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August 2022 by Dane Diemer
This was the second and last time I’ll use Budget as a rental service: for a rental truck to move or a rental car. The service from Mr. Bessone, the authorized dealer at this location, was not pleasant. He was sarcastic and refused to be helpful. I reserved a moving truck 3 months in advance. Upon arrival Mr. Bessone was unpleasant. Once we told him we did not reserve a truck the night prior he told us our truck was here, but was delivered the night prior after he was off work and he did not get a chance to inspect it. Mr. Bessone’s store opened at 8A.M. The truck was not picked up until just after 10A.M. I’m sure there was enough time to inspect the truck within the 2 hours prior to the truck being picked up. The truck was infested with ants and the driver side door hinge was rusted and barely attached to the frame of the vehicle. This caused a massive gap when the door was shut, unless the door was slammed very hard, which Mr. Bessone demonstrated. The A.C. in the vehicle cut out any time throttle was applied. I initially only complained to Mr. Bessone about the ants because I got multiple bites in my back, shoulder, and legs. My wife, who would also be driving the vehicle, could possibly have an anaphylactic event. I requested a new truck and Mr. Bessone told me to spray Windex on them. When I told him Windex wouldn’t work because they were coming from the door frame and seat cushions, as well as under the cab, he told me he could not do anything else. I called the Budget help line and received the same advice. The Budget help line told me to call their road side assistance service to get them to inspect the truck and recommend I get a replacement. They told me because budget was having a “nation-wide” truck shortage and I would likely have to wait a week or more for a truck that was not infested with ants, to buy bug bombs and use those in the truck and Budget would refund me for the price of the big bombs. I requested that Budget still try to find me a replacement vehicle. The lady from road side assistance said she would ask. They contacted Mr. Joe Ungaro, the Budget maintenance manager for the San Diego area. Mr. Ungaro stated that it was unacceptable that I was issued a truck that was not inspected and was infested with ants. I was then instructed to return to Mr. Bessone’s Budget location and switch out the truck. Upon arrival Mr. Bessone was walking towards me in the parking lot. He had a very different attitude than he had when I spoke with him on the phone. He was apologetic but then kept insisting this was my fault for not returning the truck sooner (even though Mr. Bessone himself and Budget customer service stated earlier that there was nothing else they could do besides spray Windex in the truck). Mr. Bessone then said he could give me another truck, either hours later or the next morning. I agreed to this because I have a very tight schedule I have to meet; driving 2,300 miles across the country. Mr. Bessone then stated I would not be able to get the same size truck I reserved 3 months prior. I would be getting a larger one. While that may be a good deal for some, it is not for me. I budgeted fuel for a 12’ truck. I only need a 12’ truck to move all my belongings. My only option from Mr. Bessone was a 16’ truck. I do not need that much space, and I definitely do not need the extra fuel bill. The Budget road side service personnel even recommended I go with a competing company because they knew Budget themselves could not provide competent service. I discovered while typing this lengthy review that there is a word limit. A very long story and a massive waste of money for me short, Mr. John Bessone II is one of the most unprofessional persons I have ever done business with. Surprisingly, video and pictures have been requested by Budget management after I explained my issue with Mr. Bessone. Budget will be receiving picture and video recordings before, during, and after my interactions with Mr. Bessone.
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July 2022 by Chris F.
I was left hanging by a different location 30 minutes before my scheduled pick-up. Called the Santee location as the next closest, and had a great experience. Very helpful in providing me with my options and advising on how to handle the transfer of reservation, matched the price, were flexible when I needed to change my timing for delivery, and very friendly upon return. This was the best truck rental experience that I've had.
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June 2022 by P Young
Easy process. reserved online, picked up truck, and returned. No sales pressure on extra insurance, and werr very customer friendly, even gave me military discount. Oh, and they Love the PADRES!!!
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June 2022 by Lindsey B.
Wish I could give it a 0 star. We scheduled a rental pickup a week ago to get a cargo van at noon. We called a little before hand to see if we could get it early, the guy told us he rented out the van already. And we asked if it was going to be ready by noon, our scheduled pick up time, and he said it should be. We called again, and he said it still wasn't returned and he hopes it gets returned by 2. So now we are stuck scrambling around to try to find a van rental before our storage place closes. Maybe don't try to double dip on the rentals. You should hold the cars for people that have reservations already. Bad, bad customer service.
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June 2022 by Sarah A.
This was my 2nd time renting from this location. I had reserved a 12' truck and when I got there there was only one 12' and it was driving away with someone. They offered a cargo van that "might be back by 5" or a 26' truck. I said a 26' for the same price? He reluctantly said yes. keep in mind my reservation was at 11:30am, we showed up at 11:33am. I asked him...you gave away our truck cause we're 3 min late?! He said the website let us double book but after reading the reviews here it seems to be a common occurrence. The worker didn't seem to be bothered that we were sort of upset (rightfully) his attitude was cavalier with a tone of it is what it is...sorry about your bad luck. Ultimately we didn't rent from them because the 26' offered was way too big for what we needed and the cargo van had no real ETA because as the worker stated "nobody returns when they are supposed to" We went to happy car wash in El Cajon. Got a truck no problem, same day, no reservation and overall cheaper. I work in the automotive industry...we have a rental fleet...if we did customers the way they did us we wouldn't have any customers. I won't rent from this location again. I wouldn't recommend to rent here if you have any moving to be done on any sort of time schedule, or if you want to get what you reserved for the time frame you reserved it.
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May 2022 by Ali Algawwam
John was a great help , such an awesome experience with him, it felt so nice being able to deal with someone who knows everything in this business category. I wish him and his business great success
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March 2022 by Sheryl Freeman
If you are planning a move and schedule a truck rental far in advance, I would think the location would be open at the time of the scheduled pick up! Then you can’t reach anyone by phone. Moving an entire household is stressful enough but when you’re packed and ready to get the moving truck the place is closed?! Even after the several confirmed emails they sent me. Thankfully I found a U-Haul open last minute but I will never recommend Budget for anything again. Horrible customer experience and if I could give no stars I would
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January 2022 by Tyler N.
Sundays hours are 8am-10am.. We had a scheduled drop off.. Thank goodness my wife arrived before I did and caught the owner as he was about to take off at 9am.. Super nice and efficient but at least stay open till you say you'll be open.. We would of gotten a bunch of extra fees if we would of missed you.
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January 2022 by Rob B.
Returned my truck to this store from another store, I had an issue and Ron resolved it immediately. Clean shop. Owner was very friendly and efficient. Tip: Make sure you double check the mileage!
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November 2021 by Savannah M.
If you would like to book with an ahole front desk agent who has terrible customer service and then not even get the truck you reserved then this is the place for you! Booked online for 19.99 a day, they didn't mention all the add on fees for insurance, etc. I get those costs are needed but wish it had been more upfront instead of advertising for "ONLY" $19.99. Reserved a certain size then when I went to pick up the owner/front desk agent came in and asks if I got this phone call. I had no call from him and even checked spam and blocked numbers and nothing so pretty sure he was just lying. Informs me he doesn't have that truck so I have to take a smaller size. Doesn't sound apologetic in any way, almost says it in a way as if it was my problem I even wanted to rent a truck. Alright, whatever, I'll make it work even though it no longer could fit my bed so I had to deconstruct my whole bed. I drove a total of 5 miles altogether so the tank was still full when I returned it. He asks if I filled the tank and I said it's on F for full. I totally understand I should have topped it off but he then proceeds to look at me rudely, scoffs, makes a comment under his breath about me and walks away without saying a word. He checks the gas says nothing and goes back inside, hands me my receipt and goes back to his office without saying anything. I try not to think badly of people and suspect things like sexism, etc. but this guy treated me so poorly that it crossed my mind that he might think he could treat me like that because I was a 20 something female. I don't know, maybe he is like that to everyone. So if you're looking for a more reliable and respectful option, don't go here.
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August 2021 by Arash khadem
No trust, they added overnight drop charges without explanation.So be prepared for hidden fees!
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July 2021 by Daniel S.
They cancelled my truck the night before my move, and *offered" an alternative 40 miles away. They offered no solutions. I called there 800 number and she asked if I could change the date of my reservation....For a move?! That's your response. This was my first time trying instead of U-Haul. Big mistake, big hassle, added stress.
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June 2021 by Mary Gargano
Easy rental used my debit card no credit card necessary
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June 2021 by Michael Mikha
DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE - I don't know how they have high ratings on here but only 2 stars on other platforms. We rented a 12-foot box and when we showed up the man working on Sat tried to convince my sister to take a van in a condescending and sexist way telling her that they are the same size and it's all psychological and the smaller van is the same size as the 12-foot truck, then he says "why didn't you call and confirm"? These people are useless, why would I need t
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June 2021 by Mike M.
DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE - I don't know how they have high ratings on here but only 2 stars on other platforms. We rented a 12-foot box and when we showed up the man working on Sat tried to convince my sister to take a van in a condescending and sexist way telling her that they are the same size and it's all psychological and the smaller van is the same size as the 12-foot truck, then he says "why didn't you call and confirm"? These people are useless, why would I need to call you if your website allowed the rental. After several minutes he decided to give us "an upgrade to a 16 footer instead. That's the good part of the review. We loaded the truck up in Santee, get on the 52, and as we go up the hill the power steering blows out in the middle lane and the truck just dies on the spot in the middle lane, Highway portal shut the lanes down and we managed to roll the truck in the left shoulder. We call the rental place and the guy tells me "That's odd, we have not had a truck broke down in the last 5 years, and to call the roadside assistance number on the contract. Mind you at the location during the walkthrough he tells me that he has not inspected this truck yet "Oklahoma plates" on it. We call roadside assistance, and nearly 15 minutes later the lady understand that the truck is broken down and needs to be towed, she asks how many in the truck and I told her 3 and when the tow truck showed up there was not enough room for everyone so we called for someone to pick us up from the side of the freeway. Road one towing guy was super cool, helpful, and towed to the house, we unloaded while the guy waited, towed to their yard under the direction of Budget. The next day budget calls me saying "Are you going to return the rental? I explain to this person it was towed Blah blah. We called for a refund on this and everyone pushes you around from the Santee location to customer care, after the 4th call and 45 minutes of them telling me "we can't refund because Santee people have not checked the truck in" they manage to issue the refund it. My sister called John Copeland and explained the lack of service provided and how she treated and he could care less saying "Ok". At the end of the day if you want to a cheap truck, crappy service, potentially breaking down, sitting on the freeway for 2 hours, and the worst customer service rent here, otherwise use any U-Haul or Penske rental place.
