Car Rental Frustrations?
 

Has anyone experienced frustrations with "ancillary charges" when renting a car in England? I recently rented a car from the Westmoreland/Ullswater car rental agency in Penrith, UK. The car was delivered to me empty of fuel. Being naive, I filled it up, not knowing how much driving I would be doing in the Lake District. Of course, I only used about a quarter tank but was given no credit for the remain fuel when I returned the car (a loss of about 40 GBP).

To make matters worse, I had a minor accident in which I grazed the side of a wall on a narrow road. One of the tires popped, and the other was scratched only slightly. I called the Westmoreland agency, and they were extremely unhelpful - they told me to "change the tire yourself, because we will bill you 80 pounds if we do it for you." No information given on where to find a garage.

Finally, when I returned the car, they charged me 190 GBP to replace and balance both tires, even though one of them was perfectly workable and I had driven over 100 miles on it.

Please avoid this rental agency- they were unhelpful and mean. I would be curious as to whether others have had similar experiences with other agencies. Should I take the bus the next time?

Sounds like a troll.

That said, WTH is the Westmoreland/ullswater car rental agency and why didn't you rent from a reputable, nationally known or international car rental corporation?

Welcome to Fodors -- Unfortunate you didn't post here <i>before</i> your trip so we could give you some info about how to rent cars in the UK and what to look for.

"<i>I only used about a quarter tank but was given no credit for the remain fuel when I returned the car</i>"

That would be normal w/ any rental agency. Any company that releases a car w/o a full tank lets you bring it back empty, but they won't give you credit for fuel left in the tank.

(Companies that rent their cars w/ full tanks -- you have to bring it back full.)

Tires are seldom covered by insurance unless you get a super coverage.

"..(Companies that rent their cars w/ full tanks -- you have to bring it back full.)--"

except for at least Gold Car, in Spain. Not only do they charge you about 20% more for the gas, they also charge you 14E service fee, I believe, to pump it for you. Then bring the car back empty. If you have had it for less than three days, you will get a partial gas credit for what is remaining.

"<i>except for at least Gold Car, in Spain.</i>"

We are talking about the UK . . .