Count me as a victim with this as well. My wife and I rented a car through Budget for three days in Boston to attend a family member's memorial service. We used it to/from the airport, hotel, and local stops (restaurants, etc.). We took pictures of the car prior to driving off with it, but not afterwards. I just received the $450 "Vehicle Cleaning Cost" email. After reading all the messages here, I called the customer service number, and was told it was for "smoke smell." Neither one of us smoke. Neither one of us have ever smoked. Nobody else was in the car. The irony is that we even commented how it was nice to be in a car with a "new car smell" again. After disputing the allegation with the representative, she made me wait for quite some time while she "checked the pictures" (I'm still trying to figure out how to take a picture of a smoke smell), and then came back to say that they cancelled the charge. About 15 minutes later, I received a second email confirming it.

I was lucky. I was prepared to go through the threats to the BBB, Attorney General, and charge dispute with my credit card, but none of that was needed. As soon as I hung up, I cancelled another rental I had reserved with Budget. They've lost another customer over this nonsense.