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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/dec/22/london-car-hire-company-leaves-customers-with-worthless-bookings
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| London car hire company leaves customers with worthless bookings London car hire company leaves customers with worthless bookings | |
| (6 days later) | |
| Thousands of consumers may be holding worthless car hire bookings for the Christmas period after the company they booked through, Atlaschoice, apparently failed to pay firms providing the actual cars. | Thousands of consumers may be holding worthless car hire bookings for the Christmas period after the company they booked through, Atlaschoice, apparently failed to pay firms providing the actual cars. |
| Customers of the website have reported being told at car hire desks that their booking would not be honoured unless they paid again – in some cases many hundreds of pounds – because Atlas had not paid the car’s actual provider. | Customers of the website have reported being told at car hire desks that their booking would not be honoured unless they paid again – in some cases many hundreds of pounds – because Atlas had not paid the car’s actual provider. |
| Frustrated customers of the west London car hire booking firm, which acted as booking agent for all the big car hire brands, have reported the problem on Twitter and other social media in recent days. | Frustrated customers of the west London car hire booking firm, which acted as booking agent for all the big car hire brands, have reported the problem on Twitter and other social media in recent days. |
| “Cancelling my rental car, keeping my money and providing no other option two days before I fly home for Christmas. Seriously?” wrote Tom Richards on Twitter. | “Cancelling my rental car, keeping my money and providing no other option two days before I fly home for Christmas. Seriously?” wrote Tom Richards on Twitter. |
| Another customer, Chris Clifton-Brown, wrote online: “Booked through them recently and when I turned up to collect my car the hire firm made me aware that Atlaschoice are not paying the actual hire firms. I had to pay the hire firm for the car again even though Atlaschoice have already taken my money.” | Another customer, Chris Clifton-Brown, wrote online: “Booked through them recently and when I turned up to collect my car the hire firm made me aware that Atlaschoice are not paying the actual hire firms. I had to pay the hire firm for the car again even though Atlaschoice have already taken my money.” |
| The company, which has been in business since 1990, did not return calls or reply to emails. The website was still operating, but not apparently taking new bookings. | The company, which has been in business since 1990, did not return calls or reply to emails. The website was still operating, but not apparently taking new bookings. |
| Although Atlaschoice is not a household name many customers will have used the booking agent website via the popular TravelSupermarket comparison site – part of the MoneySupermarket group. It also partnered with a number of other big web-based travel businesses. | Although Atlaschoice is not a household name many customers will have used the booking agent website via the popular TravelSupermarket comparison site – part of the MoneySupermarket group. It also partnered with a number of other big web-based travel businesses. |
| The Christmas period is traditionally one of the busiest for car hire operators, and many customers may be unable to pay for their car hire for a second time. | The Christmas period is traditionally one of the busiest for car hire operators, and many customers may be unable to pay for their car hire for a second time. |
| A TravelSupermarket spokeswoman told the Guardian that it pulled Atlaschoice from its listings three weeks ago. “They missed paying us at the end of November and we couldn’t reach them so took them immediately off our site as a precautionary measure. Until then, there was no sign of financial difficulty and payments were up to date. We’ve called, emailed and sent a letter and continue to try and reach them but have not heard anything.” | A TravelSupermarket spokeswoman told the Guardian that it pulled Atlaschoice from its listings three weeks ago. “They missed paying us at the end of November and we couldn’t reach them so took them immediately off our site as a precautionary measure. Until then, there was no sign of financial difficulty and payments were up to date. We’ve called, emailed and sent a letter and continue to try and reach them but have not heard anything.” |
| She advised anyone with a car hire booking made through Atlaschoice to approach the company supplying the car to establish whether the booking has been paid for and would be honoured. | She advised anyone with a car hire booking made through Atlaschoice to approach the company supplying the car to establish whether the booking has been paid for and would be honoured. |
| Customers should also contact their bank card provider. Credit users will be protected by section 75 rights that hold the card provider jointly liable provided the booking cost £100 or more. Debit card users may face a tougher battle to get their money back but could be refunded via a chargeback scheme, she said. | Customers should also contact their bank card provider. Credit users will be protected by section 75 rights that hold the card provider jointly liable provided the booking cost £100 or more. Debit card users may face a tougher battle to get their money back but could be refunded via a chargeback scheme, she said. |
| Atlaschoice failed to respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment. | Atlaschoice failed to respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment. |