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Lesson Learnt for Overseas Car Hire


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I would like to share my Car Rental Experience overseas here so you guys will manage the situation better than me when you go for your holiday.

 

 

 

Earlier this month, i hired a car with a reputable international car rental company for my Gold Coast holiday for 7 days.

 

I picked up the vehicle from brisbane airport and returned it 7 days later after filling up at the airport back to full, when i returned the keys to the airport counter, i was told their system was down and they couldnt print a receipt for me.

 

I asked if they needed the petrol receipt and they also mentioned it was not required as, if the petrol was not full they will billed it my credit card.

 

I was abit late for my flight because i was stuck in the dreadful M1 highway along with the city bound brisbane traffic on a weekday morning despite leaving my hotel 4 hrs earlier, i decided to practice some trust and just leave it as such. As with our common practice of returning the hotel or rental car via keydrop.

 

Guess you would have guessed by now my credit bill now came with some funny charges, the Singapore office told me the extra charges were due to

 

1) The car was returned 3 days earlier, so they would charge me more because i only used the cars for 4 days instead of the 7 days.

 

My actual usage aside, this really takes the cake, coming from the business standpoint, if i booked the car for 7 days and PAID for 7 days, by returning on the 4th day, it is to the car rental company advantage because they could have made extra money by leasing out for the 3 days already paid by me.

 

Effectively they are telling me, a 4 days rental will cost MORE than a 7 day rental (not daily rate hor) but the total bill.

 

 

2) The car was not returned with a full tank of petrol.

 

 

i scrutinized the receipt and found another shocking fact, i signed out the car at 18k mileage and returned at 19k mileage.

 

The invoice generated shows i signed out the car at 19k mileage and returned it at 28k mileage.

 

I wrote back n highlighted all the irregularity challenging them what kind of penalty is being imposed on returning the car 3days earlier when it was paid in FULL.

 

2ndly, i emailed in my petrol receipt showing it was refilled at the airport.

 

3rd, the mileage in their record was grossly wrong as it was nearly impossible i would have travelled 9700km in 7 days or by right as they claimed 4 days which will worked out to 1300km per day or 2400km per day respectively.

 

While i am sure some of you folks will be able to do that on a GOR, i merely took day trips out as i have my folks with me. My hotel should have my records and my car being parked overnight in the garage as i have a private parking lot accessible by key card only in the hotel.

 

 

i received a call later from the singapore manager asking me to confirm whether did i actually use the car for 4 days or 7 days because the petrol receipt showed me pumping on the 7th day (DUH).

 

I will not name the company now because its still being investigated, but if they are really behaving in such way, the name will be big big in the coming days to come.

 

Some references for you folks next.

 

1) Please do a proper handover when you return the car, try not to use the key drop service. Have a personnel inspect the car and the petrol and generate you a proper receipt with the proper mileage ESPECIALLY if your rental has mileage limitations.

It was fortunate mine was unlimited mileage.

 

2) If you are in my case, late for flight, system down and all the bollocks or if die die need to use a keydrop because ur flight is red eye, take a picture of the petrol receipt beside the odometer/ petrol gauge showing the mileage with date/time if possible with the airport in the background. i was lucky i kept the petrol receipt.

 

Let me know what you guys think and if you guys know the consumer authority in Queensland, it would be helpful as well.

 

Have a good friday ahead.

 

 

 

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they could have made a mistake in their record with another car, just some misunderstanding.

is the car rental one of the international big four ?

what i usually do is after picking up the car, take a photo of the speedometer, with date, mileage and fuel.

upon returning the car, take another photo, this the for own record and future dispute.

i once did a quick return with no staff at the counter and just drop of the key in the box provided. everything was fine.

yes daily rate is more expensive than weekly package rate. they impose penalty for people who take advantage.

Edited by Jman888
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Lots of cock up there as usual, my worst cock up was dealing with their Optus which is owned by Singtel...

 

Transfer phone contract to another person was approved in Optus shop by Optus, but when I was back in SG, I was still being charged because they mention the transfer was rejected...

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i had quite a bad one too from USA.

 

Returned the car at basement carpark load. hauled all the goods we bought and took a cab back.

 

left the keys in the car as told to and told the italian attendant there that everything is in place. GPS in glove compartment and all.

 

happily flew back home and next thing I know email saying I need to pay for GPS and etc etc. they cant find and etc.

 

after a few emails through and fro. they diam diam already and say ok wont charge... must be miscomm between the staff lor..

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you said the Singapore manager called you. I guess it must have been international ones like hertz or budget that is also available in singaproe?

 

anyhow, I usually will take photo of the mileage and fuel level indicator. as for the early return, hertz in London actually refunded me some monies for early return and excess petrol. when I collect, it was half tank and I return with 3/4 tank.

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So sorry to hear about these screw up's, hope they get them sorted out soon.

If you are intending to take it up with some authority in Australia, you gotta look up fair trading australia, and you can find out more from there.

 

Hope it helps

 

Cheers

JD

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Supercharged

they could have made a mistake in their record with another car, just some misunderstanding.

 

is the car rental one of the international big four ?

 

what i usually do is after picking up the car, take a photo of the speedometer, with date, mileage and fuel.

 

upon returning the car, take another photo, this the for own record and future dispute.

 

i once did a quick return with no staff at the counter and just drop of the key in the box provided. everything was fine.

 

yes daily rate is more expensive than weekly package rate. they impose penalty for people who take advantage.

 

what do you mean by people who take advantage?

as in buy the weekly package and use less than that?

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they could have made a mistake in their record with another car, just some misunderstanding.

 

is the car rental one of the international big four ?

 

what i usually do is after picking up the car, take a photo of the speedometer, with date, mileage and fuel.

 

upon returning the car, take another photo, this the for own record and future dispute.

 

i once did a quick return with no staff at the counter and just drop of the key in the box provided. everything was fine.

 

yes daily rate is more expensive than weekly package rate. they impose penalty for people who take advantage.

 

 

Yes its one of the Big 4.

 

The billing dispute is in such way.

 

 

i was quoted 7 days usuage and i paid for 7 days usuage.

 

Due to the cockup they thought i returned in on the 4th day and wanted to charge me more for the 7 days + extra penalities.

 

It is not like i negotiated for 7 days lower rate and paid for only 4 and now they want to penalty me.

 

i already paid for the full 7 days.

 

this is the cockup aside while in my case as i used up the full 7 days with my petrol receipt and boarding pass to prove.

 

It dosent make any sense for me to travel 90km from Gold Coast to Brisbane Airport and then back to Gold Coast again. In any case if i am so pissed off with the car i could have jus left it in the garage until the 7th day of my return flight.

So sorry to hear about these screw up's, hope they get them sorted out soon.

If you are intending to take it up with some authority in Australia, you gotta look up fair trading australia, and you can find out more from there.

 

Hope it helps

 

Cheers

JD

thanks.

 

I will keep in mind.

 

Will play big if they still insist.

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My advise for anyone wanting to rent vehicle oversea. Go for those unlimited mileage package. Go for those rental company located outside the airport. Proper paper document upon taking and handing over. Camera do come in handy taking those dents and scratches. As for filing up the tank upon returning I have always ask those guy to give me a lift to the service station and than drop me off at the airport. Pay all the fuel bill by credit card.

I fotgotten to explain generally those rental company located outside the airport offer a much cheaper package. Car generally lower mileage as compare with those situated at thr airport. By the way most do provide airport pick up servics.

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I just want to share my rental car experience too.

 

Rented a car in Canada and suay suay was rear ended by a farker who was using the phone. In Toronto, any car accident you will claim your own insurance regardless of who's at fault.

So I was charged C$500 excess for repairs. Luckily I bought travel insurance which have S$500 rental vehicle excess. So in the end, I only paid about S$100 for the repair if I remembered correctly.

 

Moral of the story - always always buy travel insurance when u go overseas and rent a car. Make sure it has Rental Vehicle Excess of at least S$500, preferably more. You never know when u need it.

 

Take care guys.

Edited by Fcw75
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Supercharged

hmm... thanks for sharing bro.

I was actually trying to plan for a road trip downunder as well.

 

This is some thing i will definitely take note of.

 

I tot only i KS, when i was with the car club before my ride, i was taking pictures of the car, inside and out and the dash to ensure that no new dings or damage is accorded to me being the last renter of the vehicle. [laugh]

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Insightful experience. Thanks for sharing.

 

I would like to share my Car Rental Experience overseas here so you guys will manage the situation better than me when you go for your holiday.

 

 

 

Earlier this month, i hired a car with a reputable international car rental company for my Gold Coast holiday for 7 days.

 

I picked up the vehicle from brisbane airport and returned it 7 days later after filling up at the airport back to full, when i returned the keys to the airport counter, i was told their system was down and they couldnt print a receipt for me.

 

I asked if they needed the petrol receipt and they also mentioned it was not required as, if the petrol was not full they will billed it my credit card.

 

I was abit late for my flight because i was stuck in the dreadful M1 highway along with the city bound brisbane traffic on a weekday morning despite leaving my hotel 4 hrs earlier, i decided to practice some trust and just leave it as such. As with our common practice of returning the hotel or rental car via keydrop.

 

Guess you would have guessed by now my credit bill now came with some funny charges, the Singapore office told me the extra charges were due to

 

1) The car was returned 3 days earlier, so they would charge me more because i only used the cars for 4 days instead of the 7 days.

 

My actual usage aside, this really takes the cake, coming from the business standpoint, if i booked the car for 7 days and PAID for 7 days, by returning on the 4th day, it is to the car rental company advantage because they could have made extra money by leasing out for the 3 days already paid by me.

 

Effectively they are telling me, a 4 days rental will cost MORE than a 7 day rental (not daily rate hor) but the total bill.

 

 

2) The car was not returned with a full tank of petrol.

 

 

i scrutinized the receipt and found another shocking fact, i signed out the car at 18k mileage and returned at 19k mileage.

 

The invoice generated shows i signed out the car at 19k mileage and returned it at 28k mileage.

 

I wrote back n highlighted all the irregularity challenging them what kind of penalty is being imposed on returning the car 3days earlier when it was paid in FULL.

 

2ndly, i emailed in my petrol receipt showing it was refilled at the airport.

 

3rd, the mileage in their record was grossly wrong as it was nearly impossible i would have travelled 9700km in 7 days or by right as they claimed 4 days which will worked out to 1300km per day or 2400km per day respectively.

 

While i am sure some of you folks will be able to do that on a GOR, i merely took day trips out as i have my folks with me. My hotel should have my records and my car being parked overnight in the garage as i have a private parking lot accessible by key card only in the hotel.

 

 

i received a call later from the singapore manager asking me to confirm whether did i actually use the car for 4 days or 7 days because the petrol receipt showed me pumping on the 7th day (DUH).

 

I will not name the company now because its still being investigated, but if they are really behaving in such way, the name will be big big in the coming days to come.

 

Some references for you folks next.

 

1) Please do a proper handover when you return the car, try not to use the key drop service. Have a personnel inspect the car and the petrol and generate you a proper receipt with the proper mileage ESPECIALLY if your rental has mileage limitations.

It was fortunate mine was unlimited mileage.

 

2) If you are in my case, late for flight, system down and all the bollocks or if die die need to use a keydrop because ur flight is red eye, take a picture of the petrol receipt beside the odometer/ petrol gauge showing the mileage with date/time if possible with the airport in the background. i was lucky i kept the petrol receipt.

 

Let me know what you guys think and if you guys know the consumer authority in Queensland, it would be helpful as well.

 

Have a good friday ahead.

 

 

 

 

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hmm... thanks for sharing bro.

I was actually trying to plan for a road trip downunder as well.

 

This is some thing i will definitely take note of.

 

I tot only i KS, when i was with the car club before my ride, i was taking pictures of the car, inside and out and the dash to ensure that no new dings or damage is accorded to me being the last renter of the vehicle. [laugh]

In Oz (not too sure about countries), they are not that particular about small dings, paint chips or minor scratches. While in Mel, after i return my car, i realise that the FM antena was missing. I wasn't too sure if this was before or after i took over that car so i informed the staff while returning my key. Was told that it was fine, can be easily replaced. In Tas, the guy was quite shocked to see me return a car full of mud and dust. But was told everything is okay and he sign off the checklist and ask me pass back to the counter. Same for Mel. So it is best to plan your return trip early. Ask them to check the vehicle first before leaving even when they are busy.

Another thing to take note is the toll charge. You won't know how much the charge is (or maybe can check online), till like 2 weeks later when it appear on your CC bill. There's nothing you can do here, but it will be better to check online first before setting off. Mine was like 6AUD per toll.

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My advise for anyone wanting to rent vehicle oversea. Go for those unlimited mileage package. Go for those rental company located outside the airport. Proper paper document upon taking and handing over. Camera do come in handy taking those dents and scratches. As for filing up the tank upon returning I have always ask those guy to give me a lift to the service station and than drop me off at the airport. Pay all the fuel bill by credit card.

I fotgotten to explain generally those rental company located outside the airport offer a much cheaper package. Car generally lower mileage as compare with those situated at thr airport. By the way most do provide airport pick up servics.

 

Absolutely correct.

In 2012, I rented a Taurus for 2 weeks from Hertz in San Francisco and was driving south to San Diego where I had a problem with the tyre pressure. So went to the Hertz in San Diego and swopped car for no charges and did everything in an hour. Got a refund from Hertz later on because we rented a full-size car and they gave us a smaller Altima in SD.

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Turbocharged

So far, not much issue I faced but just a couple of days ago, I made a huge blunder... I was so farking tired and just wanted to get the car and drive another 1.5hrs to my hotel for a rest before my task starts the next day... The hertz at lax keep 'selling' a better car and upgrade but I just need a standard ride, then at one point, he said, how about Jetta?.. Then I was like, Ok, read many horror story about Jetta and perhaps I get a feel personally how is the ride like, and I agreed but I didn't ask for the cost, thinking is just a damn Jetta only mah... But I was so wrong... It cost me usd800+ for 1 week... Hehehe...

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shit. i booked a car with hertz for my upcoming trip to Melbourne. don't tell me your experience is from hertz?

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Turbocharged

I just want to share my rental car experience too.

 

Rented a car in Canada and suay suay was rear ended by a farker who was using the phone. In Toronto, any car accident you will claim your own insurance regardless of who's at fault.

So I was charged C$500 excess for repairs. Luckily I bought travel insurance which have S$500 rental vehicle excess. So in the end, I only paid about S$100 for the repair if I remembered correctly.

 

Moral of the story - always always buy travel insurance when u go overseas and rent a car. Make sure it has Rental Vehicle Excess of at least S$500, preferably more. You never know when u need it.

 

Take care guys.

 

but all (legal) car rentals come with insurance, no?

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