Car rental rip-ff

[Clarkkent]

OK, this has nothing to do with France and I don't know whether this particular company operates in France. But if it does ... watch out.

 

I have been for a short holiday in the Algarve and booked a car through a normally excellent broker. I should have been aware that something was amiss when I saw that the rental charge for 10 days for a Ford Focus sized car was just £46. Even when I added CDW the price was only £80 or so, so I booked it.

The documentation named a hire company I had never heard of - it has a name which includes a metal - and also a statement that, when picked up, the car would have an empty tank and should be returned with an empty tank. When I collected it, the car had a full tank for which I was charged €83. I told them that I had a CDW and did not require theirs. They told me that under Portuguese law my waiver was not legal - since they had my credit card at this point they threatened to load it with a deposit of €1000 which would be returned when a undamaged car was returned, or I could buy their insurance and the deposit would not be taken.

The car, when I found it, was covered with scratches. (They said that they would not inspect it when it was returned.) It was also nearly three years old, and was rather sluggish. I've no objection to the "rent - a - wreck" approach to car hire but would like to have been given an informed choice.

The Algarve is not a large area and it is very difficult to do sufficient driving to use half the fuel in the tank. I returned it with more than half a tank and was not given any refund. You can be certain that the next user will be charged for a full tank!

 

I have been ripped-off. The cost of hiring was about £250 not £46. Apparently the Consumers Association has expressed its concern and has asked its members to report their experiences with this company. A Google search has found much negative attention about this company and its business practices - had I have known this I would not have used it. I shall contact the broker with my concerns, but doubt they will be prepared to do anything. Perhaps I should report them to Trading Standards.

Be warned.

[Théière]

[quote user="Clarkkent"]

Be warned.

[/quote]

Be advised, when researching just about anything these days use the internet to look for reviews before agreeing the purchase. Not perfect but it has saved me parking near Stansted with a very dodgy company, taking breakdown cover with a very dodgy company and others (common denominator was Essex strangely enough).

Much better deal for your CDW from insurance 4 car hire, one premium with them is generally equal to that of the hire company but they cover tyres and windscreens etc which are not normally covered and the cover is for a full year not the week like the hire companies. On the one occasion we claimed for the tyre that went flat (no dogs pee'd anywhere near it) they refunded the charge promptly with a cheque.

[AnOther]

I believe the empty tank policy is common if not the norm in Portugal.

Similarly the condition of the cars can be quite poor when compared to what we may be used to but the policy of not checking it on return is genuine.

All in all it doesn't seem to me that your experience on the day was anything but typical of car hire in Portugal and I suspect that at then end of the day what you actually paid will

probably petty well equate to what you would have had you gone a

different route. How it was advertised and sold to you may be a different matter of course.

I'm a little confused though as on the one hand you say it was only £80 with CDW, and you booked it, but on the other hand say you had your own CDW which they would not accept ?

I think the lesson which stands out loud and clear is, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is [blink]

[Clarkkent]

[quote user="AnOther"]I believe the empty tank policy is common if not the norm in Portugal.

SiI'm a little confused though as on the one hand you say it was only £80 with CDW, and you booked it, but on the other hand say you had your own CDW which they would not accept ?

I think the lesson which stands out loud and clear is, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is [blink]

[/quote]

Sorry I was not clear. "My CDW" was the one I bought with the booking. This the company would not accept.

As I said, Consumers Association is very interested in the activities of this company (which also operates in Spain - with similar practices). I do not know (yet) whether or not it operates in France. (Its name includes a precious metal - not silver.)

[scragend]

[quote user="Clarkkent"]

As I said, Consumers Association is very interested in the activities of this company (which also operates in Spain - with similar practices). I do not know (yet) whether or not it operates in France. (Its name includes a precious metal - not silver.)

[/quote]

I know the company you mean - I had the misfortune to use them in Gran Canaria last year. The car looked like it had been round the block a few times, and when I got home I found they had charged my card an extra €25. I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of chasing it up so I just left it - presumably a lot of people do that and that's how they make their money!

They also operated the "buy a full tank of fuel at whatever price we want to charge you" policy - which is a rip off, but I had no complaint with that really because I was aware of it at the time of booking - the low rental price was a trade off for the fuel.

Wouldn't use them again though!

[PaulT]

Why not issue a Small Claims Court case against the broker for the difference between what you paid them and what it ended up costing you. I do not see how the broker can wash their hands of the matter.

[redwood]

Sympathize completely as I have had similar experiences invarious countries including the UK where I was given a battered wreck by the low cost arm of one of the major companies. Despite the contract saying they were open 7 days a week it turned out that when I got back on the Sunday the drop offpoint was closed and you just had to dump the car. Needless to say I received a letter claiming additional damage with "photgrapic evidence" Quite how they could tell considering the number of original scratches. Still my own CDW covered it but I did argue the case with my credit card company, the hire company and the industry aritration body. All a joke as the aritration crowd are funded by the hire companies so the outcome was inevitable.

As for the Consumers Association !!!  I wrote to them and to the EU member responsible for this sector as there had been several recent articles about rip offs in a vaiety of countries.

Needless to say no-one ever bothered to acknowledge my correspondence. I wasn't expecting a magic wand to be waved but had thought the organizations to which I pay a subscription and elected EMPs might just have said "Ta we'll note your concerns".

So - in my very jaundiced view - this is a fairly lawless industry where as consumers we may get a reasonable deal most of the time but there are a lot od dubious practices for which there is little or no recourse for unhappy punters.

[idun]

I have only hired cars twice in the last 20 years. I never trust these companies and this has been a rude reminder that they they shouldn't be trusted.

[Pickles]

I am also aware of the company of which you write. I had occasion to hire a car in Mallorca for a week late last year, and I did a lot of digging around on the internet to see what the latest scams were - your company had a lot of complaints on sites such as Tripadvisor. In the end I went with Sixt, who give you the option of tank full-to-empty or full-to-full, with no messing around and no concern as to which option I took - there was no pushiness at all from the staff. Indeed, it was possible to do much of the pick-up process on-line. The deal included damage with no excess - which was a good thing because I think that someone tried to break into the car whilst it was parked overnight on a public car park, damaging the door seals and scratching the door inner paintwork. No comment on return, apart from a cheery "Gute Ruckfahrt! Tschuss!" from the staff. The starting price as booked was slightly more than your company, but nothing was added to that at pickup, return or afterwards.

[Gardengirl]

Like Teapot, we always have CDW from insurance 4 car hire when hiring cars. We've never had to claim through them, but understand from others that they rarely quibble, and it's very reassuring to know we're well covered for a very reasonable sum.

[amos]

I hired a car in Barcelona airport to head over the border to Languedoc recently and used Sixt also. While the petrol policy here was 'full to full' I have to say I found them very friendly, efficient and helpful and also one of the cheapest. I usually use Hertz but would use Sixt again.