I recently got caught out by a nice little earner run by one of the leading car hire firms. I knew in advance that the standard limited mileage might not be quite enough to cover my three days' hire, but it was likely to be roughly the same as paying the extra for a flat rate. So far so good.

I also knew that amongst the hundreds of add-ons, there would be a "Premium Location Fee" for the privilege of picking up the car from an airport, rather than miles away in a muddy field, and with the home comforts of a freezing Portakabin to sign all the forms in.

What I didn't know was that the Premium Location Fee was charged as a percentage of all the other charges, so as my mileage went over, so did the PLF. And of course the VAT charged on top of the PLF charged on top of the other.

All perfectly legal and stated as clear as day in f******** 2 of paragraph 321 (b) on page 15 of standard Terms and Conditions. But it still left me thinking, "Dick Turpin rides again!"

Edited by Bilboman on 29/09/2022 at 12:14