Car hire customers are being regularly overcharged for repairs, according to an investigation that found that one customer had been billed over Dh5,000 for a small chip on the windscreen that could have been repaired for just Dh178.
The investigation, by the consumer rights group Which?, found that customers are regularly charged for damage they believe they didn’t cause, and that the cost of repairs is at times greatly inflated. Sometimes the repairs may not even take place.
Which? collected photographic evidence from car hire users across Europe who believed they had been overcharged. The photos were then sent to Which? Trusted Trader garages, who were asked to quote how much they would charge for the repair.
In 8 out of 12 cases, the car hire company was judged to be overcharging for the repairs, and in four of these cases charged more than double the average quote given by the Trusted Trader garages.
In the most extreme case, a customer was fined GBP1,154 (Dh5,849) by Europcar for a small windscreen chip that could have been repaired for an estimated GBP35 (Dh178). Another customer was charged GBP854 (Dh4,328) by Green Motion for a minor door dent, which could have been repaired for GBP186 (Dh942).
In a survey of 150 readers, Which? found nearly 44 per cent felt they had been hit with an excessive charge and 18 per cent for damage they knew nothing about. Nearly three in five received no evidence from the car hire company of how the charge was calculated.
Car hire firms including Avis, Budget and Hertz admitted to Which? that often the repairs are not carried out, or they may delay repairs until a later date when several problems can be fixed at once. The bill customers receive is an estimate based on a “damage matrix” of charges.
According to Which?, industry insiders have pointed to a drop in profit margins in the car hire industry, which is driving more companies to find new ways to make extra money out of customers.
Repair costs can include admin fees and loss-of-use charges of up to Dh212 per day, while another tactic includes selling overpriced insurance.
Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said: “It’s outrageous that car hire customers are being made to pay extortionate amounts for repairs that never take place. If repairs are required, customers should be sent clear evidence of how costs were calculated.
“Car hire firms now need to clean up their act and be upfront about the real cost of renting a car, instead of offering too-good-to-be-true prices, then clawing back profits via ridiculous repair bills.”
Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2018
