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Oh no, Budget had second thoughts about my discount

Maria Scaldina/Shutterstock
Maria Scaldina/Shutterstock
Question: I’d like to share my recent Budget Car Rental experience with you that has me committed to never doing business with them again.

A couple weeks ago I received a voicemail saying the Budget at the Kansas City airport would be charging me an extra $104 because an “internal audit” found they gave me too much of a discount. My receipt shows the $85 discount, which seemed right since there was an advertised discount.

So, they billed my credit card without my authorization, and then added in all the additional taxes and fees to bring the amount up to $104. I called Budget corporate and the franchise, but nobody would help fix the issue, even though I had a receipt to prove we “agreed” on the lesser amount.
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85 comments

Is Target’s price-match guarantee an empty promise?

1-TargetQuestion: I recently tried to price-match merchandise at a Target store in Framingham, Mass. I had read the price match policy online, and I was sure I was eligible. But I was denied.

I followed up with the corporate 1-800 number, and was twice given the same
(startling) answer: Target will not price match any printed ad that is not valid for an entire week. They exclude these ads because they are “timed” events, like door-busters and early-bird sales.
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48 comments

They showed her the net rate and now she wants it

Eleanore Brouhard knows a secret.

When she checked out of her hotel, it revealed the “net” rate it was charging her online travel agency — a number far lower than the one she was quoted. Now she wants the hotel to honor the lower price for her.

I get requests like hers with some regularity, and I normally tell them they’re out of luck. If you bought hotel rooms in large blocks, you might qualify for a low rate, but not as a single traveler. But lately, I’ve had second thoughts about that response, and I’m thinking of mediating one of these cases. Maybe you can help me figure this out.
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148 comments

Let’s hear it for this gas price bait and switch!

Cheaper isn’t always better.

On a recent trip to Bend, Ore., I discovered that cheaper can actually mean more expensive.

The scam was perpetrated by a service station selling unleaded gas that’s 10 cents lower than the other stations along the road. With gas prices pushing $4 a gallon, a 10-cent saving is nothing to sneeze at.
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198 comments

Should hotels advertise “all-in” prices, too?

If you recall last month’s dust-up about airfare pricing, you’ll know that airlines feel singled out by the federal government, which is now requiring them to advertise fares that include all mandatory taxes and fees.

Here are a few details about that dispute. Never mind that other federally-regulated industries have the same pricing requirements, including anyone buying gas, cigarettes or alcohol. Airlines wanted to see other examples in travel, dammit.

And so did readers.
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132 comments

Bill aims to scuttle new airfare pricing rule

Enjoy the government’s new airfare rule. It might not last.

On Jan. 26, the Transportation Department began requiring airlines and ticket agents to quote fares that include all mandatory taxes and fees. Since 1988, they’d been allowed to advertise fares that didn’t include government-imposed taxes and fees.
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122 comments

What’s your problem? Wal-Mart won’t price match my discontinued TouchPad

Question: I bought an HP Touchpad from Wal-Mart recently. Shortly afterwards, I looked online and was shocked to see they had been discontinued.

I contacted Wal-Mart and was informed I was too late for exchange or return by one day. I informed them that Best Buy and HP are honoring the rebate or refund. They told me I was out of luck.

I would like to keep my touchpad and get the rebate — the difference between the current $149 price and the $499 I paid. Can you help me, please? – Nancy Heimstra, Flagstaff, Ariz.

Answer: HP’s decision to discontinue the TouchPad only a few weeks after releasing it shocked the technology world. And you’re right, both HP and Best Buy said they would do a price match any early adopters who got the TouchPad before the announcement.

But not Wal-Mart.
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15 comments