THE EDITOR, Madam:
I WORK with a tour operator. Many tourists have complained to us on their return, that they were upset with the treatment received from the hands of the car rental agencies. We have tried to use several to curtail these complaints, but to no avail. We now simply do not offer car rentals at all through our agency for travellers to Jamaican.
One common complaint is that the security deposit required usually maxes out the available balance on the travellers credit card, and this often does not get reversed after return of the rental car for approximately 10 days. Complaints about insurance have also been reverted to us when accidents happen. The client usually has to pay the damages out of his deposit and try to claim back without any luck, when this relates to the operator in Jamaica.
On one occasion we investigated for our client who lost her security deposit due to an accident that was not her fault. We found the car rental company had received full damages from the other driver's insurance company, but was not willing to reimburse our client one single cent. Another complaint is that the tourist was being gouged for a series of charges and fees that were not agreed on at the signing of the contract, and after argument with the car rental company they gave up as the flights usually are leaving shortly after return of the rental.
The most common complaint however is the car rental companies refuse to debit the credit card in Jamaican currency and use there own "in house rate" that is way off the benchmark rate. Unless the government or the Tourist Board step in and control these unscrupulous operators, Jamaica will continue to get a bad name overseas.
I am etc.,
MORRIS SCHULLER
E-mail: chenwick@sprint.ca
Toronto, Canada
Via Go-Jamaica
