Fox Rent-a-Car Left Me Hanging

My letter to Fox Rent-a Car...

Dear Madam or Sir,

I flew into San Jose Airport in California on March 7 with a reservation for a Honda Civic Hybrid. I was really looking forward to renting a hybrid. So much so, that I posted about it on my blog here. To my chagrin, when I arrived at the airport, the guy behind the counter let me know that not only didn’t they have a hybrid for me, they had no cars at all. He said it in a nonchalant way, and added that this happens from time to time. Sorry.

I asked if Fox was going to help me rent from another agency, perhaps honor the $44/day rate that I had been promised when I reserved the car online. He said no. I walked down the line asking for quotes from a couple other companies. As you know, when booking at the airport, rates are considerably higher. I wasted about a half hour waiting in line and getting quotes and then got a car from Enterprise for $59/day (Hertz wanted $99!).

I posted my dissatisfaction on my blog here. I am really upset by your company’s lack of integrity around reservations. How difficult would it have been to have the agents call me and the other travelers to let us know we had no rental car waiting for us? These agents (there were two) were just sitting around. They had no business to conduct.

I applaud you for offering hybrid rentals but don’t think that I will risk the inconvenience of arriving and having no car waiting for me. I travel frequently and would have loved to do more for the environment.

Disappointedly yours,
Dan Rosenberg
North Fork, CA

Hybrid Rental Car - Denied!

I flew into San Jose this afternoon and reported to Fox Rent-a-Car to pick up my Honda Civic hybrid rental car. The guy at the counter informed me that they were out of cars, all cars. He said it could be hours or days until the cars came back in. I suggested that he could just find me a regular gasoline car but he repeated that they were completely out of cars.

I asked for prices at a couple of the other agencies and found the cheapest midsized car at Enterprise for $59/day. I took it as I didn't have any other options. Had I pre-booked the car, it would have certainly cost significantly less.

I am torn. On one hand I applaud Fox for carrying hybrid cars. On the other hand, I feel they left me high and dry by not even attempting to let me know that they had no car for me. They didn't even offer me a discount on a future rental. Somewhat reluctantly, I must recommend that people not book cars with Fox unless they are willing to face the same situation I did.