UKH

A cautionary tale on refilling charges for a full to full car hire from Barcelona Airport

Recently returned from a trip to Spain where I'd returned my hire car with a full tank.

Shortly afterwards I received an invoice for the hire which included an extra 51 euro charge for refilling, this consisted of a refilling surcharge of 23 euros with the remainder for fuel; this was charged to my credit card.

I queried this with the hire company, stating that I'd refilled before setting out on my journey and that the car wouldn't have used the amount of fuel I'd been charged for on the trip and that I had then topped up the car near the airport.

The hire company have subsequently agreed to refund the payment. However it would have been difficult for me to provide proof the car was full on return; at best I could have dug out the fuel receipts or proof of payment.

In future I shall take a picture of the fuel gauge on return as well as trying to ensure that the car is very low on fuel before refilling prior to return and making sure I keep the receipt from the filling station.

Which company (for future reference)?

Europcar - Rather disappointingly!

Not to worry. It'll be Britcar in a few weeks if Boris has his way...

This is timely - I just hired a Mini Cooper* from Hertz, Heathrow. The digital fuel gauge was showing 8/8 full when I left Hertz, it was down to 7/8 by the time I reached the M4, not more than a couple of miles. The previous hiring barsteward clearly just topped it up enough to get it back to the Hertz depot showing "full" on the gauge. Yes, I could do the same when it's my turn, but I'm too damn honest for that. So congratulations thieving barsteward previous hirer; you win. May your karma be forever blighted.

* you take what they give you.

That sounds a like a little like the OP. You're not always going to be able to go to a petrol station around the corner from the Hire car place, although I find it less stressful when I do! 

Trying to get the fuel guage to within a couple of miles within "F" is a dangerous game. 

Main lesson is to get them to sign off your car before you leave and leave enough time for an argument if necessary.

And keep the receipt from the petrol station, it should have time, date and location.

I hired a brand new Renault Kajar at Manchester airport on a visit to my parents. The guy was slightly perplexed when he checked the fuel gauge showed a little over half full but he duly marked in the chitty.

The next time I checked it, it showed full, and by the time we got back to the airport a few days later it showed a little over half full again.

Got to love French electrics/electronics!

Chris

I forgot to mention that it was all seemingly signed off ok

I have found, at least with Hertz from whom I hire frequently, that it depends on how pernickety the staff member is who books your car back in. 

I had one in Dublin where I probably only drove 50 miles over a few days and returned without refilling and told them so; the guy looked at the analogue gauge and said it looked full enough, no problem. Usually the same when I return them to East Midlands Airport which is my most frequent hire location. But there is one guy there who is really fastidious, I don’t know if they get commission or something. He will ask WHERE you filled it up and if it wasn’t topped up at the airport, he’ll calculate the miles and bill you based on a high litres per mile rate. The same guy also lies about mandatory extras at pick up, and has a smug look to him when you order him to cancel them all and he says “well it’ll be £30,000 off your credit card if it’s stolen or anything”. He’s a tit. 

It's always disheartening to pay for full/full only to leave the airport car park and watch the fuel gauge immediately drop a bar. In the past you'd be able to level it at Barcelona by filling up just past Montserrat and it still reading full at on return. Similar situations for Alicante and Mallorca but not anymore...

It's always worth checking with the desk and reading the small print to clarify what the situation is every time you pick up the keys, as it seems to change frequently. Most now stipulate filling the tank back up at the airport or within a certain km of the airport when on a full/full deal. As you said in your post, photo evidence and a receipt from the garage where you filled up should see you right in the future and, this has helped me contest charges in the past. I've been caught out with a similar situation to your own by Record Go at Palma (Mallorca) for ten euros which I unsuccessfully contested due to their small print. I guess 10 euros x 1000's of customers per year adds up! That policy had changed last time I visited so as I said, check every time. 

Hope you have less hassle next time.

BT

That's strange. They usually have a box to tick that says the fuel is full along with a damage report. You should take a copy of this back with you. 

I had fun with a hire car in Sardinia a few years ago.  On return, I filled it up at the petrol station a mile from the airport.  Filled it right up, but the needle wouldn't reach the line.  Went to car hire... they said "it's not full". I said "yes it is", they said "no it's not".  I had plenty of time, so took it back to the petrol station, squeezed another few drops of fuel in, and took it back to the hire place with the receipt.  If they'd argued again, I'd have made them come to the petrol station with me and try to fill it up themselves.