Car Rental Company Changing rental price after booking.

Cpu2007

Hi everyone

I have a question regarding a recent situation I was involved in.

I was looking for a 7 seater car and found this website to have one where the price was really good(£100) compared to other websites where the price was around £250 to £300.

After making the sure the website was genuine, I went through the booking and paid my deposit; everything went smoothly and I paid my deposit,got the voucher stating that I have to pay the remaining amount at the desk.

Just to confirm it, as I didn't want to end up getting the wrong car, I messaged them saying if they could confirm they details.

Their first reply confirmed the car specs and amount.
However then they sent a second email stating that because of a technical error on their side I booked the wrong car and that the car it's a 5 seater and not a 7 seater. They said that if I want to book the 7 seater I have to pay a total amount of £250.

My question is whether they are allowed to do this or they must honour the initial contract?

Thank you in advance.

DTDfanBoy

They most probably can, it depends on the T&C's and local laws.

Which company in which country ?

Cpu2007

It's called FastCarHire but their supplier is GoldCar (this is the supplier that is supplying the car I booked) so FastCarHire it's an intermediate, a broker.

PS: FastCarHire.co.uk but the car is being hired in Italy.

spud_work

Oh dear, read the long thread on here about goldcar and this problem might be the very least of your worries

Cpu2007

omg I rented through a broker and wasn't expecting this, now that I've searched I found plenty of horror stories about it.
I might end up charging them with plenty of slaps if they behave with me like they behaved with other customers that wrote about their stories.

andycris3107

If the technical issue was at their end then you should not be expected to pay for that. Having said that it all depends on the T's&C's.

Since brokers actually do not have cars themselves your confirmation of booking or order confirmation generally does not signal acceptance of the contract and I would suspect that their conditions allow them to cancel your request at any time if they are unable to obtain the vehicle ordered at the price they quoted. This has happened to me a few times and is often followed by an updated offer of what they know they can supply - usually at a much higher price. This is not illegal but of course not the best experience.

I have no experience with GoldCar but I recommend you DO search these forums for any feedback. Irrespective of how well know the broker (i've not heard of this one either) they have little control over the service provided by the individual companies and this can vary widely.

joerugby

If you can get a full refund I'd take it and start again