 Poster: A snowHead
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This March I was the victim of what I think was a "con" by Auto-europe/Megadrive, Innsbruck Airport, details posted earlier. However, I did have insurance for excess and my claim for £340 was promptly settled by iCarhirinsurance.com. I think that this type of insurance, car hire excess, should be taken out by anybody using car rental, I took every precaution possible to avoid getting caught out by spurious actions of rogue car rental companies.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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davidthornton, i believe many (some?) credit card insurances give you CDW/excess insurance and yes, it is a very good idea!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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davidthornton, +1 I use insurance4carhire and they are pretty good.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
| davidthornton, +1 I use insurance4carhire and they are pretty good. |
Ditto. They've settled a couple of claims for me promptly and in full.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Ditto
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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+1 more, excellent claim settlement with Insurance4carehire
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Whoever created a system where this is required is first up against the wall come the revolution.
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Um, why?
I'm entirely happy with people paying to insure against the chance of losing £340, but insurance is just risk pooling with a profit margin taken out. My risk of losing £340 is quite small, and the down side hardly significant, so insuring against that sort of thing isn't sensible for me.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| philwig wrote: |
Um, why?
I'm entirely happy with people paying to insure against the chance of losing £340, but insurance is just risk pooling with a profit margin taken out. My risk of losing £340 is quite small, and the down side hardly significant, so insuring against that sort of thing isn't sensible for me. |
I think the problem is that car hire companies have taken to using dubious damage claims to maintain their rather thin margins and it is not a few people who get caught. I have had to pay out twice on 'damage' that I did not cause but could not prove it. When you are picking up cars often in poor light and sometimes returning them to unmanned key drops disproving claims can be difficult I go with Insurance 4car hire as well.
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That is the problem, you have to, at some stage, put your trust in the integrity of the car rental company. I paid for "out hours" collection and drop-off as the flight was early Sunday. On returning the car I had time to walk round it double-checking against the paperwork I had on collection, the Megadrive rental office was closed. Eventually I had to leave the car and check-in at the airport. Interestingly, the documents and photographs Megadrive supplied to "prove" the damage did not correspond, the photograph was time dated the previous Saturday evening when the vehicle was still parked at the resort and the damage report sheet was timed and dated the following Monday morning, more than 24 hours after I had returned the car and, to all intents and purposes, well beyond the time I should be expected to be responsible for the car.
I don't think Auto-europe, who directed me to Megadrive on their website, are trustworthy. On the initial booking the Auto-europe website did not name Megadrive, merely refering to them as "local supplier". Megadrive, apparently have a poor reputation and, as such, any responsible car hire web site should give them a wide berth. More responsible sites do and clearly name the company to whom you are entrusting your business. Megadrive, in my experience, are nothing more than a rogue outfit.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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philwig, car hire is an expensive commodity industry. Consumers look for the lowest price, suppliers compete on price only. Their margins are destroyed, so they must seek margin elsewhere (scam damage, hidden charges etc). This doesn't particularly impact their reputation as all the suppliers do this.
Hence you need additional insurance!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I got stung a few years back, leaving the car after hours and posting the keys, big mistake. I now ensure the car is checked out and in and walk round the car taking a video clip with the checked in contract being part of the video, furthermore I make sure they see me doing this. They know why you are doing this and I have never had any spurious charges since.
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| davidthornton wrote: |
| Megadrive, apparently have a poor reputation and, as such, any responsible car hire web site should give them a wide berth. More responsible sites do and clearly name the company to whom you are entrusting your business. Megadrive, in my experience, are nothing more than a rogue outfit. |
I said it on your thread and will say again - I have never had any problems with Megadrive (Salzburg). They may be, in your opinion, a "rogue outfit" but I don't beleve that they are at all, in my experience (which is of course different to yours)
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You know it makes sense.
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Videoing/photoing the check out and check in process in the presence of their employees is the way to go. Also, my credit card company (AMEX) provides CWD insurance when you use the card to rent. I've resorted to them (AMEX) when I got tagged with a bogus damage charge from Sixt in Switzerland. They made the charge go away. I hear many stories from US folks who get these kinds of charges when they rent in Europe.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I've got excess insurance cover through an annual policy...but am just in the process of being stung by Firefly (a variation of Hertz) after returning a car to Geneva airport.
I didn't bump the car and am fairly convinced that I missed existing damage (minor but visible scratches on the back of a wing mirror) when I picked it up in the dimly lit multi-storey car park. The 'damage' was duly noted and recorded by the return staff and a report form completed....  So looks like my own fault - bang to rights and all that - but do these policies usually have an excess?
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Poster: A snowHead
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You can play them at their own game… many years ago I dealt with car rental for our uni mountaineering club – we probably rented over 100cars/year.
1) Go round the car in advance with a torch. It only takes 5 mins, but identify EVERY SINGLE TINY scratch. You can usually find one on each body panel and this is your target. This now means that almost every panel is identified as damaged on the damage sheet.
2) If wheel trims are removable, pull them off and put them in the boot.
3) Check the spare tire and accessories (e.g. snow chains) really are present.
4) Reduce your risk (at least at Geneva) massively by getting Hertz Gold membership and booking by phone (cheaper prices than internet!) they are always within a few % of the best price from the internet agents but vastly better service. Furthermore, I get upgrades most times and they don’t even bother to check for damage any more.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
| identify EVERY SINGLE TINY scratch. You can usually find one on each body panel and this is your target. This now means that almost every panel is identified as damaged on the damage sheet |
Great advice snowdave - simple yet brilliant!
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