Car hire sites ‘failing to disclose extras costs’

CAR HIRE sites are failing to disclose the cost of 'extras' during the booking process, leaving travellers in the dark about how much they may have to pay when they arrive to pick up their car, says iCarhireinsurance.com, a provider of car hire excess insurance.

Extras might include the cost for an extra driver, a child's car seat, an excess /waiver policy, and a satnav.

In a study of five global car hire companies – Budget, Hertz, Europcar, Sixt, and Avis – iCarhireinsurance.com found that often only half of the extra costs would be highlighted in the booking process.

The study found that while travellers could usually reserve extras including a child’s car seat and a satnav, it was not always possible to pay for them in advance, or find out the cost of the item.

‘Transparency when booking hire cars continues to be a big problem,’ said Ernesto Suarez, CEO and founder of iCarhireinsurance.com. ‘It’s very difficult for people to plan exactly how much they will need to pay for the hire car overall if they cannot see all the costs in advance.

‘Last year, six of the leading car hire companies in Europe made promises to improve their treatment of customers, including their transparency of prices, following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Almost a year on, it is disappointing to see that transparency is still an issue.’

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