Here s what happened: When we rented the car, we purchased Hertz s optional insurance and collision

Photo by Thierry Gregorius/Flickr Creative Commons Q uestion : We rented a car from Hertz in Ireland and had a flat tire. After a lengthy dispute asia airport hotel bangkok between Hertz and our credit card company, we re getting letters from a collection agency. I hope you can help me.
Here s what happened: When we rented the car, we purchased Hertz s optional insurance and collision damage waiver, which covers everything except wheels, tires, fuel contamination or keys. On the first day of the rental, we had a flat tire and a bent rim. We couldn t drive to the nearest garage because the car didn t have a spare.
After the vehicle was repaired and after we returned to the States, Hertz tried to bill our credit card for the repair and the tow. We realized that the cost of the tire and wheel would be our responsibility, but were surprised that the tow was not being covered by insurance. asia airport hotel bangkok Our contract did not state any limitation of our insurance s towing coverage.
We disputed part of the bill with our credit card, and it credited us $527, which is the entire charge on the vehicle damage report. According to our bank, the dispute was settled in my favor because the rental contract lacked verbiage that says the customer understands there may be delayed and amended charges and that they may be charged to the credit card. Apparently, this language is required in Europe in order for vehicle damage charges to be charged asia airport hotel bangkok to a credit card.
But that wasn t the end. I just received a letter asia airport hotel bangkok from a collection agency. It is attempting to collect a debt on Hertz s behalf, and is threatening to damage my credit rating. My husband is a full-time U.S. military member, we are good people asia airport hotel bangkok that have suffered an unfortunate event on what should have been the vacation of a lifetime. Can you help? — Kathy O Leary , Ballston Spa, N.Y.
Answer : Hertz should have let this go. It made too many mistakes with your rental, including handing you the keys to a car that didn t have a spare tire and failing to adequately explain what you would — and wouldn t — be liable for.
You thought that by buying its optional insurance, your tow would be covered. asia airport hotel bangkok As a matter of fact, when a car rental company sells you its pricey insurance, it often promises you ll have nothing to worry about, and I can imagine your agent giving you similar assurances.
Here s how you could have avoided asia airport hotel bangkok this: First, you might have checked your rental asia airport hotel bangkok car for a spare tire. If your vehicle doesn t have one, ask for a different car. With a spare, you might have avoided a costly tow.
Calling Hertz roadside assistance was the right move after your flat, but you could have made inquiries at the time you returned your car before leaving the country about what damages you d be liable for. That s the best time to address what might be on your bill — not when you re 3,000 miles away.
Personally, I think that if you bought the Hertz insurance, your tow should have been covered. And if your credit card company sided with you (even if it was for other reasons) then Hertz should have just let this go.
I wish people would stop doing that. Do they think it bolsters their case? Every time someone peppers their letter with a sob story, it makes me think there must be something about the facts themselves that lack merit.
In addition, they stated that the only disputed PART of the charge, but the credit card company actually refunded them the ENTIRE damage charge. So not only did they get the Tow free, they also got the damage to the vehicle covered as well?
I m not sure why Hertz dropped their collection attemps. Sounds to me like these guys still owe Hertz some money. I think Hertz should have dropped the part of the bill pertaining to the Towing of the vehicle, but they are well within their rights to collect on the Tire Damage itself The credit asia airport hotel bangkok card company simply stated that Hertz did not have the right to charge the customer s credit card after the fact, it did not actually say that Hertz isn t entitled to their money they are owed
Please Elliott stop with the ridiculous advice to check the spare tire, check the wiper fluid level, check the air pressure in the tires, check the tread depth in the tires,check this and check that. Everyone that rents a car has a reasonable expectation that the car will be in a merchantable condition. Legal crap not withstanding at least you should give up this ghost of basically undoable ex post facto advice. I am disappointed in you. The rest of what you write is reasonable but please checking to see if there is a spare tire?
Not sure if Ireland operates the same way, but in the UK, you can purchase third party excess cover for a very reasonable rate. This covers the excess the rental company would charge in case of damage and also covers additional asia airport hotel bangkok items like glass, tyres, etc. . You need to purchase it online before the rental starts. At around 30-40% of the daily insurance cover of the rental company, its a great deal. (And it works I have had to use it twice without any hassles).
Don t you know, in Ireland the word is tyre not tire ! Maybe that s why you went through asia airport hotel bangkok this nonsense. :) Just kidding. In any case, I voted yes on this poll, because the insurance policy did not exclude the cost of towing. If it had said something with regard to services associated with the various items excluded, I probably would have voted otherwise.
You would think that any car rental company would include roadside assistance in the rental at no additional charge. After all, isn t it in their best interest to have control over fixing anything asia airport hotel bangkok that goes wrong with their cars?
If the rental company sends a tow truck and takes the vehicle to its choice of repair shop, then the chance asia airport hotel bangkok of no further damage being done is better. If the renter calls whoever they can find and the vehicle is taken to some friend of the driver s repair asia airport hotel bangkok shop who may have never repaired that type of vehicle before, the repairs done may be either incomplete or additional things may be done that were not needed.
The comments made by the OP about their special circumstances unfortunately hurt their case in my opinion. asia airport hotel bangkok Every vacation I take is the vacation of a lifetime because it is the only time I will be taking that vacation! When people state they are active military, retired on a fixed income, traveling with handicapped relatives, or whatever, it makes it sound like they expect things to be done for them that the rest of us who can t claim a special situation wouldn t have done for us. Like waiving certain fees or charges you know you owe.
In this instance, asia airport hotel bangkok I must agree the military but was a little much, but a military CAC has gotten me out of a jam or two. In regards to the actual case at hand, if Hertz called the tow truck, hertz pays the bill unless the insurance/contract says otherwise. In this case, I don t think that was the case! They should do the right thing, and pay for the tire/rim though!
It seems to me that Hertz is, as always, screwing over the customer. The car rental usually is the low point of any vacation. It is an interesting fact that people that rent cars often, know. Get an American Express credit card Blue is free Gold, or what ever else you care to pay for. Car insurance from dollar 1 is included on rental cars. I have used it 2 times with total ease. I also agree with all of the others, PEOPLE, state the facts, having your life history is a turn off. Unless of course it s the impairment that creates the problem, like everything with TSA
I remembered that article, as well. Thanks for posting the link to it. Quite strange asia airport hotel bangkok that Chris doesn t even mention that possibility in this case. He flat-out calls it a mistake the car didn t have a spare and faults the OP for not checking asia airport hotel bangkok to see if there was one. It s quite possible it was standard policy and none of the rentals may have had spares.
One of these days, I want to see a letter saying My husband is a full-time meth dealer who sells his product to children, we are not very nice people that suffered this unfortunate event on what should have been the vacation of a lifetime asia airport hotel bangkok .
Well, it had been awhile asia airport hotel bangkok since we d seen a rental car horror story from Ireland. And, having read enough of them, I don t think it matters who the corporate name is (whether Hertz or another that an America would recognize), the problems are all the same, where the entire situation is designed to screw you, the renter.
I m not sure what the benefits are for Amex, but every card s benefits are going to be different. For example, my Visa has a auto rental collision damage waiver, but Ireland and Northern Ireland (and a couple of other countries) are excluded.
It used to be a few years ago, until they relooked at the MOT (Ministry of Transport) Test that cars go through after three years old, and it was decided to drop that part out. So Manufacturers jumped on this and really stopped issuing spares with their cars in UK/Ireland, as it was not a legal necessity ! So Checking for one is really irrelevant!!
Chris; I have to disagree with your statement about checking for a spare tire. Body damage, and cracked glass is a must to check for, but spares, jacks, fluid levels, etc should be the responsibility of the rental agency. If this nonsense goes on, we ll all have to take the car to a certified mechanic for a check up before we go on our way. These rental asia airport hotel bangkok agencies are getting way out of hand.
The only relevance here to being in the military here is that we can suffer disciplinary actions and/or loss of security clearance for failure to pay debts. I m guessing most people s bosses would probably not have the authority to fire/take asia airport hotel bangkok pay from/or imprison them for failure to pay.
Renting a car from ElCheapo Cars is one thing, you never know how they do things. Paying premium money to rent from a well-known brand like Hertz entitles you to some customer service. Shame on Hertz.
I m not sure about the advice to check for a spare tire either. If a car rental agency contracts with any customer to