Car Rental Frustrations?

Old Sep 20th, 2010, 02:23 PM
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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?
Knapsackonmyback is offline  
Old Sep 20th, 2010, 02:28 PM
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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?
BigRuss is offline  
Old Sep 20th, 2010, 02:35 PM
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Welcome to Fodors -- Unfortunate you didn't post here before your trip so we could give you some info about how to rent cars in the UK and what to look for.

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

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.
janisj is offline  
Old Sep 20th, 2010, 04:04 PM
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"..(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.
lincasanova is offline  
Old Sep 20th, 2010, 04:29 PM
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"except for at least Gold Car, in Spain."

We are talking about the UK . . .
janisj is offline  
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