A consumer watchdog in the UK has been shocked by the dramatic rise in complaints against car hire companies in the EU. The UK European Consumer Centre claims that customer complaints and enquires are up by 29 per cent for the first five months of the year when compared to the same period last year.

Although complaints were being made about disputes across the EU, countries causing the most problems when it came to hiring a car included Ireland, France, Italy and Spain. The jump in complaints has prompted the UK ECC to produce a pamphlet, which can be downloaded from its website, containing helpful information on what to look out for when hiring a car abroad, as well as details on customers’ legal rights when hiring a car in the EU.

Jed Mayatt, Manager of the UK ECC, admitted that he knew the number of complaints about car hire experiences was in the rise, but was taken aback when he realised by just how much. He added that the problem meant that UK consumers needed to start taking more precautions when hiring a vehicle and entering into rental agreements with their heads screwed on.

According to Mayatt, one of the most important things a customer can do to avoid problems with their car hire company, is to make sure the vehicle is thoroughly checked, on its return, by a member of the rental team, and signed off in good condition.

Too many people simply leave the car in the returns lot and are surprised when a bill for damages arrives two months later because they did not get a signature saying the car was returned in good order.