Hello from Alaska 4x4 Rentals!

[Alaska 4x4 Rentals]

That’s a common occurrence with them. Our rental broke down 2 hrs south of Coldfoot and, despite assurances within the hour that they were sending a tow and a replacement vehicle, it took about 16 hrs for them to reach our party.

5 of our group of 10 ended up hitchhiking, because having everyone sleep in the van would have been terrible. Passing semi took me to FBX.

After all of that- they claimed that the breakdown was our fault (it wasn’t) and they tried to charge one of our parties credit cards for over $32k. Lawyers got involved.

After 6 months of wrangling, they admitted we were not at fault and offered an apology earlier this month.

Best of luck dealing with them!

Ahh, you must be the van that’s still being repaired.

First off- let me apologize for that. Our Fairbanks office just went through a major staff change. (Relieving of previous management (for reasons like this, completely new staff, etc). They were, and still are, rather disorganized, but it’s getting better after the changes we’re implementing.

Second, not trying to reflect the blame, but when the van broke down, it ended up at Trailercraft in Fairbanks, which is the dealer. They had told us right away that there was damage to the oil pan. We don’t have in house mechanics when it comes to things like this, so we go off of what the dealer tells us. The Fairbanks trailercraft isn’t as big as the Anchorage one, so they towed it to Anchorage. It took them a couple weeks, but I finally got the call that it looks like the engine blew and wasn’t customer related. When we found that out, that’s when you were notified that it wasn’t your fault. Also, from what I heard, the tech in Fairbanks that originally gave us this info no longer has his job due to this.

The protocols should have been explained at the front desk about when damage is occurred. Not sure if that had happened or not, but I’m on the back end of everything so I don’t deal with much customer service stuff.

I apologize that had happened. If for some reason anyone cannot get ahold of the Fairbanks office, please reach out to Anchorage and we can make things happen.


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[Alaska 4x4 Rentals]

Sent ya a message. Have not heard back.

Sorry, I've had tons of messages, I see yours. Messaging you back now!

 

[AK_Chuck]

Ahh, you must be the van that’s still being repaired.

First off- let me apologize for that. Our Fairbanks office just went through a major staff change. (Relieving of previous management (for reasons like this, completely new staff, etc). They were, and still are, rather disorganized, but it’s getting better after the changes we’re implementing.

Second, not trying to reflect the blame, but when the van broke down, it ended up at Trailercraft in Fairbanks, which is the dealer. They had told us right away that there was damage to the oil pan. We don’t have in house mechanics when it comes to things like this, so we go off of what the dealer tells us. The Fairbanks trailercraft isn’t as big as the Anchorage one, so they towed it to Anchorage. It took them a couple weeks, but I finally got the call that it looks like the engine blew and wasn’t customer related. When we found that out, that’s when you were notified that it wasn’t your fault. Also, from what I heard, the tech in Fairbanks that originally gave us this info no longer has his job due to this.

The protocols should have been explained at the front desk about when damage is occurred. Not sure if that had happened or not, but I’m on the back end of everything so I don’t deal with much customer service stuff.

I apologize that had happened. If for some reason anyone cannot get ahold of the Fairbanks office, please reach out to Anchorage and we can make things happen.


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It wasn’t my credit card that you guys tried to add an unauthorized $32,185.27 charge to, so I’m more upset at the way the incident was handled on the day of. Early in the morning we were told a tow and spare vehicle was enroute, so we declined numerous offers of assistance from passing vehicles as well as a trooper.

More than 8 hrs later we were told that the tow truck was preparing to depart FBX, shattering any trust and confidence we had in what we were being told. That’s when half of our party began hitchhiking out as we knew it was going to be a long night.

If you specifically advertise rentals for the roughest and most remote road in the country- you have to be prepared when your equipment has mechanical issues not the fault of the rental party.

On the bright side- I was awarded the nickname “Ice Road Chucker” for riding out on a passing semi. Highly recommend Franks Trucking for all your North Slope petroleum transportation requirements.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I know things cost more in AK
But 32k for an engine?

Was it for a space ship?

 

[TandKHunting]

That’s a common occurrence with them. Our rental broke down 2 hrs south of Coldfoot and, despite assurances within the hour that they were sending a tow and a replacement vehicle, it took about 16 hrs for them to reach our party.

5 of our group of 10 ended up hitchhiking, because having everyone sleep in the van would have been terrible. Passing semi took me to FBX.

After all of that- they claimed that the breakdown was our fault (it wasn’t) and they tried to charge one of our parties credit cards for over $32k. Lawyers got involved.

After 6 months of wrangling, they admitted we were not at fault and offered an apology earlier this month.

Best of luck dealing with them!

Sorry for you and your buddies bad luck brother. I'm sure they have learned a good lesson in all of it from what it sounds like (relieving bad employees/management). I will say, initial conversations have been accommodating and helpful. I will report back with my personal experience review once I return from Alaska in September.

 

[Daniel.j.s.cooper]

I was not aware or or involved in the above mentioned incident- nor am I an employee. But living in Anchorage I have recommended (and probably will continue to do so) Alaska 4x4 rentals when family comes up mid winters, a larger chain rental company tried to send a car out without proper winter ties (studded or stud less) Every vehicle I have seen from then has come with appropriate tires for the season.

And Alaska is big, I’ve needed to wait 6+ hours for a tow for a normal car, and much longer for a semi wrecker to come in for a tow after a run in with a moose I had while driving semis between Anchorage and Homer. Coldfoot/deadhorse areas are a long long way out and off the beaten path

 

[rustyN]

Message sent

 

[AK_Chuck]

I was not aware or or involved in the above mentioned incident- nor am I an employee. But living in Anchorage I have recommended (and probably will continue to do so) Alaska 4x4 rentals when family comes up mid winters, a larger chain rental company tried to send a car out without proper winter ties (studded or stud less) Every vehicle I have seen from then has come with appropriate tires for the season.

And Alaska is big, I’ve needed to wait 6+ hours for a tow for a normal car, and much longer for a semi wrecker to come in for a tow after a run in with a moose I had while driving semis between Anchorage and Homer. Coldfoot/deadhorse areas are a long long way out and off the beaten path

It wasn’t the issue on how long the tow took to reach us…it was the 9ish hr gap between “the tow is preparing to leave Fairbanks” and “the tow is preparing to leave Fairbanks”. Completely destroyed any credibility they had.

We were several hours south of Coldfoot. Not unreachable by any standards.

 

[medvedyt]

It wasn’t the issue on how long the tow took to reach us…it was the 9ish hr gap between “the tow is preparing to leave Fairbanks” and “the tow is preparing to leave Fairbanks”. Completely destroyed any credibility they had.

We were several hours south of Coldfoot. Not unreachable by any standards.

alaka time does not have the same value for all. at least it is always good to hear story good or not for the outcome thank you for that.

 

[thawk8541]

I’ve booked with them this year and had great responsiveness so far. I’m looking forward to getting out there in Aug!