Article: The Car Rental Industry is Ripe for Reform

[Fifi2207]

The Car Rental Industry is Ripe for Reform is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

The Car Rental Industry is Ripe for Reform

There are so many horror stories about car rental companies trying to overcharge or even outright scam their customers. The problem is that they're incentivised to do so!

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

I’ve been trying to get to bottom of my hire car dilemma. I’ve booked Avis car hire in France through Qantas and hold a Qantas yearly travel insurance policy. I cannot get confirmation I’m covered for the excess. I have three conflicting documents all from Qantas or their website. I’m now going to try contacting Avis for clarity.

 

[IrishPete]

Well maybe kinda washed..never seen a decent car wash rental for years...inside and out!

I've never been given a dirty car, but I have returned a few.

 

[TAK]

yep, been slamed in various locations (hertz Italy, late fee, fuel fee, fuel fee adminisration fee, parking fee, etc - never again) and in South America (Avis) the front panel fell off - when I returned it, I pressed it back into position, pointing out that the previuos repairer had failed to put all the clips back ( ultimately no charge) FYI Hertz USA is apparently implementing AI cameras upon return. SO the basics carry, check and double check the contract at pick up, never pay extra insurance (assuming you have the right card/s) check the protocol for toll charges, make a video and use the "photo" function to snap damages in the video (do it in the light if your car is in a basement, had a guy use a LED spotlight go over a car at return once) - AND go back if there is a discrepency in their domumentation) photo the dash before leaving and uopn return ( with the fuel docket) smile and ask for the final reciept (not alway possible these days at lots of locations)
Anyway, the next rental is Iceland - 4WD, river crossings - looking at 3, third party insuresrs ATM for river crossings - any experience peeps? All of this drama as Presidents Avis, and Chairmans Hertz (or visa versa) Best ever was the one way hire from Haines to Anchorage, called in the day before to see what sort of upgarde I might get - told I would get the car I booked, next day at pick up - a clapped out Hyundai with 100000 k, when I asked about my status upgrade - the girl knew nothing about status, when I pressed her, she made the call...... oh, that car is in for service ...... oh and that car has a flat tyre...... sorry sir......
caveat emptor

 

[clifford]

This is all very interesting, but some of the comments above need to be tested when an irregularity actually occurs. You know what I'm, saying.

As I've mentioned previously, I always take out the Hertz Max Damage Waiver, as it gives me peace of mind. To me that's worth a lot, but to others maybe not. It's not as if it makes the rental expensive, as the rate via my ex-employer (I'm retired) is really pretty good. YMMV.

 

[Amberlower]

The Car Rental Industry is Ripe for Reform is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

The Car Rental Industry is Ripe for Reform

There are so many horror stories about car rental companies trying to overcharge or even outright scam their customers. The problem is that they're incentivised to do so!

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

We have been scammed by Avis and Europecar. Avis in London billed $1200 onto our credit (after returning to Sydney) for 'scratches' and they wouldn't send proof and on another occasion in Split (Croatia)they'd run out of cars and gave us one held together with duct tape which they said they were forced to sub-let from 'rent a bomb down the road'. Of course no reduced price was offered and in fact, several attempts to reach them was in vain.
Our Europecar rental was stolen in Turin and because we couldn't produce the car key (which I suspect was picked from our pockets) the entire car-cost was added to our credit card.( Apparently this is a world -wide policy with all companies if the key is missing!). We had a lawyer go to Italy to investigate the issue after several months and discovered the car was recovered by police after 5 weeks but Europecar did not bother to tell us. And it would seem had no intention of doing so either. We finally got a partial refund. On another occasion in Italy ,our rented Audi had a computer malfunction saying there was no oil when it was actually full. As a result the car wouldn't re-start after we stopped at a remote place. They towed the car and us to a local city and gave us a Fiat Panda - manua....sSaying that's all they had. We could barely fit in it and it was a bomb. Again -no refund offered.
So it is not just the small companies doing it.

 

[bpc]

We have been scammed by Avis and Europecar. Avis in London billed $1200 onto our credit (after returning to Sydney) for 'scratches' and they wouldn't send proof and on another occasion in Split (Croatia)they'd run out of cars and gave us one held together with duct tape which they said they were forced to sub-let from 'rent a bomb down the road'. Of course no reduced price was offered and in fact, several attempts to reach them was in vain.
Our Europecar rental was stolen in Turin and because we couldn't produce the car key (which I suspect was picked from our pockets) the entire car-cost was added to our credit card.( Apparently this is a world -wide policy with all companies if the key is missing!). We had a lawyer go to Italy to investigate the issue after several months and discovered the car was recovered by police after 5 weeks but Europecar did not bother to tell us. And it would seem had no intention of doing so either. We finally got a partial refund. On another occasion in Italy ,our rented Audi had a computer malfunction saying there was no oil when it was actually full. As a result the car wouldn't re-start after we stopped at a remote place. They towed the car and us to a local city and gave us a Fiat Panda - manua....sSaying that's all they had. We could barely fit in it and it was a bomb. Again -no refund offered.
So it is not just the small companies doing it.

It’s more likely to be big companies than small companies. Small companies often depend on reviews and word of mouth to get their business, the big ones know there will always be another sucker coming because they’re a “trusted global brand”.

 

[NZflygirl]

I was renting so many cars in Australia I decided not to take out any rental car insurance. I worked out paying for the excess if an accident occurred actually was less expensive than what I would spend on the car insurance every time. Worked out great I did hit a Wallaby once that bounced onto the highway. Excess was about 5k but only charged 3.6k Still cheaper than excess over the years. Haven't had any other damage. You need to do your sums though before taking that route. I still don't take out rental car insurance in Australia.

My stupid kiwi credit card offers car rental insurance IF you take out the car rental insurance offered by the hire company. Go figure!! Tried contacting them to clarify and... surprise, no clarifying answer given by the insurance company.

I wouldn't necessarily take that same strategy to other countries. I hardly drive in other countries though. Fly, train or rideshare.

 

[Duffa]

I usually rely on travel insurance for the rental “excess” (and often have an Annual Policy in play most of the time. But there’s still a catch.

Rented a car in ADL years ago. There was an incident and some damage to the car but the repair costs were less than the $2000 “excess”, so the TI declined to pay - the cover was only for an “excess” up to $5000. If the car was written off, I would have been covered…

Also, when people say full insurance, it usually means “excess” reduction (which can be down to $0). If there’s damage (regardless of fault - but don’t be drunk), you return the keys and say goodbye. The other addons (personal effects, additional liability cover) ought to be in your TI also - so usually completely unnecessary.

Hi SYD,

Can you please explain this in more detail as it seems counter-intuitive ???

 

[SYD]

Hi SYD,

Can you please explain this in more detail as it seems counter-intuitive ???

From memory, the repair bill was less than $1000 but the insurance “Excess” was something like $2000. So they billed my CC the actual cost NOT the Excess (and released an authorisation for the Excess).

The TI only covered an “Excess” upto $X.

I would have that general liability cover would have picked up the cost but was told no.

As I typed that, I’m know pondering what happens today if one returns a car with a minor scratch? A $5000 “Excess” would be more than the repair cost (not that they bother with minor scratches). If they try to charge an arbitrary amount what recourse does one have?

In that previous experience, I was really surprised how low the repair cost was (and it wasn’t a minor scratch - driver door bent). They arguably did the right thing by passing on the lower cost but the TI loophole was the clangger.

 

[Jacques Vert]

From memory, the repair bill was less than $1000 but the insurance “Excess” was something like $2000. So they billed my CC the actual cost NOT the Excess (and released an authorisation for the Excess).

The TI only covered an “Excess” upto $X.

I would have that general liability cover would have picked up the cost but was told no.

As I typed that, I’m know pondering what happens today if one returns a car with a minor scratch? A $5000 “Excess” would be more than the repair cost (not that they bother with minor scratches). If they try to charge an arbitrary amount what recourse does one have?

In that previous experience, I was really surprised how low the repair cost was (and it wasn’t a minor scratch - driver door bent). They arguably did the right thing by passing on the lower cost but the TI loophole was the clangger.

Doesn't seem right; would be interested to know which insurance company.

 

[SYD]

Doesn't seem right; would be interested to know which insurance company.

Probably QBE / QF.

Took it up with my insurance lawyer (SYD+1…)…

 

[Amberlower]

I’ve been trying to get to bottom of my hire car dilemma. I’ve booked Avis car hire in France through Qantas and hold a Qantas yearly travel insurance policy. I cannot get confirmation I’m covered for the excess. I have three conflicting documents all from Qantas or their website. I’m now going to try contacting Avis for clarity.

I have claimed car rental excess (successfully) from credit card automatic insurance after paying for flights with the card. I used to buy travel insurance yearly and after being knocked back by them as they 'don't cover luxury cars' (we were upgraded-unfortunately as it turned out) I went to my Visa card insurance and got it all back. The excess is the same no matter what car you rent anyway, so the travel insurance company was being unreasonable. After that I have never bought insurance again and have made several successful claims through credit card insurance due to severe illness while away. Check with your credit card company to see your coverage.

 

[chopsywa]

Is taking out the top rental insurance the right play vs having your own separate insurance? I find generally speaking the car rental insurances to be more expensive and covers less. Some even lose their cover if you're at fault (check t&c carefully).

I take it out overseas, because it would be so onerous trying to sort out any issues, but in Australia, I use my insurance that is included with my Frequent Flyer Visa card.

 

[chopsywa]

Whilst nowhere near the realm of some here, I have rented a few cars over the years, both abroad and in Australia. I have always paid the full insurance overseas to avoid conflict, but in Australia I use my credit card insurance. I used to shop around for best deals and got some horrendous bangers from non name businesses, but in the past couple of years, I just go to SIXT. They are competitive with price and have great service. I don't know if this will last forever, but they do seem to be trying to use actual good value and service as their USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

 

[dajop]

To clarify, the rental car IS insured. When you say "top rental insurance" what you are actually referring to is an excess reduction plan. This is what staff try and sell you at the counter.

You need to be very careful when renting overseas though, particularly the US. Mostly if you rent through Australian website, or indicate your country as Australia it will include a "Loss Damage Waiver" or "Collision Damage Waiver" with an excess. However you need to check that, if booking through some portals it might show LDW with a red X or "NO" against it, in which case you are on the hook for the entire car. This is because in some countries (eg US) it is very common for private vehicle car insurance to also cover rental vehicles.

Had this happen in Norway recently, we must have booked it through the Hertz US website or something (I can't remember), luckily noticed that LDW was not included the day before we picked up, so upgraded our separate rental car insurance cover from 5000 GBP ($10,500 AUD) to 50000 GBP, for the cost of about $1.50/day.

 

[SYD]

You need to be very careful when renting overseas though, particularly the US. Mostly if you rent through Australian website, or indicate your country as Australia it will include a "Loss Damage Waiver" or "Collision Damage Waiver" with an excess. However you need to check that, if booking through some portals it might show LDW with a red X or "NO" against it, in which case you are on the hook for the entire car. This is because in some countries (eg US) it is very common for private vehicle car insurance to also cover rental vehicles.

Had this happen in Norway recently, we must have booked it through the Hertz US website or something (I can't remember), luckily noticed that LDW was not included the day before we picked up, so upgraded our separate rental car insurance cover from 5000 GBP ($10,500 AUD) to 50000 GBP, for the cost of about $1.50/day.

The big rental companies let you select that as a default for US rentals as part of your profile.

Slightly different, I have a corp code that includes certain insurances and some times the booking shows LDW “Declined” but it’s built in and shows “Accepted” on the rental agreement at pickup. Quite confusing…