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After having carefully booked a compact car from Italy (about 200 £ for 11 days) I went to the rental village for picking it up.
The guy at the desk (let's call him with a fictious name, say "Mr. Balotelli") apparently decided I have to pay more and did his best to achieve the target.
Mr. Balotelli: "You need a Mercedes with automatic transmission, it's better, more comfortable".
Myself: "Nope, I don't want it, I'm used to manual transmission" (my own car is a compact car with manual transmission).
Mr.Balotelli: "OK, I see you have a little child, you need the boost seat".
Myself: "Nope, I have my own" (I carried it from Italy, because they charge, for rental, two-three times the cost of a brand new one).
Mr. Balotelli: "But you really need a GPS".
I: "I have it on my phone" (Similarly you can buy a brand new GPS with their charges for rental).
Mr. Balotelly, however, didn't stop his attempts: "I suggest you this car, instead the one you booked"
I: "Why?"
Mr.Balotelli: "Beacause it is a diesel one, you really need it, just 15 £ more, it is for your conveniece, you will soon save on petrol".
This time I felt in the trap and agreed on switching on the diesel model.
After proposing an addition insurance that I declined, Mr.Balotelli urged me to sign the ridicolously small 'contract' and got my credit card for payement.
So, what was the deal?
It wasn't 'just 15 £ more', it was an upgrade (bigger car I was not used to drive) priced 15 £ per day, total amount 165 £ for 11 days: it almost doubled the initial price.
On the top of it, I soon discovered petrol costs, more often than not) less than diesel oil in the UK (as opposite of Italy).
Now, while I know it was my fault (I had to read carefully the contract before signing it), I also recognize that Mr.Balotelli deceived me and his behaviour was far from what is expected from a honest clerk. I wonder if Europcar trains this way its employees.
While I'm not going to book anymore at Europcar, my advice is
1. Don't rent your car at Manchester airport Europcar.
2. If you ever meet Mr. Balotelli, don't trust him.
3. More generally, don't trust people telling you what is 'convenient for you'.
I have to say the car was OK, and the staff at return office was careful and helpful.
modified 20-Jul-15 4:41am.
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CPallini wrote: don't thrust him.
Awww man, that was precisely what I'd want to do in such a situation. I guess you're fun at parties... 
Geek code v 3.12 {
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Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
}
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In the UK Petrol has been cheaper than Diesel for a long time, I had a Diesel car, now that I've swapped back to petrol, there are moves afoot to make them both the same cost, typical.
Diesel cars usually do more miles to the gallon than the petrol equivalent (20%), so overall they are cheaper to run if only fuel cost is considered.
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Yes, I know that, however he surely knows you cannot save 15 £ per day (due olso to mileage constraints).
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For the last week or two, they have been selling around here (Liverpool/Manchester) at the same price - Diesel dropped about 7p per litre to the petrol cost, which is virtually unheard of in the UK!
The fact that this happened when I changed from petrol to my first diesel car makes me smile!
=========================================================
I'm an optoholic - my glass is always half full of vodka.
=========================================================
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According to the news diesel became cheaper than petrol today for the first time in the UK since 2001.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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CPallini wrote: 1. Don't rent your car at Manchester airport Europcar.
2. If you ever meet Mr. Balotelli, don't thrust him.
3. More generally, don't trust people telling you what is 'convenient for you'.
0. NEVER trust (or thrust) a rental car or a used car sales-thing.
FTFY 
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Right.
However I rented cars several times, in the past, and I never had to deal with such a cheater.
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Well...technically he didn't lie, it was "just £15 more" - he just didn;t tell you it was £15 per day more.
Sounds like a ripoff - I'd contact Europcar head office (Italy and UK) and complain politely. It will cost you maybe an hour of your time, a couple of emails, and maybe you'll get an apology or even a refund. Not likely, but possible.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Well, this is good advice. At least to make they aware of that.
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I have used europcar for years in many countries and have had a problem with them only once, I did not order a Skoda post van, which is not bad for over 100 hire events.
I suspect you ran across the wannabe sales professional (or possibly THE sales professional) as I have never had them try and up sell anything but the insurance.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Nice to know, thanks. Based on your experience, Griff's advice makes even more sense.
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Ah yes, the great UK diesel scam. In a bid to get everyone into diesel cars (as they were "better" for the environment) the cost of diesel was much less than petrol. When everyone made the switch they jacked the price of diesel up to be more than petrol, saying that diesel cars were bad for the environment and everyone should switch to petrol. Price fixing and profiteering on diesel at the pumps is still rife.
The funniest thing of all, however, is that they're still trying the bait and switch with LPG (which never took off) and now electric cars, and people are falling for it all over again. "The costs are less, it's better for the environment...look how much money you'll save..." said the spider to the fly.
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F-ES Sitecore wrote: electric cars, ... it's better for the environment..."
And it is! The range is so short and the recharge time so long, that you'll end up walking everywhere anyway...
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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He, he. The new emphasis on electric power as green energy, together with Italian slow bureaucracy saved our querter tram service from dismantling.
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Their advertised rates are so low these days, just to tempt you to sign up, they have to try to hit you with al sorts of extras.
Still, keep to your original request, and they will be forced to honour it.
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I recognize that. Still I am disappointed. I don't like being deceived in such a way (possibly I simply don't like being deceived).
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It might be worth contacting Manchester Trading Standards[^]. If yours is the only complaint, they might not be able to do much, but they'll have Europcar on their radar.
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Oh, thank you for the suggestion.
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I'm frankly amazed that so few people seem to have experienced this kind of additional selling as it's done by everybody and his dog in the UK these days. I bought a pillow the other day and was subjected to advice on what a fine selection of Haribo sweets I should really be adding to my purchase before leaving the shop - whether it was supposed to help me sleep or raise me to a state of euphoria which would result in my buying a whole new set of pillows by association I have yet to work out!
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Probably you are right. However being deceived is by far more annoying for me than simply being target of an additional selling.
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Member 9082365 wrote: I'm frankly amazed that so few people seem to have experienced this kind of additional selling as it's done by everybody and his dog in the UK these days
yeah, Mr. Balotelli sounded exactly like the weasels that run car rental desks here in the USA. Here though, there's a good chance that if you managed to heroically resist all the upsell attempts you'd discover that they were all out of small cheap cars, and would have to give you the expensive one they were trying to upsell you to for the cheap car price. 
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Dan Neely wrote: ou'd discover that they were all out of small cheap cars, and would have to give you the expensive one they were trying to upsell you to for the cheap car price
I suspect Mr. Balotelly acted in a very similar scenario.
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