How to minimise car rental "rip-offs" or "scams"

     Would a car rental company rip you off or "scam" you ? Quite unthinkable and unbelievable right ? Well, if you read enough of car rental reviews from the internet or even Tripadvisor forums, there are endless cases of such "rip-offs". But it's not outright cheating you, that's the problem. It happens only after you return to your homeland when you see your credit card being charged. Remember, they swipe your credit card to have a deposit to offset the possible "excess" charge, before you drive your car away for your holiday.

     Typical cases are :

1. A full tank of fuel to pay for, because you "have forgotten" to top up to full tank
2. A different amount for your car rental from your car rental voucher
3. A repair charge for some car "damage"

    Every car rental company Budget, Avis, Thrifty, etc has had its fair share of "rip-offs". Does it mean that we avoid these companies ? From my experiences (written in the next post) : 

1. For Australia, I have had only 1 "rip-off" by Thrifty out of more than 15 car rentals.
2. For Japan, I have driven there 4 times already. None simply because they don't do rip-offs.
3. For Europe, none by Entreprise car rental in France and the "rip-off" by Buchbinder in Germany has been settled.

    So how do we protect ourselves from such fraudulent claims or to minimise such problems ? I have outlined a checklist below to help minimise our own "damages" :

At the car rental counter (to take your car) 

1.  Present the booking voucher at the car rental company, together with your International Driving Permit and your local car licence.

2.  If you decline the car excess insurance they want you to buy, they will swipe your credit card for a deposit to cover for car excess. It's good to have your phone on at this time to have a banking alert via SMS to see if a monetary transaction has just taken place from this company.

• For Australia, no deposit is really taken, they just swipe it to have your credit card details.
• For France, with Entreprise car rental, same as Australia.
• For Germany, with Global Drive car rental, a deposit is taken rightaway.
• For Japan, no deposit is taken.

3. In some rental companies in Europe, they will insist to see proof of your other insurance coverage for this excess, otherwise they will insist upon you paying the excess insurance coverage per day. Reminder to read the terms and conditions of the rental car company you booked with.

4.  If additional driver, check for the additional rental charges.

5.  Is it a fuel or diesel car ?

6.  Sign the rental agreement. Check the amount against your booking voucher.

7.  Pay in cash if possible (if not previously paid  for or deducted via credit card).

8.  Collect car key.

9.  Ask for emergency breakdown tel. no.

10. You will then proceed to the car park area to find your car. Meticulously examine your car before driving away from the rental company. Have any damages, regardless of how small, listed in writing. This is important! You don’t want to be charged for damage done by someone else. If something is not right, insist for a change.

Check the following :

• brakes, rear brake light
• headlights, high beam light
• right signal light, left signal, hazard light
• heating, aircon
• front wipers, back wipers
• wheels
• full tank
• deep dents or heavy scrapes not indicated on the agreement form
• windscreen clear of deep scratches or marks

11.Take photos from all sides.

12. Put GPS mount, charger and the GPS.

13. Once you are out of the car park or if you can receive a GPS signal, save the current position so you can return to the car rental car park easily.

For Japan

14. Learn how to set to "avoid tolls" – 无料

15. Learn how to set Map Code coordinates.

NB : Always take note of the local police and ambulance phone nos.

• Western Australia : 000 for emergency
• EU : 112
• Japan : police – 110, fire & ambulance – 119

Returning the Car

1.  Top up to full tank before reaching the car rental car park.

2.  Remove GPS mount, charger and GPS.

3.  Take photos of full tank, mileage.

4.  Take photos from all sides.

5.  At the car rental counter, if nobody is around, or you pick up the phone and you are asked to drop the car key in the drop box, write clearly on the agreement that nobody was around to check the car. Take a photo of the agreement and return it together with the car key. 

• This happens quite often at Australia car rental companies or when you return at odd hours, ie non office hours.
• For Japan, you can only return the car during office hours. That means they want to check your car. I never have had to do any of the above checklist because the Japanese are highly professional.
• For France Entreprise car rental, they checked my car. Same as for Germany Global Drive. I guess I returned it during office hours.