Domestic Hire Car Rip-off Excess Reduction Fee

pookie on 19/10/2014 - 21:06

Hi

I have a 7 day holiday booked for the Gold Coat next month. So today I decided to look around for a hire car.

I found a deal on here http://www.cutpricecarrentals.com/dbook.php?discode=78523 which made it $190 for 7 days :) pretty good compared to mainstream companies.

BUT

The schlock came when the excess for a bingle could cost me $3k. They offer an excess/liability reduction cover which means if I pay $80 the excess reduces to $375. And if I pay $130 the excess is nil.

I thought I could probably get travel insurance from Tripcover which would be a lot better deal, which I found for $48 covers the $3k excess :) Cool.

BUT

Then I discover that the car hire company wants me to have a CC with $3k available to freeze to cover the crazy excess 'despite' the fact I can have my own travel insurance to cover it.

The problem is that I don't have a CC, I have a DC which uses only my money, no credit facility. I don't have 3k cash to put in there, I saved for a year just to afford the accommodation and flights, hire car and living expenses while away.

So it look alike I am being forced into paying their shitty rip-off excess reduction fee so that I can hire a car :(

Damn Damn Damn……I mean really, who has 3k cash just doing nothing that they can leave sitting in a debit card account on freeze by the hire car company?

Is there a solution to this that I am unaware of?

And, no I cannot get a CC just to cover me, I have been there and done that..no more credit 4 me :)

Cheers

Pookie

Travel

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Comments

  • TriggerHappy on 19/10/2014 - 21:24
    +1

    I would have suggested the travel insurance option but they seem to get around that … A word of caution on my own experience (10 to 15 years ago). Took the car back and they identified a scratch not indicated on the sign out sheet when we took the car. Wasn't us so I argued, eventually gave up and said fine, we paid the insurance to reduce $3000 to $50 so Here's $50. "Oh now sir, that only covers you if you have the address of the person you had an accident with" What the? What if I hit a kangaroo? "You should have read the fine print". OK then, give me the keys back I'll drive the car and smash into someone, get their address and give you $50 - How's that sound? Needless to say she wasn't too happy at my suggestion. As luck would have it, her hubby walks in just then and confirmed the scratch was pre-existing … so read the fine print on what you may or may not be covered for. Sorry couldn't help other than to warn :( Hope you have a great holiday though, never been to the Gold Coast myself

    • pookie on 20/10/2014 - 17:17

      Wow, have to be very vigilant with my pre-driveaway inspection. I bet you felt like poking her in the eye for being so annoying ? I Appreciate the warning :)

      Cheers

      pookie

    • surm on 21/10/2014 - 17:11

      OK then, give me the keys back I'll drive the car and smash into someone, get their address and give you $50 - How's that sound?

      +1

  • SBOB on 19/10/2014 - 21:54
    +2

    Or rent a car from a more reputable hire place?

  • Crownminer on 19/10/2014 - 22:47
    +2

    Try apex car rentals - a reputable company from New Zealand that has a no none sense all inclusive rate - they now have an outlet on Gold Coadt.

  • Almost Banned on 19/10/2014 - 23:05
    +2

    There's a reason why their car hire is so cheap.
    They make their money stinging you on other stuff like the insurance.

  • Twk123 on 20/10/2014 - 02:53
    +3

    Don't do it. I've once hired from the surfersparadiserentalcars.com, AKA all age car rental and with many other names.. ITS DODGEY and operated by an indian(not to be racist here). He was supposed to freeze the 3k from my credit card, however, 3k was TAKEN OUT of my account. It took several months and they still were making excuses on how they've lost my documents, and they will always say they will call you back the next day blah blah blah.. I was only able to get my 3k back after I've taken it to ACCC… SO STAY AWAY FROM THEM!

    • pookie on 20/10/2014 - 17:20

      Geez, sounds like a nightmare company.

      I have read reviews on the one I was looking at, so far all good. But then again I never know if reviews are real, or just the owners or their friends posting good reviews for them :/

      Anyway, Works out that even paying for their excess reduction insurance is cheaper than other mainstreamers which then still slug me with excess if anything happens…

      And I thought hiring a car was simple :/

      Pookie

  • buzymum20 on 20/10/2014 - 07:25
    +1

    Why not just use the local buses? They will collect you from the GC Airport and take you just about anywhere, even to the theme parks. May save all the headaches.

    • pookie on 20/10/2014 - 17:21

      Yer I'd love to just use busses, but I don't think my missus (with a bad neck injury) and son would be happy. Besides, we want to goto Nimbin for a day trip ;)

      pookie

      • SBOB on 20/10/2014 - 18:10

        goto Nimbin for a day trip

        i cant imagine why…

        • nismo on 20/10/2014 - 21:01

          Cheese? ;-p

  • elvino on 20/10/2014 - 10:34

    Its a common ploy by rental car companies to charge additional for insurance excess reduction. The additional cost can at times double the price of the rental!
    It is also fairly common that irrespective of your travel insurance coverage, that the rental car company would request a Credit Card with the necessary funds in place - their contract is with you, not your insurance company. In instances like this, if you had a crash, they would take the $3K off your credit card, and it would be up to you to log an insurance claim after the fact for reimbursment.
    Honestly, your best option is to pay the additional reduction cost, or do a bit more shopping around for prices with reduced excess or look for alternate transport options. There is no way around the CC requirement - I rent cars several times a month for work travel, and Ive seen plenty of people turned away from car rentals for not having credit cards.

    • pookie on 20/10/2014 - 17:23

      Last time I rented a car was 20 years ago, I don't remember all this fuss . I think I will take your advice and just pay their reduction fee :(

      Pookie

  • Cheeper on 20/10/2014 - 11:26

    Sometimes your own car comp insurance covers you when you rent. Used to be only with the major insurers though.
    Easy alternative… get a cc and use some self control.

  • pookie on 20/10/2014 - 17:14

    Thanks everyone for your helpful and informative replies. I think I will just bite the bullet and pay their excess reduction fee :( I don't want a credit card because either me or my 'other half' will go nuts with it with xmas just around the corner :/

    I liked the travel insurance option because it not only covered the car hire excess, but also a bunch of other stuff too, and for only $50. But I can sort of see the wisdom in the hire car company wanting CC pre-authorisation, not that I agree with it, but I can understand it. They have probably had to chase people in the past , and at the end of the day it's all about how to best manage risk in a business.

    But I would suggest that they simply take proof of a customers travel insurance and then be happy to claim from insurance company directly, that way the customer doesn't have to be stressed about it all and doesn't have to have funds locked up.

    Anyway, thanks again for the responses…

    Cheers

    Pookie

  • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2014 - 17:18

    Honestly, just get some self control and get a credit card. Life is easier with a credit card, plus someone else pays for the cost of your money, as long as you pay it off.

    • pookie on 21/10/2014 - 21:00

      Yes I can see your point, however after reading many reviews of certain hire-car companies and their CC bond policies it seems to me that by giving them a CC bond you are giving them almost free reign to do what they like with your $$ Bond. Even if they do not take any of it they often take weeks and weeks to return it.

      I was about to go with Cutprice Car Rentals but then read reviews of them , 75% are saying they have very poor cars (old and clunky) and even worse customer service. I know they are cheap, and you can't expect last class service for a budget conscious company but this is our first holiday together as a family…..I want to limit the risks of anything to smear the peace.

      So, after further investigation I found a very similar price from Thrifty (including a NRMA discount), I also took out travel insurance with TripCover (very good reviews).

      I tried to book a car via the Thrifty website but had issues with the NRMA discount information, so I emailed them. Within 3 hours I got a very pleasant reply, apologising for the website error and supplied a quote for a 2012 model small sedan. Much better than the 2006 model Camry for a similar price from CutPrice.

      Anyway, I replied to Thrifty asking about any requirement for a bond. Waiting for their reply before I book.

      As a point of interest, I found the NRMA travel insurance to be much more comprehensive for a similar price to TripCover but I failed to find a single good review about them, plenty of bad reviews.
      but
      I found no bad reviews of TripCover, only good ones. So I chose TripCover :) (nil excess option)

      Cheers

      Pookie

      • SBOB on 21/10/2014 - 21:27

        thrifty's FAQ's say you need to leave a 'hold' (ie a bond)
        http://www.thrifty.com.au/faqs.aspx

        [Thrifty will require a pre-authorisation of between $200 and $1100 for passenger vehicles and up to $1100 for 4WD, Speciality or Commercial vehicles, upon collection of the vehicle to cover additional charges i.e. fuel, additional kilometres, and liability waiver.
        This pre-authorisation is to be paid by any internationally recognised credit card. NO CASH DEPOSIT WILL BE ACCEPTED. An imprint of the credit card, and the deposit, will be taken on pick up of the vehicle.
        Credit card must be in the name of the authorised renter and the credit card holder must be present at the time of collection.]

        no credit card, no rental…

        • pookie on 22/10/2014 - 20:34

          Thanks for the info….

          So I called Thrifty and explained I don't have a CC. The girl was very nice and said that I can use a Debit/Mastercard as long as I could leave the deposit in the account :/ I held my breath and asked how much…

          …. she said they would accept $200.

          I am ok with that. It's better than a couple of thousand.

          The total cost for 7 days hire of a 2013 Corolla ended up at $248.

          Excess for a damage claim is $2k. Trip cover covers it easily.

          It would have cost me another $196 to reduce the excess to zero, but Tripcover did it for $70, plus it covers a few other things as well.

          So it can be looked at as a cost per day for a nice new spacious trustworthy car for 7 days and no excess if damage of $45 per day.

          Yes it's a little dearer than some of the el cheap rentals but its with a well reviewed top tier company and I don't have to leave 3k deposit :)

          I'm happy and so is the missus LOL, she didn't want a bomb that might break down or vibrate heaps.

          Thanks everyone for your help and advice :) Much appreciated.

          Cheers

          Pookie

        • pookie on 23/10/2014 - 21:39

          @pookie: Addit:

          Today I got an email from Thrifty telling me that because they didn't actually process my booking until today that the rates had changed overnight……it actually worked out $50 cheaper than yesterday :)

          Now that's what I call a bargain :)

          Cheers to Thrifty for letting me know and for only charging me the new reduced rate :)

          Pookie

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