Car hire problems

Manfrommanchester

 I hired a car from County Car Rentals of Stockport. Asked if i wanted to use my insurance of theirs. Said theirs as had no car of my own. Warned that there was an excess of £900, which I reluctantly  accepted. From this I naturally assumed I was properly insured. As they gave me details of "their" recovery firm, I also assumed I was covered for recovery. Went to Scotland. Unfortunately hit a rock in a hidden sinkhole on a campsite. ( The hole was the size of a bathtub, but grass had been allowed to grow from it and around it, so it was invisible, even if you were standing next to it). Car had to be recovered back to Stockport. The Firm are now charging me £3740 for recovery and repair of car. They point to a well hidden clause in their T&C's which says that if any accident is "my fault", then the insurance and recovery cover are null and void.( They certainly did not tell me of this rather large and pivotal situation before I hired the car.) Quite apart from that I was breaking the law by not having insurance I could have been responsible for an accident causing life changing injuries or death to another, and I would not be covered insurancewise. I have put in a formal complaint, and am waiting their answer.

 Sorry for length of post. Can anyone give me any advice on this one?

Mildly_Miffed

You had insurance - third party only, the legal minimum, perhaps third party fire and theft. The insurance would have covered damages to others, just not to the car you were in charge of.

You assumed the insurance was comprehensive. It sounds as if it was not.

Car hire insurance, even from the big firms, is always pretty bare minimum unless you pay extra for the waivers etc.

Keep_pedalling

I don’t think roadside recovery is ever going to cover you if you are driving in a field. 

When you say the insurance won’t cover you for a your fault accident, are you sure this boxes not mean insured for driver negligence? I seem to remember a thread where someone had driven under a low arch and damaged the roof of their hire van and got hit with a bill for thousands as it was classed as negligence.

MyRealNameToo

Manfrommanchester said:

 I hired a car from County Car Rentals of Stockport. Asked if i wanted to use my insurance of theirs. Said theirs as had no car of my own. Warned that there was an excess of £900, which I reluctantly  accepted. From this I naturally assumed I was properly insured. As they gave me details of "their" recovery firm, I also assumed I was covered for recovery. Went to Scotland. Unfortunately hit a rock in a hidden sinkhole on a campsite. ( The hole was the size of a bathtub, but grass had been allowed to grow from it and around it, so it was invisible, even if you were standing next to it). Car had to be recovered back to Stockport. The Firm are now charging me £3740 for recovery and repair of car. They point to a well hidden clause in their T&C's which says that if any accident is "my fault", then the insurance and recovery cover are null and void.( They certainly did not tell me of this rather large and pivotal situation before I hired the car.) Quite apart from that I was breaking the law by not having insurance I could have been responsible for an accident causing life changing injuries or death to another, and I would not be covered insurancewise. I have put in a formal complaint, and am waiting their answer.

 Sorry for length of post. Can anyone give me any advice on this one?

The legal requirement is to have Third Party Only insurance, no legal requirement to insure your own vehicle damage nor to have breakdown cover. 

Breakdown cover is exactly that, it covers if the car stops working not if you drive it into the back of a bus or a large rock in a sinkhole. We see lots of complaints on here about the AA or RAC etc refusing to recover a vehicle under a breakdown policy following an accident. Obv they'll do it if you pay them. 

Its common for hire cars to have a carve out for negligence however it normally means going much further than simply being at fault for an accident (which by definition means you were negligent) and is more likely gross negligence such as driving a luton box van into a low tunnel. Its also fairly common for them to exclude the roof, undercarriage and wheels from insurance as these are often damaged through carelessness and we all know the fastest car in the world is a hire car!

Manfrommanchester

Thanks for replies.Just to clear one or two things up ... It was not a field. It was a campsite. It was a public place.
It was not negligence. The sinkhole was impossible to see.  Also ,It appears that I did not even have 3rd Party Insurance. They are saying that if I have any accident which "appears" to be caused by me. ( I would ask what if I were hit by an uninsured driver; who then legs it)  An accident does not mean I am negligent

daveyjp

As above you had third party insurance, this covers claims from third parties.

If you are deemed at fault in any way, any damage to the hire vehicle is not covered, this includes hit and run if someone legs it, even if the car is parked.  If the hire vehicle os damaged and there is no one to claim off it is down to the hirer to pay up.

If you want the hire car to be covered for any damage you may be liable for you need to have in place CDW insurance - similar to fully comprehensive on a private vehicle.

born_again

Surprised they did not offer the damage waiver ins....

Herzlos

Manfrommanchester said:

Thanks for replies.Just to clear one or two things up ... It was not a field. It was a campsite. It was a public place.
It was not negligence. The sinkhole was impossible to see. 

You said it was covered with grown grass, which makes it sound like a field. 

Plus there may well be negligence; if it's somewhere you were reasonably allowed to drive on, then the campsite would be negligent in not maintaining it. But then given it was grown over it must not be heavily used. 

Car_54

Manfrommanchester said:

Thanks for replies.Just to clear one or two things up ... It was not a field. It was a campsite. It was a public place.

Is a pitch on a campsite - which you have to pay for - a “public place”? A court may disagree.

Grey_Critic

You did have insurance - they cannot legally allow you to drive one of their cars without. 

Most Hire Car insurance is comprehensive with an excess - £1,000 is common. You should be offered Collision Damage Wavier and you are required to sign if you refuse

When hiring the vehicle you are legally required to complete an application form and answer various questions that confirms you eligible - If you have any endorsements you have to declare them. Points on your licence could disbar you from hiring, the same witha drunk drive conviction. Not suggesting you do but the Insurers are very risk averse. 

Hire cars do have recovery - sometimes they break down - they normally are covered by a block policy. 

Damage? Car Hire agreements do have exclusions - Tyres and Glass are normal. Other damage is covered but THE CDW if you have taken it out should normally cover it.

Driving across a field on a campsite does come with hazards and I would expect the site owners would have signed it in some way. You really need to talk with them.

You mentioned being asked if you wanted to use your own insurance and I am puzzled at that. Insurers do not normally allow you to use your own insurance as it does not normally provide the cover they require.

Some years ago I set up and ran a sussesful car/van/truck business - I can confirm that my insurance would not have covered you.

paul_c123

Is the rock okay?

Put simply: you appear to have had what amounts to third party only insurance, if you'd damaged the rock (or a fence, or a streetlamp, or another vehicle), they or its guardian would have been able to claim on the insurance.