Car Hire Problem

AlanTracey

I rented a car with Alamo Rentacar in France about a month ago. I made the rental through Carhire3000. To avoid problems and delays (travelling with young family, etc.) I paid for the entire rental in advance. But when I arrived at the rental office in Marseille, the people at Alamo said that they no longer had a car for me because I had arrived later than they expected. The whole reason I decided to pay in advance was to avoid these kinds of issues (late arrival etc.) Anyway, I had to argue with them to get them to give me a car, but they really didn't feel like they were in any way responsible. They continue to maintain it was all Carhire3000's problem. Can rental companies really do this? You pay in full but there's no guarantee there'll be a car waiting for you?

jor el

How late were you, and what does it say in the rental conditions?

AlanTracey

When I booked the car, I entered the number of the flight we were arriving on, so as far as I was concerned they knew when I was coming. When the Carhire3000 sent me on my voucher, there was no reference to the flight number and they had my arrival time listed for 11.30 in the morning although we didn't arrive until about 5 in the afternoon. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time because, as I'd entered the flight number and had paid the full amount (in other words, I wasn't just making a reservation), I reckoned it was just something pro forma. Also, regarding the terms of the rental, there is a clause that says 'no shows to the resort' will incur a penalty in the case where the rental is paid in advance but the renter doesn't show up. It doesn't define a 'no show'.

tallaghtoutlaws

AlanTracey wrote: »

When I booked the car, I entered the number of the flight we were arriving on, so as far as I was concerned they knew when I was coming. When the Carhire3000 sent me on my voucher, there was no reference to the flight number and they had my arrival time listed for 11.30 in the morning although we didn't arrive until about 5 in the afternoon. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time because, as I'd entered the flight number and had paid the full amount (in other words, I wasn't just making a reservation), I reckoned it was just something pro forma. Also, regarding the terms of the rental, there is a clause that says 'no shows to the resort' will incur a penalty in the case where the rental is paid in advance but the renter doesn't show up. It doesn't define a 'no show'.

You need to contact carhire3000 as this is their fault. But from experience car rental companies hate these 3rd parties as this is a common problem with them. Proper details of the customers not being sent.

Did you get sent a confirmation of your booking with Your requests? If you did you have that as proof that carhire3000 messed it up and any problems was their fault although technically you should have made sure the time was right.

Here is a post on another forum by Alamo themselves and it seems they allow 12 hours:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13884899-post14.html

Id say contact Alamo. I have rented a lot of vehicles and although most have no show policies most will honour the contract especially if you go through them directly. In this case it seems if that post is true you were alright to be there 5 hours late.

Just on a side note the Prepaid thing as far as I know doesn't abolish the No show policy. It waives fees or cancellation charges on no shows.

AlanTracey

Thanks for getting back to me with the comment - I'm a bit the wiser now. I guess the message should be not to go through 3rd party brokers. And also, it doesn't seem there's much advantage for paying for a car in advance. The thing that bothers me is that anyone travelling with a larger family than mine and therefore needing a bigger car, staying for two weeks (we were only away for one) and on a modest budget could suddenly find themselves having to dole out an awful lot of money at the start of their holiday without knowing they'd ever get any of the initial payment back.

Faolchu

i've used carhire 3000 countless times and never ran into difficulty with them even when flights were delayed, any time i had difficulty with the local rental agent like poor service etc I'd write to carhire3000 and they would apologise and look into the matter. any time i travel they are the first site I check for prices.

I did have two issues with the car, the rental agent didnt have the class i had boked and I had to wait. then the one we got the window wouldnt close but that's not carhire3000's fault. the second time the rental agent wanted me to pay for a full tank of petrol when i returned the car but i just handed them the voucher and showed them where it clearly said return the car empty and they just had to accept it.

tallaghtoutlaws

Faolchu wrote: »

i've used carhire 3000 countless times and never ran into difficulty with them even when flights were delayed, any time i had difficulty with the local rental agent like poor service etc I'd write to carhire3000 and they would apologise and look into the matter. any time i travel they are the first site I check for prices.

Thats the thing with any business, for the most part you will get customers who never have problems with them. But it doesn't mean they don't get it wrong from time to time.

In this instance both carhire300 and Alamo were in the wrong, it seems carhire put the wrong pick up time on the voucher and Alamo told the OP he was too late even though their terms dont back it up. Carhire should have put the specified time by the OP on the voucher and Alamo it seems should have honoured it.

I did have two issues with the car, the rental agent didnt have the class i had boked and I had to wait. then the one we got the window wouldnt close but that's not carhire3000's fault. the second time the rental agent wanted me to pay for a full tank of petrol when i returned the car but i just handed them the voucher and showed them where it clearly said return the car empty and they just had to accept it.

One would never hold the condition of cars or the lack of the right type of vehicles against sites like carhire as there is nothing they can do if there is problems with the cars.

As I said before though from experience renting cars the agents will do more for you if you go through them directly. That is from experience and not gospel though.

coylemj

I would never deal with a third party for hotel or car hire for the simple reason that their business model demands that you pay in advance and all of the money is non-refundable plus if they go bust you are left high and dry because you have no contract with the service supplier. They are completely inflexible if you want to make a small change to the booking and will levy punitive 'administrative' charges and that's if they will even do it (change the reservation), some refuse point blank.

A few of us went to NYC for a weekend a few years ago, myself and another guy wanted to share a twin room so that was specified for us by the person who booked the hotel rooms through a booking website and the room requirements were acknowledged in the confirmation e-mail but of course were not passed on to the actual hotel. When we arrived, myself and my mate were allocated a room with a double bed with about 6 inches of space around it, we kicked up such a sh1te that they found another hotel nearby to take us.

jor el

coylemj wrote: »

I would never deal with a third party for hotel or car hire for the simple reason that their business model demands that you pay in advance and all of the money is non-refundable plus if they go bust you are left high and dry because you have no contract with the service supplier.

Not all agents are the same. I use Argus Rentals for car rental all the time. There is a refund policy if you have to cancel, and they've been helpful in resolving over-charging from the actual hire company. I've also used Expedia to book a hotel, and again there was a refund policy in place, if needed.

If the company goes bust, you can be left without your booking, but if you pay with a credit card you are insured for this. If you pay with a Laser card though, you are on your own.

Moral: Use reputable agents, read the terms and conditions, and book with a Visa or Mastercard.