I booked this car on QEEQ for a solo trip in the US. I wanted to drive a Ford Mustang Cabrio from New York to Boston. The pickup time on my booking was May 24 at 10 am. I reached the airport a bit early and I was really excited. In my head I could see myself driving a cool convertible. When I got to the Budget counter they told me my car was not available. Then they just gave me a 7 seat mini van. I stood there and felt confused. In my booking it said Mustang Cabrio luxury. Now I was looking at a big family van. I asked about the price too because I had booked car group K and on the contract I saw another group. It looked more expensive. I was traveling alone and my budget was tight. Now the car was not the same and maybe even more expensive. I felt pretty bad. The staff at the counter said it was a free upgrade and that it was a higher group. I looked at the mini van and I did not feel any upgrade. It was just big and heavy. In my mind I kept thinking this is not what I paid for. When I finally took the keys I was still unsure if I should accept it. But I had my luggage with me and I was already tired from the flight. I still needed a car to move on. So I just took it and left the airport. Driving this big 7 seat van felt strange. Parking was harder. Changing lanes was also harder. I sat alone in the front while all the seats behind me were empty. It felt like I was driving for a big family that did not exist. I kept thinking that I should be in a small sporty car instead. During the first day of using the car I kept thinking about it. At some point I decided I could not just stay silent. I contacted the platform and explained that I booked a Mustang Cabrio luxury but got an entry level mini van. I took photos of the contract and also of the car rental website with the prices. I sent everything and told them the whole story. In my mind I was a bit scared they would just say it was not their problem. I was in another country and even if I can speak English I still felt a bit weak in this situation. The customer service team reached out to me and asked when I arrived at the counter and what group I booked and what group I got. They said the rental company saw it as an upgrade because the group I got was more expensive in their system. In my head I complained again. More expensive does not mean better for me. I booked the Mustang because I wanted that feeling. I did not want to drive a van. But I also knew the staff at the desk used their own rules for car groups so I tried to explain again that my problem was not only about money. It was about getting a very different type of car. Later they first offered me a 30 USD compensation. By then I had checked the rental company website on my own and I felt the price gap was close to 100 USD. I told them I could not really accept just a small coupon. For me this was not a simple discount case. It was a full car group change. After I sent that reply I felt nervous. I worried that they might stop helping me because I was asking for more while I was still using the car. They did not drop the case. They kept writing emails and checked the prices again. Then they gave me a new offer. This time it was a 50 USD direct payout and they said it could be refunded to me. I checked the numbers and even if it was not the full difference I first imagined it felt more fair. It was real cash and not a coupon that forces me to spend more. I remembered how helpless I felt at the counter. Now at least I could see some respect for my complaint. My mood started to calm down. I wrote back that I accepted the 50 USD payout. After my reply they confirmed it and told me the claim was successful. At that moment I felt like the whole thing finally had a clear ending. I drove from New York to Boston in a car that was not the Mustang in my mind. But at least for the group and money part I was not totally ignored. This was the first time I really used the Worry-Free Service. At the start I did not know how useful it could be. I just added it when I made the booking. Now I saw how it works in real life. As a solo traveler it helped a lot that someone was there to argue with the rental company and push for a fair result. The car did not magically turn into a Mustang. But on this trip I did not feel like I was fighting the system alone.
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