europcar.it

EXTRA INSURANCE SCAM !! / FROTTOLE ASSICURAZIONE !!

THIS REVIEW IS POSTED ON EUROPCAR (ITALIA) AS WELL AS AUTOEUROPE.DEI hired a car ”Lancia Ypsilon or similar” from Europcar Italia (FIRENZE AIRPORT) via Autoeurope.de in January 2016 for a week in September 2016, with delivery and redelivery in Firenze Airport. I saw good reviews of Autoeurope as an agent (with highlights: Not to be confused with Autoeuropa Italia, which make a lot of scams).I paid for a Super Cover and of course thought that I would not have any problems at the pick up – or if accident or theft happened.The contract was of course several pages – like all other contracts and ”general terms and conditions ”when you book a vacation.The car turned out to be a Mini One, which was fine. But even if the car was 5 stars I give only 1 because of bad service and loss of money.BUT problems started at the pick up counter. (All the Car hire companies are in the same ”shed”, a certain distance away (but served by a shuttle bus), and the environment is certainly not pleasant. No air condition – 30 degrees C. - stand up counters etc. – I would compare it with Immigration counters / line-ups in the former communist countries. Even in small car hires on Greek Islands you usually find a nice air-conditioned office where you sit down while being served.The lady who served me at the Europcar counter – in the Immigration curt language – said ”PASSPORT, DRIVER’S LICENCE, CONTRACT !. With all due respect for her, it seemed like she had a headache and only wanted to be 100 km away.Formalities were made, but then she talked about ”self-risk (deductible) of up to EUR 2000 and offered extra insurance.I said that I believed I had a full insurance, but she then went into technical explanations about the matter – and also said that ”When you get these cheap prices via a broker you must be prepared to pay extra for insurance”.After a long travel and in the hectic and unpleasant surroundings I saw no alternative but to sign for an insurance cover, costing EUR 245,01. I wanted to sleep peacefully during my vacation!After arriving at final destination, and having rested, I saw in the papers from Autoeuropa that they ”advise against accepting extra insurance from actual car hire co. – in case of liability they will refund the outlay against documentation”.So I had been conned – but who reads all the small print on from air-lines, car hires etc. ??IF AUTOEUROPE HAVE A COOPERATION WITH EUROPCAR, THEN THEY SHOULD INFORM EUROPCAR WHAT KIND OF CONTRACT / INSURANCE TERMS WERE AGREED WITH THE CUSTOMER. IT SHOULD NOT BE FOR THE CUSTOMER TO DEAL WITH TWO DIFFERENT COMPANIES.Back home I posted a complaint on Europcar’s contact form. It was not replied for a month. So I called and finally got to talk to a person (in the Munich office) – who was neither pleasant nor understanding. She claimed that a reply had been sent to me and said she would resend it. She never did. But she did lecture me that ”I did not understand the role of a broker and I should read the contract in full” Legally quite correct, but certainly not what you expect – in terms of service and coordination between different – when you have a complete booking.The lady hung up on me – because of my description of Europcar Italia. Because of poor English she apparently thought that my adjective was about herself.I then wrote an e-mail saying that I expected a proper reply, and a refund of the unjustifiedly paid EUR 245. I have got an (auto-reply from a person called Cristina Rodriquez, who I believe is also the lady who hung up the phone on me.This reply directs me to ”make my complaint on www.autoeurope contact form” !!!!ONE WOULD THINK THAT – EVEN IF I OVERLOOKED A CLAUSE – EUROPCAR, ON REQUEST, OF AUTOEUROPE, COULD MAKE A REVERSAL OF SOMETHING THEY WERE NOT ENTITLED TO.NO PHYSICAL GOODS OR SERVICES HAVE BEEN EXCHANGED. ONLY AN (INTERNAL) INSURANCE

Date of experience: Oct 28, 2016