Car Hire Nightmare

Studogg

Hello all


First post! I will try to keep short as poss.


I went to Spain a few months ago, and arranged a hire car via vehicle-rent.com


It was around £125 for 7 days, and so I booked it. (dickmans are the actual hire provider)


I collected the car at 00.45am tired, with wife two kids age 4 and 6 (and a further 1 hour drive to our place of stay). The lady said "sign here" and spoke no English - so I squiggled my name on the hire agreement, and left with the car.


I returned it back a week later with a full tank of fuel, the man checked it, and said I was fine to go (I didn't have to sign anything), so I left.


I looked at my CC statement when arriving back in England, and over £300 was taken from my account!


I messaged vehicle-rent.com (disappointed there appears to be no number for them!)


They take about 10 days to respond to a single email on average.


They came back to me and attached a copy of the hire agreement which was mainly in Spanish, and said I have signed for additional insurance, etc. which is why the cost was now £300.


I have disputed this with them via email, telling them, that 1. The agreement was in Spanish 2. I was expecting to collect the car and pay £125 as per our online point of sale agreement. 3. The staff at Dickmans spoke no English, and at no point explained they had "penned in" over £150 of additions, and simply said "sign here"


I have been told by vehicle-rent that there is nothing they can do, as I've signed for the extras.


I asked vehicle rent on two occasions who is there regulatory body, as I wish to escalate my complaint, and do not accept their response simply being "you signed for it". They have ignored both requests, and I don't know what to do now.


Everytime I've emailed vehicle-rent, I get the same person responding, whom I only know as "Eva"


My wife sides with them, saying I should have read before signing, and she is upset with me more than the company. I know now to be extra vigilant when hiring abroad (although have done many times before without this issue), but in the UK I'm pretty sure the provider has a duty to explain the agreement, and any extras to you before you sign?


Do I have a case, or do I just need to learn from the experience?


Thanks for reading, and any help is much appreciated!

Gloomendoom

If the situation was reversed, would the UK provider have a duty to explain the agreement to the hirer in Spanish?

Studogg

ok so you are suggesting I should take an interpreter with me on future holidays?

Moto2

Studogg wrote: »

ok so you are suggesting I should take an interpreter with me on future holidays?

The Google translate app lets you scan documents for translation, not perfect but pretty good.

richardw

It's not a good idea to drive when tired.
Nor with a passenger.
Nor with young children.

Tis one of those learning things.

Moto2

If you really believe you were duped into paying for the extras dispute the payment with your credit card company.
The onus will then be on the car hire company to show the charges were legit.

gardner1

You signed
without reading what do you expect......did you not have a look at your rental agreement the following week at all

christaitfife

I doubt you have a leg to stand on. You agreed to the charges by signing the contract.

I hate to say it, but you will have to use this one as a learning experience:
1. Don't sign anything without reading it
2. Don't sign anything you don't understand
3. If something looks like a really good deal, they will likely get more money from you soomehow

Oh, and, vehicle-rent are brokers (they clearly state this). They have done nothing wrong and have no control over what the end-company do or do not do.

PeacefulWaters

I've little sympathy for the OP but the car hire industry is in rapid need of regulating.

There are numerous pitfalls and many consumers are occasional users with little experience of the catches, clauses and cons that can exploit them.

nickcc

Respectfully suggest you read the Goldcar rental thread, you're just one of thousands that's been ripped off. Take no notice of the people, if that's the correct word, that critisize you as its so easy to get caught in this scam. Never known a forum with so many righteous idiots that just come on to apportion blame.

leylandsunaddict

nickcc wrote: »

Respectfully suggest you read the Goldcar rental thread, you're just one of thousands that's been ripped off. Take no notice of the people, if that's the correct word, that critisize you as its so easy to get caught in this scam. Never known a forum with so many righteous idiots that just come on to apportion blame.

What have Goldcar got to do with this thread?