So, believe it or not the cheapest option from Manila to fly to Rio was for me to go back to London. The stopover was one evening, so I had originally planned to stay with some mates near London. Nice and easy.

Nope.

They had all been called last minute on conferences and needed to stay away (well that is the story they came up with anyway)

Pants.

I was snookered as Heathrow hotels are an arm and a leg, and to go further away would mean train or bus fares, so worked out the same.
There was nothing under 60 quid, so I figured for that money I may as well rent a car and shoot down to Devon and see the family.
It also meant I could drop off the camera and a few bits and pieces I had collected.
It was a hell of a trip but then It was only a few days of pain.

I checked on line and realised that I may have a problem with a car as I would not have enough ID having come straight from abroad, so my brother suggested just catch the bus, and he had seen some bargain tickets he could book that day for me.
I thought to just ask about the car ID first and was really surprised when the email came back saying that my license and a credit card would be enough. I was really surprised so mailed again just to be sure explaining there was no room for error.

Absolutely 100% no problem it came back.

Brilliant, so I called my brother to cancel the bus and went ahead and booked the car and called mum and dad to get the kettle on as I was coming home.

I had been in the internet cafe in the big smoke of Alfonso and was running late for the graduation, so logged off as soon as I had made the car booking.

When I got to the airport I checked in to the VIP lounge as I get free access with my bank account so I could obviously get the free beer, but also to use the internet.

So I logged on and...
Then I got the email confirmation from the car company.....

I knew it I knew it I knew it!!

Below is the exact email trail with the boring bits taken out,

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding your reservation

I would like to inform you that recently, most of car rental providers we cooperate with in the UK have changed their Rental Conditions and additionally require two forms of ID to confirm home address are required. One must be the credit card or bank statement for the credit card or debit card being presented for deposit and additional charges. The other should be a formal document (eg. utilities bill, council tax bill etc). Both must be dated within 8 weeks of date of hire.

If you fail to present ones, the vehicle will not be released and no funds paid can be reimbursed.

If you wish to check these requirements further, please contact your car rental agent - Easirent - directly on 0044 203 1300 448.

Kind regards,

Rafael

CarTrawler Travel Advisor

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Hello,

I hope you can appreciate i am now extremely frustrated.

i have just made the below booking and the information is different to what you told me in the last email which is included below where i specifically asked you to double check.

My booking states i need 2 proof of address dated within 8 weeks such as a utility bill and bank statement and also my paper conterpart.

can you please advise.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Hello Andy

Thank you for contacting Car Rental Republic

That is correct your UK license without paper counterpart, my passport and a credit card is sufficient to collect a vehicle.

Kind regards,

Chris Deane

Reservations Consultant

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hello,

so just to confirm if i show my UK license without paper counterpart, my passport and a credit card this will be sufficient to be able to rent a car from your Heathrow office?

i need to be sure because if i arrive and am unable to pick up the car this will completely ruin my ability to make alternative arrangements.

many thanks

...........................................................................................................................................

I fired off a complaint and guess what......

I got an email back saying that department was now closed and i needed to fill in an online form...

Aghhh

Begrudgingly I opened the web link to fill it in and then and it said I did not have permission to enter !!

So I was just going round in circles. I needed to check in to my flight so just had to leave it until I got to the UK.

As you can imagine I was going mental. The worst of it was that because it was within 48 hours It was non refundable, plus the bus prices had shot up.

So I had to call mother again and tell her I might be home after all.

GRRRRR

I had no choice but to go to the rental place and see if I could get it or not and if not I would have to find a hotel and then find a post office to send my stuff.

For some reason I had bought some coffee beans in Indonesia. Lets face it they are not really the sort of thing you want to be carrying round with you for six months. Plus Lito had given me a ton of coffee that we had picked and a ton of peppercorns, and let´s not forget the dirty great meat cleaver, there is no way I could be carrying a meat clever around with me........although it would be useful to go and see the rental company with.

So anyway what it meant was I would have to post all my stuff.

It was a huge flight from Manila stopping off at Qatar, so I was cream crackered when I landed.

I called the rental place straight away. I had used one of these broker type companies and they were the ones causing all the problems, it had nothing to do with the car rental company, so there was no liability from their side and there was no point having a go at them.
The bloke there was unbelievably helpful and said dont worry he would sort it, but I would have to pay a tenner for a dvla check.

Blimey.

So I waited a while for the free bus. Car rental was no issue and they even upgraded me to a bigger KIA.

How do I get the bluetooth working I asked.

No bluetooth.

Oh well, no big deal I can use my headphones.

Plugged them in and it said not compatible.

Here we go again.

So much for making calls on the way.

It was nice to be back in England.
Trip to Devon was not too bad, but the time just flew past and next thing it was midnight. Boy was I tired.

I almost cried as I set all the alarms for 5.30....