I will NEVER rent from Budget or Avis again.

(They are owned by the same company.) I was billed $550 for damage to my rental car without being notified, and the corporate "customer service" office's stance is that I signed a rental agreement, so they don't have to provide me with any proof that the car was damaged. I have no idea what "damage" they claim was done to the car, and to the best of my knowledge it wasn't damaged. We drove the car from Nelson to Queenstown without incident, and returned the car at the Queenstown Airport location. No one was there to check the car in, and I was directed to simply drop off the keys at the desk in the terminal building, which I did. I didn't think that a reputable corporation like Budget would bother to cheat me out of $550. Apparently, I was incorrect in that assumption. A year later they are still sending me bills for the additional charges.

I have seen similar reviews on this and other sites. I suggest renting from any other company. The conduct of the local franchise is clearly fraudulent, and the response at the corporate level is inexcusable.

Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in March 2020