I rented a vehicle through National in Santa Barbara. The entire process of booking the vehicle and getting a good price was relatively easy through their website. I had a full size Ford Taurus for about $39 a day which is very reasonable.

I arrived at the National counter only to find one agent working and three individuals in front of me waiting to rent. One would think the rental process is relatively simple, but the agent working the counter must have been new because it took me 45 minutes to get to the front of the line. There apparently wasn't anyone else working because she never called for help and nobody came to assist. When I got to the front she explained the insurance coverage and I declined since my employer has travel insurance coverage for employees who rent vehicles on company business. She really tried to push the insurance, but I explained it wasn't needed. I had to tell her "no" three times before she gave me the form to decline the insurance. As if I didn't wait in line long enough, now I was basically being ridiculed for not accepting the insurance. After I signed everything I got my keys and was on my way.

When I returned the vehicle, I parked the car in a space marked "National Returns" and went inside to turn in the keys since nobody was outside to check in the car (the Santa Barbara facility is very small). The agent asked me what the mileage on the car was and I explained I wasn't sure. He asked me to estimate how far I drove and I estimated it at 150 miles. He gave me a receipt and I asked him "don't you need to go check the vehicle?" He explained he was "too busy" and everything would be fine. I knew I had returned the car with a full tank and no damage, but I always like someone to physically inspect the vehicle to make sure that down the line I don't get hit for some damage that occurs after I turn the vehicle in. Well guess what happened? About two months later I get a letter explaining that I caused damage to the car and I would need to send in a letter explaining what happened. I sent in a letter and explained I didn't cause ANY damage and also explained the entire conversation I had with the agent when I returned the car. One month after that I get another letter saying I need to file a claim with my insurance company because there was $1500 worth of damage on the car. After making three phone calls to actually get the correct individual, I explained there was no damage caused by myself when I was in possession of the vehicle. She was very rude and explained "well if you had signed up for the insurance there wouldn't be any follow-up needed because the insurance would have covered the damage." I explained that was a moot point because I did NOT cause the damage. We went round and round on the phone and finally she said I would be contacted by the legal department to see what the next step would be. Two months after that I was contacted by legal and I had to explain my story over AGAIN and apparently someone with some sense understood I did not cause the damage because I have had no more contact from National.

Aside from the damage accusation, the service from National was very poor from the rental counter agent at rental to the agent at return. Then to be given the run around by several different people at National trying to get my situation resolved was very frustrating. It took over five months AFTER I rented the car to get the whole mess cleared up.

BEWARE of National once you return your car. Make sure that someone is out to inspect the vehicle to check for damage or you could end up like me with a five month headache.

Recommended: No