Car Hire - Beware the T&Cs

[T_Boss]

I know not specifically bike related, but though I would relay my experience and hopefully, at least save someone the shafting we recently recieved. 

 

 

In our line of work, we make use of rental cars a lot, in fact, in 2019, it made up about 40% of our entire travel expense budged, so I always thought I understand the ins and outs of the paperwork well enough to avoid a big surprise down the line. To be extra sure, I always make sure that every car we rent is taken with super cover, and if more than 2 days, all the other extras like glass cover etc. The tire cover I dont take, as the risk vs reward vs the cost of a new tire just dont add up.

 

One of the two rental companies we have (had) and account with, was Thrifty Car Hire. For our company rentals and for personal rentals, I have been using them for about 4 years, and never had any reason to complain about the service or the vehicle. Thier vehiles tend to have slightly higher milage than Hertz or Avis cars, but the pricing, espcecially on larger and lxury vehicles is much better, and the condition of the vehicles does not cause a concern. So over all, I have been very happy using them.

 

But, in May of this year, there was a small incident, a Toyota Fortuner rented from them, had a front tire blowout on a gravel road, and the the driver lost control and veered off the road, coming to a stop in the bushes next to the road. There was a bike rack mounted to the back of the vehicle, and in the incident, this made contact with the tailgate, causing some scratching a slight dent in the door. The LHS rear door also got some bush rash, but no dents. All in all mild damage, the bikes on the back were fine, and we didnt think much of it, after all, we had super cover, and we would only be liable for a max excess of R8000.00 as our contract.

 

The incident was reported to the call centre immeiatly, and when the car was drop off the next morning, I personally filled out the incident report, and patiently awaited feedback from them. 

 

After a few follow ups, I finally got notified in August, that an assessors report was done, and the repairs would total R28 000.00. A little steep, but they reconed that its a new car, and the entire tailgate would need to be replaced, and not only reparied. I was happy the issue would now be sorted out, and asked where I pay the R8000.00 excess to, as by now, the bank has reversed the hold they initially put on the CC.

 

This is when it got interesting. I was told I was liable to pay the full damages, since, because it was a single vehicle accident, no excess waiver applies, in fact, in a single vehicle accident, the maximum excess applicable is 2 times the standard waiver (In this case, that would mean I was liable for an excess of R55K). 

 

I was obviously shocked by this, and simply refused, in writing, and said I would need to peruse the contract, and get a legal opinion,as this was never explained to me. 

 

Surprise Surprise, after looking at the contract, it was hidden deep down in a subclause of a sublcause, that in the event of a single vehicle incident, the excess will be equal to double the standard waiver. I also found in the same section of the contract, that the maximum permtted speed for any gravel road is 60km/h. When this incident occured, we were probably travelling closer to 80km/h, as it was a very good smooth gravel road, with a speed limit of 80km/h.

 

I had tried to find a way out of this, but in the end, about a week ago, they simply charged the amount of R28k odd rand to the Credit Card originally used when the car was rented, and I have had to suck it up. It is clearly there on the contract I signed.

 

We will not be using this company going forward, as there were a few other interesting clauses that I am not comfortable with, and next week I will be reviewing the terms and conditions with Bidvest Car Hire, who we also have an account with, to make sure I havent overlooked something similar there. 

 

I realise this is a long winded bit of a rant, but the whole situtian has me a bit upset, especailly since its my own fault for not reading the contract in detial. So, please, next time you rent a car, please make sure you know exactly what the excess waiver cover, and more importantly, what it doesnt.

 

 

 

[Andreas_187]

Thanks for the heads up, I am always super nervous of car hire when abroad. They always seem to find a way to get you one way or another

[ChrisF]

Jip, collegues have had bad experiences with other rental firms as well ....

 

 

Very high co.payments, and lots of fine print ....

 

 

I now rather use Uber on business trips .... once you dig into this it actually makes lots of financial sense for many of our fly away trips.

 

 

But there are still those odd trips where rental is the only option ....

[SL7]

Please let us know who you will be using in the future.

[ChrisF]

QUESTION - is it possible to get extra cover from your own short term insurance to provide additional protection for rental vehicles ?

[Zebra]

N your honest opinion, did that tailgate REALLY need replacing, with in your words, just a slight dent?

 

Just seems excessive to me...

 

Does seem a bit harsh, I think you might have furnished them with 2 years of previous rentals booked with them, maybe some leverage higher up the tree?

[T_Boss]

Please let us know who you will be using in the future.

For the time being, Bidvest Car Hire, but will be going over their fine print again to be sure.

[T_Boss]

QUESTION - is it possible to get extra cover from your own short term insurance to provide additional protection for rental vehicles ?

I know with long term/monthly rentals, you can arrange your own insurance. Not sure if it can be done with shorter term rentals.

[T_Boss]

N your honest opinion, did that tailgate REALLY need replacing, with in your words, just a slight dent?

 

Just seems excessive to me...

 

Does seem a bit harsh, I think you might have furnished them with 2 years of previous rentals booked with them, maybe some leverage higher up the tree?

It’s a tough call to make. I really don’t thing so. The door wasn’t skew or anything, locks worked fine etc. The damage was minor, but the dent was on one of the “aesthetic” edges on the panel, which I know is hard to repair, and I know as a rule, on brand new vehicles they tend to replace panels and not repair them.

 

If it was the other way around, and it was my brand new fortuner, I would probably insist on a new tailgate too.....

[Kranswurm]

QUESTION - is it possible to get extra cover from your own short term insurance to provide additional protection for rental vehicles ?

Ask your own short term insurance provider

[Stretch]

wow. We used to always use that purple one - Sixt I think. I had an incident where I was doing a turn and went over a concealed kerb and scraped and bent in the front bumper. No other car involved. Dropped it off - told them what happened and a few weeks later had the excess of R1500 taken off the credit card. Always were super impressed with them

[mazambaan]

Bummer and thanks for the heads up; particularly those who noted about checking that your personal insurance could cover such a charge and using uber.

 

Although I have had good service from a range of car hire companies, no need to be complacent. Not an isolated circumstance as I think Moneyweb went on a small rant about car hire ripoffs some time ago.

[T_Boss]

QUESTION - is it possible to get extra cover from your own short term insurance to provide additional protection for rental vehicles ?

 

I have verified this option now with my Insurer, who has confirmed that they would offer cover on a rental vehicle only if the rental period exceeds 14 days. So not practical for vehicles rented for shorter periods, this however would obviously vary depending on who your insurer is.

 

With regards to Thrifty car hire specifically, there T&C's regarding self insurance are as follows:

 

 - Only applicable to corporate customers with a valid and current corporate account

 - The renter needs to sign the self-insurance agreement

 - All rental vehicles are fully and comprehensively insured

 - The company (Thrifty) accepts the insurance

 

So, again it would not cover individual renters. 

[LazyTrailRider]

This story really peeves me, I feel your pain TBoss.

 

I've always been super cautious about renting vehicles. The whole "nothing revs like a rental" attitude that one encounters from people who clearly either don't understand how the business model works or who are corporate employees who ultimately don't bear the real brunt of any responsibility has always horrified me. I am *way* more careful with a rental vehicle than I am even with my own, and I'm pedantic as is.

 

Two years ago I was looking at buying a new car but I wanted to be 100% sure. The usual dealership test drives don't really give you an idea of the daily livability of a set of wheels, so to get a longer test drive, I rented one from Avis Luxury Cars. It was a pretty pricey 24 hours, R3500 daily rate and a R30k deposit. Also, even with the max cover I was liable for the first R30k of damage. 

 

Just before returning it I noticed a small paint chip on the front bumper and was super panicked about it, to the extent that I zoomed in and did some enhancement on a photo I took when picking it up to be completely sure that it was existing "damage" (I'm talking a 1mm chip from debris, very noticeable on white paint).

 

Renting in Europe is even worse for me, although I have to say that the Italians don't really care about scuffs and scratches, pretty much ALL rental cars there are scratched, their contracts actually by default say that you're liable "for any additional damage", haha.

[T_Boss]

Yeah, Look it stings, but I have given up fighting it, I just wont use the Thrifty car hire again, as a matter of principle. Have perused the standard T&Cs with Bidvest now, and find them much more favourable. So they will become our primary service provider going forward.

 

Out of interest, a list of other incedences that nullify any and all excess waivers on rentals with Thrifty Car Hire:

 

1. If you collide with another vehicle from behind - (seriously, I know generally one is considered at fault in a scenario like this, but come one, to void insurance and make the client laible for all damages in this scenario is insane)

 

2. Water damage - In the event of water damage, the client is laible for double the standard excess, regardless of which waiver option was taken

 

3. Travelling above 60km/h on any gravel road, regardless of what the official speed limit is

 

4. Any incedent that takes place on a private road (Not 100% sure how they would apply this, but I would imagine any damage picked up on a private farm, game reserve etc would not be covered)

 

Like I said, we were at fault for not perusing the terms and conditions closely enough this time around, and have had to bear the costs, but I just want others to be well aware in future.