Arrived at Faro 9.30 last friday and eventually found Car park 4 after walking through
A construction / war zone site. Step 1 was Yor rep asking me to pay the incorrect price,
I always use the all in inclusive rate and paid this including the €15 late fee, i was the asked as usual for
My credit card which i assumed was to cover any difference in petrol on return of the car which would
Amount to €80 max. The rep insisted that i must have €900 available in the card (somewhere in the conditions Steen can you check) and as i only have a €500 limit
Due to a recent rip off elsewhere he would not hire the car to unless i produced €900 cash,another
Issue was i returning at 8am there would be a €15 charge to get my deposit back.
I have used Algarve driver / Yor on 15 occassions over the past 6 years and
Would have thought that this makes me a regular customer but all to no avail.
The rep returned my money less the €15 late fee and left me stranded
In the middle of a war Zone. Thankfully we only travel with hand luggage and we
Made the journey back to the taxi rank which is back where the arrivals come in and
Got a taxi to Carvoeiro at a cost of €80
Next morning off down to auto jardim bigger car with a charge of €9 per day
To cover excess and no request for credit card, only a nominal deposit to cover
Petrol which was returned to me at the airport.
Car rental companies should be happy with the business and not try RyanAir tactics
With hidden charges and conditions to squeeze additional monies .
YOR also state that the payment to cover the excess does not cover locks, tyres,etc
What does all in cover ???? Should i ask Ryan Air

martin.cork wrote:Arrived at Faro 9.30 last friday and eventually found Car park 4 after walking through
A construction / war zone site. Step 1 was Yor rep asking me to pay the incorrect price,
I always use the all in inclusive rate and paid this including the €15 late fee, i was the asked as usual for
My credit card which i assumed was to cover any difference in petrol on return of the car which would
Amount to €80 max. The rep insisted that i must have €900 available in the card (somewhere in the conditions Steen can you check) and as i only have a €500 limit
Due to a recent rip off elsewhere he would not hire the car to unless i produced €900 cash,another
Issue was i returning at 8am there would be a €15 charge to get my deposit back.
I have used Algarve driver / Yor on 15 occassions over the past 6 years and
Would have thought that this makes me a regular customer but all to no avail.
The rep returned my money less the €15 late fee and left me stranded
In the middle of a war Zone. Thankfully we only travel with hand luggage and we
Made the journey back to the taxi rank which is back where the arrivals come in and
Got a taxi to Carvoeiro at a cost of €80
Next morning off down to auto jardim bigger car with a charge of €9 per day
To cover excess and no request for credit card, only a nominal deposit to cover
Petrol which was returned to me at the airport.
Car rental companies should be happy with the business and not try RyanAir tactics
With hidden charges and conditions to squeeze additional monies .
YOR also state that the payment to cover the excess does not cover locks, tyres,etc
What does all in cover ???? Should i ask Ryan Air

Can you please explain how the rep managed to keep your 15 euros when you did not pay him anything?

Also how did the rep know what your credit card limit was and why did he ask??

sounds like the excess on the car was €900 and this was why the wanted a card with at least that amount available on it, but if you agreed to the excess waiver it sounds very silly to even want any impress at all. the last company I used to hire off just had a postbox on the side of their van and you just posted the keys, no late fee. I actually like where p4 is now and if you think Faro airport is a bomb site you should have seen it last October. That said the Portuguese are doing their utmost to destroy their tourist trade by various methods ie unworkable toll charges and 23% on meals in restaurants.

I am at a bit of a loss to understand this complaint, firstly if you come out at the far end of the airport all you have to do it walk the length of the airport along the front, no problems.... at the end cross over on the crossing and the car park 4 is there on your left. Secondly we have not had a problem with YOR and excess, I know that we have insurance to cover this but friends who have hired have not been asked the limit on their card, nor refused the hire car. I am sorry but this all seems a bit daft to me. I have never paid a 'late fee' we regularly collect cars out of hours and return the same as we tend to be the ones on an early or late flight either way back to the UK.

Lesley Jean wrote:I am at a bit of a loss to understand this complaint, firstly if you come out at the far end of the airport all you have to do it walk the length of the airport along the front, no problems.... at the end cross over on the crossing and the car park 4 is there on your left. Secondly we have not had a problem with YOR and excess, I know that we have insurance to cover this but friends who have hired have not been asked the limit on their card, nor refused the hire car. I am sorry but this all seems a bit daft to me. I have never paid a 'late fee' we regularly collect cars out of hours and return the same as we tend to be the ones on an early or late flight either way back to the UK.

I agree with you LJ.

I have heard of some of the carpark 4 car companies charging "late fees"....but never experienced it myself.

I use Algarvedriver and according to my booking confirmation:

Inclusive in rental 0 cost:
Out-of-hour delivery at airport or accommodation: Free
Out-of-hour return at airport or accommodation: Free

I had a late payment on a booking once but an email to Steen quickly solved it.

To answer your questions :

1.Bruce & LJ - I had paid in full as per the quote I received from Steen. Note YOR reduced their quote to match Economy Car Hire.... Steen got a reduction in the late fee to 15 euros which I had no problem with. The rep asked to swipe my credit card to cover any damages that may be caused to tyres & locks.
The quote states that they may ask for an impress to cover the excess which was 0.00, why the impress ? I could understand if this was for fuel when car returned but this should be no more than whats in the tank. When the problem arose with the card the so called friendly Rep returned my money less the 15 euros.
I wonder was this passed on to YOR ???????? Steen please check ....
He also stated that there would be another charge on returning the car at 8am which has never happened before.
Farol - Go and try and book a car and enter a collection time of 2200 and drop off at 7.30 and you will see a charge of 15 euros each time
I also have the impress which is in the name of auto rent V1

2. I was at the Airport in October and it is nowhere like it is now.
We walked from the plane at one end of the airport up the stairs across to the end and down to passport control. We then exited at the arrivals end to be sent outside and then across and all the ways up to Car Park 4 which is above the departures.
There were 3 planes at the airport, lets wait and see when there is 15-20.

3. Tricky- The rep said I did not have 900 euros credit in my card- I did not enter a PIN so how he knew I do not know. Normally just a paper impress is taken but this guy put my card in a machine.
Leslie - You amy have insurance for the excess but if there is a scratch on your car YOR will deduct the 700 and you will have to chase your insurance company and not YOR for a refund. You have been fortunate..
From a previous experience where my father in law did not pay the excess with Budget Car Hire and a truck reversed into our car the 700 excess was deducted and 6 years later no sign of it being refunded.
Try a go the legal route in Portugal... Forget it.. this is why I use YOR and pay the insurance to cover the excess of 700 but according to YOR and Steen this does not cover locks and tyres.... I am now looking to purchase a run around and leave it there... more loss of revenue to car rental companies as I will transfer this to my friends when they visit...

I will also return in October for the anniversary and hopfully the airport will be complete ,after all the damage was not that severe ...
it would not happen in Lisbon...
I have used Algarve Driver/YOR as it supports this site and have had no problems for the past 12 visits but as the saying goes youre only as good as your last f*** up. I will wait and see the response I get from Steen

Since Ryanair arrive after 10pm into Faro, I have been charged the late fee by YOR/Algarve Driver.
However I have been aware of this charge as it states it on the booking form. Only one slight problem on a recent visit when my plane was delayed and I should've arrived at 8pm (instead it was 22.00). I was charged 20 euros late fee instead of 15

my algarve cars charge €20 after 10pm and before 7am. (wouldn't take a car free of them anyway as they will likely let you down in high season) Best deal charge €15 using the same hours, which surprised me as they have a post box for returning keys). Can't see any mention of charges on the travelrent site, but as they inform you of the costs by email perhaps they build it into the cost. As for cost of excess waiver, travelrent are the cheapest at €15 per week but an annual policy is better if you rent more than 3 weeks in any year. most annual policies cover tyres, windscreens etc.

Martin: depends on the airline how much walking you do before passport control. Aer Lingus use a bus transfer (personally I don't like this) Easyjet use the airbridges (the C gates) and Ryanair usually use the C gates but don't use the airbridges.

Joey,
I have used Algarve/ YOR for a long time and to be fair never had a problem until this visit.
Unfortunately this was the first time I arrived at night which also did not help the situation.
Is this * a new condition (* excess does not cover glass, locks, tyres, etc) the insurance is costing more than the rental ?????
If unfortunately you have an accident most probably the tyres/glass will be damaged... what happens then ... €700 disappears from your card ....
not a moan Lotte just an observation ..... do you have to pay tolls on for your gee gee on the A22 or does it go by the horse power or jockey....
I am waiting for Steen to give me an update.

How often do you come out Martin? Is it worth getting annual excess cover? That's what a lot of us do and it saves a fair bit of money.

We use Economy Car Hire. You can select car and supplier, and pay top up insurance to cover tyres, locks etc. CDW is included. Suppliers vary on out of hours times and fees, so worth checking info supplied for each supplier. Having said that as we always go for the full CDW and the top up insurance the car is not usually checked back in and have not yet paid out of hours charge.
Have just returned. Had Drive 4 Fun this time. Pick up & return at airport. The signage to P4 is not good. There are two sets of signs - one directing you in front of departures area then through road works (people in yellow jackets in attendance here) = Fairly direct route, but long walk. The other appears more direct - but it directs you through car parks where signs become even worse and involved a long bumpy trek - difficult to navigate in day time - would not like to attempt this at night.