‘Beware’ British tourist warning against common car rental scam in Spain – ‘swindle’

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On the website meneame.net the former employee said: “A few years ago, after moving to a new city, I went to work in a very famous low-cost rental car company.” The worker then exposed some of the top scams in Spain.

One of the scams involved petrol. The anonymous blogger said: “You get the full-full system which is the best.

“They give it to you full, you return it full and they refund the price of the tank. Beware, these companies are covert gas stations.

“When I worked there, they charged twice as much. If it doesn’t arrive completely full, they don’t give you anything back.

“There are airports with gas stations nearby but they were not open 24 hours a day. There were many customers who were in for a surprise.

“The other system was even worse, they returned the gasoline you left and charged you a service fee(15-20 euros per car £12.49- £16.65).”

The former employee also said the rental company’s payment scheme for any extra items was extortionate.

They said: “Special mention for car seats and lifts for older children. From one week onwards it will cost 99 euros (£82.41).

“You saw a father arrive with two children and it was 200 euros (£166.51) for two pieces of plastic.

“It would honestly cost these people less to buy a car seat at a local shop and come back to pick up your kids.”

They added that customers that arrived without a prior reservation would face huge prices for a car.

They said: “Imagine this scenario, you were going to the airport and you planned to take public transport.

“Your flight has been delayed and you arrive at 11pm with everything closed and with no option for transport.

“At the (rental car) window it turns out they can ask you whatever they want.”

The employee said the minimum price to rent the car might be 20 euros (£16.65) and they could ask for 3,000 (£2,496).

They added that the rental company forced them to try to “swindle the client” for extra money.

The former worker said: “People earned below the minimum wage and a two percent commission on the extras such as insurance or an upgrade to a better car.”

They claimed the boss regularly made threats to employees who had sold the least that week.

The ex-staff member said they were often made to charge every customer for a “stain” in a car.

The worker said the only aim of the Spanish rental company was to force customers to buy as much as possible.

Many British tourists choose to rent a car for a holiday particularly if they are staying in a rural area.

According to the worker, customers should always make a prior reservation and carefully check the car’s condition before signing.

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