Poll finds 1 in 10 adults who have hired a car found experience stressful; 17% didn't get car ordered
Undisclosed damage, being given the wrong car and queuing for over an hour are some of the experiences travellers face when hiring a car according to a new survey released today.
The poll, conducted on behalf of stand-alone excess car hire insurance company iCarhireinsurance.com, revealed that amongst adults who had hired a car:
- Over one in ten (11%) say they have found the process of hiring a car stressful
- The same percentage (11%) have queued for more than an hour to pick up their rental car
- 12% found damage on the rental car that was not originally disclosed
- Over a sixth of consumers (17%) did not get the rental car they ordered
- Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents say they were forced to drop their car at the end of the hire period, without having it signed off by a representative from the rental company ‒ which iCarhireinsurance.com warns could be leaving them open to potential additional charges and disputes
- Indeed, 2% of respondents believed they were wrongly charged for damage to their hire car
"Our survey reveals that people are not receiving the standards they should expect when hiring a car,” said Ernesto Suarez, founder and chief executive of iCarhireinsurance.com. “They should be able to quickly and easily collect the hire car they ordered and to trust that any existing damage to the car is properly recorded. This doesn’t seem much to ask”.
The insurance company also explains that any damage to a hire car is subject to an excess amount, which could be up to £2000. If customers had not bought additional excess insurance to cover this they would be liable for this even if the damage was not their fault, including if the car was stolen.
Suarez advises customers to "buy your excess insurance before you fly to save you time, bother and most of all money, with a better product which gives you absolute peace of mind".
For more information please contact YouGov PR Executive Giovanna Clark, +44 (0) 20 7012 6000
