Holiday Autos/Europcar Issue help please

Jezzabell

Just after a bit of advice on dealing with my Holiday Autos complaint and what are our rights and reasonable request for resolution.

Our recent flight to Geneva was delayed and we ended up getting to the Europcar hire desk in Geneva airport 3 hours after the scheduled collection time. We had prepaid by credit card for the full hire cost to Holiday Autos, except for the booster seat. We had booked a Qashqai or similar automatic as i struggle to get into lower cars and my husband had a bad back so wanted something higher and comfortable to drive.

When we got to the desk we were informed they only keep the cars for 2 hours and no longer had the car we had booked. They had our flight number and i tried on numerous times to telephone the desk from the UK whilst waiting for our flight. They said we could wait for a car to come back in or have a manual, but we were already delayed with a young child and needed to continue our journey and my husband had to get to our destination so he could pick up his bike hire before the shop closed.

We were then told we could have an automatic, but it was an upgrade and we would have to pay an extra 20 EUR per day. We were desperate to get on with our holiday so agreed and said we'd sort it out later via travel insurance or something. The new car was a Citroen C4 Picasso, and was none of the similar cars listed on the Europcar site and i don't think as high as an SUV would have been that we booked.

In addition, they seem to have charged us an extra 48EUR for a part ecologique, which i assume is because it was a diesel car but we were not advised by Holiday Autos of any additional charge other than the car seat. So we are now 190EUR out of pocket due to our delayed flight and we did not get the type of car we had booked.

i've submitted a complaint to Holiday Autos via Resolver but have not yet had a response. I have also queried with my travel insurance provider (More Than Super Cover) whether we can claim that back from them, i'm yet to hear back from them too.

Can i claim via Section 75 on my barclaycard? What should my expectations be?

thanks

EveryWhere

Check that there is nothing in the T&C, to which you agreed, that there is nothing that states that prepaid booking will only be held for three hours or less.
If not, lodge the dispute, stating that they did not have the car for which you prepaid in stock, despite you supplying your flight number and there being nothing within their T&C to the effect that they would give your car away after three hours.

brianposter

The two hours late clause almost certainly appears in the T and Cs. Surprisingly the fairness of this clause does not seem to have been tested in court when it relates to a prepaid airport booking where the hirer has your flight number.
I would make a formal complaint to your credit card issuer but expect to go to the small claims court. A good result might be helpful to a lot of people.


Are you sure Europcar had your flight nmber ?

EveryWhere

brianposter wrote: »

The two hours late clause almost certainly appears in the T and Cs. Surprisingly the fairness of this clause does not seem to have been tested in court when it relates to a prepaid airport booking where the hirer has your flight number.
I would make a formal complaint to your credit card issuer but expect to go to the small claims court. A good result might be helpful to a lot of people.


Are you sure Europcar had your flight nmber ?

If it appears there, why haven't you provided the proof? A link to it for instance.

Jezzabell

Europcar T&C say that for prepaid bookings, if you don't collect by the close of the desk that day or by lunchtime the following day for 24 hour desks you are considered a no show. the desk is 24 hrs and we were 3 hours late.

Holiday Autos say you are a no show if you don't turn up at scheduled pick up time, but also say it's your responsibility to contact the car hire company and not them if you are going to be late.

Surely people must arrive late all the time to collect cars at airports due to delays?

EveryWhere

8.3 Flight / Train delay

At airport and railway rental stations, the reservation is maintaned for one (1) hour after the actual flight/train arrival time if the reservation has been quoted with a flight or train number.
In the event of a flight/train delay beyond this period, we serve up to 1h after the actual time of arrival, and at some airport /railway rental stations may remain open up to a maximum of 2 hours after the normal closing time. In such a case, an after-hours charge may apply.

https://www.europcar.com/terms-and-conditions/online-booking

Jezzabell

Our flight number is on the Holiday Autos voucher so they should make that available to Europcar or why do they ask for it?

Jezzabell

but also says this
Europcar state the following in their terms and conditions:

8.2 Credit Card Details Provided - Guaranteed Reservation Hold:
If you specified at time of booking your debit, credit or charge card details and Driver ID (or your Driver ID only in which card details are stored) the Europcar pick up station is required to provide the requested vehicle category until the station closure or up to 12:00 (noon) the day following the due pick up time for 24/7 stations. In case you fail to collect the vehicle during the guarantee period, a no-show fee may be applied. (Please refer to the "No-Show" fee paragraph IX).

From this site: https://microsite.europcar.com/generic_content/tcs/part5.html

richardw

If your flight was delayed 3 hours or more and the circumstances were not extraordinary, claim EU compensation.

Jezzabell

Thanks, have done the EU compensation claim. but want to get our extra charges back.

brianposter

Jezzabell wrote: »

Our flight number is on the Holiday Autos voucher so they should make that available to Europcar or why do they ask for it?

It is important because it affects who you would hold responsible for the failings. If Holiday autos did not provide the flight number to Europcar they bear a significant responsibility for the problem; if they did provide the number then their responsibility is different. (I have certainly come across agencies who did not pass the flight number to the car hirer - daft as that may seem.)
Europcar apparently neglected to answer the phone so that adds to their failings. Can you provide any evidence for the unanswered phone calls ?