Ripped off by Europcar in Portugal

babydaisy

Anything I can do?

We hired a car through them and all was fine until we returned it to Faro airport when they advised us we had to pay 95 euros for a tank of fuel!! We hadn't been told this would happen and were actually going to use the company again and again as we go to Portugal all the time until this happened.

There was no damage to the car but the woman said we might be charged for cleaning - not sure why as it was returned pretty clean, we were at hired apartment so couldn't vac so there was some sand in it but we did offer to clean it ourselves when she said that - 5 mins with a vac would have sorted it, it really was just a bit of dry sand on the mats. She refused to let us.

Just got my credit card bill and they have charged us 221 euros, so 126 euros for cleaning it - can they do this? Could only have taken them 5 mins and surely they clean the cars before the next person anyway.

I am a solicitor on maternity leave so have plenty of time to pursue any action I can take, is there anything I can do to shake things up and make sure even if I have to pay this I can warn others. I want to lose them as much in lost potential revenue as they have charged me!! Any thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks for reading.

electrodent

Ooooo. No words of advice but more words of warning from me. I came here seeking advice about them as well. We booked a 7 seater car from them through Atlaschoic​e. Instead of getting a 7 seater we were given two smaller cars. They were completely unapologetic saying they didn't have any suitable car (even though they had the booking in advance??). It created additional stress on the holiday having an extra driver not used to European driving and splitting the group up not to mention double the fuel costs.

I'm not going to be happy if they then charge cleaning costs on top of it. Does anyone have words of advice on how to peruse this? I will be complaining vigorously to Atlaschoice (as my contract was with them not Europcar) but does anyone have any suggestion on how to persue it?

meer53

babydaisy wrote: »

Anything I can do?

We hired a car through them and all was fine until we returned it to Faro airport when they advised us we had to pay 95 euros for a tank of fuel!! We hadn't been told this would happen and were actually going to use the company again and again as we go to Portugal all the time until this happened.

There was no damage to the car but the woman said we might be charged for cleaning - not sure why as it was returned pretty clean, we were at hired apartment so couldn't vac so there was some sand in it but we did offer to clean it ourselves when she said that - 5 mins with a vac would have sorted it, it really was just a bit of dry sand on the mats. She refused to let us.

Just got my credit card bill and they have charged us 221 euros, so 126 euros for cleaning it - can they do this? Could only have taken them 5 mins and surely they clean the cars before the next person anyway.

I am a solicitor on maternity leave so have plenty of time to pursue any action I can take, is there anything I can do to shake things up and make sure even if I have to pay this I can warn others. I want to lose them as much in lost potential revenue as they have charged me!! Any thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks for reading.

If you picked up the car with a full tank, it's usual to return with a full tank unless your contract says so. (In the USA all the cars we've hired state to return empty because they charge you for the full tank when you pay for the hire) Check your contract to see what it says.

With regard to the cleaning, same again, if you were advised that cleaning would be charged and they had to clean the car, then the charge would be applicable.

BUT, after what you've said, i think it would be worth your while to write and make an official complaint to Europcar, especially as you offered to clean the car yourselves. Does sound a bit harsh really, we've never cleaned a hire car before returning it, and never been asked to either. Despite having one car for 3 weeks with 4 adults and 4 kids too !

I wouldn't bother with trying to make them lose any money, i'd just concentrate on getting the cleaning money back, don't think you'll get anywhere with the refuelling charge really.

walwin

From their terms & conditions

http://www.europcar.com/EBE/module/render/General-Rental-Terms

The Vehicle will be provided to you with a full fuel tank. You must only refuel the Vehicle with the correct type of fuel. Costs of fuel and for the refuelling service will be at your expense if the Vehicle is not returned with a full tank.

I don't know if cleaning is mentioned in T&Cs as I haven't looked but I've never heard of that before and we've hired cars many times.

agrinnall

OP has also posted the same thing on this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3990097

babydaisy

Yes, usually we have always returned with a full tank of petrol so I was surprised to be told to return it empty - the guy said it was part of the package, didn't realise we would have to pay extra for it!

We have been going to Portugal for 20 years several times a year and have never had this problem before - never been charged for cleaning either so was totally shocked.

I'm not sure what relevance me posting in reply to someone else with this thread is? He was asking if anyone else had had problems with the company and I copied my first post to show him that I had, am I not allowed to post the same problem in two places? I haven't started two threads but apologies if I have unintentionally broken any rules.

andygb

babydaisy wrote: »

Yes, usually we have always returned with a full tank of petrol so I was surprised to be told to return it empty - the guy said it was part of the package, didn't realise we would have to pay extra for it!

You seem to be changing your story somewhat. In your opening post you say - "We hired a car through them and all was fine until we returned it to Faro airport when they advised us we had to pay 95 euros for a tank of fuel!! We hadn't been told this would happen"

There is quite a lot of difference between being told not to do something and you not realising.
I think that it is quite obvious that if you pick up a hire car from any firm, with a full tank of fuel, then you will return it in the same state - full.
The company would not be making much of a profit if they gave every customer a tank of fuel at today's prices.

babydaisy

Not changing my story - we were told to return it empty, the first time this has happened as we always in the past returned it with a full tank. The we hadn't been told this would happen was referring to the fact that we were then charged for the petrol.

Not so bothered about that as we would have had to pay for petrol during our stay anyway - it's the rip off price for cleaning the car which is bothering me. It had some sand in it true but otherwise wasn't dirty. Surely they clean the cars before the next client anyway??? Be warned everyone, they can charge what they want once they have your credit card details.

:eek:

The_Road_Warrior

I bet the dude cleaning the car only got 20 odd Euros!

jungle_jane

The charge for fuel is commonplace in Spain and Portugal now - in fact you are hard pressed to find a budget car hire place that doesn't have this policy.

I usually book through carhire3000 and carefully check the T&Cs to find a place that does full to full. Its becoming harder and harder as most don't do it - they make a fortune from fuel and also from additional 'insurances' that they whack on you at the airport. If you don't pay for the insurance you will often find yourself being charged for 'damages'. There are scores of folk on this forum and others (such as Tripadvisor) reporting the same problem.

The exception to the fuel thing is if you are hiring a car for 3 or 4 days (depending on car hire company) or less - then they usually allow you to take it full and return it full. Be warned that you often need to keep your petrol receipt though so that they are sure that you did actually fill it with proper petrol!

The cleaning fee is a first - i have never heard of that before.

Companies i avoid like a plague in Spain (i go there quite often) are Gold car (usually 2 hour queue), Europcar (hidden charges) and RecordGo (hidden charges and massive queues)

andygb

Europcar's T & Cs - the relevant bits.

"You will return the Vehicle in the same condition as it was provided at the start of the rental. You are responsible for any repair or refurbishment costs and these will be added to the cost of the rental, subject to the conditions of the section "Summary of Optional Guarantees" as set out below.
The Vehicle will be provided to you with a full fuel tank. You must only refuel the Vehicle with the correct type of fuel. Costs of fuel and for the refuelling service will be at your expense if the Vehicle is not returned with a full tank. "

I do not work for Europcar, or have any connection to them or any other car hire company, but I have hired a lot of cars, and all of this is quite normal stuff.
If you hire a car again, then get a ready made form for them to sign, confirming that the car was returned in the same condition as when you picked it up (your car clearly was not).
You are a solicitor (according to your first post), so I suppose that you should read the small print in any contract.
Did you "honestly" think that a full tank of fuel would be included in the rental charge?