Here is an interesting news write-up about car rental surcharges on CNN today. These guys are ruthless. I will never rent from Budget again because of how they treated me and you, and apparently many others as well. :p

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/traveltips/05/05/rental.car.fees/index.html

Cheers and have a wonderful day!
MaryT

it may have been the computer holding a first time commenter where it can often be held as spam for no apparent reason. My sincerest apologies for that.

I am also glad to hear your a happier chappy

best wishes
peter

Did you ever hear back from Mr. Mernock?

and no Menton…I was not negligent. The car broke down and Murray’s Europcar tried to fool me with fraudulent invoices and threaten me via phone and email. Shame on them.

I have talked to so many unhappy customers here since the incident. Keep copies of your contract and know what the charges should be in Euros and dollars…if originating from the US…when you sign the receipt and pick up the rental car. They like to add on charges and after coming off the plane, tired, etc., what better time to fool the people!

I then had to walk in the rain from eyre square to the 4th floor of the merchants road car park in galway. At a guess 500-600 metres.
I was seriously p***** off that I had to walk in the rain to the car then when I recieved the invoice I could not believe they charged me for ‘prime location’. I cant remember the details exactly but I was told 30 euro and my bill was close to €100.

I will never, ever use this company again.

When someone gets ripped off by a company it affects them far more than the $ amount.

This is a generic scam perpetrated by all irish car rental companies.

“Murrays Europcar offer a complete range of covers for our rental customers, to ensure complete “Peace of Mind” while renting a car from us.

Collision Damage Waiver: – covers against loss / damage to rental vehicle subject to an excess of between €800 – €2000 which can be waived by taking our Excess Waiver.”

I have read your comment with interest. Did the damage happen while you were on the mastercard cover of during the additional days? If the damage occurred while you were being insured by mastercard why have you been charged for the damage instead of the credit card company? Did the car break down or did you incur damage on the vehicle?

4 weeks later i got a charge for €246 on my credit card from Budget for a scratch on the car. There was no scratch on the car when i returned it.

And the worst part is they just took the money and i can do nothing. Reading around it seems im not the only victim of this sharp practice. I believe if these guys dont inspect he car on return then they waive any right to charge for damage, just as the customer should check for damage before they leave the lot on hiring the car.

Something seriously needs to be done about companies who have the power to add additional to charges someones credit card, long after the transaction is complete.

Its like letting them leave their hand in your pocket as long as they want.

bulaidh bós Conor agus go raibh míle maith agat
peter

thanks so much – a much needed revolution me thinks. I thought I was on my own there for a little…

lets see if it causes something to change…. ??
[should I cross my fingers and toes?]

go raibh míle maith agat arís
slán go foill
peter

Car Hire complaints are in the Irish Times this morning, you started a revolution!

The ECC received 117 complaints against car rental companies last year.

and I thought I had it bad!

I do agree it does give the irish / or the island of ireland a bad name and if this is happening to you and me can you imagine what ‘tourists’ must feel?

Good luck with getting in touch with the board of directors and you might keep me posted on any updates you might have.

I look forward to hearing from you soon
slán agus beannacht
peter

[ps. james had posted his comment on my old weblog site where this post still exists - so i had to transfer it across]

Unfortunately, I was in a hurry when I picked up the car. I read over the agreement quickly, and told the rental agent the numbers did not match. They charged me in U.S. dollars, which automatically added to the confusion of seeing the real cost.

I later discovered the agent had completely ignored my reserved rate and added all of the extra unnecessary insurances to the bill… My two-day rental came out to $226 — a $70 overcharge. I brought this up to the agent when I returned the car, and he said there was nothing he could do about it and to contact Budget directly. He couldn’t get me out of his office fast enough…

I contacted Budget and received and e-mail saying they would refund the overcharge — but the next day I received another e-mail from the same woman saying the charges were correct and no refund would be issued.

I’m a journalist who travels extensively — almost 100,000 miles last year — and the overcharge won’t break me either, but I DON’T LIKE GETTING RIPPED OFF.

In doing some research — and finding this blog — I discovered that this practice — a bait and switch — is common with Budget Car Rentals.

As a dual citizen of the U.S. and the EU, I can complain on both sides of the Atlantic, and will pursue direct contact with Budget’s Board of Directors. In the meantime, I plan on exposing and highlighting Budget’s business practices via every media possible.

How STUPID can the Budget Car Rental people be? They give the Irish a bad name…

Thanks,

JT

great to hear from you again! Been a while…

never thought about a credit card company in that way before… hmmm maybe thats another day! and sorry to hear of your tale of woe! but i do agree, seems a lot of people have been in this prediciment in some way or another.

many thanks for stopping by.
slán go foill
peter

I just saw your virtual visit to Budget headquarters over there. Good for you.

There is far too much fine print in these agreements, and too many hidden charges, fees, etc. in the service arena, with surprise unhappy endings at the end of the day when the bill’s presented with crazy taxes added on, to boot.

I had a similar dispute with a UHaul (moving van) rental, which promoted guaranteed reservations they did not honor, and additionally illegally insisted on adding on insurance which was not required. A good back up for the consumer is a credit card that stands behind their cardholders in these battles.

Keep us posted.

Ann

it’s not so much an ire or an opinion. Please read it carefully. I did clarify the €75 petrol. But I cant even look at the car for 30 euro..?

I think its quite unopinionated myself and almost like a factual diary. However…

I have a link to the terms and condiions in my post, first paragraph. I did read them.

I can’t see 30 euro anywhere in my bill. As I said simply, if you got your garden done would you be happy to do business that way…. ?

many thanks for taking the time.
peter
_______________________________________________________________
A Chara James & Joe,

you should click comment no. 5. Thanks for taking the time. I do agree it can’t be doing tourism any good. And if people in the FOR campaign like ‘anoymous’ think its fair – well maybe I should stick to cutting grass. Truth is I had to call almost 10 days later to find out how much – after I had been charged… anyhow, sunny days. Lets see what the people say

Slán go foill
peter

We decided to drop the car first thing the following morning. When we dropped it in on the Monday, the man with perfect English proceeded to tell us that we should have left the car on the street and put the keys in the letterbox, but because we hadn’t we were charged for an extra day, with the total somehow coming out at 176 euro. When we complained the guy suddenly lost his understanding of the English language, and when we threatened not to pay he arrogantly said that they had our credit card details and that it would be charged regardless.

Car hire companies are a bunch of cowboys.

Did you read the terms and conditions? Do they tell you about the other possible charges that may be incurred?

I also think your post is a bit disingenuous in that you don’t clarify that €75 of your estimated bill won’t actually be charged to you at all – it being the petrol holding deposit.

In fact, I believe that the terms and conditions are likely to state that if you don’t bring the car back full, you’ll be charged the full €75 petrol deposit rather than the €10 that you were charged.

i dont know mate? 30 euro yes. but when you cant [drive] nee sit in the car for less than [actually] 78 euro… then something is ‘not correct’ or slightly vague/ amiss from the information on the website/ phone?

many thanks mate
peter

@aido
nice to see you have a sense of humour after ‘that journey’. Was that with ‘budget’. It seems to be they’re not the only ones out there.

slán go foill
peter

I am not anyway surprised about this. Luckily you didnt have passengers!

How did they come to the original 30 euro quote? seems highly misleading to me.