Hours on the phone. No car, no refund
I booked a hire car using the Kayak website. My money was taken, but I didn’t receive a confirmation email so I decided to call and check.
- the hire company, Routes, had no online presence, but I noticed their address was the same as Europcar
- I called Europcar. They had received my booking, but said they weren’t sure a car was actually available because I had booked at short notice. They asked me to call back on a different number.
- I called the second number and explained again what had happened. The customer rep said he would contact the branch and put me on hold. After 20mins I received a recorded message that no one was available to speak to me and was cut off.
- I called again and was put through to the branch. They said they had a car but it would actually cost more than double what I had paid. I said that was too much and wanted to cancel. They told me for a refund I would have to go back to Kayak.
- I spoke to Kayak. They said they didn’t have my money. I needed to contact Expedia who were the intermediary on my booking.
- I contacted Expedia. They said I had to get a refund from Europcar.
I’ve now spent four hours trying to sort this mess out, have been charged but have no car.
It’s amazing to see the pyramid of companies all determined to take their share of money from the public, but without taking any responsibility for actually delivering the service.
In the end I contacted my local branch of Enteprise who have helped me out at a reasonable price. Who knows if I will ever get my money back from Europcar/Kayak/Expedia/Routes or whomever else took their share along the way.
