Consumer watchdog takes action against car rental website over misleading information

The misleading information was found on a third-party car rental website used by Ryanair Car Hire and Booking.com

A sweep of car rental platforms by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and its EU counterparts checked 78 third-party car rental websites. File picture

Misleading information on a third-party car rental website used by Ryanair Car Hire and Booking.com has been removed following an investigation by Irish and European consumer protection watchdogs.

A sweep of car rental platforms by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and its EU counterparts checked 78 third-party car rental websites. Consumer authorities in 10 EU member states and Norway, co-ordinated by the European Commission, checked the websites in April and May 2022, to verify that they were following EU consumer protection laws.

Following this, the CCPC and its Belgian counterpart, the Economic Inspection of the FPS Economy, informed Rentalcars.com that it was providing consumers with unclear, and in some instances, misleading information. Booking.com Transport Limited, trading as Rentalcars.com is a third-party car rental website used by Ryanair Car Hire and Booking.com.

The agencies found that the Rentalcars.com platform misled consumers by stating that there was “No Insurance” included with car hire when a minimum level of basic insurance is automatically included with a rental car. They also ruled that contact information had to be improved so consumers would know which rental car company they would be hiring from.

In a statement, the CCPC said Rentalcars.com has made a number of changes including replacing the phrase “No Insurance” with “No additional insurance”, as there is always basic car insurance included with car hire. 

Contact information for the car rental company head office and the pick-up counter are both now easier to find. Contact information for Rentalcars.com is now also added to the footer of Ryanair Car Hire to make it more clear that consumers are not contracting with Ryanair. 

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Kevin O’Brien, Member of the CCPC welcomed the changes made by Rentalcars.com to provide clearer information on its site. 

"Consumers who choose third-party car rental websites are entitled to clear and accurate information to help them make informed choices. Businesses who mislead consumers should be aware that the CCPC and our European counterparts will take action to stop them doing so,” he said.

The CCPC and the Belgian Economic Inspection of the FPS Economy are members of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, which is made up of the national authorities responsible for enforcing European Union (EU) consumer protection laws in EU and EEA countries. 

Under the Consumer Protection Cooperation framework, national authorities work together to tackle infringements of EU consumer law and review the commercial practices of traders.