Thrifty Car and Van Rental St. Albans

I have used Thrifty in St Albans on several occasions as I don't currently have a car. I can't fault the service. They have been helpful, flexible and given me the occasional upgrade to a better car. The cars have always been ready on time and well presented. I would recommend them.

I've been renting at my local Thrifty's in St Albans, UK. Generally excellent service and great fleet of cars except....

During my last rental, I was told that there was just ONE damage to the passenger alloy during the post-rental check. I told the employer that I had a photo prove that it was an existing damage and he said it would be fine, and no charges would incur. The person doing the pre-rental check had also taken a photo before and so I'm not sure why this wasn't updated on their system (everything should be instant since the pre rental and post rental checks are done on a tablet). Twenty minutes after I left the branch, I received the post-check up summary in my email and notice he marked two damages on both the right and left alloy. Further, he labelled both photos of the alloy as on the right alloy. When I pointed this out to Thrifty's, they said that indeed the right side had been marked but rather than checking the car, he consulted his colleague who did the check. After two phone calls, they said they would wave the administrative fee which normally comes with a damage. I went back to Thrifty's for the second time that day and discovered there was no damage to the alloy. Thrifty refunded me the money right away after confirming there was no damage to the car's right alloy. I've contacted the branch and their explanation was this was a human error.

However, my conclusion is that there were "three human errors". 1) The person doing post-rental check "forgot" to point out that there was a damage to the right side of the car during the post rental check but only pointed out the left side. 2) He also mislabelled both photos of the alloy as the right side of the car. 3) On the form, there is a 2D illustration of the car and he marked an "x" on both the right side and left side of the car.

Had I not been able to visit the branch for the second time, I would've been a victim of fraud. I hope the branch will further investigate the conduct of this employer.

We hired a van from Thrifty St Albans and were absolutely delighted when we were informed that we could drop the van back at Cambridge. The extra fee was hefty but the convenience outweighed the price so we went for this option. However, what a mistake that was! As I’ve been told since, when this option has been chosen, Thrifty is known for rushing the pick up process to not inform you of any dents made to the vehicle so that when you drop the vehicle off at another branch, it is that company that are obliged to pay for the damage. As soon as we brought the van back to Cambridge, the staff immediately acted shady and headed straight to a ‘dent’ which raised suspicion with us. Once we realised that they had clearly planned to make us pay for this damage, we told them that the ‘damage’ was not made by us at which point they turned extremely rude. I am absolutely appalled and ashamed that a company such as Thrifty, con their customers in this way. I advise everybody to NEVER use either one of these branches.

Rented two vehicles from here, a ford focus car for taking family up to a wedding, and a ford transit van for transporting grappling mats up to a martial arts event

No hidden charges, good friendly customer service, and immaculate condition vehicles (literally under 100 miles on the clock of the car). Highly recommended.

Excellent service every time I’ve been. Used this branch several times over the past few years and each time the service was unparalleled. Prices are just right also and I’ve used them as a 23 year old driver and 25+ also.

My experience may differ from some but I have rented (through my employer) maybe 20 or more times from this branch. The guys who drop the cars off or pick them up (we pay for that) are chatty and friendly. The staff in the office (Hannah & co) are also helpful. I find people are generally nice to you if you are nice to them. I've had upgrades (many times, thanks guys) and I've not had upgrades. Sure, not every rental is perfect (I had one where the engine management system got very confused and I ended up resetting it whilst 150m from home) but these people are human and professional. Try being nice to them and polite, you might like the service more then. You get what you give. @Hannah, still waiting for an M series car though :-)

Thrifty St Albans. The worst branch in my experience of 35 years of hiring vehicles all over the world. Rude, arrogant, unwilling to listen to customers. Now accusing us of calling them names! They record their phone calls but cannot prove we said anything!!! Making up lies and reneging on a corporate agreement with Hyundai refusing to to deal with their customer. Are the branches autonomous, franchised or company owned? The Manager is never available, how do you run a business like this?

If there was a zero star option this is what this branch deserves. Making wild accusations and not listening to customers is how this branch works. This is why Enterprise Rent a car will always be my choice in rental. Nothing is an issue and if theres an issue they explain it in an orderly manner rather than being hostile! My whole experience with this branch couldve been better if they actually listened to what their customers and clients need.