My car rental rate doubled — should I split the difference with Hotwire?

When it comes to fixing travel problems, every happy ending isn’t necessarily a Hollywood ending. Consider the case of Samantha McCormick, a 23-year-old Hotwire customer whose car rental rate unexpectedly doubled.

McCormick turned to me to fix the problem, but now she’s at a crossroads and needs your help. I’ll get to the proposed resolution in a second. But first, a few words about compromises, and, of course, the details of her story.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, there are varying degrees of happy endings. A company will sometimes admit partial liability and offer to meet you halfway on compensation. These can be some of the hardest cases to wrap up, because no one likes a partial victory.

Often, travelers will walk away from a perfectly adequate settlement agreement on principle.

Is that what McCormick is about to do?

She recently booked a one-week car rental by calling Hotwire. An agent asked her to authorize a $170 charge for the rate.

I’m 23, and on the phone I asked if there would be an additional charge because I’m under 25. They said, “No, as long as you have someone over 25 vouch for you.” So I gave them the name of my father, who would be driving me to the rental center.

So far, so good.

But then McCormick checked in at Budget and was given some bad news:

I was told at the counter that I would be charged a fee each day for being under 25 and being the primary driver. The fee was over $20 more each day – almost doubling the $170 that Hotwire already charged me for the car rental itself.

I spoke with the manager and he said this happens all the time with Hotwire, they don’t inform customers of extra fees, they just want to seal the deal.

So because I wouldn’t pay the extra fees, I was refused the car rental. I immediately called Hotwire’s customer service to find out what the deal was. I was told by a rep that Hot Deal sales are final.

McCormick didn’t rent a car that day, but Hotwire (and Budget) kept her money. A credit card dispute was unsuccessful.

I contacted Hotwire on her behalf. Yesterday, I heard back from her. A Hotwire representative had called her with some good news. Sorta.

I was offered half of what I paid, and an explanation that they “do not feel at fault” but are giving half back as a (mediocre) courtesy.

[A representative] said she reviewed the tape of the original phone call sale. In response to the tape, she did say, “We feel that our representative should have anticipated that you were asking if you could add yourself as another driver.” This statement sounds as if they know the rep was misleading — however they still somehow don’t feel at fault.

When I asked to hear the tapes, she said I could. However, she has to play the tape for me over the phone – they will not let me have a copy.

I told her I was prepared to go to small claims court. At this point, I don’t want to accept half of what I paid, because that will just allow them to close this situation as resolved. As I see it, it is nowhere near resolved.

I agree with McCormick that this is not an ideal offer. But practically speaking, going to court could be costly and she may end up with nothing at the end of the process. Should she continue to fight Hotwire or accept this compromise?

What do you think?

Survey says: Keep fighting. By a pretty wide margin. (The poll was taken Tuesday morning, and more than 500 people responded.)

Update (11/20): Hotwire has responded to this post.

Prior to booking, Samantha called our customer service center to get more information. During that call, our agent was very clear that Hotwire doesn’t book reservations for customers under the age of 25. This is our policy and is in part related to the additional fees most rental car agencies charge for drivers under 25.

In order to help Samantha explore options to help get this deeply discounted rate for her travel, we also discussed the option of using another person as the driver, if there was one in her party that would meet the age requirements. Our agent was very clear that this person would need to be travelling with Samantha and would be the driver. Samantha agreed that was acceptable (using her father), and finalized the booking.

During the purchase, Samantha asked our agent if secondary drivers could be added at the time of rental. The answer to this question, is ‘yes’. Customers can add secondary drivers at the time of pickup. Unfortunately, Samantha arrived at the rental agency without her father, and wanted to add herself as a covered driver.

Never did our agent state that Samantha could add herself specifically as a driver while avoiding any fees, nor did our agent suggest that there were ways to help her circumvent the system with that goal.

We’ve listened to the actual call ourselves, and even offered to let Samantha hear it as well so that she would know that we were not providing misinformation. If we had made such an error, we would of course be willing to work with her on fair compensation. We always strive to provide the best customer service experience possible.

In this case, we offered to split the cost of Samantha’s rental with her. This was done as a courtesy in recognition of the fact that she did not use the rental. However, it’s also very important to note that at no time did we provide her with incorrect information, and in our follow-up conversation, our agent simply wished that we would have known her unspoken intent up front so that we could have helped her avoid this situation.

Samantha’s rental was available to her as promised, but she chose not to use it. Unfortunately, she also declined to accept our most recent offer as well. We were very sorry to hear that.

Hopefully this story can help educate your readers a little more on how the car rental industry works, which will help avoid similar situations in the future. Thanks again for the opportunity to share these details.

(Photo: Clon ny/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Benjamin Barnett

    Everyone knows if you’re under 25 that there’s an extra fee…she’s lucky she got anything. Take it and run.

  • David Z

    In response to the tape, she did say, “We feel that our representative should have anticipated that you were asking if you could add yourself as another driver.” This statement sounds as if they know the rep was misleading — however they still somehow don’t feel at fault.

    Or…it can also sound like exactly as they said: that the rep should’ve anticipated if you could be an added driver. It’s also possible the rep really didn’t know any better, athough it’s rather tempting to believe something sinister was going on.

    Personally, I won’t accept it. I’d understand if she does what she has to do, just like all of us.

  • Eric

    I think the compensation offered by Hotwire is ridiculous. She clearly asked if there would be additional fees because she was under 25 and they said there wouldn’t be any. I voted that she should take the deal, only because she’s unlikely to get anything better at this point. However, if I were her, I wouldn’t use Hotwire ever again.

  • Carver

    Going to small claims court is neither expensive nor difficult. Moreover if she prevails she will get her filing fees and well a process server fees back.

  • Mark M

    Depends on her finances. I wouldn’t take it. Hotwire/Budget seem entirely at fault. While it is fairly commonly understood that drivers under 25 pay extra fees, she sought explicit clarification. Companies are perfectly capable of waiving extra fees when they choose. Sometimes they do so to entice extra business. She should be entitled to hold Hotwire to its agent’s word.

  • Carver

    @Mark M

    ” it is fairly commonly understood that drivers under 25 pay extra fees”

    That’s not ne essarily true. Diffierent rental cars companies have different policies. Right now, use PC 144314 with Hertz and there is no under 25 fee. Further, renters from large companies and often the government do not pay an under 25 surcharge.

    But that’s all a red herring. Her question is unambiguous. Unless of course, Budget is now charging for underage passengers. But at the end of the day she is entitled to rely upon hotwire’s representations.

  • KathyJ

    If she has the time and emotional stamina to go to small claims court (it’s not that expensive, as Carver says), she should do that. If not, she should take the offer and chalk it up to the cost of learning not to do business with online third-party companies (all of them, not just Hotwire).

  • cjr

    Just another story as to why nobody should use sites like Hotwire and Priceline. Hotwire admits that their rep was wrong, yet refuse to accept responsibility? That’s a company nobody should be doing business with.

    The fact that the credit card dispute was unsuccessful is also depressing.

    No, she should accept nothing less than a full refund.

  • Jessica

    I said that she should not take the deal. She specifically asked about an extra fee for her age and was told no, and if it is on tape, they can’t argue that. And, as some have said, not all car rental companies have an added fee for under 25, some of them are under 21, I believe that is Enterprise, but do not recall as it has been a while since I was under that age. She did the right thing in asking and was not told the truth, she was lied to and sold a product that she couldn’t use, she should not have to pay anything.

  • http://www.autoslash.com Jonathan Weinberg

    Yet another sad story of a consumer getting a raw deal by prepaying for their rental. I won’t debate the merits of Samantha’s case here except to say that if Hotwire misled her, then they should make her whole again.

    I will say that consumers who prepay for their rental lose all their rights. They lose their right to modify their reservation. They lose their right to cancel their reservation. They lose their right to take advantage of a lower rate if the price of their rental drops (which happens more often than most people think).

    Given all the downsides, why would someone want to pre-pay? A service like AutoSlash.com that automatically applies discount codes and automatically lowers your rates when prices drop can get you a better deal than these services that require payment up front.

    FULL DISCLOSURE: I am the founder of AutoSlash.com.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Carver – “Further, renters from large companies and often the government do not pay an under 25 surcharge.”
    - – - – - – - – — – -
    That is true but these large companies and the government entities have contracts with individual rental comapany(ies). Miss McCormick used Hotwire for her rental…she didn’t use an individual car rental website with a CDP, PC, Coupon or other code. Miss McCormick was aware that rental car companies charging an extra fee for drivers under 25 by asking her question.

    The problem is Hotwire and companies like it. I don’t know if Miss mcCormick went to Hotwire website first to find rates then called Hotwire to ask her question. I went to Hotwire website a few minutes ago to do a mock car rental.

    Throughout the whole renting process, the website didn’t asked for my age. Nor was there any disclosure stating that some rental car companies charges for drivers under 25. Unless Hotwire received a waiver from all of the rental companies that charges an extra fee for drivers under 25 then they need to ask for a person age upfront or disclose clearly throughout the rental processs that rental car companies charges an extra fee for drivers under 25.

    By the way, for my car rental search on Hotwire, it showed the rental car companies for the rates and the terms were “Reservations may be cancelled at any time without penalty”. I do NOT have a personal account with Hotwire nor a corporate account with Hotwire. I just entered the inforamtion on their website,

    Personally, I have only used Hotwire one time and it was for a car rental (2009 – $ 16.00 per day for a Lincoln Town Car with Enterprise)…they disclosed the names of the rental car companies upfront for this reservation and I could cancel at anytime. I have done some Hotwire car rental searches in the past (when Chris Elliott wrote about Hotwire) and sometimes they disclosed the rental car companies and sometimes they didn’t.

    From the copy of my 2009 reservation confirmation:

    KNOW BEFORE YOU
    * Arizona Road Warrior must be present at pick-up with a valid driver’s license and a credit card with sufficient credit for a deposit. Amount of available credit required depends on car type, rental period, and optional items. Debit cards may not be accepted.

    * The rental agency will verify the driver is at least 25 years of age.

    * The car must be picked up and dropped off at the same rental location.

    BOOKING RULES
    Rental charges are billed by the agency when you return the car. Reservations may be cancelled at any time without penalty by visiting My Account. Review our Terms of Use for
    more information.

    This is from Hotwire website (11/16/10):

    BEFORE YOU GO
    * Your account will not be charged for this reservation. Rental charges will be billed by the agency when you return the car.

    * Reservations may be cancelled at any time without penalty.
    The rental agency will require a credit card or debit/check card in the primary driver’s name. Sufficient credit must be available for a deposit. Funds used for debit card deposits cannot be accessed until the car is returned. Amount of available credit required depends on car type, rental period, and optional items.

    * You will have the option to add additional drivers to your contract at the rental counter for an additional charge.

    The difference is that the statement of “The rental agency will verify the driver is at least 25 years of age.” is NOT listed. Maybe they list this term AFTER you rent the car.

    I know that this is from their website (we don’t know if Miss McCormick went there first) but it shows that their website doesn’t disclose it…so how can their CSRs know it?

    I think that Miss McCormick should take Hotwire to small claims court.

  • Brooklyn

    I wouldn’t take it. I wonder if she can subpoena the tapes in small claims court? The more people take these companies to court and publicize the resulting awards, the less likely they’ll be to screw the next person.

  • Alan

    She should take Hotwire to small claims. She contracted for a rate certain, and just like all those other “contrcats” in the travel industry, it turned out to be heads we win, tails you lose.

    And she learned an important lesson: never, ever arrange travel through a third party website. Use a flesh-and-blood agent, or deal directly with the company you’re renting from.

  • Sarah Di

    She specifically asked if there was an extra charge for her being under 25. Hotwire should pay her for the rental that she wasn’t able to use.

  • Steve

    @Benjamin Barnett: “Everyone knows if you’re under 25 that there’s an extra fee…she’s lucky she got anything. Take it and run.” That would be a valid position…if the Hotwire representative hadn’t explicitly told her that there would be no extra fee. I’m sick and tired of people letting companies off the hook when they provide a customer with incorrect information, then throw up their hands and say “it’s not our fault that we misled you.” This customer knew that it was possible there would be an extra fee, so she explicitly asked Hotwire if there would be, and they told her no. What more should she have done?

    I think Hotwire owes her a full refund.

  • Kim

    The whole under 25 bit is actually more confusing than it should be. I was under 25 on my honeymoon but the way that Avis wrote their contract, my husband (over 25) could rent the car and I could drive the car without being an additional driver because I was the spouse. (We also used my discount since I worked for Avis’ parent company at the time.) That was awhile ago but goes to show that it’s not always clear cut.

  • Carver

    @Arizona

    Alot of words ;)

    My point was a narrow one. Mark M opined that it is common knowledge that people under 25 pay a surcharge when renting cars. I merely wished to point out that paying an underage surcharge isn’t nearly so common as one might expect. Accordingly, whent the rep told her no surcharge, it is very believable.

  • J C

    I agree that the OP is in the right, but KathyJ is correct. In order to get her full refund she needs the time and stamina to go to small claims court, where she still might lose. The fact that she lost her credit card dipute doesn’t bode well. If Chris can’t fix it for her, then it comes down to how far she wants to take it. Being in the right doesn’t always prevail. Seems like a toss of the coin. (1/2 bird in the hand ?) Her choice!

  • Jeff R

    Wow. Hotwire pretty much admits that their agent gave wrong information, and yet they still expect for the customer to pay half for the company’s error. Mistakes happen, but honest companies fix them. Sounds like Hotwire has an ethics problem.

  • Teresa

    First she should let them play the tape for her over the phone. Then, if it’s pretty clear from the tape that she was indeed asking if there would be an extra charge, she should go to small claims court. It’s not especially costly, and it’s the right thing to do.

    Chris seems to be handling a lot of cases where customers fall into what we could call “revenue traps.” Companies create sets of rules. The rules are not aggressively disclosed, which encourages customers to overlook particular clauses. These clauses give the company a pretext for charging the customer extra money that the customer didn’t expect to have to pay. Often the trigger is a misunderstanding or mistake, sometimes a plausibly deniable mistake by the company itself. Prepayment and nonrefundability clauses turn the game into one of the customer trying to get money back from the company, rather than the company trying to get the customer to pay. The company doesn’t have much of an incentive to patch up the problem. Ms. McCormick got her foot stuck in Hotwire’s trap.

  • Laura

    This is just one more example of the perils of booking online. She should have used a travel agent.

  • Josh

    I absolutely agree that, given the question she says she asked and Hotwire not showing anything saying otherwise, that Hotwire is completely at fault. While many people “know” that under-25 renters get a surcharge or can’t rent at all, that’s not universally true, varying by rental company, contract terms, and more. The onus is on the business to clearly disclose any special requirements they have (and refusing to serve some customers who are not minors is definitely special). It seems like most of their own sites do so; it’s the Hotwire/Pricelines when acting as agents that need to verify that they are sending customers who meet the requirements.

    She should also write a strong letter to her credit card company, and probably look for another one. This seems like a pretty clear case that they should have found for her. This wasn’t a case where she took the car then wasn’t satisfied and wanted a refund; the company refused to provide the service as agreed. Just like these cases where hotels don’t have a reserved room, or a rental agency won’t rent due to a driver’s record, etc, their only recourse should be to cancel the transaction and refund any money paid, not to refuse service and also keep the money.

  • Les

    The ‘split the difference’ ploy seems to be going around. Like bedbugs. I encountered it with T-Mobile after they failed me and wanted to avoid responsibility. Must be something they teach in customer dis-service courses at conferences.

    If MS McCormick can afford the time and effort she should lean on Hotwire with all the resources she has available. She did her diligence – Hotwire failed to do its part.

  • Joey

    “McCormick didn’t rent a car that day, but Hotwire (and Budget) kept her money. A credit card dispute was unsuccessful.”

    So, not only was she misled on the rate but she ended up not renting at all? That would mean Hotwire/Budget were out nothing, kept all her money, and the credit card company STILL refused to side with her? That doesn’t seem fair at all. Is there some more to the story that wasn’t presented here?

  • Katie

    I am under 25 but Avis never charges me a fee because I’m married. (And a very lucrative member of their frequent rental program…my company does millions of $$$ with them a year)

  • LeeAnne

    @Laura – are you kidding me??? Are you REALLY saying that you think she, or anyone, should go to a TA just to book a rental car for a week? That’s just nuts. I don’t even know any TA’s who would want to bother with a simple car rental.

    I really get sick and tired of the TA’s on here constantly suggesting that we should give all our travel business to them – even the simple things. TAs add no value to basic travel transactions, and just add yet another potential failure point. TAs make mistakes too – just like that Hotwire rep, who in essence is acting as a TA in that transaction.

    I agree with everyone who’s saying that there is just no reason to use 3rd party entities like Hotwire anymore. They save you little if any money, and just cause problems. It’s always best to go directly to the provider.

    @Christopher, I do hope you’ll come back and tell us what happens. Clearly lots of us are hoping she’ll go fight the good fight in small claims court (which I agree is the right course of action). Keep us informed! To the OP – don’t give up, you are 100% in the right, and they own you every penny back.

  • Rose

    I would take the money; if Samantha fights, this will be on her mind for months. I don’t lightly invest the time & emotional energy it takes to argue with unethical businesses, (there being so many of them). She won’t ever deal with Hotwire again and neither will hundreds of elliott.org blog readers. It’s surprising to think that it’s worth this kind of negative publicity to keep $85, but I guess if you’re a volume business it works over the long run.

  • http://nmdfreelance.com Nancy

    She deserves all of her money back.

    She was told there would be no additional charge for her being under 25. Hotwire acknowledges they told her this. They have their own tapes saying thus.

    She should allow them to play the tape for her over the phone, attach her own recording device and then take them to small claims.

    In the real world, this is called “bait and switch”, isn’t it?

  • Josh

    @Katie — are you sure it’s because you’re married? Is your husband over 25? Many, if not most, corporate contracts specifically cover ages 21 and up (sometimes even younger); since you mentioned your company I’d suspect that’s the case here.

    Now, I do know that at least Hertz’s Gold program allows my wife as an additional driver “free” when I rent (and I she doesn’t even have to show her license, be there, or provide any info up front). I’m not sure if there’s an under 25 clause with or not; we’re both quite a bit past that so I never checked :-)

  • Susan

    I say go to small claims court. I did it when a client wouldn’t pay and the process is easy and the court clerks will walk you through the process.

    Hot Wire dropped the ball. Poor training and all of that, they gave her bad information.

  • http://jetiquette.org Margery

    I don’t deal with Hot Wire after learning my painful lesson in caveat emptor economics with Priceline. When I found out the hotel they had sold me was a fleabag (not like the photo or description) they kept my $170 despite the fact I never stayed. When I complained they merely pointed out a deal is a deal (meaning “we have your money, so bug off.”). I do know people who say they have gotten good deals on Hot Wire or Priceline, but the risk is not worth it for me.

  • BucksterSF

    Exactly why I don’t use Hotwire or ever will. Once they have your money everything becomes “your problem.”

  • Bill

    Hotwire was unclear or incorrect here, but it is a normal thing that passengers under 25 either can’t rent or have to pay extra fees.

    You shouldn’t believe anything you’re told, particularly by a travel agent, she should have checked the car rental agency’s terms and conditions.

  • BG

    Chris…Have your survey results of this situation been shared with Hotwire yet? Maybe if they see what the masses think of this situation and know many of us will be reluctant to use them if some positive resoltion is not given to this situation they may reconsider and give her the $$$ back. Just my thoughts!

  • Roger

    I would suggest instead of going to small claims court to file a case with the Better Business Bureau. They have been successful in helping me resolve problems like this in the past.

    Good luck

  • Rebecca

    I’m actually on the company’s side. Sam was charged more when she turned up on her own at the counter. If her father was the driver then why didn’t he turn up to pick up the car himself? It made me think that Sam was using his father as a cover up to pay less, and she herself as the main driver.

  • Edward

    I certainly agree with Samantha, not only because I’m her father but because I was with her when she called Hotwire. I was fully aware that in the past there were restrictions but she specifically asked the agent if she was allowed to rent the vehicle, as the principle driver, at the price quoted and at her age. She was told that would be the case. At no time did the representative indicated any extra fees, and she was given a quote for the rental period, as well as charged at that original quote. We trusted, incorrectly, that the agent was aware of any restriction on the age limit and we had no reason to doubt them. Noone who has ever dealt with Hotwire and has been scammed as she has been could possibly agree that she should take what they offered and run. My past personal experience with Hotwire has also taught me never to deal with them and I should have known better when she was making her reservation. I, like others have slept in a sleazy hotel, reserved through Hotwire in Miami for $185 for one night. The pictures they posted on the Hotwire site did not show the true condition of the quarters and i will forevermore caution anyone from using their service. If they’ve actually played the tape and listened, a check would already be in the mail. My opinion is they’ve committed an error and acknowledged so by offering her half of her money back. Who, in their right mind would believe that this company, Hotwire, would offer “fair compensation” to anyone and would “strive to provide the best customer service experience possible.” Their bottom line is all that counts, in my opinion. Their error was to lie to someone who trusted them, no matter what they claim. They are at fault. I continue to advise Samantha to stand up for her rights, pursue this with the Better Business Bureau and small claims court, if necessary. In the end, perhaps she will lose all her money. But I will pay her fees, for my part in this experience has taught me, and Samantha, that it was a mistake to deal with an organization such as Hotwire, knowing they might lie and then steal steal. i will post and remind others that businesses such as theirs care very little for their customer’s best experience. I hope this post educates readers a little more on how Hotwire operates, not how the car rental industry works.