Around 15.5 million rental transactions take place in the UK each year, according to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), so it's big business, and the appeal for fleets lies in its quick-fix nature: those who need a temporary set of wheels are sorted out there and then with minimal fuss. 

When everything goes to plan, it's among the most convenient forms of transport, and the non-committal element of rental also gives it an edge in such uncertain times. With the hullabaloo of WLTP, cloudy future tax policy and the wider economic concern of 'I'm sorry, I haven't a clue', some are hesitant to sign up to traditional leases and purchases, so mini-lease and long-term rentals slot in rather nicely. The industry also prides itself on its quick turnaround, as many companies are said to offer availability or deliveries in timescales of less than two hours, depending on your proximity to the nearest branch. 

As much as rental firms like to position themselves as simple, flexible and eco-friendly (they're often billed as a good replacement for grey fleet on the grounds that vehicles are newer, cleaner and safer), there are some discrepancies between marketing and reality, as revealed when BusinessCar quizzed John Pryor, chairman of the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), about the issues fleets face when renting vehicles: "Some suppliers will take any booking and then the car won't turn up, so that's a big problem. The condition of these vehicles is not always as you would expect and the companies are 'terribly sorry, but that's the only vehicle they had'.

"When the condition is questionable, you lead into pre-existing damage and the charges that obviously come in afterwards. The handover is not always as clean as they'd like to promote - we've had incidents where the car has been dropped off and the keys have been put through somebody else's door or drivers drop the car off and then put the keys through the letter box with no signature. It doesn't always suit them to come when you want to arrange it, so they say 'we'll leave the keys under the flowerpot', and that's when the problems start.

"There is never an excuse for a vehicle not being in good order at the point of rental."

"If there's any damage, they'll just invoice, and you can't always quantify if that damage was at the point of delivery to my driver, or maybe it's a previous driver's damage. Then you ask for proof - 'who's signed for what?' - and nothing comes back." 

Other issues are said to include vehicles that fail to match previously specified criteria - for example, fuel types and transmissions - while the size and type of car can allegedly vary dramatically from what appeared on the form, even when a registration number has formerly been assigned; this creates issues for P11D, P46 and CO₂ reporting, while larger, dirtier vehicles null and void the eco-friendly argument. 

We're told similar issues occur when vehicles reach the rental firm's defleet mileage and agents are dispatched with a replacement model; this can mean employees end up with multiple vehicles during long-term loans, which often isn't communicated to HQ. Finally, it is apparently not unheard of for fines accrued during a loan to reach "at-court" stage before the customer has been notified.

In response to the allegations, the BVRLA issued BusinessCar with a statement credited to director of member services Nora Leggett, saying, "Like with any business, sometimes things can go wrong. Some issues are unavoidable, like a particular vehicle type not being available at short notice; however, there are some things that are completely inexcusable. There is never an excuse for a vehicle not being in good order at the point of rental. 

"We would always encourage customers to thoroughly check and sign a pre-rental inspection report to acknowledge any pre-existing damage to the vehicle and avoid dispute upon return."

The organisation advised fleets employing rental companies to implement a service-level agreement (SLA) to confirm a certain level of quality, availability and responsibility ahead of a contract. 

"Fleet managers have a right to expect that the conditions within an SLA are adhered to and any failings should be reported to the rental operator with serious breaches being raised as a formal complaint. Those who fail
to keep customers happy, will fail to keep customers," the statement continued.

Such an initiative is not a guarantee of quality, but it at least provides
a binding fallback. That said, fleets
often utilise blanket suppliers with multiple rental firms at their disposal and, even if that involves pre-agreed standards, it's questionable as to whether the company from which you actually receive the vehicles will operate to the same level. 

To further assess the real-world performance of rental companies, BusinessCar phoned five of the most well-known brands and asked them the following questions: 

• Where is our nearest branch?
• How does the booking process work for business vehicles?
• Will the vehicle we receive match the one we book (fuel type, transmission, registration number)?
• What is the procedure for deliveries, collections and recording damage at the start and end of a loan? 
• What would happen if a vehicle were delivered and no one were available to sign for it?
• What is an approximate daily figure for a diesel, manual Volkswagen Golf or closest equivalent?