What problem would this be? Lets make a list.

1. You chose a company pretty much just based on price? Yes, very common here.

2. You had no good maps? Hmmm, now whose problem is that?

3.You didn't have a sat nav to smooth the journey? Yes, frowned upon here by those with strong boots and a sturdy knapsack who think all 'real drivers' need is an OS 1:50;000 map and a compass.

4. You returned the car and couldn't find the place? See 2&3.

5. You cut it so fine on return you missed your train? Common again, see all the "Can I make a flight connection between different terminals at Heathrow airport in 35 minutes" threads.

6. You were late, and you had a fair way to go,and it was raining - and yet you didn't hail a cab? Yes, penny pinching here is commonplace too. See 1.

7. Didn't get in until early morning. Yes, I sometimes have that problem myself.

p.s One further problem may have been you were looking for a non existent place on your maps. Perhaps you got lost around the Islets of Langerhans?

I use 1car1 when I am in Britain and I have never, ever had a problem with them. The service is friendly and their policies are very reasonable which is why I rent from them.

I can understand confusion hiring a car from ANYWHERE in central London though. Driving there is something I do not trust myself to do. However collecting and returning to EDI and Heathrow are a cinch.

I used 1car1 on my last trip to the UK and also can't fault them. I had the car for 35 days, it ran extremely well, was very clean and the 1car1 employee at Farnham (Surrey) was very helpful and explained the way things worked very well too (bits and pieces are in different locations to where they are on our cars .... I was turning the wipers on instead of indicating for such a long, long time LOL - and the same when I got home!). I'm going to rent from them again on our next trip. They were very reasonable in price and I can pay in Aussie dollars which negates the problem of exchange rates and international credit card charges. I've compared their rates and the rates of Thrifty, Europcar, Hertz etc and 1car1 work out to be at least a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the others for a 5 week hire. Plus, booking it from here allows us an extra driver for free and no one-way charges (we'll collect the car in Devon and return it to Edinburgh).