End the "FULL/EMPTY SCAM" car hire rip-off NOW!

david69_2

I use record in alicante and i think they are the only company that doesnt operate this scam

Froggitt

Had the full/empty deal with Dollar at Orlando.......couldnt have been much more than fumes left in the tank when I gave it back to them.

royzee28

:mad:
Do Not use Goldcar Europe @ Malaga.
They seem to have a standard charge for whatever size of car of 70 Euro per tank. I had a Ford Focus Estate which holds 53 litres meaning an overcharge of at least 17 Euro. As previously stated it's almost impossible to return the car empty they make an additional 10 Euros plus from every customer!
On top of this the queue to get the car in the first place was diabolical. I waited for a whole hour, many many people were very upset by this and were even more bemused when hit with the petrol scam. I suspect this was one of the main reasons for the queue in the first place.
I have to give credit to the male member of staff on the desk that day. He processed 5 times as many customers as the rest of the desk staff!

Vampgirl

Froggitt wrote: »

Had the full/empty deal with Dollar at Orlando.......couldnt have been much more than fumes left in the tank when I gave it back to them.

We found Dollar in Atlanta were honest about it and actually show their price per gallon and the average price of the area on a board in their office so you can make an informed decision.

LesD

Here we go again!

How many times has this 'scam' been exposed on here?

Of course this is NOT a scam. It's a way of charging for the car. As noted in these posts, there are operators who operate full-to-full and there are those that operate full-to empty.

There are also those that have FULLY inclusive insurance and those that include an 'excess'. There are those that charge extra for wheels and tyres insurance and those that charge extra for wheels, tyres and GLASS cover. Some of these charges are per day and some are for the whole duration of the hire.

Some charge extra for extra drivers, some include them in the rate. Some charge extra for child seats, some offer them as a freebie.

Some require a deposit for the emergency pack (triangles/bulbs/jackets, etc), some automatically have them in the car.

There are those that have on-airport offices and those that have off-airport premises.

I could go on!

Caveat emptor. Check the T&Cs. Check the booking form. Check at the airport. Ask the clerk. Ask on here. Ask the man on the Clapham Omnibus.

But don't call it a scam!

withabix

Agreed!

I tend to go for Avis, using a discount code to which I am entitled (BA Executive Club - anyone can join this and get the discount now, NO qualifying flight required any more). Typically 15% discount.

I then take out excess cover insurance BEFORE I go on holiday - usually under £3/day.

This usually works out the same overall price than the booking agents (or less) and no sharp practices to worry about realting to fuel.

Also no long queues at the car hire desk - two weeks ago at Gran Canaria (Las Palmas airport) there was 1 person in front of me at the Avis desk. All of the other desks had 10-20 people in the queue!!

The only other company I will use at Spanish airports is Record, but their prices seem to be more than Avis recently.

MrSmartprice

We have just returned from a week in the Algarve, where we used a company we had not previously encountered. They were called Drive4Fun and we had no problems at all.

They met us at arrivals as they have no office at the airport. When the paperwork was done they took us to the car and checked it with us. We agreed where the fuel gauge was, just over half full, and they simply asked we return it about the same. The car was a 2007 model, which was perhaps surprising considering what we paid.

One reason for choosing Drive4Fun was that they included travelling into Spain in their insurance terms. We wanted to go to Ayamonte and the Costa de la Luz anyway, but there was an added bonus. Fuel is about E1.36/litre in Portugal, but just over the border we paid E1.02 for unleaded. This was a saving of nearly E20 on a tankful.

MarkyMarkD

LesD wrote: »

Here we go again!

How many times has this 'scam' been exposed on here?

Of course this is NOT a scam. It's a way of charging for the car. As noted in these posts, there are operators who operate full-to-full and there are those that operate full-to empty.

There are also those that have FULLY inclusive insurance and those that include an 'excess'. There are those that charge extra for wheels and tyres insurance and those that charge extra for wheels, tyres and GLASS cover. Some of these charges are per day and some are for the whole duration of the hire.

Some charge extra for extra drivers, some include them in the rate. Some charge extra for child seats, some offer them as a freebie.

Some require a deposit for the emergency pack (triangles/bulbs/jackets, etc), some automatically have them in the car.

There are those that have on-airport offices and those that have off-airport premises.

I could go on!

Caveat emptor. Check the T&Cs. Check the booking form. Check at the airport. Ask the clerk. Ask on here. Ask the man on the Clapham Omnibus.

But don't call it a scam!

I almost agree with you, Les. But the key point you are missing is that this is NOT an up-front, disclosed, policy difference because most people book through brokers and the brokers do NOT tell you the fuel policy.

So you cannot make an informed decision.

LesD

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

I almost agree with you, Les. But the key point you are missing is that this is NOT an up-front, disclosed, policy difference because most people book through brokers and the brokers do NOT tell you the fuel policy.

So you cannot make an informed decision.

Sorry to have to disagree Marky. Carjet, Argus and DoYouSpain (brokers I use frequently) always include the fuel policy in along with the T&Cs for all the other add-ons before you get to the booking confirmation.

Obviously, they cannot do it at the very beginning because there are different policies for different suppliers. Only when you have chosen a car/supplier can the policy be advised.

DoYouSpain are slightly different in that, as a rule, they supply cars from 'Record' who operate a full-to-full policy. So they use this as an up-front marketing pitch. However, usually (but not always!) their prices are €10-20 over the equivalent full-to-empty brigade.

taxiphil

LesD wrote: »

Sorry to have to disagree Marky. Carjet, Argus and DoYouSpain (brokers I use frequently) always include the fuel policy in along with the T&Cs for all the other add-ons before you get to the booking confirmation.

HolidayAutos just have a vague line in their T&Cs which says: "Fuel policies vary. Please check when you pick up your car."

That simply isn't good enough because by the time you pick up your car they've got you by the balls and can charge whatever they want.

Do Carjet, Argus and DoYouSpain actually tell you what the fuel cost will be? If not, don't you agree it makes price comparison impossible and leaves the door open for them to charge whatever they want for your full tank?

And that's the real point the OP was making: how can you book the cheapest service in advance if you are basically writing them a blank cheque to charge whatever rate they want for the fuel (that you don't even want)?

Imagine the same principle in any other scenario, e.g. holidays. You book and pay in full, but the hotel reserves a right to levy an extra charge for the electricity you use, and the hotel will only tell you what it charges for electricity after you get there, at which point they tell you it's a compulsory charge of £20 a night. Ludicrous!