BEWARE OF INTERRENT!! These people are incredible scam artists. Be very careful of what you agree upon and look at your bill very closely. The mail I sent them explains my case (and I will add their response when/if I receive it):
Dear InterRent,
Please allow me to file a complaint with you as I feel very, very much scammed by your personnel at Interrent Lisboa. Please allow me to explain:
We arrived at Interrent offices Lisboa at ca. 12.00 hrs on august 20th to pick up our car we rented. We had rented a VW Polo for 12 days for 198,21 including VAT. As appeared that the VW Polo was probably too small for us (5 persons - 2 adults, 3 children), we requested what the cost would be for an upgrade to a bigger car and also the cost of an extra driver. The man behind the counter indicated that it would be 180 extra. I specifically asked whether that was including the extra driver and he indicated yes. Although it would more or less double the cost of the initial rent, we agreed. He proceeded to ask whether I wanted additional insurance and the toll-service and I declined both. As he was so clear in stating that the extra cost was 180 and was handling the paperwork I wasnt sharp to check the ultimate bill (we had already been waiting in line for about 45 minutes
). To my dismay when I checked my creditcard today, I saw that the extra costs charged were not 180 but 299
.!! Apparently the upgrade was ex VAT, the extra driver costs were not included as he had indicated and he added the toll-service costs that I was very clear about not wanting.
I am experienced enough to realize I cannot reclaim anything and that I should have been more aware and sharp. My feeling I could trust your man behind the counter was apparently misplaced and I had to be more suspicious. He deliberately lied to me (and 100% certain knows he did) and - in retrospect - was very handy in handing me the papers without pressing me to check. I understand the car rental business is low margin and you need your personnel to upsell, but the way this man swindled me is unfair and incorrect. I take it that a big upsell like this increases his bonus and that that the reason is to scam. But once again, I mainly find his behavior despicable and has faded away my trust in Interrent for now and the future. I hope at least that you can sort him out and avoid the experience I have had with other customers. To be honest, it feels terrible to be scammed like this and to realize I made a mistake of trusting someone I thought was trustworthy. So I will have a wine and forget and hope at least this mail can help change this kind of attitude at InterRent
As promised, I would also post their response....
Dear Mr. vd Lee,
Thank you for contacting InterRent. Please apologize us for the delay on answering this message. Please find in attachment a copy of your rental agreement with the prices clearly stated and your signature accepting the costs. Once again we would like to express our most sincere apologies for any unpleasant situation experienced. Should you need any further information, queries or clarifications with regards to this, please feel free to contact us.
Kind Regards,
E. Torella- Customer Care| InterRent Customer Service Int.
And my response:
Dear E. Torella,
Thank you for humoring me on this rainy day in Holland! I would suggest you find another name for Customer Services
. Maybe Bullsh*t Artists would more suit your department? Your reply is truly brilliant! Relaying me to your small print terms & conditions that would of taken me 20 minutes to read after waiting 45 minutes in the row in your office in response to my complaint
Really beautiful! You havent even read my complaint! No problem, I merely suggested in my complaint that you sort the man out who scammed me and I had hoped that you understand that this manner of trying to mislead customers will cost you more in the long run than it delivers at the short term extra revenue on the spot. Regards, R. vd Lee
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