A Norwich car hire broker has been acclaimed for avoiding scams that leave holidaymakers out of pocket.

Steve Dennis, director of Enjoy Car Hire, based in Magdalen Street, said they were proud to have 'broken the mould' by ceasing to work with rental companies that minimise their headline rates to get their deals listed near the top of price-comparison websites - only to make up the shortfall through unreasonable extra charges. A typical scam sees rental companies insisting you purchase a full tank of petrol when you pick up your vehicle, at a rate that may be as much as 20 per cent dearer than at the pump.

When you return the car, no refund is given for unused fuel, so you're donating what's left back to the rental outfit to resell.

Mr Dennis said: 'We have negotiated with all the suppliers we use in over 40 countries that the customer will return the car back with the same amount of fuel as they received it, a first within car hire brokers to do so.'

Since its launch five years ago, Enjoy Car Hire has grown steadily from 4,000 rentals in its first year to nearly 100,000 this year.

And after recently signing a major new contract with a compare site in Germany, the firm has employed a German representative, taking its Norwich team to four; it also employs staff in Europe with bases in Slovenia and Estonia.

'Our main destinations are holiday areas such as Portugal, Spain, Croatia and Turkey,' he said.

Mr Dennis said it was about a year ago that the firm decided it needed a USP and realised the biggest car hire complaint concerned fuel prices.

By shunning firms offering an unrealistic headline rate, they initially lost some customers but they were now coming back.

Mr Dennis said they were proud that their policy had been featured in the national media and they had been highlighted on Martin Lewis's influential website www.moneysavingexpert.com

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