Imagine that you rented a car in Europe through a company where you believe that you scored a good deal — only to find that you are being charged 50 euros for picking up the vehicle at the airport despite being in possession of a voucher that you owe no additional money or payment for the rental.
Should You Use This Company to Rent a Car in Europe?
That scenario is what allegedly happened to InsideFlyer member HomerJ, who advises fellow members of InsideFlyer to “avoid like the plague” a company known as Auto Europe, which is based in Portland, Maine.
InsideFlyer member freebird recounted experiencing a similar incident with Auto Europe: “I got scammed at Nice, France Airport which was pre-paid. They called it the ‘parking fee.’ Three weeks after I dropped off the car at the airport another $125 was charged to my car.”
Not every member of InsideFlyer has had problems with Auto Europe, however. “I have used Auto Europe multiple times and never had problems my only concern is that you have to prepay the booking”, claimed InsideFlyer member newbluesea. “Although whenever I had to cancel the funds have been refunded promptly.”
Carefully Read the Fine Print
This may be a case where it pays to read all of the terms and conditions of your contract: “I call Auto Europe to get the mistake rectified, and they state that not on the voucher they sent me, but on page 2 of a 4 page PDF attachment they sent along with the voucher states that 50E charge”, HomerJ posted. “Their voucher says $0.00, and they stick this surcharge on the legalese form that comes with the agreement. Yes I should have read everything, however no company should not operate in this underhanded manner. It’s underhanded knowing most people wont read through 4 pages of legaleze.”
Does HomerJ have a point? Should the information pertaining to the charge of 50 euros for picking up the vehicle at the airport have been clearly stated on the voucher — or at least have been more prominently printed on the document of four pages which accompanied the voucher? Was this information “buried” in the fine print of the document purposely for the express intent of deception?
Summary
If there is any lesson to be learned here, it is that you should always read the fine print of the terms and conditions of any contract which you enter with rental car companies — or any entity, for that matter…
…but when contracts are written in “legalese” — which is usually unclear to average customers — and several pages are needed to state those terms, is expecting the customer to completely read and fully understand all aspects of the contract unrealistic?
If you are unsure about the terms and conditions of a contract, do not hesitate to ask a representative of the rental car company to explain the portions of the contract about which you are uncertain prior to leaving the facility in the vehicle which you rented. Better yet — if possible — get any explanations in writing in the form of being amended on your contract and initialed by the representative of the company to protect yourself should an issue arise later.
In the meantime, please join in on this discussion and impart your thoughts and experiences.
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
