Rental vans falling apart
Tourists feel endangered by rental company’s vans after parts fall off and brakes fail. Amanda Cropp reports.
Lucky Rentals’ building near Christchurch Airport is emblazoned with the slogan ‘‘Get Lucky Here’’.
Vehicles with dented panels and peeling paintwork are a stark contrast to the smart blue corporate livery of the depot which is conveniently close to a VINZ testing station able to certify that its cars and vans meet required safety standards.
Staff armed with clipboards trip about readying vehicles for customers, and a couple I chatted to were more than happy with the Fiat Punto they had just returned.
However, a Finnish tourist, who asked to be known only as Emilia when she contacted the
Sunday Star-Times, is far from impressed after problems with three vehicles, followed by months spent trying to recover her $250 deposit.
She is among dozens of visitors to report bad experiences with the company, but short of proof that Lucky Rentals’ vehicles are unroadworthy, it appears there is little authorities can do despite the negative feedback.
The budget hire service has attracted more than 90 often uncomplimentary comments on TripAdvisor since mid 2016, with complaints about rude staff, and long waits for dirty, poorly maintained vehicles.
Emilia said she and her husband had to abandon their campervan on an Auckland roadside in November after a mechanic told them it was unsafe to drive and it had to be towed away.
‘‘The engineer who checked the car on the roadside told us that we were lucky that this happened on a flat road and that it was really dangerous to drive with the car.
‘‘If this would have happened for example on a mountain road it probably would have been our last destination.’’
In January, Australian tourists Brittany Perry and Shon McKenzie, who had numerous problems with a van that kept getting stuck in first gear, said they felt ripped off by Lucky Rentals which they accused of hiring ‘‘unsafe’’ vehicles.
A more recent TripAdvisor comment from a British tourist described how the rear view mirror on their Lucky Rentals vehicle fell off after they had driven 500 metres, the first time they tried to lock the car the key broke in two, the air conditioning didn’t work and there were serious issues with the brakes and suspension.
Their B&B host was so concerned with the condition of the vehicle he advised them to cancel the contract and seek a refund, which they obtained only after threatening legal action and making a trip from Paihia to Auckland to confront the manager in person.
In a 2017 TripAdvisor review a customer alleged the brakes on their van stopped working on the way down a mountain road on The Remarkables.
The previous year a customer claimed on TripAdvisor to have laid a complaint with the Invercargill police alleging bald tyres contributed to an accident and a pair of German backpackers won a 17-day rental refund from the company after being severely bitten by bedbugs infesting their campervan.
The Commerce Commission confirmed Lucky Rentals had been the subject of 21 complaints over the past four years, two of which were still being assessed, A spokesman said the commission contacted the company in May 2017 to discuss four complaints and sent a letter to assist it in complying with the Fair Trading Act, but the
Sunday Star-Times would need to apply under the Official Information Act for further details.
The Transport Agency is responsible for licensing rental vehicle operators and ensuring their fleets meet safety standards.
Since setting up a national complaints register in 2016 the agency has received seven complaints about Lucky Rentals and it spoke to the company about a loose bumper and a lost hubcap.
Complaints about maintenance, poor customer service, and interior mould were not considered serious safety issues, and those making them were referred to other government agencies and the Rental Vehicle Association.
The latter has about 90 members and Lucky Rentals is not one of them.
Chief executive Barry Kidd said that after it received a number of complaints similar to those on TripAdvisor, an association board member talked to the company about them and offered help to improve its customer service.
‘‘I don’t think there was much enthusiasm for taking up the offer and they chose not to renew [their membership] a few months later.’’
Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi’s office also received a letter regarding Lucky Rentals a year ago, but a spokeswoman said it was inappropriate for him to get involved in individual cases.
Emilia believes New Zealand needs a better system for helping overseas visitors trying to resolve disputes with businesses because it was difficult to work out where to go for assistance.
She and her husband had problems with all three vehicles they ended up hiring from Lucky Rentals.
The worst was with the campervan which began to leak around a window towards the end of a 10-day trip from Christchurch to Auckland (wetting their bedding), the stove didn’t work properly, and when the battery warning light came on they returned the vehicle to Lucky Rentals’ Auckland depot.
After a two-hour wait to have the vehicle fixed, they were assured it was safe to drive, even though the warning light was still showing, and half an hour later the van broke down.
Emilia said the Fiat Punto the couple rented for their last day in Auckland had a radio that ‘‘screamed loudly’’ and could only be silenced by switching off the engine.
After a lengthy email exchange, Lucky Rentals admitted at the end of January that a $250 bond should not have been charged to her credit card and would be refunded, but as of Friday, Emilia had not received it.
According to the New Zealand Companies Office, Lucky Rentals Ltd has four directors – Simon Kidman, Nathaniel Brand, and Daniel and Timothy Alpe.
The two Alpe brothers are major shareholders and directors of the Jucy Group which is the umbrella company for Jucy Rentals and the Jucy Snooze pod hotels.
When asked in January about the safety
‘‘As a small Kiwi business we were not prepared for just how busy we would be during the summer period.’’
Simon Kidman Lucky Rentals director
concerns raised by Australians Perry and McKenzie, Lucky Rentals said on-road issues were not common and its fleet of more than 1000 vehicles, aged from 1997 to 2015, went through certificate of fitness checks every six months.
Last week Kidman said via email that they accepted the delay in processing Emilia’s refund should have been rectified earlier and they now had plans in place to resolve issues in a more timely manner.
Although the complaints on TripAdvisor were disappointing, they represented just a small sample of the company’s 10,000 hires.
‘‘We do not feel it is appropriate to discuss complaints or respond directly to reviews on public forums such as TripAdvisor, however we do take all complaints seriously and we do work to a resolution directly with our customers,’’ Kidman said.
‘‘Unfortunately as a small Kiwi business we were not prepared for just how busy we would be during the summer period.
‘‘Safety is a top priority that we take very seriously.’’
Alpe gave similar assurances when asked to respond to complaints about the state of Lucky Rental vehicles.
‘‘While Lucky is operated as a standalone business, as a director it is imperative to me that the safety of our customers is at the forefront of everything they do.’’
Kidd said customers needed to carry out due diligence before booking. ‘‘When a price seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.’’
But he was surprised at some of the comments about unsafe rental vehicles on travel websites.
‘‘I would expect vehicles which are being rented out at less than the market average to be older, and perhaps showing some signs of wear, but I would expect them to be meeting minimum safety standards.
‘‘There seem to be allegations that this is not happening and these are questions that should be directed to the transport agency.’’
The agency has come under fire failing to act quickly enough when alerted to safety issues and a major shakeup of its enforcement work is being led by Meredith Connell partner Steve Haszard.
He said a complaints hotline that began operating in October had so far received about 40 calls, and making it easy for people to report safety problems with transport service operators was important, as was proper follow-up.
‘‘I can assure you that absolutely will be changing.’’
The Tourism New Zealand website has a page where visitors can lodge complaints – receiving just 14 over the past three months – and it provides links to agencies that can help with specific problems, such as rental companies.
The Disputes Tribunal is an option for the likes of Emilia if her refund does not arrive, and hearings can operate via teleconference if an applicant lives overseas.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said negative comments on TripAdvisor were a ‘‘warning signal’’ for customers who could also check whether a tourism company was a member of his organisation or Qualmark.
‘‘But if businesses are operating illegally, it’s up to government agencies to call them to account.’’