KEY POINTS:
A rental car company which charged recovery costs to the grieving parents of two young men killed at Fox Glacier has backed down after a storm of criticism led by the Prime Minister.
The company, NZRCS Rental Cars, faced heavy criticism after the Herald revealed yesterday that it
was going to charge the Australian family for towing the electronically locked car 418km to Christchurch, and for a new transponder key to operate it.
Police, Victim Support, and even Prime Minister John Key criticised the company for taking the actions when the family was still struggling to cope with the deaths of Ashish Miranda, 24, and Akshay Miranda, 22 - both crushed by tonnes of falling ice while their parents Ronnie and Winnie were nearby.
Akshay's body remains trapped under the ice, and the car keys are believed to be in his pocket.
Offers of cash to cover the up to $1600 in charges flowed yesterday, and NZRCS director Edwin Chan said contributions made would mean no costs would fall on the family.
Alfred Fernandes, a cousin travelling with the Mirandas on their South Island holiday, had a $1000 charge on his credit card from the company, but Mr Chan said this was being refunded.
Mr Fernandes told the Herald: "We are very grateful to all the help which we have got from every quarter".
Mr Chan, who refused to be photographed because of fears for his safety, claimed he had always intended to reduce the cost to the Mirandas if he could, and charging them the fees was a "worst case scenario".
"I do feel sorry for what happened, and I hope that they will be able to find this is a good outcome for them."
Mr Key described the company's actions as "crass at best, and probably extremely bad business practice".
The family were unhappy with a criticism Mr Chan made about Akshay having the keys in his pocket when he was not permitted to drive the vehicle.
Mr Fernandes said Akshay had the keys only because he had returned to the locked car to retrieve his cap, and then kept them in his pocket.
He had not been driving the car.
Mr Fernandes, his wife, Sushila, and daughter, Fedora, were travelling with the Miranda family around the South Island on a trip that was a gift from Ashish Miranda to his parents for their 25th wedding anniversary.
The Mirandas had been having a great time on the trip until the tragic event last Thursday, Mr Fernandes said.
"The husband is strong enough, but the wife is like any mother would feel because these were the only two sons," he said.
"She may take a bit of a time to cope with the realities.
"The husband ... is supporting the wife and saying 'let's look ahead now, whatever has happened, we have to accept it'.
"But the wife, every time she gets a call from any of the relations or any friends, she just breaks down. It's like reliving the episode."
The family were upset at media reports of the two men ignoring warning signs to get a closer look at the glacier which killed them.
"It paints a picture that they were very irresponsible, and that's not true," Mr Fernandes said.
The only warning signs on the path they were on referred to rockfalls in another area, and they saw no warnings about the glacier.
"There was no barrier that they jumped and went across."
The Mirandas took Ashish's body with them when they left Christchurch for Melbourne yesterday.
Conditions have made the recovery of Akshay's body too risky.
