Yep when I used to get hire cars for work I would get them delivered to my house and they'd sometimes be sitting outside for days afterward, waiting to be collected. I was told to just leave the keys concealed somewhere, and that it stopped being my problem once the hire period had ended, so hey ho.
Hire car 'downgrade'
- Thread starter HangTime
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Soldato
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No unlike dealing with a plant hire companies, if they can get away with it they won't collect stuff till it's been hired out again.
I had pain dealing with Europcar too, dropped a van back, they didn't look at it when I dropped it off but then contacted the next day to say I owed them 200 quid for a chip on the windscreen. Challenged this and got send paperwork for a silver high top van (the one I'd hired was white standard top). Wrote to their registered office giving them 28 days to refund or be taken to court (which I never got round to).
6 months later they emailed me stating they were going to give me a full refund because it was now too late to investigate.
Soldato
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I don’t want to come across snarky, but did you not look at reviews online for Europcar?
I went with Centauro when I went to Seville recently, and other than the copious amounts of upselling, they were very good.
Simply, polite, no hassle.
As with all these things it tends to come down to the people in your branch and how efficient they are. Of course it is Europcars job to train to a level of professionalism and they can't hide from blame but like most service industries it's about getting good, less good or crap people.
The two times I used Europcar they gave me unexpected cars. First time I ordered an Abarth 500 and got a diesel Volvo S60, which was nice but obviously very different car. Second time I ordered Hyundai i30 or similar and got a 50something bhp Polo. I argued that it's a class below an i30 but they wouldn't listen. I haven't been back to them since.
Soldato
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Nope it has to go back and be checked for damage and to be T&Rd (test and run) before it can go out again
Some tiny companies maybe would rehire without return to depot, but the majority of the market operates as above
Slow collection is just normally prioritisation of delivery of kit, and often avoiding going to places out of the way for collection / awkward places (such as no parking) etc
Not in any depth, obviously I knew they were a major player who seemed to score similarly in reviews to other large rental companies, e.g. on trustpilot they are ahead of the likes of ERAC (whom I know a lot about the back office from a prior employment), Avis and Sixt. Hertz score marginally better but were a lot more expensive, I don't see the point in paying a lot extra and still getting presumably mediocre service.
Another factor was we wanted a firm that would deliver and collect as unlike a holiday booking it's not like she would have connecting travel arrangements from the rental office so wanted to avoid the cost/hassle of sorting that out. Not all firms seem to offer this service (or at least have it easily visible online).
I think you just need to get on with your life. It's a rental, you have not bought the thing. If you want a guaranteed vehicle because what you are renting matters THAT much then you probably need to look at more bespoke services and not mass market companies like Avis and Europcar. It's annoying yes, but that;s life and not unsurprising from a rental company.
Regarding your company stating you would be liable for insurance beyond your allocated pickup time. Hahah........just no. Tell you'll leave the keys in the car in a publicly available place for them to collect at their leisure and that your contract with them has concluded at your allocated and selected collection time.
Regarding your company stating you would be liable for insurance beyond your allocated pickup time. Hahah........just no. Tell you'll leave the keys in the car in a publicly available place for them to collect at their leisure and that your contract with them has concluded at your allocated and selected collection time.
No need they realised they were talking ******** and called back to say they could send out people to pick it up. The drivers that turned up said they'd just been cleaning cars since 3pm, I think they just forgot about the pickup until challenged on it.
The whole 'get on with your life' is an attitude I get but equally I don't like this idea that pay for a service, it isn't provided, and you just have to bend over and take it because "omg 1st world probs init" - well no, if you can't deliver on your promises, don't advertise them, simple as that.
The whole 'get on with your life' is an attitude I get but equally I don't like this idea that pay for a service, it isn't provided, and you just have to bend over and take it because "omg 1st world probs init" - well no, if you can't deliver on your promises, don't advertise them, simple as that.
I don't disagree and it's totally BS. It feels like this is the modern world now. Everyone is to busy, there are no standards, no care for reputation and its all a cash grab. I find myself frequently left speechless with the incompetence and complete lack of care from business across every sector. Getting a good service is a rarity.