Alamo Car Hire Hidden Cost?

bunter

ok well, we took a 2 week holiday in orlando at the start of july which we booked through first choice. the holiday included car hire with alamo which we thought was very handy as we would need a car to get around. when we got to the desk they asked for a credit card so that any extra charges could be a applied to it such as local tax and tyre/battery wear charge which we thought was ok.

the guy handed us the piece of paper and for us to sign and asked if we wanted extra insurance to which my reply was a firm "NO". so i signed where he told me to and i thought all was fine.

we have just got our credit card in and have found we have been charged £400 for the 2 weeks hire which includes the extra insurance i did not want. i have kept the paper work and had a look over it and it seems we signed to say we wanted the extra insurane even though i did not want it.

is there anything i can do about this? i know i signed for it without reading as we were in a big hurry but after telling them i did not want the insurance they still told me to sign at each "x" they marked.

to be honest i feel a bit ripped off and certainly didnt expect to get a £400 bill for something i didnt want in the first place.

any ideas?

thanks. chris

malkie76

bunter wrote: »

it seems we signed to say we wanted the extra insurane ....... i signed for it without reading

I think you already know the answer to this one.

Car hire companies get thousands of people demanding refunds on additional insurance after safely returning the car because at that point the insurance they paid for wasn't ever used.

They won't be able to see the difference between your geniune mistake, and someone who is trying it on.

If you write and complain the company you'll most likely get a discount voucher on your next hire.

edit

your thread title is misleading, this wasn't a hidden charge, rather something you requested in writing.

Fijiana

hi there
had similar experience in Switzerland in early august through 121car hire and Europcars taking from our card more than what we had agreed online - looks like companies are really desperate in these crunchy times !!! glad am not desperate for money like some businesses:eek::eek:

eslick

if you booked through a good broker one with good customer service they can try and get it back for you. we had an issue a few years ago and the broker was excellent but I know of others who once they have your cash they wont help you.

michjoe

bunter wrote: »

ok well, we took a 2 week holiday in orlando at the start of july which we booked through first choice. the holiday included car hire with alamo which we thought was very handy as we would need a car to get around. when we got to the desk they asked for a credit card so that any extra charges could be a applied to it such as local tax and tyre/battery wear charge which we thought was ok.

the guy handed us the piece of paper and for us to sign and asked if we wanted extra insurance to which my reply was a firm "NO". so i signed where he told me to and i thought all was fine.

we have just got our credit card in and have found we have been charged £400 for the 2 weeks hire which includes the extra insurance i did not want. i have kept the paper work and had a look over it and it seems we signed to say we wanted the extra insurane even though i did not want it.

is there anything i can do about this? i know i signed for it without reading as we were in a big hurry but after telling them i did not want the insurance they still told me to sign at each "x" they marked.

to be honest i feel a bit ripped off and certainly didnt expect to get a £400 bill for something i didnt want in the first place.

any ideas?

thanks. chris

We have just returned from Florida to experience the same problem!!!
We booked a package holiday with First Choice and was told that car hire was included, my parents have been to Florida before so expected further charges on the car hire - I would like to add I wasn't told about this when booking the holiday through the call centre. My dad's credit card details were taken and to our complete disgust he has been charged an extra $700+ extra on our return. He has the paperwork and he has not signed for the extra insurance.

Needless to say we will be on the phone to First Choice call centre tomorrow insisting that thy fight against this for us. We have booked the holiday for next year with First Choice but we actually booked through the high street store, funnily enough the lady we booked with couldn't stress enough that no extra hidden charges would be made on the car - makes you think if this is happening quite alot doesn't it????

sallycinnamon99

Hi,

The problem I had with Alamo is slightly different and I am just looking to see if anyone else has experienced the same thing?

We went to Florida in July this year and rented a car with Alamo. We checked it back in at the airport and were told there was nothing to pay. We have now (today) received a letter dated 11/08/2009 saying they had sent us previous correspondence about a fine and admin charge (total $11.00) which we have to pay. It asks us to call a US number for details but just held in a queue and no one answers.

It asks us to pay to Bank of America or send back credit card details to a PO Box number (which when search on Google comes back to Alamo).
I did a google search relating to this letter to find that other people have had the same thing - exactly $11 to pay to alamo.

Apparently the violation referred to in the letter happened 7 minutes before we checked our car back in - at which time, as far as I can remember, we were actually waiting to have someone check it.

I am unsure what to do - I dont understand why we have this fine and for such a small amount of money (excluding the admin charge).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

budgetflyer

malkie76 wrote: »

edit

your thread title is misleading, this wasn't a hidden charge, rather something you requested in writing.

No its not. The question was- do you want extra insurance ?
Answer- NO

If op then gets charged for extra insurance then they have been ripped off imo.
Although it may have been in the small print, after a 10 hr flight, you are hoping the ALAMO agent is going to be honest.
Is it ALAMOs policy to RIP OFF their customers ?

michjoe

michjoe wrote: »

We have just returned from Florida to experience the same problem!!!
We booked a package holiday with First Choice and was told that car hire was included, my parents have been to Florida before so expected further charges on the car hire - I would like to add I wasn't told about this when booking the holiday through the call centre. My dad's credit card details were taken and to our complete disgust he has been charged an extra $700+ extra on our return. He has the paperwork and he has not signed for the extra insurance.

Needless to say we will be on the phone to First Choice call centre tomorrow insisting that thy fight against this for us. We have booked the holiday for next year with First Choice but we actually booked through the high street store, funnily enough the lady we booked with couldn't stress enough that no extra hidden charges would be made on the car - makes you think if this is happening quite alot doesn't it????

Hi all,

Just a quick update!!!

I am still waiting for an acceptable response from First Choice, I have emailed 4 times and also sent a letter recorded. I did get a response from Falcoln Holidays - don't know why as I didn't book the holiday with them! It was a very poor response, the email was full of spelling mistakes and there was a phone number on the bottom of it that is dis-connected. I have now requested that my query is escalated.

Has anybody else had this problem, also is anyone else in the process of complaining to First Choice but coming up against a brick wall?

Any ideas of where to go for help??

Thanks

Alan_Bowen

Since your complaint has nothing whatsoever to do with Alamo, I suggest if you want to start a new story you do so, but you will find plenty of previous Car Trawler posts to hang this one on.