Small print can show costly car rental conditions
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Tuesday June 30 2009
AS many consumers in Ireland have found to their considerable cost, hiring a rental car can prove far more expensive than they could possibly have expected.
The European Consumer Centre (ECC) always recommends that you ensure that you make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of the car rental agreement and to pay particular attention to the extent of your financial liability in the event of damage or accident.
"In particular, we would warn consumers when agreeing to a price for car rental to watch out for 'extras' such as the cost of a child seat or additional driver," says Ann Neville, manager of ECC Dublin.
"Such extras can substantially increase the final cost paid."
Demands made by some car rental companies when it comes to fuelling a car are also a growing problem, according to the ECC.
"Many car rental companies insist that a car be brought back with an empty tank, which in reality is impossible to do, and it means that the consumer is charged for a full tank of fuel even if they only use half and the company gets to resell the remaining fuel to the next consumer who rents the car," says Ms Neville.
She says such policies may be in violation of EU consumer law "as in practice nobody returns the tank completely empty, no matter how much or how little the vehicle is driven".
