That night in Montreal the wind felt a bit cold. I was standing at the hotel door with my kid in my arms and staring at the booking on my phone. I had booked a car on QEEQ and planned to pick it up at Budget the next morning. The plan was to drive from Montreal to Ottawa and then back. I even planned where to stop for food so my kid would not get too tired. Then on the evening before pickup I called the rental location to double check. The staff told me this location did not allow one way rental and both bookings could only be pick up and return in Montreal. No driving to Ottawa. My mind went blank. My kid asked me if we were still going to Ottawa. I really did not know how to answer. I checked the info on Kayak many times. I checked my email too. I really did not see any clear note that one way was not allowed. As a parent traveling with a child the pressure was big. Time was tight and we were supposed to pick up the car the next morning. I decided to call their customer service and explain everything. I told them what the rental staff said and that I had a backup plan with train tickets but the train and taxis would cost much more. I was worried that no one could really help me and that I would just have to pay for everything myself. From that first call I felt like there was one person always following my case. Later I understood this was their Dedicated customer service with one to one follow up. That night I spoke quite fast because I was nervous. The person on the line stayed very patient. They kept confirming details like when I made the booking what exactly the location staff told me and if I had any phone record for that call. I knew I had to find these things myself but I could feel that they were thinking about the next step and how to help me complain to the rental company. The next morning the plan was to pick up the car around May 18 instead of the 17 but I decided I could not take the risk. I canceled the booking and took my kid on the train to Ottawa and used taxis between places. For a parent this is much harder than driving. We had a lot of luggage and my kid got tired more easily. On the way I kept counting the extra cost of train and taxis. It was not a small number for me. At the same time I kept all the tickets and payment records so I could show them later and try to claim the difference. During those days we still went on with our trip but every now and then I saw new emails from them or new questions asking me for more documents. Sometimes I sat on the bed in the hotel room and sent pictures of taxi bills and train tickets while putting my kid to sleep. Sometimes I checked my phone during breakfast and looked for bank payment records. It was a bit tiring but I could feel that someone was always watching my case and it was not just one email and then silence. One thing I remember clearly is when they asked if I could provide my phone call log to the rental location. They said the rental company needed proof that I really called and was told no one way. I never thought call logs would be useful. After they explained I went back to the room and checked my phone. I took screenshots of the calls I made in Montreal and sent them. As a parent traveling with a kid I was already very busy. But seeing them dig into the details like this made me feel it was worth spending extra time because it meant someone was truly trying to help me. They also asked me to separate the train cost and taxi cost and to check which dates were inside the original rental period and which were not. I looked at each bill one by one. Some were on May 19 and they later told me those could not be counted. I felt a bit sorry about that but their explanation was clear and I could accept it. I felt they were not just brushing me off. They tried to include every cost that could be claimed and also followed the rules. Time passed and we kept moving between Montreal and Ottawa. My kid was happy with the trip. In my head I still thought about the case from time to time. I wondered what the final result would be. Once or twice I saw reminder emails because the rental company asked for more documents and I was slow to answer as I was out with my kid. When I finally replied they were not annoyed. They just continued from where we stopped and pushed the case again. It felt like I was not forgotten. On this trip it was like I had a remote teammate helping me clean up this mess. Later the rental company gave a not very clear answer. They seemed to say they could only cover either the price difference of the new booking or part of the transport cost and I had to choose one. I was worried they might change their mind again. During this time customer service stayed in the middle and passed every message. They helped me check which cost could be counted and which could not. They also reminded me that for the new rental only the original booked price could be used and any extra service I bought at the counter was not part of the claim. To be honest if I had to talk to the rental company alone I think I would get lost in all the rules. With this one to one follow up I slowly understood how much I might get back and what I must pay myself. This Canada trip was not easy for a parent with a child. I had to plan around my kid and then this rental problem came on top. When I look back I feel that without this kind of dedicated customer service I would have given up and just taken it as bad luck. The process was long and I had to keep sending things but I did not feel my time was wasted. It also made me trust their service more because I could feel they treated my case seriously and stayed with it from start to finish. For someone traveling with a kid that feeling of being taken care of matters a lot.
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