Hi everyone. If you wish me to read and rate any reviews, feel free to leave a message for me. Take ...
Hi everyone. If you wish me to read and rate any reviews, feel free to leave a message for me. Take care . Geraint.
Member since:22.02.2003
Reviews:116
Members who trust:30
Recently it became necessary for me to take a trip from London up to Wrexham for an interview. However, after pricing up the cost of train tickets during peak times in the morning and evening I nearly had a heart attack. It was at this point that I decided to look around at the idea of hiring a car for the journey.
After looking at a few and doing the relevant pricing comparisons I came across the Easycar.com website. With the aid of a very clear website and easy to read and understand charges and regulations I decided to give them a try.
The prices of hiring their cars are incredibly cheap, especially if you book well in advance and mainly on weekdays, however weekends were still very competitive. The car you can hire depends on which branch that you use. The main choice is either Mercedes A class, or Vauxhall Corsas. We hired from the East Croydon branch and received a four
door 1.2 Corsa. The car was almost brand new as are all of the cars that they offer giving peace of mind that they will not break down half way or consume vast amounts of petrol!!!
Booking of the Car
The only way to book an Easycar is to use the website. However this is far easier than some other websites as it is set out in a very easy to understand way. Navigation is very straight forward and the interface of clicking on the relevant days is fool proof. Then once you have priced up the trip you simply enter your details as well as credit/debit card details and hey presto you have your booking. All you need to do now is to print off a copy of the rental agreement for yourself, and one to take with you when you pick the car up.
Warning On Booking
By advised however that when you pick the car up you must show ID in the form of passport or the like. In addition you must provide your driving license, including the paper counterpart if you have the new style card style ones. They will not under any circumstances phone the DVLA to get confirmation and a cancellation fee will be charged if you turn up without it, which considering it is stated very clearly on several screens before booking is fair enough.
Picking The Car Up
When you book you provide a time that you can pick the car up. Note that you cannot pick the car up before this allotted time as it may already be out on another hire. One potential problem that I have read about here is that one person brings the car back late, and so you are late getting the car. I personally didn't experience this but I suppose it is inevitable on occasions due to the nature of the business.
The main money saving tool that easycar use is that their offices are basically a port cabin in a local car park. These are manned by a couple of staff and they do all the organising and distribution of the cars. I have to say that the man in Croydon was very helpful and if all of the port cabins are manned by the same quality of staff then this shouldn't be a problem.
To pick up the car they look at your ID and the like and also take a digital photo for security purposes. This is relatively quick and queues rarely build up. Ten minutes after you get there you are ready to drive away in your car.
Insurance
This is now covered by easycar, with damage and accident waivers, meaning that you are not liable for damage caused. The one good thing is that they do not charge huge supplements for under 25's as quite a few companies can do.
Charges
The cost of the hire is taken from your account when the order is made which is a little unusual but nothing to upsetting. In addition when you pick the car up an extra £50 is taken from the card as a deposit and is fully refunded one month after the safe return of the car.
Return of the Car
Again very straight forward here. You pick a time when you book and simply return the car at this time. It must be brought back in a clean state, but you do not have to worry about petrol as they operate an empty to empty policy. You return the keys to the port cabin and the person checks the car for cleanliness and mileage and you sign for any extra charges and are ready to leave, again within a few minutes of arrival.
Extra Charges
Easycar offer a policy of 70 miles a day for the hire cost. An extra charge is made for all miles over this. The rate when I went was 20p a mile, which providing you don't go mad is still a better offer than many of the other hire car companies taking everything into account.
If you don't bring the car back clean you are liable for an extra £10 charge for them to clean it, which again is fair enough as they emphasise the cleanliness factor and due to the tight time schedules they operate, this would be a major annoyance.
If you bring the car back late you are also subject to a fine. This was a flat rate of £70 last time I checked. Again no quibbles with this as it is all clearly set out at the time of booking and on your rental agreement.
Other fees are charged for things like losing keys and such, again pretty silly things and fair enough charges.
Other Points
A useful aspect is that in the unlikely event of the car suffering a breakdown, you are not liable for the cost of repair and recovery, and Easycar will provide another car if one is available or provide a partial refund if not.
In addition, you cannot take the car earlier than the desired time or bring it back before the due time but again this is all clearly stated.
To sum up I would recommend Easycar to anyone. I know I have heard some bad stories about them, but from my point of view they were very professional, and despite what people have said, all of the terms and conditions as well as charges are clearly stated before any contract is agreed and so it really is their own fault if they do not read these fully before agreeing anything.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
Feb 13th, 2004
very helpful by (89%):
helpful by (11%):
