Australian 4WD Hire Questions & Answers

You'll find all new contact information on www.explore4wdhire.com.au
I really hope this helps you and others, but i may doubt it.

They are off the charts these guys! Trading insolvent !

Hi,
Check out the page Hans mentioned.
Hope it helps. It seems also pending on when you hired / payed bond and to which account.

The company changed its website to Explore4wdhire.com.au. As of today the phone number is disconnected. I rang to ask them about my deposit return. The ABN is the same, 638025911. The ASIC website shows the owner as Mahesh Thakur. The registered address is '1605', 530 Little Collins Street, Melbourne which is a mens tailor who knows nothing about the business. Product Review is doing a disservice allowing these 5 star ratings through given the overwhelming evidence that the company is not trading and owes over $300,000 in bond payments to customers.

Have you tried contacting the agent in Broome to see what they say?

I would honestly try to get your money back and rent off a different company.

Don’t pay them a further cent
The new company is corrupt and Probly a family member from previous owner
They have ripped off countless people
They owe us over 8 k
Our car was a lemon and we still paid 3 k for the hire
Also they have not repaid our 5 k in bond
A total ripoff business

O spoke to my solicitor. He read through the rental agreement, the terms and conditions and the email requesting the bond etc. He indicated to me that it is a clear contractual case between me and the ACN ending 911 which is the new entity. He said that Smart Corp are not privy to the contract irrespective of how the funds were directed to be paid.

He indicated the next course of action would be to contact the company directly indicating that they are in breach of the contract and that Smart Corp is irrelevant to their contractual obligation. Then he said to file an application with the magistrates court to seek an enforceable debt recovery. I'll draft a letter to the company next week and share with your guys if you want to follow suit.

With respect to the liquidators. Joining the list of creditors is a complete waste of time. The owners will have made sure there is not a penny left.

Thanks Daniel, I would certainly appreciate being kept in the loop here or somewhere else. Maybe there is enough people in the same situation to do a class action if your solicitor sees a need. I also think that joining the list of creditors is a waste of time. We'll maybe see 50$ per 1000$ in three years at best. Should we create a private group to communicate outside of the public domain, I will be also interested. Best Regards,

By the way I have received the same email as everyone else asking me to contact the liquidator SV Partners.

I would be concerned too......google Australian 4WD Hire and the ACCC.

Hi Paul.
They cannot (and are not) issuing fines per se, as they are not a prescribed person under the Road Safety/Transport Act of the relevant state or territory. It appears however that they are attempting to use contractual law.

On checking the ACCC's 'Unfair Contract Terms' guide, it says in part;

'However, even if a contract contains terms that favour the consumer, such favourable terms may not counterbalance an unfair term if the consumer is unaware of them. Examples include implied terms, or terms hidden in fine print, in a schedule or in another document, or written in legalese. This may result in an information imbalance in favour of the business.'

'In considering the contract as a whole, a court will often need to balance the legitimate commercial interests of the business against the detriment the term would cause to a consumer if it were enforced.'

I have not read their terms and conditions as I have no interest in hiring a 4wd however if the fine print does in fact state that insurance does not cover 'wear and tear' (as such) on a vehicle which has been primarily designed to be used off road and for extended periods and is advertised in that way, there may be a case to answer.

It appears to me that for the company to obtain full comprehensive insurance on these vehicles for use as advertised, it would be extremely costly, so maybe they are supplementing the cost by putting these clauses in their contract. This may not be morally or ethically correct, but may be legally correct...... we'll just have to wait and see.

It will be very interesting to see what the ACCC and the Courts decide and whether a precedent is set.

Paul thank god for Tim Nicholls MP, Clayfield who highlighted the sneaky tricks this Company is getting up to. He was quoted again today in an article by the Gold Coast Bulletin apparently there are more than 70 people caught up in this. A4WD have used tracking software developed for car thefts in South Africa (CTrack) to claim it is accurate enough to know the speed a car is travelling. It would never hold up in a court of law. Given that the company fines between $500 and $5000 for speeding (claiming it is wear and tear charge under their contract) it is in fact a penalty as there is no connection between the charge and the wear and tear claimed. But who is going to fight it? It costs up to $20k just to get to court. It would need someone with deep pockets who wants to waste their money on challenging them. Remember they have your money already. It is futile trying to take them on. That should be the job of the ACCC to protect Consumers - but they are doing nothing. Have a look at the Europcar Case and make up your own mind.