SIXT Car Rental = The Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

You're welcome Phil. I actually escalated it to our supplier this morning, who looks to have taken it forward and hence the reply from the Sixt representative above (who is a genuine Sixt representative in case the Mods were unsure - welcome Gary ).

Hi John

I've updated Roulla on a reasonably promising response I've had from SIXT. I hope to know the full answer by Monday.

Thanks for your continued support.

[SteveandJan]

I'm looking forward to trying SIXT next time round as I have had an extra days charges from Alamo for taking the car back later which isn't a problem as I had it longer than the contracted period as the car rental companies have to keep to a time band otherwise everyone would book them one time and take it another. Its more about the communication which I feel the rental companies often lack. Alamo this year charged us extra for the petrol than was on the rental agreement, when I queried this, they explained it was because we collected a different type car from the one we had paid for which resulted in a larger fuel tank, easily explained.

[Robert5988]

Well done KG - and the others.

It occured to me that in the days before the internet, problems like this would have taken weeks to sort out; and publicity on the internet(both good or bad) really has an effect.

[Tonish]

I have to say, I'm impressed by your ability to get fast action. Usually when I kick up a stink I get ignored.

Really useful info, though. I've been wondering how their prices seem lower than the rest. As you say, as long as you know what to look out for, it should be possible to avoid your experience, so thanks.

[Tonish]

I forgot to add that I agree that the car rental depots at Miami are not somewhere you feel at all comfortable in, and at night, without sat nav, are pretty much the pits of the earth. In the past we've had some horrible times trying to find our way in and out. Not the best of areas to say the least.

[Jill]

I forgot to add that I agree that the car rental depots at Miami are not somewhere you feel at all comfortable in, and at night, without sat nav, are pretty much the pits of the earth. In the past we've had some horrible times trying to find our way in and out. Not the best of areas to say the least.

Now they have been relocated away from the River Road area they do not seem so bad especially for those of us who are only going to the 27 which is now very straightforward especially as Le Jeune is a main cross road on the Miami grid system.

[Katys Grandad]

For anyone still interested in my experience I have received the following from SIXT:

"We understand that instances such as this are inconvenient, and members of our senior management have been made aware of this occurrence and the extreme difficulty it caused you. Our management team has spoken to all the staff members concerned and I can assure you that steps are being taken to ensure that the errors made on this rental do not occur again.

We are pleased to inform you that as a goodwill gesture, we will be removing the PAI insurance & Breakdown Assitance charge from your rental once the contract has ended and it has been invoiced. Please allow for about 3-4 business days for the refund to be processed and 5-10 business days for the security deposit to be released back into your account.

Please note: Our rentals are priced and quoted per day, whereby 1 day is equal to 24 hours. We understand that due to unforeseen circumstances you may return the vehicle slightly later than agreed. For this reason only, Sixt operates a 59 minute grace period. Once you enter this grace period, it does mean that you are returning the vehicle late, but we do not charge an additional day until this grace period has passed. We believe that 59 minutes is a fair amount of time as you should always endeavour to return the vehicle to the branch at the agreed time as stated on your rental contract.

We recommend that you return your vehicle on ..... (time stated is excluding the 1 hour of courtesy), as to not incur an additional day charge for your rental.

We are pleased to inform you that the following is a brief explanation of how our security holds are processed:

At the time of pick-up the estimated rental charges will be blocked with an approval on your credit card account to ensure payment after returning the car. Of course, this is only an obligation to provide security - the amount will not be debited from your account. It will be released when the rental is closed and the invoice is created. As per terms and conditions: A deposit of up to three times the hire price is charged to the chosen means of payment as a security. The deposit for high-value vehicles may differ. The exact deposit is determined on collection since the amount is dependent on the vehicle.

We hope this information was helpful to you.."

While I could perhaps take issue with some of that I'm not going to spend any more of my holiday dealing with it.

Above all, I want to thank all at US Car Hire whose intervention has been the main factor in this resolution. We're all fortunate to be customers of theirs.

[freddiehollie]

Above all, I want to thank all at US Car Hire whose intervention has been the main factor in this resolution. We're all fortunate to be customers of theirs.

I think we would all agree with that statement KG..........:-):-)

[Lyn]

We are pleased to inform you that as a goodwill gesture, we will be removing the PAI insurance & Breakdown Assitance charge from your rental once the contract has ended and it has been invoiced. Please allow for about 3-4 business days for the refund to be processed and 5-10 business days for the security deposit to be released back into your account.

We are pleased to inform you that the following is a brief explanation of how our security holds are processed:

At the time of pick-up the estimated rental charges will be blocked with an approval on your credit card account to ensure payment after returning the car. Of course, this is only an obligation to provide security - the amount will not be debited from your account. It will be released when the rental is closed and the invoice is created. As per terms and conditions: A deposit of up to three times the hire price is charged to the chosen means of payment as a security. The deposit for high-value vehicles may differ. The exact deposit is determined on collection since the amount is dependent on the vehicle.

Above all, I want to thank all at US Car Hire whose intervention has been the main factor in this resolution. We're all fortunate to be customers of theirs.

I think the wording "as a goodwill gesture" is an insult, it should not have been charged in the first place, to take the money from you and then expect you to wait for it to be refunded is totally unaceptable.

Also the security deposit seems to be very high and to have to wait so long for that to be released seems excessive to me.

Thank goodness for US Care Hire as they always come through when there is a problem.

[Ian Dee]

was just getting quotes from usa car hre etc and noticed the new company, so immediately came on this forum.
As ever, a useful thing to do.
I will be sticking to Alamo I think.