Car rental is a service that is frequently preferred by both individuals and corporations. Car rental is a convenient, comfortable, and affordable solution for traveling, doing business, or meeting daily needs. However, car rental can sometimes cause unexpected problems. Especially, car rental companies that deceive, defraud, or unfairly penalize customers cause customers to be victimized.
Who Are the Car Rental Companies That Victimize Customers?
The car rental companies that victimize customers are usually the ones that use fraudulent or misleading practices on customers who make online reservations. These companies offer attractive prices and benefits to attract customers to themselves, but they charge extra fees during or after the car delivery, claim that the cars are damaged or dirty, or do not accept reservation cancellations.
Some of these companies are:
- Carjet: Carjet is a car rental intermediary that operates as a broker. Carjet offers customers different car rental companies from around the world. However, Carjet charges extra fees to customers in addition to the price they give, during the car delivery. Carjet also does not refund or delay the money when customers cancel their reservations.
- Greenmotion: Greenmotion is a UK-based car rental company. Greenmotion operates mainly in Europe. Greenmotion claims that the cars they give to customers are damaged or dirty and demands high amounts of compensation from customers. Greenmotion also does not respect the customers’ right to cancel or change their reservations.
- Sixt: Sixt is a German-based car rental company. Sixt operates in Turkey under the umbrella of Metaloto. Sixt charges extra fees to customers that are not told in advance. Sixt also does not give customers the model they want or cancels their reservations.
How Can We Protect Ourselves from the Car Rental Companies That Victimize Customers?
There are some precautions we can take to protect ourselves from the car rental companies that victimize customers. Some of these precautions are:
- Doing Research: Before renting a car, we need to research the reliability, complaints, reviews, and ratings of the car rental company. This way, we can be prepared for possible problems.
- Reading the Terms: Before renting a car, we need to read and understand the terms, fees, and cancellation conditions of the car rental company. This way, we can avoid extra fees or penalties that may arise later.
- Checking the Car: When receiving and returning the car, we need to check the condition of the car, take photos of any damage or dirt, and make a report. This way, we can prevent being unfairly charged for damage or dirt.
- Keeping Documents: During the car rental process, we need to keep documents such as payment receipts, contracts, invoices, etc. This way, we can show evidence in case of any problem.
Conclusion
Car rental is a service that provides many advantages. However, car rental can also cause customers to be victimized by some car rental companies that use fraudulent or misleading practices. Therefore, when renting a car, we need to choose reliable and reputable car rental companies and take the precautions we mentioned above. By doing so, we can avoid being victimized financially or emotionally.
