Roger Reviewed on Apr 3, 2019, 2:34 PM

I booked the vehicle (and intermediate size car) the day prior to travel. I was flying in my own aircraft to Penticton for a Mom visit. I'd estimated noontime for pickup at the airport location. Upon arriving a noon there was nobody to be found at the Budget counter. A Security fellow at the airport said the Budget folks would be in later. I also found I had a voice message - from the local Budget office as it turns out. They had called me at 10:16 am but I was already in the air. Their local office opens at 10 Sunday mornings and there is evidently no provision for calling a customer the evening prior or earlier that morning in order to warn them of timing issues. So what happens is you just have to arrive and experience it. I called a number for Budget only to find the phone at the unattended counter was ringing. I then called the number left on the voice message and reached the main (?) office. I was told there wouldn't be anybody there at the airport location until 2:30 - two and a half hours away. So much for saving time by flying. I was then told they only come to the airport to meet incoming commercial flights. I asked how could I know that ahead of time? There was no indication of that on the website or when booking. I was then told they could set up a taxi for us to get to their office. I wondered why it wouldn't have been easier and simpler overall for one of their personnel to just meet us at the airport. They knew what time we were arriving. I asked exactly what set up a taxi meant, and was told they'd reimburse the taxi fee. So that was the first check mark in the good column. We got to the office, finally secured a vehicle - which was cheerfully announced as a brand new Buick La Crosse. So all good now. I returned the car the next day at noon and left for home. Later that day I had several calls from Budget that my credit card wouldn't go through. After phone tag for a while I was able to reach them and said that I'd used the card several times over the last 24 hours and all had worked. They said it wouldn't work and they needed another card. I asked which card they tried to process - and they gave me the number of a previous (and now expired) card. I explained a couple times that the card they were attempting was not the card I'd handed them at the counter. Seemed confusing for them but I assured them that card was good and what they were using was an old card from 2 years ago. I was given a total billing of about $120... which was a big surprise due to the fact when I booked, the charge for an Intermediate size vehicle was around $56. Sure - U.S. to Canadian exchange and all those hidden little local screw-you-over tax gouge costs - but more than double was a bit much. I was told they'd send an email receipt. None came. So next day I called the office again to get the email receipt and it was delivered. I was surprised to see I had been charged a flat $20 upgrade fee. That's because instead of the Intermediate size I'd booked and expected - I was given the Buick (which I had never requested). And how does that work when the cost difference between an Intermediate and a Full-size when booking is usually $4-$5? Anyway - they refunded the $20 charge (another check mark in the good column). So this whole adventure - although certainly not the end of the world by any means, was a lot more tedious and bewildering than it need be if Customer Service is anything but letters on a pamphlet and words on a website. There is a little work to be done to improve and it wouldn't be that difficult.