End of the road for hidden costs of hiring a car on holidays abroad

 Car hire firms will no longer be able to sting British holidaymakers with hidden charges under new rules being planned by competition watchdogs.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is extending its action against car hire companies to those based outside the UK, it announced yesterday. It is in the process of banning Uk-based firms from applying hidden charges including for fuel, disproportionately high excess bills, and hidden insurance costs.

The overseas action follows a surge of complaints from drivers encountering hidden costs on collection of their car abroad.

In the UK, the CMA took action against online travel agents P&P Associates, and two price comparison sites – Affordable Car Hire and Flexiblecarhire.com – forcing them to include all compulsory charges in their quotes. It means costs including fuel surcharges, young driver fees and out-of-hours pickup charges will be included in quotes if they apply.

Alex Neill, the Which? home products and services managing director, said: “It’s good to see the CMA take action... However, our recent investigation into the extortionate amount of money some people are having to pay for hire car repairs shows the industry still has more work to do to prevent customers being ripped off.”

Michael Grenfell, the CMA executive director for enforcement, said: “It is important people know what they’re signing up to online when hiring a car.

“Prices must be transparent and include all compulsory costs so that people can find the deal that’s best for them. UK customers can now be more confident that what they see is what they will pay.”