Budget Charged Me 50k₺ for a Small Dent Despite Full Insurance

Yusuf

We wanted to rent a car from Istanbul Airport. After booking the car online and going to pick it up, a representative convinced us to get full insurance, claiming that since we were going to return the car in Antalya and would be driving long distances, we wouldn't encounter any issues if we had full coverage. On the second day, while reversing the car to park, I hit a tree. There was no damage to the paint, but a small dent appeared. Although I was supposed to return the car in the evening, I went to their office at Antalya Airport earlier and asked what I should do. They told me the car would be sent to Istanbul for an inspection, and since I had full insurance, I wouldn’t face any problems. With that assurance, I returned the car.

About a month later, they sent me a bill for ₺30,000 for the damage and asked me to pay. While I was objecting to this, they added an additional ₺20,000 for depreciation. What surprised me is that Budget, a company associated with Koç Group, has staff that provides inconsistent guidance depending on the situation. They made full insurance mandatory for me, even though I wasn’t driving long distances, claiming that it would prevent any issues. When I visited their office before returning the car, they assured me there wouldn’t be any problems. Later, they claimed I should have called the police and filed a report with the car.

Furthermore, Budget should have given me a car that matched the 2-year-old segment I selected, but since they didn’t have any available vehicles, they gave me a brand-new car. Even though I had full insurance, I’m now being charged both the damage cost and the depreciation. Since I had full coverage, I didn’t bother fixing the dent myself or dealing with it. Moreover, I later learned that despite paying the one-way fee, the car was sent to an expert in Antalya, and the entire trunk was replaced, likely because the service center wanted to profit from it. When I asked about the replaced parts, they told me it was "confidential."

This is truly frustrating and doesn’t suit a Koç Group company; it’s no different from the tricks used by neighborhood rent-a-car firms, or worse. Unfortunately, I can't use certain words here, but I’m fed up with this situation. I’m tired of their constant calls and emails.

Budget

Dear Yusuf Can A., Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions with us. BUDGET maintains its position in the industry thanks to valued customers like you and always prioritizes the feedback it receives from you. We kindly ask you to share your reservation number so that we can conduct an investigation regarding the matter you have conveyed. You can provide your feedback about our products and services. Best regards.

Yusuf

You could access the reservation number 6122896 more easily than I could. But for some reason, all customer representatives see us, the consumers, the users, as assistants. Of course, we look it up and convey it, we send emails, we inform, of course, this is our job anyway. Also, there's a piece of information I recently learned that everyone should know. Don’t feel at ease by getting insurance when renting a car. It turns out that the fees we pay for insurance are not paid to the insurance companies at all but remain in a pool. Additionally, claims for depreciation are made, but these kinds of minor things are not recorded in the car's history. What kind of contradiction is this, dear Budget officials? I could actually write at length about how you are unjustly profiting from this situation from a legal standpoint.

Yusuf

Here is the translated text from Turkish to English: "The responses given here are only to influence the algorithm of responses given to complaints on the 'şikayet var' platform. It is obvious that Budget, a subsidiary of Koç, is not very interested in complaints. Despite having full insurance, they demanded 30,000 for completely replacing a small dent in the luggage, and although a depreciation claim was made, there was no damage registered to the license plate, which is not surprising since it's Budget. Even though I made a one-way payment and was informed that the vehicle would be inspected at Otokoç in Istanbul, I was victimized in Antalya at an 'affiliated' X dealership, clearly to fill someone's pockets, and everyone should know about this. The full insurance and such are quite deceptive. The vehicles supposedly aren't insured. We think we're buying insurance here, but they deceive us here too. There is a pooling system. They make payments as they please. Of course, this is the only country where they can continue to commit many irregularities. But I have also reported this issue to the headquarters in America. Let's see how willing they are to expose your irregularities. I have been blacklisted for openly writing these things. By the way, even though I am from the Koç family, if this is being done to me, then woe to everyone else."