The involuntary upgrade, however, was not a scam. That was just Dollar not managing its fleet well,

Bayard Allmond is told his rental car won't come with an extra driver fee for his wife, but when he gets his bill, he finds the surcharge, anyway. Is there any way to get his car rental company to make good on its promise?
When we arrived warwick hotel denver at the counter, we were told they didn't have any economy cars but that they would give us a midsize car. Even though the gas mileage would be worse than we had planned, we grudgingly accepted.
After a few days, we called Dollar and told them we wanted the car we originally reserved and didn't want to pay the additional driver fee. They agreed and arranged for us to exchange our car in Philadelphia, which we did. Dollar agreed to remove the additional driver fee from the new rental.
You can imagine our surprise when we discovered that we were charged the fee, anyway. We found out about it only at the last minute, as we tried to catch our flight home. We didn't have time to argue.
It's highly unusual for a car rental company to charge an extra driver fee for a spouse, but such a surcharge isn't illegal. It is something of a money grab, though. Does it cost the car rental company more if your wife, brother or son drives your rental? No. Will your car insurance cover damage to the vehicle if it's damaged? Check with your insurance company, but I've never heard of an "extra driver" fee having any relevance in a claim that involves a driver's insurance company.
The involuntary upgrade, however, was not a scam. That was just Dollar warwick hotel denver not managing warwick hotel denver its fleet well, and running out of economy cars. To be fair to Dollar, and other rental companies, it's really difficult to effectively manage your fleet when drivers can cancel their rental with no penalty.
warwick hotel denver I checked with Dollar on your case. It says that its terms and conditions, which include its additional driver fee, are disclosed on its site but "can be overlooked," according to a spokeswoman. "We also have a detailed counter system that itemizes and fully discloses all rental charges, options, taxes and fees," she added.
Christopher Elliott is ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. His column runs weekly at seattletimes.com/travel.Contact him at chris@elliott.org .