On 13 September 2001 my wife and
I booked a car from EasyCar for 2 days for a short holiday to
Brighton.
On arrival we had to inspect 3 different cars until finding one
that was road worthy (the first was missing indicator assemblies,
the second had a flat tyre, while the third had panel damage).
We then proceeded to drive to Brighton.
On the Friday afternoon at approximately 5pm we decided to extend
the rental for a further day. So we found an internet cafe and
booked the extension. The car was due to be returned between 6
and 9pm, so the extension was done prior to the return time, in
accordance with Easy's guidelines.
The process appeared to complete successfully, unfortunately we
did not have access to a printer so where not able to print off
a confirmation.
The next day we returned the car without incident. We were then
surprised to find a voicemail stating that the car was overdue.
I then sent an email on 15 September informing easy that the
car had indeed been returned and that an extension had made.
A reply was then received on 22 September stating that the extension
had not been received. Due to the car being "late" we
were charged a late fee of 75 pounds, plus 25 pounds for excess
mileage.
One of the reasons for extending the rental was that at 45 pounds
it would cover our mileage and give us the car for an extra day.
I then request contact details for a customer service manager
from Easy and did not hear anything further until late December
when I received a letter of demand from Blair, Oliver and Scott,
Easy's collection agents.
I then contact Blair & Co and indicated that I had always
been willing to pay the original amount but was disputing the
late fee. They then informed me that they would go back to Easy
and attempt to resolve the issue.
After hearing nothing for 2 months, I contacted Blair & Co
for an update. They stated that Easy denied receiving the extension
and that the amount ,100.40 pounds, was still outstanding.
I then emailed Easy again requesting contact details to resolve
the matter. Again nothing further was heard from Easy, until 23
March 2002, when I received a letter stating legal action would
commence if I did not pay the amount outstanding.
As an act of good faith I paid 50 pounds, the amount of the original
extension, and have faxed Easy in an attempt to resolve this issue.
Through out this entire incident I have been stunned by Easy's
apparent disregard for their customers and their arrogant attitude.
Examples of this include, their fax number is hidden in a help
document about what to do if your hire car is stolen, the only
contact phone number provided is charged at 60p a minute and is
for bookings. When this number is rung, there is a lengthy recorded
message, stating that customer service requests should be directed
to the website.
I would provide names for the email authors, unfortunately, none
where given, and the email source was listed as easycar@custhelp.com.
Link to other easyrentacar complaints: Link1
; Link2
A
Right of Reply letter has been sent.
