Eric Hartley was looking forward to embarking on a 10-day holiday and was about to pay €309 (£260) for his hire car at Milan Bergamo airport last month, but was told his booking could not be processed.
The reason? The name on his booking – Eric Hartley – did not match the name on his passport and driver’s license: Eric James Hartley. Despite not being asked for his middle name when booking through aggregator website stressfreecarrental.com, and his credit card being in the same name as his booking, staff at rental company OK Mobility said they could not proceed.
His experience shows how many headaches holidaymakers can experience before their annual holiday even begins.
For Hartley, the only solution at that point was to cancel and rebook – albeit at a cost of €514 (£433) instead of €309. “If the UK system where I placed the booking didn’t require a middle name, then it’s likely that most people, like me, haven’t added one and would face the same problem,” he says.
OK Mobility said it regretted the inconvenience and added that the booking was declined – an “unusual” occurrence – due to “security standards” which require details on the booking to match those on passports, driving licences and credit cards. It also claimed that the replacement booking fee of €514 included damage waiver and roadside assistance, although Hartley claims he was never offered an option without these.
Stressfreecarrental.com apologised, refunded a separate booking fee of £25 and refunded the difference in cost between the two bookings. It said: “Some of our car hire companies do not accept middle names in their booking forms due to their technological set-up, whilst others do. Not all car hire companies are specific in their terms and conditions about the need to include middle names in bookings.”
When the problem occurs, bookings are usually changed. “Unfortunately, in this case it was not possible to change the booking,” the site said.
The experience was a frustrating start to Hartley’s vacation. What can consumers do to ensure their vacation car rental goes as smoothly as possible?
When you book
By browsing the various aggregator websites you will get a clear picture of the many local and international rental companies and what they have to offer.
Skyscanner, Carrentals.co.uk, Kayak and many other providers will give you an overview of the deals, often including information on fuel policies and whether you need to drive to the car from the airport to collect it.
One of the most important things to check is whether there is free cancellation – usually up to 48 or 72 hours before the booking starts. This means you can keep checking the sites to get a better deal by cancelling and rebooking as many times as you like before your holiday. For example, an SUV in Los Angeles for 20 days in August cost £725 when booked in April. Just over three weeks later that had dropped to £544.
Often, rental car rates can be reduced at the last minute because rental companies don’t want to be stuck with unused inventory. This allows consumers to keep searching until just before the free cancellation period ends to get the best deal.
Prices have been volatile in recent years. Last year, holidaymakers paid 60% more than they did before the pandemic. Research by iCarhireinsurance, which offers excess insurance, found that while costs are falling, they are still higher than they were five years ago. Renting a compact family car such as a VW Golf now costs an average of £380 a week, based on a survey of 12 countries, up from £310 in 2019.
Who to book with?
There are numerous car rental companies – both well-known international names such as Hertz, Sixt and Thrifty, as well as smaller, local operators, often offering lower prices.
There can be big price differences between the big suppliers, says Ben Wooltorton of iCarhireinsurance. “Prices can vary by more than £200,” he says. “The biggest price difference in a study was in Nice, where Hertz was charging £593 for a mid-sized compact car – say a VW Golf or Ford Focus – for a week, while Sixt was charging just £381.” He says people generally feel more protected if they stick to well-known brands.
UK and EU residents who rent a car in Europe can turn to the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) to lodge a complaint if they have a problem and have gone through the company’s complaints procedure. It deals with cross-border rentals and applies to the companies that have signed up to the scheme: Thrifty, Dollar, Alamo, National, Firefly, Sixt, Europcar, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Hertz and Maggiore.
Insurance surpluses
Normally you will get some level of insurance when you hire a car, but you will have to pay an excess, or initial amount. This can amount to thousands of pounds if you have an accident or damage occurs to the car.
Car hire companies will often try to sell you insurance to cover these excesses, but this can be extremely expensive. Instead, it is worth buying a separate policy, which is usually a fraction of the cost. These can be purchased for one or more trips. The cost depends on where you are travelling and for how many days in the year.
Annual European excess policies start at around £30, according to the Moneymaxim aggregator site. There may be limits on how much can be claimed in a single incident, such as £10,000 on a £32 policy from Leisure Guard.
Please note additional costs
If your rental policy requires you to fill up the car, make sure you fill up a few miles from the airport, says Mo Lindsay of Holiday Extras, which offers parking and holiday insurance, as “airport fuel stations are often considerably more expensive”.
If you’re considering renting a navigation system, remember that your phone is a free alternative, for example through apps like Google Maps and Waze.
Please note that rental companies usually require a credit card to collect the damage deposit, so make sure the credit card is in the driver’s name.