Rip-off car hire firms double prices for half-term

CAR hire firms have more than doubled their prices for families going on holiday during the half-term break.

In some European destinations a hire car is £148 more expensive than one a week later when children are back at school.

In Barcelona, for example, Europcar charged £137 to book a car in advance for the week between October 28 and November 4, according to research compiled for Money Mail.

But if holidaymakers booked for a week earlier during half-term between October 21 and 28, the price was £148 higher at £285.

The findings follow the Mail’s investigation into rip-off practices carried out by car hire firms abroad.

Martyn James, of the complaints website Resolver, said: ‘Families are already forking out enough to go on holiday during the halfterm thanks to airlines and hotels also hiking their prices. Now they are being stung by yet another organisation. Given the terrible publicity car hire firms have received in recent months around hidden fees and charges, they need to get their act together and stop exploiting customers.’

The research by insurer iCarhireinsurance.com looked at the average cost of hiring a medium-sized car such as a VW Golf or Vauxhall Astra for a week.

In Barcelona, Enterprise charged families travelling over half-term £243, more than double the £102 it cost to hire the same car a week later. In Larnaca, Cyprus, it would cost families £225 to hire a car with Sixt for the half-term week. Once the schools have gone back, it is £167. In Tenerife, Avis charged £151 in half-term, then cut the price to £101 the week after.

James Daley, of the consumer group Fairer Finance, said: ‘It doesn’t cost the firm extra to let the car during that week – they are just increasing prices because they can.’

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, the industry trade body, said ‘seasonal pricing fluctuations… are commercial decisions made by our members’.