Car Hire rip off

saundg

I arranged car hire with Arguscarhire.com. The car hire company was actually recordgo, but that was not obvious to me when I booked. When we returned the car recordgo charged us Euro400, for a mark (I would not call it a scratch), that you could barely see in broad daylight let alone in the dark when we collected it. I have contacted Arguscarhire,com and they say they are just offering an introductory service, and this is nothing to do with them. Does anyone know if this is correct? A quick search on recordgo, shows that fake charges seem to be the norm with them!

Caz3121

saundg wrote: »

I arranged car hire with Arguscarhire.com. The car hire company was actually recordgo, but that was not obvious to me when I booked. When we returned the car recordgo charged us Euro400, for a mark (I would not call it a scratch), that you could barely see in broad daylight let alone in the dark when we collected it. I have contacted Arguscarhire,com and they say they are just offering an introductory service, and this is nothing to do with them. Does anyone know if this is correct? A quick search on recordgo, shows that fake charges seem to be the norm with them!

not sure if you booked on an app or the website, but on the website the car rental company is very obvious under each result (when I use sites like this - rentalcars etc, I exclude the 'poor' companies)
similar to flight comparison sites skyscanner, kayak etc you will be shown a number of options from different companies and you can choose the one that suits you best (usually not the cheapest one)
the t&cs cover their liability
https://www.arguscarhire.com/en/terms-conditions

EveryWhere

saundg wrote: »

I arranged car hire with Arguscarhire.com. The car hire company was actually recordgo, but that was not obvious to me when I booked. When we returned the car recordgo charged us Euro400, for a mark (I would not call it a scratch), that you could barely see in broad daylight let alone in the dark when we collected it. I have contacted Arguscarhire,com and they say they are just offering an introductory service, and this is nothing to do with them. Does anyone know if this is correct? A quick search on recordgo, shows that fake charges seem to be the norm with them!

Just make a claim on the car hire excess insurance oft recommended here.

cubegame

If you don't do your due diligence (including buying excess insurance) you can expected to help subsidise the prices that those who do will pay.

And 400 euro for a scratch isn't that much when you consider that you will also be paying for administration to sort out the repair and the loss of earnings from the car during the repair.

saundg

Thanks for the responses. Couple of quick points:
1. Euro400 is 'that much' for a scratch that you did not cause, and, unless you had a microscope handy, you could barely see it!
2. I DID buy excess insurance, but still feel unhappy about 'rip off' car Companies, if we all just 'shut up' and claim off the Excess, the bill will soon rise for everyone
3. Caz3121. I did book on the website, so from what you are saying, I should have spotted the Company I was actually renting from. Lesson learned

rossco1701

Car Hire abroad is a mine field no matter who you go with. I have hired many times but still get caught out on silly things you just don't see. Recently hired with Goldcar through Ryanair flights to Malaga. I have an excess policy as fed up with the add ons when you get there. What I missed is that if you don't take out their add on insurance you are liable for excess mileage charges. Not mentioned at the counter when picking the car up, not mentioned in the terms and conditions issued when you pick the car up, but, it is apparently mentioned in their website terms and conditions. So I thought I was being good reading the ones issued at the desk but these are not complete. 70 euros I could do without being billed for as was the 8 euros for picking the car up from the airport desk. Missed that one too. Another lesson learned but be aware. Also Glodcar do not allow you to speak to anyone once you get back. Their Customer Services Dept is only available via e-mail and once they answer and refute your complaint etc that is it. No further recourse.

mgdavid

rossco1701 wrote: »

Car Hire abroad is a mine field no matter who you go with. I have hired many times but still get caught out on silly things you just don't see. Recently hired with Goldcar through Ryanair flights to Malaga. I have an excess policy as fed up with the add ons when you get there. What I missed is that if you don't take out their add on insurance you are liable for excess mileage charges. Not mentioned at the counter when picking the car up, not mentioned in the terms and conditions issued when you pick the car up, but, it is apparently mentioned in their website terms and conditions. So I thought I was being good reading the ones issued at the desk but these are not complete. 70 euros I could do without being billed for as was the 8 euros for picking the car up from the airport desk. Missed that one too. Another lesson learned but be aware. Also Glodcar do not allow you to speak to anyone once you get back. Their Customer Services Dept is only available via e-mail and once they answer and refute your complaint etc that is it. No further recourse.

Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes reading this board will know NOT to use Goldcar..... not never!


I just blatted round Italy for a week doing rally support in a Citroen from GreenMotion. Cannot speak too highly of them, they pointed out lots of tiny marks and blemishes at the time of pickup. It was returned pretty dirty and dusty and they never checked a thing. I wouldn't be surprised if we picked up more scratches down narrow roads....

Archergirl

We used Greenmotion in Corfu, very good.