Gabe and Ellen Farrell were preparing for an important day.

The second eldest of their five children graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The couple and two of their other children flew into Newark International Airport on May 23 from their home in Florida – Ellen was born and raised in Jersey and Gabe had lived here for 25 years. The plan was to rent a car, drive to Ithaca, celebrate the graduation and then travel on to Canada for a longer trip.

They rented a Chrysler Pacifica minivan from Budget, part of Avis, and paid an additional fee to drop the vehicle off at the airport in Toronto, where they would catch their return flight to Florida at the end of the trip.

They took the vehicle and drove north, but didn’t get far. They were stopped by Teaneck police after officers asked questions about the license plate.

“That was the beginning of a nightmare that lasted over two hours,” said Gabe Farrell.

After Farrell handed over his documents, the officer conducted some checks, according to the police report.

The report states that the vehicle identification number (VIN) is “not linked to any registration in any state and is not associated with any vehicle.” It also said the vehicle was not registered in New Jersey or any other state and had “fictitious plates,” which is why the car was impounded.

“I was left standing on the side of the road with my wife and two children for over two hours,” Farrell said. “My wife was crying, afraid we wouldn’t make it to our daughter’s graduation.”

Farrell said he called Budget, but they “did not help at all, even after the officer spoke to various agents.”

He said he kept getting transferred, but Budget didn’t have a replacement car available. His wife also tried calling, but she couldn’t get through either.

Farrell was lucky. He found the last available vehicle from another rental company, but he couldn’t leave it in Canada. He had to drive it back to New Jersey, which would have meant additional costs and a lot of inconvenience.

After the trip – they made it back in time for the graduation ceremony – Farrell tried to get Budget to fix the problem. He tried phone calls and emails. He was told the matter was under review.

When he finally heard from Budget on June 3, it was a reminder letter demanding that he return the vehicle.

And it wasn’t gentle.

“If you fail to return the vehicle, you will be prosecuted. Unauthorized use of a vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both a fine and imprisonment,” the letter states. “If the vehicle is not returned, a report will be filed with the local police department and an arrest warrant will be obtained.”

And to top it all off, Budget announced it would place Farrell on the “do not rent” list, meaning the company would no longer rent him vehicles in the future.

You read that right. Not only did they threaten him with arrest, jail time and huge fines, but they also threatened him with a “do not rent” list? Oh my goodness.

Farrell tried to get the company’s attention with a letter to Avis CEO Joseph Ferraro, demanding a refund of $1,391 for the original rental, $1,051 for flight changes, $220 for the hotel room, and $251 for food and gas for the extra trip back from Canada to Newark. And a little extra for the trouble.

He never got an answer, so he asked Bamboozled for help.

We asked Budget to look into the case and checked with Teaneck police to see if the minivan was still in storage.

That was it, but only for one more day. Budget apparently picked up the minivan shortly after we asked.

Budget subsequently informed us that the incident had been investigated.

“It appears to have been an unfortunate mistake. Our vehicle was properly registered and licensed and should not have been impounded,” Budget said.

We reached out to Teaneck police for confirmation. Deputy Chief Seth Kriegel said when the minivan was stopped, a vehicle registration check using the Pennsylvania license plate showed it was “unregistered” and a check of the VIN showed it was not associated with a vehicle. Additionally, the officer’s observations on the VIN sticker, along with the lack of information returned by multiple databases, raised doubts about the validity of the VIN and suspicions that the vehicle was stolen, he said.

“Subsequent checks showed the paperwork was in order,” said Deputy Chief Seth Kriegel, noting there may have been a delay in the database information because the minivan was new. “It’s definitely an unfortunate situation and we understand the driver was stranded on the road, but we would have been remiss if we allowed this unregistered, possibly stolen vehicle to be released.”

Budget also had more to say.

“Given the situation, we have agreed to a refund of the rental costs and apologized to the customer for this challenging experience,” it said.

We asked if the company planned to reimburse Farrell for expenses he incurred as a result of the incident. The company said it was “working with the tenant to resolve his expenses in a confidential manner,” but declined to provide further information.

Farrell also confirmed this, but due to the confidentiality agreement he could not discuss the offer.

“I’m disappointed at how long it took, but glad the problem has finally been addressed and corrected,” he said.