Don't book with Vieques Car Rentals

(New York, USA)

I booked two jeeps from Vieques Car Rental for me
and my family to get around Vieques during the week we were there at the end of December this year. We were there for a week and only one jeep was available upon our arrival, which I knew ahead of time. So I booked one jeep for a stretch of days that I counted as 7 and the other for 6. I've rented cars all over the world, including in Puerto Rico, and am used to policies by which a 'day' starts at the time you pick up the car and you're charged an additional day if you return the car more than a half hour or hour after that time on a subsequent day.

Vieques Car Rental brought the first jeep to our villa with a contract that said it was an 8-day rental. The man who brought the jeep said he couldn't change the terms of the contract, so I wrote beneath my signature that I agreed to all of the terms except that I had contracted the jeep for 7 days, not 8. I later talked with Allen, the owner, who after much ado about this disagreement, agreed that it would be 7 days.

The next day, when the second jeep was brought to the villa, the contract for the second jeep said it was for 7 days instead of 6. I, again, signed, noting that I was agreeing only to 6 days on this vehicle. Later, Allen appeared at the villa saying that he was
taking his jeeps back because "no one dictates policy at my company--I do." He noted that I had originally said that I would be returning the jeeps at 3:00 in the afternoon on the final day and that any return after 12:00 was associated with an additional day's fee. when I pointed out that I was never informed of this policy, he told me it was on his web site. When I told him I didn't find him through a web site, he said it didn't matter. He said he was taking his cars back, would charge me for one day, and I could find a rental elsewhere.

When I told him that he and I both knew that there were not more rentals available on the island, he said that wasn't his problem. I said, "Well, you have me over a barrel. Go ahead and charge me for 8 and 7 days each." He refused and asked for the keys back. I told him we had a signed contract and that I was holding him to it. He said he didn't have to abide by it and he would call the police. I told him that I thought calling the police was a fine idea and to please do so. He left at that point. What I didn't know was that he had additional keys and drivers and proceeded to take both cars. The owner of the villa offered to talk with him, but he was so rude and dishonest that I told her I wanted nothing more to do with him. I urge people to avoid Vieques Car Rental at all costs. We ended up hiring local drivers with a van that accommodated our party of 9 people whenever we needed it and saved a lot of money.