Alamo Overcharges Traveler for Fuel After Forcing Unwanted Vehicle Swap
On March 17, 2026, at 12:30 PM, I reserved an automatic Toyota Yaris through your website from the Alamo office at Girona train station in Spain. My reservation confirmation number is 1595192545. Despite arriving at the office at my reserved time, the agent told me that no small automatic cars were available and initially offered an automatic Mercedes SUV for an extra €30 fee. I declined, and it turned out that vehicle's rear window was broken anyway, making it unrentable.
The agent then called a customer to confirm that a small automatic car would be returned at 4:00 PM and asked me to come back after 4:00 PM. Since I had to be at Barcelona Airport by 6:00 AM the following morning, I had no choice but to wait roughly 4 hours and return to your office at 4:30 PM. This time, the staff stated that there were no automatic cars available at all and insisted they couldn't do anything. After about half an hour of back-and-forth, upon learning that I was heading to Barcelona Airport, they suddenly "remembered" there was an automatic vehicle—a passenger van—available there. Frankly, I got the impression they were simply looking for a driver to relocate this van to your main hub at Barcelona Airport, and left with no other choice, I was forced to take it.
Having no prior experience driving a passenger van, I tried to fill up with diesel fuel around 5:15 AM as I approached Barcelona Airport, but I couldn't locate the fuel door. Because of this, I drove calmly and below the speed limit for the entire trip between Girona and Barcelona Airport. For this distance, a vehicle of this size would typically consume around 6 to 6.5 liters of fuel. All photos are attached.
I have photos and videos of the fuel gauge when I parked the vehicle at your location at Barcelona Airport. I see that my credit card was charged a total of €68.20, whereas the rental rate itself was €36.62. Considering the highest local price for diesel is €1.90 per liter, I could not have used more than 7 liters of fuel for this distance. Based on this, I calculate that I was overcharged by approximately €19 for fuel due to an error on your end.
In addition to the disorganization and poor attitude I experienced at your Girona train station office, I find the extra charges billed to me entirely unfair. Despite submitting a customer service form through your Spanish website and reaching out via your official customer support channels, I have received no response whatsoever.