Worst car hire we have used

Green Motion - Gatwick Airport
★★★☆☆
3.3
61.0% of users recommend this
  • Value For Money

nellsmyth's review of Green Motion - Gatwick Airport

“Worst car hire we have used”

★☆☆☆☆

written by nellsmyth on 27/09/2019

We have very often rented cars, and in many places, but we have NEVER encountered a rental agency as exploitative and unpleasant as Green Motion in Bristol. For us the primary issue was their unheard of ‘fine print’ policy concerning the use of debit and credit cards that more than doubled the cost of our rental, but several smaller things also made clear the kind of business we were dealing with.

First, the pickup directions, while offering a shuttle, suggested that they were only a 5 minute walk from the the terminal. Not true: at least 15 minutes, and with the need to cross a very busy street with no pedestrian crossing. Second, a verbal assurance, concerning their untypical fuel return policy that anything over one-fourth full, on the car they supplied, would be fine, followed by a 10 GBP surcharge when the tank was returned under half full. And third, a long delay waiting for the shuttle return to the airport: we were kept waiting almost 15 minutes with many people who had been there even longer. Most of those people were crowding inside a tiny hall to escape the rain, but there were so many people waiting and the hall so small, that we were among an overflow forced to stand in the rain while waiting for the shuttle.

But the worst part was their credit/debit card policy. They do ‘accept’ debit cards, but only if one pays a mandatory 18 GBP extra each day for insurance against the deposit. We have our own annual excess insurance, but this was not seen as acceptable: the 18 GBP daily additional charge was not for excess insurance. Almost every other rental company does accept debit cards with no extra charges. But we have a credit card also, just in case. However it is Green Motion’s policy only to accept credit cards more than TWO MONTHS away from their expiration date (our bank sends new ones two weeks before expiration). Therefore we could not use our valid credit card to avoid their doubling of the rental cost. We called our bank, a subsidiary of HSBC, and they were incredulous about Green Motion’s policy. We are in contact with their VISA department to learn if it is even legal for Green Motion to claim to accept credit cards when they do not honor the expiration date.

Beware Green Motion car hire!

  • Value For Money

Was this review helpful? 0 0