Hard sell CDW insurance Malaga airport

fairfighter

I follow Martin Lewis and took advice and purchased a stand alone Car Excess insurance policy for car hire in Spain. When I arrived at Malaga airport and  and at the OK mobility car hire desk I was subjected to mental torture. I told them I had a policy for the car hire excess, they refused to even look at the policy and stated they don't consider them. I was told unless I bought their policy they would not give me the car I had rented through Do You Spain one of Martin Lewis's suggestions. I was not asked for my credit card for the excess insurance if I would not take their insurance. The agent then told me I would go to prison if I had an accident and that drivers in Spain were terrible and I would like sustain damage to the car during my stay as it happens all the time. Also leaving the car unattended somebody could scratch it and that was as bad for me. I was also told as I didn't speak Spanish I would never understand any of the forms involved in an accident and likely get them wrong and again another reference to prison. I am 70 years old and the pressure this agent put me under caused me to faint. I was there for a solid hour and unless I signed their insurance form I wouldn't get the car . In the end of course I signed and paid then 340 Euros for insurance I did not want or need. This sum was more than the car hire price. As soon as I capitulated it was all smiles from the agent and they keys handed over. This was bullying and extortion and veiled threats. I have contacted Do You Spain the car hire rental firm, they don't want to know, they said nothing illegal was done, and maybe thats true but it was still extortion. There were two other people trying to collect their cars they too had stand alone policies and were treated in a similar fashion lots of shouting and swearing. It was truly a most awful experience. I did take photos all round of the vehicle on its return as I felt if I made a complaint they would manufacture some form of damage to the vehicle. Surely there is something I can do to get this 340Euros back. It had put me off ever going to Spain again

XDoKTOR

I just joined to actually mention about the same thing happening to us(family of 4 - 2 young children) at Ibiza Airport.

Did more or less what you did but in our case however, they said if we used the cover we had already bought then the 'low price deal' on which we took the car hire out was then 'void' & was then charged more for the hire for not using their cover. It actually negated the amount we saved by buying in advance.In our case it was about Euro50 difference so compared to your whopping 340Euro I think we got off lightly...and having 2 kiddies in tow I knew that the agents at desk were not going to yield as they have you over a barrel tbh...

Have any other users come across this and if so, how to make sure not to get stung by/avoid that again?
The MSE article needs to investigate this further so we know where we stand abroad imho.

eDicky

It's a case of 'just say no thanks', in a calm and confident manner, as if you are an experienced hirer. Say nothing else, nothing about your separate cover, do not engage in any discussion. If they don't proceed ask for the complaint book to fill in a report for the police.

fairfighter

I did try this but they were having none of it, probably because I an older they saw me as a target. There must be something in Spain like a financial ombudsman as we have here in the UK who can take up the complaints, if you look on Trustpilot June 2023 alone has many similar accounts.

martindow

The book eDicky refers to is called the Libro de Hojas de Reclamaciones and is a powerful lever to insisting on your rights.  Most businesses are keen to resolve matters to avoid customers complaining officially it seems.  This link gives an explanation:

https://www.spainexpat.com/information/hojas-de-reclamaciones-official-consumer-complaint-forms

fairfighter

thank you very much I will have a look