What happened to the "was I conned for my car hire in Spain" thread?

Barkin

What happened to the "was I conned for my car hire in Spain" thread?

It was here when I had a quick look this morning. Just got back from Luton airport, and it's gone!

Is it just me?

oldagetraveller1

Not just you, it's gone. Maybe somebody wrote something they shouldn't have?

DullGreyGuy

They named a company that they alleged conned them? Presumably it's one of the ones that are hot on reminding websites that they are liable for the content that they present to the world and MSE doesn't want the hassle of defending why it was liable? 

user1977

Probably, though censoring either the accusation or the company would have been better than nixing what was otherwise a constructive thread.

Barkin

Could be. I'm due to collect a car, from the hire company mentioned, on Friday... 

Aretnap

The owners of the site are, understandably, not too keen on threads which seen to accuse identifiable companies of running scams or cons. As opposed to saying that you think you got poor service, asking what your rights are etc. Maybe you could repost it in a toned down form.

This thread may also disappear as arguing the toss over moderation decisions in public is also frowned on.

Barkin

Aretnap said:

Maybe you could repost it in a toned down form.

It wasn't me that started the original thread.

It did catch my eye though, as I'm collecting a car from the same company this coming Friday.

Sadly it's a shoddy practice - a con if you will - that isn't confined to a single hire company. I've personally had the "you must have our insurance" (no, I don't) from 3 different hire companies, and there's a thread elsewhere on these forums about yet another company.

These outfits are lying to customers, in an attempt to scare & coerce them in to buying insurance products that they're not obliged to take. 

sheslookinhot

Barkin said:

Could be. I'm due to collect a car, from the hire company mentioned, on Friday... 

Might be worth taking a copy of the Terms & Conditions with you.

DullGreyGuy

I'd echo the other posters comment, it's best not to mention that you have other excess insurance elsewhere. It's an unnecessary distraction. Stick to the fact you know the excess is €X, you know they will make an authorisation for €X and you are happy with that and dont need the insurance to reduce/remove it. 

Goudy

DullGreyGuy said:

I'd echo the other posters comment, it's best not to mention that you have other excess insurance elsewhere. It's an unnecessary distraction. Stick to the fact you know the excess is €X, you know they will make an authorisation for €X and you are happy with that and dont need the insurance to reduce/remove it. 

I think that might have been me.

Yes, leave no chink in your armour. Don't give them a way in. As Nancy Reagan said "just say no".

Mentioning you have a stand alone policy allows them to rubbish that, tell you it's no good and try and confuse and pressurise you more when the usual truth is it's probably better than theirs as their policies often only reduce your excess liability down rather than cover all of it.

Keep is pleasant, smile, be confident, don't look/be rushed and just repeat " no thank you".

Another point on the original thread was that in Spain there is a consumer complaints form that most businesses have to carry, it's called a hoja de reclamaciones.
That often stirs them up.

On another note, quite a lot of the local car hire companies at most holiday type airports around Spain now tend to offer all inclusive hire terms. So no excess is the norm.
It's usually a little more than standard prices with large excesses found on the likes of car hire trawler sites, but they are usually quite good value.

I've had some really cheap all inclusive deals on the Canary Islands as there are at least 4 companies offering this type of hire based across all the islands all competing.

It's spreading out now. I travel a lot in Greece and find more local hire companies are offering it now.
Usually the multinationals at these places are often ran as a franchise, which means booking a car via (insert big multinational) will often see you at a local companies desk, so why not go local?

Barkin

sheslookinhot said:

Barkin said:

Could be. I'm due to collect a car, from the hire company mentioned, on Friday... 

Might be worth taking a copy of the Terms & Conditions with you.

Not needed. It was suggested, a couple of times, that I really ought to take their own excess insurance, but I politely declined and everything was hunky dory.