Hi Phil,

With regard to the petrol, I can understand that you feel miffed that you were charged for petrol that you didn't use, however, if you hire a vehicle inthe UK and return it, would you expect to get the money back??

Wih regard to the additional charge on your credit card if they have taken money without your authorisation, then I would contact your credit card company immediately, they must be able to assist you.

In the UK though you are not normally charged for the tank of petrol when you hire the car . You agree to return the car with a full tank, therefore only paying for petrol used.
I had the same problem with a car hire firm in Majorca last year, I visited the island on a 4 day break. I picked up a hire car at the airport and was charged for a full tank of petrol. I would have had to drive hundreds of miles each day to use the petrol that I had paid for and when I returned the car it was nowhere near empty. So the hire firm made extra money out of me. I had read the small print before reserving the car on the internet and understood that I would only have to pay for a full tank if I was hiring a car for a full week. But on rereading the contract I realised their info was misleading. I have read in other web sites that this system is on the increase and there was even a warning in one of the major newspapers a few months ago about this unfair practice.

Thank you for the warning. I am hiring a car at Malaga during the summer and its good to know waht to look out for. Like Judith I think I have also seen this scam mentioned on other forums but I had forgotten about it, so its a good reminder for me.

Doe

This fuel policy has been around for some time. You really do need to read the small print and the fuel policy when booking car hire - particularly when booking via a broker rather than direct with the car hire company.

We tend to now look for a local car hire company and book direct - you may not get quite such a new car but they do tend to offer a pick up and return with the same amount of fuel in the car.

Pippa

Hi Miss pink

The problem was for years the car hire firms had a policy of collect empty return empty or collect full return full we all knew where we were. The terms collect full return empty was a fairly recent thing brought in with no announcement and in the UK most car hire firms will have a decent unused fuel policy.

As regards the credit card, I took this up with the credit card company and it seems when you give you card over for payment at the air port you are also authorising a second go in case of any insurance claim excess or other expenses after your departure. They used this to claim 50 euro for parking in the wrong place in their own car park.

below is a copy of my email to them with their evetual reply below

Phil Chaplin

From: XXXXXX
Subject: Booking ref 292/2009-24670 Chaplin
To: customers@recordrentacar.com
Date: Tuesday, 16 June, 2009, 2:05 PM

Dear Sirs

Re excess charge on Booking ref 292/2009-24670 Chaplin

I rented a car from you recently and on my return to the airport left the accidently left the car in the wrong car park. When I got there I asked your drivers who were attending their vechicles where to go and they pointed to the lower floor but they never told me to take the car there they let me leave it. When I got to the return desk they waved their hands and were quite rude indicating that I should go all the way back & retreive the car. Unfortunately I was late for my plane and did not have time so I had to run and leave the key. At no time did anyboby inform me that there would be A 50 euro charge for miss parking. Also I could not see any notices regarding not leaving your cars on the upper floors

I am a frequent visitor to your lovely country and look forward to every visit but if this charge is not refunded I will never use record rent a car again.


P Chaplin

** Edit - To remove email response. There is normally a disclaimer on emails stating they are for the intended recipient only and should not be reproduced. luci HT Mod **

Yes me again and yes I am on a mission

I have shopped around and the only company that has a full/full policy on request is Avis. Even hertz on rentals of over 4 days does the compulsory full/empy return policy. We always stay in the lovely town of Nerja and got a car from the airport for convienience and used it for the 60km airport transfer rarely using in the resor but was cheaper than a taxi each way. My neighbour, her husband & children often go to Nerja as well and the get the regular bus service from the airport. Cost ? 3.81 euros pp each way. Babies I presume free. Next time this what I will use and if I need one hire a car in resort.

I think its now all of my chest and hope to of saved some of you a few bob

Phil Chaplin

I always read the small print as I did last year and found the information misleading and I wasn't alone as there were two other people at the hire car desk remonstrating against the charges.
I hire cars on average 3-4 times each year, 1-2 times each year when I visit the UK and the others Worldwide and this was the first time I had run into this practice. I can't remember the name of the car firm in Majorca but funnily enough it had been recommended by a HT member.
I will definitely check the fuel policy with any car hire firms in the future before committing myself to a contract.

Phil I hope you have now got this off your chest! It obviously caused you a lot of stress.

I am afraid that it is quite normal to penalise a hirer who has left their hire car in a place other than that required by the hire company, and it is up to the hirer to ensure that he/she knows absolutely what the situation is about fuelling and car return requirements before they leave the hire counter.

I understand that this annoyed you, and thank you for bringing it to our notice.

By your own admission you were told where the car should be returned to after asking, but left it in another car park due to not allowing sufficient time for any problems at the airport.

luci

This topic has had to be edited to remove potentially libelous comments and other inappropriate content.

Please note that this forum is intended for use by those requiring advice or assistance with a specific complaint.

It may not be used to encourage avoidance or incite any sort of campaign against an individual company.

David

Good Morning Luci

The point was that I left the car in the companies own car park with their own staff present and
they told me where to take the key but no mention of taking the car with me. And there was no mention of a 50 euro penalty anywhere

Phil Chaplin

Really worried now as it is Nerja that I am going to and I am also picking up a car from Malaga , wish I was going by the 3.81Euro bus now and wondering if I can cancel the car, although I am not using rent a car but it sounds like everyone in Spain is the same. As a first timer I am pleased to have this information published by Phil. No doubt I will be ripped off for fuel, but forwarned is forarmed.

It's actually quite daunting sometimes hiring a car in a foreign country when you have a couple of kids in tow and have to get straight in a car and find a villa up in the hills somewhere whilst driving on unfamiliar roads, but then no doubt the car hire companys realise this and therefore it makes it easier for them to act in this duplicitous manner.

I

It's actually quite daunting sometimes hiring a car in a foreign country when you have a couple of kids in tow and have to get straight in a car and find a villa up in the hills somewhere whilst driving on unfamiliar roads, but then no doubt the car hire companys realise this and therefore it makes it easier for them to act in this duplicitous manner.

I'm sure that the hire companies do not rely for extra revenue from having stressed and hurried customers, but I think that you could well prepare for your drive by using a site like viamichelin and getting a planned itinerary using the address of where you are staying and starting at the airport of hire.

Also surely you will have seen terms and conditions of the car hire if you hired it on line ..... I guess you will have had to tick a box to say that you have read and accepted them before you had your hire contract finalised. If not, go back to the website and print out the conditions of hire and read them carefully, on the plane if necessary, before approaching the hire desk. It might be wise to warn your missus to keep the kids in check away from the rental desk whilst you do your business without having to keep an eye on them as well.

As you rightly said, forewarned is forearmed, and having read the T&C and having prepared a route will be a big help if you plan in advance. All good wishes and hope all goes smoothly for you. xxx

I think the practice of paying and receiving a tank of fuel up front and returning the car empty is more wide spread. Dollar in the US have been doing that for several years. That said, it is all up front in the rental documentation and at signs at the airport desks.

Whilst I agree it is a nice little earner for the rental car companies as it is near impossible to return the car "dry" without risking running out of petrol on the way back to the airport, if your agree with their terms and conditions of rental (whether you choice to read the rental agreement or not) - that's the way it is.

How many of us in the past, when promising to return the car "full", actually didn't hunt down the local airport petrol station and actually filled up some distance from the airport and returned the car around the "F" mark on the fuel gauge, leaving the car short of petrol?

When I hire a car that needs to be returned with a full tank I always look for the nearest petrol station before leaving the area so that I can fill up on return. I can't ever remember intentionally turning the car in short of petrol other than once when I was late due to a serious accident on the airport approach road and had to pay the hire firm for the missing fuel.

I reckon the main reason they do it is so they can offer what appear to be cheap rental fees and make their money on extras rather than the core cost.

So what is a full tank of fuel? Perhaps I should rephrase that. When do you think the tank is full?

Not a silly question and I am speaking from experience as I set up and ran a successful car hire operation. Cars went out with a full tank and were to be returned with a full tank or you were charged. It was surprising how much fuel could be put into a tank that the customer claimed was full. Many people worked on the basis that when it clicked off it was full. Depending on the rate of flow a pump will often click off several times whilst filling. It is designed that way as on many cars the filling pipe cannot take the flow and it prevents blow back. Strange how people ignore the gauge when they claim to have filled the car.

Remember that it is you, the next customer that will suffer.

fwh

And another thing when you book online with recordacar you are told that the price you pay includes waivers & excess waivers and just about everything. But when you go to pick up the car they then show you a notice which demands another 4/5 euros a day negligence or something waiver which covers you for flat tires, chipped windscreens etc. Thought this was covered on line. Forgot about this bit in my earlier posts.

Avis appears more expensive at first glance but when you look at all the adons I bet they are not

Anyhow its the bus next time and if I need one will hire a car in the resort

Phil Chaplin

As a point of interest Tyres have always been excluded in car hire.

fwh