Another victim of Green Motion Car Rental !

crazyvish

Our 1 month's worth rental money was kept and we were refused car!

This was at the Birmingham Airport and was during summer holidays (Aug till Sep). I booked this rental for one month on Green Motion's website on my mobile phone whilst I was on my way to work.

The only mandatory question I was asked whilst booking is whether the driver is 30 years or older for which I ticked the box. I also ticked the box accepting their terms & conditions and proceeded with the booking. When I went to collect the car with my family, we were refused hire and also a refund stating that I did not complete 2 years on my driver's license as per their
terms & conditions (which was hidden in their small print and to which I missed on my mobile phone). I feel it is unethical to retain all the money paid especially since this is a long term rental and it is very likely that they leased the car to somebody else.

Their terms are purely in favour of the them and this rule is applied at the discretion of the agent on duty. Nowhere during the booking process or on their system it asked for the issue date of the licence. If the agent overlooks the date on the license, the customer gets the car.

As I wasn't happy with their service I made a complaint to them and it was rejected. I then approached BVRLA. and they didn't appear as professional as I thought. Despite me providing all the information/communication along with my complaint, following was their response

"We have been in touch with Green Motion’s head office and they’ve confirmed that you’ve not yet contacted them"

I insisted they check the attachments that I provided with my complaint and their final verdict is this :

"Green Motion has advised that you made your reservation vis their website. Having gone through the booking process on line, we can advise that prior to making your reservation, you must confirm you have read and understood the terms and conditions. As you accepted you had read and understood these terms and conditions, we are of the view that no refund is due. We appreciate this is not the outcome you were hoping for, however we would like to assure you that all aspects of your complaint have been fully examined and would wish to thank you for bringing the matter to our attention."

I not only lost my car rental money but also ruined all our holiday plans! It was a total disaster!
Would you say I am out of luck with these bunch of ....?

richardw

What are your rights under the consumer rights act 2015?

jonesMUFCforever

Can I just say that ''I ticked the box' and' the terms and conditions' were hidden in their small print - well ; all text on a phone is pretty small!
I'm almost going to say you deserve to be conned.

I hope you get your money back but please for the future take more time and care before signing up for anything.

benjus

The reason that they ask if the driver is 30 or over separately is because they can offer car rental to younger drivers, but it may cost more. There are many other terms and conditions, and you accept them all when you tick the box.

That said, good luck and I hope you manage to get something back. It doesn't seem fair that they should keep the whole amount that you paid. Not sure if you have any legal basis to claim though.

I note that several of the car hire excess insurance providers refuse to cover Green Motion hire, which should be taken as a warning...

crazyvish

Thanks Richard. Had a look and it appears as though they apply for retail/physical products only rather than a service? Also, the claim has to be within a certain period.

crazyvish

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Can I just say that ''I ticked the box' and' the terms and conditions' were hidden in their small print - well ; all text on a phone is pretty small!.

Actually, you can't see them until unless you click on the Terms & Conditions link and go to the next page. I feared I might loose the data I entered so far and ticked the box in trust that they would a fair policy - my bad

crazyvish

Good News! My credit card company (Capitalontap) managed to get the money back! Hurray. Thanks to them

cubegame

Two years on a licence is a pretty standard car rental agreement.

You might have your money back but don't be too surprised if Green Motion come after it via the courts.

I'm surprised the credit card company refunded your money tbh. Did you tell them the fill story?

crazyvish

cubegame wrote: »

Two years on a licence is a pretty standard car rental agreement.

No, this is not standard. One year is standard. I have rented in the past with Enterprise and Avis within the first 6 months of having my license and I never had an issue.

cubegame wrote: »

You might have your money back but don't be too surprised if Green Motion come after it via the courts.

May be the credit card company paid from their pocket as a loyalty?

cubegame wrote: »

I'm surprised the credit card company refunded your money tbh. Did you tell them the fill story?

I am too, but in a positive way. What else can I tell them? Of course, I forwarded them all the conversations I had with Green Motion. They too, like every other reasonable thinker thought that it is not ethical to keep a whole month's rental money!