29 November 2012 21:09
As all you regulars are well aware of when booking your Malaga car hire with us we offer inclusive rates with no deposit. This new thing with a deposit is fairly new to the Malaga car hire scene. It has emerged over a short time and started with some companies blocking an amount on your credit card until the car was returned. We have got many new clients 2012 with our inclusive price policy that has called us on the telephone to confirm that we do not charge a deposit on arrival as on their last trip they were forced to pay without knowing anything about it until they were to pick up the car at Malaga airport. Apart from that the companies doing this obviously are creating a great cashflow playing with your money it seems in some cases the deposit is not being paid back in its entirety as some supposed damage to the interior of the vehicle or other obscure reason is used to withold some part of the money.
If any of you have experienced any of this we would be very interested to hear about it on email.
27 November 2012 19:58
Are you aware that most hire car companies at Malaga airport have started to charge a deposit when you come to pick up the car. What started some time back with a blockage on your credit card is now in most establishments an actual charge. This has to be made on a credit card for the rental car company to have "some days" to put the money back after the return of the car. Now the tricky part comes into play and there are endless stories about people not getting their deposit back.
Back in the good old days the normal trick of a hire car company was to charge some small little damage on the outside of the car over and over again to an unaware client that did not see it when picking up the car. Nowadays it is much more complex. It starts with a cheap online quote only to end up with extra insurances, fuel charges that are much higher than the street price and the deposit, all on arrival and not quoted when booking. By playing with your money the car hire supplier is creating a huge cash flow, imagine only ten bookings with a 1000 euro deposit. That is 10.000 euros into the account! To get to this cash, rates are going down online just to lure you to book. Then you stand there just to see only the half of the money being returned a few WEEKS after the car was returned. When you call to get an explanation you are told any excuse about damage to the car. Here the next thing comes into play. Damages to the INTERIOR of the vehicle. "Sorry, we do not pay all back as the handle underneath the seat is missing" What handle underneath the seat?
Say NO to all these scams. When booking a rental car for Malaga airport ask to get in writing that you will not be charged more on arrival. If not, book somewhere else.
Click here for a quick and easy online booking now!
19 November 2012 18:26
A quick search for "Malaga car hire" on Google U.K. shows almost 3.000.000 hits, so what to choose from? Most of the websites are agent sites meaning a company or private person are offering hire car services against a commision from a car hire company in Malaga. Most of these sites work with several companies at Malaga airport meaning you will be sent to a certain company for this booking but might be sent to another on the next booking, even if you booked from the same agent site. This is where there could be problems for you as some companies do not treat you as a you are expected to, as a paying client, but only try to get as much of you as possible as they believe you will not return anyway. On most of these agent sites prices for a Malaga rental car starts out very low when booking online. Unfortunately the quoted amount is only a part what you actually have to pay on arrival. So what awaits you? Up to 1000 euros charged on your credit card as a deposit. Overcharge for the fuel, if a car takes 55 euros you might be charged 80 euros, extra charges for insurances, late arrival, extra driver etc. All this and you are not fully covered anyway. Look out for damages to the interior of the vehicle that are not included.
Choose a local company like Bruno´s Car Rental that are based on the ground and that you will deal directly with from the first moment booking the car to the last moment when returning it. With Bruno´s the rates are all inclusive and you will only be charged what was agreed when making the booking with no unpleasant surprises on arrival.
Several U.K. newspapers like The Guardian and The Daily Mail have articles online about the abusive rent a car market on the Costa del Sol really highlighting the issues of extra charges in Malaga. Our recommendation is to get in writing when booking that there will be no additional costs on arrival and that you are fully covered. If not find another supplier that can give you that in writing.