Firefly/Do You Spain extra charge for 75+ drivers

Between June 2018 and now Firefly, booked via Do You Spain. have added an extra charge for drivers over 75 and it is all in the 'small print'
I have used DYS for years and normally found them quite good but as this is a major change it should have been stated  when quoting the price
I have searched other web sites and it seems that many are adding this extyra charge

I wonder why?....strange that since last summer there have been a lot of complaints about the unexpected charges one gets hit with from car hire companies manily over damage insurance claims and they all said they would put their house in order!

So what have they done? tried to claw it back from pensioners!.................as far as I know there is no statistical evidence that older drivers cause more claims for car hire firms so firstly it is 'age discrimination' and secondly Car Hire Firms making excessive charges and hiding the prospect in the small print!
This may be illegal in EU so does anyone have any information about that and has anyone else recently experienced the same excess charge      

Haven't car hire companies always put an extra charge on elderly drivers?
I know from past experience that most of the ones I have hired cars from, both in Spain and in the UK, will hire a car up to 70 years old and then have a little box "Over 70?) which gives a different quote. And this is going back well over 10 years.

This is from a Saga site some 5 years ago

Insurance companies set a maximum age for car rental; usually the cut-off is 70 or 75. Different rentalcompanies, however, will have differing insurance providers, so the only way you will really know if you're allowed to drive away in the reserved hire car is if you ask about age restrictions prior to your holiday.

Just like many add an  extra premium for drivers under 25.

Mariadav is correct. As long as everything is disclosed, be it small print or not, they can charge whatever they like. It’s a case of take it or leave it, no one is forcing you to hire anything.

If direct complaints are not being responded to ( self regulation is failing), then report back your observations on these car hire companies and concerns re age discrimination to your MP and MEP via http://www.writetothem.com and also it might be worth reporting to citizens advice bureaux to see if they could act in support to gain speedier reform?

And, as I was pointing out, hardly a new thing.

This article is from 2005

Car Hire Age Limit

Well done Mariedav.... worth bringing by those affected as supportive evidence to the attention of MEPs??

The age discrimination act only applies to employment. If you apply for a job as a high rise roofer or steeplejack and you are aged 80 years you must be considered equal to a 20 year old.

Outside employment age discrimination does not apply, that’s why you get your free bus pass, discount TV licence and half price entry to bingo. Sometimes things are not always in your favour, like life insurance and car hire.

Interesting Kavanagh, but I came across this ( see below), which begs the question if the EU Commission through dialogue with the insurance sector can influence fairer pricing structures and can ensure that risk data relating to age is gathered from an INDEPENDENT source i.e. is based upon more recent ACCURATE data and statistics?

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52008PC0426&from=EN

“The Commission received many complaints about discrimination in the insurance and banking sector. The use of age or disability by insurers and banks to assess the risk profile of customers does not necessarily represent discrimination: it depends on the product. The Commission will initiate a dialogue with the insurance and banking industry together with other relevant stakeholders to achieve a better common understanding of the areas where age or disability are relevant factors for the design and pricing of the products offered in these sectors.

A special rule is added for insurance and banking services, in recognition of the fact that age and disability can be an essential element of the assessment of risk for certain products, and therefore of price. If insurers are not allowed to take age and disability into account at all, the additional costs will have to be entirely borne by the rest of the "pool" of those insured, which would result in higher overall costs and lower availability of cover for consumers. The use of age and disability in the assessment of risk must be based on accurate data and statistics.”

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/03/car-hire-comparison-sites-promise-to-show-total-costs-upfront/

“The CMA ( competition and markets authority) has also announced that, following numerous complaints from people encountering HIDDEN costs when collecting their cars at airports abroad, it is taking enforcement action against businesses which are based overseas but sell directly to UK customers online.”

I wonder if this enforcement action covers the problem of hidden print relating to age, that the poster previously observed? Might be worth the OP querying this with the CMA perhaps?

https://www.airport-car-hire.net/car-hire-for-over-70-year-olds.html#/searchcars

In terms of a comparison website has anyone used the above website to compare prices and if so might this be worth recommending to others?

In general , it seems strange that an increase in an ageing population, where statistically older drivers( for instance between the ages of 70 - 75,  75 - 80) may no longer be posing an increased risk according to more recent accurate data, is not perceived as an opportunity to expand that market sector and become more competitive, rather than the opposite!

It’s all about risk factor at a certain age bracket, not age discrimination as such.

im sure most of us would like to be a lot younger again, but not pay the high car insurance costs that go with it.

you will probably find three age brackets all of which would alter your car hire. Ie doyouspain.com

why should my daughter pay £1400 for car insurance and me pay £200 on an identical policy.

Even though she may be a better driver than me she still pays more, as the law of averages say! She is at more risk than me to have an accident.

it is what it is.

going off subject slightly why do public service employees get discounts at certain retail outlets? Especially with the salary they are on??? Is that not discrimination