Travellers feel cheated by car hire

ALMOST one in three UK holidaymakers are being caught out by hidden charges on hire cars, it was revealed today.

And nearly half (45%) rated holiday car hire costs as 'expensive to extortionate', a survey from travelsupermarket.com showed. More than 30% said they had been treated poorly in their dealings with the car hire company and 17% reckoned they could have got a better deal.

The survey was based on responses from 1,955 people. It found that the top five hidden or unexpected charges experienced by British holidaymakers were:

1. Insurance or collision damage waiver charges
2. Fuel charges
3. Additional driver charges
4. Extra mileage charges
5. Cleaning or service charges

Chris Nixon, director at travelsupermarket.com, said: 'British holidaymakers are getting a raw deal when it comes to hiring cars on holiday.'It is clear from our report's findings that most people end up paying much more than they expected and, to add insult to injury, the service they receive is not up to scratch either.'

He went on: 'Too many people still hire cars on arrival at the destination, which I find astounding. Invariably this will result in people paying more than they need to because the last thing we all want to do after a long flight or journey is check the small print or argue about the price, service and/or quality of the vehicle on offer.'The only way for people to avoid being caught out by hidden charges and poor service is to do a little bit of homework before leaving to identify the right car hire company for them.'