Worst Customer Service & Hidden Costs

Its not often I go to all the trouble of writing a negative review, however I feel obligated to warn other consumers of the perils of dealing with this rouge rental car company known as Scotties. I recently hired a car for 4 nights/3 days and asked for an Auckland International Airport pickup as my flight was landing at 10:30pm. I paid an extra $25 surcharge for the airport pickup. Upon arrival I looked around the airport terminal for their desk but none could be found, so I approached the airport information counter and asked the attendant if they knew where I could find the Scotties Rentals checkin. The attendant rolled their eyes and stated "Ohh dear they are the worst to deal with and are notoriously hard to contact". She then explained that they had no checkin counter at the airport and should have had someone there to meet me. So I looked through my booking documentation and found their contact number and used the nearby payphone to call their 0800 number as my mobile was having trouble connecting to the New Zealand services. Their 0800 line went through to a message which stated "The switchboard is currently closed and will reopen at 7am. In case of emergencies please dial this mobile number". So I hung up and called the emergency mobile number only to have it ring and ring and then when they finally answered they immediately hung up. I tried calling it 3 times only to have it disconnect each time. Frustrated, tired and not knowing what to do next, I turned to the attendant at the airport information counter, who very kindly assisted me with an internet search to find an alternative contact number for Scotties. She called them for me on her phone and handed me the receiver. The man on the end of the line was abrupt, unapologetic and insisted that all the information had been sent to my phone. I explained that my phone wasn't working and he then informed me the car was in the carpark. I asked him "where can I pick up the keys?" He said "they are in the glovebox, the car is unlocked and in park s22". He promptly ended the call like I was completely putting him out of his way. It was after 11pm by this stage and it was probably understandable that he was put out, but that is part of offering a 24hr phone support service (as advertised on their website). I walked out of the terminal and walked up and down the Rentals carpark trying desperately to find s22. I was tired from my long haul flight, getting wet in the rain and very quickly loosing any faith in the Scotties brand. Eventually I found the s22 carpark which wasn't in the Rentals section but in the Short-term airport parking. I found the car was unlocked as he said and the keys were in the glovebox. The car wasn't new like I was used to with every other rental company I have hired from. No it was actually a little rough, well used and even had small areas of damage in various places. I made sure I took plenty of photos as I clearly was having a bad run with Scotties. I found what I thought must have been a free rental car parking pass to get out of the gated carpark in the glovebox along with the keys. However after arriving at the gate I was shocked to find out it was just a standard parking ticket and the car had been parked in the Short-term parking since 4:30pm. I had to pay $42 to get the car out of the parking! It was now 11:30pm. Once I was at my hotel I sent Scotties an email with a photo of the parking receipt asking if they would be reimbursing me? I received a rather rude reply a few days later stating verbatim: "This is exactly what you were told, this is the standard Auckland Airport car parking fee and we have no control over it." I emailed back asking exactly when they told me that I would be charged $42 to get my hire car out of a non-rental carpark after already having paid a $25 surcharge??? Hmm no reply! No surprises there! Shame on you Scotties Rentals!!! I advise all would-be car renters to avoid Scotties Rentals as they will rip you off and treat you like a burden rather than a customer. Ohh well, lesson learned. My pain is your gain.