Car Hire Petrol con in Spain Hire full bring back empty
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And the price of petrol is more than cost...lifted from the S.Times
Drivers in Spain hit by surprise fuel charges
Chris Haslam Published: 25 March 2012
Recommend (0) Comment (0)Print Europcar is one of the companies making money from overpriced fuel (Chris Howes)
Customers who think they’ve secured a good deal on a Spanish hire car could be in for a nasty surprise this summer. Rental companies in the country are hitting drivers with an unexpected, and hefty, fuel charge at the check-in desk.
This year, the vast majority of car-hire firms in Spain are operating a compulsory “full-empty” policy, meaning customers pick up their car with a full tank of petrol and are asked to return it empty. However, you’ll be paying through the nose for that full tank.
Last week, the price for a Ford Fiesta in Malaga for the first week of the school Easter holidays, booked through Argus Car Hire, was £117. But what Argus fails to make clear is that a further £77 (€93) is payable upon collection for that full tank. Since it would only cost about £49 (€59) to fill up a 45-litre Fiesta at an airport petrol pump, the company that actually leases the car, in this case Marbesol, is making at least £28 on every tank. In most cases, this figure will be significantly higher, because few customers succeed in returning their car empty — cars tend not to work without petrol in them.
A Fiesta booked from Palma de Mallorca through Rentalcars cost £139 for Easter week, but the on-the-ground firm, Centauro, adds a compulsory fuel charge of £76 (€91) — equivalent to £1.69 (€2.02) a litre. The pump price in Mallorca is about £1.23 (€1.47) a litre. Despite the maths, Centauro said: “We do not charge more for fuel to increase profits.”
Other companies making money from overpriced fuel include Record, Goldcar, Dickmanns, Hertz and Europcar, and the full-empty scam has spread to Cyprus, Italy and Portugal. However, the solution for drivers is not as simple as simply avoiding these companies. Online broker sites — such as Argus and Rentalcars — do not reveal the name of the rental outfit the driver will be picking their car up from until after a reservation has been made. Plus, the revelation that you’ll be paying for fuel on collection is usually buried in the terms and conditions — and the amount you’ll be paying won’t be there at all.
Argus Car Hire said it was aware of the overcharging problem and said it would “part company with any rogue suppliers”.
Its head of online, Barry Malone, said the company would be introducing “new filters on the booking page to allow customers to choose suppliers by their fuel policy”.
Rory Sexton of the broker Economy Car Hire advises drivers to seek out the rental websites that only deal with companies offering fair fuel polices. “Some of the bigger outfits such as Avis and Sixt and some smaller companies such as Malagacar and Cargest offer full-full options, at slightly higher lead-in prices,” he says. “To make sure, ask your broker, and if they won’t tell you, find another broker.”
Drivers in Spain hit by surprise fuel charges
Chris Haslam Published: 25 March 2012
Recommend (0) Comment (0)Print Europcar is one of the companies making money from overpriced fuel (Chris Howes)
Customers who think they’ve secured a good deal on a Spanish hire car could be in for a nasty surprise this summer. Rental companies in the country are hitting drivers with an unexpected, and hefty, fuel charge at the check-in desk.
This year, the vast majority of car-hire firms in Spain are operating a compulsory “full-empty” policy, meaning customers pick up their car with a full tank of petrol and are asked to return it empty. However, you’ll be paying through the nose for that full tank.
Last week, the price for a Ford Fiesta in Malaga for the first week of the school Easter holidays, booked through Argus Car Hire, was £117. But what Argus fails to make clear is that a further £77 (€93) is payable upon collection for that full tank. Since it would only cost about £49 (€59) to fill up a 45-litre Fiesta at an airport petrol pump, the company that actually leases the car, in this case Marbesol, is making at least £28 on every tank. In most cases, this figure will be significantly higher, because few customers succeed in returning their car empty — cars tend not to work without petrol in them.
A Fiesta booked from Palma de Mallorca through Rentalcars cost £139 for Easter week, but the on-the-ground firm, Centauro, adds a compulsory fuel charge of £76 (€91) — equivalent to £1.69 (€2.02) a litre. The pump price in Mallorca is about £1.23 (€1.47) a litre. Despite the maths, Centauro said: “We do not charge more for fuel to increase profits.”
Other companies making money from overpriced fuel include Record, Goldcar, Dickmanns, Hertz and Europcar, and the full-empty scam has spread to Cyprus, Italy and Portugal. However, the solution for drivers is not as simple as simply avoiding these companies. Online broker sites — such as Argus and Rentalcars — do not reveal the name of the rental outfit the driver will be picking their car up from until after a reservation has been made. Plus, the revelation that you’ll be paying for fuel on collection is usually buried in the terms and conditions — and the amount you’ll be paying won’t be there at all.
Argus Car Hire said it was aware of the overcharging problem and said it would “part company with any rogue suppliers”.
Its head of online, Barry Malone, said the company would be introducing “new filters on the booking page to allow customers to choose suppliers by their fuel policy”.
Rory Sexton of the broker Economy Car Hire advises drivers to seek out the rental websites that only deal with companies offering fair fuel polices. “Some of the bigger outfits such as Avis and Sixt and some smaller companies such as Malagacar and Cargest offer full-full options, at slightly higher lead-in prices,” he says. “To make sure, ask your broker, and if they won’t tell you, find another broker.”
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