Subject: Re: VISA insurance coverage for rental car accident |
Ziners,
Anne Woodyard said:
"So using the VISA for CDW certainly works!"
Anne, we had an almost identical experience with an Auto Europe rental in Greece (Chios). In our case someone sideswiped the car while parked overnight at the hotel. I was able to take good photos of the damage which were invaluable in dealing with everyone involved. I was unable to get a police report at the time because we caught a ferry to Cesme(Turkey) a few hours later. The police said the culprit had 24 hrs to report the accident and wouldn't do anything until 24 hrs had elapsed. I think that in our case (as in yours) calling VISA and giving full details at the time was very helpful--I recorded the name of the person I spoke with--this was also helpful later on. Last year we visited eastern europe(Hungary, Romania, Ukraine,Serbia, Croatia) with an Auto Europe car--out of Munich. We took full insurance because we anticipated communication problems should anything happen. Upon returning to Munich we returned car after about four inspections that took forever (the Germans are very particular about their cars!). The car was declared ok and off we went. Much to my surprise about 3 wks later I received a thick package from Auto Europe. They were claiming a rock chip on the windshield and wanted me to pay for a new windshield. All correspondence was in German. I made many attempts to call them and eventually spoke to someone in English-----explained my side of the story(no knowledge of the chip and multiple inspections including the windshield had cleared the car at the airport), They eventually dropped their claim but it took a lot of time and effort. I am probably on the Auto Europe banned list so it will be interesting when I try to rent again. I have preferred Auto Europe as we have had many good experiences in dealing with them but lately they seem picky. Thanks Art Sauder Vancouver BC |