I recently booked (and paid for) a hire car as an add-odd when booking hotel and flights through a popular budget holiday website.
When we arrived it was clearly a low-rent operation. The man was most insistent that I take 'full cover' at almost twice the price of the hire. I didn't as I have an annual independent fully comp hire car insurance.
Unlike any other car hire co I have used they did not check the car over with me. They gave me a form to complete showing all the damage on the car, I filled it in thoroughly, photographed the car and took the form back to the desk where they stamped and signed my account of damage.
We had issues during the week: the oil warning light came on on day 2. The 'Customer service' and 'roadside assistance' numbers I had been given on the card turned out to not work (and not even be based in the same country). The desk at the airport then said that this was not their responsibility as I not taken out 'full cover'. I should fill up the oil but they would not recompense me!
At this point, having googled to find the number for the actual airport desk, I discovered their terrible Trip Advisor reports.
When we returned the car to the airport, the situation was the same- no one on duty in the car parking garage, and all they wanted me to do was return the keys without checking the car over. I did once again take photos as best I could.
They have my CC details as the deposit for leaving the car.
I am madly checking my account daily to see if they have deducted money for alleged scrapes or something.
Is this a time limited worry?
In fact the only activity has been that they have refunded unused petrol, despite telling me when I took the car that they ran a full to empty fuel policy, with no refunds.