Had several problems at Riverside--now a big one.

DeborahA

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
I returned a scooter, rented from Buena Vista Scooters, to the Bell Services counter 2 hours before it was due back. It was a 4 day rental. The CM at the counter said to put it back in line behind him. There were other scooters there in line. Now, two days later I receive a call from the scooter company, they said they went to pick it up and it was not there. They are charging me until they find it. I convinced them to put a hold on my credit card for only 2 extra days, but they said they need to find it or I am responsible. I am beside myself with worry. I asked if I should have asked for a receipt or something from the CM to show it was returned, they said no that isn't needed. Well, I beg to differ, there should be something in place, its my word against theirs and I will lose.
This is the end to a vacation with problems at this resort. When I booked the room, months ago, I requested a handicap room. I called several times to make sure it was on the reservations as a request. Not only did they put us in a room on the second floor of Alligator Bayou, but in building 36, very far from the lobby. The Alligator Bayou buildings have no elevator to the second floor. I am non-weight bearing on crutches with a fractured hip, so steps are very difficult. They moved us to the first floor, but no handicap rooms were available.

Anyone have any ideas on what to do about this scooter problem?
 
Sorry you had problems on your vacation.

As to the ECV rental - they should be able to determine what was given out and to whom. Possibly your “return” was given out as a new reservation. Ask the vendor if they have one in their inventory that they as supposed to be starting a rental the same day as your return.

As to the resort room — accessible rooms are not a “request” but a bookable category. If one wasn’t available when you booked, a request would not have gotten one. If you book yourself online, there is a checkbox for handicapped accessible room needed, and you will only be given choices that are accessible (there are different types of “accessible” room). Unfortunately, consider that a hard lesson learned and not the resort’s fault.

Good luck resolving the rental situation!
 
This trip and last trip when we have rented from Buena Vista Bell Services has had us sign a log when we picked the ECV up and again when we returned it. Different resorts, so it wsn't just the policy of one.

SW
 
Op, I hope you return here and tell us the scooter issue was resolved in your favor

Follow lanejudy’s suggestion
 
I returned a scooter, rented from Buena Vista Scooters, to the Bell Services counter 2 hours before it was due back. It was a 4 day rental. The CM at the counter said to put it back in line behind him. There were other scooters there in line. Now, two days later I receive a call from the scooter company, they said they went to pick it up and it was not there. They are charging me until they find it. I convinced them to put a hold on my credit card for only 2 extra days, but they said they need to find it or I am responsible. I am beside myself with worry. I asked if I should have asked for a receipt or something from the CM to show it was returned, they said no that isn't needed. Well, I beg to differ, there should be something in place, its my word against theirs and I will lose.
This is the end to a vacation with problems at this resort. When I booked the room, months ago, I requested a handicap room. I called several times to make sure it was on the reservations as a request. Not only did they put us in a room on the second floor of Alligator Bayou, but in building 36, very far from the lobby. The Alligator Bayou buildings have no elevator to the second floor. I am non-weight bearing on crutches with a fractured hip, so steps are very difficult. They moved us to the first floor, but no handicap rooms were available.

Anyone have any ideas on what to do about this scooter problem?

Does your rental paperwork list a serial number, inventory number, or other identifying number, such as a "Unit #" on it?

That's the number you need to prove that they have the unit back in their inventory.

I'm *not* saying this is what happened, but I have been at Bell Services, and have seen a different company pull units from "returns" at a Resort, and after checking to make sure the battery was full, turn it around on the spot and deliver it to another customer. The unit never even made it on to the truck. (Personally, I have problems with that, for a couple of reasons, but that's another topic for another day.)

Your goal at this point is to make sure that you can have them help you "prove" that the unit is in their control (somewhere). A unit number is most likely the key to that.

l'm very sorry to see that you had problems with your room at POR. As @lanejudy said above, you have to book an accessible room specifically at WDW; "requesting" one, or noting it as a "preference" won't matter. For example, if you book a river view room at POR with 2 queen beds, that's what you will get. If you book an accessible room, river view, 2 queen beds, with a roll-in shower (option for hearing accessibility) that's what you'll get. At other hotels outside of WDW, stating a preference or request will typically net you what you wanted, but at WDW you must explicitly book an accessible room. Most likely, all of those rooms were booked, or you would have been moved (not just to the first floor) to an accessible room if one had been available.
 


First of all, Thank You to all for the suggestions regarding the scooter. I will get back on the phone today and try to ask some more direct questions. I was unsure how this all worked.

In regards to the room placement, I should not have relied on the 4 different CMs that gave me the same info. I became aware months after booking a reg.room that I would not be able to make the trip without crutches. When I called I was told, no handicap rooms were available, but they would put it on reservation if one became available. After many stays at this resort I was aware that specific room request are not honored, that’s why I called back -4 times. Each time I was told that it was on reservation. They must not look at these requests when assigning rooms or they would not have given us a second floor room in a building with no way to get there. That was my frustration.

I will come back and let you know how this scooter mess is resolved.
 
First of all, Thank You to all for the suggestions regarding the scooter. I will get back on the phone today and try to ask some more direct questions. I was unsure how this all worked.

In regards to the room placement, I should not have relied on the 4 different CMs that gave me the same info. I became aware months after booking a reg.room that I would not be able to make the trip without crutches. When I called I was told, no handicap rooms were available, but they would put it on reservation if one became available. After many stays at this resort I was aware that specific room request are not honored, that’s why I called back -4 times. Each time I was told that it was on reservation. They must not look at these requests when assigning rooms or they would not have given us a second floor room in a building with no way to get there. That was my frustration.

I will come back and let you know how this scooter mess is resolved.

I think the mistake was that you assumed they'd put you on the first floor without making that as a request, or did you request first floor?
 
This trip and last trip when we have rented from Buena Vista Bell Services has had us sign a log when we picked the ECV up and again when we returned it. Different resorts, so it wsn't just the policy of one.

SW

Interesting, when we stayed at AKV-Kidani, they didn't make me sign anything when I returned the scooter. It was a split stay, so I took it out at BCV, and they didn't have me sign anything either. The OP's experience has me thinking that renting from a featured vendor may not be such a great idea. On my first stay, I rented from Walker, and now I'm thinking of renting from them again.
 
We have stayed at Riverside many times. When I returned the scooter to Bell Services, they notated that by putting their initials and the date & time of day when we returned it. It was in a spiral bound book with columns drawn in.

Maybe your person did notate it - but may have put the wrong date or time of day? Maybe the wrong scooter number was notated?

I hope your problem is solved to your satisfaction. I have rented from Buena Vista, and I have experienced excellent service from very kind people. Good luck to you on solving your issue.
 
I promised to come back and let you know what happened with the scooter. I called them a few minutes ago and after checking they said they had possession of it. He didn’t seem to know where it was or any info, just that it was picked up yesterday in the late afternoon. I am confused because I spoke to them after 5 and they said they were going to have to charge me a daily charge until they found it. I would have thought that they would have contacted me to let me know they found it. I don’t think I will do business with them again.
 
I’m glad they found the scooter and I agree that if it were me I wouldn’t do business with them again either. They made you worry a lot for nothing
 
Glad to hear it turned out. Thanks for coming back and letting us know.
 
As far as the handicapped room, as it's been stated they are a bookable category (and the type you need isn't always available). If you needed a handicapped room, I would have looked at other resorts to find what you need (that's why our next trip is at All Star Sports rather than Pop which I wanted; we had to go with the room that has a roll in shower available for our dates). If you booked a non-handicapped room, that's what you would get (they only have so many handicapped rooms).

Glad they found your scooter!
 
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Well that certainly sounds like a nightmare! So glad it's been resolved, but definitely something to think about for renting scooters. I've returned them to many different resorts and never been given any kind of proof that it was received. Now I feel like I've been dodging a bullet for years. Thankfully, I own my own scooter now. Even so, I appreciate you sharing this story in case the need ever arises for me to rent one again. I will be getting a detailed, signed/timed/dated return receipt from bell services. I'd tip them well, since this is out of the norm, but I would not feel comfortable without proof of return after this story.
 
I wonder if getting the insurance at extra cost would avoid this issue?

I had wondered about this myself. We left two scooters at All Star Sports without a sign in or out. Fortunately, we didn't get that phone call.
 

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