“You returned a dirty car!” Car Rental with Sixt in Catalunya
It felt like I had achieved something! Some people do marathons, others fall out of planes and still, others do ‘high adrenaline sports’ I drive usually in my own car in France. This year was a new level; it was hiring a car at Barcelona ‘El Prat’ Airport and driving it for 12 days. Not only a hire car, a hire car in Catalunya and at that a left-hand drive.
So you will understand that having overcome the obstacles of Toll Roads, ‘unleaded petrol’ in Spanish I felt buoyant that I had gone 12 days without scratching it. I pulled into a parking space at the Sixt car rental almost ready to receive a certificate of achievement when the attendant exclaimed, “You have returned the car dirty! This will take two days to clean.”
“Excuse me, what do you expect when you drive a car for 12 days?” says I.
“Well, you may have to pay for this?” Says she.
“Pay for what?” says I.
“For it to be cleaned.” Says she.
“So what did you expect me to do? A car wash would take 10 minutes not two days.” Say I.
She kept repeating, “It is standard, it is standard.”
To which I replied, “To you, it is standard to me it is ridiculous. You charge me 45 euros to insure me against a cracked windscreen and a flat tyre, plus 58 euros for a full tank plus 35 euros VAT in addition to the car rental and now you want to charge me for a car wash!!”
Getting nowhere I refuse to sign to say the car is dirty on the outside and yes they produce a sheet to illustrate the dirt on the car. I remind the assistant I am the customer and she is the employee. She is acting as if it was her car.
A few minutes later I settled the outstanding charges at the Sixt desk in the Airport. The assistant there although much calmer reiterates the mantra, ‘It is standard.’ I say I am not paying to wash the car she says the manager will decide.
I enter into probably a ridiculous conversation about how ‘standards’ may differ from place to place, country to country and person to person. I attempt to illustrate using my experience of grocery shopping in France and finding that I was supposed to have a bag with me. And I offered an even much more basic example, that we drive on the other side of the road in England. It hit a peculiar moment when I asked, “Have you seen the film, ‘Lost in Translation’?”
She thought it best I wait for the manager. A manager who never appeared. She stretched across the counter and informed me he would not be coming as he was otherwise occupied. She seemed disappointed that ‘a standard’ was not met. I thanked her for her time and headed for the flight. The call, from the manager, I was told I would receive never came. It remains to be seen whether an attempt is made to make a charge on the card. If there is, using that great expression from home, ‘There will be hell for leather.’
Dear Sixt, you said you did not receive my response in the questionnaire. It is as below. Thank you
“Up until I returned the vehicle I was pretty much satisfied. I was not happy that although I had booked the vehicle through Car trawler (linked to Sky scanner website) and paid by debit card a credit card was required at ‘pick up’. I do not normally use credit cards.
At the counter, the staff were helpful though on reflection I am not happy that I was sold insurance for windscreen protection and flat tyres. I now understand this was covered under the insurance. Break down recovery would still have happened if I received a flat tyre. The windscreen would have been covered under the insurance. This was not explained.
Also, I paid for the pre-paid full tank. I was not told there was a petrol station at the Airport.
I could have lived with that though it was the return of the vehicle that caused me the most concern. Your employee in my view overreacted to what she considered, ‘excessive dirt on the outside of the car’. The car had been driven for 12 days in Catalonia. It is the practice in the UK and Ireland that a hire car is returned without being washed by the hirer. This appears not to be the practice of Sixt at Barcelona Airport. She stated that there may be a charge for cleaning and claimed it would take two days to clean.
Whilst your staff continued to state it was ‘standard’, it is not standard in the UK and Ireland. At no point did your staff speak about the car being cleaned on the outside before return.
The way this was handled and the lack of availability of a manager to make a decision cast a shadow over the holiday. It was very disappointing not to get the matter resolved before leaving Barcelona. Indeed, despite email communication with the supervisor I am still in the dark as to whether I have been charged.
This experience would seriously make me consider not using Sixt in the future or recommending Sixt to others.
I would like a response from Sixt to these matters
Thank you
The Dirty Car saga had reached a conclusion!!!! A victory for the consumer.
Dear Mr. Jackson,
Thank you for your email.
We would like to inform you that the special cleaning is just charged if an special effort by our side and not just a normal cleaning is necessary. In this case and as goodwill this was not charged you.
We remain at your disposal.
Kind regards / Un cordial saludo
Álvaro Titos García
SIXT RENT A CAR S.L. Unipersonal
Carrer del Canal de Sant Jordi, 29, Local 2
Poligono Son Oms
E — 07610 Palma de Mallorca
R.M. Mallorca, TOMO 1641, FOLIO 162
Note: this story first appeared on my Facebook page in 2013 I am publishing here as a branch of UK trading standards is investigating Eurocar Hire.
