Stepping up a gear to refund motorist

A DRIVER from the UK was none too pleased when he was left out of pocket after hiring a car in Spain.

Nothing much new in that, you might think, but in this case the matter was set right impressively quickly by rental company Goldcar, one that Crusader has crossed swords with in the past with regard to disputed charges.

On this occasion though we have to applaud the swift action to reimburse Anthony Newcombe once we raised the matter.

He rented a Fiat Panda for a fortnight late last year through online broker Auto Europe. Pick-up and return was at Valencia Airport and at the end Anthony was told all was OK with the vehicle and his deposit would be refunded.

But when his credit card statement came through he saw he was about £64 down. One aspect was the 16 Euros (£14) “smart return” fee he had been charged but was unaware of. This is when customers do not want to fill their tank at the end and seek a swift departure.

The majority of Anthony’s extra cost concerned the return of the deposit.

“It was a lot less than what I’d paid,” he explained.

“The currency conversion rate based on what was first taken and then returned seems to be the thing making the difference. When I questioned it with the broker they said that all seemed in order.”

Anthony said that a friend who had also hired from Goldcar at the same time as him but through another broker, had her full deposit returned. We asked Goldcar if it could look again at how Anthony had been charged – and a refund for £64 was then issued. “Result! Thank you,” he told Crusader. Always check your contract when renting overseas. Some car hire companies deduct a deposit in local currency from your credit card and then refund it, leaving it vulnerable to currency fluctuations; others just ring-fence the amount.