I've been well and truly suckered by Goldcar

torontoboy45

if only I'd scanned the sites first.....

Goldcar are a spanish car rental co. operating from 20+ locations in spain and the canaries.

attracted by 'best buy' on moneys/market.com I booked an 'economy' from gran canaria airport last month, 'all - inclusive'.

on arrival I'm charged 60 euro for a tank of fuel that cost only 35euro to fill (there's a min. £15 're-fuelling charge'!).

and then a further 60 euro for 'additional insurance' that I didn't ask for or want. when I gagged at the audacity I was told 'no insurance - no car'.

all this at 9 at night and after queuing for nearly an hour.

this outfit is truly a rip-off in the very sense of the word.

trying to do a chargeback on my card; meanwhile, do yourselves a favour and don't get stiffed like I did - simply avoid.

joerugby

Sorry to hear about your experience. Our recent experience was different. When Goldcar offered us "additional insurance" it was optional. We did not take it. We did pay extra for "additional driver". We also paid the fuel charge which I agree is high but when taken together with the low upfront rental charge meant that they were still good value overall.

In total we paid £147 up front and EUR 118 (approx £107) at the airport for a medium sized car for 2 weeks including insurance, second driver, upgrade and full tank of fuel. This was a total of £254 or around £18 per day.

Hertz today is charging £271 for the same sized car excluding second driver and fuel.

We were happy with Goldcar

torontoboy45

joerugby wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your experience. Our recent experience was different. When Goldcar offered us "additional insurance" it was optional. We did not take it. We did pay extra for "additional driver". We also paid the fuel charge which I agree is high but when taken together with the low upfront rental charge meant that they were still good value overall.

In total we paid £147 up front and EUR 118 (approx £107) at the airport for a medium sized car for 2 weeks including insurance, second driver, upgrade and full tank of fuel. This was a total of £254 or around £18 per day.

Hertz today is charging £271 for the same sized car excluding second driver and fuel.
looking at the reviews over on the review centre website I get the feeling you were lucky; close to every complaint about this firm was identical to mine!

as for hertz: well.... the only time I ever use them is when I'm on co. expenses, but at least they rip you off upfront!

joerugby

It's a pity that most of the complaints on Review Centre seem to be from people who fell for the hard sell on insurance and didn't read the t&cs upfront on fuel.

Some lessons to be learned there

scragend

I used Goldcar in Gran Canaria earlier this year, but I wouldn't use them again.

I was offered the insurance and turned it down - they tried to push it but I know how to say "no"

I was aware of the fuel policy - it's a rip off but as said above you pay a low rental charge so it kind of balances out a bit. I made sure I used almost every last drop!

The reason I wouldn't use them again is that the car they gave me was a bit of a s**t heap - it had clearly had a hard life and had been knocked about a bit. I tried to point this out to them but they just said "yes sir, it's OK". When I got home I found they had charged my card an extra £22.50 - knowing their reputation I didn't bother trying to find out why as I thought the chance of getting it back was slim.

From now on I'd rather pay a bit more to go with a reputable company.

georgedawes

torontoboy45 wrote: »

if only I'd scanned the sites first.....

Goldcar are a spanish car rental co. operating from 20+ locations in spain and the canaries.

attracted by 'best buy' on moneys/market.com I booked an 'economy' from gran canaria airport last month, 'all - inclusive'.

on arrival I'm charged 60 euro for a tank of fuel that cost only 35euro to fill (there's a min. £15 're-fuelling charge'!).

and then a further 60 euro for 'additional insurance' that I didn't ask for or want. when I gagged at the audacity I was told 'no insurance - no car'.

all this at 9 at night and after queuing for nearly an hour.

this outfit is truly a rip-off in the very sense of the word.

trying to do a chargeback on my card; meanwhile, do yourselves a favour and don't get stiffed like I did - simply avoid.

For those people who are going back to Gran Canaria again this year,use Faycan

I used Record before they left the island and then had to go to Goldcar, but when they charged me £65 fuel charges on a Berlingo that i only went 150kms in, I was angry.

These people are the Hertz agent for the island and knock spots off Goldcar and their extortionate charges. Everything is the same, but no Hertz prices and NO fuel charge policy if you dont want it.

I have used these people 3 times this year already and will continue to do so for the forseeable future!!