The day I returned the car, the sun in Exmouth was really bright. I was lifting my kid out of the Kia Sportage and trying to keep him from running off, while I was also counting our costs in my head. At the rental counter everything looked normal. I handed back the keys, signed the paper and left. In my mind I was already thinking about what to cook for my kid that night. A few days later back home in the UK, I checked my bank card and saw a charge of a bit over one hundred pounds. I just stared at the screen. My first thought was what is this again. After a few checks I saw it was from that rental I booked with QEEQ. I felt quite stressed. With a kid, every trip already costs a lot and this kind of surprise fee really hurts. I contacted their customer service and told them everything I knew. I even went to find the photo I took of the mileage when I returned the car. In that photo I could see my kid’s legs sticking out near the front seat. I thought to myself good thing I took this picture. The staff checked the mileage with me. I said it was 39072 when I returned the car but the paper from the rental company said 39702. I felt it was not fair and I told them they must have written it down wrong and that I had proof. They asked me to send the photo and reminded me to show the time on it. I was doing all this while thinking if I was alone I might not be so careful, but with a kid I have to watch everything. Later they told me they would keep talking with the rental company and that it was about a mileage fee. They also said they would keep following the case. I got some email updates. I remember reading one while cutting fruit for my kid in the kitchen. I felt someone was helping me carry this problem so I was not fighting the rental company alone. At one point they shared a refund amount they could get for me and asked if I was okay with it. I did a quick count and felt it was basically fair so I agreed. I really felt looked after at that moment. It was like they were saying you take care of your kid and we will deal with the rental company. When the refund finally showed up on my card I saw the number on my phone and felt a big weight off my chest. This thing that was hanging over me was finally done. Later they asked me to pay back the part they had fronted for me and I did that as well. The whole thing was not super fast but it also did not feel endless. The main thing for me was I could feel that someone remembered my case and kept checking on it. For a parent, that feeling of someone staying on your side and watching the problem for you is really important. Even when my kid was shouting and I was tired, I still felt calmer because I knew they were still helping me with this wrong charge.
I was really upset at first and also a little lost. I booked my car through QEEQ and I thought everything would be simple. But my trip to San Juan turned into a long story about money and problems. The strange part is that the thing I remember most is not the car. It is how someone kept following my case. I picked up the car around the end of March that week. I only drove it for about one day and then I gave it back. The day I went to the rental counter I was already tired. The air inside was cold but my head felt hot. The staff kept looking at their computer and then at me. They asked for my confirmation number again and again. They said they could not find my booking. My phone signal was bad and there was no WiFi. I stood there scrolling my email like crazy and kept asking myself what is going on. I showed them every piece of information I had. My name my dates everything. I felt like I was taking a test and they were checking every answer. They finally gave me the car. When I later looked at the contract and saw an extra charge of more than one hundred dollars I felt shocked. I have my own insurance and I never asked for more stuff. The number on the paper made me feel sick. The car was not in good shape either. The inside was dirty and it had a strong smell. I just wanted to return it as soon as I could. I kept thinking who will help me with this. I started a dispute with my credit card company but I was worried they might not help and then I would have to pay for everything. So I contacted their customer support and told them about the extra charges and how I only used the car for about one day. They did not talk to me like a robot. They first asked what I was most worried about. I said I was scared that nothing would be solved at the end. They told me to take it step by step. I sent them videos and photos of the car and also my payment records. I thought they might just forget me after that. They did not. Every few days they reached out and told me what was going on. They said they were still waiting for the rental company and told me not to stress too much. One day I had just finished class and was standing in the parking lot when they called. The wind was loud in my ears. On the phone the person went through each extra fee with me and said they would keep pushing the case. I felt a bit lighter in that moment. It did not feel like I was fighting this alone anymore. Even though the final result was not exactly what I wanted they explained where every fee came from and how far the dispute went. My anger got smaller over time. When I look back at those days from standing at the counter waiting while they could not find my booking to seeing the extra charge and then later getting calls and messages from someone who kept checking on me I remember one clear feeling. My problem mattered to them. That feeling of someone staying with the case and not forgetting about me was more important to me than just hearing a quick sorry.
To be honest I felt quite relaxed at the start. I booked the car through QEEQ and then flew to the US. Around the morning of January 16 I went to the counter in Cape Coral and got a Chevrolet Cruze. It was automatic and a four door car. The car looked fine. I even asked the counter staff if all the fees were already covered. He nodded and I did not think too much.
The real stress started after I returned the car. Around the morning of April 15 I brought the car back on time. Everything looked normal. A few days later I checked my bank account and saw a big charge. It was more than one thousand euro. I was confused and a bit shocked. This money was not in my plan. Then I scrolled back and saw that in March there was already another high payment. I felt angry and also a bit cheated.
I tried to remember what happened. Near the end of the second month the rental staff told me that the car I was driving was sold. They asked me to drive back to the station and change to another car. I felt it was strange but they said it would be quick and that all the payment was already done. They gave me a new paper. I thought it was just a normal swap form. I was on a business trip and my time was tight so I trusted them and left with the new car. I never thought the final bill would look like this.
When I saw the extra charges I contacted their customer service right away. It felt like falling into a time zone hole. I was working and at the same time explaining all these numbers. I told them clearly that I had paid in advance for three months and now it looked like only one month was covered. The next two months seemed to be charged again with a very high price. I was worried that I could not match all the contract numbers and also that there might be language problems.
They arranged someone to follow my case all the way. It was not just one short reply and then silence. This person checked on me from time to time. He asked if I had new statements and reminded me to send screenshots when needed. Sometimes the reply was not instant but I could feel that there was one person who remembered my case. I did not need to explain everything from zero every time.
One night I was working late in the office. The lights were bright and my head was full of contracts and figures. Then I got an email from them. The update said they were already talking with the rental company and told me not to worry too much. He also turned the rental company explanation into simple English so I could understand it. At that moment I felt someone was breaking down the complex things for me and I could finally breathe a bit.
The whole process was not easy. Waiting for news made me nervous. I kept thinking if I could really get my money back. Each time I asked for progress they could tell me which step they were at and if there was any new answer. Many platforms just say you should contact the rental company by yourself. This time they stayed in the middle and spoke for me. They kept saying that I paid for three months in advance and it should not only cover one month.
Now things are much clearer and the extra part has a proper way to be handled. I am not as anxious as at the beginning. As a business traveler I really hate to waste time on billing problems. Having one person follow my problem from start to near the end made me feel I was not fighting the rental company alone.
When that seven hundred plus dollar charge was finally confirmed as normal I was already back home for a few days. I was still thinking about my time in St Thomas while scrolling my credit card bill. I saw those numbers and thought if this money was taken by mistake I was in trouble. At that time I had been talking with support for several days. I was worried but also a bit hopeful.
The story started a few days earlier. I booked my car on QEEQ. I picked up the car around April 27 in the afternoon in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. The pick up time was near two o clock. I chose a Budget Dodge Durango automatic with seven seats because I wanted my family to sit more comfortably. The sun was very strong that day. I walked into the rental counter with my luggage and showed my passport and booking paper to the staff at the counter. When we did the paperwork they gave me a contract with many fee items. I stared at it and felt a bit lost. I asked them one simple question “Are all these required?” The counter staff just said “Yes yes just sign.” I did not feel fully safe in my mind but I was in a hurry so I signed it.
I used the car and around April 29 I returned it in St Thomas before noon. The car was fine and the fuel was full. I thought everything was done. After I went home I checked my credit card and saw a few strange pending charges. One was a bit over three hundred another over five hundred and one was more than seven hundred. My first reaction was that I was charged too much. My heart jumped and I thought to myself maybe I just got cheated.
I went to the rental company website and tried to find my name and booking number. I could not find the final invoice or any clear bill. Not even the FI showed up. That feeling of having no proof made me very nervous. I decided to contact their support and I told them I thought I was maybe overcharged and I wanted to know what these pending charges were.
I was surprised that this time I really felt that someone was in charge of my case. From the beginning they confirmed my basic info and after that the same person kept following my problem. One time I even made a small joke and asked if they were only taking care of my order. The person replied that they would keep helping me. At that moment I felt some weight leave my chest. I did not feel like I was talking to a cold system. I felt someone was watching this for me.
Soon they reminded me to send photos of the documents from the rental counter. I opened my suitcase and searched for the papers. I found one contract that was not very clear and one FI. Even I thought they were hard to read. I sent them and they told me to also watch my credit card bill because the charges were still pending. They asked me to see if anything changed in the next days.
During those days I opened my credit card app almost every day. In my head I kept saying please do not really post. The support person checked in with me every few days and asked if the pending charges changed. One morning I saw that the three hundred and the five hundred charges were removed. Only the seven hundred plus charge was now clear and fully posted. I quickly took a screenshot and sent it to them. I said the two smaller ones were gone and only this one was left.
I felt a bit stuck inside. One side of me thought maybe this was just normal rental cost. The other side still feared that I was overcharged but I could not say where the problem was. The support checked everything again and explained that from the current info there was no wrong or repeated charge. I felt a little disappointed at that moment because in my heart I was hoping for a refund of something. At the same time I knew that they had gone through every detail with me and gave a clear answer. It did not feel like a lazy reply.
What stayed strongest in my memory was that they did not end the talk with one simple sentence. They went through the whole thing again with me. I asked if the two canceled charges were just old pre authorizations. They answered based on the status in my bill. I asked if I only had this one left. They checked again. I felt like a nervous student who kept asking questions. They did not show any impatience. This feeling was very important to me as an overseas tourist because when you are in another place you always feel a bit unsafe.
Later I slowly accepted that this seven hundred plus charge was the normal rental fee. I compared it again with the contract. Even though the words were blurry they still kind of matched. When I think about the whole thing if there was no feeling of one person following my case I would probably keep guessing and maybe write bad reviews online. This time the Dedicated customer service made me feel like someone was really taking care of me and my problem. Even if the result was not what I wished the most I did not feel that I was ignored.
Now when I look back at those days of chat messages I can see clearly that they kept asking me for updates and new changes. When they told me that the case could be closed I felt quite calm. This experience of having a person stay with my case and follow every step gave me a strong feeling of being looked after. As an overseas traveler this made a big difference in how I remember my whole booking with them.
When you drive with kids, what is the scariest thing? For me it is a bill that comes from nowhere. I booked my car on QEEQ. I thought everything was very clear. We picked up the car on May 9 in Nice in the morning. It was a 9 seat Peugeot Traveller and we planned to return it on May 16 in the morning. The booking said unlimited mileage. I checked this many times before I paid. When we returned the car, the counter staff suddenly said we went over the mileage and we had to pay 175 euro. I just froze. I asked myself in my head. Was it not unlimited mileage. Did I read it wrong. My English is not very good for long arguments. I also speak French more, so I was afraid I could not explain well. I paid first because I did not want trouble in front of my kids. After we left, I put the kids to rest and then opened my booking again. I checked line by line. It really said unlimited mileage. I felt very upset. So I sent a message to their customer support. I explained what happened and sent a photo of the paper from the car rental desk. I asked them if they could also see that it should be unlimited mileage. They replied very fast. They used simple English and tried to make it easy for me. They told me that this order was indeed unlimited mileage and told me to keep all the receipts. They said they would talk to the car rental company and try to get my 175 euro back. When I read this, I felt a big relief. I was also a bit surprised that someone really wanted to fight for me. I asked how long it might take. They said they would keep following my case and tell me once they had a result. In the next days I spent the day with my kids and only checked my mail at night. Each time I saw they still gave updates I felt I was not alone against the rental company. One day I got a message that the 175 euro would be refunded to me. When I saw this line I felt so happy and I was glad I did not give up. This problem was quite annoying at the start and made me worry more during the trip with my kids. But there was a person from their side who stayed with my case from the start and always talked to me. The replies were clear and they checked details and the amount with me. I really felt they took care of me and my family.
I want to start with how I felt. On this business trip in Bogota the one who really helped me was not the rental counter but the person who followed my case from the booking side. My schedule was very full. Around April twenty seventh at noon I picked up a Kia Soluto from Budget at Bogota airport. It was an automatic car and the pick up seemed normal. I rushed out because I had meetings to catch. Then I jump to a few days later. When I was back at the hotel at night I checked my credit card bill and the numbers did not match. I remembered the prepaid price on the platform was around two hundred ninety dollars. On the bill the new rental charge showed about three hundred seventy four dollars. I felt something was wrong. I also saw another charge for about one hundred ninety dollars and I had no idea what that was. Those days I was running around the city for work in the day and at night I was counting money on my phone. I asked the rental counter and they were not very clear. Sometimes they even said they could not find my original booking. That really annoyed me because cross border talking like this takes so much time. The thing that calmed me down was that I always had the same person from their side following my problem. Every time I sent an email or called I felt it was the same line taking care of me. They knew how much I had already paid what the rental company said and they also remembered that I did not want to give out my bank account. They asked me for the new rental file receipts and bill screenshots. I sent them when I had a break. I said I do not want to give my bank account to the rental company and I asked if there was any other way. They did not just say one sentence and push me away. They really tried to find another path and kept talking with the rental side. After some days they told me the rental company agreed to return the price difference and the amount was even a bit higher than I first thought. Then I started to worry again about how to receive the money because I only wanted the refund to go back to the card I really used and I did not want to spread my bank info everywhere. The person who followed my case stayed patient and also respected my choice. They explained in simple words why the rental company could not send money back to the new card and why they needed to send it through their side. I asked if there was a more safe way. They offered to use a virtual credit card so they could send the refund to me in that form. I felt this was a good idea for me. It made me feel more safe and I did not need to give a bank account. During my trip the busiest days for me were also the days when they were going back and forth with the rental company. For me the important feeling was that I did not have to repeat my story every day. The person on the other side always knew which step we were on and what would be the next move. The case was not solved super fast but compared to my past experience with other platforms where I had to explain from zero to a new agent again and again this time I really felt someone was watching my case and not just leaving me alone. As a business traveler I hate wasting time on these small money problems. This time thanks to having one person keeping an eye on everything I finally got my price difference back and I could focus my energy on my work.
