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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Miles Brignall

Goldcar said I drove 4,000km – and charged £500 extra

Zero response from Goldcar over the mileage we did in a hire car.
Zero response from Goldcar over the mileage we did in a hire car. Photograph: dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy

We rented a car for a week from Goldcar’s Malaga depot. It was returned and signed off with no indication of any problems. The next day an email claimed that instead of the 150km a day the rental allowed, we had driven 4,089km. As a result it was imposing a £478 excess mileage charge. I have provided our Google location history and hotel and bank statements backing up where we went, but it has failed to respond. I took the matter up with my card provider, Barclaycard. The debit was suspended, then reimposed. It says there is insufficient evidence confirming the mileage was not recorded correctly.

MA, London

You would have had to drive almost 700km every day of the rental, which, while not impossible, is pretty unlikely. A more likely explanation is there was a mistake recording the mileage at either end. Goldcar has now agreed it was an error. The £478 has been repaid, and the company will refund you the cost of the rental as a goodwill gesture. It says it is committed to better customer service. Our postbag suggests otherwise, and we would repeat previous warnings to be cautious about using this firm. Barclaycard was equally poor. It should have reversed this payment, unless given evidence backing up the charge. It accepts it made the wrong decision, and says that if Goldcar had not refunded you, it would have done so.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions

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