Rental car ripoffs: Hidden camera investigation (Marketplace)

Did you ever want it on

camera

before we got these

camera

s? Okay, shirt, this shirt, these glasses, very stylish, this is my favorite, a

hidden

camera even inside this mug and walk into this

rental

company in Canada's largest cheap car

rental

airport. Hello Marketplace friends, we hear from a lot of you about car rental companies, but about this particular location we're getting especially related complaints from viewers like Ryan Jones. This company should not be allowed to continue its practice of deceptively overcharging and openly intimidating its customers. clients to pay them more than they deserve, deceptive practices.

It's time to reserve some cars and find out. Yes, like many of our viewers, we booked from this cheap car rental location through Expedia and we're going to do better. from the airport and we are about to reveal how not to be scammed by any car rental company, it tells us that we have unlimited mileage, that's right, it says it here here and even here, click on the mileage tab and this appears, drive unlimited distance with this car at no additional cost right next we want to add a collision damage plan no i have insurance so we're fine we have car insurance so we decline yours thank you ok xxx advertised price with taxes and fees $136, it's one of the cheapest, we found out we're ready to go to the cup and we got these spectators to book more, so I'm going to be an economy class rescue vehicle through Expedia for a total of three pick-ups, all on the same day with economical rental. a-car again and I'm very nervous about this because it wasn't a good experience last time, it's time to be sick of their rental car scams.

These two Ryans are ready to fight back. How are you feeling a little nervous? Why are you nervous? I don't like being treated straight and I think it will happen again if it happens it will all be on camera and don't be nervous. Jeremy is here to help you. I got you, you got me, I got you, okay, let's go. team one, Ryan and the market producer, Jeremy, so I can see myself pretty clearly if that looks good. Same team with Ryan and producer Katelyn, ready to come see them at a moment's notice. Bryan Sills is attracted by the promise of a great deal with unlimited kilometres.

I rented it for my brother's bachelor party we were going to Washington don't ask don't ask why we're going there for a bachelor party one of the reasons you booked in economy class was because of the unlimited miles, did you get them? I didn't get them in numerous sections online, it said unlimited kilometers so when I went to rent it that's when he pointed out to me that you will only get 200 bends a day, what did you think? I thought it was incredibly misleading and Ryan Jones took It was a real hit when it came to additional fees.

When I got there, the listing was completely off. An additional fee was required for insurance, which added something like $80 to the rental price. $80 more. It's a big jump. There have to be rules about price. increases it turns out that the Competition Bureau is clamping down on car rental companies for false and misleading advertising starting in 2016 avis and budget 2017 Hertz 2018 Enterprise large companies pay large fines for charging additional fees not included in their advertised prices, but what about the smaller ones? players like cheap car rental what's happening inside this place wait what we booked unlimited it seems this representative doesn't have an answer for us wow that's not in the minutes of kilometers that are called 200 kilometers per day to get money meet to the National Director of the Automotive Protection Agency Georgina we show you what is happening in this cheap car rental, well, if you came from Mars and we rented the car to travel, you would have unlimited Columbus, that's what I understood on the

hidden

camera, our team pushes. back but the rep says it's not their fault why don't you see the mileage under the mileage it's actually you have to give them we're going to throw out the video these are your rules, regulations and restrictions so do what and who's to blame here economics Yes It's Expedia, if you can't find it on the Expedia website on what you book then there is a problem and Expedia is involved as well as a rental company.

It's not just this economy, it's also a problem for other small rental companies when we reach out. Expedia thanked us for alerting them and said they will review how they display mileage, so there won't be unlimited miles for any of us. Next, we are talking about insurance, how insurance do you want to be a couple? The university is basically doing group coverage, it's an upsell. I've asked you a question that suggests one of two outcomes when in fact there is a third and the third option is I'm covered, that's right, you may already be covered. Many premium travel cards come with damage protection if you don't have critical coverage. $42 whoa 1195 sounds a lot better than $42 but it's daily and adds up quickly.

I have credit card insurance why do I pay the company 1195 a day for more insurance? That's the question Insurance Canada needs to answer z-- Pete Carey George's says what's happening within this economic location raises a lot of questions. Yes, what does that cover? You will harm someone with a good reputation and hit pedestrians. So we covered them. If you want to use your personal choice, there will be a level 95 surcharge. % coverage each time a different explanation, what do you think about that? It's very confusing, you don't know what, in fact, they are offering you mature, a scratch for the head.

Pete tells us that car rental companies need to insure their own fleets and get what they can. I don't actually sell liability coverage, so with his own auto insurance, well, Ryan will still get a better deal, so I'm supposed to charge him for the basic 42. I'll be a lawyer for you, you know what they charged the other Ryan, $12, why are they charging this Ryan? even more, turn down my own person, sure you think I'll be helpful with new cars, but Ryan's pink slip isn't good enough and this manager goes one step further, plays I have my own car insurance, yeah, No, I mean, what do I do? you need I need the action points if you don't have that with you it's a settlement that you even carry your policy oh that's it I'm an insurance and I don't carry my insurance policy with me I would be very surprised and surprised that at the last minute this is what you They tell you as a consumer, it's worrying, just like that $12 extra fee keeps sneaking up on us and, on a hidden camera, we catch it happening again, a real hit for not bringing. something unclear and buried in the terms of the economy website, but now that we know we are determined to beat this hidden fee, now it is our turn to pick up a car we have heard from the two Ryans, we know what to expect and we know it.

We don't need insurance, so let's back up, see what happens. One reservation and you're saying my insurance doesn't have it. I can not go. I'm not so sure. Yes, that was me at the counter knowing that. He had the support. I dispute that my policy would apply in this case, so I would simply dispute it and say no. A 27 endorsement ensures that your auto policy applies to any car you drive, including rentals. Being misled by our consumers here could be a training issue. I don't know if it's someone who is unaware of the situation and maybe you know it or if it's just normal business practice that's how this organization treats every customer.

This cheap location tells us they don't sell liability insurance and the staff I misspoke why they make us feel like we have to get this extra coverage if they get your consent no matter how much as long as you finally say yes under the pressure we tighten our grip screws enough. I speak fast enough. I confuse you enough. If you feel like you're going to be stranded on the road with four flat tires and no one is going to help you, then you can buy your coverage at that point, somehow it works even if we don't need it, even if you don't need it.

You don't need to be sure, our experts say, by calling your insurance company before picking up the rental. We pick up all three cars, just wait until you see them. Car expert Marc Winton inspects them all in front of the car. Do you know a place where? This is commonly very damaging and what you can see here is a lot of damage to the front license plate of this car, a lot, does it pass your test? Yes, a big scuff mark on the bumper all the way to the bottom. This is substantial damage. I'm surprised they actually rented a car with damage like this, if you had a car like this would you accept it?

Not at all, so we should have left this on the line, oh yeah, Mark does a full circle check outside and inside. and the other thing of course turn on the cop and drive let's do it it says maintenance is due soon is there's a problem if you see maintenance is due soon you know that's just something anxiety inducing mm-hmm they shouldn't use a car like this, customers shouldn't have to deal with this economy. He says most of their vehicles are new and that light doesn't reset because they do their own oil changes at this location.

What are you looking for? I am looking for the ownership and insurance that is best for the car to have. Just in case I need it, well, we'll check it out. It has a license plate permit with an expired sticker so this property has a problem and there is no proof of insurance so it is a big problem. You are right, the police tell us both the company and the driver. arrested could receive a fine for the other two cars, we found another expired property and they are all missing insurance documents. Economics tells us that sometimes customers take things away and will replace them and there was this, oh, and we have something here that appears to be a piece of petrified fruit.

I'll just put that out. Mark shares tips for anyone renting cars. Take pictures of the gas mileage. He must report absolutely anything he finds. Record and report all damage and scratches. What he is doing now is probably a much more thorough inspection than before. most consumers would know what it really only takes 5 to 10 minutes we are outside and it is your choice you want to spend five or ten minutes sir a thousand dollars we handle the cars can we take them for a ride? short trip down the 407 toll road a few minutes shouldn't cost too much, right, we're in for a big surprise, this is your market, the team is back together, today is the big day that car rental is back.

Will everything be okay or will we? be hit with a shocking sticker hello when returning the card these are our taxes each so there is a charge for it sorry sorry you get a lot of complaints about this we are anxiously waiting at the base for our teams to return with their bills, what's up? your total here, so it shouldn't have been more than 150 dollars 12 yeah, so it's a lot more than I expected. I feel like they are very sneaky, they trick you into renting somewhere and then when they charge you it's completely different. price you returned the car for, we did how it went, so a quoted rental of $130 became 230, that's a big jump, the $40 additional driver fee we were hoping others would be included too, but what are these rates?

We have an energy recovery rate. for a total of $8, an MTF CP of seven and seven dollars and eighty cents, a VL 8 CR fee which was $24, which was a big fee, so here the vehicle license fee is $6 per day, but other big companies charge $2, so the other big companies are grabbing money, they are right too and these guys are beyond the money problem. George tells us that most of these fees go directly back to the rental companies. Remember those few minutes Ryan spent on the toll road, just the rental company manager, what would she do? you tell the company to be more direct be more direct with everything, the additional charges for mileage and insurance increase the final price of the three cars, so our team of testers found that they were paying between 30 and 70% more for these cars compared to what they were quoted. online, so that's consistent with what the Competition Bureau found in its

investigation

s and that resulted in multi-million pound fines for companies, so I hope the bureau watches itself and realizes that they have to dust off their old

investigation

and maybe get to work again.

The Competition Bureau tells us that hidden costs are a real problem and encourage anyone who feels misled to make a complaint. This couple says that consumers need more protection they can't wait for a trip at least we won't have to rent a car when we arrive. go away Joann wind and J your Canon our market fans your mailemail triggers our investigation how did you feel when you first booked with this company? We felt like we got the best price and that made me very excited, but that excitement quickly faded when he returned the vehicle and said, Oh, there's a problem with your vehicle and then he took us outside and showed us the damage he was trying to pin on us, which It was there when we originally rented.

Do you think there's any chance you caused it? the damage while driving absolutely 100%, not at all, I think the worst part, he said we have to pay a thousand dollars, it was a thousand dollars and it was like we were taken hostage at that moment, what did you think when he said that? they are ripping us off, yes they are ripping us off here, there is no doubt that both Ryans share similar stories, they say the first time they rented at this place they were charged for damages they didn't cause. Economy insists the cars were returned damaged and denies overcharging any of them.

Do consumers need more protection when it comes to renting vehicles? someone needs to help consumers like us we are honest people we just want to rent a car go with our families on the trip and not go through this kind of headaches Don't worry, yes, and you are not alone. Over 1300 Google reviews for this particular location, almost all negative. This cheap location says some of the bad ones. The reviews are fake but we verified these, how come you have so many complaints about the same company? They go back years Joanne J Ryan Jones Brian Sills, all rented in this economy.

They all say they were scammed. Now they are seeking responsibility. Some answers. Rent. car scams in your market we want answers from this cheap car rental location misleading claims misleading rates all caught in our hidden camera investigation we have been asking for weeks for an on camera interview but they refused so we are going to ask in person we are going to Aarthi hi, I'm a mockery of the CBC market. We really look forward to talking to you about the story we're doing, as you know, we've reached out to you several times. Aarthi demanded that the owner agrees to talk to us in his office, we can come in and I understand, but we have given his clients the opportunity to tell his story on camera.

We want to give them the same opportunity, but I told them I didn't feel comfortable. you say I sent you several notes and one is thank you yesterday and you exclaim about every point you guys faced, we understand, but the complaints we hear from your customers say they feel like they are being ripped off. outside, are you going to take any responsibility for being honest with your prices? They are sincere, that is where the policies are. Customers who have contacted you have not read the policy. We don't just hear this from your customers. we have it on hidden camera your industry standard rate some companies charge something we charge other companies charge these additional fees and these locations are some of the highest.

Are you willing to make any changes based on the information we have provided? You're not going to change any C. They're online in that note we posted online; Next time you need a rental, check out our tips at cbc.ca slash Marketplace.