Usually, hiring a rental vehicle is a simple and pleasant experience. It is a rarity for something to go wrong but when it does go wrong, boy does it go HORRIBLY wrong! Read on to discover some of the worst possible car hire experiences out there!

"Family Charged for Dead Sons' Car Rental Bills"

As more of a recent car rental disaster story, this one tops the cake on how blunt and discourteous some rental companies can be. A New Zealand car rental company plans to charge the family of two Melbourne brothers killed at the Fox Glacier, for towing their hire car. The keys of the car were buried with the men and the car had to be towed for a massive cost of $600! The locksmith's fees for the cutting of a new key have been waived, but the owner of the rental company is still demanding the $600 towing fee. However, according to sources, the owner says that he is doing his best to ensure all charges are waived. How generous of him!

"Comprehensive Insurance Lies"

During the process of hiring his rental vehicle, David Mayes never anticipated he would practically end up paying for the cost of an entire new car! Dave was offered a complete insurance protection package by one of the Melbourne branches of a major car rental company, which he decided to take. He chose the option that reduced his excess to a total of $330 simply by paying a bit extra.

During his car hire he was involved in a collision that was his fault, even though he was not drunk, drugged or speeding. Thereafter he informed the police, returned the vehicle to the rental depot and paid the excess of $330, believing the rental company would cover him for the rest.

Two weeks later he received a letter in the mail, demanding that he pay $10,000 to them and $5000 to the owner of the other vehicle involved in the collision. After further investigation he discovered that the company insurance did not provide him with comprehensive cover. Although the company personally informed Dave that he would only have to pay the excess in the event of an accident, he is now facing indebted to the company for $15,000; not such a cheap rental after all!

"Don't Hire Through Abel?"

A, now rather annoyed, customer hired a car from Abel and purchased the Full Cover Insurance. They were informed that this insurance would cover and scratches or dents caused to the vehicle which were out of their control. During the duration of the car hire, a vandal left two huge scratches in the paint on the door of the car and this was of no fault of the hirers.

When the customers returned the vehicle, they were told that their insurance would cover the scratch and they then proceeded to sign a large amount of documents and produce pictures of the damage. They were then copped with a fee of $700 to cover the damages; this was evident via a small clause in their rental agreement.

I guess it really does pay to read the small print!

"The Trouble with Late returns"

Mary and John booked a car for a 24-hour period and took out extra insurance. When they returned the car, the branch was closed. Rather than miss their flight, the couple left the car at the depot and returned the keys to the business next door, whose owner said he often took key returns after hours. The couple figured all would be well as they were within the 59-minute leeway for late returns, but the car hire company saw things differently. As the depot didn't receive the keys until the next morning, the couple were charged for a new day's hire, along with more insurance charges and taxes.

"Damage Dispute"

Arthur rented a Kia hatchback while visiting Australia from Hong Kong. Back home, Arthur found the rental company had debited $2750 from his credit card without contacting him. The rental company subsequently informed him there were "scratches and dents to the front of the bumper". Arthur was adamant that no damage was done to the vehicle during his rental, but the vehicle was left unattended at the airport after Arthur boarded his plane. Arthur lodged a complaint with the NSW Office of Fair Trading, who intervened on his behalf. Eventually the rental company acknowledged that its costs were only $748: $387 for the repair, a $220 administration fee and $141 for loss of use.

None of these stories are fictional so it really does show that these kinds of things DO happen. At least now you have a general idea of some of the stunts car hire companies are willing to do to milk every dollar out of you!