Fuel top up con

[gazza48]

We rented several cars while overseas with Hertz and Europcar through an Australian website so we could be charged now in AUD. Hertz was not a problem as we were aware that we picked up the car full and we could bring it back empty and then the cost of the full tank would be charged to our cc.

However, Europcar was shocking in Calais. We had prepaid rental and we were covered for the excess with our travel insurance so no additional money outlaid. When we got home we found that Europcar had charged us for everything they offered to renters! We had the car for 4 days and they charged us an additional 398AUD. They even got a full tank of petrol back because we only drove 1hr from Calais and back. We immediately contacted the Australian company we dealt with but they could do nothing so we had to go direct to the rental company. We decided to challenge thru the cc company and we had docs to show that the rental agreement showed nothing about these added costs.

We cancelled the cc they charged and the bank sent us a new card. No further charges came forth so if you find you are charged for things you did not agree to then challenge it and refuse to pay!

 

[JohnPhelan]

Never just drop the car and go. Wait for the receipt and specifically check that they have noted that the fuel tank is full.

 

[ross11]

Fortunately I've never had any "fraudulent" charges from rental car companies, have used the "big ones Europcar, Hertz etc.

As an aside, good practice to always keep receipts for everything and reconcile charges against receipts when the statement arrives!

 

[burgo8888]

Yes. I was also ripped off. Offered to fill the tank at a very good price per litre. Was NOT told that i would be charged for a full tank whether or not the tank was empty.. Complained to HERTZ who said tough luck. I will NEVER rent from HERTZ again. I'd rather walk than to fund a company which deliberately deceives their customers. Europcar now has all my business.

 

[JimMcLachlan]

On a recent trip to Auckland NZ, I rented a people mover from Rent a Dent! On return home I received charges on my credit card for non-payment of Tolls north of Auckland as well as a $10 penalty/admin fee from the rental company. Because I had retained the paperwork involved in paying the tolls, I sent them to Rent a Dent asking for the charges to be removed. They did not want to do this because the penalties came from a Government Agency. So, I emailed the agency concerned, received an immediate response and after they had examined my documents, they withdrew the fine. Further discussion with Rent a Dent resulted in their removing the penalty/admin fee. This was all accomplished in one day!! Turned out the Toll payment receipt dropped one digit so didn't match the car's rego.
So a good news story. I have subsequently used Rent a Dent and have nothing but praise. Just overlook the unfortunate name of the company which doesn't reflect the quality of their cars.

 

[kyle]

I rented a 'guaranteed this model' car from CNS a few weeks back. Had a quick look over on the exterior, but didn't notice the level of the fuel gauge. Arrived at the hotel not that many kilometres away. My partner noticed the fuel level was just a little over half full. So we took a picture. Tried to call the desk at the airport multiple times - no answer. Went onto the Facebook page and saw complaints about how that airport office doesn't answer the phone. Was considering what to do in the hotel room and then after carefully examining the rental agreement, noticed that the charge was about $40 or $50 below the quoted price. And when the final charge came through, it was at the lower price, so didn't go back and tell them about the half empty tank on pick up.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

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.

This is a well known scam for Europcar in CNS. They have also tried the same trick on me, 3 times there ... and I am a Europcar VIP Elite! Some accolade. VIP means absolutely nothing with Europcar CNS and their attempted theft is the primary reason I don't rent anymore, preferring Uber now. All three scams for me were both an extra day rental (claiming the time I dropped the vehicle off was actually when I was on the ground in My Hagen ... 3 hours flying away, (with departure and arrival evidence), as well as the fuel scam, even though the tanks were always fuel to the brim. When confronted with the evidence, I had all three refunded ... with neither explanation nor apology. What crims!

Redspot car rentals is the go.

Red spot is the father of the hire car cons in Oz. Back in the '90's, we had the unfortunate experience of renting off those a'holes. A car seat we paid extra for was handed to us to fit and they had none of the correct straps, we were charged for both an extra day and half a tank of fuel and even when we provided the evidence of the fuel receipt and the Ansett boarding passes, they refused to even acknowledge us. How I wish I knew about CC charge backs then! Since that time, I've had copious rentals from all the majors ... Red Spot - nil, nor will they ever receive another cent from me.

Never just drop the car and go. Wait for the receipt and specifically check that they have noted that the fuel tank is full.

Hard to do that sometimes. As an example, Europcar CNS never man the international desk as far as I can tell.

 

[fox81]

Recently hired a car from Melbourne airport with Avis. Returned the car with a full tank of fuel, they checked it over, gave me the fast check in docket where the fuel is noted as full, and yet a few hours later I see a charge from Avis higher than the rental agreement. Checked the receipt online, and yes its a mysterious 12 dollar fuel charge. Even after they checked it in and confirmed it was full. Luckily I kept all the paperwork but it took a few calls to Avis and then having to email the evidence before that charge was reversed. Pretty disappointing experience.

 

[kyle]

Actually I just remembered another incident at Avis AKL. Got charged for fuel even though I filled it up to full at Tom Pearce Drive. Glad I kept the receipt. The tone of the email reply was apologetic and was prompt.

And while on the subject of Avis, slightly off topic, but the final receipt I got upon return at HNL was more than my quote. Didn't read the receipt properly as I was in a hurry to get into the terminal. I was overcharged by about USD100 for insurance which according to my quote was included. This was later refunded promptly.

 

[atreides]

This is the sort of thing I expect from Europcar, not Hertz. I've always found Hertz to be the best of the bunch, so it would be sad if this started creeping in.

The new one to look out for is excessive cleaning charges. I was hit with this after returning a car to KTA. Luckily I had taken photos of the vehicle, but it took about 3 months to finally get a refund.

Or how about the time I booked a Camry with Europcar and received a Camry in MEL. So much for my Privilege Club upgrade! Complaint was not taken seriously as usual.

 

[kyle]

Or how about the time I booked a Camry with Europcar and received a Camry in MEL. So much for my Privilege Club upgrade! Complaint was not taken seriously as usual.

I asked for a downgrade back to what I originally booked at one time as I didn't want to be seen driving a Camry.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I too have been on the receiving end of the fuel scam; in my case in Madrid.

I filled the cay up about 3km from the drop off and after returning to Oz a couple of weeks later noticed that I had been charged about EUR35. I had booked the rental through Argus Car Hire, an Irish company that works like Trivago does for hotels.

I emailed Argus for details and received a copy of an invoice which included half a tank of fuel.

Despite Argus' website stating they are not responsible for issues with the end company and vehicle, they do have a Complaint process (although it is not easy to find on their website).

I lodged a complaint and received an explanation that the charge was an administrative charge (which it wasn't). After a couple more emails including one with my fuel receipt attached, I received a refund.

While the process was a little disappointing at first, I was happy with the support I received from Argus; there is no way I could have chased the refund from Aus as all correspondence with the rental company in Madrid came in Spanish.

 

[theblank]

a freind of mine got a redlight camera (or speeding ticket) near Tullarmarine airport passed on by the car hire company.
After checking his flight details, he caclulated there was not enough reasonable time for him to have incurred the fine and get to checkin for his flight.

As it turns out the fine was incurred by the hire car company staff , shuffling the car around after the keys were handed it, so it was reversed. When my freind shared this story amongst a group of freinds 2 others had the same thing happen to them.

 

[van]

I regularly rent from Hertz. Generally no problems in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. However had 2 problems in Perth, one about unlogged previous car damage. It was pouring with rain on pickup so had no opportunity to photograph the damage therefore no evidence to present to Hertz. The 2nd was a fuel issue but I had a receipt which was refunded to my credit card. Otherwise regular upgrades and good, clean cars keep me with Hertz. Tried Europcar and Budget and service/cars were woeful.

 

[Renato1]

Just collect the evidence - have pictures with accurate time attached to them, and receipt - lodge a complaint with ACCC, watch for the multi-million dollar fines on TV news in the future.

Playing this game in Australia is the height of stupidity by companies, either because it is their actual sneaky policy that they encourage employees to do this, or they have poor management that doesn't notice their employees doing this for some dumb reason or other.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Prof Henry]

My current issue is with AVIS. In conjunction with my QF flight bookings, I rented a car for 3 days from SYD to be returned to Newcastle (NTL) airport. The quoted price seemed good, the standard fees seemed to be included (Vehicle Rego Charge; One-way Charge; Concession Recovery Fee etc), and the pickup and return were courteous and very smooth. But, the charge on my credit card was 50% above the Estimated Total. Called AVIS; they explained patiently that I had accepted the additional insurances and that had raised the DAILY fee and that all the other miscellaneous charges – such as Vehicle Registration Fee, and Premium Location were calculated as a % of the higher daily charge. I'd have thought that both of those were fixed amounts, but with AVIS they are a % of the Total Daily cost. I now realise that the additional insurance charges (Collision Damage Waiver, Excess ...) must be in my AVIS Preferred profile – which, of course, I will now change in case I ever rent from AVIS again.
When I suggested that:
(1) 50% premium on the quoted amount seemed to be something I should have had some warning of; and
(2) the fact that these "other" charges were all a % of the daily fee didn't appear on any of the documents I saw during the booking process;
(3) and that all I had received at the pickup was the Vehicle Condition Report;
(4) that Premium Location Charge should have been included in the original because I had specified that I was picking and returning to airports; I was told that I had ticked a box (called a PLS??).
I have asked for documentation of this to be provided but I'm not sure when I will receive this, or what it will indicate.
I had no issue with petrol either on pickup or return, but they showed no interest in checking the car. Nevertheless, I will keep an eye on credit card statements.
As a result of earlier threads on Rental Cars, I do make a habit of taking a short video as I walk around the vehicle; after reading this thread, I will now also document fuel levels as well. {sigh; why do we have to do this...}

 

[offshore171]

Never just drop the car and go. Wait for the receipt and specifically check that they have noted that the fuel tank is full.

This is not always an option as many airport drop off locations are often unattended. It's just a key drop.

It's really important to take photos of the car, the fuel gauge, the receipt etc.

 

[JohnK]

Take a photo of the odometer and fuel gauge before driving off and also when returning the car.

If there is someone there checking the car I make sure they acknowledge the fuel tank is full.

Have had some minor issues over the years which I hace sorted via email. They try all the tricks in the books including charging twice for the same car hire. Not sure what type of person you'd need to be to work for a car hire company if you can scam people so easily.

 

[rginoz]

My experience was in Lille in northern France, with Sixt car rentals. I rented a car for one day, to be returned that evening after the suburban rental location had closed for the day. I was told where to park the car and where to drop the keys.
Before returning the car, I filled the tank to overflowing at a supermarket service station about 1 km from the car rental depot. I kept the service station receipt for the fuel purchase. I returned the car, dropped the keys and photographed all around the vehicle, including the wet patch below the fuel filler where the fuel had overflowed.
On checking my credit card a couple of days later, and the on-line rental agreement, I discovered a charge for exactly 5.00 litres of fuel, at a very high charge per litre, plus an additional fee for the fuel. The total cost was about Euro30 in extra charges.
I complained to Sixt by email, including with the email a photo of the service station receipt and the photo of the car's fuel filler area. Their only response was to reverse the extra charge on my credit card within a day or two. There was no apology and no explanation.
I will never rent with Sixt again.

 

[Matthews]

Let's keep away from Hertz then. I've just changed my future bookings to Europcar. Best of a rather bad bunch I think.