Hire Car rip off…

WhitstableNative

Okay so I was wrong not to read the small print and be oblivious to the fact that I needed a bit of plastic (car license) instead of a bit of paper (and despite having a CheckCode) - so EasyJets car hire partner(s) CarTrawler and Goldcar refused to give me a car. 

However, my Daughter had a plastic license and the change took minutes to effect despite it “needing a whole new booking”. Herein lies the rub - the new booking cost twice as much and we have been refused a refund of the original hire. So for 8 days car hire in Spain for an average sized car I have been charged over £1,000!! 

AND we probably got the same car that I had originally booked and was waiting for me had I had a bit of plastic instead of my paper license. 

I believe this is shameful - others may not agree… 
I have been through 3 levels in the hierarchy at Car Trawler to be told at each stage - tough!! How can they possibly justify this level of customer care and it’s not a case of can’t but won’t. The additional cost was a guy taking no more than10 minutes to make a new booking!! And charging us over £600 for the privilege. This is immoral to my mind - and cost more than the holiday!!

Bradden

I'm confused.. what was the bit of paper? I remember having a paper licence years ago.. I thought it was all on a single card now?

Looking at the easyjet site is says you need your original licence


cars.easyjet.com/en/managebooking?goto=faqs

What do I need to pick up the car?

The following may need to be presented at the rental desk:

1. Credit card with enough funds to cover the excess (debit cards usually not accepted).

2. The main driver's original licence, physical licence, held for a minimum of one year (some suppliers may require longer, please check your terms and conditions).

3. Additional photo ID.

4. Your digital car hire voucher.

5. Any other documentation specified on your booking voucher.

There might be some differences in documentation required based on where you are renting and which supplier you are renting with. Make sure to check your rental conditions for your specific rental. All required documentation needs to be in the main driver's name.

MeteredOut

Shameful? Perhaps they could have shown some leniency, but you turned up without a valid licence.

Rip-off? Not really - anyone turning up to hire a car would have been charged that price.

Surprised? Definitely not.

I bet you'll never make that mistake again though.

bagand96

Random search of easyJet cars for  a Goldcar rental in Spain shows:

Driving licence

The main driver’s original full licence (physical driving licence) held for a minimum of 1 year(s) with no major endorsements. UK licence holders must present a photocard licence.

If your driving licence is not in the Roman alphabet (i.e. if it is in Arabic, Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese), you are required to bring an International Driving Permit and your domestic licence. For driving licences from countries not part of the international driving licence treaty, an official translation of the licence must be presented with the original licence.

When renting within the EU, customers who do not hold a driving licence issued by an EU/EEA country or Switzerland may also be required to present an International Driving Permit along with their domestic licence. UK licence holders do not require an International Driving Permit to rent within the EU, unless the driving licence has been issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, or is a paper driving licence, in which case an International Driving Permit may be required along with the customer's domestic licence.

Damaged driving licences will not be accepted at the rental desk.

It is definitely buyer beware with car hire to make sure you meet all the requirements, especially for some of the shonky operators in holiday destinations who have very low headline rates but try and upsell everything and rigidly enforce their many T&Cs and rules.  Goldcar definitely fit into this category.

Unfortunately you likely missed this and therefore didn't comply with the terms you'd agreed to. They were within their rights to set up a new reservation with your daughter as driver rather than just transfer your existing booking.  Other companies may have been more sympathetic/helpful, but Goldcar must be one of the worst.

Brie

Personally I think this falls into that category of comments that begin "well obviously, everyone knows that....."

And obviously, no, not everyone does know.  

Paper driver licences are, as far as I'm aware, perfectly legal.  But perhaps that is only for driving your own vehicle in the UK.  And if you have never moved in the last 30+ years, nor lost your physical licence and not had any points added well of course you might still have a paper version.  

Sorry it was so costly to rectify the problem when discovered.  I hope it didn't spoil your holiday too much. 

brianposter

I suspect that this particular problem arrived with Brexit, but for modern car hire it is essential that one reads the T & Cs.

TELLIT01

Goldcar generally has terrible reviews.  I don't understand why a company like EasyJet is still willing to be associated with them.

To the original complaint - the OP had an old paper licence which wasn't acceptable to the rental company, and their site states the licence must be a photo licence.  Therefore the fault was theirs, and if the t&c say no refund that's the end of the story.  The original price was for advance booking but the new booking was on the day and was always likely to be dearer. 

I'm afraid all the story reinforces is the need to read T&C thoroughly before committing to any purchase.

eskbanker

Goldcar refunded a Guardian reader in similar circumstances last year, so perhaps worth citing this story to either or both of Goldcar and the Guardian (not Car Trawler):

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/feb/21/goldcar-didnt-accept-our-paper-uk-driving-licences-but-hasnt-refunded-us

brianposter

It is not unusual to find clauses in the T & Cs which do not apply (eg embossed credit cards, age restrictions) but then, if you have problems, you need evidence that the clause will be waived.

531063

First problem you didn't google the reviews for Goldcar.

mark_cycling00

Isn't the problem here they easyJet gave you details that were different from the actual conditions for the hire company?

It's poor service from easyJet but they can claim that their advice is just guidance and that you need to check the car hire t&C's. 

easyJet haven't kindly gone out and found a nice reliable car hire company, a dodgy car hire with bad reviews has convinced easyJet to promote them in exchange for referral fees (I assume)

Not sure what you can do. Maybe give sleazyjet a bad Google review