 Poster: A snowHead
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Just booking a car hire at GVA, and get the following message:
From 01 November - 15 April it is mandatory for rentals to have winter tyres. If you choose not to include the winter package as part of this booking you will be charged locally.
Do they actaully make this charge at the airprot, I wonder? I have hired through them before and have never prevsiouly been charged any extra for show tyres.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I opted for the 'will be charged locally' the last time I rented from HA and the original invoice I received from the car hire desk at the airport included the charge but as I had to extend the hire by a couple of days, when I asked for the final invoice, the charge had disappeared - hit and miss (in Switzerland they always had to put winter tyres on and put chains in the back by law anyway I thought)
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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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worth checking auto-europe before committing with HA. even with the discount, HA were more expensive when I booked car hire out of GVA for December
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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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stephen buck, GVA Switzerland or GVA France. 2 different countries with different rules. Car rental is usually cheaper on the French side, but you will certainly have to pay for a winter package if you want it on the French side.
Depending on the charges and your time scales of being in resort. You can save a bit by buying chains in a supermarket, if your self catering you'll probably be visiting one before the resort anyway.
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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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stephen buck, we've had this many times before, basically if you hire with HA at Geneva Swiss side and don't pay HA upfront for the winter package then you may or may not be charged locally depending on the provider.
All swiss hire cars will have the tyres fitted anyway, some may have chains in the car some may not and you have to ask for them. If you have to ask for them then it's very likely you will get charged.
I did once try to argue with HAs about the winterisation charge which was retrospectively charged to my credit card but didn't get anywhere. My point was that the tyres are not an optional extra in Switzerland, they are on the car by law, therefore they should be included in the headline price. Good luck 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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just looked at our booking for HA at Chambery, we've already organised Winter Tyres through the TA we used but it's saying 35 euros a day and 17.5 euro's a day for chains, can't be right?
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The great car hire rip off is one reason why we now drive to the Alps in our own car. How can they justify charging you extra for something that is mandatory? It's like saying, if you want seatbelts, it is extra, oh and by the way, they are compulsory.
And dont get me started on scratches and dings. They are always very dismissive of these when you pick up the car, but rather less so when you bring it back IME. And the "damage" they find after you leave the car in an empty garage (no staff in sight) is often on the windscreen, which isn't covered by LDW funnily enough.
In the end I have just got tired of the fight. Good luck. Oh and before you ask, yes I do have winter tyres 
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sanman, +1, they all TTP and its not worth the hassle any more.
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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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.Alan R, It's GVA Swizerland.
I also see that I have to pick the car up from a man from Rent Occasion holding a card with my name on, rather than go to a desk. Did that once beofre and it was rather unsatisfactory, as he was late. Also menat that I had to pay to exit the car from the car park - never had that beofre... Was tricky to hook up with him on the return, too.
Yes, does seem a con that you have to pay extra for somethihng that is compulsory anyway. Have taken it up with HA and they are supposed to be coming back to me.
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never had to do this and unlikely to need to - however just a thought re the dings & scratches
Use a camera/mobile phone to take photo's of the car from all angles , with as much detail as possible
take photos of the windows so thay can be seen.
When they say - there was damage, aske them for photographs of the damage and say you will have them compared against
the photos you have taken when the car was left.
I bet unless they will back down very quickly then, and its only a bit of storage on the phone/camera card these days as well.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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These days I always try to ensure the returns desk see me take the photos too - just to discourage them trying it on.
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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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All good stuff. Three years ago, arriving late in the dark I picked up a car with a 3" horizontal crease high up on the door and missed it (I saw it minutes later when I pulled round to arrivals to pick up my friends who had been waiting for bags). It wasnt on the form and guess what, I got stung for it on return.
A month later I was back in the GVA hire car garage and saw another couple picking up the same car ... with the same crease ... and it wasn't on their paperwork either. I wonder how many times that damage was paid for, and if it ever actually got repaired?
It is fraud, pure and simple, but if you complain, the head office always professes astonishment, blames local staff and sends you a load of platitudes about "not up to our usual high standards" waffle waffle. International corporations could teach John Gotti a thing or two. I would love to see thier internal training manuals, Section 5, "how to stiff your customers"
Since then I am extremely anal about recording every tiny mark, but as I say, I try to avoid hiring cars at all if I can.
I am not naming names, but over the last five years, I have used just about all of them, and they all try it on, without exception. So sue me!
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Had confirmation today that my Alamo/National vehicle collected from Chammbery WILL have snow tyres included, I will take a FULL VIDEO on a separate SD card for the whole vehicle, tyres, boot, spare, windows,external body work etc. I will also take my own vehicle condition form with me and ask them to counter sign, the f'rs aren't getting me!
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You know it makes sense.
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Standee, Good idea but is this just a European rip off as i have never had an issue when renting in the USA where we have taken cars back with scratches and dints and on pointing them out to the guy booking back in have always had the answer of "dont worry about it, it is nothing and they all get spruced up before they are sold"
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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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I once had a puncture on the motorway on the way back to Geneva.....to find no jack in the boot!!
With check in looming ever closer I decided to drive off the motorway (slowly on the hard shoulder) and borrow a jack at a service area. I made it to the airport in the nick of time and explained what had happened to the car rental person checking the car. They searched the boot and confirmed no jack, with a note being made to that effect on the paperwork.
The result? The maximum excess of £750 charged to my credit card!!
After much email correspondence with the booking agent and Budget car hire - including an insulting photo of the compartment where they assured me that the jack had been - the excess was reduced to 'only' the cost of a replacement wheel (NB. wheel as opposed to tyre!) - ie £250 
Any surprise that I now avoid hiring with Budget - though rental through Holiday Autos etc means it's sometimes unavaoidable?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Beware of Rent Occasion. I think this is subject that has been covered before. If you book direct with them they are are better to deal with but since HA started using them they have gone downhill. The idea of returning the car to a man in the drop off car park is pretty convenient if you can be certain of your timing but rubbish if you cant. In my experience their cars are way below standard as well Sorry for the downer but I will not be using them 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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Beware of Rent Occasion. I think this is subject that has been covered before. If you book direct with them they are are better to deal with but since HA started using them they have gone downhill. The idea of returning the car to a man in the drop off car park is pretty convenient if you can be certain of your timing but rubbish if you cant. In my experience their cars are way below standard as well Sorry for the downer but I will not be using them again.
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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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HA now say that there is a 10 CHF per day charge for snow tyres, payable locally. I might take the risk - they have never chaerged me locally before, and on the Rent Occasion it makes no mention of any such charge. Just a scam by HA to try to get more money for us punters, I feel.
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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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Have now cancelled the booking with HA - still think it's a rip-off that they charge for something that's compulsory as an extra. HA's website says "no hidden extras" and Rent Occasion's "sans frais cachés ou textes à petits caractères. Chez Rent Occasion tout est " CLAIR ET NET ". Hmm...
Have re-booked with Auto Europe - £15 more expensive, but snow tyres included. Plus they have a desk at the airport, so no looking around the concourse for a man with a card with your name on!
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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paulio, don't know whether to laugh or cry at that. I am convinced they do it in the expectation that with such relatively small amounts, a lot of people either don't notice, don't bother to complain if they do, or give up in the face of their waffly b*llocks replies
PS borrow your hedgehog?
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have to say I had a thoroughly satisfactory resolution to a "phantom charge" imposed by Alamo on a booking through HA. HA followed up with Alamo, didn't get a satisfactory response from Alamo and refunded me as soon as I sent the CC statement showing the charge
Rent Occasion do sount dodgy though
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sanman the important point is don't EVER let these crooked thieving bastards get the better of you. Make their lives hell until they give up.
Maybe I should email Martin again, and let him know that the voucher for free car rental hasn't turned up yet, after a year and a half.
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