Car hire excess insurance

rrankin1234

Hi

I recently took a trip to Iceland and was unfortunate to get a windscreen chip. The hire company said that the car needed a new windscreen which I tried to dispute at the desk but to no avail and I was charged £1084 for a windscreen replacement on my credit card. Before the trip I had taken out excess protection insurance from reducemyexcess.com and 
got all the documents I thought I needed when leaving the car back to submit my claim.

After submision, reducemyexcess have requested a damage invoice/matrix from the repairing garage from the rental company. When i request this doc, they keep fobbing me off saying they haven't got it. My fear is that they charged me for the windscreen and will never actually do the repair, therefore cannot send me any damage invoice to complete my claim. I am starting to get charged hefty interest on my credit card due to the balance and it seems I am at the mercy of the rental car company to provide this. 

I also don't understand how so many of their reviews have had their claims paid out within 1-2 weeks as surely all rental companies haven't provided the damage repair invoice this quick. I have all the receipts of what what was charged as well as the transaction on my credit card.

Does anyone know how I can move this forward if the rental car company won't provide any damage invoice or damage matrix?

Lavendyr

It's a very frustrating process. The insurance company should accept an invoice to you for the damage, as that is what you are insuring for, regardless of whether the hire company actually has the damage repairs. Are you sure they are asking for evidence that the car has been repaired? The car hire company would almost certainly charge you more than the cost to them to have the car repaired anyway. 

I had car hire excess insurance through Zurich and they just needed to see the invoice to me to pay out. 

zagfles

Ask for a chargeback/section 75 claim on your credit card on the basis the hire company have charged you for something which they've refused to provide an invoice for. 

rrankin1234

Lavendyr said:

It's a very frustrating process. The insurance company should accept an invoice to you for the damage, as that is what you are insuring for, regardless of whether the hire company actually has the damage repairs. Are you sure they are asking for evidence that the car has been repaired? The car hire company would almost certainly charge you more than the cost to them to have the car repaired anyway. 

I had car hire excess insurance through Zurich and they just needed to see the invoice to me to pay out. 

Yes the insurer are saying that they need a damage matrix or damage invoice from the repairing garage which I am at the mercy of the rental company sending and they keep fobbing me off as I suspect they will not have it repaired and I will never receive this document. The insurer has such great reviews and is even recommended by Martin lewis.  I don't know how everyone else's claims are settled so quickly

rrankin1234

zagfles said:

Ask for a chargeback/section 75 claim on your credit card on the basis the hire company have charged you for something which they've refused to provide an invoice for. 

I believe as excess insurance only cost £20 for the duration of the rental that it is not covered under this. It is only for something over £100?

eskbanker

rrankin1234 said:
The insurer has such great reviews and is even recommended by Martin lewis.

Do you mean that there's actually any active recommendation, personal or otherwise, or simply that the company is included in an MSE listing of cheap providers?

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.

zagfles

rrankin1234 said:

zagfles said:

Ask for a chargeback/section 75 claim on your credit card on the basis the hire company have charged you for something which they've refused to provide an invoice for. 

I believe as excess insurance only cost £20 for the duration of the rental that it is not covered under this. It is only for something over £100?

Eh? I said "on the basis the hire company have charged you for something which they've refused to provide an invoice for". So they've charged you for something they haven't provided (or haven't provided proof they've provided), ie the repair. So try a chargeback/section 75 claim to the car hire company (not the excess insurer) who appear to have charged you £1084 for allegedly repairing the windscreen but are refusing to supply an invoice for the repair (ie proof they've done what you paid for). 

It might not work and you might need to be persistent with the bank (they'll almost certainly try to fob you off at first), but it's worth a try.

jimi_man

Out of interest which car hire company was it? We’ve just been to Iceland and booked (direct) with Icecarrental. When we picked the car up the agent showed us the list of bodywork imperfections on the car and shrugged and said ‘it’s Iceland’, meaning that a certain amount of damage is expected. 

brianposter

The car hire company are not required to repair the car so it is unreasonable to require a repair invoice, You need to make a formal complaint to the insurer and if the insurer is not happy they need to tell you how to proceed.

zagfles

brianposter said:

The car hire company are not required to repair the car so it is unreasonable to require a repair invoice, You need to make a formal complaint to the insurer and if the insurer is not happy they need to tell you how to proceed.

OP says they were charged for a "windscreen replacement". Not (eg) loss of value of the car. If the car hire company has specifically charged for a windscreen replacement it is perfectly reasonable for the insurer to want evidence of that, and if it hasn't been carried out then the OP has been charged for something which hasn't been done, hence a chargeback should work. 

I suspect the insurer suspects the car hire company of charging for something that hasn't happened, hence their reluctance to simply pay up. It's in all our interests that excess insurers do this otherwise car hire companies will just take the p and it'll be reflected in insurance premiums. 

brianposter

OP, Please keep us abreast of developments as it is a situation where the proper procedures are not at all clear.