Fuel top up con

[ChrisDPom]

Really getting sick and tired of the con by car rental companies on the full to full fuel top up.


Hired a Hertz for day at PER.

Went to the recommended and nearest petrol station to top up before I dropped it back - less than 1 km away and made sure it was full to the brim due to their $3 odd a litre fee to top up.

Checked my cc account and they charged me $26.39.

Its was a mid sized Kia, not a flaming hummer so how the hell could I have used 8 litres on a warmed up engine to go 1km??


This time Hertz, previously Avis, Budget, Europacar - same con, different companies (well Avis/Budget is one company), just different levels of rip off.

 

[Flying Fox]

What jerks.

Have you lodged a complaint?

 

[ChrisDPom]

Yes I have Foxy, waiting...waiting...

 

[oz_mark]

Did you show them the receipt for the fuel?

 

[vetrade]

You just gotta get into the habit of ensuring they sign off to confirm the tank is full and there is no damage.
Anyone who doesn't do this is just leaving themselves open to getting rorted.

 

[blackcat20]

I've had one issue with Hertz where I returned it with a full tank (receipt provided) and was charged for a full tank as well. Took my bank inititating a charge back before Hertz finally refunded it (had photos of odometer and fuel guage to back up my claim as well). Whats worse is they only provided me with half a tank to start with.

 

[Buzzard]

Just rented a car from Thrifty, CBR Airport. Was told on collection to fill up before returning as there is a $3/L charge. I traveled maybe 10 kilometres after filling up yet returned the car without issue.

 

[Simo]

That is cough... I would be lodging a complaint...

 

[Mattg]

It's these kinds of stories that really put me off using rental cars unless absolutely necessary.

Please do let us know the outcome.

 

[mstuart681]

I like the tip of taking a photo of fuel guage at the time of collection and time of pick up - I'll make sure I do that!

 

[Buzzard]

With all the rental car horror stories one hears, there needs to be a rental car ombudsman.

 

[debgow]

I’ve had trouble I think 3 times with Europcar in Cairns. A friend also had the same thing happen twice. I pick up car at domestic for 1 day hire. I advise them I will be dropping back at international and to please make a note in the booking. I drop keys in box at international as there is NEVER a representative at the desk. I ring and tell them car is there. I then get an email days later saying where’s the car? Or once they didn’t contact me and just charged me. Lucky I checked the emailed receipt. I then get charged for more days which can take weeks to sort out. Last time it happened they got my booking mixed up with someone else and kept calling me in the emails by the other persons name and sending me the others persons contract, no matter how many times I told them they had the wrong person and sent them my contract. GRRR

 

[dmouy]

Taking pictures of the fuel gauge and odometer at the time of pickup, when refuelling and the time of drop off is useful. Also pics of the car front, back and sides on pickup can be useful. Yes, it takes time to do that, but the pictures have time & date stamps as well as geolocation (e.g. you can show that it was only 2km since filling up and returning the vehicle) and could be useful if a dispute arises.

 

[Old Dynamite]

Seems to be new scam by all rental car firms. Tried on in Kalamata, Greece by Europcar. Copenhagen had another trick on exchange rates by Avis.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Never had a problems with this. But I do always make sure I keep the fuel receipt and get them to sign off on a full tank when returning the car.

 

[Warks]

I had something similar once where they charged me $16 for no apparent reason. I always fuel up but occasionally take a car which appears full but ten km later the gauge has dropped to 7/8 or so - obviously it wasn't really full. I queried the additional charge and provided my evidence - always keep receipts for expenses anyway - and they eventually refunded the dough. They didn't make it easy though.

 

[23A]

Redspot car rentals is the go. I got onto Business club about 8 years ago and never looked back. Pump rate +1c for fuel, zero damage excess, unlimited tolls and the list goes on. Had to use Budget in Melbourne a couple of years ago on short notice and still remember the trauma! Hopeless...

 

[ozimax]

Got ripped off by Budget at Canberra airport in March last year (2016). After leaving my car with a full tank, I noticed a $30-ish amount debited to my Mastercard. I phoned the local Canberra office immediately. They instantly apologized for their "error" and credited the amount back to me. It seems that this is an industry standard rort, consisting of mainly smaller amounts that will be undetected by most.

Time for an ombudsman for sure.

 

[midnight]

Really getting sick and tired of the con by car rental companies on the full to full fuel top up.


Hired a Hertz for day at PER.

Went to the recommended and nearest petrol station to top up before I dropped it back - less than 1 km away and made sure it was full to the brim due to their $3 odd a litre fee to top up.

Checked my cc account and they charged me $26.39.

Its was a mid sized Kia, not a flaming hummer so how the hell could I have used 8 litres on a warmed up engine to go 1km??


This time Hertz, previously Avis, Budget, Europacar - same con, different companies (well Avis/Budget is one company), just different levels of rip off.

You guys are all talking petty cash.

I hired a Jeep Patriot in Canada recently through Rentalcars.com (absolutely no complaints about them after several rentals). Car hire was from Thrifty and came with a free tank of fuel. Pick up full and bring back empty, which I did, aside from putting in $20 worth 10 or 15k before the airport as I wasn't sure how far I could get on the fumes that were left in the tank.

So, we get to the airport drop off and the guy gives the car the once over with his little scanner hands me a receipt and says "all good" so off we go to catch our flight.

A few weeks later I am checking my credit card statement against receipts and find a Thrifty charge for a $196.94 CAD so start back tracking and sure enough they have charged for my free tank of fuel. Took three to four weeks to get a refund. What got me was that the guy that checked the car said nothing about the fuel or that he had charged for it. If it were me I would have at least asked the person if they wanted to go and fill the car up. The other thing was that there was no apology just something along the lines of "we have deposited the money back to your account". strange way of doing business if you ask me.

Two takeaways from this. No matter what you are buying always get a receipt and always check against your bank statements. I work in retail and always get a laugh when people are asked if they want a receipt and the reply is "Can't claim it on my tax".

Love the dashboard photo idea. Will definitely use this on my next hire.

 

[Zero]

I've been renting from Hertz SYD once a year for many years now, and never had a problem. I do keep my fuel receipts but they never ask to see them and are happy to mark the tank as full from the dashboard indicator...

Once I got some scratches and showed the guy but he said not to worry. I was never charged anything.

I guess most renters don't have a problem and people tend to post when they do get scammed. Based on anecdotal data I avoid Avis and don't rent in Europe (there usually isn't any need to)