Ruth Kelly fumes at £1,000 car rental 'rip-off'

Former transport secretary Ruth Kelly today told of her battle for compensation after a costly car hire experience in France.

The Labour MP accused Europcar of unfairly billing her family more than £1,000 "for damage" to a vehicle.

The former Cabinet minister, her husband Derek, and four children, aged six to 12, went on holiday to Provence last month.

They took the train to Avignon where they hired a seven-seater Volkswagen Touran.

But less than an hour after leaving the station, both right tyres went flat.

"It was a bit scary. I don't know what the cause of it was," Ms Kelly said.

At 9.30pm, she phoned Europcar's assistance line and the firm arranged for a taxi to take them to their holiday home and for a replacement car.

She said she was told there would be no extra charge, but on the family's return to London she found an invoice including just over £1,180 "for damage".

She said: "I feel I have been fleeced."

Ms Kelly, who stepped down from the Cabinet last September, also said she was charged for a tank of petrol even though she returned the car full.

She said she sent Europcar seven emails and spoke to them twice but was not satisfied.

After the Standard spoke to Europcar, it said it would refund the damage and petrol charges, which were made "in error", and waive the rental fee.

In a statement, it said: "Europcar is sorry for the inconvenience to Ms Kelly and the delays in receiving a response from our customer service team.

"With regard to charges made for the tyres and the fuel, we have liaised with our colleagues in France and can confirm the charges were made in error.

"We have therefore refunded Ms Kelly. We have also refunded the cost of the rental as a gesture of goodwill."