Institute of Customer Service director joins the campaign

Read the car rental horrors mailbag from week two

The original article that got the campaign started and car rental horrors from week one's mailbag

As the Sunday Times campaign to clean up holiday car hire gathers momentum, the scale of the sharp practices and deceptions some parts of the rental industry employ to squeeze money out of unwitting travellers is becoming clear.

• Here we uncover the most common tricks of the trade that have filled up our postbag — and we reveal the real successes you have achieved through reasoned and persistent complaint. When it comes to renting a car, it certainly pays to make a fuss.

  EXCESS AS STANDARD

  Most rental companies claim to offer “fully inclusive” or “drive away” prices that include insurance. What they don’t advertise is the high excess charges — the amounts customers may have to pay in the event of damage or theft. Many excesses exceed £1,000.

  The Travel section has evidence that some customers returning vehicles with superficial damage are charged the full excess — even though the cost of the repairs is much less.

  Last week, a Sunday Times journalist, who had rented a car in Spain and returned it with a small dent, was sent an invoice by Avis for £520, the maximum excess.

  Only when the Travel section pursued his case did Avis concede that the likely cost of repairing the vehicle was just £264. The company has agreed to refund the difference.

  Our postbag suggests this is not an isolated case. Mike Horgan, a reader from Bedfordshire, said Hertz charged him £579 — the full excess — after he damaged the rear bumper of a Ford Focus in Bergerac, France. Horgan phoned the company repeatedly, demanding to see the repair bill.

  “After about eight weeks, I got a copy of the repair bill. It was for £384,” said Horgan. “The next battle was to get the remaining £195 from Hertz. This took several weeks and many more phone calls. It wasn’t until I accused them of stealing my money that I finally received it.”

  REAL REPAIRS?

  Customers who do ask to see copies of their bills may be in for a long wait — because some of the big rental companies admit they don’t always repair vehicles before sending them out again. Some repairs paid for by customers are never carried out.

  The Travel section asked all the large car-hire firms whether they charge for repairs that don’t happen. Hertz gave a categorical denial, adding that the suggestion was “preposterous and ludicrous”. It said all repairs — “apart from minor cosmetic scratches” — are carried out before the next rental.

  Europcar said its vehicles are returned “as new” to their manufacturers at the end of their rental lives, and that “all repairs, including those paid for by the customer, are carried out before the vehicle is returned”.

  National and its sister company Alamo conceded that repairs “are not always carried out immediately”. But, “every car, at the end of its life, goes through a refurbishment process” before it is sold on. Budget could not answer in time.

  However, Avis admitted that some repairs paid for by customers are not carried out if the vehicle is nearing the end of its rental life. These vehicles are sold on “as seen” rather than “as new”. The company said it felt justified in charging because the resale value of the cars would be reduced.

  Paul Watters, of the AA Motoring Trust, believes this explanation from Avis isn’t good enough: “It needs to tell customers that the repairs won’t be carried out, but that the damage will affect the resale value of the vehicle by x amount.”

  DODGY MOTORS, AMATEURISH STAFF

  A recent survey by the AA Motoring Trust of car rental across Europe found a catalogue of potential pitfalls for customers, including hidden charges, complex insurance policies, poor service and unroadworthy cars. One of its own inspectors was charged £218 for alleged damage that the company involved could not properly explain. In Alanya, Turkey, five of the six cars tested were found to be in “very poor condition”. According to Watters, who managed the project, it is vital for customers to check vehicles thoroughly for damage when collecting and returning them.

  “We found gross ignorance among staff at rental offices about how to fill in defect forms and how to check them,” he said. “Customers must make all the checks themselves, and I would advise them to take photographs.

  If there is any damage to the car, however slight, the customer is liable.”

  ‘SECRET’ INSPECTIONS

  Even the most vigilant consumer can still be landed with a surprise bill. Dominic Dennis-Browne, a lawyer from London, returned a car to a Europcar office in Tasmania earlier this year and looked on while staff gave it the all-clear. He assumed there would be nothing more to pay, but was later charged £74 after an alleged scratch was found during a “final inspection”. Dennis-Browne complained and got a refund. Europcar told The Sunday Times that it regrets the incident, but claimed such discrepancies are “extremely rare”.

  ()

  PUMPED-UP PRICES

  Car-rental companies have found another way to top up their coffers — by almost doubling the price of petrol they sell to customers.

  Last week, our journalist was charged £38.45 for half a tank of unleaded, at a rate of £1.44 per litre. The average price at the pumps in Spain is just 77p.

  Avis justified this 87% price hike by blaming “the cost of labour and lost rental time for the vehicle”. It claimed that such charges are “not unreasonable”, given that a member of staff has to drive to the nearest petrol station and fill the tank.

  The best way to avoid expensive refuelling charges is to return your vehicle with a full tank. But this isn’t always possible. Eamon Walker of Derry recently rented a car in Cyprus and was told by the local Avis staff he had no choice but to pay upfront for a full tank of petrol — at a rate 40% higher than that at the pumps. Avis said it couldn’t comment on the individual case, but added that all customers should be offered the choice of returning vehicles with full tanks, thus avoiding the refuelling charge.

  Whatever you decide to do, don’t make the mistake of filling your rental car with the wrong type of fuel. James Houghton of Galway rented a diesel vehicle from Hertz in Liverpool. His wife mistakenly topped up the tank with unleaded. Even though she had a £500 excess, she was accused of “gross negligence” and charged £200 for repairs, £90 for fuel and — because the next renters broke down and missed their flights — £100 for taxi fares and £612 for two return tickets to Riga. As Houghton says: “If putting the wrong fuel in a hire car is sufficient to invalidate your insurance cover, a minor collision must be a hanging offence.”

  Please complete the form below and your contribution will be considered for publication. It may be necessary to edit your comments. Please include your name, town and county/state of residence.

Times recommends

• The 10 best bits of travel gear
• Soho's classy, cheap new townhouse
• Germany's perfect Christmas city