What is the logic and experience of "late returns"?

Feedback & Ideas
1

I’ve had a few examples of rentals that have had to be extended and it made me think about the issue of late returns, and I’m not sure I understand the logic of this.

In all three cases the rental was extended by the user, but in two cases I had planned to use my car shortly after the end of the contract, and in both cases they only JUST made it back in time. But it got me thinking, so here’s a long post for feedback and discussion.

Here’s the explanation of the Lateness Policy

You will be charged for the extra time you have the car (rental fee + insurance + booking fee) and then late fees may apply.

Late fees:

£10 per hour late-return (capped at £80 per day)

It seems straightforward, but it leaves some important questions unanswered.

A regular rental is straightforward, and I can understand that in some circumstances the plans may change and the renter may decide they need to extend their rental; for example they decide to take a different route home, or add a day of holiday. No problem.

What is not clear from this wording is if a late fee is charged even though the booking is extended, or only if not agreed in advance?

Some other issues to consider and not covered

This is reasonably simple as long as the car is not needed by anyone else!

If the car is not needed, then a longer rental is fine, of course.

However, what if it is needed or expected?

Upcoming rental

If there is another rental pick-up scheduled then the extension request will be rejected. The renter will know they need to stick to their original plan. But if the reason for the extension is that they are unable to make the drop off time - e.g. being stuck in traffic, then this causes a major problem. It means that the new rental can’t start, and it will, by definition, be last-minute so they will find it hard to change their own plans. They will have been badly inconvenienced, and it will also reflect poorly on the owner, who will also be affected.

In this case, there is a small recourse, which is that there is a £10 per hour (plus fees) charge for late returns (without payment) in the terms:

Late returns of all cars without payment for the extension carry a penalty of up to £10 for each additional hour the vehicle is late, plus a £40 admin fee.

My questions:

  • Who gets this fee? I assume from how it is written, that it is paid (and retained) by Hiyacar.
  • What does this administration include and cover?
  • What about the owner?
  • And the missed rental?
  • Is the next rental cancelled? Is that refunded to them? Is this therefore a further ‘cost’ (or lost revenue) to the owner?

Personal use

There is an additional aspect from an owners’ perspective.

If, as an owner, I plan to use my car after it is returned, I can choose either to reserve it, or not. If I don’t reserve it, then, assuming they remember to extend the booking, I will at least get the additional rental revenue. However, this will not reflect that I have been inconvenienced and left without my car.

If I do reserve it, the renter cannot extend the booking, but then I risk them being late anyway (if they simply could not get back on time) which not only means I don’t have the car, but I don’t get either the rental income or the late fee. More importantly, if I take this route, then, because the rental has ended, the car will also not be insured, so I’m taking a risk on the car (and the renter).

In this case, then it means I would be crazy to reserve the car and take all these risks for less money, so I have to allow any extensions. However, if I do this there is no recognition of the negative effects on me - especially as no late fee is ever charged.

Proposal

Should there be an additional “last-minute extension” charge that goes to the owner of the vehicle in recognition of the last minute changes, and to discourage unreliable booking times? Maybe only charged in the last hour of the rental? It means that the booking and insurance (!) can be extended if needed, but only if really necessary.

Would that work?

There’s no administration for Hiyacar and would not be relevant if another booking was scheduled, but would be a nudge to be more careful with planning.

Any thoughts from owners? Any comments based on experience to date from Hiyacar?

2

Hiya Robert!
Thanks for this feedback - you’ve sparked a good internal discussion. We will get back to you shortly with some ideas too!

1 Like
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I was hoping that it was the case :slight_smile:

I want to emphasise that I’m not trying to extract more money from renters, but only that the ‘cost’ of these extensions to the owner might be better reflected.

I look forward to hearing what you think internally, but also what other owners’ experience might be on this

4

Hiya Robert!,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and suggestions for us to review.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated as it helps us to continuously improve our services and grow as a company. You raised some good points that need implementing so it will be a fair outcome for all parties involved. I have detailed below the revised policies that we will be adding to our terms and conditions and also updating our help articles. Furthermore, if you require the use of the vehicle after a booking, kindly mark it as unavailable on the calendar. This will prevent any extensions from being authorized when the car is needed.

Updates
Unauthorised late return - No extension requested
Charge member Rental fee + Insurance + Booking fee and £10 per hour late-return (capped at £80 per day) plus a £40 admin fee.

Payout to owner Rental fee + £10 per hour Late-return (capped at £80 per day)

Agreed Late return with owner.
Charge member Rental fee + Insurance + Booking fee

Payout to owner Rental fee

Authorised due to unforeseen circumstances (E.g. owner needed car, has upcoming booking…) but driver won’t make it back in time.
Charge member Rental fee + Insurance + Booking fee and £10 per hour late-return (capped at £80 per day) plus a £40 admin fee.

Payout to owner Rental fee + £10 per hour Late-return (capped at £80 per day)

Could you let me know if there is anything I may have missed? I would be more than happy to take care of it.

Kind Regards,
Mohammed
The Hiyacar Team

1 Like
5

Thanks so much @Mohammed_Sheen I think this goes some way to clarifying the situation, but I still have some questions.

First, I’m glad to hear that if the rental is extended without authorisation, that the rental (and particularly the insurance) will be automatically extended to cover the car and the driver. That’s reassuring for everyone even if there are additional charges. Can you confirm what the grace period is for this? I wouldn’t want to charge renters for just a few minutes (often while they’re going through the lock-up routine).

The biggest question is : what is the difference (in process for owners) between an “Agreed Late Return” and an “Authorised due to Unforeseen Circumstances Return”?

In practice these will be the same as the renter will go to the app and extend the booking of the car.

  • If, like me, you have Instant Book turned on (for new bookings), then it will always be authorised as “Agreed”.
  • If, on the other hand, there is a reservation in place, then the rental cannot be extended, so becomes “Unauthorised”

Should all extensions bypass the “Instant Book” setting and require approval?

Thinking about it, there should maybe also be a difference between Unauthorised (i.e. simply did not communicate the late return) and Authorised (as opposed to Agreed), since it encourages them to communicate early that there will be issues so the owner / next renter can make alternative arrangements.

Also, since it is Authorised and therefore done through the app, there is no impact on Hiyacar, so why charge the fee? It is simply a version of Agreed, but one where the owner has been inconvenienced and therefore is justified in getting the additional charge.

Here’s an example:

The car is booked until 2pm, but is returned at 4:05pm because the driver was stuck in standstill traffic at the Blackwall Tunnel (i.e. out of their control).

Situation A: the car was not needed until 7pm

  1. AGREED - The renter contacts the owner via the app to extend their booking, which the owner accepts manually, so they are charged the additional rental + insurance (Total extra cost: around £20)

  2. UNAUTHORISED - The renter does not contact the owner via the app to extend their booking, so they will be charged the additional rental + insurance + £20 (2 x £10ph) [to owner] + £40 admin [to hiyacar] (Total extra cost: £20 + £20 + £40)

Situation B: The car was required (for owner or rental) at 3pm

  1. AUTHORISED - The renter contacts the owner via the app to extend their booking. The owner needs to change their reservation or cancel/delay the subsequent booking. They will be charged the additional rental + insurance + £20 (2 x £10ph) [to owner] (Total extra cost: £20 + £20)

  2. UNAUTHORISED - The renter does not contact the owner via the app to extend their booking, they will be charged the additional rental + insurance + £20 (2 x £10ph) [to owner] + £40 admin [to hiyacar] (Total extra cost: £20 + £20 + £40)

In other words, there should be a difference between A1 (AGREED) and B1 (AUTHORISED)

Remaining questions:

a) who contacts the renter in situation B, and is there any help for them?
b) what happens to the missed revenue from that booking (for the owner)?
c) how can a booking be extended if the car is reserved (and therefore rejects any extension)?
d) how does the manual approval happen if Instant Book is turned on?

Sorry to go so far “into the weeds” but just thinking about this in practice

6

a) who contacts the renter in situation B, and is there any help for them?

A customer support agent will contact the member if the drop off exceeds the expected time by 5-10 minutes. If the owner has multiple vehicles on our platform, we can arrange for a vehicle swap. We will also provide information on any applicable fees.

b) what happens to the missed revenue from that booking (for the owner)?

Owner will get a payout based on the extensions length (Rental + Late Fee)

c) how can a booking be extended if the car is reserved (and therefore rejects any extension)?

We won’t allow an extension if the owner does not agree, worst case recover the car back to drop off if the member does not engage.

d) how does the manual approval happen if Instant Book is turned on?

It can only be overridden by hiyacar staff

We understand that there may be various situations that arise. However, our main goal moving forward is to ensure that there is no additional financial strain on the owner. We will not take any actions or make any agreements without first consulting the owner. If that is what the situation requires.