How does Europcar treat you as an Elite?

[Denali]

I think I would be afraid to drive that!

Melbourne Airport, Christmas Day. Booked economy compact (city driving/parking) and got a Hyunadi i30. The guy looked like he was going to offer an upgrade if pushed but then he looked at the line behind us and just said, "I hope that's OK" and for us it was. I got the feeling I could have pushed if I wanted to but again, city driving, I wanted a small car.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Status: Elite
Date: Feb 3
Location: CNS
Car booked: ECMR (dogbox Nissan Micra)
Rate: $52 (Accor 20% off)
Car received: My favourite.....VW Golf

Wow.....three good upgrades in a row out of CNS. The other good news is that Europcar has brought back the Golf. They were becoming very thin on the ground a little while back, but apparently another deal has been struck with VW to bring them back into the fleet. I'm pretty happy with that news. The Golf beats the A Class Merc by a country mile IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Wow.....three good upgrades in a row out of CNS.

Let me correct myself here............upgrades seem to be back to an appreciated level, however a Leopard doesn't seem to change it's spots.

I've just received the bill from Europcar and they've once again charged me for 9L of fuel ($24.66 :shock despite the tank being filled to the brim and they've charged me for two days rental because they don't man the return counter at the Int. terminal at 0530 when I dropped the car back, despite the rental agreement clearly stating that was the time I intended to drop it back. At the time they say I dropped it back, 09:49 (most likely the time they collected the keys from the drop box), I had already landed in HGU.......3 hours flying away! I guess at worst I could possibly get my customs clearance which will show me clearing AU at CNS at about 0540, but I have no idea how to do that.

Oh well, I'll email them now along with the rental agreement and fuel receipt and see how I go, but this has happened with Europcar CNS previously and I never even received a reply, but this time if I get no response I'll try a chargeback with AMEX as the difference is about $78. Just to highlight the stupidity of this lot, a calculation can prove the fuel. I drove 41km (from Europcars bill). I put 6L in it and they claim they had to put 9L in it which equals 15L for 41 kms of driving in a Golf????? Over 36L/100km???? Yeah right. If the actual figure of 6L was used to calculate, it'd be a more respectable, but still too high, 15L/100km which indicates to me I also paid for some of the previous renters fuel bill!

 

[coles525]

Golden rule of car hire: Photos!

- fuel level & total distance (speedo).

- date/time/gps / background of hirecar building logo: it being dropped of at 5.12am on a day they are closed.

- more photos! I wonder how many hail storms can occur, or tree branches that can fall down when you were driving it?

As in: the car was perfect when dropped off, any "seen damage" after drop off is not your problem.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Golden rule of car hire: Photos!

- fuel level & total distance (speedo).

- date/time/gps / background of hirecar building logo: it being dropped of at 5.12am on a day they are closed.

- more photos! I wonder how many hail storms can occur, or tree branches that can fall down when you were driving it?

As in: the car was perfect when dropped off, any "seen damage" after drop off is not your problem.

Yes, I photograph the vehicle on pickup (if there is damage) but I haven't done it on drop off, but this is the first time I've been charged a two day rental in these circumstances.

 

[AdMEL]

Golden rule of car hire: Photos!

- fuel level & total distance (speedo).

- date/time/gps / background of hirecar building logo: it being dropped of at 5.12am on a day they are closed.

- more photos! I wonder how many hail storms can occur, or tree branches that can fall down when you were driving it?

As in: the car was perfect when dropped off, any "seen damage" after drop off is not your problem.

Unfortunately with respect to damage, I think rental agreements say otherwise - effectively that until they check the vehicle, it is your responsibility.

This, and the late check in experienced by swanning_it, are why unmanned stations really annoy me. If they aren't going to pay someone to be there, then either don't allow returns then (so you know upfront), or at least have some way of allowing for the actual return time, rather than when they can be bothered taking the keys out of the drop box. This could be the return time on the rental agreement, as swanning_it mentioned, or checking a CCTV, or you writing it on the rental agreement cover which was designed for that purpose. Effectively, they have to trust the renter.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Effectively, they have to trust the renter.

I agree with this. The decision to allow the rental but then save the cost of manning the station is their decision to make, but to then try on this cough is just plain rude. To rub salt in the wound, Europcar CNS accept my bookings for an Int. terminal pickup at 17:30 on Friday afternoons, yet they refuse to have the vehicle at the Int. terminal and have the sign out directing us to walk to the dom terminal to collect the keys as they don't want to send one of their people over, even though the flight number is included in the booking. That annoys me, but I've accepted the reality (I'm the only one on my flight to book a car and the int. terminal is pretty well deserted when we arrive), but it just shows their modus operandi there......bugger the client as long as we can save a buck on staff (let's face it, they have multiple staff on in the dom terminal and it would not cost them much to send one of them with the vehicle and keys to the Int when the flight arrives).

 

[madmouse58]

Status: Executive
Date: 6/2/16
Location: MEL
Car Booked: CDAR
Rate: $56/day 1-3 Days
Car Received: ICAR VW Golf

Initially offered a Camry FCAR, with hail damage. Went to office and was offered another Camry. While waiting for this, the awesome CSR offered me a golf instead.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I've just received the bill from Europcar and they've once again charged me for 9L of fuel ($24.66 :shock despite the tank being filled to the brim and they've charged me for two days rental because they don't man the return counter at the Int. terminal at 0530 when I dropped the car back,

Well, an update to this story. Europcar has emailed me a credit note against the original bill and raised a new adjusted bill for just one day rather than two. They have still charged me for the fuel.

On one hand I'm pleased as they obviously agree with me that their carpark staff made an error, but then I'm still annoyed that even though they agree an error was made and even though I provided them a copy of the fuel receipt and the calculations against their own figures that prove there is no way the fuel was justified or possible, they've still decided to attempt to rip me off with it.

I'll be emailing them again rejecting the charge and see what transpires. Even though it's only $24, the fact is that I don't owe it to them and I don't believe they have the right to steal it when presented with the evidence, as I have. I could try a CC charge back, (which I'm unsure if that's possible for part of a bill) or perhaps the mainstream media might run with it. I've never had this issue any where but CNS airport. At CNS airport, it's happened twice now within a space of about 12 months.

 

[Ausbt]

I'll be emailing them again rejecting the charge and see what transpires.

Amazed you got a response at all. They have consistently failed to respond to half-a-dozen of my missives, yet today they send me an email answering a question I didn't not ask and 'apologies for the delayed response'. In short, their Customer Server is a complete oxymoronic debacle.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Amazed you got a response at all. They have consistently failed to respond to half-a-dozen of my missives, yet today they send me an email answering a question I didn't not ask and 'apologies for the delayed response'. In short, their Customer Server is a complete oxymoronic debacle.

Yes, I agree totally. The first time I was gipped for fuel and complained via their feedback, I never even received an automated response. Absolutely nothing.

 

[Cynicor]

I'd start raising a chargeback at the same time. You can do it against part of the bill but sometimes they just cancel the whole charge.

State your case and that you aren't getting far and what you want refunded and let them do the rest. Works really well.

Had an issue with the FT.com who wouldn't respond to my emails about cancelling. Amex refunded it within about 2 hours of receiving my correspondence. Bonus- the account still seems to get access!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I'd start raising a chargeback at the same time.

Now here is one for the "I see it but I just don't believe it" file! I hadn't yet got around to sending them another email re: the fuel charge, when into my inbox I receive yet another credit note for the new invoice amount and a new invoice for the correct amount, without the bogus fuel charge! I must admit, I'm absolutely astounded, albeit happy.

Now if only they'd upgrade my account to VIP as they're supposed to and send me the elusive free weekend voucher.

 

[Ausbt]

the elusive free weekend voucher.

I'm only Elite but I still managed to get a free weekend voucher. Used it at the LHR outlet for day trips to Bath & Oxford.

 

[anchew]

I thought I might share my recent experience with Eurpcar. I booked a 4 day hire from CBR. Pickup at 19:00 on a Thu and return at 20:00 on a Sat, which was quoted as $152.86. But I returned the car early which meant the rental became a 3 day rental. However, I was charged $223.25. When I queried this, I got the following lame response:

Thank you for contacting Europcar regarding your recent rental.
We understand that you were dissatisfied with the extra day charge and we would like to take this opportunity to clarify our procedures and how they relate to your comments.
At Europcar we pride ourselves on our standards of customer service and satisfaction, for this reason we welcome any constructive feedback which helps us monitor our effectiveness. Our service is underpinned by standard operating procedures that each staff member in our locations is required to adhere to. Those standards ensure that we act fairly and consistently in all areas of customer service and rental administration.
From our system the station recorded your rental being returned to Canberra Airport on the 30/01/2016 at 19:00 making this rental 3 days and not the 4 days you originally booked subsequently you were charged the 3 day date which is higher than the 4 day rate.

The longer the rental the cheaper the rate.

We value you as a customer and hope we can be of service again in the future.

I got quite upset with the response so fired off the following:

Thank you for your response. I am disappointed in your response, especially as a loyal Privilege Elite customer of Europcar. Any reasonable person would consider charging someone more for returning a vehicle early to be unconscionable conduct. At no time was I informed that returning the vehicle early resulted in extra charge and thus I also consider this to be deceptive conduct. As I consider the actions of europcar unconscionable and deceptive conduct, I will be making a complaint with Consumer Affairs Victoria and the ACCC.

Today, I got the following response:

Thank you for contacting Europcar.

We have refunded $70.87 to honour your original booking quote.

Happy days

 

[Awesom Andy]

I think other providers have similar charges as well, in that a shorter rental can actually cost more than a longer one. Some also charges a fee specifically to deal with early returns to avoid people taking the cheaper longer term rate. Probably a yield management thing.

 

[andye]

I think other providers have similar charges as well, in that a shorter rental can actually cost more than a longer one. Some also charges a fee specifically to deal with early returns to avoid people taking the cheaper longer term rate. Probably a yield management thing.

Suppose its a bit like 'hidden city' airfares.

Of course it would never be invoked if you returned late and triggered a lower rate.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Happy days

I had this at Rocky airport. The staff there are fabulous (at IMHO). When I was doing the booking, I noticed it was actually cheaper to have an extra day and I was lucky enough that I was able to time the return to be just over the cut off time. When I handed the keys back, I said to the Europcar guy, "do me a favour and please DON'T invoke the 1/2 hour grace period" He just laughed and said he can never work out why it can be cheaper to have a car for longer!

 

[anchew]

What's with Europcar Syd Airport? I picked up a car over the weekend and there was zero recognition of loyalty (Elite). The keys weren't prepared and they even asked me if I wanted to upgrade for an extra cost. It took over 10 minutes to process. Very different to my experience when I rent from Cbr which is in & out in less than 30 seconds. Was it an isolated experience or is that usual for Syd?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

they even asked me if I wanted to upgrade for an extra cost.

I've had that at CNS. I simply replied with a question..."So there are upgrades available"? When they replied in the affirmative, I thanked them and said I'd have it for nothing as my Privilege Elite upgrade, which they did.