To be annoyed with europcar

[anotherchangetomyname]

Booked a van with Europcar at the weekend, one day 9am collection and 5pm return. Booked and paid for online. No indication that the collection depot wasn't open at 5pm, only that it opened at 8 (so couldn't collect earlier). Was quoted a price online (lets say £90) paid online, reeived confirmation email stating correct collection and return times and the agreed price. Collected the van the following day and return it at 4pm - it's a drop box return.

Get the invoice today to show a £40 'additonal charge'. It isn't clear what the charge is for or why. I re-read the confirmation email. In the (very) small print it states a £50 out of hours charge and then even further down, after adverts and general we rent out x,y and z, it states the opening times of the depot we are collecting from as 8am - 1pm. I can only surmise that its an out of hours charge.

AIBU to be pissed off that-

a) Why quote and take payment of a price which cannot possibly be acheived for the times I have specificed I am using the van?

b) not mentioning that if we bring it bck after 1pm we'll be charged when we collect it?

I'm really annoyed. When I booked it I was deliberately looking for a Saturday returns/ drop box return. There is another hire place where they do 24 hours returns for no extra charge but it's further away, and two closer ones state you can't return it out of hours so have to book it for two days or a whole weekend and are very clear about this.

I just think Europcar have advertised one thing and charged me for a different thing.

That's crazy! You booked the times, and therefore if there was an additional out of hours cost I would expect that to be factored in to the overall price quoted.

Give them a ring and ask what is what.

Very annoying, I'd be complaining

Oh god, bloody Europcar!

I hired a car with them and booked a collection of the car for between 4-5pm They didn’t show up. Tried calling at 520pm but they were then shut for the day.

I called the next morning and they said that although they offered a 1 hour window, it was in the small print that there was actually an EIGHT HOUR allowance on each side, ie a full working day!!!!

I kicked off and they said “there will be someone there in an hour to collect it” and I said, well I’m at work now, you will need to wait til 4pm when I’m home (hence why I booked the 1 hour time a lot) and they tried
To tell me they’d have to charge me another day. I actually LOL’d down the phone and told them to bloody try it. They didn’t.

What would happen if someone was waiting for them to collect the car and then they had to go collect a flight? Fucking madness!

And though we turned up at 9.10, the van wasn't actually given to us until 10.30! It wasn't like they were busy either, just faffing.

I hate hiring cars it's NEVER ever the same as they quote it to be.
I once hired a van for £120 (day hire, moving van.) except as soon as I arrived to collect it they wanted a £350 deposit in addition to the £120 they wanted for the cost of the hire... I would've got the £350 back if they hadn't managed to cling onto it somehow (who knows) but I just didn't have the money.
I did multiple trips with my car instead.
I just wish they could be fucking honest!
YANBU

I've never had a problem with a hire car. I've used Europcar and all other major companies. The amount has always been exactly what I've been quoted / paid online.

Out of hours charges, one way fees etc are annoying but something you accept.

I'd be very annoyed that this was added on after you'd paid. Contact them. Contact your bank and tell them that this was an unauthorised payment.

@LeKirby - Deposits are normal. They'll block money on a CC or DC. Where is the lack of honesty?

Europcar are useless - they've closed the branch I was meant to be picking a car up from in a few weeks, so I needed to cancel the reservation (nowhere else is convenient to pick up from). I can't cancel online, I couldn't cancel through the reservations number and customer services couldn't immediately do it either. Apparently they're filling in forms, so hopefully it will get cancelled sooner or later...

I have to say, we've hired lots of vans and never had to pay an out of charge, or a deposit.

I sahll be going back to my usual van place, it's just we've moved away from it so it isn't as convenient, but it is at least what it says!

7even If the out of hours charge had been applied at the time of paying, I wouldn't have had an issue - I was very very clear when booking it that I was using that depot and the time I was returning it, the price should have included the out of hours fee. There was not mention of the out of hours fee, or the opening time of the depot until AFTER I had paid.

*out of hours charge

UPDATE - they refunded the extra charge!