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

tonygee_3

Ive booked with Auto Europe for Gerona twice and ended up with Auriga Crown who operate FULL/EMPTY both times.
Last time was for only 7 days,they gave me a SEAT IBIZA DIESEL I knew I wouldnt ever use the full tank so instead of my normal sedate holiday driving I thrashed the t*ts out of it all week.I gave it back with about 15 Euros of fuel but will have cost them more in brake linings etc.Made me feel better.Shame no local garage/entrepeneur nearby doesnt buy excess fuel,that would stop this SCAM

tingtong

Just to add a few words to this thread. I have used Carjet 3 times to book hire cars at Almeria airport and managed to get FULL/FULL each time.

It does go back a couple of years though but on each occasion I simply refused to pay for the car (with Carjet you can pay on arrival at the airport) unless they accepted what I was asking for. I explained to them that I was only using the car to get from & return to the airport and did not want to pay 50+ Euros for fuel. After this, they seemed to back down and agree. I think the actual rental companies were Solmar and Europcar.

Like I say, it was a couple of years back but it may be worth more people standing their ground at the airport and refusing to pay. Bit of a gamble, I know, but as least have a go.

dadsma

With Record Go in Spain via Holiday Autos, hire for 4 days or more "you will be charged for a full tank of fuel and must return the vehicle empty. No refunds will be made for any unused fuel. For 3 days or less, take and return Full. For The Canaries return with the same amount of fuel as it was on collection"

Isn't the FULL/EMPTY policy fundamentally unfair?
does it contravene consumer regulations?

Some companies (it seems mostly in the EU) have these policies :
1. take Full return Full or 2. Return with same amount of fuel as it had on collection.
These make sense to me as you only pay for the fuel you use.

The 3rd policy is you are forced to buy a full tank with no refunds for any unused fuel. So if you use half a tank the hire company tops it up and charges the next hirer for a full tank. They sell the same half tank of fuel twice! A nice little earner.

What is really puzzling is that many companies operate 1 and 2 for hire of up to 3 days and Full/Empty for a hire of 4 or more.

The first two are fair for the hirer but who benefits from the Full/Empty policy? Only the Hire company.

Any comments from an EU consumer law expert would be welcome please.....

dadsma

anyone please?