Nearly 3,000 Balearic residents had problems with car rentals in 2024.
Only 10% of users who had incidents with car rental companies formally notified Consum.
PalmMF rented a car in Valencia for a long trip. Upon returning the vehicle, they charged her €200 on her credit card—and the company wanted it to be €500—for exceeding the mileage. "But no one had told us we couldn't do that," she says. On the other hand, Francisca (not her real name) explains that they wanted to charge her for not carrying her physical card, but if she took out vehicle insurance, they would let her pay with her mobile phone. "I didn't know I had to carry the physical card because they didn't inform me," she says. These are some of the victims of the abusive practices applied by some car rental companies, which are under social suspicion because the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) recently reported five companies for "lack of transparency and abusive clauses."
The Balearic Islands' Ministry of Health estimates that 300 complaints have been filed against them. yeast to mites received in 2024. The previous year, 275 were registered, and in 2022, 189. "And only 10% of users who have problems complain. We could say that in 2024, nearly 3,000 residents had problems with their car rental, but many of them didn't insure it." Consumer, Jesús Cuartero. He points out that most of the notifications have been made by residents of the Balearic Islands and that almost all of them are against large companies. Complaints from European visitors are not included in this figure because they complain in their own country through the European Consumer Centre. However, he asserts that "there are many more complaints from foreigners."
In fact, in 2013, the European Consumer Centre in Spain, due to the high number of complaints it receives against Spanish car rental companies, already warned of the types of "potential irregular practices." What are they? First, in relation to fuel policy. Consumers must pay an advance for a full tank of fuel and return it as empty as possible. Therefore, they are forced to pay for a volume of gasoline they may never consume.
Furthermore, in some car rentals, the initial price offered does not match the final price. Some companies advertise online that they rent cars in Mallorca "for three euros a day." And "the rate customers choose is always the cheapest, and they don't look at what is included. That's why, when they pick up the car, they must pay a deposit and insurance," says Alfonso Rodríguez, president of the Association of Consumers and Users of the Balearic Islands (Consubal).
The practice that customers complain about "the most," according to Rodríguez, is charging for damages after the vehicle is delivered. Each year, Consubal registers between 55 and 60 claims for this. "They wanted to charge a customer between 200 and 300 euros because they had broken the radio button. These companies are interested in getting the maximum profit," he laments. The workers do not inspect the car in front of the customer because the contract includes a clause that allows the company to carry out the inspection without the consumer being present. "If a defect is identified or the vehicle is not returned clean, the customer is obliged to assume it without having knowledge or a copy of the contract where the facts are recorded," denounces the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality of the Spanish government.
But the workers of some yeast to mites They have incentives to implement these bad practices. An employee of a well-known car rental company in the Balearic Islands told ARA Baleares that they charge a commission for each insurance policy they issue. He emphasizes that some employees, if they can't sell it, say, "Don't worry, we'll see what happens when you return the car." He also asserts that, in other companies, employees charge commissions for damages they identify. However, he comments that they don't receive many complaints because "people have to file them with Consum (Consum), and they don't really know how it works."
Cuartero considers it "irregular" for a car rental company to issue insurance. "The law dictates that to do so, they must register with the General Directorate of Insurance," he claims. Regarding claims for damages, he asserts that claims are complicated because the company must present evidence proving that it was the customer who caused damage to the vehicle. Therefore, he encourages users to file any complaints they deem appropriate.
Regarding the problems caused by a lack of transparency in contracts, he explains that companies should communicate "basic information" to consumers.
Poor image
The abuse of these irregular practices by some companies has spread a "bad image" of car rentals among tourists, according to Ramon Reus, president of the Business Association of Vehicle Rentals with and without Drivers (AEVAB). "They don't trust them anymore. When you deliver a car to them and when they return it, the first thing they do is take photos of it from top to bottom," he says.
