Car hire "free" upgrade

DullGreyGuy

MickB1969 said:

I hired a car through one of the larger providers recently. When I went to collect the vehicle, they told me that they didn't have any of the size and type I'd booked left (I'd booked and paid online several weeks earlier). 
They told me not to worry as they'd upgrade me "for free", which I thought was fair. 
Then they pointed out that the insurance I'd taken out didn't cover the upgraded vehicle. I wasn't obligated to take any extra cover out, but 'any' incident would carry an excess of £2500. I clarified this and even if I'd gotten a puncture, they said I'd be billed the £2500!
Excess protection was available at £25 per day, so I had to part with another £75 for the 3 days. 

Should they have covered the extra cost? I was out of pocket due to them failing to provide the vehicle I'd booked abs paid for. 

I'm hiring another in a couple of weeks and suspect they may pull the same thing and want to be prepared. 

You will be charged for their loss up to a maximum of £2,500 - note that their loss will not just be the cost of repair but the loss of hire income whilst it's being repaired. 

Their CDW/"Super Cover" is tiered so if the car is upgraded you may have gone above the limit of the originally paid CDW... or at least looking at a random hire the CDW is double the price on a XC60 ("full size") as it is a Corsa ("economy"). Oddly the cheaper to hire "Full size electric" has a fractionally higher CDW fee than the XC60.

As others have said, you can avoid these fees by buying a standalone policy however that does mean you must pay the fees and then reclaim them so ensure you've the funds to do this. 

Note that what the car hire company sells is a waiver not insurance and so legal requirements for insurance doesn't apply. 

SiliconChip said:

Nebulous2 said:

cymruchris said:

MickB1969 said:

Flugelhorn said:

could always take out car hire excess insurance then if they do do this you will be covered

I'd taken it out for the vehicle I'd initially booked and was expecting. Because of the upgrade, the cover I had wasn't suitable. It was then a choice of either risking £2500 or paying another £75 because they couldn't provide the right vehicle. 

I feel like the obligation to cover that should be on them as they're the ones not fulfilling the hire agreement. 

I think @Flugelhorn means a separate policy that you take out through a third party company prior to going to the rental place. So that it covers you no matter what car you have. Then when they try and 'upsell' the insurance - you can show them you already have cover, and then take the 'free' upgrade without worry. 

Some of the car excess insurance policies specify that you are not allowed to tell the hire company that you have separate cover. 

Really? Which ones? It's not something I've ever come across, and I don't see how it would work, when the hire company are likely to ask for proof that you do have alternative cover in order for them to allow you not to buy theirs.

Never seen any that say you must not but certainly some recommend that you dont as inevitably the hire company will just change tact on their sales pitch and tell you horror stories of them not paying out etc. Simplier to say you dont want CDW rather than saying you need it but have it from elsewhere. 

MickB1969

GrumpyDil said:

SiliconChip said:

Nebulous2 said:

cymruchris said:

MickB1969 said:

Flugelhorn said:

could always take out car hire excess insurance then if they do do this you will be covered

I'd taken it out for the vehicle I'd initially booked and was expecting. Because of the upgrade, the cover I had wasn't suitable. It was then a choice of either risking £2500 or paying another £75 because they couldn't provide the right vehicle. 

I feel like the obligation to cover that should be on them as they're the ones not fulfilling the hire agreement. 

I think @Flugelhorn means a separate policy that you take out through a third party company prior to going to the rental place. So that it covers you no matter what car you have. Then when they try and 'upsell' the insurance - you can show them you already have cover, and then take the 'free' upgrade without worry. 

Some of the car excess insurance policies specify that you are not allowed to tell the hire company that you have separate cover. 

Really? Which ones? It's not something I've ever come across, and I don't see how it would work, when the hire company are likely to ask for proof that you do have alternative cover in order for them to allow you not to buy theirs.

As far as I am aware the excess cover is optional. Certainly in my recent hire there was no issue with my declining the hire company's excess cover as long as I signed their form to acknowledge the excess amounts. 

That's the thing, the excess amount I would be liable for was £2500, for any incident. On the car I'd booked, it was £100.

MickB1969

Herzlos said:

I've never heard of the cover only applying to certain tiers of vehicle, but maybe it's different for 'premium' vehicles. What did you upgrade from and to?

I'd booked a mid size SUV and they gave me a 'premium' (Mercedes).

I didn't ask for the upgrade, they said they didn't have the type of vehicle I'd booked so upgraded me to one they had. 

MickB1969

DullGreyGuy said:
 

You will be charged for their loss up to a maximum of £2,500 - note that their loss will not just be the cost of repair but the loss of hire income whilst it's being repaired. 

Their CDW/"Super Cover" is tiered so if the car is upgraded you may have gone above the limit of the originally paid CDW... or at least looking at a random hire the CDW is double the price on a XC60 ("full size") as it is a Corsa ("economy"). Oddly the cheaper to hire "Full size electric" has a fractionally higher CDW fee than the XC60. 

I had to pay extra because they didn't have the vehicle I'd booked 6 weeks before. Surely if they don't have the vehicle, they should cover any extra charges?

I booked and paid in advance, the issue was with the service they were providing, not anything I'd done. 

DullGreyGuy

MickB1969 said:

DullGreyGuy said:
 

You will be charged for their loss up to a maximum of £2,500 - note that their loss will not just be the cost of repair but the loss of hire income whilst it's being repaired. 

Their CDW/"Super Cover" is tiered so if the car is upgraded you may have gone above the limit of the originally paid CDW... or at least looking at a random hire the CDW is double the price on a XC60 ("full size") as it is a Corsa ("economy"). Oddly the cheaper to hire "Full size electric" has a fractionally higher CDW fee than the XC60. 

I had to pay extra because they didn't have the vehicle I'd booked 6 weeks before. Surely if they don't have the vehicle, they should cover any extra charges?

I booked and paid in advance, the issue was with the service they were providing, not anything I'd done. 

Have to say I've been "upgraded" several times and never had to pay more but then have status from having an AmEx card and the same card includes CDW so maybe its because of the status or maybe because they can see I dont need CDW that they dont try it on. 

Ultimately you need to read the terms and conditions of the contract you agreed to, it most likely will cover the scenario of what happens if they cannot supply the booked vehicle. Being pragmatic, would you have been happier to be downgraded with a partial refund?