Rental car issues

supereurope

Hello all

I'm at the end of my thether (wrong spelling?) here regarding some problems I've had with a recent rental with a major international car rental company (which I won't name). I need some guidance as all I seem to be getting nowhere with the company.

I'm Irish but currently work abroad, my brother got married last weekend and I was best man. I decided to hire a car for the weekend and decided to splash out on a premium car (as opposed to the usual Focus) as I knew I'd be transporting lots of people around and the bridesmaids wanted to arrive at the reception in a flashy car!

Anyway, I usually rent with Avis (I can name them as I always get good service from them), however they didn't have any premium cars at their Cork Airport branch. So looking around the web at the other big providers (Europcar, Enterprise, Hertz etc) and one of the companies could offer me a 'luxury' class car. The website example was a BMW 5-series, but I've rented enough cars to know that you wouldn't be guaranteed a 5-series, but I expected I would get either that or something similar, like an A6.

I booked six weeks in advance and when I turned up at the desk last week at the agreed time to be told there was no car for me and would I mind waiting in the airport coffee shop for 30/40 mins! A bad start- I booked the car in August!

Anyway, eventually I was called back to the desk and given my rental - a 3 year old, shabby Saab 9-3 with 120k on the clock. Disappointing, especially since the 9-3 isn't a 5-series car, it's a 3-series class car! It was also in really bad condition and the man at the desk told me it was being retired shortly. Now, I've rented lots of cars in the past and always get a current year car. The mileage I know can't be helped, it's a rental. But the miles were obvious, and it was in really poor condition. It was also manual and I booked an automatic. I said to the guy that this didn't seem right with what I had paid for but I was told there were no other cars available so my options were take it, or go somewhere else with no refund.

Since I handed the car back (when didn't end up transporting any bridesmaids, as my uncle stepped in with his '12 Audi A4) I've been emailing the rental company asking for a partial refund, as the car I received was a class below the class I booked and wasn't an automatic. I just keep being told 'operational reasons' sometimes result in a client not getting exactly what they booked and this is all in the small print, so they feel they have nothing wrong.

But I'm sorry, this just doesn't seem right. If you booked a Mondeo and got a Focus due to 'operational reasons' it's just a way of ripping off customers, right?

Sorry for being so wordy but I wanted to give as much background as possible. Any advice is appreciated.

bazz26

I don't think you are going to get the advice you need here in the motors forum, this seems more like a consumer rights issue than motors related. PM one of the mods here and they might be able to move this thread to the correct forum for you.

CiniO

In my opinion it's a disgrace that while you paid for BMW 5-series car or similar (within the same class) automatic, and you got some wrecked old Saab which is a class lower than that in manual.
Rental company probably think, you won't bother taking it any further, as you live abroad. But I hope they are wrong.

PS - I've read good few rental terms and conditions and I haven't encountered one yet, which would state in small print, that customer might receive vehicle of lower class for operational reasons without any refund. It's rather opposite. It says that if rental company is unable to provide a vehicle of the same class, they will provide a vehicle of higher class.

Complete disgrace, and I don't know why you don't want to name the company.

markpb

I'm surprised that they didn't automatically offer you a refund for the drop in class. When persuing your complaint though, I'd leave out any reference to the age or mileage of the car - they're totally irrelevant. You were never offered a low mileage or 11/12 car.

colm_mcm

moved to 'Consumer Issues'

Armin_Tamzarian

Didn't nail any of the bridesmaids then?

supereurope

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

Didn't nail any of the bridesmaids then?

haha no, they were either my sisters or my cousins.

And we're not rednecks

supereurope

markpb wrote: »

I'm surprised that they didn't automatically offer you a refund for the drop in class. When persuing your complaint though, I'd leave out any reference to the age or mileage of the car - they're totally irrelevant. You were never offered a low mileage or 11/12 car.

Correct, rental is by car size, not it's year or condition. But compared to Avis and other rental companies I've used, to get a 09 car in bad condition just added to the whole horrible experience (if I'd been given an 09 5 series I probably wouldn't be so unhappy). And certainly not consistent with the 'Luxury' classification. But yes, moaning about the age of the car wouldn't get me far.

Also, what would have happened if I held an automatic-only driver's licence?

keithclancy

supereurope wrote: »

Correct, rental is by car size, not it's year or condition. But compared to Avis and other rental companies I've used, to get a 09 car in bad condition just added to the whole horrible experience (if I'd been given an 09 5 series I probably wouldn't be so unhappy). And certainly not consistent with the 'Luxury' classification. But yes, moaning about the age of the car wouldn't get me far.

Also, what would have happened if I held an automatic-only driver's licence?

The best thing to do in that situation is to stand your ground and not accept the rental.

They will try to use bully boy tactics but they know they are in the wrong.

daheff

First thing I would do is to contact your credit card company. LEt them know whats happened and that you are going to dispute the car rental charges as you havent received what you booked.

Then go back to the car rental company and tell them this. Also mention that charging you for a service (rental of a luxury class car) you didnt receive is illegal. Tell them the reasons why you picked that particular class (for driving people to a wedding) and that their failure to provide contracted service upset peoples day.

keithclancy

daheff wrote: »

First thing I would do is to contact your credit card company. LEt them know whats happened and that you are going to dispute the car rental charges as you havent received what you booked.

Then go back to the car rental company and tell them this. Also mention that charging you for a service (rental of a luxury class car) you didnt receive is illegal. Tell them the reasons why you picked that particular class (for driving people to a wedding) and that their failure to provide contracted service upset peoples day.

Unfortunately you cannot do this after you have AGREED to take the car.

i.e. the lesser car was offered and accepted, the Credit Card company cannot do a charge back in that case.

If your renting a premium car its usually best to call the rental location directly and have a chat with them.

supereurope

daheff wrote: »

First thing I would do is to contact your credit card company. LEt them know whats happened and that you are going to dispute the car rental charges as you havent received what you booked.

Then go back to the car rental company and tell them this. Also mention that charging you for a service (rental of a luxury class car) you didnt receive is illegal. Tell them the reasons why you picked that particular class (for driving people to a wedding) and that their failure to provide contracted service upset peoples day.

Unfortunately when I booked the car back in August I chose the prepay option with my debit card. I think next time I'll go for the pay at the desk option, that way I imagine you can walk away if you aren't happy with the car, even though it costs about £ 30 extra to pay that way.

supereurope

keithclancy wrote: »

Unfortunately you cannot do this after you have AGREED to take the car.

i.e. the lesser car was offered and accepted, the Credit Card company cannot do a charge back in that case.

If your renting a premium car its usually best to call the rental location directly and have a chat with them.

I didn't pay credit card, I prepaid when I booked in August.

I guess the fact I accepted the car may weaken my case, but I was told my options were 1. take the Saab or 2. walk away, lose the money I paid and hope Avis had cars available.

But you make a good point, if I ever rent a premium car again (although it will be with a different rental company) I will phone ahead and be satisfied before I give any credit or debit car away.

Interestingly, the small print does say if you requested car isn't available, they will move you up a class for free. I said this in an email and I was told that actually, the 5 series and 9-3 are in the same class. Rubbish, I feel I've been fobbed off again, and would any car experts be able to confirm to me if a 5-series and a 9-3 are (or rather were, as Saab is no longer with us) rivals?