Goldcar car hire alicante spain dispute

lucyvanessa

We hired a car via holiday autos, which was with goldcar. We purchased the premium insurance (which we later find out is pretty pointless) Goldcar wanted either: €300 deposit plus €170 fuel deposit and pay £212 for their insurance or €1400 and £170 fuel deposit on credit card. We went with the later. 6 days in our new hybrid car shows a red engine fault warning on the dash and the car dies on us. 2 hours later goldcar send a pick up truck and taxi back to the car rental desk at the airport. We grab a ticket, wait an hour to be told we were at the wrong desk. In all we lost over 5 hours with two young children to then be told they are holding our deposit until the garage has checked what the fault was as “ its a brand new car and you only had it a week and its got a problem” basically implying we done it! So to get replacement we had to either pay another €1570 on the credit card (not possible as not enough credit) or pay £488 deposit and €200 for insurance. Reluctantly we went for the later. So we have over €2000 deposit held by goldcar and down £200 cash because the car they gave us had a fault. She said it was our responsibility when we took the car, but I said your product is faulty so why do we pay more and lose out? We asked if we could have an upgrade NO we asked if we could drop the car later NO we asked for compensation NO. HOW IS THIS FAIR TRADING OR SERVICE?? 

Now a week before we go home I am anxious we will not be allowed part or all of our deposit back. I don’t know where we stand and feel helpless like are controlling everything. I feel they will deduct the fuel deposit as we couldnt send the faulty car back full. And the garage fee/ or breakdown and possibly taxi!! Can anyone please help us or give us some advice when we return the car where we stand. 

It feels so wrong, I dont want a long fight for our money back after they refuse to pay back the deposit. Help please 

DullGreyGuy

It won't be the news you want to hear but it doesn't sound unreasonable from a third party. 

You chose to take the higher excess and so deposit rather than reducing it by paying a higher fee (contrary to popular belief this generally isn't an insurance premium) on the original car. Whilst its probably not your fault that the first car broke down at the time its too early to assess and so not unreasonable that the excess is reconsidered on the replacement vehicle. As such the fact you cannot afford the second full excess is not their responsibility and your choice to pay the CDW fee to be able to have a vehicle rather than be without is yours to make. 

I've hired hundreds of vehicles in dozens of countries and never had an issue, maybe it's been luck, maybe it's because I've often bought directly from a well known company. I have hired from others too so maybe it is just luck. 

Hopefully they will confirm the first car wasnt your fault, they find no issue with the second car so both the holding deposits will be released and your only "loss" will be the CDW because you couldn't afford the two full deposits. Its far from the only cost in life, whist recent caps have changed things recently for the majority of my life those that were in financial distress were force to have a pre-pay utility meter that was notable more expensive than those with a good history and so could have their energy on credit. 

Hoenir

 lucyvanessa said:

It feels so wrong, I dont want a long fight for our money back after they refuse to pay back the deposit. Help please 

Why are expecting a fight?  The rental company's garage will examine the car and determine the cause. Which will absolve you of all blame. 

lucyvanessa

Because when we asked how long it would take to prove it wasnt our fault she shrugged and said its a brand new car and you have only had it a week, which is a strong implication that she thinks its our fault. We feel its inconvenient and we are the ones with less money and wasted holiday. Let a lone standing in spanish heat, at the side of the road for 2hrs waiting for a taxi with 2 kids. 5 hours wasted and goldcar point the finger at us! We just feel its u fair service 

Famau

lucyvanessa said:

Because when we asked how long it would take to prove it wasnt our fault she shrugged and said its a brand new car and you have only had it a week, which is a strong implication that she thinks its our fault. We feel its inconvenient and we are the ones with less money and wasted holiday. Let a lone standing in spanish heat, at the side of the road for 2hrs waiting for a taxi with 2 kids. 5 hours wasted and goldcar point the finger at us! We just feel its u fair service 

I'm afraid that goldcar doesn't have the best reputation.  Be prepared for them to find some way to blame you.  I don't want to sound pessimistic but there are so many questionable car rental companies out there.  I hope for your sake that I'm wrong...

bagand96

Goldcar are unfortunately one of the worst companies out there.

The premium insurance you bought is likely a separate Excess insurance policy provided by Holiday Autos. This is pretty normal, and means you still have to leave the excess deposit with the rental firm on pick up. If there is any damage the rental firm will retain the excess as per their T&C's. The customer can then claim the excess back from the policy they have with Holiday Autos.

If Goldcar do retain the deposit due to damage then make sure you get a proper invoice for that as it will be needed to make your claim. 

Bonhomie

lucyvanessa said:

We hired a car via holiday autos, which was with goldcar. We purchased the premium insurance (which we later find out is pretty pointless) Goldcar wanted either: €300 deposit plus €170 fuel deposit and pay £212 for their insurance or €1400 and £170 fuel deposit on credit card. We went with the later. 6 days in our new hybrid car shows a red engine fault warning on the dash and the car dies on us. 2 hours later goldcar send a pick up truck and taxi back to the car rental desk at the airport. We grab a ticket, wait an hour to be told we were at the wrong desk. In all we lost over 5 hours with two young children to then be told they are holding our deposit until the garage has checked what the fault was as “ its a brand new car and you only had it a week and its got a problem” basically implying we done it! So to get replacement we had to either pay another €1570 on the credit card (not possible as not enough credit) or pay £488 deposit and €200 for insurance. Reluctantly we went for the later. So we have over €2000 deposit held by goldcar and down £200 cash because the car they gave us had a fault. She said it was our responsibility when we took the car, but I said your product is faulty so why do we pay more and lose out? We asked if we could have an upgrade NO we asked if we could drop the car later NO we asked for compensation NO. HOW IS THIS FAIR TRADING OR SERVICE?? 

Now a week before we go home I am anxious we will not be allowed part or all of our deposit back. I don’t know where we stand and feel helpless like are controlling everything. I feel they will deduct the fuel deposit as we couldnt send the faulty car back full. And the garage fee/ or breakdown and possibly taxi!! Can anyone please help us or give us some advice when we return the car where we stand. 

It feels so wrong, I dont want a long fight for our money back after they refuse to pay back the deposit. Help please 

Happily for you, the insurance that you purchased via Holiday Autos seems to cover you, at least on paper. So keep all your receipts:

Premium Insurance

Refunds your excess if there's an accident so you don't need to buy insurance at the rental desk.

£ 926 Excess

£ 926 (the excess) is the maximum you can be charged by GOLDCAR for damage. AXA will refund the amount you are charged, up to a maximum of £ 2,525

Broken Windscreen and Glass

Covers all glass parts of the car: windscreen, mirrors, windows and sunroof.

Breakdown Assistance

Covers towing and breakdown costs.

Roof and Undercarriage

Covers the roof and the parts underneath the body of the car.

Misfuelling and Administration fees

Covers paperwork during the claim process and damage caused by filling the car with the wrong fuel.

Your Belongings and Keys

Covers loss or damage to personal possessions and damaged or lost keys.

Multi-lingual Claim Support

Claims may be submitted in any of the following languages: English, Deutsch, Dansk, Italiano, Português, Español, Polski, Français, Nederlands, Norsk, suomi and Svenska.

Third Party Protection

Included as part of the Limited package. If you or any authorised driver cause an accident, GOLDCAR covers injury or damage to property caused by your use of the car during the rental period. It doesn't cover your injuries or damage to the rental car.

Late Pick-up due to Flight Delay

Covers any extra charges for picking up your vehicle outside of the standard hours, due to an unscheduled flight delay.

Automatic Insurance Extension due to Delay

Extend the period of your insurance cover by a maximum of 24 hours if your travel plans are delayed for unforeseen circumstances.

Travel Expenses

Covers you for any extra travel expenses you may incur in the event your rental car becomes unusable during your trip.

Loss of Use

Covers any extra company charges that may occur if the company is unable to rent the vehicle due to damage.

GoldCar and the like have cheap headline rates to draw you in. Then you end up paying for a tank of fuel, as opposed to a company that doesn't charge for that but only expects you to return it in the state that you found it; usually Full to Full. Even if you return it full with Goldcar, you can be hit with some kind of Admin charge anyway.