Why didn't my travel agent warn me about the extra costs of hiring a car?

Independent

14 hours ago

Q I booked a rental car in Salzburg through an online travel agent. On my confirmation, it clearly stated that I would only pay a €1 (85p) security deposit. At the rental office, I was compelled to agree to a deposit close to €2,000. The online agent said they have no say in the matter.
Next, I was charged €29 for car cleaning – a charge applied to my credit card, not after returning the car, but on the very day I collected it. It was clearly pre-planned. Also, I was charged €12 for an Austrian driving tax – should I not have been told about that extra when making the booking?
Roland T
A How infuriating, though it looks as though you were relatively fortunate to end up only €40 or so out of pocket. I have heard of worse cases of hire companies taking customers for fools. Booking car rental online through intermediaries can deliver just what you need at an excellent price, with no further hassles. But some firms rely on sneaky charges as part of their business plan.
I am afraid that after a few unfortunate incidents – such as being charged for an upgrade that I had explicitly declined – I now avoid online agents. If I am booking through British Airways or Trailfinders as part of a package, I will always get the car through them. Experience shows that the rental providers they use know better than to mess with their customers.
Sometimes, if I want a vehicle only for a day or two during a holiday, I will arrange it locally: usually cheap and easy, and if you want a vehicle only for a morning you can often negotiate a decent rate. Otherwise, I take whichever of Avis or Hertz has the best deal. Yes, they are typically more expensive than the cheapest offers online, but I have always found both these companies to be straightforward and efficient, with no unpleasant surprises.
On the particular issues you experienced: a security deposit running into the thousands should not be necessary; you might try a chargeback from your card firm for the €29 taken for cleaning; and taxes are often levied locally.
Q Double-decker trains are common in Europe. Why does no one ever propose such trains for the UK in order to increase capacity? I appreciate that it would be necessary to modify some bridges and cuttings.
Keith W
A In railways, being first mover is not necessarily an advantage. Two hundred years after the world's first passenger railway opened in northeast England, the UK is still largely reliant on a Victorian rail network. While the British standard track gauge (the width between the rails) has been accepted across much of the world, the 'loading gauge' is a different matter. The loading gauge is the maximum height and width of locomotives, carriages and freight wagons.
When the British rail network was being constructed, the dimensions of tunnels and heights of bridges were deliberately kept tight in order to minimise costs. As a result, there is currently no scope for the tall double-decker trains that are familiar almost everywhere on the continent, from regional services in Germany and the Netherlands to 'duplex' TGVs (high-speed trains) in France.
Reconfiguring UK lines to allow such trains to run would be ruinously expensive. The one line on which it might have worked was the route from London Waterloo to Woking, Winchester and Southampton. For some years, demand was so strong at peak times that the idea of expanding the loading gauge and running a special fleet of rush-hour-only trains was actively considered.
Since the Covid pandemic, and the change in commuting patterns that resulted, passenger numbers are down nationwide – with rush-hour journeys particularly reduced. The appeal of double-decker trains, capable of moving large numbers of commuters rapidly, has dwindled.
What if passenger numbers rise to or above 2019 figures? Extra capacity is likely to be created by improved digital signalling – allowing more trains to run on the same stretch of track – or by the old analogue method of running longer trains.
Q We are trying to plan a trip starting at Calgary in Canada. We want to rent a car from the airport and travel to Banff and surrounding national parks. From there we hope to travel down to the US and finish in Phoenix, Arizona.
I am struggling to find a rental company that allows cross-border rentals. We did think about hiring one in Canada and then another in the US. But we are not sure how difficult that would be: to drop off a car on one side of the border, cross it, and then pick up another car. Do you have any ideas?
Maria S
A I applaud your choice of destinations, meandering south through North America from the Canadian Rockies to one of the world capitals of sunshine in the shape of Phoenix. But I recommend you reconsider your proposed trip.
Forget about a one-way rental from western Canada to the southwestern US. In the unlikely event you could find a rental company that would allow you to pick up in Calgary and drop off in Phoenix, the drop-off fee would be astronomical – into the thousands of pounds. Instead I urge you to continue west – from Calgary via Banff and Jasper national park through southern British Columbia to Vancouver.
Leave the car in that beautiful harbour city (with at most a small drop-off fee) and treat yourself to the best Canada-US cross-border experience, the Cascades train to Seattle. From here, you will be able to fly cheaply and easily to Las Vegas.
Even if the idea of neon glitz in the desert does not appeal, you will be able to rent a car with a modest drop-off fee to take you to your final destination. I can guarantee an enthralling journey that could include the Hoover Dam, Lake Havasu City (home of London Bridge) and a wealth of state parks and national forests before you arrive in sunny Phoenix.
Q My daughter (aged 31) and I will have two and a half days in the city of Bordeaux at the end of next week. What are the four or five key things to see or experience?
Bill M
A Bordeaux wraps around a bend of the Garonne River in southwestern France, 300 miles from Paris. It does not rate as highly as it should as a destination for a European city break. The standout cultural attraction is MusBA – the Musee des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum), founded in 1801. Matisse, Picasso, Rubens and Titian are all represented.
The most spectacular tourist draw is Cite du Vin, a swirl of glass and metal rising from the waterside. Inside, you can follow the trail of the vine from its origins in the Caucasus six millennia ago to the Medoc region – the triangle of territory between Bordeaux, the Gironde estuary and the Atlantic. You can get a spectacular view of the city, along with a tasting of wine, on the eighth floor.
Gastronomically, Bordeaux is outstanding; the tourist office claims it has more restaurants per capita than any other French city. Atlantic seafood, Basque and Perigord specialities are accompanied by some heavenly wines. Visit the Capucins market to be amazed by the raw materials.
Unesco recognises the waterfront architecture in the city centre – and also the startling angles of the Cite Fruges housing development in the southwestern suburb of Pessac. Le Corbusier created this community of 51 houses to accommodate workers in the 1920s. The location means it's a good final stop on the way to the airport, if you are flying home.
For a view of the city from the water, take a 90-minute boat tour with Burdigala Cruises. If you have any time for a trip out of town, I recommend Arcachon. In late June this resort will look lovely and be relatively uncrowded, and clambering through the sand of the vast Dune du Pilat, just to the south, is an uncommon joy.