EconomyBooking.com - Review (and warning)

dazbradbury

I bought car hire from EconomyBookings.Com - aka bookinggroup.com. The policy I bought, stated online, it included damage collision waiver and personal insurance. AKA - it had green tick boxes stating insurance was included.

After buying, I just wanted to confirm with ecnonomybooking that there were no extra / hidden charges. They didn't respond to me, so I queried the status with the underlying car hire company (economybooking.com just book with a local car hire company) - This is where the fun started... The hire company stated there was a non-optional additional daily charge for insurance! This made the car hire substantially more expensive on the whole (50%).

As I wasn't made aware of this up-front, I asked for a refund. This all happened within 2 days of booking my car hire. ie. I booked, and asked for a refund, within 48 hours.

I was told the fee charged by economybookings.com would NOT be refunded. I thought, this is clearly a mistake, and queried. 10 emails later, and they still won't refund my initial charge.

This is not a company you want to deal with. They will incorrectly sell you car hire, then simply point to their terms and conditions. They operate outside the law, and will simply ignore all complaints - I am now taking this up with my credit card company and I urge all other customers to do the same.

Again, DO NOT USE this company if possible!

In the event they do effectively scam you (point blank refusing a refund, after 48 hours of purchase, and having been mis-sold the car hire, is a scam), you should be able to claim back from your card company.

Caz3121

dazbradbury wrote: »

The hire company stated there was a non-optional additional daily charge for insurance! This made the car hire substantially more expensive on the whole (50%).

was this excess insurance?
Most companies have this as an option (you can buy a separate policy elsewhere or opt to have a large hold on your cc - £2,000+ is not unusual)

the T&Cs re insurance are here
INSURANCE INCLUDED
Your rental with Booking Group normally will include collision damage & theft protection waivers. Collision Damage Waiver will waive your liability to pay for any damage caused to the vehicle during the period of rental. Theft waiver provides coverage for the theft or damage resulting from attempted theft of the vehicle, its parts and accessories up to their full value and any loss that our car rental partner may occur. Both are subject to certain exclusions. Your liability is waived subject to you paying a charge, referred to as an excess which limits your liability to the cost of the excess only. In the event that the renter has behaved recklessly or negligently or driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol you may be liable for the full cost damage. Please note in common with most car rental policies there are exceptions to cover which may include windscreens, tires, the underside or interior of the vehicle, towing charges & replacement keys. Please check your agreement fully at the time of renting for exact exclusions. Please note a number of options may be available to buy locally, which reduce your risk or can provide further cover to you and your belongings.

If the car hire company were saying that there was NO insurance included with your booking then you have genuine complaint as the booking site does show CDW included