Affordable Car Hire, Flexiblecarhire.com and P&P Associates Ltd, trading as weholiday.co.uk, have committed under legally binding agreements to include all compulsory charges in car hire quotes following action by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The firms’ initial quotes must now include mandatory charges for fuel, young driver fees and out-of-hours pick up charges, where applicable. They must also show all essential information including the amounts of any deposits and insurance excesses, policy on fuel charges, and what exactly insurance covers.
The CMA said all three businesses “cooperated fully” with the CMA. “As a result, they have put in place arrangements to check the prices given by their car rental suppliers are fully inclusive going forwards,” it said.
The CMA’s enforcement work was launched as a result of its industry-wide review of price comparison sites offering car rental, which found many were advertising very low prices to customers by not including all costs.
“This left people paying more than expected at the check-out, and not having the full information required under consumer protection law about what they were paying for,” it said.
Michael Grenfell, CMA executive director for enforcement, said: “It is important people know what they’re signing up to online when hiring a car. Prices must be transparent and include all compulsory costs so that people can find the deal that’s best for them.
“The CMA’s work over the past year has vastly improved the sector and brought the majority of sites offering car hire in line with consumer protection law.”
The CMA is also launching its first direct action against car hire companies based outside the UK following complaints from people encountering hidden costs on collection of their car at the airport abroad. Extra charges often include hidden fees for fuel, high insurance and excess costs.
The CMA is now taking enforcement action against businesses based overseas but selling directly to UK customers online. Grenfell added: “This move sends a clear message: just because a business is not on UK soil doesn’t mean the law doesn’t apply when it sells in the UK.”
