Car Hire - Booking cancelled by Auriga Crown

I don't want to cause panic for anyone, but thought I should warn you about possible problems with Auriga Crown.  My daughter has just phoned me from Condado having arrived on Thursday night.   They booked their hire car with Auriga Crown (directly through the Auriga website) and arrived at Murcia airport with their booking confirmation/reservation details.  They were told that Auriga had cancelled their booking  and they did not have any car available for them.  Auriga did not offer any explanation as to why this had been done, did not offer any apology and did not try in any way to help them sort something out. 

Eventually they managed to get something sorted out with Europcar who had just one car available that someone was supposed to be collecting two hours earlier but had not turned up.  The cost was £300.00 as opposed to the 120 euros for the car that they had booked with Auriga Crown, making a supposedly cheap holiday not that cheap any more!

We have always used Auriga Crown ourselves, apart from one occasion at Easter when they did not have any cars available and we had to use Goldcar.   We have never had any problems with Auriga.

However, this is not the first time that I have heard of car hire companies cancelling bookings.  At Easter a lady that was supposed to be renting our apartment received an e-mail shortly before they left home for the airport to say that their booking had been cancelled.  I don't know which hire company this was.  Carol also told my daughter that there is someone else at Condado at the moment who has experienced the same thing with Auriga Crown but they had already paid for their hire car.

I am now very nervous about the booking that we have made for August as at that time of year, it is very unlikely that we would be able to get anything else at such short notice.

Presumably car hire companies are running short of cars because they are not replacing or repairing vehicles but they are continuing to take bookings for cars that they don't have!  Has anyone else experienced these problems?  Obviously we will be contacting Auriga Crown to see if we can take any action against them but I doubt that we will get anywhere at all.   Their cancellation of the booking has cost my daughter and her boyfriend an extra £180.00 and I would really like to pursue Auriga Crown for that extra expense, but know that it is probably pointless even trying.

Looks as though the taxi firms are going to do very well this summer if many people suffer the same experience.  Could really spoil your holiday if you are there for two weeks without any transport and if this is a problem now in June, then it could be a major difficulty by July/August.

Debbie & Paul

Just pasted the below post from the main EOS home page with someone with the same problem.

Just had An e-mail from DoYouSpain telling me that due to the economic downturn Auriga Crown have not renewed part of their fleet.

4 days before our flight they tell me that  my rental will be 567euros with RECORD because A/C have not renewed their fleet of "mini" cars,don't know if it applies to any other group.My original quote was just 229 euros way back in Feb they have promised to repay the difference but what are the chances?

Trouble is I've little choice with the short time left,anyone else having or had this problem ? It seems a lot of money to refund me!

Oh Dear

I think I might have to put my  worried head on.as we fly out next Saturday

Ham never books a hire car until  a few days prior to us leaving the Uk & we too have booked with  Auriga Crown before.

I think EOS recomend Hertz and there is always the hire car company that has a  Polaris sign on their desk at Murcia airport

Problem is that i am presuming they are a lot more expensive.

We were given this web site by our neibour   www.hirecarsinspain.com, & we booked with them in June of last year & earlier this year, but that was in January

there is a booking link with Econorent  so not sure if we booked via them or not

We arive in Murcia at about 09.30 am so might not have as much of a problem that early in the day

 Debbie , what time did your daughter arrive &  was it San Javier  airport that they flew in to?

jan

Hello again

Its just after midnight , So I suppose you could say Good Morning

I have just looked at the web site I had given on previous thread & there is nothing to hire unless you want to pay really silly money.

looks as if people have booked well in advance

Anyone know how long  it itakes to walk Ha Ha

Jan

Debbie & Paul,

Did your daughter pay for their car hire with a credit card?

If they did and the amount was greater than £100 then you can make a claim against the credit card company who are jointly and severally liable under the consumer credit act of 1973. Since a House of Lords ruling this also includes goods and services OUTSIDE the UK.

If you PM me with your email address I will send you the necessary letter

Jan

Try Dickmans (No laughing).  They sorted me out last year when no one else had cars left. I have used them ever  since.

My niece used Easycar when out in May on a late booking.

Joe

I've booked through doyouspain for a car 25Aug - 3 Sept. The car Company recomended was Auriga Crown. I don't have to pay a penny until I pick up the car. You present the Rental Voucher and pay by credit card. Have done it a few times in the past but not during peak season so naturally concerned reading the other threads. Flying out next week via Alicante and have booked car through Auto Europe who do a scan of available rental Companies and surprisingly has offered Avis as the cheapest (£82 for 4 days). Rental in Aug is 172 Euros for 9 Days. 

Would certainly recommend doyouspain as there is no up front payment required. However, if cars are in such short supply is does appear to be a nervous start to the hols!!!

Paul

I think there in lies the potential problem.

In the UK the fact that you have paid no deposit but have entered into a contract would give you rights under contract law.

However in Spain I have absolutely no idea if the same protection applies, regardless of which it is such a long drawn out process most people would not bother.

Maria on the main forum will most certainly know

We've also booked with Auriga Corwn next month, and I also read about this elsewhere. I sent this e-mail to Carjet, the company we booked the car through, I'll let you know what their response is. 

Hi Jean

Yes I do have problems sleeping.

too much time on my hands I`m afraid & not enough excercise to make me tired

Strangly though, I do not have any problems when we are on Condado. Maybe it`s the constant climbing of stairs either to the apartment or on to the roof terrace fror drinks

Jan

Just got this reply from Carjat confirming the problems.......

Hello
Yes this is  a fact, this did happen with AurigaCrown, but I'm afraid there is no way of knowing which  bookings, if any, will be cancelled. If you like to be on the safe side ,  I suggest booking a different car (normal Clio) with a different supplier. We could book this for 330 euros, I'm afraid prices have increased for this season
Regards
Vlad
carjet

Just booked with Goldcar at 100 euros dearer than Auriga Crown, but better than than take the risk I think.

If you've not booked car hire for the summer yet I'd suggest you do it now, it's getting very expensive.

Just got back from Condado.  Booked our car with DoyouSpain in March.  When we arrived at Alicante Wednesday late afternoon were told by Auriga "we have no car for you and go to Goldcar"  we were then dismissed.   We paid 66.28 euros for a Ford Fusion or similar then the extra for window cover and fuel.

We went to Goldcar and paid 126 euros for car plus 60 for fuel plus another 8 because the car was diesel plus 30 for seguro relax then the IVA at 30.90 - total 244 euros.   

We have contacted DoyouSpain and were told "we will ring you back" this never happened.  We went to our Solicitors on Friday to pick up stuff for our purchase on Condado, we informed them what had happeded and they are happy to write to DoyouSpain and also bill them for the letter.  We told DoyouSpain and then they suddenly rang back stating a supervisor was dealing with the matter and they would keep us informed.  We are not holding our breath.

Jeremy and Jane Price.

Started a panic now !!!!!  can I ask if this is happening at Alicante only or has it happened at San Javier??????

Please forgive me if I have already sent a thread. My computer is unwell

Good job Ham is a paramedic, he will have to do CPR when he gets home Ha Ha He

We also booked through Doyou Spain (early this morning)

We have a Renault Clio 5 Door A/C . I see it does say or similar ???? costing £381.98 or 460.11 euros.

Of course this does not guarantee it will be there when we arrive

Best of luck all you Car Hire Hunters

jan

Hello again

Just to update you on Do You Spain

I Have just spoken to Ham. He says he usually books through them & he recieves a Conformation of booking & then a few minutes later , notification of Company they have booked the car through.He has just looked at his emails on his works computer &  nothing has come through yet.

He booked at about 8am this morning & he tlooked at 15.35 our time

Am I worried

YES

The last thing I want to do is start a panic.  I did wonder about going on this forum as I don't want to be a scaremonger but don't want the same experience to happen to others.  

This happened in Alicante and when we arrived at the airport at 8 this morning there were quite a lot of cars parked in the Auriga compound - I would have loved to run a key down the paintwork of all of them but bit churlish.  Anyway myself and hubby were wondering if they only run out mid-week as most people seem to go on holiday Sat to Sat or Sun to Sun.

LOL Jane

Apologies if this has started a panic but clearly it is a fairly major problem and can presumably only get worse during the peak season.  Many thanks for all your helpful advice.

My daughter and her husband flew to Murcia airport, so this is obviously something that is happening at Alicante and Murcia.  They didn't book through Doyouspain, or any other agency, but directly with Auriga Crown via their own website.  They did not have to pay anything in advance and just had to produce their confirmation at the Auriga Crown desk.  So they have no recourse under the Consumer Credit Act.

They did not receive any e-mail before their departure although to be fair, she may not have checked her e-mails during the two or three days immediately prior to their departure.  Although that does not really let Auriga Crown off the hook as it is still very short notice and they cannot guarantee that people check their e-mails on a daily basis.

It's interesting to read the other postings about people being told to go to Goldcar as that is exactly what the Auriga Crown staff said to my daughter and her boyfriend. They first tried to say that the booking wasn't with them and told them to go to Goldcar.  My daughter's boyfriend pointed out that it was booked directly with Auriga and the e-mailed confirmation had come from Auriga Crown,.  After some telephone conversations, hanging around and heated exchange of words, they finally admitted that they had cancelled the booking. 

We have booked through Doyouspain for August and the company is Auriga Crown.  Needless to say I am e-mailing them now to say that we want our booking changed to a different company, even if it costs more.  I would rather pay more and know that I am going to have a vehicle than rely on Auriga Crown who have shown themselves to be far from the reputable company that I had regarded them to be.

Hope no-one else suffers this problem with Auriga and for anyone who has not yet booked, I would avoid Auriga Crown if at all possible, unless you are prepared to be let down at the last minute.

Debbie

Hi

I have just looked at my original booking with DYS and they have allocated Goldcar which I hope will be OK. This booking was made about two weeks ago and the same rental period on a quote made today is about £65 more. Does anyone know if I will be charged this extra or do they honour the original price that is on the vouvher they e-mail you. I only ask because with DYS you does pay up front and with the comments made on this thrwead, anything could happen!!!!

Also, I would have thought that DYS would have put more presure on AC to get their act together as customer service doesn't seem to be their strong point.

Phil

Hi Phil,

I think the price you will pay is that shown on your booking confirmation, not the price being quoted today. 

I agree that companies like Doyouspain, Carjet, etc should be putting more pressure on Auriga Crown as this level of customer service is appalling.  If Auriga Crown cannot get their act together, then surely the companies like Doyouspain should avoid placing any bookings with them. 

I am now waiting a response from Doyouspain, as I am requesting a change from Auriga Crown for our booking for August - not prepared to risk two weeks holiday being ruined because we are stuck without a hire car.  Looks as though the taxi firms are going to do a roaring trade this Summer!

Debbie