Budget’s $125 sand trap: When does a “dirty” floor mat become a rental car rip-off?
When Barb and Steve Pfeffer returned their rental Jeep after an eight-day hiking trip in the Pacific Northwest, the drop-off seemed routine. A friendly Budget agent verified the fuel, thanked them, and sent them on their way. It was anything but routine. Two weeks later, they found a $125 cleaning fee on their credit card. The reason? Excessive sand on the floor mats. Budget claimed the debris forced the Jeep out of service for detailing. The Pfeffers, who have rented cars for more than 40 years and never once been charged a cleaning fee, were stunned. They admit there was sand, they had been hiking in national parks for over a week, but they argue a couple of dirty mats hardly justify sending a car to a detailer. The deeper problem is buried in Budget’s contract, in a single phrase that lets the company decide, entirely on its own, what counts as too dirty and what that judgment will cost you.