在 ＰＬＡＴＥＰＡＳＳ 州租车要当心隐藏的收费

 

We rented a car from the Advantage location at 7640 Narcoosee Road in Orlando in May 2013. The price was $267.05 for two weeks, including all taxes, fees and a full tank of gas which was very reasonable. Having them gas up the car when you return it is a very economical and convenient option, provided you return the car on empty because they will charge you for a full tank regardless of the amount in the car when you return it.

We always check with our insurance company and the credit card we use for the reservation to ensure we are covered so we don't have to utilize the rental car company's usurious insurance rates. We bring our own GPS or use Google Maps and we pay cash at toll booths. We take time and date stamped pictures of the vehicle when we pick it up and when we drop it off to document existing damage and prove the car was undamaged when it was returned. In other words, we do everything we can to take advantage of low rental rates and not allow the rental car company to drive up fees.

Imagine my surprise when our credit card was charged $16.66 for tolls. According to Advantage, we went through a toll point without paying the $1.00 toll and the transponder on the vehicle, which we had specifically requested not be activated, recorded the charge. We stopped at every toll booth and paid for all tolls in cash. The route we supposedly used is not one of the cashless toll roads either.

The call to Advantage was very unsatisfactory. According to them, they don't charge, it is the evil Plate Pass who is responsible. Next call was to Plate Pass which is also a waste of time. Apparently it is okay to charge you 1600% more than the actual charge that you supposedly missed.

Last call was to my credit card company where I explained that while I had authorized Advantage to use my credit card for the reservation, I did not authorize them to give my credit card number to Plate Pass. Since it was a small amount, my credit card (TD Travel Visa by the way) reversed the charge. Great customer service on their part. Therefore I would advise customers that in addition to all of the other precautions you need to take when renting a car, you also need to watch the sales person disable the transponder so you will not be charged after the fact in this ridiculous money grab. US lawmakers, this should be on your radar.

For more discussion on the issue, read here: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1309008/