Kemwel Auto Rental - WARNING
Oct 9th, 2008, 12:37 PM
#1
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Kemwel Auto Rental - WARNING
If you decide to rent a car from Kemwel BE SURE TO READ THE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY. The voucher form that Kemwel provides appears to be deceptive, misleading and appears to misrepresent based on standards of disclosure that appear to be in effect with auto rental companies in the U S. I pre-paid a rental to Kemwel, for a one month use of a vehicle in France and picked up my vehicle through Europcar. My voucher from Kemwel clearly stated under "Balance Due on Delivery" that the amount was $.00.
When I returned from Europe I received a credit card charge from Europcar for a substantial amount of additional money to cover "Full Tank Option", "Premium Station Surcharge" and fee for an "Additional Driver" (my wife). There is absolutely no question that the fine print under Terms and Conditions in the voucher covers these charges. However, there is also no question that, if these charges were applicable and were not included in the pre-paid fee, they should have been due and payable at the commencement of the rental and not charged after return of the vehicle.
The agent at Europcar asked for my credit card and explained that they required a damage deposit but, that if there was no damage, no charge would be through. The agent did not disclose that the credit card would be used for the additional charges mentioned above.
U. S. auto rental companies used to do the same thing but no longer engage in this type of practice. Now, they require the renter to sign or initial a box on the rental contract acknowledging that they understand and will be responsible for the charges. That is proper and fair disclosure. To hide these extra charges in the fine print is just plain deceptive, misleading and does not appear to constitute adequate disclosure.
When I returned from Europe I received a credit card charge from Europcar for a substantial amount of additional money to cover "Full Tank Option", "Premium Station Surcharge" and fee for an "Additional Driver" (my wife). There is absolutely no question that the fine print under Terms and Conditions in the voucher covers these charges. However, there is also no question that, if these charges were applicable and were not included in the pre-paid fee, they should have been due and payable at the commencement of the rental and not charged after return of the vehicle.
The agent at Europcar asked for my credit card and explained that they required a damage deposit but, that if there was no damage, no charge would be through. The agent did not disclose that the credit card would be used for the additional charges mentioned above.
U. S. auto rental companies used to do the same thing but no longer engage in this type of practice. Now, they require the renter to sign or initial a box on the rental contract acknowledging that they understand and will be responsible for the charges. That is proper and fair disclosure. To hide these extra charges in the fine print is just plain deceptive, misleading and does not appear to constitute adequate disclosure.
Oct 9th, 2008, 03:50 PM
#2
It would be nice if your first post was to actually tell us something about your wonderful trip to France instead of a hit and run rant.
Did you change screen name to post this topic again -- or did you join fodors to post this? We have another thread running today w/ the same gripe.
Did you change screen name to post this topic again -- or did you join fodors to post this? We have another thread running today w/ the same gripe.
Oct 10th, 2008, 04:10 AM
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Dear D,
I wouldn't call you a twit, exactly, but since you admit that the contract did say that there would be additional fees, and you did desire the "Full Tank Option", "Premium Station Surcharge" and an "Additional Driver", why didn't you call Kemwel and ask them to give you an estimate for these charges.
Why are you claiming that they did you wrong?
Also, what difference does it make if they charged you at the time of pickup, or if they sent you an invoice later?
>..based on standards of disclosure that appear to be in effect with auto rental companies in the U S.<
Somehow, this seems to be totally irrelevant.
I wouldn't call you a twit, exactly, but since you admit that the contract did say that there would be additional fees, and you did desire the "Full Tank Option", "Premium Station Surcharge" and an "Additional Driver", why didn't you call Kemwel and ask them to give you an estimate for these charges.
Why are you claiming that they did you wrong?
Also, what difference does it make if they charged you at the time of pickup, or if they sent you an invoice later?
>..based on standards of disclosure that appear to be in effect with auto rental companies in the U S.<
Somehow, this seems to be totally irrelevant.
Jun 29th, 2009, 03:52 PM
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Boy, a whole lotta misinformation going on here. First off, Kemwel is NOT Europcar. Kemwel and AutoEurope are sister American broker companies. Europcar is a European car rental company.
Regarding the full tank fee, anyone who rents a car in Europe or anywhere ought to know you need to return it with a full tank or they will charge you for it, probably at a premium. I have never, in more than 100 European rentals, left the rental car office without being reminded of that, but even if you weren't, it's like in there IN THE FINE PRINT. And can you explain how on earth Kemwel would know before you returned the car that you hadn't filled it up? They were supposed to divine that when you picked it up? Come on.
Regarding the second driver, same story. Did you mention when you arranged the rental that there would be a second driver? That's YOUR responsibility, and yes, there's a fee for that, and yes, that's most likely IN THE FINE PRINT too.
Utterly misplaced outrage, IMO. You were not a savvy customer and apparently had to learn the hard way.
Regarding the full tank fee, anyone who rents a car in Europe or anywhere ought to know you need to return it with a full tank or they will charge you for it, probably at a premium. I have never, in more than 100 European rentals, left the rental car office without being reminded of that, but even if you weren't, it's like in there IN THE FINE PRINT. And can you explain how on earth Kemwel would know before you returned the car that you hadn't filled it up? They were supposed to divine that when you picked it up? Come on.
Regarding the second driver, same story. Did you mention when you arranged the rental that there would be a second driver? That's YOUR responsibility, and yes, there's a fee for that, and yes, that's most likely IN THE FINE PRINT too.
Utterly misplaced outrage, IMO. You were not a savvy customer and apparently had to learn the hard way.
Jun 29th, 2009, 05:05 PM
#8
The OP and our new hit-and-run poster are probably related to each other.
Both registered and posted once ever. And both seem to think Kemwel and Europcar are the same thing. Dumb as rocks . . . .
Both registered and posted once ever. And both seem to think Kemwel and Europcar are the same thing. Dumb as rocks . . . .
Nov 21st, 2011, 11:28 AM
#10
These posts really are strange.
The Kemwel(or AutoEurope) paper is just a voucher, not a contract. The contract is what you sign to actually get the car from the real rent-a-car company, and it has numerous terms and conditions to respect.
Yet people still try to claim that they were scammed or cheated rather than simply admitting that they were naive or stupid. Wonder why?
The Kemwel(or AutoEurope) paper is just a voucher, not a contract. The contract is what you sign to actually get the car from the real rent-a-car company, and it has numerous terms and conditions to respect.
Yet people still try to claim that they were scammed or cheated rather than simply admitting that they were naive or stupid. Wonder why?
