How to avoid using brokers while booking a self-drive car in uganda

How to avoid using brokers while booking a self-drive car in uganda

How to avoid using brokers while booking a self-drive car in uganda, Exploring the unbeaten natural beauty of Uganda with a self-drive car is one of the most unforgettable ways of enjoying what the “Pearl of Africa” has to offer. Some of your best travel memories will undeniably be of road trips and doing it at your own pace and with freedom/independence is unbeaten and a “second to none” experience. However, renting a car (whether for a self-drive or not) through brokers can sometimes become a ridiculous hassle and chaotic mess of overexploitation (hefty fees), online masquerading, substandard services, and other challenges that can drive anyone crazy.

Renting a car for a self-drive can undeniably full of pitfalls. You do it right and you will emerge from the experience unscathed but get it wrong, and the fees will run into hundreds and thousands of dollars. Therefore, here are the different ways how you can avoid using brokers while booking a self-drive Car in Uganda;

Ensure that the Car Rental Company is registered with URSB: How to avoid using brokers while booking a self-drive car in uganda

Possessing a valid URSB Certificate is one of the important requirements for operating a business in Uganda, but knowing whether a Company is registered or not might be close to impossible for travelers that book for self-drive cars online. However, this shouldn’t be an issue because if you aren’t able to visit the Company offices physically, then you can visit the URSB Official website to see the registered Companies in the country. For this reason, first confirm whether the Car Rental Company is registered before booking online and as caution, always read online reviews with a pinch of salt because some of them are bought. In so doing you will be able to tell the genuine Companies from ordinary Brokers/or even briefcase Agencies.

Renting a Car with red number Plates : How to avoid using brokers while booking a self-drive car in uganda

In case you didn’t know this, Tour-related Companies enjoy tax exemptions on their Cars, which are normally provided red or maroon license plates. It is also important to note that these Cars are not registered in individual names but rather Company/Business names. If the Rental Car you are booking has a red or maroon license plate, then be sure that you are dealing with a registered Tour or Car Rental Company.

However, this doesn’t mean that brokers cannot sub-rent the Cars from the genuine and fully-registered Car Rental Company. Nonetheless, you can still get more information from the Company from which the Car was sub rented by checking details on the 3^rd Party insurance sticker. The Company contacts can be seaeched online as long as you are able to find the Company name.

Try visiting the Company offices without prior notice

We have seen cases of Companies putting a Google pin and claiming to have their offices at a particular location and by informing them before visiting, you make it easy for the “Company” to use another person’s office in the same area. To avoid booking with a broker, we recommend dropping by the office unexpectedly, especially if it is done within working hours- 8 am to 5 pm.

Brokering has now become a lucrative business and you will experience it when renting cars, Real estate deals (buying/renting houses, and purchasing land) or even lending money. Brokers therefore don’t deal in one business and rarely have offices, and no genuine Car Rental Company in Uganda will deal in real estate or money lending like it is done by brokers.

If you stop by the business premises and discover that there are other services being offered, then this is a serious red flag.

Payment should be made to business (not personal) accounts

Having a business account is another crucial requirement for operating a legit business in Uganda and this can also help in differentiating genuine Car Rental Agencies from brokers. Surprisingly, the majority of brokers in the country are neither registered nor licensed thus few will even have a business/Company account hence will prefer taking cash for payment or better still will request for payment to be made to their personal accounts. This is a serious red flag and therefore another way to avoid using brokers while booking your self-drive car in Uganda.