INVESTIGATES EXTRA CHARGES & BUMPED UP COSTS How you can go the extra mile to avoid the holiday car hire rip-offs Same model, same airport, same time... FOUR TIMES the price
SUNDAY MIRROR
CAR hire firms on the Continent are driving holidaymakers mad with revved up charges – but it’s easy to steer clear of rip-offs and save £500.
A Sunday Mirror investigation found a £334 price difference for the same car in the same week. Excessive hidden insurance charges can add another £200.
But we also discovered that by shopping around for deals and getting your own waiver insurance, you can pull away from the airport for much less.
Ernesto Suarez, of iCarhireinsurance, said: “People do a lot of planning for holidays and should apply the same diligence to booking the right rental car.”
The first potential jam is the wild array of charges. We found a five-door Hyundai i10 listed at £428 with Enterprise, via Ryanair.com, for a week from August 20, picking up at Palma airport, Majorca.
But we found exactly the same model for the same week in the same location at just £95 on travelsupermarket.com
The Ryanair site also carried offers for the same car at various prices with other competing hire firms – £227 through Hertz and £375 with Alamo.
But cheaper deals can be a route to high hidden charges at the airport.
Excess waiver insurance is the dearest added extra, often with baffling terms.
Basic hire includes a third-party policy, but doesn’t cover mishaps such as chipped windscreens or damaged tyres.
So thousands of holidaymakers are persuaded to take the extra “zero excess” cover by pushy airport hire staff.
This deters a fifth of UK holidaymakers from hiring a car abroad, says research by travelsupermarket.com. Last year Brits blew £475million on unexpected costs.
CRASH
Europcar quoted £222 for the excess waiver on a medium-sized car from Milan Airport for July 30 to August 6.
But iCarhireinsurance.com charges £24 – £3 a day – for the same cover. That’s £198 cheaper than the rental firm.
An annual membership costs £38 for a Europe policy, which you can print out and show to the car hire desk.
If you have an accident, the rental firm will charge you the excesses that apply and you can recover the costs with a claim from your waiver policy provider.
Mr Suarez added: “Always buy excess insurance from a specialist provider before travel and ignore hard sells from commission-based rental desk reps.”
Other extra charges include the cost of a tank of fuel on returning the car, child seats, satnav and currency charges. Travel expert Bob Atkinson talks you through saving on those ( below right).
But, as well as saving cash, DIY insurance can ease horrors like one that happened to Sally Irving, of Birmingham.
She said: “My partner and I had booked online and were returning our hire car to Pisa airport when we hit another car.
“We paid the contracted £850 excess fee at the airport, but later they charged another £2,000 on my credit card without permission. And they wouldn’t provide proof of the cost of the repairs. Eventually my credit card company refunded the money but it was all unnecessarily stressful and potentially costly.”
Car hire firms say pricing is transparent and that customers should read the small print after shopping around.
Enterprise said: “Many deals online are different so it makes sense to look into detail. We are priced competitively.”
Europcar said: “Excesses on vehicles vary. Options are explained so customers can choose. Europcar does not prevent customers from purchasing a policy from another company.”