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MS
Mark S

1 reviews | Active since Nov 2012

28 Dec 2023, 12:22

R1925.42 charge to fix a flat tyre! Tempest Car Hire

Hired a car from Tempest in December 2023. Left Lanseria airport and within 2Km some other car warned me that the front tyre was running low on air and looked flattish. I immediately stopped and changed the tyre so not to damage it. The rest of the rental went fine and I returned the car two days later. On return I mentioned to them that the tyre was flat(ish) so i had changed it. I was never informed that there would be a charge and I didnt expect one as the gentleman just listened and apologised. 10 days later I see extra charges on my credit card of R1925.42 which was for fixing the tyre. I was never called or anything to ask about it and as they had my credit card details they just charged me. What a ripoff!! I will never use Tempest again!

Even if the tyre was damaged (which it was NOT) and had to be replaced a new tyre only costs between R700 and R1000, so i'm not sure how they can get to double that amount in any event.

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Replies (2)
Tempest Car Hire
Tempest Car Hire's reply03 Jan 2024, 20:46
Official
Good day.

Thank you for reaching out to us.  Kindly accept our apologies for any inconvenience. 

We have escalated your complaint to the rental branch for investigation, they will be in contact with you directly.

Kind regards
Tempest Car Hire

MS
Mark S's update04 Jan 2024, 15:54
Reviewer Update
Thankyou. Tempest have called me back and after some discussion have agreed to refund me the R1925.42. Although I am happy they have done so I'm still curious that their tyre policy does not distinguish between a 'damaged' tyre which will need replacing and a 'flat tyre' which just needs a R50 fix and some air. In my opinion if it is just a flat tyre then Tempest (or any hire company) should repair this at their own cost as I think this is part of normal car operation that sometimes you get a flat at no fault of the driver or anyone else. The representative did advise that I should take out tyre and windscreen cover next time which I'm not sure about..... I will however now read all fine print from car hire companies or ask them what happens in the case of an undamaged flat tyre. I see from Hellopeter that Tempests score is quite low and it is things like these which don't help their cause. In this case I think they have 'fixed' the situation positively so I'm happier than before :-)