 Poster: A snowHead
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| simo1234 wrote: |
Guys,
Going skiing next weekend via Geneva Airport and eager to avoid the shuttle bus fee. Any chane somebody could give me clear directions for walking to the Car Hire Desks. Also, hve the cars moved or are they still where they have always been?
Thanks |
Out of arrivals, turn right and walk as far as you can through the terminal and you will come to the hire desks. Sort your car paperwork then walk out the exit doors and across the bus collection point, walk parallel to the duel carriageway, in front of the World Trade Centre and through the self service filling station, the next building is a multistorey parking garage with the hire car collection/return on the ground floor. takes less than 5 mins (as quick as the bus). Hope that helps (but see above about Alamo).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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simo1234 -
I am assuming you are hiring from the Swiss side?
Unless things have changed again since January, when you exit from baggage reclaim you turn right for the car hire desks. As far as I recall it is clearly marked. You go through a fairly wide passage way and all the car hire desks are situated together in this new area.
This is also where the shuttle bus to the car rental car park (P1) departs from. If you want to walk it takes about 5-10 mins depending on how much baggage you have. Exit from the rental hall as if you were going to get the shuttle bus and then it is very straightforward, basically following the pavement around the airport building, passing the World Trade Centre and the petrol station on your right and you are there. I even think I recall that there is an arrow and a big 'P1' sign actually on the ground pointing you in the right direction.
If my directions aren't clear enough I think someone did a very clear step by step set of instructions a little while ago which you could prob do a search for.
I
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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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| skimom wrote: |
| It obviously depends who you get - the bloke we had said he knew nothing about a bus charge - it was free, whether we used it or not. However he did insist we pay the Environment Tax even though our voucher said that was included. We'll see... |
Alamo say they have no option but to charge, Budget say their supposed to charge but don't as they (the guys on the desk) think it's too much. Don't know about any other companies.
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midgetbiker, sorry - you beat me to it!! at least we agree on directions - got to be a plus!
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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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| loatie wrote: |
| midgetbiker, sorry - you beat me to it!! at least we agree on directions - got to be a plus! |
Aye, we can't both be wrong.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Picked up a car hired through HA from Alamo Geneva Swiss side on the 14th and had exactly the same experiences as skimom and midgetbiker. Spent about an hour waiting for Alamo and then had no choice but to pay the shuttle bus charge, despite much protestation on my part. The unhelpful lady on the desk said it was part of a tax and then took my rental voucher and used a highlighter pen to draw attention to the section that said "Payment for extras e.g. fees for one-way drop-offs, child seats and additional drivers are due on collection. Prices are subject to change, and can be subject to tax.". As it was a tax I would be charged.
Interestingly following the link from the HA email to the online Rental Voucher it now states "clients will be met by an alamo rep and taken to the local office by shuttlebus. there is a surcharge of 9 chf for this service". I don't remember it saying this when I printed it out - will have to check.
All completely different from my experience a month earlier when we also booked through HA and had a Budget car. There was no queue and having booked a Ford Focus class for 12 days we were upgraded to a 4wd Nissan Qashqai complete with differential lock - great for driving up the snow into Flaine! Snow chains were in the Alamo car but not the Budget one, but I'd much prefer Budget.
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| mfj197 wrote: |
Picked up a car hired through HA from Alamo Geneva Swiss side on the 14th and had exactly the same experiences as skimom and midgetbiker. Spent about an hour waiting for Alamo and then had no choice but to pay the shuttle bus charge, despite much protestation on my part. The unhelpful lady on the desk said it was part of a tax and then took my rental voucher and used a highlighter pen to draw attention to the section that said "Payment for extras e.g. fees for one-way drop-offs, child seats and additional drivers are due on collection. Prices are subject to change, and can be subject to tax.". As it was a tax I would be charged.
Interestingly following the link from the HA email to the online Rental Voucher it now states "clients will be met by an alamo rep and taken to the local office by shuttlebus. there is a surcharge of 9 chf for this service". I don't remember it saying this when I printed it out - will have to check.
All completely different from my experience a month earlier when we also booked through HA and had a Budget car. There was no queue and having booked a Ford Focus class for 12 days we were upgraded to a 4wd Nissan Qashqai complete with differential lock - great for driving up the snow into Flaine! Snow chains were in the Alamo car but not the Budget one, but I'd much prefer Budget. |
I got it back from Holiday Autos no probs whatsover - sent them a copy of the invoice I signed at Geneva which says it is an environmental tax - while was waiting to hear from HA I got the invoice from Alama which had renamed it "busing charge" - but then an email came from HA saying that Alamo shouldn't have charged a "bussing" fee as it as it was included in the price and so they were refunding it.
I imagine that someone at HA will be negotiating this one way or the other pretty soon.
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mfj197, Just got back from Cham again - had a Budget car and of the 3 I have had of them this year my economy car has ended up being a four wheel drive each time  - if only I could have chains included in case I ended up with a standard car then I would always ensure I booked with Budget.
On the ongoing Alamo battle (sic) then HA have sent me an email saying I will get the money back from them after my most recent 'but I walk, I don't ride the bus' arguement.
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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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Thanks skimom and midgetbiker, I'll take it up with HA if (when!) I receive the invoice. Rather annoyingly I didn't twig that the Alamo lady had given me a complaints form rather than a receipt when I asked for one for the charge.
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I just booked with HA for Geneva in mid April, and after doing the booking confirmation on-line the voucher that was finally emailed through had the now infamous "An alamo rep will meet you at the airport and transfer you by bus to the local office, a surcharge of 9 chfs is payable for this service" mysetriously appearing on it, with no prior mention.
On calling HA to complain they told me they would refund it if i got charged it. I said it wasn't really the point I shouldn't have to pay it in the first place (as it was not mentioned in the booking process or confirmation and i had an inclusive price including all airport and premium location fees), but fine would they confirm this in writing, to which the response was gobsmackingly no ! After a debate (meaning me ranting about how could I trust or rely on a company that would tell me something by phone but not confirm it by email), I was stuck on hold for 10 minutes, but when the oeprator came back on he agreed to re-issue the booking voucher with a comment stating they will refund this if I am charged it.
They have now done this.
For what its worth if you have a HA booking with this printed on the voucher, I'd ring/write and complain and make them re-issue the voucher. Only when it becomes sufficient hassle might they do something to stop it in the future. If not I fear the time will come that they will stop refunding people arguing it was clearly printed on their voucher, so make sure you get your voucher re-issued otherwise it's not part of your contract.
The temptation is, if theres 2/3/4 of you shraing a car the 9 chfs between you is so little per perspon that people don't bother which is how Alamo get away with it.
Anyway it's good to see Alamo showing their environmental concern for the swiss mountains by laying on and forcing everyone to use an unecessary bus service running 18 hours a day to go the huge distance from the terminal to the car park right outside the terminal which previsouly everyone used to walk to. Hmm.
Cheers to whoever first posted the oneaccount link by the way.
G
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Got back from GVA yesterday. Hired car thru HA using Budget. No charges for courtesy bus, but didn't use anyway as very short walk. Two lessons learned:
The booking hall with all the hire car cos in it when we arrived (about 18.00 on Saturday 28 March) was chaos. The queue for National was about 40 people long (perhaps 20 cars to pick up) and people were clearly getting impatient (to put it politely). I walked straight up to Budget desk and had my keys within about 5 minutes. The trouble is that you do not know with HA who your car is thru until you complete the booking.
On returning the car the following Saturday at about 15.00 I pulled into the AGIP filling station, went to the payment place, put in my Mastercard and it said that not accepting my card. Tried a Visa card, same story. Amex - same story. Pulled forward to the next group of pumps and repeated the process - same story. Other drivers were getting same problem. The second pump takes cash, but not euros, only CHF. Had dropped all bags with my son at terminal so had to drive back (quite easy), meet up with him, get CHF from case (had been in France but had CHF's to spend at airport), return to AGIP and then had to guess how much it would take to fill. Have to enter notes in advance and there did not appear to be any facility for change if you could not get all that value of petrol into the tank. If you were tight on time this would be a nightmare. Moral of the story: carry small denomination CHF's with you so you can put in 10CHF's at a time until fuel guage shows (nearly?) full.
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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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for those driving from the Chamonix/PdS/Grand Massif area, the filling station at Aire du Bonneville (junction 16 of the A40 Autoroute Blanc) is close enough to Geneva to still register as a full tank but avoids all of the payment issues noted above.
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We usually fill up at St Julien de Genevois, it is only a short detour off the autoroute and is usually manned.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| We usually fill up at St Julien de Genevois, it is only a short detour off the autoroute and is usually manned. |
Any details on how to find the garage? That sounds like it might be a better option that the unmanned pumps at GVA.
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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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not sure if this is the same one Helen is referring to, but it's dead easy to find and about a 2 to 3 minute diversion from the airport
I use it regularly and have always found it to be manned, you can also pick up snacks/drinks at much more attractive prices than at the airport.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just back from GVA. Sorry to report that Alamo via Holiday Autos, are still applying a mandatory "busing charge" at start of rental. Alamo policy is, you can refuse to pay this, but then we don't give you your hire car.
If you get hit for this, wait for the invoice from Alamo to arrive, then phone HA, (use sayno to0870.com for a landline no.) HA will then give you a Complaint Reference Number, and an email address to send a copy to. On receipt of the bill they will refund the cost to your card. My refund notification came by email within the hour.
I asked why this longstanding problem had not been dealt with by HA, and they've said it was because Alamo at GVA are their biggest supplier on that site, and negotiations are ongoing.
Saw no shuttle buses at either the airport, or in the car park during the period of hire.
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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: |
Saw no shuttle buses at either the airport, or in the car park during the period of hire.
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A compulsory charge for a non-existent bus? What a cheek. 
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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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snowbunny, Good grief! I first had to claim back for this from HA in January 2009 and was told the same about negotiations back then!
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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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Boredsurfing, The charge is now Sfr 8.07, and it probably costs that much to phone HA on their premium rate phone line to get the refund agreed. Once I'd explained the situation, it was an instant rollover and refund agreement by HA. The first line of the HA car hire T&C's states that all airport taxes and charges are included in the price. Perhaps they will eventually be forced to have a different agreement for GVA?
pam w Yes, we saw everyone walking with their luggage, no bus visible. A bit of a con IMV.
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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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| Quote: |
A bit of a con IMV
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A bit of an understatement....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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never ever use alamo at geneva on a popular day like saturday or sunday. When we got there
(booked thru traveljigsaw) at the end of march this year the queue was absoluytely horrendous.
We re talking about 4 hours. Who on earth wants to wait that long ?
We gave up and used SIXT and paid more than double.
It took us 3 months to get a full refund from traveljigsaw after constant court threats.
Alamo are a disgrace at geneva
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my number if anyone want further details 0044 7967 561434
i was very disapointed with the time
i had to waste with traveljigsaw/alamo.
i did receive an apolgy of sorts from traveljigsaw but not alamo.
use anyone but them at geneva !!
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I repeat never use Alamo at weekends at geneva.
There are plenty of other companies to chose from.
In 25 years of foreign travel never have in had such poor service as them at the end of march 2009,
I received no apoogy for non exisant service at geneva.
just give them a miss.
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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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| snowbunny wrote: |
Boredsurfing, The charge is now Sfr 8.07, and it probably costs that much to phone HA on their premium rate phone line to get the refund agreed. Once I'd explained the situation, it was an instant rollover and refund agreement by HA. The first line of the HA car hire T&C's states that all airport taxes and charges are included in the price. Perhaps they will eventually be forced to have a different agreement for GVA?
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I didn't ring just sent an e mail and they replied with the refund details and apologised and stated that they were investigating the 'new' charge.
I've also had hassle free service from Alamo at GVA.
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Boredsurfing, The email function was out of order on the HA website. Completing the details on the HA site and despatching the mail form achieved only frustration, and a "phone us" message
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We've just returned from 2 weeks walking in the Ecrins national park. We booked at GVA with Alamo via Holiday Autos using the link provided above - thanks Brian. All went swimmingly. There was no transfer charge to the car park and the Alamo man seemed quite pleasant and not pushy at all.
For those with satnav, the car park is at 46.2274N, 6.1033E:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=46.2274,6.1033&t=h&z=20
And for cheap fuel try the Tamoil station (next to the big fuel tanks!) at 46.2149N, 6.1042E:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=46.2149,6.1042&t=h&z=20
From the A1, take the exit (J4?) signed to Vernier just after the last tunnel. Turn right onto Route de Vernier and then left at the traffic lights after about 500m. They take Euros or CHF and are much cheaper than in France - IIRC, 1.12 vs around 1.20 to 1.40. Two of the four pumps are diesel only for trucks. There is also a BP station and a Coop very nearby.
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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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Slightly off the current thread but thought it worth pointing out I was on the verge of booking a car on the French side on Boxing Day, but at the last moment realised the car hire closed at 20.30 on the French side that day. My flight is scheduled to get in at 19.50 so I reckon that is just too tight. Swiss side is closing at 23.00 or 23.30. Thought I would post a warning to other folks thinking they might save some money.
During these busy spells its worth thinking about getting your travelling companions to collect all the bags and going straight through to the car hire desks. Saves maybe half an hour?
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Well, I did receive the refund from Holiday Autos eventually, but I would try not to use Alamo again. I'm just about to book cars for a couple of holidays this coming season so will see if it is possible to ensure the rentals are with Budget - I really don't fancy being one of the irate queue of customers at the Alamo / National desk on busy days. Interestingly the saynoto0870 number for HA is a Guildford number which is where I live - perhaps I could go round there in person!? 
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You know it makes sense.
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Hmmm - further to the above, does anyone know how to identify which hire company the HA booking would be with now? The website has changed since last year so clicking on a booking from the search results page brings up a standardised form with the same options whichever car I click on. For the 8 days I'm looking at they all have an option for "ski package (includes winter tyres, snow chains, ice scraper)" for £80, and also a "standard damage excess waiver (SDEW)" for £23.92.
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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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mfj197, it has been said many times but if hiring from Swiss side there is no need to pay extra for winter package as winter tyres and snowchain must be provided anyway by swiss regulations.
If you hire more than a couple of times a year it is probably worth buying a stand alone CDW insurance policy from somebody like www.insurance4carhire.com rather than overpaying for the hire company's policy.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| rungsp wrote: |
| mfj197, it has been said many times but if hiring from Swiss side there is no need to pay extra for winter package as winter tyres and snowchain must be provided anyway by swiss regulations.. |
Thanks rungsp, that I know, but it used to be possible to use the description of the winterisation / snow chains on the Holiday Autos website to determine which actual car rental company the hire was with before making the booking (see skimom's post on page 1 of this thread). The HA website has changed and the wording now appears identical, so I was wondering if anybody knew a way of differentiating on the new website. Having had bad experiences with Alamo/National and good experiences with Budget I would rather direct my business to Budget if I can find out how! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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| altis wrote: |
http://www.budget.co.uk/
Any good? |
Well, it would be if they offered Holiday Autos prices!
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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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| Quote: |
it has been said many times but if hiring from Swiss side there is no need to pay extra for winter package as winter tyres and snowchain must be provided anyway by swiss regulations
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It's also worth saying again that, Swiss regulations notwithstanding, you don't actually always get given chains - always check, and ask if they're not there. Friends who didn't had to buy in resort when driving back to Geneva in a blizzard - and when they complained the car hire company (which I think was europcar) refunded their expenditure. But that wouldn't have been much use if they'd encountered the snow on the way TO the resort. It was a big 4WD car, with snow tyres, and it absolutely wouldn't go up the hill without chains.
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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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Well 7 of us are booked to fly to Geneva over Christmas.
The difference in hire prices between picking up on the French side is shocking. It's an extra £200 to pick up on the French side so judging from the advice on here Swiss pick up looks the best option. Holiday autos seem to be doing the best price but there is no mention of pre-booking chains etc so I'm hoping it's all in.
We are going on a Friday so hopefully not too much queuing! Return will be Boxing Day.
Skiing on Christmas day. It doesn't get much better.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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waamo, welcome to snowHeads.
All hire car from the Swiss side of GVA come with winter tyres, so this reduces the likelihood of needing chains, but if you are driving when it is snowing heavily you might still need to use chains. Most times your hire car will come with chains, even if you didn't book them. The exception to this seems to be Budget who don't routinely have chains in the car. If this is the case you can either (a) pay extra at the airport to rent them, (b) buy a cheap set on your way to the resort, or (c) risk not having them, maybe having seen the weather forecast.
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Thanks rob@rar.
We are heading for France and don't need to rush on the first day. As it looks like I'm driving I think I will play the chains business by ear and get some if I need them.
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Also, sometimes the car just won't have the chains in - but if you find them missing, and ask, they'll give you a pair. There's no argument for hiring on the French side unless either it's a lot cheaper (which is sometimes the case) or your party includes people who don't have entry papers for Switzerland - which is the reason I've done it twice.
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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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pam w, have you tried asking Budget for chains? I did that once and they wanted me to pay. With the other operators the chains have always been in the car so no need for me to ask the question.
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Last year with Budget I didn't get chains but I was upgraded to a 4wd Nissan Qashqai. Much fun. 
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FAQ
