Anyone who is subscribed to my newsletter or follows us in the social media will know that I’ve long been a big fan of Economy Car Hire. Now I’ve just learned that I’m in good company as the UK consumer association, Which?, has just named them as the top car hire broker for the second year running.
UPDATE: Economy Car Hire have now rebranded as Zest Car Rental.
Here’s confirmation from the Which? website:
In order to make a decision on the best car rental broker the association created an online survey last November for its readers asking for feedback on their personal experiences over the previous year with regard to car hire. Questions referred to many aspects of the car rental minefield including transparency of information on the company’s website, how easy the booking process was, what choice of vehicles was made available and general customer service issues.
Having dealt with Economy Car Hire on a personal level as a car rental customer and on a professional level as owner of this website I’ve always found their customer service to be second to none and never hesitate to recommend them to our readers. Their transparency when it comes to pricing is also most welcome as a consumer.
The report from Which? highlighted the problems customers run into with regard to hidden costs of car hire that aren’t evident when searching online. They identified five major issues in this area:
- damage charges
- unauthorised payments
- fuel options
- automatic toll payments
- excess waiver fees
We’ve received enormous traffic to our article about such hidden charges being added by Goldcar which led to a record number of comments on our website. In contrast Economy Car Hire were the only broker in the Which? survey to be awarded the full 5 stars for what was referred to as ‘clarity of the pricing’. Personally I think this is the biggest issue facing holidaymakers who are booking their rental vehicles online before travelling and Economy Car Hire deserve enormous credit for their openness and honesty in this shady area.
It’s no surprise that this company has managed to retain top spot as they never rest on their laurels, always listening to customers and looking for ways to improve. Just recently I noticed that on their website they’ve improved an already impressive booking process by clearly identifying which car rental company you will be getting your car from.
If you haven’t yet booked your car hire for this coming summer (wherever you’re visiting) then there’s no need to look any further than Economy Car Hire. As well as very competitive rates they include an additional driver for no extra fee and have a built-in excess cover in their rates. Just click on this link and get a quote straight away. And remember, just because some less reputable companies seem to offer lower rates when you use car search engines online you’ll often find their prices escalate way beyond those offered by Economy Car Hire as soon as all those hidden fees appear at your destination airport.
What do you think are the most annoying extra charges of hiring a car?
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Hello Gerry,
Just to let you know I am most unhappy with Economy Car Hire at the moment. I have been a customer for a number of years and arranged and paid for a 3 week booking from Murcia Airport with them on 7th March. I warned them that I might have to change the car pick-up date as I was unsure about committments and plane schedules. I was told this would not be a problem and that I would get a refund for any part of the arranged hire which I was unable to use if I had to make any change.
I had to Email them yesterday to say that I would, indeed, need to change the pick-up date from Monday 7th April to Saturday 12th April because of changed plans and was advised that, because of this, the car hire period was now a new agreement and would incur the new Easter period rates – which more than doubled the cost !!!! I expressed my displeasure at this and was told that there was nothing I could do In spite of the fact that I told them they were breaking the contract by seeking to get more money for a previously agreed hire in which I was told I would get a refund !!!!
I would ask that you consider warning your correspondents about this ‘con’.
Dear Alan
I followed up your complaint with Economy Car Hire and received the following explanation:
Whilst I understand your disappointment with regard to this booking I think it’s very unfair to refer to it as a ‘con’.
Regards
Gerry