KOCHI: Before you rent a car, make sure that you do not land in trouble. The ‘rent-a-car’ business in the district is giving nightmares to the authorities as many agencies are operating illegally under the tag. The Motor Vehicle Department, which has to keep a tab on this, is helpless as there are many loopholes, enabling the miscreants to evade the eyes of the authorities.To start a ‘rent-a-car’ business, a company or an individual should have a minimum of 50 vehicles, an official with the Motor Vehicles Department said.He added that half of the vehicles should be fully air-conditioned. “There should be sub-offices across the state. Under each sub-office, there should be three vehicles. Besides, the rental cars should have a number plate with a black background and letters in yellow. The government only sanctions those agencies that follows all these norms,” he said.It is mostly people from the Middle-East who fall prey to such traps.“There are many lobbies operating at the airport to supply vehicles to people from abroad, especially the Middle-East countries. When the customers encounter any issues while hiring a rental car, they choose to keep mum as they do not want to get entangled in legal hassles,” he said.Most of them are not aware of this illegal rental cars. “If you are a stranger, you have to submit a blank cheque leaf and a promissory note to the dealer,” he said.According to the joint RTO Abdul Shukkur, it is not easy to crack down on the miscreants. “Most of them who land in trouble are those who are completely unaware of the business. Most of these cars are running without an authorised driver,” he said.The rules are also not too severe. “Only those who possess more than even seated vehicles have to file an affidavit stating that they will not use their vehicle for commercial and other uses. Hence, we are completely helpless,” said Abdul Shukkoor.
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