Listen to the audio version of the article
The Antitrust has fined the car rental companies Avis Budget Italia, Hertz Italiana, Centauro Rent a Car Italy, Green Motion Italia, Noleggiare and Drivalia Leasys Rent for over 18 million euros in total for unfair clauses. According to the Authority, the six companies imposed “an unjustified fee on the customer for the management of fines and non-payment of parking or tolls”. The Authority also ordered the elimination of these clauses from the contractual forms “because they can cause a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of consumers”.
The Authority contests the clause, contained in the contractual documentation adopted by each company and published on the respective company websites, which provides for the obligation of the car lessee to pay a lump sum to manage the administrative procedure related to each fine imposed for traffic infringement or failure to pay parking fees/tolls during the rental period. The additional amount provided for by the clause – regardless of the qualification adopted by each company (such as “penalty” or “fee for service”) – “is not justified in light of the obligations due in the event of a fine attributable to the contractor. In fact, car rental companies only have to transfer customer identification data to the body investigating the infringement”, explains the Antitrust in a note.
«The unjustified nature of this fee also emerged regardless of the specific amount applied by the company and due to the automatic nature of the charge on the consumer’s credit card, based on the pre-authorization provided at the time of signing the contract of rental”, the Guarantor further specifies. Following the assessment of unfairness, each company has the obligation to publish an extract of the provision on its company website. Furthermore, as a result of the entry into force, from 1 February 2022, of the new sanctioning powers attributed to the Authority regarding unfair clauses – based on law no. 238/2021 and Legislative Decree. n. 26/2023 – each company was sentenced, in addition to paying an administrative fine, to eliminate the clause from its contractual documentation.