Argus Car Hire Dublin

Carcassonne Airport France

Dear Sir/Madam

Be aware of Argus Car hire and their supplier National Car Hire. Despite them promising that they 'search the net for the cheapest prices so you don't have to' we had an appalling experience with them and National Car Hire at Carcassonne Airport at Christmas and they are not recommended!

In summary they downgraded our car without notice from a c class (Focus/Astra) to a Citroen C1 - as four adults with cases and bags we couldn't fit in the car - it was Dec. 27 and we had no travel alternatives. We had to duplicate trips to get everyone to our destination with significant inconvenience and cost. We were cautioned by the police for overloading the car on the one occasion that we squeezed everyone in. Our holiday was ruined as we couldn't really use the car and since then they have refused to refund us the cost of the car (which also had no rear wiper - when we went back to the office to point this out it was closed).

They couldn't care less, do not man their phones as stated 364 days a year (we couldn't get them in head office on Dec 27 to see what we could do) and Hertz was cheaper at their own admission. We have tried to speak to Greg Turley - Argus MD but he refuses to return our calls. In conclusion Argus and National overbook, you run the risk of a ruined holiday and neither could care less. Do not use them - they are appalling.

Yours Sincerely

Dave & Valerie

Comment On This

I agree. When I tried to book, they told me they had no automatic cars at Barcelona (Dec 2008), so I went to another supplier. When I got back from my trip I found an email saying they had booked me a manual car and charged my credit card 40 euros more than the original car requested. This email arrived after I left my home and 24 hours before the due pick-up. Now they refuse to give me a refund. They are not to be trusted. It's one thing if the car hire company they book you with is disappointing, but another if Argus are actually booking and charging for cars customers haven't requested, and refusing to admit their mistake.