They wouldn’t give Fiona a car, or her money back
AN unpleasant surprise is never good. An unpleasant surprise that leaves you stranded, out of pocket, tired and with a terrible sense of injustice is even worse.
Fiona Hunte is, by any measure, a kind, patient and hard-working person. Originally from Moray, she works as a missionary in Albania, specialising in education.
She comes home to Britain once a year, bringing her three children with her.
This year, on landing at Gatwick, she made her way to the Atlaschoice desk, having booked and paid for a car hire. Fiona reckoned she’d found a good deal. She booked a fourweek hire for £382 months in advance.
At the Atlaschoice desk, Fiona presented her passport, UK driver’s licence and credit card. The staff asked for proof of a UK address – a utility bill or bank statement. But Fiona lives in the city of Elbasan in central Albania, she didn’t have proof of a UK address.
Atlaschoice then asked for proof of an Albanian address, but Fiona hadn’t carried any letters addressed to her in Elbasan. Who would take letters on holiday? There wasn’t an online way to prove her address either. Albania, a developing nation, doesn’t keep the type of digital records that are standard in the UK.
An internet search for any reference to Fiona living in Albania only threw up a delivery of education materials to her school, but this wasn’t enough.
The “frequently asked questions” section of Atlaschoice’s website asks that a customer bring their driving licence, credit card, proof of discount (if any) and photo ID (passport or driving licence).
Fiona had all of these, but to no avail.
This process lasted three hours but they wouldn’t lend her the car. Then came a bigger blow – Atlaschoice refused to refund any of her money.
She moved a few yards across the terminal building to another car hire desk. The staff there happily agreed to hire her a car on the strength of her credit card, passport and driving licence. But this hire cost £830.
Fiona took the deal – she had to transport her luggage and children somehow – and left the airport. But she was determined that she wasn’t going to let the situation end there.
She took up her case the next day with Atlaschoice’s head office. The response wasn’t encouraging, they said: “We can refuse a car to any customer unfit to drive or who does not meet eligibility requirements.
“In such circumstances your contract with us will terminate immediately, and we will have no further liability to you, and no refund will be due.”
But she battled on until they promised a half-refund, but they would go no further. Fiona, when she lived in Moray, was a loyal Sunday Post reader and knew Raw Deal could help.
We were somewhat surprised that a firm could refuse to provide a service – and also refuse to refund a payment.
We persuaded Atlaschoice to have another look at this case.
They had a wee think about it and then sent Fiona an email that said: “We have re-opened and re-investigated your case and we are happy to inform you that we were able to cancel the reservation without any penalty and therefore we will give a full refund in this case.
“We have made a refund of the rest of the amount paid.
“We are truly sorry for the inconvenience you have had during this rental.”