COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Tracy and Mark Erickson waited an hour and-a-half in August at Routes Car Rental in Commerce City for the Jeep they booked, cutting into their trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.
“We were told that a toll tag would cost us $14, but it's costing us $14 a day, plus a lot of add-ons attached to that,” Tracy Erickson told Denver7 Investigates.
Their toll tag bill alone came to $97, and they said supplemental liability insurance, a collision damage waiver, roadside assistance, and other fees pushed their total past $1,000 — triple the $344 price when they booked online.
“We still haven’t received a receipt. We still haven’t received a refund on our deposit — more than a month later,” Tracy said.
They aren’t alone. The Better Business Bureau has logged more than 500 complaints about Routes in the past three years — most about billing, with some citing long wait times and trouble getting help.
BBB spokesperson Meghan Conradt told Denver7 Investigates many complaints stem from customers not understanding the rental contract and fine print before booking.
Brooklynn Wootton and Jeff Oimoen both told Denver7 Investigates they were told they had to buy insurance when they couldn’t provide documentation of existing coverage.
Oimoen said he tried to get a refund after proving he was covered but was denied.
“That just didn't seem like it was the normal industry standards,” Oimoen said.
Routes responds
In a statement to Denver7, Bella Nagra, Senior Vice President of North American Operations, said:
At Routes Car Rental, customer service and satisfaction are our number one priority. We take all customer inquiries seriously. Guided by our mission to provide smart booking solutions, our team works diligently to respond to and resolve customer inquiries as quickly as possible.
Last fall, our company went through a leadership transition and since then, our team has worked tirelessly to implement new processes to improve communication and streamline our customer experience at every leg of their journey. While we are proud of these improvements, we’ve heard from our customers loud and clear — we need to do more. And we will.
We continue to review our operations and look forward to increased improvement of our processes to address customer concerns and restore their faith in us as their go-to rental car service.
The company says recent changes include expanded service hours, advance notice about required documentation, clearer explanations of optional charges, and 24-hour shuttle service to the airport.
Routes told Denver7 Investigates that holds on deposits are controlled by customers’ financial institutions and can take days or up to a full billing cycle to clear.
After Denver7 Investigates started asking questions, the Ericksons said Routes agreed to refund their toll pass fees “as a measure of good faith.”
But the couple says it appears their entire charge has now been refunded. They’re not sure why — but say they’ve learned a lesson about renting cars and plan to change how they do things.
“Rent from one of the bigger name companies right there in the airport,” Tracy said.
