There are some companies you never hear me talk about no matter how good of a deal they offer. Why not? Because I know their reputation has historically been sullied with serious customer no service issues. Fox Rent a Car is one such company.

Fox Rent a Car is an atrocious organization that has been almost legendary on gripe message boards. They'll run these dirt cheap rental deals for $5/day to get your attention. But the savings are not worth the horrors you might endure.

Case in point: There was a Taiwanese couple with young children visiting the U.S. on a once-in-lifetime vacation and they got a Fox rental van. While taking a ferry in Southern California, their van was rear-ended into the water while they were inside of it.

The Orange County Register reports that people who were in on other boats that saw this happen quickly jumped into the water and saved the family. I think that's so neat. But, wait, it gets even better.

After everyone was safe, the police who responded called Fox to explain the situation and ask for another vehicle on behalf of the family because they couldn't speak English very well. Fox basically said "Tough," and refused at first to refund the money for the van. Nor would they provide a replacement ride. The family was completely stranded.

So the cops of Newport Beach, Calif., took up a collection of their own money and got a rental car for the family. Fox later rethought the bad publicity and agreed to make the couple whole financially. But only after people went bonkers over this story online.

The moral is this: If you're a company and you don't behave, you can't hide anymore. You will be discovered and called out. Isn't it so much easier to just treat people right from the get go?!