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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

In thinking that's it's incorrect to advertise one price and then catch you on hidden charges

21 replies

Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 12:38

Monarch car hire I am talking about you.
I got a bargain flight brilliant then got a bargain car hire delighted through their car trawler site.
When I got to the car hire place they said I had to pay for a full tank of petrol and return it empty.
They charged me £98. I couldn't fill it up for them on return it was company policy.
I feel completely ripped off. £98 quid in Mallorca for a tankful for a vauxhall corsa.
Drivalia is the car hire firm. It really has put a dampner on the holiday as we can't afford much and were really excited at the prospect of a great holiday. It's taken a big lump out if our spends for the week.

OP posts:
starfishmummy · 31/05/2014 12:49

I think it is well known that car hire firms always add extra charges on to the hire fee, so I think you were being a little unreasonable not to have anticipated them.

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 31/05/2014 12:53

Infuriating isn't it? In my experience, it's just how it works in Spain unfortunately. They all do it.

Try not to make it spoil your holiday too much. Perhaps visit some other resorts on day trips or go for a drive in the mountains. Cap formentor in the north is lovely but go early because it gets very busy.

The other scam is excluding a load of things from the insurance and then charging up to 8 euros a day extra to cover them Angry.

If you book via carjet you can buy their extra insurance for £2 per day, which will always be cheaper than when you get there.

Regarding fuel, in future try to pick one that does full-full or half full to empty or factor in the amount of fuel you think you will use. Worst is when you know you won't be driving far and will have to waste fuel.

We didn't do too bad last time we went to Mallorca because it was full-empty fuel, but we planned to tour the island quite a bit. Fuel light came back on just as we got back to the car hire place Grin.

Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 12:53

No they don't you know I have booked with other car hire firms and they have been fine.
I am really pissed off it has really took the shine off the holiday. I feel like syphoning it off and giving it to someone just to spite them

OP posts:
Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 12:59

Ilkey - thanks for that

If they had charged a reasonably rate for the tank fine but £98 ffs.

We are at cap tormentor a trip round the bays is what we need but if there is any mumsnetters who want free petrol on Wednesday give me a shout.

OP posts:
Olga79 · 31/05/2014 13:00

I always book car hire through economy car hire as they allow you to restrict to companies with a fair fuel policy i.e. not ones that don't charge you much for the rental but charge 90 quid for a 45 quid tank of fuel that you probably won't use all of.

OwlCapone · 31/05/2014 13:02

It costs me less than £98 to fill up my SMax from empty with Diesel!

Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 13:02

But surely it must be illegal to advertise a charge and then not state how much the add on is as it's non negotiable and it's part of the charge. So therefore the advertised price is not correct. The price for the petrol is not stated until you have signed for the car.

OP posts:
Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 13:03

Oh and just in case monarch are watching your site is shit and misleading.

OP posts:
Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 13:06

It was booked through monarch. I also checked trip advisor nothing came up so now if anyone checks out drivalia on the web hopefully this will come up so at least they will be warned.

OP posts:
CrohnicallyHungry · 31/05/2014 13:08

starfish no, it's not well known, when we hired cars in Greek Islands the price stated was the price we paid, and then if we hired the car with half a tank of fuel we had to return it with half a tank.

op if the tank of petrol costs less than £98 then YANBU, there should be an option for you to hire the car empty and fill it yourself. Otherwise if it's compulsory then it's part of the hire cost.

Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 13:09

I have also commented on trip advisor. I of course can't email monarch as there was a server error on their complaints thing. So I rang them saying to be associated with the company brings their name into disrepute.

OP posts:
Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 13:14

Chronically - that's what I thought. The car hire place is a 20 min pick up away from the airport I have paid for the hire already through monarch so to be stuck there with £95 to pay and 2 kids and luggage was fucking annoying. Twats

Drivalia are shit

OP posts:
Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 16:09

Does anyone know about misleading advertising though

OP posts:
Manifestomtt · 31/05/2014 17:27

Anyone? Is anyone an expert on advertising

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OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 31/05/2014 17:58

Sadly, it is likely that the fuel policy will have been in the small print when you booked your car. And I know that it costs a lot less than £98 to fill up a small car in Mallorca.

I know it is a maddening rip off, but you are unlikely to get anywhere in complaining - it is just the way that that industry generally works. Any company doing a full-full rental will charge a lot more for the rental so it's swings and roundabouts, but is annoying because it is difficult to compare costs and budget, as you have found out.

I do know that all Spanish companies are required by law to have a complaints book, so you could ask to put your complaint in there when you return the car. I don't know what happens then - not very much I suspect.

In the UK, the next step would be to complain to the advertising standards authority, or the trade association for car rental companies, so if you want you could find out who these people are in Mallorca and complain to them. I suppose, having booked through Monarch, you may have some kind of contract with them, so you could always complain to them - they may do something, I don't know.

A good place for allsorts of consumer help is moneysavingexpert.com. Their article on car hire can be found here

OwlCapone · 31/05/2014 18:02

It's quite clear I think.

Please check your rental confirmation for which fuel policy you have.

In thinking that's it's incorrect to advertise one price and then catch you on hidden charges
OwlCapone · 31/05/2014 18:04

When I say it's clear, it's clear on the website if you have looked for it. You may have cause to argue with Monarch if you booked it through them and it wasn't clear.

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 31/05/2014 18:17

I've just used the Monarch car hire booker to look for a car at Palma airport. This is the stated fuel policy - you have to click to say you accept the rental conditions, which are available by a link. The bit below about fuel is near the bottom and requires some scrolling down Hmm Sad.

Pre-purchase fuel

Your vehicle will be supplied with a full tank of fuel and can be returned empty. On pickup the rental agent will charge you for a full tank of fuel. The price per litre charged by the rental agent may be higher than the price at the local service station. No refund for unused fuel.

The booking system gave a wide variety of cars. I saw a corsa with full-empty for £85 per week. The cheapest similar sized car with full -full fuel - ie you only pay for what you use was £111.

There was also the option for 'pay for what you use' where it says:

Charge: Minimum 65 EUR Maximum 78 EUR Includes 21% Tax

Your car will be provided with a full tank of fuel for which you will be charged at the rental desk. You can use whatever amount of fuel and you will be refunded for the unused fuel minus an administration fee.

I would be willing to bet that the administration fee would make this 'offer' not worth bothering with.

Hulababy · 31/05/2014 18:40

Just been looking at holidays and the "free car hire" is part of what is infuriating me.

The free car hire is included in the price. But it only comes with the basic insurance. It's to the US so I need fully inclusive insurance.

One travel company wants an extra £350 for the fully inc; another £260.

However I can get car hire and fully inc insurance for the same period, direct with the car hire company for just under £250. This is the same car hire company as I would be getting "free" too.

So, it is actually cheaper for me to book the holiday, not pick the car up and just hire a different car on top. Madness!

MacenroeTheBoatAshore · 31/05/2014 18:51

I have this with EE/orange and now have to wait 24 months to cancel contract (mis sold product) and on ly way I can get out now is to pay them a fee of £60.00 ffs.

swindlers.

Justjibberish · 31/05/2014 21:17

£98 even if it was 98€ that's over 65l and the tank of a Vauxhall Corsa holds 45l Shock. Someone posted earlier about a complaints book, it's not a book but an official form (hoja de reclamcion) and is taken very seriously, have a look here and here

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