Which? warns of fuel charges on Spanish car hire

A top consumer group has said that fuel charges being utilised by some Spanish rental firms can lead to trebled rates.

Travel Insurance News - 23/04/2012

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The watchdog published a report this week that revealed that the add-on fees may blindside some renters and can lead to rental rates increased by as much as 200 per cent. Most car hire firms expect customers to return vehicles with the same level of petrol in which they were rented with. However, some low-cost companies in Spain now charge up-front fuel charges for fuel already in the hire car’s tank with massively inflated rates, the organisation said.

A Which? researcher said that he discovered in Malaga that such charges bumped the attractive low rate of €30 (£24)per day to €94 (£77) per day with the Goldcar rental firm, whilst rival Avis had advertised the full rate of €78 (£64) up front, with no extra fuel charges.

Which? Travel’s Chris Gray said in an article that travellers need to make themselves aware of such situations and should not put themselves in the difficult situation of having to pay additional fees on non-refundable bookings. He went on to compare some smaller car hire firms in Spain with budget airlines, noting that they both have a wide variety of add-on fees.

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