Sixt - Blacklisted
 

For the first time since i started my company, i have blacklisted a travel related company , normally i would allow staff to choose hotel, airline or car rental as long as the cost was reasonable, however i am now refusing to accept Sixt.

It is purely down to there damage reporting and invoicing , a car was hired with an excess of 1050 euros ( excess insurance is covered by a separate insurance) when the car was returned damage was found , which my staff had already reported to the wheel , but additional damage was also found ( small scratch to the front (less than 4mm) , damage report filed to both Sixt and Insurance company

Sixt forwarded an Invoice for 1900 Euros plus admin fee of 75 euros , i questioned why it would be 1975 euros when the excess agreed was 1050 , the reply they can charge multiple excess i asked what this was based on and the reply was basically they could do what ever they wanted, but is completely baseless , letters went back and forth and it seemed to be basically bullying , which i wasn't going to accept on any level , so in the end i forwarded a formal notification of intention to go to independent adjudication on the basis the excess was 1050 euros and no agreement was made clearly for multiple excess and also the admin charge was not clearly stated on the rental agreement.

Within 4 days i received a reply from Sixt stating that due to there "kindness" they would now except 1050 euros.

Although we where covered for the excess i dont like the idea of bullying and when called to speak to someone, your given a premium rate number, which isn't on any level acceptable and its not a company i would like to be associated with , from my experience of Hertz , Avis , Enterprise , they offer much better customer experience

So sadly Sixt although they have some decent choices of cars due to the poor experience will now be banned from my company.

Sorry to hear about your experiences. Sixt operates all over the world and some locations are franchises. While it seems you might have been negotiating with Sixt corporate in Germany, it would still be helpful to know which Sixt location you had a problem with so others could be forewarned.

Sixt Munich - the branch wasn't the problem , its the way they handle problems at the corporate office.

Sixt was, at one time, a reputable company, but for quite some time now, I've avoided Sixt like the plague.

First, it was Sixt gouging on incidents such as yours. Had two very similar incidents, however I hadn't given up on them yet. But later, in a personal incident, when my wife was involved in a car accident with her 1-series BMW, I chose to seek out Sixt. At the location, they were very 'gracious' in wanting to give us a Mercedes in her same car class, but at 'the lowest available rate'. Even though our insurance company was going to pay, I casually asked how much it would cost. Evasiveness. Would we like coffee? Subject changes. Anything to avoid answering. I remained polite but insistent until finally given an abrupt "You're not our customer in this case, the insurance company is, so it's not of your business." Not being able to contain myself after the harshness, I answered back: "Who do you think you are? I made the choice to come here to give you business. You'll tell me the price now or I'll leave immediately and you'll get nothing anyway". The clerk's response was something to the tune of 200 Euros a day for a week. I then asked if I could apply any codes (or even my Diamond discount). They would not allow it. I asked if I could have a smaller vehicle then. No, even though there were plenty available because I'd already verified that. I immediately left and gave the business to an Enterprise office nearby for a third of the price.

I learned that day that Sixt had become a dishonorable, unscrupulous, contemptible force--even if profitable. Their business model showed itself as disgusting. Sixt hasn't seen a single Euro cent from me or my companies since.

Well, maybe SIXT was trying to do me a favor when they said I could settle a claim for less than their demand but I'd be banned from ever renting from them again. :-)

It's sad because I'd really found them to be several notches better than my experiences with Europcar in France (like the time the agency office I'd reserved from in Aix had a hand-written "closed" sign on it when I arrived, so I had to go to Grenoble to rent a car from them, and they charged me a penalty for the no-show, and they conveniently didn't speak English in that office and my dreadful French got nowhere...).

But last July, my SIXT experience in their Grenoble office was unlike any previously. Like it was an entirely different company, especially upon return of the car. They didn't allow me to park the car on the street; they required that I negotiate their tiny little garage. Never had THAT before!