Auriga Crown/Alicante- No new Fleet!

It's great to see Claire & DYS engaged in the debate and helping answer so many questions for people. 

I booked through EasyCar for 3 trips.  There was no mention of the 300 euros deposit on web site for the first booking which was with Auriga Crown, but checking back later, it had been added to quotes.  The second was with Goldcar, which had no huge deposit, but on collection of the car at the airport, their 'additional' insurance has shot up!  It was previously the usual extra for tyres etc, now it's like an additional comprehensive cover, added on top of what is supposedly comprehensive insurance included in the price (if that makes sense). 

When travelling alone it scares me that i might be out in a car and not covered should anything go wrong, so I pay.  When not alone I don't pay.  The point is that costs of hiring a car are becoming unaffordable.  After payment on booking, then the extra insurance, then paying for a full tank (at prices for a mini car that would fill the huge tank in my big car at home), it more than doubles the cost of my trip. Is it going to get worse if the car suppliers don't have enough cars or impossible for most people to afford!  Irene may be right and buying is the safest option.

Thank you very much for the clarification Claire (DYS).

It really is good to see you on this forum.

  deleted comment as Claire had already answered my question sorry!

Goldcar, for example, now charge 35eur for one-way rentals of less than 7 days. AurigaCrown don't charge for one ways on bookings made with DoYouSpain. All the information is on the rental voucher.

Customers should never be bullied into leaving a deposit if they don't want to take the extra insurance. If customers have any problems with this then it's always better to call us whilst still in the airport and we can sort the matter out with the office there and then. Goldcar and Centuaro don't require a deposit.

Claire Davis

DoYouSpain

Hi

I too was pleased to see comments from someone who works for DYS.  I had written on another thread about having to pay the insurance or leave a deposit and e-mailed DYS directly and not received a reply either!

Looking back, it was an Auriga Crown booking through DYS, so am I now correct in thinking that as long as its one of the other rental companies, ie. Goldcar, Centauro etc, that we won't be bullied into the extra insurance or deposit? I am not sure the people behind us the queue at the airport desk will be very happy if we have to delay further by making phone calls to DYS, but at least thats an option.

Have been reading this thread with interest particularly as I also have been caught out with the €300 Auriga insurance deposit. Am pleased to learn that credit cards are no longer debited & then refunded.

A further question tho if anyone knows the answer (Claire??) - I see there is a new charge by the car hire companies (in this instance Auriga again) if we collect a car at one location & return to another ie, we are picking up at Murcia airport & returning to Alicante. DYS are quoting €35 paid locally for this service. This charge wasn't quoted at the time of booking so am now wondering if I am required to pay it or not. Anyone any experience of this?

We have just come back from Peniscola and had booked a car through Holiday Autos, as it was the best price, and they were using Auriga Crown. On arrival at Reus airport no car at the Auriga Crown desk and the man there was very "Basil Fawlty" straight away saying that the car had been cancelled for a week and that we had received an email, and we should go away. Got back to england last night and contacted HA and as far as they were concerned it was still a confirmed booking! Waiting for customer services to refund me now as unfortunately HA are a pay up  front.

Back to DoYouSpain it is for me especially after reading this entire thread.

Never realised that the car hire companies were having problems as well

It is true to say that in the beginning AurigaCrown charged the 300eur deposit to the customer's credit card.

However, after our insistence that this was not the best way to go about matters, they now just block this amount from the credit card (rather than actually taking the money and then refunding it) so that customers from the UK are not prejudiced by fluctuations in the exchange rate.

If our customers have any questions regarding a specific booking, we request that they contact us directly by e-mail (info2) or telephone (0034 964 83 09 95).

We are attending to all queries as quickly as possible in order to put our customers minds at rest. Again, for any urgent queries we are also contactable by telephone.

Claire Davis

DoYouSpain

[quote DYS] Regarding the 300eur deposit with AurigaCrown, it is true that this has been introduced for customers booking directly with them. However, customers of DoYouSpain who do not wish to take the extra insurance or leave the deposit are not obliged to do so. [/quote}

Yes, I am with Noreen on this one. I booked in February with DYS and didn't have to pay it as it was a "new thing" and I had booked far in advance. In April I had to pay the insurance, I thought €9 for three days was better than losing on the exchange rate as Noreen did. Let's see what happens when my Wife goes out in September! Very disappointed that DYS say you don't have to pay, yet Auriga Crown say there are no exceptions! How do we go forward on this issue?

Mark

I too would like to congratulate Claire & DoYouSpain for the speedy response to this issue & their reassuring words.

However, picking up on a point in Claire's post, we booked a car through DoYou Spain for 24th May - 30th May, picking up in Almeria & drop off at Murcia & the provider was Auriga Crown.

When we collected the car, Auriga Crown were adamant that the €300 deposit had to be paid, so we paid it.

There was no problem with the car when it was returned & the €300 was refunded without delay. However, because of the difference in the buy/sell exchange rates, this transaction actually cost me £17.24 which is rather annoying when DoYouSpain are now saying that I didn't need to pay it.

Perhaps DoYouSpain need to put more "pressure" on Auriga Crown to respect the terms of the bookings made through them, particularly as they put so many bookings through Auriga Crown.

I also emailed DoYouSpain earlier this week about the Auriga Crown situation & have not received a response. Obviously, I have the benefit of having seen the responses posted on EOS but if emails are not being answered & the sender does not subscribe to EOS it is very possible that there are still some very concerned customers out there.

Noreen

Would like to offer praise to Claire & Do You Spain for their position on this matter.

Shame Arrow Cars haven't shown the same commitment to their customers.

Good morning all

Yes, it has been a worry for us too, but I'm happy to say we've been able to find a solution. if you haven't received an e-mail then you can be assured that your booking is okay.

Regarding the 300eur deposit with AurigaCrown, it is true that this has been introduced for customers booking directly with them. However, customers of DoYouSpain who do not wish to take the extra insurance or leave the deposit are not obliged to do so. Customers can always contact us while they're still in the AurigaCrown office and we will be happy to help you resolve the situation there and then.

We've tried to contact every customer who has questions related to the AurigaCrown situation - I'm sorry to hear that PGM has not received a reply.

If you have an urgent question you can also contact us by telephone. Our number is 0034 964 830995. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Claire Davis

DoYouSpain

Hi Claire (DoYouSpain)

Thanks for your comments, which are all very reassuring, but unfortunately as one of your customers who has attempted to contact your company asking for information on this issue, your company have not bothered to respond to questions sent to you. I am not an isolated case in this as others on EOS are reporting this situation.

Thank you Claire, It is reassuring to hear that dyspain are contacting their customers, we were starting to get  really worried. As there are 3 families travelling together in July the thoughts of being stranded with 6 children was starting to cause nightmares.

 I am renting a car for a month, which I booked in Jan at a very good price, I am happy to hear that if we do have to book an alternative through dyspain that we will be refunded the difference.

I do agree with Mark that the compulsary extra insurance or deposit should be posted on the website.

Tricia

Hi claire, good to see someone from DYS on the forum. I have a question that hasn't been answered in gthe numerous emails I have sent asking, funnily enough it is about Auriga Crown again! (sorry, thread hijack in action )

As Auriga Crown seem to be DYS's favoured hire company, will you be putting on your website or quotes that there is a €300 deposit to be paid at the airport unless you take what is now their compulsory insurance? I am sure many people have een caught out with this regulation and your website does say that prices are all inclusive, with the "option" to purchase extra insurance.

Mark

Hi

We have rented long term through Auriga Crown via Arrow cars. Just a few months ago we were paying 295 euros a month for an Ibiza. Last month this went up to 365 euros and now we have been told that from the 1st July it will be 610euros! Quite a jump! We know the staff quite well now at Auriga in Malaga and they said that they have had to cancel many bookings as they just do not have the cars. The company is struggling financially and can't afford to get new cars but are continuing to sell their existing stock so it doesn't look good. I'm worried they will now sell our car! However to be honest I'm not happy paying 610 euros for it plus the additional insurance of 36 euros a month. Anyone know of a company that offer good cars cheaply without ridiculous deposits that won't be sold etc??

I work for DoYouSpain and would like to take this opportunity to clear up a few of the issues mentioned in this thread relating to our company.

Indeed AurigaCrown have been forced to cancel bookings for DoYouSpain and other agencies like ourselves.

Immediately on receiving news of the cancellations by AurigaCrown, we advised our customers and made an alternative booking. As the cancellations were last minute for ourselves as well as for the customer, some of the vehicles we arranged were at a higher price than the one previously confirmed by AurigaCrown. In this case we will be refunding the difference in the two hire prices to all affected customers. As 'steward66' points out, in some cases the difference to be refunded is considerable but we can assure all customers that the money will be refunded.

Regarding Mr Price's post below, we have since offered to refund the difference in the hire price between the AurigaCrown booking and the one with Goldcar.

Although we have heard reports that not all agencies have advised their customers of the cancellations I'm pleased to say that this is not true in our case. Other agencies have left their customers stranded at the airport with no explanation  or alternative vehicle.

Our primary concern throughout this unfortunate situation has been to make sure that DoYouSpain customers are not left stranded at the airport without a vehicle and that by taking an alternative vehicle they are not left out of pocket.

We would like to reiterate that we have taken this problem very seriously and for this reason made every effort to look after all our customers which have been affected.

Claire Davis

DoYouSpain

Don't think it's just DoYouSpain or Alicante.

We've had a long term car hire through Arrow Cars (the agent) for about 14 months now. For about the last 8, they have sourced a car for us through Auriga Crown. We've been paying €320 a month for a diesel Toyota Yaris, which seemed reasonable. For us, it was as good a bet as buying our own car, as we didn't have to worry about tax, insurance, breakdown recovery, depreciation etc.

A couple of months ago, we were quoted €200 a month by another company, so went to Arrow and asked ,if they could match it. They said that while they couldn't, their prices would remain fixed throughout the year, whereas the other company would charge more through the peak season. We looked at quotes for subsequent months and indeed that was the case.

Now, 3 days before we are due to renew for the next month, Arrow have told us that Auriga Crown will not renew any long-term hire because of the economic downturn and not replacing a proportion of their fleet. Arrow also say they can't find us an alternative long-term supplier.

Checking ourselves, the cheapest (ha!) deal we've been able to find is about €600. Quite a jump! 

I'm so disappointed with Arrow, after their hollow promise of a couple of months ago that their prices would remain the same throughout the year. Don't know what we're going to do now.

My pleasure. Glad to be able to help.

Jean