Consumers need to be critical and always look for the profit motive – because there will be one. Speaking to Darryl Essington-Wilson who monitors the industry to offer the lowest price and value.
More Reasons to Get the Facts Yourself, Cautions Car Rental Expert
It's a common problem, someone offers consumers a free service like a price comparison on car hire, consumers are inclined to take it at face value. Darryl Essington-Wilson, owner and proprietor of Gold Coast Family Car Rentals, has reason to know full well that consumers shouldn’t.
Consider this, Darryl's company says it guarantees the best prices on car hire, even willing to give a discount amounting to twice the difference in prices plus $50 on the lowest comparable car hire consumers can find, yet his company doesn’t feature on the price comparison sites.
It's shocking, but consumers are often unaware that there is always a profit motive. "Consumers need to be critical and always look for the profit motive," says Darryl, "- because there will be one. Price comparison sites don’t feature every business in an area. They only list large companies with many branches and who will pay them a commission on your booking. It makes sense."
Darryl warns, "Nobody will go to the expense of developing a website if there isn’t something in it for them. Fees or commissions are par for the course. But that means consumers won’t get the full picture when they make their enquiry. Consumers only get pricing information from companies that have paid to be featured."
Consumer are often unaware about hidden costs. If consumers get a price from such a website, they'll need to take a closer look at what’s included, and what isn’t. Insurance excess reduction packages, for example, can vary greatly in price as can registering additional drivers and “extras” like child safety seats.
This was certainly the case, when single mother, Denise Wallace, rented a car via a comparison site from large multination on the Gold Coast recently. "The rental price of the vehicle almost doubled," she said, "it was ridiculous and it pays to shop around."
So, if consumers are shopping around for car hire, just getting prices from a comparison site isn’t enough to ensure they'll get the best pricing. Consumers still need to get the full hire contract, and they should go through it very carefully to see where extra costs can come into the equation.
If you’re in Australia’s Gold Coast area, then Gold Coast Family Car Rentals should be one of your ports of call. “The team monitor the industry very carefully to offer the lowest price for overall value,” says Darryl. “Consumers can be confident that they'll receive excellent service at the lowest prices that comparable quotes will be matched or bettered.”
“Transparency matters. Gold Coast Family Car Rentals achieved a Gold Medal for Consumer Fairness from an independent monitoring association. Only two other car hire outlets in Australia have earned this award, and one of them is our Sydney branch," he adds.
Using Online Information Requires Caution
Denise's experience was an eye-opener for her and her friends. "Next time comparison sites won't get a look in, the focus will be searching smaller companies that are reviewed for providing great service."
Darryl agrees, there’s certainly nothing wrong for consumers to start their shopping with online information, but it seems its only a beginning - if people want accurate data.
Although reading the fine print is always applicable to transactions where contractual details could affect pricing, a conversation with Darryl brings home the unreliability of online information. It can be correct, or it could be lacking some important detail, and nowhere is this truer than in the car hire business.
To know more about Gold Coast Family Car Rentals and to see Darryl’s approach to doing business in person, visit Car Hire Gold Coast and Gold Coast Airport Car Rental. Or just hire a car next time you need one on the Gold Coast. Book online, or call + 61 7 5508 3333.
Written & Syndicated by Baxton Media.
