Accidents, no one wants to be involved in them let along be ripped off after having one. There has always been a fair amount of controversy when it comes to accidents and car rental. For us mear mortals it is a worrying issue and there are some car hire companies that take advantage of the fact that we do not know the rules. Let’s face it who read the contract completely before they sign.

Before you hire a car read the Terms and Conditions, check on the small print is there a “At Fault” clause and what does that mean or more importantly what is the excess? Sometimes the rental car company will have a clause that says if there vehicle is off the road for a time you may be responsible for revenue lost. You should always take as long as you want when doing the vehicle condition reports on collection and return of your rental car. Don’t be in a hurry or you could be paying for someone else’s carelessness. Insurance options will be offered to you either when booking online or when you collect the vehicle, make sure you understand what you are liable for and how you can reduce that liability.

Let’s have a look at the insurance option.
Many car hire companies self insure the fleet and most of us would not know this. So any damage to the car is covered by themselves and the cost of that is off-set by imposing an excess liability charge to the customer. Commercial car rental insurance is very costly for hire car companies so they will try to recover costs where ever they can. The amount charged for excess reduction is dictated by the rental car company, and is often fairly expensive so to give the rental officers a chance to boost their income by selling this option to you at the time of collecting your car. The companies turn over is based on the daily rate of every hire so by selling excess liability cover to you the daily rate goes up and so does the company profits. The decision is then yours to make, do you drive around knowing that you have not taken the option to reduce the amount you pay in the event of an accident or do you pay the money and feel better about the cost to you after an accident.

If you are involved in an accident what happens? find out when the excess amount is taken from your credit card and how much will it be? When all the blame is settled and you are not at fault when will your money be released back to you and by what means, will they send you a cheque or will they deposit the money back to your account? Now just to complicate things what is the difference between multiple vehicle accidents and single vehicle accidents and is there a difference when it comes to excess? Yes there is, a big difference and you must find out in detail the costs and penalties to you should you damage the car and there is no other vehicle involved such as you fit a pole or run over the gutter or someone in a car park scratches the car and drives away without leaving a note. At what stage do you call the Police, does it have to be a very bad accident? Do you need to get a Police report for the rental car company? Should you call the car rental company and tell them the moment the car has been damaged or do you wait until you return the vehicle? You should clarify all these questions prior to driving away, if your breach a contract the insurance you do have may be null and void. The staff are there to answer questions so make sure you all of your answered.

Sometimes when we get off a flight we are in a hurry to get our car and get to our accommodation, don’t be in too much of a hurry. Be sure that you check the vehicle before driving away. On collecting a rental car they will offer to do a vehicle condition report that means a staff member and yourself will walk around the car and take notes of any damage that is visible on the vehicle. The cars are normally very clean and at a glance look good do not be deceived – check it out. If there is damage write it down on the report sheet and be sure to get a copy of that report before you leave. Many customers these days take pictures of the car that way there is no misunderstandings. Most of us travel with a mobile phone these days that have a camera take pictures. Be sure to check the inside of the car as well and have the staff member sign the report so that you are both aware of the condition. There have been companies that make a nice profit from charging clients for repairs that do not exist, sad but true.

To sum up be careful when you rent a car, know what you are signing and what you are responsible for. Use a well known company and give yourself peace of mind, if the terms and conditions don’t answer your questions ask a staff member to explain them if they can’t explain to your satisfaction – don’t rent.

Want to find out more about Car Rental #1, then visit Teresa Burrows’s site on how to choose the best hire car #2 for your needs.