55% of Screened Online Car Rental Intermediaries Violate EU Law
Consumers looking to rent a car will often try to find a good deal. Intermediary service websites allow consumers to compare prices online and book with different companies. However, a recent sweep under coordination of the European Commission shows that information provided on many such websites leaves much to be desired.
Consumer protection authorities of ten Member States and Norway performed a set of checks on 78 car rental brokering websites, such as general booking websites and airline websites. Only 45% of these websites were found to comply with EU consumer protection law.
Findings of the sweep showed that:
- A third of the screened websites did not provide clear information of who consumers could contact in case they had questions of complaints: the intermediary or the car rental company.
- Nearly half of the websites did not provide clear information of what was and what was not included in the insurance.
- 27% of the websites did not clearly mention the name of intermediary service anywhere.
- 32% of website did not clearly indicate which party was bound by the rental terms and conditions: the broker or the car rental company.
- On 21% of the websites optional paid services had been pre-selected.
- In certain cases information on mandatory charges was missing, such as fees for young drivers or one-way journeys.
Call for transparency
In a press release, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said: “Many consumers will soon go on holidays and rent a car. Often, they do so on a hotel booking or airline websites. Consumers need to be provided with information in full transparency about the conditions of the rental and the role of brokers. For example, consumers need to know which company they should contact if their flight is postponed. They also need to receive clear and complete information about the full price of the rental and insurance – to avoid bad surprises when picking up the car.”
Guidance
The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) has 16 years of experience in solving cross-border consumer complaints, including those involving car rental companies and brokers. Want to know more about your consumer rights when renting a car?