BudgetTruck Rental and Joesph, Mann and Creed

I thought you all might be interested in this one!

And to the person form Joseph, Mann and Creed who occasionally views this forum, I am NOT trying to cast your company in a negative light. I am well aware of your concerns and will strive to give your company a fair chance. However something to think about, is that it really is your accounts behaving in this manner which could inevitably lead to your company being portrayed in a negative light when in fact your not even servicing the accounts in question

So on September 28 I sold my house. Late on September 27 I rented a truck from Budget Truck Rental to move to my new residence. I gave them My Capital One Credit Card for the rental. I rented the truck with out a problem, and the agent for Budget called the following afternoon (Septemebr 28the) to remind me that the truck was needed by another customer the next morning. September 29(important to remember that little fact).

So I successfully (but hurriedly) got moved and settled in and returned the truck, dutifully filling the tank even though I only put 12 miles on the truck. I dropped the truck after hours and left the info on the contract and deposited in the night drop. Budget never sent me a copy of the finaly receipt (they later tell me that's “not their process”, I have to go back to the rental agent to get a copy)

I never heard any thing else and presumed everything was fine.

Fast Forward to November 16, 2007. I receive a letter from Michael Ochoa in Budget Truck's Collections Department Dated November 2, 2007, post marked November 5, 2007 (again not received until November 16, 2007 ) demanding payment within 5 days of the date of the letter (keep in mind they sat on the letter for three days). I called him and left a message that I don't not know what this was all about, and to please call me and explain what hes talking about . I also wrote the following letter and sent it to both the PO Box and street address listed

Quote:

17 November 2007 Subject: Invoice 7974863 Dear Mr. Ochoa In reference to your letter Dated November 2, 2007, which was post marked by your postal meter on November 5, 2007 and received November 16, 2007. This is the first I have heard of this situation. I was under the understanding that the charges would be billed to the credit card with which I made the reservation, and presented when I rented the truck. It would appear your agent has failed to properly process the charges, and also failed to follow up. I must say, I am rather perplexed as to why no one from Budget or their agent has bothered to make any previous attempts to contact me to remedy the situation. I provided both my wife's and my cell phone numbers, I know your agent had them because he called me on the date the truck was due back to remind me of that fact. Had Budget or their agent made any reasonable attempts at all to contact me earlier, I would have been happy to make arrangements to rectify the situation sooner. Instead it appears Budget prefers to remain quite then after a significant delay, confront consumers with deception and strong arm collection tactics. Clearly a poor business practice, and poor Customer Service. Inasmuch as your letter was not even posted until November 5, 2007, three days after it was written; and not received until November 16, 2007, there is no way in which I could have paid it within five days of the date of the letter; November 2, 2007 as requested. I doubt whether your letter ever could have reached me within the extremely small time frame you allowed, even if mailed in a timely manner. As a general rule it is recommended to allow seven to ten days for mail to reach its destination. In light of the considerable delay by Budget in contacting me, the earliest I can schedule payment will be January, 2008. I have previous financial commitments which cannot be changed. Again, this delay in payment is a result of Budgets' lack of communication. Budgets' failure to follow up or communicate does not create a higher priority or sense of urgency on my part. I will mail the balance, to the P. O . Box address listed on your letter in January. Please be advised any future telephone calls or messages may be recorded without further notification and may be used in future actions. Respectfully

No response, no phone calls. So last Thursday (Decemebr 13, 2007) I receive another letter (actually a carbon copy of the first letter,and of course it doesn't address anything I brought up in my letter). This time the letter is Dated November 30, 2007 and not mailed until December 3, 2007 again demanding payment within 5 days of the date of the letter (this time they sat on the letter for four days before mailing it).

So I called again and left a message. This time he finally calls me back, gets belligerent with me, and loves to throw around those FAMOUS "Collector" terms "Process, " We have a process”, “this is our process”, but cant explain what any of these “processes” are. When I asked him why he didn't return my previous call or respond to the letter he yells that I never called him (I have the call reords from my phone company that I placed 4 calls to him) and states he got my letters but he's "to busy to respond". So what exactly does Budget pay this guy to do all day anyway?

I do a little research and check with Capital One, there was available credit on my card to cover their charges until October 9, Budget claims the out standing balance since October 1 (does anyone see the problem here?). Capital one acknowledges that there was available credit on my account but can't (or won't) explain why they declined the charge in October (or at least that what appears happens). But of course Capital One won't do anything to rectify the situation other than refund my annual fee.

So I am talking to this person at Budget, who can't (or Won't) explain why if there was a problem on October 1, 2007, their agent didn't just call me (after all he called me two days prior to remind me the truck was needed the following day), except to say “thats not our process” (Im Really getting to had the word process). Then I question why they choose to wait almost two months than come on with these strong arm tactics, rather than try to foster good will and resolve it amicably (now I'm upset with Budget, and will post stuff like this on the Internet and tell everyone I know NOT to do business with Budget or Avis (actually or any business owned by Cendant Corporation).

So, this guy refuses to discuss this in a professional manner, starts yelling and threatening to send the account out to collections, and even IDENTIFIES THE AGENCY (again rep, from JMC, YOUR CLIENTS are causing some of your concerns). I tell him fine, go ahead. I figure I'll have a better chance of dealing with their collector than I do with this guy. This guy evenrefuses to send me a copy of the final invoice ( which of course their collecter, who ever it turns out to be will be required to produce before I pay anything.

Now, My gut instinct is to say, screw off, it's because of their "processes" that they didn't get paid the way they should have in their first place. Their agent screwed up, so why the strong arm tactics against me with no warning? Lack of planning (or performance) on their part Does Not Constitute an emergency on my part.

Does anyone else see they could have solved a lot of prolems, and fostered much good withh, if their agent had only bothere to make a phone call on October 1?

But the reality is I know this debt is legit, and ultimately I have to pay it. But because they can't be professional, I'm just gonna wait for them to follow through on their threat. I'll deal with the collection agency when they pop up. As a result they wont get everything becasue as we all know the collection agency takes a percentage (a percentage they would have kept if they had actually put forth even a tiny amount of effort in the customer service Department, instead of flyng right into collections and strong arm tactics).

Now, in regard to Joseph, Mann and Creed, I have not dealt with them, and I really DO NOT know that this account will end up with them. That's just what I have been told. I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they will conduct themselves and their actions in a professional, courteous, and legally compliant manner. However, If they do not, as I have done here with budget, I will also post that experience as well.