Car/Van Hire-Excess Insurance

[NewcastleFalcon]

From time to time I have the need to hire a car or a van. Enterprise tend to be the most convenient for me, and I have used them on many occasions.

The last time I hired a Van, things seemed to have changed from previous occasions in relation to the level of excess which is within the standard price quote for the hire, and the selling technique for reducing this excess "at the desk", when effectively you are already committed to the hire anyway.

So for a SWB Transit the standard excess was over £1,000. This is when the sales person then does the upselling from the company training ground, and takes out of his pocket a piece of cardboard with a hole the size of a 10p piece cut out of it and says this is what we use to assses damage to the vehicle. Any scratches bigger than the hole could leave you liable to paying out the full excess. Would you like to reduce the excesss to £250? It would be £xx.

Vans are usually hired for doing van like things and its not beyond the realms of possibility that you might just knock it. So you just say yes pay up and moan.

There is an alternative apparently, insuring this risk with a specialist provider, at a price considerably less that the car hire companies. Sounds familiar? The banks and their own PPI for example.

Money Saving Expert has a piece on it for those interested. I haven't tried it myself yet but I don't like the feeling of being ripped off which I certainly did the last time I hired a van.

The link is here

Regards Neil

[daviemck2006]

I would refuse the extra excess then drag the guy outside to catalogue all the marks on the van bigger than the size of his hole.

[Stickyfinger]

and INCLUDE the roof !

[Hell Razor5543]

And look for any windscreen chips! I heard that there was a small one on a hire car, the hire company didn't notice it (so not noted on release paperwork), and a pothole caused it to crack full width of the windscreen. OUCH!

[CitroJim]

I get really shocked and disillusioned when I read of things like this..

Where will all this end?

It's a con in disguise.

[DickieG]

I hired a Fiat Punto in Sorrento last week, €1,000 excess on damage including windscreen and clutch, how does that work? To a degree I can understand why the clutch issue what with the steep inclines etc but trying to enforce it might not be so easy with a credit card if you start to argue how old the clutch was etc, I put down to trying to frighten hirers into driving correctly (using the handbrake) and got a signed document after the hire to the effect that the car was returned in fully working condition, no damage and car working OK. Loads of photo's taken prior to driving the car.

[addo]

Can the ECU log the amount (time, RPM) of clutch slippage by engine speed vs input shaft speed?

[wurlycorner]

The big hire companies are crap value for money for independant hire, IME and a nightmare with things like this.
I just use local hire firm that has been around for a long time and are very straight forward to deal with, none of this BS.
If there's a good one near you, I'd suggest going that route.

[elma]

Difficult balance that one. Our local companies tend to supply unsteerable vans. The big ones tend to charge to much. I would buy or borrow over hiring any day.

[Timmo]

The last time we hired a van properly through a big company, eurocar, I booked it all online, paid attention to the t+c's (Probably the first time I'd ever done so!) and even got the good lady to check, arrived at the hire portacabin to pick it up and got the do you jave a card for the excess sir? Errrr, No! Explained the usual, they even went on the website to check and found no mention, had to pay in the end or rather swipe card for records, lady took us oit to inspect the van, i'd filled up the sheet with the bonnet and bumper, 3 pages of marks, scratches, dents etc. On the van, none of the staff noticed any, makes you wonder how many people Do get caught out with 'damage' etc.??
We swapped companies and used a local one with mostly older but well serviceable vans after that, was 80 for the weekend, damage waiver was similar I seem to recall, but they did it so much better! They didn't check the van as they knew twas dented and scratched, just asked not for any more major ones!

[Zelandeth]

I've been caught out by Enterprise before - picked the van up (several hours late because the vehicle coming back in I was meant to pick up had gone AWOL), in the pouring rain in fading light did the pre-pickup check in about ten minutes. Dropping it off a couple of days later, and they find a scratch on the roof corner. Cost me £150 to get sorted. Really hacked me off.

Sadly usually when I'm renting vans these days I need someone who will let me pick up in Aberdeen and drop off in Milton Keynes - and not many companies will let you do that.

For local work I've usually used Northgate simply for reasons of convenience, and that they're one of the few companies with whom I've never had any problems whatsoever either with the service or vehicle. Last local one I hired a van from ended up getting aborted after about 500 yards because the steering was so utterly shot - which they then tried to pin on me as well.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Yes its the Daily mail but these sort of stories have been brewing for a while. I certainly noticed the change when I first started this thread. Same sort of thing could well spill over into the ubiquitous PCP contracts for buying new cars when cars are handed back after the contract period. Its probably a variation of the good old murphy's or sod's law...

Murphy's law says that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong (eventually),
Sod's law requires that it always goes wrong with the worst possible outcome.

So If a car hire company can rip you off they will rip you off (and believe me what you sign when you collect the keys gives them carte blanche).

Ditto when buying a new car on a PCP.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... probe.html

Regards Neil

[elma]

I vaguely remember Watchdog or a similar show investigating and finding that companies were charging customers for the same scratches. As in they had a scratched vehicle, they hired it out and charged the customer on return, then same to the next customer and so on.

I did hire one from Lock Stock a while ago and they were prity good about the existing damage and not being too narky about things. However the same company tried to overcharge me by 3 months rent on a container and were quite horrible in their dealings with the matter.

I consider myself lucky now as I have the use of my own car when it works and the work van as needed. Saves a lot of headache and hassle.

[NewcastleFalcon]

I vaguely remember Watchdog or a similar show investigating and finding that companies were charging customers for the same scratches. As in they had a scratched vehicle, they hired it out and charged the customer on return, then same to the next customer and so on.

Never thought of that one! Pretty easy scam with 90% of the car hiring public I would think..who don't go round with cameras or fastidiously ensuring that every item however minor is noted before the hire.

The staff at the front line can do little other than operate the company policy. Let's hope there isn't company bonus and incentive schemes for monthly "damage reinstatement income", although bet your bottom dollar that there will be for the add on selling of damage waivers by scare tactics at the desk and huge excesses in the base daily or weekly rate they quote.

Regards Neil

[elma]

I'm up on hire vehicle insurance personally.
I paid an extra £50 for the enhanced cover once and subsequently wrote off the windscreen and the boot lid.
The girl who hired me the car was new so had hired me the car far too cheaply anyway.
I avoided a 4 figure charge that weekend for paying the extra £50.
Problem for the hire firm was that once the windscreen was damaged I stopped being careful as I knew I'd lost my excess so I stopped taking care, hence the boot lid.
I dread hiring again as I'm sure Karma will bite me somehow.