Dedicated customer serviceI want to start with a little rant. On the day I picked up the car in San Jose airport I was really stressed. I booked through QEEQ and I went to the U-SAVE counter around ten in the morning on about May 5th 2026 to get a Hyundai Santa Fe. I had my kid and all the luggage with me. My head was already a mess.
The staff at the counter kept talking about different insurance and extra fees. They spoke really fast and pushed a lot of papers for me to sign. I was watching my kid and trying to listen at the same time. I could not follow clearly. They sounded pretty firm and said the insurance in my booking was not enough and I must add some local mandatory cover. I only remember the number on the card machine looked very high. The place was bright and crowded and my kid kept asking questions. I just wanted to get the car and leave.
Later when we got back to where we stayed I finally calmed down and checked the bill. I saw many extra items and the total was really big. I started to worry and felt I got charged too much. I contacted customer support and sent all the bills and photos I could find. In my mind I was annoyed because these money problems are usually hard to fix. I thought they would just send me one or two standard replies.
They did not do that. They kept following my case. Each time there was some update they came back to me and asked if I had more proof. They helped explain the names of the services the rental company used in simple words. I could understand which parts were normal charges and which parts might be extra and not so fair.
During this time the rental company was not very friendly. They said things like if I had questions I should not sign. But that day I was alone with my kid and I could not stand there and argue for a long time. I was really glad that support kept asking the rental company what they charged, which parts were really needed, and where the problem was. The process was not easy but I felt someone was slowly sorting out the mess for me instead of leaving me alone with a long English contract.
Around early June I returned the car in San Jose again at about ten in the morning. The bill problem was still going and the amount was not small. The thing that stayed in my mind most was that a few times I almost gave up and thought I would just accept the loss. Then they came back with new updates and reminded me which records I should keep. As a parent with a kid this feeling of being remembered and cared about means a lot.
I was in another country with my child and I get nervous easily when many things happen at once. Having someone patient to watch this problem with me made me feel I was not alone in the fight with the rental desk. The biggest feeling from this experience is that there was a person following my case all the way so my heart stayed much more calm.
One-Dollar Freeze"You booked the car with just one dollar first?" My friend cut in when I was talking about my Costa Rica trip. I felt a bit proud and told him yes, I booked it with QEEQ and used their One-Dollar Freeze. I only paid 1 dollar first to lock the car in San Jose. I chose a Budget Toyota Rush with manual shift and five seats. The rest of the money was taken from my card a few days before the rental started. I did not need to pay a big amount at once, so my credit card pressure was small.
When I first wanted to book the car I was not very sure about my travel plan. I did not want to put the full rental cost on my card right away. Then I saw the One-Dollar Freeze option. It said I could pay 1 dollar now and they would charge the rest before the pickup date with no interest. This made me feel relaxed. It was like I saved the car first and did not need to worry about extra cost.
Around the morning of June 10 I went to the Budget counter in San Jose to pick up the car. When I saw the Toyota Rush waiting there I felt glad I used this payment plan. Maybe I would keep delaying the booking if I had to pay everything at the start. At the counter the staff only checked my booking and my license. My card had already been charged before so I did not need to pay a lot at the desk. The process was simple and fast.
When I returned the car around the morning of June 16 I drove back to San Jose. The check was quick and there was no extra fee. Back at the hotel I looked at my card record. From the first 1 dollar to the final charge everything was clear. There was no strange cost. For a traveler like me who needs to plan a budget this felt really good. Now when people ask me how I booked my car I always say that I locked it with just 1 dollar first and I did not feel nervous about money at all.
One-Dollar FreezeI will start from the most stressful moment. I landed with my kid at Liberia airport in Costa Rica, carrying luggage, and my child kept asking where the car was. Inside I was a bit nervous. Before the trip I booked through QEEQ and I used One-Dollar Freeze. I only paid 1 dollar to lock the car and the rest was taken automatically before the rental started. At that time I already felt pretty relaxed because my credit card was not hit by a big charge at once so the pressure was smaller.
The real start was around midday on May 19. I suddenly remembered that I had only paid 1 dollar before and I got worried if there would be some problem with the rest of the payment, maybe a failed charge or something. I checked my card and saw that the money had been taken in the day or two before and everything was fine. I felt calm right away and I was glad I chose this plan.
Around noon on May 20 my family and I were at Liberia airport ready to get the car. We were supposed to go to the shuttle pick up. I called the rental office but the call did not go through and the line seemed busy. I thought this is bad and my kid is waiting here and this may turn into a mess. Then I tried again using the number they gave. I finally reached the staff at the office. They told me to go to the international exit where a worker in light blue clothes with the company logo would pick us up. I was pulling the bags and looking at the crowd and in my head I just kept thinking please let me find this person.
After a short time we got on the shuttle bus and my kid was happy right away. I finally felt relaxed. When I think about this trip from paying only 1 dollar to book to the later automatic charge and then getting to the car it was really easy on the payment side for a parent traveling with a child. I did not need to block a lot of credit card limit in advance and my mind was not so stressed.
One-Dollar Freeze"You only pay one dollar now to hold the car." I saw this on the QEEQ page on my phone and I kind of froze for a second. Then I got a bit excited and thought this feels really easy.
I was traveling alone to San José in Costa Rica. Around May 3rd 2026 I was at home planning my trip and I needed a car. I was a bit worried that my credit card would get hit with a big charge at once. I was going away for a few weeks and I had already paid for flights and hotels. I kept doing the math in my head and I felt some pressure. Then I saw an option called One-Dollar Freeze. It said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to lock the booking and the rest would be charged before the trip started. I just thought this means my credit card will not be pushed to the limit right away.
I chose a Hyundai Santa Fe from U-SAVE. It was automatic and with seven seats. That day I was sitting at my computer and I hesitated for a few seconds. In my head I was thinking is this really okay. The page looked clear. I checked the price a few times and it all made sense so I clicked confirm. On the payment screen it only charged one dollar. When I saw my bill I almost laughed because it was just one dollar. It felt like I reserved my car with almost no cost. For me the main point was I did not have to put the full rental amount on my card right away so I felt a lot more relaxed.
Around May 6th I flew to San José to pick up the car. By that time my trip had already started. Later I checked my credit card bill and I saw the rest of the rental fee was charged automatically. Everything was normal and there were no extra costs. I quietly let out a sigh of relief and felt glad I chose this plan. I did not need to worry about missing a payment and I did not have to think about any interest because there was none.
The whole booking process felt smooth to me. At the start I only paid one dollar and I could keep my money for other things like flights hotels and activities. When it got close to the pick up date the rest of the money was charged automatically and all I had to do was check my statement. For a solo traveler this payment style is really friendly. I can control my budget in a more flexible way and I do not crush it all at once.
When I look back the car booking part was actually one of the least stressful parts of my trip. I just clicked a few buttons and used one dollar to hold the car and I did not need to worry about the rest. For someone like me who has to plan everything on my own that feeling is really valuable.
Dedicated customer serviceThe scene I remember most is me sitting at my desk at home staring at my phone. There was an email saying the money was sent to my account and the case was closed. I finally let out a long breath and felt glad that I booked through QEEQ.
A bit earlier in time it was around the beginning of April. I was in Costa Rica and picked up the car around noon on April 1 in San Jose. I had booked a Mitsubishi Montero Sport with Avis with automatic and seven seats. I wanted a big car to drive all the way to Liberia. When I reached the counter the car they gave me looked smaller than what I booked. It really felt like a downgrade. I was confused and not happy but I also did not want to lose time so I just took the car and left.
The real problem showed up on the bill. Back at the hotel I checked the paper and the amount looked wrong. It seemed like they charged me for a bit more days than we planned and there were some extras that I never wanted. Things like extra roadside help and glass and tire cover. I remember I only agreed to add one extra insurance at the counter. For the rest I said no. So when I saw the details I was pretty upset.
I first tried to deal with the rental company myself. I sent emails and said I only accepted one extra insurance and that the car was not the same level as my booking. The rental company basically said they would not return any of the extra charges and they did not admit any downgrade. Their reply felt very firm. At that time I was already back in the States and the time difference made everything more tiring. I felt angry and also kind of powerless.
Then I contacted their customer service and that was when I felt there was someone walking through the whole thing with me. From my first call there was one person who kept following my case. It was not a new voice every time with a new story. He checked with me which insurance I really accepted and helped me organize my side of the story. Then he went to check the amounts and the rental days with the rental company and with their own team. From how he talked I could feel he also thought it was strange that the contract charged around eleven days like that.
For a few days I checked my phone almost every day to see if there was any update. Every time there was progress they reached out to me first. They told me what the rental company said and what they planned to do next. One time the rental company sent me an email and said clearly they would not refund the extra fees and they copied them in the email. When I read that email I felt kind of crushed and thought this was the end. Then the support person contacted me again. He calmed me down and told me that since the rental company refused they would try another way to help me.
At the end they offered a payout of about one hundred dollars so I did not have to keep fighting over all those weird charges. I felt that at least someone was on my side and was willing to clean up the mess a little so I agreed. After that there was the usual step of filling my bank details. I even made a mistake with the account name and the payment got rejected so we had to do it again. They sent me a new link and patiently explained what I should put as the account name. It did not feel like cold canned answers. It felt like they really wanted to help me finish this.
From picking up the car in San Jose to returning it around April 10 in Liberia my feelings about the rental were mixed. On one side the extra charges from the rental company made me really annoyed. On the other side there was always someone from their side watching this case talking to me and giving me updates so I did not feel abandoned. When I knew the rental company would not give any money back and they still decided to pay part of it themselves I felt respected.
So when I sat at home and saw the compensation finally arrive I thought that if I had fought with the rental company alone I would probably just lose that money quietly. The whole process was long and a bit tiring but having one person follow up from start to finish and explain and coordinate step by step slowly brought things to a result I could accept. For a visitor from abroad going to Costa Rica this kind of dedicated help mattered more to me than the exact car model I got at the beginning.
Dedicated customer serviceI have to say if I did not book through QEEQ at the start I would probably be very mad about this rental. I booked an SUV in Liberia Costa Rica for a work trip. It was a Mitsubishi Montero Sport with Avis. My plan was to rent it for about a week. On my booking it showed that I would pick up the car in the middle of February around 3 pm and return it a week later around 2 pm. I arranged my meetings around that time.
On the pick up day I reached the Avis counter a bit early. It was around two something in the afternoon because I wanted to finish the paperwork and then go to my meeting. The staff at the counter was okay at the beginning but soon he started to talk about many extra fees. He said I had to pay a few hundred dollars for more insurance and some services and said this was how it worked there. He spoke very fast and kept pointing at the contract. I felt nervous because this was a business trip and my schedule was tight. I did not want to argue at the counter. I remember I clearly refused the full coverage because my credit card already has that type of insurance. But he kept saying I still must pay for some extra things. I felt something was wrong but I was afraid to be late for my plan so I just paid and left with the car.
The real problem started after I returned the car. I went back to the Liberia location a bit earlier than I planned maybe after one in the afternoon. I parked the car there. To me the car was fine and the fuel was basically at the level they asked for. The staff did a quick check. I thought everything was done. A few days later when I was back in the United States I checked my credit card bill and saw a huge extra charge. I was shocked. There was more than one thousand dollars of extra fees. On the bill it showed third party insurance extra driver road assistance glass and tire cover one tank of fuel and something called Miscellaneous Charges with a very big amount. I did the math. I only agreed with a small part of the cost that was about forty dollars. The rest I never clearly accepted.
At that moment I was angry and also stressed because I was on a business trip and I did not want my energy to go to this kind of problem. I contacted their customer service right away. In my mind I was ready for a long fight. The person who replied to me surprised me a bit. They went through my situation step by step and did not push the problem back to me. They said they would ask the rental company and asked me to share what I remembered about the times and what fees the counter staff told me about. I was pretty emotional. I said I only accepted that small ADR fee and all the other parts should be refunded. They did not cut me off. They helped me make my story clear.
In the next days I could feel that someone was really following my case. From time to time I got emails with updates about what the rental company said and what each part of the cost meant and what I could still do. For example they asked me if I had proof that the fuel was full when I returned the car and if I had any photos of the car with the time shown. They explained that these things could help in the talk with the rental company. I later realized I did not keep many photos so I knew that put me in a weaker position but at least I understood why it was harder to argue and I did not feel left alone.
They also broke down the money for me. They told me which part was the one I knew like the fuel and the ADR fee and which part was a damage cost that the rental company claimed. They also explained that the big Miscellaneous Charges was actually connected to the damage. When I heard the words damage fee I felt very upset because in my memory the car was fine when I brought it back and I even talked to the staff about it there. I remember I told them I did not agree with that cost. But after the customer service helped me check everything I learned that the rental company gave them a repair bill. So it was not just some random fee.
This whole story was not easy and I did spend time writing emails and explaining things. But during the process I always felt there was someone on my side. They turned a very confusing and scary bill into something I could understand in simple words and then told me what choices I had. For a business traveler this feeling of being taken care of is very important. Some of the fees did not end up exactly how I wanted but without this one to one follow up and explanation I would only keep a memory of being charged a big amount for nothing. Now at least I know where the money went and why this trouble happened in the first place.
