booked it on QEEQ and planned to pick up the car in Mulhouse around the end of March, I think it was about the afternoon of March 26. I chose a BMW 5 Series or similar because I wanted a nice executive car, even if I was traveling alone. I thought the drive would feel a bit special. When I got to the Budget counter and heard there was no car like the one I booked, my mood dropped right away.
They first told me they could give me an MG SUV. I told myself it was fine and at least the car would be bigger. Then they said that one was gone too. I was standing by the counter with my suitcase, feeling like I was being pushed around. I booked early and did everything right, but on the day it felt like I had no control. In the end they gave me a 2008 Mercedes. The car looked old and it was very different from the executive style I expected. I felt disappointed and also a bit angry.
After I left I contacted their customer service team and explained the whole thing. I said very clearly that I felt the car was a downgrade and not the same level as what I booked. I was worried they would just brush me off. They kept checking on my case and asked what kind of solution I wanted. They also explained what the rental company said. Sometimes I got busy and replied after a few days, but every time I came back they still remembered the case and continued from before. I did not feel like a random new person each time, which made me feel safer as a solo traveler.
We discussed the compensation many times. I did say I hoped for a bit more because I really booked it for a BMW 5 Series type car. At one point I thought maybe I should just give up and let it go. They did not get impatient. They kept talking with me and explained what they could really do. In the end they gave me a cash refund and some membership benefits, and that made the whole bad part of the experience feel more balanced for me.
As someone who travels alone, my biggest fear is having a problem and no one really helping or listening. Even though the car I drove was not what I planned, the way the team followed my case and cared about how I felt made a big difference. I did not feel like I was fighting a big company by myself. I felt like someone was honestly trying to fix things for me, and that feeling of being looked after mattered more to me than the exact car model.
I will start with how I felt. When I saw that unknown charge I really panicked. We had just come back from our trip in Los Angeles with the kids and there was suddenly about 450 dollars taken from my account. It showed in pounds on my bill. I was looking after the children and checking money at the same time and it was so stressful. There was no clear bill from the rental desk. The money just looked like it came from nowhere. I booked the car with QEEQ and picked up a Budget Toyota Corolla at Los Angeles around late April in the evening and dropped it off around mid May in the afternoon. The whole rental felt normal so this extra charge made no sense to me.
I contacted their customer service. I thought it would be the usual thing where I have to explain everything again and again. It was not like that. One person kept following my case. She listened to me first and asked about the currency and time on my bill. She said she would check with the rental company. I was at home trying to calm the kids and also waiting for news. I was worried that nothing would happen. After some time the service person reached out again and said the rental company was still checking. She asked me to send a screenshot of my bank bill. I felt tired but I also felt that at least someone was really watching this for me.
What I remember most is that they did not just say they were working on it and then disappear. They came back from time to time and gave me small updates. Even a short message that they were still waiting for a reply from the rental desk made me feel my case was not forgotten. Later they contacted me and told me the rental company agreed to refund the 450 dollars and asked me to watch my account. I felt so much lighter at that moment. This money is not small for a family with kids. When I finally saw the refund in my bank, I could fully relax. During the whole thing the best part was that one person stayed with my case so I did not need to start from zero each time. It really felt like someone was taking care of me.
I still remember when I walked out of San Francisco airport that day. The sun was very bright and the wind was a bit cold. I pulled my suitcase to the rental area to get the car. It was around mid May in the early afternoon. I arrived more than one hour later than planned and I was thinking my business trip was finally starting. There was a line at the counter and I got the key. I saw the Mazda CX 50 in the parking lot. The car looked clean and there was a light new car smell inside. I felt pretty happy and rushed to drive into the city for my meetings.
The real problem only showed up after the trip was over. I returned the car in Los Angeles around May twenty first in the afternoon and I thought everything was finished. A few days later I checked my credit card bill in my office and I saw almost 300 USD extra. I stared at the screen and those numbers and I was really confused. It looked way too high.
There were many items on the bill. I could read a few things like extra driver, road assistance, prepaid fuel and some kind of extend fee. I went through the whole rental in my mind. I was the only person who drove the car. I did not ask for any emergency help and I did not ask for special add on services. At that moment I felt annoyed because the business trip was done but I still had to spend time on this.
I contacted them first and explained what I saw and what I remembered. I only had my side of the story and the numbers on my bill. During those days I was also busy with other projects. Sometimes I just checked messages between meetings and then I remembered this case again. They replied to me quickly and said they would check with the rental company about each charge. For me this step was very important because I could not see their internal breakdown and I needed someone to ask for me.
Later they told me more details. The bill from the rental company still showed extra driver, road assistance, prepaid fuel and an extend fee. I felt very uncomfortable because I was very sure I did not add an extra driver and I did not ask for these services. I remembered I only picked up the car more than one hour late and dropped it off a bit late. I never planned to change the return date.
They kept talking with the rental company and helped me get an English version of the charge sheet and also the contract I signed at the counter. When I got those files again and looked at the contract I felt a bit helpless. The return date was changed on the paper and there was even a circle around it. So it looked like I agreed to extend one more day. When the staff at the counter gave me that contract I just signed at the bottom of a long page. I did not notice the date was changed at all. I was on a business trip and my schedule was tight. I usually just trust the standard contract they give me and then rush to the next place.
I told support about this and said I never asked to change the date and nobody clearly told me I would pay these extra fees. We went back and forth several times. They kept following this case for me and updated me when there was something new. This made me feel someone was watching this booking for me so I did not have to fight with the rental counter by myself.
Later they told me very clearly that from the rental company side the contract did show I agreed to change the date so they saw the responsibility on me. At first I did not really accept this because in my mind it was more about how the counter handled the contract. I still felt it was not fair. They could see I was unhappy about the charge so they tried to give me a middle way. They offered a small goodwill payment to cover the extension fee and even a bit more.
The amount was not big but I felt they were not just pushing the blame to the rental company or throwing it back to me. They tried to give a result that felt more reasonable. For someone like me who flies a lot for work time and energy are more important than ten or twenty dollars. Having someone who is patient who talks to the rental company who explains the contract and who helps get some money back matters more than the exact number.
When I look back at the whole thing from picking up the car in San Francisco to dropping it in Los Angeles and then finding the extra charge and then all the follow up I think what really stayed in my mind was not the car itself. It was the feeling that there was a person taking care of this booking for me. This is what Dedicated customer service meant to me on this order. Next time I book a car I will pay more attention to this kind of one to one follow up because when a problem really happens you see how useful it is. For this trip booking with QEEQ the most valuable part for me was exactly that.
