Economy Bookings Reviews

Economy Bookings
( 143 reviews )

Economy Bookings Customer Reviews

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Total Changed after Credit Card Entered - Scammers
December 5, 2023

I was booking a car this morning and the website indicated a total amount of CAD 597.56, however when I entered my Credit Card it added another 499.60 to the booking. I would not have booked that car if I had of known about this extra fee/s.

This is not transparent and is tricked my into booking for the larger amount. I would like to immediately request any charges to my Card reversed and need this booking cancelled. I was not aware of any extra charges, and this was not noted at the time of the confirmation.

This is not legally allowed and is deceptive for the customer. As noted below this booking did not show the total amount prior to confirming the charges. I have written multiple emails regarding this. I am requesting the charges be reversed as noted by you call in center.

I have emailed both the booking and support booking group multiple times. The charges on my visa at for total of 436.37 USD or 619.63 CAD.

Do not purchase insurance
December 1, 2023
I purchased “full coverage” for my rental. At some point in my trip the cover of a single rear view mirror came off. The car was not hit and the mirror was still intact and fine. Just the plastic cover missing as if it had been poorly attached. You can find a replacement on Amazon for 20 bucks. I am out 500 and all I have from EconomyBookings are automated emails saying they are looking into it two months later. After I first posted a negative (in October) review, they respond saying they would refund me. It is now December and no refund is forthcoming.

Ms.Laurie M. Green December 29, 2023

We are having same problem. We took out full coverage for car and submitted a claim October 13 2023. We submitted claim 3 times since and no response except automated emails they received claim. Now 3 months later, after no action, we sent claim and docs by certified mail which was returned saying address is no longer valid. What a scam!

scam economybookings.com
November 30, 2023

What a scam!

My first experience w virtual car rental. Upon being dropped off in a parking lot and directed to a kiosk where a virtual person comes on the screen to instruct how to get a rental.

After advising my confirmation stated 0 due on pick up as I prepaid. Virtual person advised me it did not include extra charges? Did u know u can be charged a senior fee if over 70. $14 a day. Never had that before. I got annoyed and walked away hitched a ride back to the airport.

No specifics info on website. Never again.

Awful company. Literal human trash
November 21, 2023

Howdy, first and foremost know I'm not a angry person. Generally very fair. No understatements here. Don't give this company a penny of your money. They will bait and switch you.

Then drag you along acting like they will help for weeks to months. I lost 200 something to them. That was supposed to be the total cost of the car. We get there in another country, stranded obviously they know people are in very limited option situations when traveling.

We were in Mexico and they tell us the quote "full coverage" we already paid for actually covers nothing in that country and we need to do a safety deposit of 1800 and pay outright 800 plus for insurance. Mind you this was supposed to be 200ish with full coverage all said and done and was paid and "set up" before we arrived in Mexico city.

Also that's pricey even for other places there. Ended up going with hertz for 600 out the door with actual full 100% coverage. I'm still "talking" with their support. But it's a joke, sorry Jessica- I hope you do help me. Yeah huge bait and switch they will wait till your in another country far from Your home with little options, legit putting you in a dangerous situation if you can't afford it and try and force your hand to take more money.

What a sleaze ball of a company. Honestly like I'd bet someone hadn't been able to pay that or had the credit limit. Couldnt get to the place they were sleeping and had to dangerously stay in the streets. What an awful thing to do to another person, ya'll should be ashamed. Youre right up there we with scam callers taking someones last penny. Scratch that you're way worse, this directly impacts peoples lively hood and ability to be safe and have transport. I'm just going to try and post this on as many places as I can and warn people.

Please save yourself and avoid any involvement with them or their partners, you will not get what you paid for. Back charge your card if they do this to you I'd recommend, it's not legitimate company, and I would love to see the bbb do a through investigation of these charlatan practices. Yall are the worst, good job

Ms.Laurie M. Green December 29, 2023

we paid for full coverage but we got no response when submitted claim (3 times). After 3 months sent claim to their listed business office but mail was returned saying no longer valid address. What a scam.

Don’t ever rent with Economy Bookings
November 20, 2023

Do not rent with this company. They are really good at taking your money and not giving you a car after you already paid. We rented a car and when arriving to the desk at the airport, the rental company had no cars for us.

Our booking was canceled. We had to go rent from another company. Economy bookings has no phone number to get help from only an email. We have emailed them twice with no response.

They have basically robbed us. The rental company said that because economy is a third party rental company we can only communicate with them, which is impossible. We want our money back for a car that we never got!

This is the second time I have rented with economy. The first time was also a disaster, terrible cars available and again were charged for fees that were not legit. We will never rent with them ever again.

You should not pay for a car rental up front.
November 15, 2023
We set up a car rental in Miami expecting a low rate. The car rental outfit was some "fly by night" place that only had 1 vehicle that fit our described car. It was a wreck and they kept trying to add on all sorts of fees and insurance additions. We finally cancelled (likely losing our $74.79 prepayment through economybookings.com) and went to Enterprise. Instead of the Sunpass fee of $59.96 that Ok Mobility (the rental agency) wanted to charge us, we paid $13.46 with Enterprise. Be very careful booking with these guys - economybookings.com or Ok Mobility.

"Bait and Switch"
November 8, 2023
Economy Bookings, as pointed out by others is a scam. It seems their MO is to "Bait and Switch" I was told that my car was not available and had to take an upgrade worth more than the original price. A couple beside me in Rome at AutoVia was told the same thing. Avoid these two companies.

Do Not book a car through economybookings
October 24, 2023

If you do not want to lose money, do not book cars through them,. These people are a scam. I booked a car and paid for it, when I came to collect the car, the hiring company refused to accept the insurance policy that economybooking.com provided and wanted me to pay for another policy more than what I paid before for rental and insurance. I refused and hired the car somewhere else, now to get my money back is a nightmare. I can not even place negative feedback on their website, as it tells me that I have already placed a feedback, which I did not. I also found on social media a lot of similar examples by this company, where they ripped of people. SO IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO LOSE MONEY< DO NOT HIRE THROUGH THEM!!!!!!!!

PatriciaRandall November 07, 2023

I never even got a car. I was left stranded at Tampa airport.

Stay Away
October 21, 2023
I do not recommend renting a car through this company to anyone. You have no way of reaching their customer representatives, and they do not respond to your emails or calls in any way. Despite purchasing additional insurance and reporting the damage I experienced, they have not refunded me for weeks. I will certainly file complaints with every place I can, but if you don't want to deal with these issues, stay away from this company.

FrankRichter October 24, 2023

I am in same situation, so advise everyone not to book anything with economybookings.com

Disappointing and disgraceful service and not recommended.
October 21, 2023
I sent a claim September 29th with all possible details and docs. available and more than one reminder to contact me back for almost a month. Not even a decent reply, only automatic replies which get you nowhere, despite the promise on own website to contact customers within a few days. Disappointing and disgraceful service and not recommended.

Ms.Laurie M. Green December 29, 2023

We too took out full coverage for car and submitted a claim 3 months ago. They don't respond. Kayak should not be using this company as they are a scam.

Thieves with terrible customer service
October 11, 2023

My experience and interaction with Economy Bookings below.

Hi there,

I previously booked a rental car from Thrifty rental through Economy Bookings at Chicago O'Hare Airport on the 22nd of September (Booking B74488217).

This rental was successful and at no point did they tell me that they would not accept my debit card but instead said they would take a $500 holding deposit from my debit card in order to complete the rental.

I then had another booking through Economy Bookings but this time at Fort Lauderdale Airport and when I presented my debit card they flat out refused to take my debit card and provide me with the rental car by taking a $500 holding deposit like they did from their branch in Chicago. 

I then read through ALL of the fine print of the Economy Bookings voucher for my rental from Thrifty in Fort Lauderdale and in very fine print near the bottom I saw that it said they would only accept credit cards.

With that said I understand that the T's and C's stated that it had to be a credit card but because I had no issues with the exact same rental company just 9 days ago in another state I did not expect to have this issue today when I went to collect my new rental car from Thrifty. 

For this reason I would like to please request a full refund for the amount of €994.92 for the car rental (Booking B94063902) that I was refused by Thrifty due to them deciding that they would accept a debit card in Chicago but not accept a debit card in Fort Lauderdale. 

Your understanding in this matter would be highly appreciated. 

I look forward to your favorable response. 

Many thanks, 

Joe Cattaneo 

Dear Mr. Cattaneo, 

Thank you for booking through Economybooking.com

We're sorry to hear you couldn’t pick up your hire car.

You did not inform us about the cancellation of your booking prior to your pickup.

You failed to pick the car up at the arranged time and date.

You failed to provide the documentation that is required to pick the car up.

 You failed to provide a credit card with enough available funds and with the main driver's name printed on it.

If you were blacklisted by the car rental company.

Unfortunately, because we didn't know that you weren’t going to pick the car up, we cannot give you a refund.

As well information regarding was available during booking process, as well in your voucher:

 https://www.economybookings.com/en/voucher/Qjk0MDYzOTAyfGpvZS5jYXR0YW5lb0BnbWFpbC5jb20=

When you complete the reservation, you have read, understood, and agreed to the Cancellation and Non-refundable Policy disclosed during the process of booking, therefore, you accepted and agreed to the transaction, made the reservation and received confirmation.

We’re sorry you couldn’t enjoy your rental this time, and we do hope that your experience hasn’t put you off.

Best Regards, Anna

Hi Anna,

Note the following:

- How can I inform you about a cancelation of my rental car when I had no intention of canceling my booking? The rental car company refused to give me the rental car that I paid your company €994.92 for.

- I was there at the exact pickup time and date. You can call the rental car company and they will tell you exactly when I tried to collect the car. 

- I provided the rental car company with ALL of the necessary documentation. Just like I did 10 days prior when I collected a different car from their branch in Chicago and they had NO issues giving me the rental car then.

Further to this, I provided them with my debit card which had my name on it and +/-€10 000 available in my cheque account which is linked to my debit card which would have covered way more than they needed, AGAIN, I used this debit card at a Thrifty branch in Chicago and they happily gave me the rental vehicle that I booked through your company just 10 days prior.

Now, Thrifty made it clear that they would not be receiving any of the money that I paid because they did not allow me to pick the car up, which means that Economy Bookings has essentially TAKEN €994.92 from me and given me absolutely nothing in return for it and you are telling me that you won't even consider giving me a refund because "we didn't know that you weren’t going to pick the car up". 

If your company is serious about keeping its clients happy and having them return and not sharing their negative experiences on social platforms and websites which is exactly what I am going to do if I do not receive at least a refund minus a minimal penalty admin fee for your company's time and effort to process the refund, then I would appreciate you taking the necessary steps and reversing your decision so as to keep me as a loyal customer and to not have your poor service and decisions displayed for other potential customers to see.

I look forward to a favorable response. 

Regards, 

Joe Cattaneo 

Economybookings.com took my money
October 9, 2023

I received email from Economybookings.com stating:

Your booking B52508777 for a total sum of 1070.79 SGD (726.33 EUR) at Chitose Airport, Japan has been cancelled.

I didn't received refund and yet I was charged 157.12 Euro. I tried to contact economybookings.com by all mean and did not receive any response. I hope this review can prevent more people from falling into this trap.

Avoid like the plague
October 3, 2023

Do not use this service unless you like dealing with crooks , they will confirm a car that is not even available and also take your deposit. They will then after a month claim it was non refundable from the get go. There are many other companies to deal with. Don't be fooled by the lower prices this is a scam as well, cost per day is always more after insurance and other fees added. Worst booking company in the world avoid like the plague.

Fraudulent Company
September 23, 2023

FRAUD rental company - don't book a car with them - nobody cares about their customers- nobody cares about a complaint - just fraudulent behaviour from A-Z.

STOLE MY MONEY
September 8, 2023

We tried to rent a car with Economic Bookings, and we started having problems since the beggining to pay for the renting, for some reason their website was not accepting my card anymore, even when I've already rented a car with them and the same card.

We tried to rent a Jeep Compass, they sent me the confirmation, they debited from my account the amount, and finaly the day arrived, traveling to other country, I received the confirmation in the day that I supposed to take the car. I though everything was fine, untill I arrive in the car rental company. The car rental company told me that the Compass was already rented to other person, that they didn't confirm my rental. I rented the car for 10 days, I was not expecting for that at all. I call Economic Bookings to try to solve my problem, was a satuday, they told me to SEND AN EMAIL TO THEIR SUPPORT, in other country, with hotel reservations, with no way to go to the places that I planned to go and with the car payed. I sent the email, and the answer was that they were going to answer me 5-7 working days. I didn't want my money back, I want a car. It took me the entire day to find another car, worst one ( Fiat 500L), also smaller and MORE EXPENSIVE. I travelled to other city to have it, I spent the entire day trying to have the cara, as my flight arrived at 10:30 and I got the car at 17:30. Yesterday (after 8 working days) they answered me saying that they are eveluating and it can take up to 28 days. Now they are with my money, I spent more money that I was expecting, I loose 2 days of travel with hotels and everything, as I need to take public transport to go to the rental place in other city to take and return the car, and the are EVALUATING my problem.

UPDATE: TODAY I RECEIVED AN EMAIL SAYING THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO REFUND ME!

Anthony October 03, 2023

Sounds familiar, try to warn as many ppl as possible economy bookings are complete frauds

BEWARE OF FRAUD
August 18, 2023

When making the booking it clearly - black over white says - the entire amount was paid in prepayment! I double checked it says 0.00 to be paid on pickup!

You create false image of fully paid rental, while in the terms it says under inclusion that it includes license and fees, then you state payable at pick up - 0.00

It's mentioned a few times

VAT is mentioned only as - applying certain condition to certain visa or citizens, and the way it is written is to make you think it's included so the person can't know it will be an additional payment upon pickup! As it literally says everywhere there's no sum to be paid on pickup.

It's completely orchestrated to get me to think it's already paid in full and then

Add 18% to the total - which makes it super expensive and not worth the price! It's way above the normal rate per day here. And I've been contacting you and trying to get your cancellation all day now!

Cancelled my reservation and took my money
August 14, 2023
DO NOT TRUST. I have not received a email response. I had a reservation and tried to modify it- in doing so it was cancelled- while i was on the phone with their customer service representative they told me that their manager said I would not be able to complete my reservation AND i was going to be charged the full amount. They then told me that I could directly contact the rental car company (as they are only a third party) and the rental car company told me they receive no payment until you rent your car. So they just took my money and lied to me. I have been trying for months to contact them and get no response. I am furious as my booking was over 500 dollars and cant believe I cant get a hold of someone.

Anthony October 03, 2023

Yep total crooks

Horrible
August 14, 2023
This company is absolutely terrible and unprofessional. It is impossible to get a hold of them and when you do you have to click the booking prompt because seems like they only care about getting a booking. The rep I finally got a hold of interrupted me while I was talking and then hung up the phone on me. It was such a hassle to get a refund, it’s been a month and I still haven’t received anything. DO NOT book with this horrible company.

Nightmare to get a refund
August 9, 2023

A nightmare to get a refund after cancelation. Using an excuse of 14 (working) days due to high season? It takes minutes, at least with your competitors.

'Your refund has been calculated as follows:

• Cancellation fee: 0,00 EUR

• Refundable amount: 285,17 EUR

The reason for cancellation:

• You found a better deal elsewhere.

What’s next:

Due to the high season, the refund will be made within the next 14 business days depending on your card provider. Now that your booking has been canceled you don't need to do anything. We'll let you know if we need anything else.'

Over 3 weeks after no sign of money or any comunication.

Anthony October 03, 2023

At least they said they will refund , stole 100usd from me and said too bad non refundable. Total crooks

Abolute SCAM
August 9, 2023

Avoid this company!!

Booked car in Spain - Malaga...However reading again and again their conditions (all in small letters - be aware!!)I have decided to cancel my booking..I had an cancelation insurance however it's is now a month from cancellation and still no money refund! I am reporting today to Bank and Police about the fraud!

Also, no response from the Economybookings about the refund!

Konrad August 09, 2023

I'm planning to go through the VISA scam department too. After 3 weeks of waiting.