Thane Oven

I booked a car thru carrentals and was given the total price of $77.95 fr Thrifty at the end of the online reservation process. When I arrived at the office of Thrifty Car Rental near Chicago O'Hare airport on the afternoon of 11th June 2009, I presented the reservation details to the person manning the counter (I believe his name was Rihani). He then offered me a Ford Fusion.

This was fine, but the total chargeable came up to $191.09. I was shocked by this as the new price represented a near 250% increase on what I was expecting to pay! I asked him why the amount was so much, and he said this amount included the insurance fees (loss damage waiver, uninsured motorist protection and supplemental liability). I understood that these fees were optional, so I informed him that I did not want to take out the extra insurance premium, and that I just wanted to pay the originally quoted amount of $77.95.

He then said that under those circumstances, he was unable to offer me a Ford Fusion or any other car, but that I could take a minivan if I wanted to.

Now, I understand that with a wild card booking, I might get a larger car, but I was not expecting a minivan. The website quotes a "mid-size or larger car". I do not consider a minivan as being a car, and I was not comfortable with the idea of driving something so large.

More conspicuously, if his first offer was a Ford Fusion, why couldn't he have honored that without forcing me to purchase the optional insurance? I fail to understand why one would be allowed to rent a minivan without purchasing insurance, but that the reverse is true when wanting to rent a car. It seems to be a policy of double-standards.

I have called customer service to complain but they were of no help. They said the best way to resolve the situation was to return the car and cancel the rental, but they also said there was no guarantee that any cancellation would be honored. From the car rental rate of USD 77.95, I had to pay USD 191.09 due to the optional insurance that was tacked on.Emotional grief arguing with sales person who is out to try to make a quick buck and branch supervisor who is rude and equally unhelpful out to cheat unsuspecting customers.

I was attending a seminar in St Charles at the time, and I didn't have the time to risk a two hour return journey to see if they would cancel my rental.

I shall never be renting from Thrifty again.

I ordered the Thane FlavorWave Deluxe oven with the free LePresse vegetable chopper, upgrading to the deluxe LePresse from an Infomercial. Charge to my credit card was $115.66, on 9/10/2003.

Oven worked 3 times then never started again; the LePresse completely fell apart when I tried to chop broccoli as they did in the infomercial. I called the company and was told to return the oven but I did not need to return the LePresse. I followed the instructions and returned the FlavorWave, at my expense. My account was credited for $49.58 on 10/10/03, then charged again another $9.99 on 10/14/2003.

I called Thane to find out why I wasn't refunded the whole amount and was charged the additional sum. They said since I hadn't returned the LePresse, I still owed them another $69. I reiterated my earlier conversation where I was told not to send it back and asked for a supervisor. Supervisors are all in a meeting.

Able told me that no one else has complained about the FlavorWave not working, the LePresse falling apart or about paying the shipping costs even for returns. He said my original shipping cost was $49.90. I paid an additional $17 to return the oven and now need to pay another $17+/- to return the broken LePresse. I asked him if $90 for shipping costs on 2 broken machines didn't seem excessive to him - no one else is complaining. Anyway, I'm off to return the LePresse at my expense.