How car hire firms
SPECIAL
repair bills or expensive add-ons.” He added: “It’s outrageous that car hire customers are being made to pay extortionate amounts for repairs that never take place.
“If repairs are required, customers should be sent clear evidence of how costs were calculated.”
A Which? investigation revealed a wide range of scams in operation across Europe.
The organisation found some customers faced having to pay a deposit of up to £5,000 for the car if they refused to take out the hire firm’s own overpriced insurance. Others reported having to buy the hire firm’s insurance, irrespective of sufficient insurance cover taken out in the UK.
For some, taking a car with a tank of fuel and agreeing to return it full only worked if the car was topped up to the brim at a garage close to the return site.
If not, drivers were liable for a “refuelling charge” of up to £50 on top of the price of fuel.
Hire firms often charged a premium price for the “required” fuel.
Other problems included late collection of a pre-booked car with, as little as one hour after pick-up time, the booked car being no longer available. Fees paid online were sometimes not refunded – leaving holidaymakers to find another car at much more expensive “walk-up” prices.
Another trick was to charge for another full day’s rental plus a “processing fee” if the drop-off time was missed by as little as 29 minutes.
Some firms added a charge per kilometre for exceeding a set distance on each day of the hire rather than a cumulative total for the duration of the rental.
One Spanish firm charged 45p per kilometre over a 60km daily limit. Over a fortnight this can add up to hundreds of pounds.
The age of drivers was also used to levy extra charges, with premiums for drivers under 21 or over 70.
One firm made an “exceptional” cleaning charge of up to £242 for water damage.
Upgrades were a trap too, with customers offered them thinking they are free, only to be charged extra.
Satellite navigation system charges of up to £80 a week were noted – when a smartphone can offer a much cheaper alternative.
Administration fees for handling any damage to the car were as high as £150 on top of the cost of the damage. And some motorists were overcharged by almost £1,000 for repairs, the Which? study found.
One driver was charged £1,154 for a small windscreen chip in France that could have been fixed for just £35 by a reputable garage in the UK.
Trick
Firms often made charges for damage, choosing to ignore denials by the driver that they were responsible.
Some firms admitted they do not carry out repairs even when the driver pays for them.
Drivers said they suspect car hire firms charge multiple customers for the same minor damage to a vehicle.
Tory MP Peter Bone, a chartered accountant who used to run a travel firm, said: “The best advice is to go through a reputable company or get your travel agent to arrange it.
“The old trick was to tell people they needed insurance when they arrived to pick up the car.
“After a long flight people are tired, have the kids complaining and will often just sign anything.”
Toby Poston, spokesman for the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, said: “We have been working with our partners in Europe to make sure there is best practice in the industry. There shouldn’t be any hidden charges.
“One of the things we have agreed is that the price you see on a website is the price that you should be able to drive off the forecourt on.”
Now the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority, the Competition and Markets Authority, is planning to launch its first direct action against car hire companies based outside the UK. It has received a huge number of complaints from people encountering hidden costs on collection of their car at a foreign airport.
These include hidden charges for fuel, high excess amounts and hidden insurance costs.
The CMA can act, it says, because the businesses are selling directly to UK customers online.
Michael Grenfell, of the CMA, said: “This move sends a clear message that just because a business is not on UK soil doesn’t mean the law doesn’t apply when it sells in the UK.
“British consumers have a right to protection under consumer law and the CMA will work to ensure they receive it.”