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I had a reservation for a 4x4 car with Dependable car rental and when I get to the airport in St Thomas, no one answered the phone and nobody was in the office. I was stranded. I spent a lot of precious vacation time getting an alternative solution, which I could have spent on the beach.
After much frustration and multiple trials with other car rental places, we paid a lot to rent a Ford Fusion. It is a decent car, except I stay in Cruze Bay of St John and a 4x4 would have been more suited for the steep slopes. But this car is the only option available at that time. I actually chose to stay at home one day when it rained, because I think it is not safe to drive a sedan in the rain. I also had to park the car on the side of the road, because the slope to my hotel is too sleep. The sedan had a hard time climbing the slope and the bumper hit the ground when I get on and get off the slope.
Overall, dependable car rental caused a lot of stress and hassle for my vacation. I want to share my bad experience, so that other people would not have to go through the same thing.
I'm very sorry to hear that. First time I visited St. Thomas, I was under 25 and Budget rental car was the only option. I have been loyal to them since, they did a great job. Try the mtou next time.
-Justin
Very odd as Dependable has a good reputation for being, well, dependable. I saw on another forum that you arrived on Thanksgiving but this shouldn't have made a difference.
Was your reservation confirmed in writing? Did you reconfirm before arriving? Did you try and contact Dependable during your stay or after your stay? Was your credit card charged?
I am very surprised as well. The majority of my guests use Dependable and they've never had an issue either with the vehicles nor the service and have always been met promptly on arrival and pleased with both car and services.
I actually went through some review before making my reservation as well and as you said, dependable has a good reputation overall and I thought I did my homework in choosing a reliable company.
The reservation is confirmed by email. I emailed them a couple times, as I want to make sure . One email from them said "you are booked and confirmed". So I never thought it would cause any problem. I did get around to call them after the vacation. I got transferred to talk to different person and finally talked to the manager. The manager first claimed that they could not find my reservation. After I told her the exact time of our email communications and forwarded the emails, she then said she tried to contact me and left me voice message. I have my phone with me the entire time and I never got anything from them. She then said she remember talking to my wife and told her that they would make different arrangements. Oddly, I do not have a wife and I was travelling with a dude. It seems to me that she was lying and trying to get out of the situation, which I think is irresponsible and unprofessional, just like how they abandoned me at the airport.
Maybe my experience is an exception and unusual. But when it happens, it hurts and it caused me a lot of hassle. I think I should let other people know and they can then decide for themselves whether they want to take the chance.
They now have a new manager.
I'm still recommending them.
Your unfortunate and unhappy experience was definitely not the norm.
So sorry you had such an unusual experience.
