I recommend this company quite a lot as I have had nothing but good service. But in your case I know you have a genuine grievance.

I would expect all to be rectified to your satisfaction. Please post back with the outcome.

I rang Argus Car Hire to ask for the email address of Barry Malone their Head of Online Operations and they wouldn't give it to me. I have written to their Customer Services Department and received an acknowledgement.

I will post their reply once I receive it. I had read about Marbesol on TA before I went on holiday, but I am always willing to try out a company/service for myself. Unfortunately, this time the negative comments were true.

I have used Argus on previous occasions and had no problems with their suppliers, so maybe they should review their working relationship with Marbesol.

Hermanaeriza: Excellant presentation of your experience with this car hire operator. Even your ability to speak Spanish did not assist at all and just highlighted the rudeness of the staff.

Your concerns what the economic affects on car hire operators may be in the future are valid.

I have stated in another thread that I have had problems with car hire companies from A to Z, A = Avis, Z=Zenith. If companies were blacklisted based on genuine complaints like yours, none would exsist.

You are dealing with a people based industry as the front line, I know from my own business experience, however, much training you give, you cannot stand alongside your staff every minute. The sullen young man is a clear illustration.

Ian

I worked in tourism and education for most of my working life. Jobs that involved dealing with people. I relly don't know how these people keep their jobs as there are plenty of people out of work in Spain who could do it more efficiently and with a smile on their faces.

The problem in Spain is being able to get rid of staff. It is all complicated and depends on the type of contract they have. The economic situation there is dire, so I would be ensuring I held onto my job at any price if I was working there..

If the car hire brokers also set standards and adhered to them the car hire companies would have to up their game. In an area like Malaga there is plenty of choice, so these companies should remember that when they are employing rude staff and supplying sub standard cars.

At the end of the day it wasn't the rudeness of staff that annoyed me quite as much as the amount for fuel and the 800Euros taken from my CC. Especially when the company had said in the Sunday Times they were not going to work with those companies. All I can think is that Argus are getting the cars at a very cheap rate.

Anyway, I'll wait and see what they have to say.

Did they actually charge the €800 to your card? I ask because AVIS took our card details when we went with them last year but because there was no problem when we returned the car they didn't charge our card. If they did, have you had it refunded?

Yes, they did charge it to the card. Haven't checked yet if it has been refunded as I only got back early hours Sunday morning.

As I have previously stated I have also rented cars where they just take an imprint of the card, but don't actually charge it. I am fortunate to be ale to travel frequently and am aware how the systems work (or don't, as the case may be). Sorry, I don't mean for this to appear rude.

No problem.

As an update on my complaint to Marbesol, as expected I just received a standard reply regarding their T&Cs etc. I find it very condescending as they think we are all idiots and can't read.

They totally missed the points of my complaint which was mainly about the staff attitude and that the boss at Argus Car Hire (Barry Malone) had quoted to the Sunday Times that they would stop using these inferior companies.

It is impossible to contact him, which is not surprising as he doesn't 'put his money where his mouth is'. Obviously getting too much commission from Marbesol to terminate their contract.

I also received an email from the Marbesol Manager who didn't address any of the issues either. So, in all a complete waste of time, which I thought it would be.

By reading all the negative comments on TA regarding Marbesol I think they will be losing a lot of business.

I have just returned from a week in Ibiza and rented a car (direct) with Bravoautos. What a difference. We were collected quickly from the airport and taken to their clean, modern office and promptly served by a very helpful and pleasant young man.

We had a Ford Fiesta for the week and the 90Euros was all inclusive, no extras to pay when we got there. The tank was a quarter full and i was asked to bring it back with more or less the same amount in it. They didn't charge any exorbitant 500Euros deposit either.

Marbesol, take note how to do business.

Concur with all the above, several issues for me;

1. Not impressed by being charged €800 to my card. I'll have to pay 2.5% of that to my bank, even if it's refunded (it was actually charged rather than blocked). At a location with relatively cheap rentals, another €20 makes it expensive.

2. The guy we dealt with at the office was abrupt in general and assumed we wanted insurances we hadn't asked for.

3. Seemingly as a retaliation for number 2, we were charged for a full tank (€96 from memory - which seems over the going rate). As a result ended up trying to drive places trying to use the fuel up!

4. You don't get any confirmation that you've returned the car, of its condition on return - just a VERBAL confirmation that they'll refund the deposit in the 'next few days'. Obviously makes any claims about any damage caused impossible to substantiate from the renters side.

5. Vehicle itself was relatively new but had errors codes on the dash, quite a lot of dings and scratches and had the service light on.

Overall, a pretty shoddy experience. If you end up with a voucher for these guys cancel it in your cooling off period and book elsewhere.