A good question - our feeling is that as long as the rental car is returned needing a wash and hoover then that should be good enough. However we have heard of a few customers being asked for a cleaning fee of a few Euros if the car cannot be rented out again without more than a few minutes work.
This is apparently due to some, but certainly not all, car hire companies believing this type of stealth fee is a way of improving their income, particularly from customers who have used car brokers, where the car hire company's profit margins are much smaller.
Sometimes these seem unreasonable, and we have advised clients to complain to the Head Office of the relevant company. In most cases this generates an apology and a refund.
This can be done by using the services of a company called Resolver - who assist users in raising complaints, first with the company themselves, but then through arbitration services if that is an option. They are mainly confined to UK companies, or at least ones who have a good representation here. They can be contacted using the panel below - why not try typing in the name of your car hire below to see if they can help you.
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If you have any queries do call a member of the MoneyMaxim car hire insurance team.