Budget Car Rental Ireland

Recently I rented a car in Budget Dublin, and experienced dubious customer service before and after the rental. At the moment of pick up, I was surprised to hear that I had to pay a deposit of 1,500 euro, considering this amount has never been higher than around 500 euros in other rental companies or other countries. Arranging my bank accounts to be able to pay this amount created an inconvenience. Then, when I was ready to pay the 1,500 euro, the Budget shop attendant said that debit cards were not accepted. I explained that I can always rent cars with that card, because it is possible to use it for credit as well as to withdraw funds from my savings. However, the attendant didn't even try. So then I was forced to buy the insurance from Budget in order to not have to pay the 1,500 euro deposit, even if I had my own insurance. The amount charged for the Budget insurance was 118 euro. Just a week after, we rented a car at Hertz in Bristol, and they applied a nice 300 pound deposit, and I could use my debit card, no problem at all. For several years now I haven’t really liked Budget so I rent cars at Budget only if it is cheaper than Hertz, Avis or Europcar. From now on I won't use Budget anymore at all. Things like the above add general discomfort and anxiety with problems during holidays, and that is much more expensive than the slightly cheaper price you may get at Budget sometimes. All of the above was written in the terms and conditions of my online agreement. I just didn't read it because I assumed everything was going to be as per usual in these cases. I select renowned companies like Budget so that I don't have to read the small letters on the agreements and still have peace of mind that everything will go smoothly. With how busy everyone is, it is not practical to organise your holiday reading all the terms and conditions of everything you want to do. I didn't read the terms and conditions for the Hertz rental above and nothing unexpected happened anyway. And nothing unexpected has ever happened to me when using renowned car rental companies, hotels, airlines, etc., and not ever reading their terms and conditions. Also, I just assumed that Budget wouldn't consider me as someone that would run without paying for a damage to the car. It just makes me feel like a suspect rather than a customer. In a few words, I don’t want to use a car rental company where you’d rather read the terms and conditions. BUDGET THINK THEY CAN GET PEOPLE’S MONEY BY DOING THAT AND NOT BEING FULLY TRANSPARENT. So in summary, I was very discontent for the poor customer care I received, as the Budget personnel didn't try for me to have a pleasant and convenient rental, and for the abusive Terms and Conditions making customers pay 1,500-euro deposits unless they pay for insurance. IT SEEMS LIKE TRAPS, AND AS A CUSTOMER I DON'T LIKE GOING TO A PLACE WHERE TRAPS ARE SET TO GET MY MONEY. Then I sent them emails to try to get a compensation for me to be willing to rent from Budget again. That was a hopeless chain of them repeating the same things over and over but not addressing my dissatisfaction and doing nothing to keep me as a customer. On top of everything, my fuel deposit was refunded only after I sent an email to remind Budget Ireland, so then it was refunded almost a month after the rental. Again, that seemed pretty sneaky. I DON'T WANT TO IMAGINE HOW MANY PEOPLE JUST ASSUME BUDGET WILL REFUND THE FUEL DEPOSIT, AND THEN THAT NEVER HAPPENS.

I lost my Filofax when I was in Dublin......so I e.mailed everyone I could think of asking if they had found it. Hotel, airline etc...... I received a very nice e.mail from Katalin Kiss Budget Car Rental, then one day latter an e.mail from Karen Lee to say they had my Filofax and would post it to me.... I then received the package from Ken Maher and another e.mail from Michelle O'Reilly. I am so grateful to all these people and anyone else who helped out. THANK YOU Budget Car Rental. Kind Regards Maureen Dixon

Picked up a car at Dublin airport and I was given a car that was illegal/unroadworthy due there being NO HEADLIGHTS whatsoever. All bulbs in the vehicle were blown, not just one, so I can only conclude that this car was not checked at all for safety/legality before it was handed over to me. I find this absolutely disgusting and the attitude of the employee when I returned the vehicle made this situation even worse. Suggesting that I should have driven back to Dublin the following day (as the office was closed by the time I realised I had no headlights, after midnight on a busy motorway), wasting 4 hours of my time and the cost of fuel to get the car fixed. Which should NEVER have been given to a customer in the first place. I will not be using Budget again.

I didn't had problems with rental. I didn't wait to long to get my booked car. Also the return was really easy without unnecessary procedure.

Good staff. easy to find on the athlone road. Good service.