Car hire customers are being warned to be vigilant for vehicle rental scams in the run up to the festive period as the authorities have revealed that a number of customers fell victim to fake car rental deals last Christmas.
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) revealed that they received a number of reports last Christmas from customers who’d signed up for car hire deals and paid deposits, but their hired cars were never delivered. Unfortunately, setting up a fake car hire company is relatively easy for would-be scammers as they only need to create a very basic website and call centre and they’re able to fool a lot of customers into parting with their money in exchange for car hire which never arrives.
The BVRLA have warned Brits to be especially wary of online and newspaper adverts as this is one area that scammers tend to target. Often these fake companies offer free delivery of the hire car and also unbeatable low prices to tempt people in, so these are two points to look out for when searching for affordable car rental over Christmas.
After a number of incidents were reported last year, the BVRLA say they on the look out for phoney car hire providers as they want to stamp out the practice as they fear these criminals are tarnishing the good reputation of the car hire industry in the UK.
