Car hire swindle or clever marketing

Tourists have been the target for scams for years. Lately, the scams can begin as soon as you’ve touched down, especially if you’re renting a car.

Bill Swan’s plans for his holiday were to temporarily swap his Crawley home for a road trip through California. Shortly after he arrived in California, he feel victim to what he’s calling a swindle – but which car rental companies would undoubtedly call successful marketing.

“We booked an ordinary car for a trip around California, at £160 for a fortnight. We picked up the car at San Francisco airport after a 12-hour flight. We were warmly welcomed by the rental rep, who was really interested in where we were going.”

Their travel plans itinerary included driving through Sequoia and Yosemite national parks. The rental representative appeared horrified when he heard where Mr. and Mrs. Swan would be driving.

“He said we would not be allowed in a national park unless the car was a four-wheel drive. He urged us to upgrade, to which we reluctantly agreed. We ended up with a ridiculously large and thirsty Jeep Cherokee. And when we reached Yosemite we realised we’d been had – there was no reason at all why a normal car could not access the national park.”

Mr. Swan felt foolish for allowing himself to be talked into the upgrade, and he also felt out of pocket. Instead of the original £160 that the rental car was to cost, the four-wheel drive vehicle cost £541. The extras included insurance that, as Swan later calculated, would have total £7,400 if annualized.

He also used a lot more fuel than he planned: “From my perspective the vehicle was a downgrade; we didn’t want the lumbering, ugly, gas-guzzler we were told we needed to have.”