For most of last year we were tracking a dodgy car rental company which traded as both Sun Car and Decode (and various others in other countries) and was taking money for non-existent bookings all over Europe. Although it claimed to be registered in London I traced the culprits to Riga in Latvia. For the full story spend some time reading http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=144390
I've just discovered that although Decode's UK company registration has been shut down their website is now diverting to a different URL http://www.us-rentacar.com This site claims to be North America based with call centres using Las Vegas and Toronto dialling codes but so far I can't find any actual address anywhere in the site, also the sites registration details are masked so don't giving anything away. Dialling codes don't actually mean much these days as techology lets the numbers be diverted elsewhere. They are using commercial software that lets them access car hire company reservation data (similar to the way agents can get at all airlines), this makes it appear that they have a wide range of suppliers.
It's possible that they are an honest company but you have to ask why would an honest company make it's real address so hard to find and why would they take over a link from another company with such an appalling reputation. It's your money you're spending - you decide!
If I find out more I'll post here.
Steve ... one of the other websites in the Suncar/Decode empire was http://www.car-rent-malaga.com. It remains active and still appears to be registered to Dainis Kanopa in Latvia. However, if you open that site and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see that it is powered by http://www.us.rentacar.com whom you mention. That would appear to link http://www.us.rentacar.com to at least two of the known Suncar/Decode domains.
Please note: Contrary to what the name might suggest, http://www.us.rentacar.com takes bookings for locations worldwide and should not be confused with the UK registered INVALID URL or other companies with similar names.
David
Please note: Contrary to what the name might suggest, http://www.us.rentacar.com takes bookings for locations worldwide and should not be confused with the UK registered INVALID URL or other companies with similar names.
David
Thanks David, not looking good is it? We really are going to have to get a smilie symbol for a big red alarm bell!! I'll trawl through their sites in other countries and see what happens, the Germans were having trouble with them as well.
Car hire sector comes under fire from Which? Travel
Which? Travel has targeted the car hire sector in its latest investigation, claiming hidden fuel charges are bumping up the cost of overseas car rental by up to three times.
It sent undercover researchers to Spain to investigate car hire companies after receiving complaints from Which? members about being hit by large charges for fuel that were not made clear at the time of booking.
According to the consumer magazine, a researcher in Malaga was told the cheapest initial car-hire price including basic insurance was from Goldcar at €30.25. But when fuel was added on arrival, the price rose to €94.25.
In Alicante the researcher rented from UK broker Holiday Autos, locally-based company Centauro and direct from Hertz.
"At the time of the booking, Holiday Autos was the cheapest at €28, compared to €52.70 for Centauro and €65.58 for Hertz. However, once we picked up the car and fuel was added on, the Holiday Autos price rose to a huge €144.77 including enhanced insurance and fuel," said Which?.
"Companies used a ‘full-empty' policy, in which consumers are charged for a full tank of petrol when they pick up the car and given no refunds for any fuel they do not use. The impact of these charges on the total price is not made clear when customers made the booking."
Which? Travel expert Rochelle Turner said: "All charges should be shown up-front at the time the booking is made so consumers can make the right choice and compare prices easily."
With permission from Travelmole
Which? Travel has targeted the car hire sector in its latest investigation, claiming hidden fuel charges are bumping up the cost of overseas car rental by up to three times.
It sent undercover researchers to Spain to investigate car hire companies after receiving complaints from Which? members about being hit by large charges for fuel that were not made clear at the time of booking.
According to the consumer magazine, a researcher in Malaga was told the cheapest initial car-hire price including basic insurance was from Goldcar at €30.25. But when fuel was added on arrival, the price rose to €94.25.
In Alicante the researcher rented from UK broker Holiday Autos, locally-based company Centauro and direct from Hertz.
"At the time of the booking, Holiday Autos was the cheapest at €28, compared to €52.70 for Centauro and €65.58 for Hertz. However, once we picked up the car and fuel was added on, the Holiday Autos price rose to a huge €144.77 including enhanced insurance and fuel," said Which?.
"Companies used a ‘full-empty' policy, in which consumers are charged for a full tank of petrol when they pick up the car and given no refunds for any fuel they do not use. The impact of these charges on the total price is not made clear when customers made the booking."
Which? Travel expert Rochelle Turner said: "All charges should be shown up-front at the time the booking is made so consumers can make the right choice and compare prices easily."
With permission from Travelmole
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