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Car Hire Fraud / Scams

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 12:56pm
16 replies824 views6 members subscribed
Lee 03189

Lee 03189

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Car Hire Fraud/Scams (Second Part)

The post about "Hire Cars Fraud" posted last week, has just exceeded 110.000 views.

We have realized that this is a current issue that does worry to all of you, so we have contacted a law firm (Molina Solicitors) asking about their opinion on this matter and here you have their answer;

Molina Solicitors;

"Recently you may have seen the incredible number
of messages from people "scammed" or tricked by car hire companies in Spain. Many people have contacted them saying that they had been charged for damage that was not their fault, extra fuel when they left the vehicle full, extra insurance, airport tax. Or they were not refunded their deposit even though there was no reason to retain it. Some companies names are coming up more frequently than
others, and of course, there are many genuine companies that people recommend.

We have also had a great deal of clients each year in this position. What is their advice to them?

BEFORE HIRING A RENTAL CAR

Please take action to protect yourself. This includes:

- Read reviews of a car hire company before using it.

- Don't leave it until you arrive at an airport but check out the companies to avoid first.

- When you are hiring a car, although you may just have arrived late and are tired, make sure you spend the time with the company personnel checking the vehicle.

- Take your own video and photos close up of the car, every side, and every scratch and make sure you also do this also on the lower surface and trim of the bumpers.

- Make sure that the company staff is fully aware you are doing this and insist on both signing off on every mark plus a photo of the petrol gauge.

- We recommend taking out annual CDW insurance through an insurance underwriter to cover any excess you may have with a company such as https://www.insurance4carhire.com/. They cover for annual or single trips.

- When you return the car, make sure again you take photos and video and also of the fuel gauge showing it full

- Insist on the car being examined and signed off-

Then you know you have done all possible to protect yourself, it should not be necessary but unfortunately, it is.

AFTER YOU HAD A PROBLEM

Unfortunately, a problem could still arise and the action we
recommend to clients who are having problems with a company making extra charges to their credit card are as follows:

- Write an email of complaint informing them that if they do not reverse the charges you will leave a bad review of the company or consider further action such as putting it in the hands of a lawyer (this sometimes works).

- If after a short period of time this has had no effect, consider a formal complaint (depending on the sum either by a Consumer Office Complaint (OMIC), or an "Hoja De Reclamaciones" a complaint filling in forms in the office of the company and presenting to the local Consumer Bureau here in Spain, your own formal letter sent by bureaux,
or a lawyer's letter sent by bureaux.

- In this letter, inform them that if they do not reverse their actions, you will not only leave a bad review but also take the matter to the police and put it in the hands of a lawyer.

- In the meantime, within 2 weeks from the charges being taken, the most important action you should take and that we always advise is to contact your bank/credit card company and advise that the debits were fraudulent/unauthorized charges and you want to start a claim to get them back. Usually, there is a one month period that this is possible,
so do not delay.

The majority of clients who have approached us in this situation have had the charges refunded because when contacted the car hire company has to show evidence of why they made the charges and frequently they cannot. The clients affected have then left bad reviews about the company so that other people may be aware of their unscrupulous practices.

This works usually when a client has had an unauthorized amount taken, but what about if they have not been refunded their deposit?

In this case, then the client needs to make the usual complaints and overtures to the company, and if this does not work, a lawyer's formal letter may be needed but the cost of this has to be taken into account, and if it has no effect, again it depends on how much is lost to consider a legal action (unless a group of people who suffered loss get together to share costs of a Court Action). For larger sums, the use of a lawyer is recommended.

WHY IS THIS STILL HAPPENING? HOW CAN IT BE STOPPED?

One of the problems with these scams is that the companies often do not care, as more and more people arrive each year, desperately needing car hire and not realizing they will be duped. There is always new cannon fodder.

As most people hiring rental cars are foreigners this severely limits the legal redress they can take. Yes, they can employ a lawyer to deal with larger claims, but it is expensive and takes time. Any Court case also means the person claiming needs to come back to Spain at their own expense to attend the hearing. Many people do not realise this when they go to
the police, which they can only do in person, and make a denuncia that if the police do pursue the case (which maybe they would if enough people went to the police about a company) that they could be called back to Spain to Court.

The other way it could be stopped is if more people made consumer complaints, however, this too is not easy. This is the link for the Valencian website for consumer complaints;

http://www.indi.gva.es/…/presentacion-de-reclamaciones-y-qu….

Unfortunately, it is only in Spanish. It describes how you can make a complaint (which is filling out forms in the company's office - but many people have gone home already to their country and this is not practical).

Only holders of a Spanish digital certificate can make the claim online (and very few ordinary people have this and certainly not tourists in Spain).

However, there is one thing people can do if they reside in Europe and the company is in Europe. That is to make an online complaint via the European Consumer Office. Please see here some details on the European Consumer Centres, as people can contact them for advice, free of charge.

https://ec.europa.eu/…/c…/resolve-your-consumer-complaint_en

We recommend this course of action as then eventually something may be done about these companies.

Lastly, if a group of people wished Molina Solicitors to start a Class Legal Action against a company, to share costs, we would be happy to explore this possibility when our offices open again in September after the holidays."

Information Source;

https://www.molinasolicitors.com/

https://www.facebook.com/molinasolicitors


John56

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:08pm

John56

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:08pm

"The post about "Hire Cars Fraud" posted last week, has just exceeded 110.000 views"

Please show information to support this claim as the only possible post I can find that you may be referring to has had 1159 views.

Lee 03189

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:16pm

Lee 03189

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:16pm

This is quite possibly from last week, However I didn't see it -  so it is also posted for those who may have missed it ;) 

John56

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:22pm

John56

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:22pm

Lee 03189 wrote on Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:16pm:

This is quite possibly from last week, However I didn't see it -  so it is also posted for those who may have missed it ;) 

But you haven't answered my question, where do you get the figure of 110,000 views from. Without clarification this looks like an advertising scam.

Lee 03189

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:27pm

Lee 03189

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John56

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:31pm

John56

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:31pm

Thank you, it would have helped if you had given this information in your original post with a link to the Facebook Page.

John56

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:53pm

John56

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:53pm

This post that was quoted has been deleted.

That's what I thought Ray, FAKE NEWS and a scam looking for business.

Movingon

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:53pm

Movingon

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:53pm

There are problems for sure but as well as focussing on complaints the balanced view would be to include the views of satisfied customers whom I'm certain will form the vast majority but of course by and large don't comment and certainly not here if they do.

Sometimes the problem is with booking through agencies when you find out on the day that what they sold you is different to what the hire car company themselves are offering. This happened to me just last week when I booked a mid size car for 8 days through Rental24h.com, where a search for a car with a free 2nd driver took me, and which came in an incredible €103 but there it was so I took the deal.

I won't name the actual company save to say that they have come in for their share of comments both good and bad but when I arrived to collect the car all went well until they started the pitch to sell me additional insurance which I neither wanted nor needed because I have an annual policy with Insurance4carhire but having declined it I was then told that as a result of that the supposed included additional driver would now cost me another €56 and that the block on my credit card would go from €800 to €1400 they then however sweetened the deal by offering a two group upgrade (Kia Sportage) and FULL insurance for an all in €175 with just a €200 deposit for fuel which I think by anybody's reckoning is a pretty good deal which right now on their website would cost around €60 more so although I'd gone in at least half expecting to get what I'd booked and paid for I certainly didn't come away feeling particularly cheated by them more by the agency with whom I've lodged a complaint.

Will I use the same hire company again, almost certainly yes not least of all because they told me that even without the agency booking they would have done me the same or a similar deal over the counter.

Lee 03189

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:22pm

Lee 03189

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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:22pm

Well do Pardon me for not displaying the source... I didn't know it was compulsory and a condition of posting !!!

 I was only trying to help and inform others as a friend has been SCAMMED by Euorocar I have also had an unsuccessful SCAM by GOLDCAR.

Movingon

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 5:15pm

Movingon

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Posts: 1857

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Joined: 7 Feb 2018

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 5:15pm

No need to get bristly. 

When you throw out a number like that, which exceeds the entire membership of this forum many many times over, it really should come as no surprise that people are curious as to where its actually come from. 

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