 Poster: A snowHead
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Just got back from a great weekends skiing in Flaine (fantastic snow  , but that's a different story). I booked the hire car to get four blokes up the mountain through www.airline-network.co.uk and was told that we'd get a Fiat Punto 2-door or similar. When we arrived at the Europcar desk at Geneva we were offered a VW Lupo, was this OK? Surely the two are not similar? So it wasn't so time to stump up for an upgrade. We also had to pay for winter tyres and adding an additional driver which I was expecting to pay. When we arrived back we'd got lost in Geneva and stuck in traffic so I just got them to print out the bill and then I rushed to check-in without studying the bill. Well desipite airline-network claiming to offer an all-inclusive rate I've been further charged with a Premium Station Service Charge of 32 CHF plus tax (about £15). So what I was expecting to cost about £120 cost over £160 which I make to be an increase of about 25%.
My real complaint here is that it seems impossible to rent a car and know what car you are going to get and how much it's going to cost even if you book an "all-inclusive" deal. There has to be a better way!
So when 9 o'clock comes I'm on the phone to airline network as "I wish to register a complaint!"
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
expecting to cost about £120 cost over £160 which I make to be an increase of about 25%
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Do the maths again - it's 33%, plus a bit in rounding.
I booked through Holiday Autos last summer. I was expecting a Renault Megane 1.9DCI, and I got a Renault Megane 1.9DCI.
There's no way a Lupo could be classed as similar to a Punto, though. Isn't the Lup designed so that it can be kept in your coat pocket while you do the shopping?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Just phoned airline network and I've got to put it in writing and then they'll look at it. I don't hold out much hope. I don't really care about the money but it's the principle of the thing.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Chris were you at the top of the mountain in Flaine on Monday, the ice froze to my face! Glad I was not at Geneva on Sunday!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I thought the deal was if they don't have a car in the class you booked - you get a higher spec one for the same price - free upgrade effectively? Certainly shouldn't get a smaller car for the same price - they should have at least discounted it.
I'm surprised the Lupo even makes it as a rental car! According to car mags - its a 'supermini' - like a smart, 106, ka or seiciento. The mini class - is usually what gets called economy by rental companies - so that would be things like puntos, 206's, polos, fiesta... so i definitely think you've got a case that it shouldn't have made you take a Lupo for the same price.
(Have booked an astra/focus/golf through europcar for end of feb - wonder what I get!)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The only time I got an upgrade it was free. I'd not booked anything, went to the desk and asked for the smallest car they had. I paid, went to get it and the stereo didn't work. I went back, asked if they had another stereo (!!) and discovered that the only other stereo that they had was firmly attached to a megane scenic
I can reccomend Hertz!!
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Slightly off topic.....but yesterday when I was looking at hire prices from Basel airport....they're at least 25% cheaper from the French side than the Swiss side. Is this the same at Geneva? Can you just then drive them into Switzerland?
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chrisb, Didn't get up to the top of the DMC on Monday but it was cold. We spend the morning off the egg but then braved white-out to go to Morrillon only for the sun to come out  . Did you ski over Samoens/les Carroz on Sunday, the snow was coming down and then freezing on contact with my coat, sallopettes and googles. It was pretty miserable actually!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We had the same problem last week. Hired a Mondeo Estate or similar (i.e. one of the largest load-carrying 5-seaters around) and were offered a Ford Focus.
No. Thank you.
So we had to upgrade to a BMW 320d estate (still smaller inside than the Mondeo). That was Hertz.
Elizabeth B, if you go on Swiss motorways then you need a Vignette.
Having said all that, last two times I hired, they didn't have the correct car available so upgraded me for free. That was National and Budget.
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Chris Reed,
Ok you think you had a raw deal, try this……………..
Hired a car through Sixti booked in July for Boxing day for 1 week cost €178.00
Got to Geneva…..no cars and was pointed to National car rental.
Only car was a Peugeot 806 cost total €2047.00
Tried everything but only thing available and the guy said take it of leave it.
Took it and now getting stonewalled by Sixti
Next move off to court, but which one UK or Swiss
Insult to injury………….Sixti debited my AMEX €178.00
If they think I have MUG written across my forehead they are in for a BIG surprise
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Slowplough, That is just awful. They can't be let to get away with this. I've hired cars on countless occasions and it has always cost more than I predicted, always taken a long time to organise and always been a pain, mind you I've never been ripped off like you. Good luck in the courts.
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Slowplough, Very, very, bad indeed. Were Sixti (are they a cheap Sixt?) not originally in breach of contract - thus reponsible at the time for fulfilling it however they could?
I haven't had trouble in ages but did once have a problem with the "British tax". On return got an invoice for unreported damage. I questioned it (as we hadn't damaged the car) and was told it was to replace the front brake lines.
Me: "How I'd driven down a mountain without brakes?"
Company: Ah, sorry, no, it's for the missing front bumper.
Me: I have 4 witnesses to the contrary
Co: You'll need to speak to the manager and he's on 2 weeks leave
2 weeks later - Manager: ah, sir, no, it was for the missing ski racks
Me: I didn't have ski racks
By this point it seemed reasonable to speak to the company's HQ. 1 phone call, "Let me investigate", they phoned back 15 minutes later, "Sorry our mistake". Yeah, right.
Lesson: (try) to never take a car out without inspecting all round top and botton, inside and out and (try) to never return without a signature that it's in the condition you received it in.
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You know it makes sense.
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Car hire companies classify their fleets by engine capacity, rather then car class (super mini, compact, family car etc). It's rather stupid, how can a Peugeot 206 1.6 l be equivalent to a 307 with the same engine?
Chris Reed, i think you'll find out that the promised Punto had a 1.1 litre engine and so did the Lupo ( both were A class, and that's what you paid for), so from their point of view they did nothing wrong. You were lucky you didn't pay for C class only to be offerred a super mini with a 1.6 engine and AC. Good luck getting even a verbal apology.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Chris Reed, did you hire Swiss or French side? Swiss cars legally have to be "winterised" which means snow tyres and chains. Never NOT had a car thus equipped and included in the original quote (sometimes itemised separately on the bill). French cars don't, so you have to pay additionally.
Generally find www.holidayautos.co.uk the best broker - don't recall ever having had a problem through them.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Slowplough, my experience was with Sixti in Kings Cross, London but it was very similar in character.
I hired a Transit van, did the usual, check for damage etc. Made very sure to get back just within the [very exactly noted] time limit. Despite there being a number of counter positions and half a doz members of staff, only one saw fit to serve customers. The others were just larking around!
Thus Gregory and I waited 40minutes to hand back the keys and get signed off. They had the nerve then try to charge us an extra day for being 15 minutes over time!! No appology, just a begrudging acceptance by the manager that they couldn't charge us for the time we were waiting to be served!
OK, so not such a big deal. But, two-three weeks later I got £200+ knocked off my credit card for a chipped windscreen! It took a bit of craftiness but I managed to determine that this was based on an inspection of the vehicle over a week after I had dropped it off... at a location 60miles away!
Naturally a very strong letter was sent to their main customer services who refunded the money, immediately but without appology.
Guess whether I'll ever use Sixti car rental again 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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u brain, Having been ripped off by Car Rental outfits in the UK, rest of Europe & the US I have drawn the conclusion that they are all crooks! certainly not the type of people you would wish to have unhindered access to your credit card details! Booking a fully inclusive 'deal' through a broker such as Holiday Autos (who I've found to be excellent) seems to be a challenge to the Rental Co. to try and add whatever additional charge they fancy, seems to be how they get their numbers up - CROOKS!.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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All,
I take it all of you paid by Credit Card ? Why not just send a letter to the hire companies complaints department then when/if you don't have any joy just tell your C.C company that it's a disputed transactions and let them sort it out ! The CC companies have legal departments who "take apart" any dodgy claims from companies, haven't heard of anyone who has had a "genuine" problem not get sorted out when they got their CC company involved.
Rgds
Rich
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Type23, Agreed but it takes an awful lot of kerfuffle, we had £700 added spuriously to our card by Alamo in Texas (appropriate!) for 'additional charges' which was eventually sorted by Visa biut only after a lot of messing about.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I don't know what procedures your CC company uses Nick. Mine sent me a form which I filled out with all details attaching receipts etc. In the mean time the "disputed amount" is suspended from the account i.e no interest charged + you don't have to pay it back ! As far as I was concerned my involvement ended and I just let the CC company sort it out, brilliant and stress free ! well for me anyway  I use MBNA and have to say I've found their customer service excellent. I've heard thou of other CC firms making it awkward for customers to get back monies. As long as you insist and make them aware of the fact that you know your rights (something along the lines of "You know your rights under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974" then they have absolutely no choice than to get involved on your behalf.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you are hiring from Geneva Airport it makes your life a lot LOT easier if you hire from the Swiss side!
The car will probably be a bit more expensive for any given level of car, but you will have the ticket meaning you can use Swiss motorways, and you will be equipped to drive in the Alps.
The motorway thing is critical! if you don't have it you cannot use the motorway through Geneva (time from outskirts to airport approx 35 seconds) you have to drive through the (badly signposted) mess that is Geneva this will take you approx 5 YEARS!
Once you have made the airport you have to drive in ever decreasing circles until you find the minute random turning into what looks like a prison camp where you drop off the car.
Take home message: hire from the Swiss side of Geneva!
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Holiday Autos for me every time. No problems yet. 
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I always make sure that i now take digital photos of the car i've hired when i drop it back, also when picking up if i think there is anything that could be construed as "damage". I know we all want to get out of there as quikly as possible but it pays in the long run to give the customer agents a tough time and note anything down with them so that they can't "make things up" after you've arrived home from your holiday! Thankfully i've never had a problem using holiday autos as the broker and National as the actual rental agent on a couple of occasions.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Stevo, I used Hertz in Geneva this weekend and all ok, even though I did use the French side and drove back through Geneva, clearly I was just lucky with the traffic
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Chris Reed, I was mainly in Samoens on Sunday, and the ice was freezing to my goggles too. Went up the DMC on Monday and did an impression of some hardcore North Pole explorer, we could not see a bloody thing. Mind you it made me ski as fast as I could to get down. By the time we got lower the sun was out and we ski-ied all the way down to Vercland.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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David Murdoch, Caspar, Stevo, - well, I would take care with them as well. We hired a car out of Chambery with them and when we arrived there was no one on the desk. We eventually (2 hours later!) established that the desk is never open open on a Sunday - even though they confirmed the booking. AND Holiday Autos had already taken the money out of my credit card. By the time we had sorted all this out there were no cars or buses to be had and we got the last taxi available to take us to Courchevel - very expensive. The same on return. We rang Holiday Autos again from the resort who told us that we could go back to the airport the following day and pick up a car!! Right - another taxi journey - which we declined. They were totally unhelpful on the 'phone and seemed to think it wasn't a problem, whilst we were steaming. But I have to say that they are (fingers crossed) refunding the cost of the car-hire and taxi fare. I think certainly paying by credit card helps, but I'll be very wary next time I book car-hire!!
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| Jane wrote: |
| David Murdoch, Caspar, Stevo, - well, I would take care with them as well. We hired a car out of Chambery with them and when we arrived there was no one on the desk. |
I've had that happen in the UK at EMA flying in from GVA, Hertz turned out to closed on a Saturday but still took my (PA's) booking
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You know it makes sense.
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just to add a ha'penny worth - just back from turin airport - car hire there (thrifty) tried to pawn off a smart car instead of a punto - not the smart fourfour (which is rubbish but at least nearly the same size as the punto) but the original smart
.... point of clarification here - im six foot four - i don't think that my legs would have fitted inside the car
.... they (with bad grace) accepted that they had to give me a bigger car - ended up with a fiat stilo as they had nothing in punto range available ..... not the start of a week that one wants however !
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Part of the problem can be that the rental people at the airport are often franchisees who may be working on a different level to a rental company owned outlet.
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you are going with a scheduled airline, and probably long-haul only, it's worth checking what deals are available through them. For example, BA have just given me 3 days free car hire with Hertz. Group F. Pick up at LHR and drop off at Southampton without any extra one-way charges. All I had to do was ask for it when I booked and paid for my trip Kuwait-UK and back. And those flights were a reasonable deal too - not full fare by any means. The voucher 'value' was approx £140 for the car hire element. Cost me nearly that for a one day, one way, Group B rental, including petrol to reverse the trip after my visit to Les Arcs. BTW the filling station on the perimeter road near Terminal 4 at Heathrow has closed. Not easy to find a place to refuel on that side now.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have just used HolidayAutos for the umpteenth time....and it's the first time that we've had problems. Usual agent is Alamo but this time we were booked with Budget.
The car itself was alright but didn't come with any winter kit....I paid upfront for that, still at 6CHF a day for chains I agreed to pay up rather than hang around the airport complaining. Set off, but couldn't even get out of the car park because the drivers window wouldn't open! Back round in a circle, complain to hangers on in the car park, hang around waiting for someone from upstairs to potter down to us, shrug of shoulders..."Haven't got anything else, you'll have to put up with it!", eventually got them to knock off the price of the chains...which I shouldn't have paid for anyway....and struggled off for a week of hopping in and out of the car at every car park and toll booth (in freezing conditions!).
I'm now waiting for the Credit Card bill......here's hoping I don't get stung for a broken window, chains and anything else they can swing on me!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Just to set the record straight as I have rather slated Holiday Autos above - they have just reimbursed us with the cost of car hire and taxi fares, so all's well in the end - apart from the initial hassle!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Jane,
As said elsewhere Sixti have reimbursed me completely, so although traumatic no damage.
Well done Sixti
Glad you got your problem sorted.
Slowplough
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brian
brian
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Slowplough, now that you've filled me with trepidation for my Sixti booking in the summer 
Whereabouts at Geneva are they ? Passed through last week and didn't see a desk, are they part of Sixt ?
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brian
brian
Guest
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Incidentally, we used Holiday Autos/Budget last week. Everything was fine and we got a free upgrade from a compact to a Mazda 6 estate which was nice.
btw, if you book Holiday Autos through this link http://www.fleeteurope.co.uk/main.aspx?page=wwh you get a 10% discount.
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We used Travelextras.com for our long weekend in Grindelwald last week. This was brokered thru Europcar at Basel airport. We had booked a VW Golf 1.4 Estate for £140, and we were given a free upgrade to a VW Passat 1.9tdi 4x4 Estate. Well impressed, will deffo use them again. We have been with Holiday Autos every time in the past, and they have been fantastic too.
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Type23,
I did the same with Halifax and I got the monies refunded. Good call Type23,
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Used Budget in Nice last week, excellent service, Renault Megane (as booked) . Used Europcar (booked via SCGB Snowextras) last Xmas at Geneva (Swiss side), they charged us twice for fuel (pre-paid fully inclusive deal) , then charged when took it back empty . We only noticed the charge when I got the creit card bill. Never did get the refund despite many complaints to both Snowextras and Ski Club. We got a nice car though, 4Wd Golf Estate, as opposed to Focus. never had to pay for upgrade because they didnt have the car we'd booked though.
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brian, thanks for that link. Having established that they were the cheapest supplier, I was about to book a car with Holiday Autos. I've just saved about £25.
Thanks to you, I've just found something to justify all the time I've wasted on snowHeads
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FAQ
