Mr. Brian Gulland (alias) is a customer from Japan. He arrived in Los Angeles for a short trip and picked up his rental car at LAX on December 28, 2025. The booking was for a Dollar vehicle, and the return was scheduled in Los Angeles three days later in the late morning.
At the counter, the staff told him the reserved car was not available. They said he could take a higher class vehicle and that there would be no upgrade charge. He accepted this so he could stay on schedule. After the rental, he found he had still been charged an upgrade fee of 900 USD, plus tax. He called the location but the answer was unclear, and he was asked to wait while they checked it.
After the user reported the issue, QEEQ first checked the booking details and the charge amount shown on the final bill. The agent then compared the pickup explanation the user provided with the rental company’s charging rules, focusing on whether the upgrade was truly free or only offered as an option. On the same day, QEEQ sent a formal dispute to the supplier and asked for the written basis for the upgrade charge. When the user later shared what happened during the return at LAX, QEEQ used that timeline to push the supplier for a clear yes or no answer on the charge and the refund path.
The supplier later confirmed the upgrade fee was refunded in full, for a total of 986 USD back to the user. This meant the extra charge was removed, the bill matched what the counter had promised, and the user avoided further loss during an overseas trip.
For travelers, the useful lesson is simple. If the counter offers an upgrade said to be free, it helps to ask for that note on the rental agreement before leaving. It also helps to keep the final invoice and any written messages from the counter, because these items make it easier to prove what was said and speed up a refund request.
In this case, the real risk was not the car itself, but a surprise charge that could stay on the card after the trip ended. Situations like this can happen when the reserved car is out of stock and the counter tries to move the customer to a different vehicle quickly.
If a similar issue happens while booking on QEEQ, 24 7 Customer Service helps by staying reachable across time zones and by guiding the customer on what proof to keep and what to ask the counter to note on the agreement. That support matters most when the traveler cannot easily call the store or must fly out soon. Many users also choose to book in the QEEQ App, so they can keep booking details and chat records in one place while on the move. For overseas rentals, these small steps can make fee disputes easier to handle and reduce the chance of paying for something that was promised as free.
