Tempest/Europcar - ***** car hire company

If you use Tempest Car Hire - Beware. Pick-up process was friendly and quick. But that is where the fun ended. Firstly, their cars are monitored for speed and who knows what else (they do not tell you this). At the end of my trip I received sms saying I had exceeded the speed limited and that all waivers were cancelled and I would be liable for the full value of damages. Technically, in terms of their small print they are entitled to do this if you exceed the speed limit at any point in time. Fortunately I had no incidents....so I thought. When delivering the vehicle back, they took a quick look at the car and said all was fine. However, knowing the beast I was dealing with, I asked that they confirm in writing while I was present that all was fine. Then the magnifying glass came out until they found a bulge in a tyre which became then became my liability. I signed their form noting that that this was not due to any incident caused by me and further noted on the form that there were no other issues which we signed. Low and behold, a few days later I receive an email that the tyre rim was also scratched and I would also be billed for this.

There are lots of very good car rental companies out there. Tempest Car Hire / Europcar, in my opinion, in not one of them and their tactics can best be described as "*****".