The Rental Vehicle Association’s Code of Conduct sets out the standards members must meet in how they rent vehicles and deal with customers. Adherence to this Code is a condition of RVA membership.

Members agree to act fairly, reasonably and with integrity, and to run their businesses in a way that reflects well on their own operation and the wider industry.

• 1.1 The Rental Vehicle Association New Zealand (RVA) is a membership organisation representing the interests of operators who hire, lease, or provide subscription access to passenger vehicles, minibuses, vans, coaches, trucks, motorhomes, or campervans.  

• 1.2 Our primary role is to work closely with our members to ensure the sustainability of our industry. To achieve this, we collaborate with the New Zealand Transport Agency, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, New Zealand Police, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Tourism New Zealand, Ministry of Transport, and various other stakeholders. 

• 1.3 Working with key stakeholders enables us to provide input into policy decisions impacting our industry.  The RVA is dedicated to ensuring our members’ customers have safe and enjoyable journeys.  

• 2.1 This Code of Conduct sets out the standards the RVA expects its members to meet in all aspects of the renting of their vehicles. Adherence to the standards set by this Code is a condition of RVA membership. 

• 2.2 The RVA promotes open, fair, and honest dealings with consumers. All RVA members must undertake their business in such a manner that enhances the reputations of their own business and the wider industry.  

• 2.3 Members will act fairly, reasonably and with integrity, and encourage such conduct by their suppliers, agents, and others in the wider industry. 

• 2.4 Members will act with competence, care, and prudence, ensuring their due compliance with relevant established legal, legislative, accounting, and commercial requirements. 

• 2.5 Members will promote safe driving by their customers, employees, and contractors in New Zealand. 

• 2.6 Members are deemed to have adopted and committed to upholding this Code. 

3.1 In undertaking their business, all RVA members agree to follow the following principles: 

• 3.2 All printed and digital advertising material within their control, accurately represents information about their products or services.  

• 3.3 All pricing is clear, and customers understand the breakdown of all costs in their contracts.  

• 3.4 The proper disclosure of all relevant facts concerning the contract and transaction, including the terms and conditions of the rental. 

• 3.5 All customer queries, complaints, or disputes are answered and/or resolved promptly.  

• 3.6 Provide all information to allow a reasonable customer to make an informed decision. 

• 3.7 Act reasonably when charging customers for damage to a vehicle, theft of a vehicle, damage to third party property and any charges that were incurred during the duration of the vehicle rental contract, e.g.  fines, infringements, or tolls.  

• 3.8 Provide properly maintained, roadworthy and safe vehicles always, which meet the requirements for a Certificate of Fitness and manufacturers’ servicing guidance.  

• 3.9 Assess the customer’s needs to ensure the most suitable vehicle is offered.  

• 3.10 Ensure employees are regularly and adequately trained on the requirements of this Code and New Zealand consumer law. 

4.1 Members will provide relevant information to their customers regarding safe driving practices and driving conditions in New Zealand. Members are encouraged to sign up to the Rental Vehicle Operators Best Practice guidelines for Informing Overseas Drivers.   

• 5.1 Members will ensure their rental terms and conditions: 

• 5.1.1 Are compliant with the Fair Trading Act 1986.  

• 5.1.2 Does not impose liability on their customers for breaches of contract which are trivial or have not contributed to the loss. 

• 5.1.3 Will not cause harm to their customers and are reasonably necessary to protect our members’ legitimate interests. 

• 5.2 In meeting their obligations our members will ensure their terms and conditions do not: 

• 5.2.1 Impose unreasonable obligations on a customer to pay a damage liability fee/excess. 

• 5.2.2 Prevent their customer from relying on representations made by them or their employees. 

• 5.2.3 Provide for the forfeiture of a security bond for any breach of the contract if there is no causal link between the breach and the forfeiture, or exclude liability for negligence. 

• 5.3 Our members will also ensure their rental terms and conditions are: 

• 5.3.1 Written in Plain English and do not use unnecessary industry jargon.  

• 5.3.2 Legible and presented clearly.  

• 5.3.3 Reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with the law and this Code of Conduct.  

• 5.3.4 Accessible to their customers on their website and at each rental outlet.  

• 5.3.5 Provided to their customers at the time of renting the vehicle either electronically or physically.  

• 6.1 Members will ensure all sales channels they are responsible for give customers the necessary information for their rental, enabling them to make an informed choice.  

• 6.2 Vehicle Description:  

• 6.2.1 Members must provide customers with a description of the category of vehicle being booked, including whether it is automatic or manual transmission and its maximum passenger or load capacity. 

• 6.3 Vehicle Standards: 

• 6.3.1 Vehicles shall comply with all statutory requirements regarding fitness and safety and always meet Certificate of Fitness safety requirements.   

• 6.3.2 No vehicle will be hired with a known defect or in a condition where a defect is likely to occur during the term of the hire.  

• 6.3.3 All vehicles shall be clean and fully serviced and prepared for normal use in the type of hire to be undertaken. 

• 6.3.4 Where a client has reserved a specific vehicle type, any subsequent variation due to vehicle unavailability must be discussed with and approved by the client. The client shall have the right to cancel the reservation and receive a full refund of any deposit paid. 

• 6.4 Rental requirements: 

• 6.4.1 Members are responsible for ensuring customers are made aware of any requirements they must fulfil to rent a vehicle.  

• 6.4.2 This could include identity documents required at the rental desk, minimum driving experience, age restrictions, holding a full valid driver licence, methods of payment, or being required to pay a deposit on a valid credit or debit card.  

• 6.5 ‘Drive away price’:  

• 6.5.1 Customers must be given a breakdown of what is included in the quoted price of their rental.  

• 6.5.2 Any additional charges, including location surcharges or taxes, must be confirmed with the customer prior to agreeing to the terms and conditions.  

• 6.5.3 Any one-way fee must be included in the total charge.  

• 6.5.4 If a customer must pay any age-related surcharges, these charges must be made clear as should any cancellation fees that may apply to the customer prior to agreeing to the terms and conditions.  

• 6.6 Customer’s liability: 

• 6.6.1 Members must explain the full extent of their customer’s financial responsibility as it relates to damage, theft or loss of the rental vehicle or any accessory, and the case of any breach of rental agreement. This amount should be the maximum amount payable by their customer, including, for example, administration fees, tax, loss of use or recovery charges (subject to their customer adhering to the rental agreement terms).  

• 6.6.2 The customer must be made aware of any exclusions in their coverage, such as windscreens and tyres or damage to the roof or underbody of the vehicle.  

• 6.7 Optional charges:  

• 6.7.1 Members must provide their customer with clear information, including costs, of all optional products that may be offered, including excess waivers, additional drivers, child seats, or a satellite navigation system.  

• 6.7.2 Members must make it clear to their customers that any  optional products reserved or requested during the booking process, may not be included in the original quoted price.  

• 6.7.3 Members must inform their customer of the fuel return policy and the different fuel options that may be available.  

• 6.8 Terms and Conditions: 

• 6.8.1 Our members must ensure that the rental terms and conditions are available to be read during the booking process.  

• 6.8.2 The terms and conditions must be available to download from the members website.  

• 6.8.3 They must be written in a clear way, avoiding industry jargon. 

• 6.9 Customer enquiries: 

• 6.9.1 Members shall provide appropriate contact details to enable their customer to make pre- or post-rental enquiries, including contact details in an emergency.  

• 6.9.2 Our members must provide their customers with information explaining how to make a complaint if they are dissatisfied with the service they receive. 

• 7.1 To ensure customers make an informed choice about the range of excess reduction and damage waiver options, members will: 

• 7.1.1 Make customers aware of their maximum financial liability arising from damage to the rental vehicle or third-party loss in the event of an accident, or theft of the rental vehicle. 

• 7.1.2 Make customers aware of exclusions from damage waiver or coverage products. 

• 7.1.3 Inform customers of the availability and benefits of damage liability/excess reductions and the cost of purchasing those optional damage liability/excess reduction products. 

• 7.2 Members will act reasonably in naming optional damage liability/excess reduction optional products. The name of the optional product must not give a false or misleading impression as to the extent of the maximum level of cover offered by the optional product. 

• 7.3 Members will regularly review their practices to ensure clear disclosure at the point of booking of: 

• 7.3.1 Exclusions from cover.  

• 7.3.2 Conditions and limitations to cover.  

• 7.3.3 Availability of damage waiver or coverage products and the cost of such products. 

• 8.1 Members will take reasonable steps to ensure that clear information is given at all stages of the vehicle rental booking process. This ensures customers can make an informed choice and compare products and prices with those offered by other rental operators. 

• 8.2 When customers make bookings on our members’ proprietary websites and through their call centres, members will provide customers with all relevant booking information. Members will also advise customers of additional costs for purchasing optional products offered as part of their booking, including but not limited to damage waiver and excess reduction options, roadside assistance, car seats and GPS units.  

• 8.3 Members will ensure that any single price quoted at the conclusion of the booking process includes all components of the price that are quantifiable, including any items requested by their customer and any taxes, or administration fees.  

• 8.4 In making their customers aware of any liabilities they may have arising from their rental, our members will ensure that: 

• 8.4.1 All printed and digital advertising material accurately represents information about their products or services.  

• 8.4.2 There is clear pricing. 

• 8.5 Members will not engage in specific misleading practices, such as member generated bait advertising or drip pricing. 

• 8.6 Members will include important conditions, limitations, qualifications, or restrictions in their advertising to allow customers to make informed choices and to avoid them being misled. 

• 8.7 When advertising, members will not use headline representations of the price or offer, where the overall impression of the price or offer is subsequently qualified by fine print terms and conditions that make it unlikely or impossible that customers could reasonably achieve the benefits offered in the headline representation. 

• 8.8 Members will provide a level of detail in their advertising to ensure: 

• 8.8.1 Clarity so that the main terms are captured in the principal message and the body of the advertising.  

• 8.8.2 Disclaimers are clear and understandable, having regard to the type of advertising, including the medium or format used; and 

• 8.8.3 The use of any disclaimers does not negate the principal message and the main terms of the advertising. 

• 8.9 Our members will communicate any important limitations which apply to any special promotions by: 

• 8.9.1 Disclosing the key terms of the special promotion and any key limitations.  

• 8.9.2 The period over which the special promotion operates. 

• 8.9.3 Any restrictions, be they duration or rental, geographical or eligibility, and what those restrictions are. 

• 8.10 Members will ensure employees are regularly and adequately trained on the requirements of this Code; and competition and consumer law as it applies to pricing practices. 

• 9.1 Members will provide their customers with clear justification for any end-of-rental charges that have been raised, together with details of how they have been calculated. 

• 9.2 Other than charges clearly disclosed as part of the rental agreement, any post-rental charges will be charged at cost including reasonable direct and indirect costs that can be substantiated. Examples of such charges include:  

• 9.2.1 Vehicles Damage Repair, repainting and parts replacement.  

• 9.2.2 Windscreen Repair or replacement.  

• 9.2.3 Tyre repair or replacement.  

• 9.2.4 Vehicle accessory replacement including but not limited to lost, missing or damaged keys, toolkits, parcel shelves, GPS units, ski-rack and chains, charging cables or any other accessory or part provided with the vehicle.  

• 9.2.5 Vehicle infringement fees for both private parking company  and authority issues infringements, including administration of any statutory declarations to transfer liability.  

• 9.2.6 Any fees incurred after requiring the services of a third-party supplier to address any excessive cleaning including smoke and vape odour.  

• 9.2.7 Card transaction fees.  

• 9.2.8 Postage for return of lost property.  

• 9.2.9 Vehicle relocation costs where a vehicle is returned to a location other than what was agreed in the rental contract.  

• 9.2.10 Associated administration costs in administering charges.  

• 10.1 Members will conduct complaints handling in a fair, transparent, and timely manner, and will only ask for, and rely on, information relevant to their decision in dealing with complaints. 

• 10.2 Members will respond to a customer’s complaint within a reasonable period, but no more than 10 business days of the date of receipt of the complaint, provided members have all necessary information and have completed any investigation required. 

• 10.3 If members cannot respond within 10 business days because they do not have all necessary information or they have not completed their investigation, our members will let their customers know as soon as reasonably practicable within the 10 business days of the revised response date. 

• 10.4 A customer’s complaint will be reviewed by an employee of our members with the appropriate experience, knowledge, and authority, and who is different from the person or persons whose decision is the subject of the complaint. 

• 10.5 Members will respond to the review of a customer’s complaint in writing and will include the: 

• 10.5.1 Final decision in relation to the complaint.  

• 10.5.2 Reasons for that decision. 

• 10.5.3 Right to take the complaint to external complaint resolution.  

• 10.6 Our members may provide customers with the following information to gain independent advice: 

• 10.6.1 The Commerce Commission www.comcom.govt.nz/make-a-complaint 

• 10.6.2 Citizens Advice Bureau www.cab.org.nz/ 

• 10.6.3 Disputes Tribunal www.disputestribunal.govt.nz/