Had a pretty poor experience with this particular business when they were previously operating as a Thrifty branded franchisee. While it is not likely I will ever return it is nevertheless genuinely hoped they have taken the opportunity of a rebrand to SIXT to improve their business practices.

Some of the things that disappointed me at the time include (but not limited to)…

• Charging of fees that were clearly outside of the hire agreement. Failure to properly disclose, detail and describe certain admin fees in their written legal documentation.

• Obstructive and confrontational attitude upon reaching out to ask about these charges, then trying to close the matter with “Thanks for your feedback on disclosure” while casting blame on their franchisor.

• They very promptly changed their tone and refunded the fees the next day after I advised they were in clear breach of their obligations under Australian Consumer Law and will be moving forward with lodging a case with VCAT. However they stopped short of apologizing or otherwise admitting fault.

• Vehicle while clean was in poor mechanical tune (compared to the same make/model hired from other business units operating under the same car hire brand). Anecdotes received from both customers and their own employees suggested they cut corners on servicing some of their fleet.

• Being subjected to persistent up-selling upon picking up the vehicle. Not experienced to the same degree at any other location operating under the same brand. Then going ahead and adding on a breakdown add on anyway and concealing this in the walk-through of the agreement.

• Upon coming to place my own review. Discovering senior franchise management (inclusive of the MD, CFO, and others) had written many of their own 5 star testimonials on Google and FB whilst failing to disclose their affiliation with the business. Multiple reviews were deleted in haste after advising them I had referred the matter to both the ACCC and Consumer Affairs Victoria for comment. I feel this was exceedingly poor form for a business purportedly to be operating as part of the NRMA motoring and services group.

• Upon returning home to New Zealand and writing about my experience on this blog, ended up with people identifying themselves as former employees writing in privately to affirm the issues as well as offer recriminations against management along with repeated mention of “Flaunting material possessions”.

While many of the issues that lead to my indignation have since been resolved, none of these in hindsight should have ever occurred in the first place.

It was (and remains to this day) my single most bizarre and unusual experience as a retail customer to any business either side of the Tasman.