Gary Carroll is not the first customer of the Spanish car rental company Goldcar to be hit with fees he was not expecting, nor is he unique in becoming exasperated by their customer service. After all, this is the company that was named by the consumer group Which? in 2019 as the worst in Europe.
But Carroll may be the only one so far to have spotted a loophole that allowed him to sue Goldcar in this country — and win.
Goldcar’s head office is in Alicante, Spain. Carroll, 63, a retired construction project manager from Uxbridge, west London, realised that Goldcar also had an office in Leicester, which meant he could lodge a court claim for the £290 he believed he was overcharged and £25 court costs. Goldcar, which is used by thousands of British holidaymakers in Spain and Portugal, is often criticised for its poor customer service. It has no UK phone number, no email address on its website and inquiries to its online contact form often go unanswered. Customers feel they have no way to complain or gain compensation. In 2017 it was fined by the Italian competition authority for using “unfair commercial practices”.
Carroll and his wife June, 62, went to their holiday apartment in Port de Pollença, a 45-minute drive from Palma airport, in July 2020. They had paid £73 upfront to rent a Fiat 500 for a week from InterRent and bought insurance separately.
When they arrived at Palma were told that their booking was actually with Goldcar. “I wasn’t happy about this, because I know it has a reputation, but at that point I was stuck,” said Carroll. He was told he must have insurance to pick up the car. Carroll explained that he had taken out third-party insurance with Zurich for £42.99 and showed a printed confirmation.
Advertisement
He said he was told to sign a tablet and handed a folded piece of paper with the number 34 written on it. The couple picked up a white Fiat 500 but when they arrived at their apartment, Carroll said he saw that the folded piece of paper was a contract with his signature on. It said they had to pay Goldcar €320.26 for extras such as super relax cover for €144.59 and mega relax cover for €23.14, which are Goldcar’s own insurance policies. Carroll had ended up with three policies for one week’s car rental.
Once home the Carrolls found that Goldcar had taken the money from their credit card, which was now showing a charge of £290.28 from Goldcar.
They complained to the company by using the complaints service Resolver.
There was no response, so in August Carroll decided to sue Goldcar by making what is known as an online civil claim. This costs £25 and can be used for claims of £10,000 or less. You can make a claim against a company registered in the UK, but not one registered in Spain. Carroll used Goldcar’s Leicester address.
Goldcar failed to submit a defence within 19 days, so a default county court judgment was made against the company in September. Goldcar paid the £315.28, the amount of the credit card charge plus costs, but only after Carroll complained again, this time to Europcar’s director in Spain, Michel Kisfaludi. Europcar bought Goldcar in 2017.
Advertisement
In an email Goldcar told him: “We apologise if on this occasion we have fallen short. All customers receive a copy of their signed rental agreement on the day of collection and are free to question or rectify anything they deem necessary.”
Goldcar has been approached for comment.