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We hired a Europcar in Sicily. They claimed we had changed a tyre – but we hadn't
We recently made a five-day visit to Sicily and hired a Fiat Panda through Europcar at Palermo airport.
We made the customary tour of the car to check for dents and scrapes, paying the extra for full insurance cover. We drove from the airport direct to Noto, stopping only for a snack when the car was in full view. The B&B where we were staying had a private garage for three cars with a security door activated by a key that had to be held in place for a heavy metal roller door to open or shut. We parked the car in the garage. We were there for a wedding, so the other cars that were parked in the garage were all driven by people known to us. We took the car out once to visit a nearby town, where the only time we were out of the car it was parked by the terrace where we were eating. The final journey was back to the airport via a scenic route – again with one short stop for a picnic beside the car.
When we returned the car we were asked if we had had a flat tyre. We hadn't. We were told the tyre had been changed, because the front tyre was a different make from the three Continental tyres on the other wheels, which indeed it was – but it had not happened on our watch. We were informed by Europcar that in Italy legally all four tyres must be matching, which means they had issued us with an illegal car.
It was physically impossible for the wheel to have been changed during our period of rental, and I protested vehemently. But there was no recourse. An email to customer services in Italy has produced only a standard reply, while our credit card has, of course, been debited the excess amounting to £126.87. JB,London
Europcar apologised for the inconvenience and delays you had experienced and said it would look into what happened, claiming your ordeal had reminded it that it needs to "look at each individual rental on a personal basis and we are committed to doing so". After investigation it concluded that the evidence to determine whether you were liable was "ambiguous in this particular case". As such, Europcar has refunded you €139.80 for the additional charges. It added that it hopes you will continue to be a customer of Europcar.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Brignall & King, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
Mark King
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