‘Complete shock’: Family’s $7k rental car bill after fleeing Gold Coast during cyclone

A family who ended their holiday early and fled the Gold Coast during Cyclone Alfred were shocked to receive a more than $7000 bill.

A Melbourne couple were charged more than $7000 for not returning their rental car to a closed Gold Coast Airport during Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Jaclynn Robb, who was on a holiday with her husband and two children, were due to return their rental car on Saturday morning on the Gold Coast but instead drove home to Melbourne Airport and returned the car there a day early.

“The drive was a very long drive but we did it for the safety of our family, and also the car as well,” Ms Robb told news.com.au.

At the time, the area was bracing to be hit by a cyclone with Gold Coast Airport closed from Wednesday afternoon. It didn’t reopen until Sunday, meaning the family could not fly home as planned.

Gold Coast residents were ordered to stay inside from Friday morning, and then later that afternoon, ordered to take shelter in the strongest part of the building they were in. On Saturday, people were still being told not to drive unless they had to, due to damaged roads, debris, floodwaters and fallen powerlines and trees.

Jaclynn Robb said the more than $7000 bill came as a surprise. Picture: Supplied

Europcar had advised customers to keep their rental cars “until such time as it is safe for the location to reopen”.

Ms Robb said she spoke to a Europcar call centre based overseas about the family’s plans to drive to Melbourne and was warned of a $6000 fee, but Ms Robb said the customer service representative wasn’t aware there was a cyclone.

“I was of the belief that once they knew the circumstances, that fee wouldn’t be in place, especially to that extent,” she said.

She added: “I put myself in the position at the [Melbourne] depot that I was prepared to have that conversation. My husband had said ‘we can’t afford to pay that, I’ll drive it back to Queensland if I have to.’”

However, he couldn’t have at the time given it was still closed.

Ms Robb claimed she asked staff at the rental car office in Melbourne about extra fees and was sent home without a problem thinking everything had been paid for.

“I said, ‘We were supposed to return it to the Gold Coast but because of the cyclone they closed and we brought it here instead’, and they were OK with that,” she said.

Later on, a $7295 bill arrived by email. The original rental cost of $350, plus $190 for insurance and a $500 bond had already been paid for.

“We were completely shocked,” Ms Robb said, adding that it was “distressing” having the huge bill hanging over their heads.

After news.com.au spoke with Ms Robb, Europcar apologised and said they would process a $500 refund for the bond, and amend the invoice to remove a $5500 one-way fee.

news.com.au contacted Europcar for further comment.

Ms Robb isn’t the only Europcar customer to be slapped with a huge bill while escaping the extreme weather.

Louise Turner, who is pregnant with twins and has a three-year-old son, was stung more than $2300 for not returning their rental car to a closed Gold Coast Airport and dropping it off in Sydney instead.

According to an email seen by 10 News First, they were told Europcar’s “one-way fee policy remains in effect” despite the natural disaster.

But the company offered a refund and apologised after the news program chased up Ms Turner’s case.