Car hire abroad - warning to check prices least 48 hrs before pick up

Jules_M_2

I didn't check 48 hours before pick up and it's cost me £500.  Car hire from Pisa, booked with Discover Cars.  Utter scam price in May, £1,600 but had no choice but to pay it.  'Pay now to lock in the best price', they said, so I did.

Today (26 hrs before pick up) I went to print the voucher and discovered the exact same car, same pick up and drop off, same Ts & Cs, same everything, for £800.  Incandescent with rage doesn't cover it - this is clearly nothing but a legalised scam.  Anyway - 48 hours before pick up I could have cancelled and rebooked and saved myself £800.  Instead I had a long and protracted email and phone conversation with Discover Cars, with them eventually conceding a £300 reduction.

Lessons learned:

• Check bookings at least 48 hours ahead of pick up
• Book direct if possible - I only found out about the issue when BIL said he'd cancelled his booking direct with Dollar and rebooked the exact same car for ⅔ of the price - but he was able to do that up to 24 hours ahead of time rather than only 48 hours ahead.
• Argue the point and don't accept it when they send you a copy of the Tc & Cs and expect you to shut up.

I hope this helps someone.  I am still so upset at the sheer greed of these companies and that I've completely wasted a big chunk of our holiday budget.

TELLIT01

Prices change, although it's often cheaper to book in advance that is not guaranteed.

razord

This doesn't seem any different than hotels or flights? They might well be cheaper after you've booked, it's always a bit of a gamble!

Voyager2002

Actually this is a big win. Prices go up and down all the time, and usually once you have booked you have 'locked in' the price. You noticed that the price had fallen after you had paid, and the fact that they gave you back some of the difference is very unusual. This sounds like a company to recommend.