It reported that the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) was forcing car hire companies to amend their policy pricing after it deemed that adverts which "lured" customers in with cheap lead-in rates, then hit them with extra charges at the rental desk, i.e., a compulsary fuel bill, would no longer be allowed.

This "collect full, return empty" policy of car hire companies has become increasingly common in recent years.

The Paper's reporters discovered that an Opel Corsa could be hired for £44 for a week in Malaga, but this did not include the compulsary fuel payment of "around 80 Euros" when you arrived to pick up the car.

One way to save money is, of course, to always buy your excess car hire insurance in advance from iCarhireinsurance.com and in fact we were recommended by the Sunday Times travel section just a few weeks ago. There are no hidden costs when you buy excess insurance from us.