Hire companies are levying "surprise" fees for damage and loading extra car insurance on to customers, it has been suggested.
Car hire firms are making mistakes in customer billing regarding car insurance and damages caused to vehicles, a BBC investigation has suggested.
According to the broadcaster, some people who hire cars are facing surprise charges for damages; they are being forced to pay out for any incidents which cause damage to the car between the time it is left by them and the time that it is picked up and re-inspected by the hire firm.
Customers have also complained that car hire companies have charged them for extra car insurance they did not ask for, and billed them incorrectly for fuel use.
Moreover, the damage claims have led customers affected to question the burden of proof the companies need before billing customers for such incidents. Speaking to the BBC, hire car user David Scott said that he had been billed £336 for windscreen damage to a car he left at an Italian airport following a holiday last month. The charge came despite Mr Scott leaving the vehicle in what he believed to be a "good condition".
He commented: "I think the cards are stacked against you with car hire companies. There is so little obvious proof required from the car hire company that damage to a vehicle actually occurred."
Amanda Diamond at consumer group Which? said that drivers can avoid the surprise billing by making sure that they hand over their hire cars to staff in person. "Try and drop the car off while there is someone at the office," she advised. "If you can't do that, then take lots of photographs so that you have proof there's been no damage to the car."
Compare car insurance via money.co.uk
