Drive4fun

[EMM]

A family staying with us hired a car from this company last week .Drive4fun took 2500euros as the security deposit .D4f are saying that it not their problem and that our friends must sort it out with the card company. Another company to be careful of.

[widge]

Gosh that's a lot of money !

[carolyn]

Have used them many times - booked through ECH (Economyy Car Hire) - and always found the cars fine and the staff helpful.
You do not need to pay a security deposit if booked through ECH - and the rates are usually better than booking direct with Drive4Fun.
They will normally take a credit card imprint for the security deposit if booked direct but I'd be surprised if they actually took the money?

[EMM]

They booked the car through ECH, on arrival at Faro the D4F rep tried to sell them just about every extra which they declined.
The security deposits were taken electroncally as was 20e for the tolls even though they said that they would not be using the A22.
After spendng hours on the phone to ther bank and D4F late yesterday 1250E was refunded, that just leaves another 1250E plus the toll charge to be refunded.
It has left them with a very poor impression of the way local companies operate.

[widge]

I am really surprised to read this. I use ECH 12 times a year and have elected for D4F many times without any problems. Indeed I have recommended them many times on this forum.

Neither ECH or their suppliers have ever taken a deposit from me it's a credit card slip taken at Faro airport manually, they don't have facilities to do it electronically?

ECH have an excellent customer service ethic & I expect that they will reply to your complaint publicly on this forum, they've done it before.

I'm going to pm them to alert them to your complaint.

[md 600 driver]

I used them earlier in the year found them very good in fact just like YOR used to be like
They took 20 euros for the tolls and said if I didn't use the motorway it would be refunded

It got refunded back to my card without any promting
I will certainly use them again

[sam]

I too have used Drive4Fun through ECH and never any problems. I did have a minor problem with one car hire with another company and ECH sorted it promptly and got back to me quickly with the outcome. If they have not done so then they should let ECH know. They only deal with companies with a fair fuel policy, and I suspect they will drop a company if it starts giving them bad press like this.

[nosivad]

I am really surprised !! used this company direct for many years up to 4 times a year, never had a problem. Always polite,curteous, effecient, we even get a christmas card from them every year.

[economycarhire]

Hello,

This is Kerri from Economy Car Hire.

We are sorry to hear of the disappointment your clients experienced upon their booking with Drive 4 Fun. As a car hire broker based in the UK, ourselves, Economy Car Hire, operate with a number of different suppliers in Faro however it is very unusual to receive such feedback relating to Drive 4 Fun; they are one of the most popular suppliers which we operate with in this location.

We have specifically negotiated rates to include a free additional driver, built in excess insurance and unlimited mileage at all of our locations. We do advise that the supplier will authorise a security deposit on the main driver's credit card of 300 Euros upon collection, however this is not an excess charge; it will be refunded at the end of the hire once the vehicle has been returned.

In order for us to assist, please may I request that the customer in question contacts our Customer Relations team? The email address is customerrelations@economycarhire.com. If the customer could please provide their booking reference (beginning with the letters 'BC') and provide a summary of what happened as well as a break down of the charges applied, our customer relations team can investigate with Drive 4 Fun and try to find a resolution to the issues experienced.

Kind regards,

Kerri
Economy Car Hire

[djprescott]

Good response.