Do not ever use Tempest Car Hire

I recently hired a vehicle from Tempest with the below details: J A Beardsley-Nel Booking ref no: 27ZE3LG Vehicle Reg No: HF 56 FS GP Vehicle was collected at George Airport on Tuesday 24 September and I was supposed to drop it at Cape Town International Airport on Friday 4 October.

On collection I was appalled at the condition the vehicle was in. The vehicle had scratches and dents on almost every panel/part of the body The vehicle broke down on Friday, 4 October, when I was supposed to get to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 12H20 and we discovered shortly after 09H00 that there was a problem with the vehicle. We were traveling from Franschhoek to the airport, so the end result was that I had to take an Uber at a cost of R650.00. I contacted Tempest Car Hire to report the problem at about 9H00 and was told to see if I can Jump start the vehicle, which we tried not successfully. At no point did Tempest Roadside Assist even attempt to call me back to find out whether the problem was resolved. This is completely and totally unacceptable! I had to make numerous calls to Tempest Stellenbosch to find out whether the vehicle was eventually towed or started and driven back to Stellenbosch. I spoke to gentleman named Leroy, who after promising to call me back, did not do so. Again I had to call, only to find out that the vehicle is now at Cape Town International Airport and will be assessed on Monday only. He also said that apparently there was a problem with the fuel gauge/injector and that that is why the vehicle broke down. He then changed his story and said that we apparently left the roof light on and that is why the battery was run down. Now I can categorically tell you that this is not the case, because we never had to make use of the roof light.

My husband and I travel often and hire vehicles often and I have never had service this bad. It is an expensive exercise to hire a vehicle and as such, when you do hire one, you would expect the vehicle to be in good running order and without scratches and dents. Surely this is not too much to ask? It is also good business etiquette to stay in touch with your customer once you become aware that there was a problem with the vehicle and sadly Tempest failed badly here.