YOUR VIEWS

ANOTHER DISAPPOINTED VISITOR
IT is with a touch of sadness that I pen this letter after a recent short break to your beautiful island.
My wife and I sometimes accompanied by friends and family usually avail of a 4 or 5 day break out of season about 3 times annually. On 29/03/10 we (a party of 4 with 2 new visitors) spent 4 nights in our usual haunt of Palma Nova. We were surprised at how few people there were around although early in the year but prices in bars and restaurants may have some bearing on this. Although £ to € is not great we still noticed a considerable increase in cost of snacks, alcohol and especially mineral water prices.

However my main complaint is the extortion of car hire companies in charging fuel on a “full – empty“ basis for a short 4 day period. I do drive all over the island but invariably the vehicle is returned about ¼ tank full thus the next poor victim to hire this vehicle is charged for a full tank of fuel but the hire company is only liable to pay for a ¾ tank. This is not a fair policy. I am afraid that we like many others will be seeking better value and a more welcoming environment when looking for a short break.

Yours truly, Paddy Hughes
North of Ireland

DEAR SIR
I read with interest the comments on tyre slashing on the Barcelona ferry. This practice has been going on in Barcelona for some time. There it takes the form of pulling alongside a car at traffic lights, puncturing the tyre with a knife and stopping it further on to tell the driver that they have a puncture. They tend to target hire cars as they are more likely to stop. My sister in law had this happen to her in Barcelona. They probably targeted her because she had Andorra registered plates. She didn't stop but they hung onto her 4x4 and smashed the windows to try to get her to stop. She quite bravely kept on going and drove into a tyre fitting place where they jumped off and fled. The worrying thing here is that they are carrying knives.

A truly terrifying experience for her.
Yours, Stuart Allsop

DEAR SIR

THE MOST EXPENSIVE PLACE IN THE WORLD TO HIRE A CAR! COULD this become fact with prices now steadily rising from €200 per week to talk of crossing the €1000 per week in the summer months for a basic Ford Focus. Why is this not being regulated to prevent lasting damage to the islands tourism. Can I ask why some companies charge €82 for a tank of fuel on pick up when the true cost of a tank is little more than €50. Can this be legal especially when not given the option of bringing the car back full to earn a credit! Come on Majorca - we must do better than this.

Tommy Turtlemouse

Palma