We hired a car from Goldcar for collection at Malaga airport. The flight was more than an hour late and we were told the booking was no longer valid as we had arrived more than 15 minutes late, that it was non-refundable and, incredibly, so was our insurance cover. In effect, our whole booking was worthless. We had to pay £108 to hire another car with the firm. RC, London

Cancelling pre-paid car hire bookings after a customer is delayed can be lucrative for car hire firms. However, Goldcar says its reservations normally remain active for six hours after the pick-up time.

“They had booked a ‘crazy rate’, which is usually non-refundable because the prices are low. Apparently there was a failure in our system and the reservation was automatically cancelled after two hours. For this reason, our Malaga agent created a new booking,” explains Goldcar. It has apologised and refunded you the cost of the second booking.

However, look up your chosen supplier’s policy before you make a booking. Most firms deem you to be a no-show after two hours, unless you have warned them the flight is delayed.

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