AMIGOAUTOS - how can this be fair???

babydaisy

A warning to others really as I am getting no-where trying to persue this. I booked over the internet a 9 seater hire car with Amigoautos after seeing them recommended on here. They took the full balance from my credit card of £340 for 10 days as we are going on Sunday. 3 days later I had an email from them saying that they did not have the car available and they were refunding my card - but only £320 has gone back on. They are saying this is to do with currency fluctuations but it seems really unfair to me. I have done nothing had nothing off them and it has cost me £20 - where is the justice in this? Egg are not interested nor are Amigoautos. I think they shouldn't have taken the money until they knew the car was available and there seems no-where to turn. I also think that £20 is a lot of currency fluctuation in just 3 days!!

mpython

Sounds unfair but could you provide some more info, such as date of booking, date of refund, currencies involved, and then we can look into is a bit more.

Another way to look at it, is if you had to pay in cash, what would you have to pay to buy the foreign currency on the day you placed your order, and how much would have you had got back for the foreign currency if the transaction hadn't gone ahead.

babydaisy

The unfairness was I booked it 29th September ready for my holiday next week and wanted the car - paid as requested for a service they told me they could provide.

They cancelled it not me - I had to go elsewhere and get the same car at a higher price. I didn't realise that I was paying in euros - it didn't tell me that when I was booking, just told me that I was to pay in full with my credit card which I did.

So I have been charged £20 for nothing as far as I am concerned

robinson79

an additional quick warning...don't EVER use SIXT car/van hire...appaling service from past experience
x

Poodlecrazy

don't use Europcar - they may be cheap but they are not cheerful!! Pay a little more for a decent service.

zenmaster

robinson79 wrote:

an additional quick warning...don't EVER use SIXT car/van hire...appaling service from past experience
x

We had no problem with them in Prague.

I don't know what sort of service you were expecting but we turned up and collected the car and brought it back at the end of the week. They seemed to cope with that alright.

Still, doesn't help the OP. I agree that is very harsh and I certainly do not believe the "currency fluctuation" story but, unfortunately, I don't think there is much you can do about it.

dazco

Would you be posting on here if you made £20 on the deal?

If I was you I would have a word with your credit card company. I have always understood that c/c is charged at the best rate of exchange ( in your favour ) over a given time period, It was a month when I lived in Spain and had an English bank account.

But £20 fluctuation in a few days seems suspect.

MarkyMarkD

Either you can tell from your online statement, or Egg can tell you, what the Euro amount for the debit and credit transactions was. If they don't match, you have a basis for complaint against the car hire company. If they DO match, you have a basis for complaint against Egg as I also don't believe currencies have moved that far in 3 days.

Some card companies (I believe) incorrectly charge their 2.75% foreign exchange charge in their favour on both debit and credit transactions, which is unfair - they should give you the benefit of the 2.75% on the refund transaction. I've successfully argued this point in the past.

RoCas

I agree with dazco in that, if you can't sort it out with the hire company, you should raise the issue with your credit card's customer services.

They have let you down and have charged you for the honour.

babydaisy

Of course I wouldn't be complaining if I had made £20 on the deal - I am a MSE regular!!

I am beginning to think it is indeed Egg that has caused the problem. They are supposed to be investigating and getting back to me but it has gone suspiciously quiet from their end!

Amigoautos are in fact linked with SIXT I have noticed from their website.

We have a family villa in Portugal and go several times a year so I am not a novice at booking car hire. However I have now learned several valuable lessons from this experience -

1. Don't book & pay if the quote is in euros
2. You can always pay when you get there

I will always use an English company from now on and pay in £ sterling then this can't happen again.

Thanks for all the helpful replies I have had.

RightRevBod

robinson79 wrote:

an additional quick warning...don't EVER use SIXT car/van hire...appaling service from past experience
x

Agreed! See here for my tale of woe.