AN IRISH man hired a car while on holidays in France. After he returned home, €381.15 was charged to his credit card without any explanation.
When he contacted the car rental company he was told that the windscreen was cracked. He said the car was in perfect working order when he returned it. As the vehicle was brought back outside of the normal working hours of the car rental company, it was not inspected.
The complaint was brought to the attention of European Consumer Centre in France. The car rental firm eventually refunded the full amount but only because it was discovered that the motorist had extra insurance coverage.
• A French motorist rented a car during a family holiday in Ireland. He was involved in an accident caused by another driver and the car was severely damaged.
Gardaí issued a statement confirming that the French driver was not at fault. However, the car rental company charged the excess of €1,200 on his insurance, promising to refund it as soon as all the bureaucratic issues were settled. He still had not received the refund a year later.
He contacted the European Consumer Centre in France which brought this complaint to the attention of ECC Ireland. The Dublin office contacted the company and the motorist was fully reimbursed.