tedgale

I'm looking for tips on how to book wisely, to avoid problems with our upcoming car rental in the UK.

I am usually a carefree traveler and have never thought about scammers in our 40 years of European travel, which is usually twice-yearly.

Haven't rented a UK car in 20 years, though. So I'm unsettled by recent online reports of frequent upcharges and outright scams at car rental agencies at LHR. Many complaints pertain to franchise-holders of the "big six" but even company-operated offices (eg Hertz at LHR) are not immune.

Forewarned as I now am, I can handle the "We've upgraded you" hidden upcharge and "You need much more insurance than you've booked, please initial here". And yes, we will research supplier Ts & Cs before we arrive.

I am most concerned about multiple reports of microscopic scratches, tire damage or windscreen nicks being charged as major repairs when returning the vehicle. Sometimes the surprise charges show up on a CC weeks later, when you can do little. At Europcar at LHR, the problem seems so prevalent that one suspects an organized scam -- one poster who claims to have worked for Europcar says it's definitely so.

Can anyone recommend a reliable agency at LHR to rent from?

What advice do you have on comprehensive insurance, as a pricey protection against damage scams? (We do have N American CC coverage.) Should N American drivers get supplementary travel insurance from third-party providers for car damage?

Should we consider renting from a pick-up spot outside London that is readily accessible by rail? (We plan to travel only in the south -- probably Cotswolds and Sussex) And possibly dropping off there as well?

More generally, how would you minimize risk without unduly sacrificing convenience? Thanks for your constructive counsel.

Michael

If you use a broker like Autoeurope or Kemwel, you will have a contract before you arrive at the counter, and while it is not the official contract that you have to sign with the rental company, it does tell you exactly what the terms of the final contract should be. These brokers will often go to bat with you if you have a legitimate complaint about the rental company.

Dukey1

One of the biggest "problems" I had in the past at LHR was with Hertz and their Dynamic Currency Conversion which was written into the contract. You either accepted it or you didn't rent, more or less.

I have no idea about any of these "scams" the OP is talkng about but what I would do is strongly consider using either Autoeurope or its sister company Kemwel as has been suggested.

Be VERY aware that even if you take an all-inclusive insurance rate with AutoEurope that does not necessarily cover all parts of the vehicle ("tyres" and windscreen damage are often excluded and for which you can get additional coverage at the counter) nor does that rate necessarily shield you from deductibles.

Read the Autoeurope offer CAREFULLY.

tom_mn

Everyone seems to recommend AutoEurope, but my one rental did not go perfectly. What do you do when the contract presented at time of rental does not match your contract with AutoEurope [specific issue was excess liability]? Since you have prepaid you can't walk and are stuck with whatever terms you are offered. Even though Cancun and Maine are in the same time zone, we were not able to reach them. How will you reach them from Europe when you are so many hours ahead?

Hooameye

Easyrent, Green Motion and Car Hire UK have VERY bad reports (damage scam) on TA, the problem with booking through a 3rd party from the U.S. is that you could end up with one of these.

tedgale

Hooameye: The AutoEurope website now identifies the various UK providers from which you can choose and their Maine telephone-service reps will also filter their offerings to delete providers you don't want to use.

Michael

<i> What do you do when the contract presented at time of rental does not match your contract with AutoEurope [specific issue was excess liability]?</i>

You can call--I believe that they have a toll free international number. I once had a mix up on rentals because of last minute changes in rental days due to an emergency. It took a frustrating couple of hours and quite a few phone calls, but it was straightened out in the end.

Dukey1

I'm not sure I quite understand the "you could end up" comment. My experience is you know in advance with whom you HAVE "ended up" I guess because when the possibilities come up I pick a particular provided=r which I know and trust.

perhaps I am misunderstanding the issue and if so I apologize

tedgale

Dukey: There was a time when the AutoEurope website would not -- at least in bookings in continental Europe -- tell you the identity of your provider until you had paid for the booking. Making a change after that incurred a penalty.
Happily, those days are over.

Michael

<i>Making a change after that incurred a penalty. </i>

In all the years I booked with Autoeurope/Kemwel, I never paid a penalty for cancelling. But rates are dynamic, so the change in the rental cost is not because of a penalty, but because the rates have changed--unlike airlines that often have a penalty and impose the rate differential.

lovs2travel

I can only share my experience with renting from Hertz at Heathrow. We rented the smallest automatic available. Despite the reservation that was made long in advance, they did not have the car we reserved.

The representative at the counter let it slip that the couple before us in line was given the last car of that size. The rep then offered a much bigger vehicle, which we did not want. He kept saying that we were being given a "free upgrade", but I told him repeatedly that we did not want the upgrade, we wanted the car that we had reserved. We were told that we could use the upgrade to drive to Southampton to get the smaller car that we had originally reserved. Clearly, this was not an option. The bigger car was difficult to maneuver around the country roads.

Despite my calls, Hertz did nothing about it other than to tell us that there was a car that we could use at Southampton. My e-mails all went unanswered. We have not rented from Hertz since.

AGM_Cape_Cod

tedgale, did you come to any decision about the car rentals at Heathrow? We are planning a trip in May with a rental at Heathrow. Thanks.

Christina

lovs2travel, this is nothing unique to either Hertz or LHR. This has happened to me numerous times in the US from many big brand name companies (not having the small size car I reserved).

I don't really know the "Free upgrade" scam, when that has happened to me in the US, it always was free. They had to do that because what you reserved wasn't available, it wasn't your fault.

Perhaps this happens more at some agencies than others, I don't know, but blaming Hertz as a company worldwide and refusing to rent from them wouldn't really follow. Maybe refusing to rent from Hertz at LHR would.