Major car rental companies across Europe accused of unfair charges.
The European Commission (EC) has published a letter urging car rental companies to put a stop to discriminatory practices.
CEOs from six firms were targeted: Sixt, Enterprise, Goldcar, Europcar, Hertz and Avis.
Dodgy booking system
The EC has highlighted issues with car hire company websites identifying customers’ location via their IP addresses. As a result, in some cases, customers were re-routed to a country-specific site to complete their booking, preventing them from getting the best price for their car.
Even without re-routing, certain travellers were given a different price when they went to pay to the one that they were quoted online. This is despite the fact that they were picking the car up from the same hire company in the same location as people from other parts of Europe.
The EC heard of one instance where a German driver’s rental fee leapt up by 100% when he stated his home country on a UK car rental website.
Commissioners want to stop this practice as it breaches the EU’s single market rules.
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"Unsatisfactory response"
The EC said Europcar, Hertz and Avis did not offer satisfactory responses to the letter when it was sent out last month. They have been asked to submit a report detailing how they will review their practices by the end of August.
Sixt, Enterprise and Goldcar are already complying with the non-discrimination principle.
What you can do
In the meantime, the EC is warning people to be vigilant when they hire cars in Europe.
Here’s how to avoid overpaying on your rental car:
- Stick to the basic rental package.
- Avoid expensive Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Super CDW insurance. This covers the excess, usually £500-£1,000, which isn’t included in the basic insurance. If you want this protection, arrange your own cover from an independent provider before you go. Try insurance4carhire: it will sell you cover for as little as £39.99 for annual Europe-wide cover.
- Bring your own sat nav. Sat navs in the UK can be bought for around £50-£60. With Hertz, however, it costs €115.90 (£92.69) to borrow theirs for a week in Italy (when picked up in Turin). Downloading the Navfree app is a good shout if you don’t have sat nav of your own. It comes with pre-loaded maps, route planning and voice prompts. A number of European versions are available on iPhone and Android.
- If you have young children (older than five), you can pick up a children’s booster seat in the UK for as little as £8. By comparison, Europcar would charge you £59.66 to hire one for the aforementioned week in Italy. If you have younger children, check with your airline as it may still be much cheaper to take your own child seat(s) than hire them.
- Take photos or video of the car before and after your rental period. Make sure you record mileage, spare tyre(s) and any scratches or dents in the car in case they try and charge you for damage you didn’t cause. Keep any paperwork as you may need it for evidence later on.
- Read our guide on driving in Europe to keep yourself out of trouble.
Avoid car hire completely
Check out Holiday Taxis to get an estimate on how expensive your transfer from airport to hotel will be. You can go by car, shuttle bus, limousine, or even by helicopter.
It may also be worth having a look at local transport links if you’ll be spending more time on the beach than on the road.
The renting and leasing of cars accounts for 30,000 complaints made to the European Consumer Centres network every year. Make sure you’re not one of them!
Have you ever been ripped-off by a car hire company? Tell us your experiences in the Comments section below.
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