Thinking of hiring a car while on holiday this year? These are the hidden charges and sneaky scams to look out for
Now schools have broken up, many families will be jetting off to sunnier climes but before you pick up those hire car keys get clued up
NOW schools have broken up for summer many families will be off to foreign countries but before you book a hire car, make sure you know about the secret scams.
Taxis are often too expensive to rely on when you're holidaying abroad so many Brits turn to hire cars, but over the past few years companies have been getting a bad name.
One holidaymaker found himself lumped with a huge £1,900 bill after the hire car company said the seven-seater Volkswagen Touran was missing two seats.
Despite asking to look at the CCTV footage to prove that the vehicle had all the seats when it was returned, the company ignored his request.
He returned the car without the need for repairs but often because the companies are able to deduct directly from a person's bank account it's difficult to prevent the transaction.
“I asked for pictures of the damage and, first, they sent ones of a different car. Then they sent a photograph of ‘my’ car with all the properties deleted so you couldn’t tell when it had been taken.
"Eventually I contacted the UK European Consumer Centre (UK ECC) and finally got a refund. The whole process took seven months.”
A spokesman for the company said: “There is no doubt that we should been more prompt in handling this case to resolve this quickly for her. We deeply regret that we failed to deliver the outstanding service we strive for in this case.”
And it's not just the vehicle charges, Rod Fox, from Birmingham, had to put down a large amount of money for insurance known as a "super collision damage waiver".
He explained that the car companies "insist on taking a hefty €500 [£418] deposit from my credit card.
“They’re earning interest on my money while I’m paying to use their car. That always strikes me as greedy and money-grabbing.”