Argus / cartrawler - insurance scam?

AW85

We hired it in Portugal, at Faro Airport.

When we returned to the Yes/Yor car hire desk to report the crash, they told us we weren't insured. Which was a shock as an insurer had, over the phone at the scene, asked if we needed a hotel & taxi, and must have subsequently paid for the taxi to the airport and the tow truck. A Portuguese lady rang a number on our car hire voucher (i.e. the one from Argus), and passed the phone to me, hence me not being sure who exactly she spoke to.

However, the issue with disputing the charge with my CC, is that the document I signed at the Yes/Yor Car desk at the start of holiday (i.e. the carbon copy document) says that we had no insurance. There are "No's" in each of the boxes for 'CDW', 'SPI Theft', 'Premium Insurance Emergency', 'Personal Insurance', 'Spain Cross' and, strangely, 'Private insurance'.

Surely Yor/Yes car shouldn't have been able to let us go without any insurance.. They must have known we had insurance through Argus the online broker. And at the very least we had private insurance.

Anyway, no one at Argus seems to be able to tell me how I or Yes/Yor car should claim against the standard vehicle insurance.

I will make sure all the documents go to the Post Office. i have a stack of print outs so far. And i will let you know the outcome, if you're interested

Jlo31

I am very issued.

Now, I would imagine your rental voucher said CDW included and I think the local company must not have applied this this the document you signed said no. . Someone is at fault. I really feel for you and not sure what to advise.

Have you got legal cover with home insurance. Maybe they can be. If you end up paying then once option is to do a small claim court action against Argus for the amount you paid out.

I guess the lesson for us all is to check the paperwork we are signing.

Good luck and yes I would be interested in the outcome.

Jlo31

Now, I would imagine your rental voucher said CDW included and I think the local company must not have applied this this the document you signed said no. . Someone is at fault. I really feel for you and not sure what to advise.

Have you got legal cover with home insurance. Maybe they can be. If you end up paying then once option is to do a small claim court action against Argus for the amount you paid out.

I guess the lesson for us all is to check the paperwork we are signing.

Jlo31

I would show the post office card people your rental voucher which shows CDW included with excess and explain that the rental company obviously did not apply the voucher correctly to your contract leaving off the CDW. This would clearly show the rental company is at fault and should help with the charge back.

I am assuming that the rental voucher you were emailed from Argus did show CDW as included?

Clapton01

I have a similar probl with Holdcar in Spain. The main problem I think is that Argus dont police their partners well enough to stop this claims scam.
They are happy to sell the insurance but are well aware of the scare tactics used by their suppliers. The system is designed to wear us down. False claims by the car hire companies is fraud and we are expected to pay. Axa should act on this as they are perpetuating these false claims.
Get your credit card company involved to investigate. GOLDCAR told me they would not provide documentary evidence to substantiate their charges. BS... they wont. False vlaims must be challenged.