Don't Go To Delpaso Car Hire if you don't want ripping off!

Ignore this advice at your peril and become another Delpaso rip-off customer. I should have looked at their reviews before booking but foolishly didn't and, as a result, became yet another victim of their, suddenly discovered, damage sham.

What I witnessed at the time of collecting my car should have given me some pre-warning, which was an irate lady being told that the damage they had mysteriously discovered on the underside of her returned vehicle should have been spotted by her when she collected the car and that this could easily be seen by,"lying on the ground and looking under the car!" They were attempting to retain her deposit to pay for the damage. I don't know whether they succeeded.

After trying to supply me with two cars, both with multiple damage and in a poor state of repair, I eventually accepted the third, a Fiat panda but, in view of the condition of the first two cars I inspected it thoroughly and they entered two more areas of damage on the contract. When I returned the vehicle after eight days and very little use, they initially inspected the car and said all was in order but then said there was damage to the front underside. I queried how this had suddenly come to light when they had previously said all was in order and I asked them to show me the damage.

The damage was not visible from a standing position and the person inspecting, then told me to bend right down and look under the front bumper/apron. By kneeling down and looking underneath the car, a line of scratches could be seen, conducive with the car having been driven partly over a high kerb when being parked. This was relatively minor.

I assured them that this damage was definitely not caused by me but they said that if that was the case, I should have spotted and reported it at the time of collection. I pointed out that if the damage could not be seen by normally walking around the vehicle in the daylight, how was I expected to see it after dark when I collected the car and they suggested that I should have requested the use of a light and an under-vehicle search mirror!!

They were unable or unwilling to answer any of the points I raised and retained €363 of my deposit.

Following contact with my credit card company they agreed that the situation and the suggestions put forward by Delpaso were totally unsatisfactory and, not least, a little suspicious and have confirmed that the payment will be blocked. They intend to investigate the matter further.

So, car renters, can I suggest that you either look elsewhere to hire your vehicle or attend Delpaso equipped with a torch and/or an under-vehicle mirror, and allow at least half an hour to inspect the vehicle in minute detail!

Finally, when I asked to view the damage by using their under-vehicle search mirror, guess what.....they were unable to locate it!