# is this a rental car scam



## burg1121 (Feb 25, 2009)

My wife and daughter just got back from the Marriott on St Thomas. Seems like they talked her into rental car insurance by telling her she would not be allowed 
to leave if she dinged the car until the bill was settled. Is this just blatant scare tactics by Budget rental car or can they really detain you.


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## caribbeansun (Feb 25, 2009)

It would make sense that they would need the damages to be paid for before you leave in the absence of their insurance.


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## burg1121 (Feb 25, 2009)

are you saying they can forcibly detain you when you have your own insurance. what would the legal reason be. and if they can't detain you by force how do keep you from leaving.


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## caribbeansun (Feb 26, 2009)

No, physically detaining is clearly beyond the bounds of what is reasonable.  They (budget) should have secured coverage of the damages via credit card or some other satisfactory manner.   If I was in the situation and someone was trying to leave without paying for damages I guess I'd follow them to wherever they are staying to try to ensure I got reimbursed via police intervention.

If you are referring to detaining until the police arrive to resolve the situation I guess I'd wonder why they would want to leave beforehand but again it's not the place of the business to physically interceed.

Sounds like a very odd situation indeed.


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## burg1121 (Feb 26, 2009)

I'm not sure you are following what I mean. They told if she had an accident while she was renting the car and didn't have the expensive insurance they were selling that the credit card insurance and the insurance you have from your own car would not be sufficient. you would not be allowed to leave the island till it was settled and the car was repaired so you better fork over the extra money for their insurance. As it turns out she had no car problems.


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## Rod in Louisiana (Mar 3, 2009)

burg1121 said:


> I'm not sure you are following what I mean. They told if she had an accident while she was renting the car and didn't have the expensive insurance they were selling that the credit card insurance and the insurance you have from your own car would not be sufficient. you would not be allowed to leave the island till it was settled and the car was repaired so you better fork over the extra money for their insurance. As it turns out she had no car problems.


 
Here's my take on the situation. If you refuse their insurance, you'll probably sign some type of document stating that you are responsible for damage to or loss of the car. Your personal insurance is, more than likely, not valid outside the continental USA. Most free credit card insurance policies are secondary to other insurance policies. Besides, the auto rental company isn't going to do the paperwork for other insurance that you may have, and credit card insurance won't pay anyone but the cardholder. So, the document you sign probably obligates you to pay for the damages and later collect the reimbursement from your insurer, whoever that may be. The bottom line is that you'll probably be obligated to pay for any damages before you leave the island. Worst case is if the car is stolen. You may be forced to cough up tens of thousands of dollars. If the car is damaged or stolen, the auto rental company can't forcibly detain you, but they can call the local law enforcement officials, who can and will detain you.

Another consideration is that the insurance provided by the credit card companies is Collision and Theft Damage only. There is no liability coverage. If your personal insurance policy is not valid outside the continental USA, and if you refuse to purchase their liability coverage, then you have no liability coverage. That's not a good thing.

We ALWAYS use the Amex $24.95 policy that provides $100,000 coverage for the car, $15,000 per person medical coverage, and $5,000 per person personal property theft protection for a continuous 42 day period.  And, we ALWAYS purchase the liability coverage from the auto rental company.  The Amex policy is primary coverage, either inside or outside the continental USA, so you don't need to worry whether your personal insurance will cover you.  Note that this policy DOES NOT provide liability coverage.


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## HatTrick (Mar 10, 2009)

Rod in Louisiana said:


> We ALWAYS use the Amex $24.95 policy that provides $100,000 coverage for the car, $15,000 per person medical coverage, and $5,000 per person personal property theft protection for a continuous 42 day period.



$17.95 if you're a California resident. A great price for primary coverage, as Rod pointed out.


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## rhonda (Mar 10, 2009)

HatTrick said:


> $17.95 if you're a California resident. A great price for primary coverage, as Rod pointed out.


Interesting ... I pay $15.95 using my Costco Amex.


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## burg1121 (Mar 13, 2009)

Thanks for all the info here is a link that master card has. Primary coverage with loss of use no extra cost.
http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/en.htm


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## Rod in Louisiana (Mar 13, 2009)

Burg, according to the terms and conditions, coverage is secondary to any other insurance you may have. This policy also excludes liability coverage, as do all other credit card policies with which I am familiar.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 13, 2009)

Rental CDW coverage with VISA is supplemental within the cardholders country of residence and primary outside the country of residence.

Most of my rentals within the US (except Hawai'i, darn it) are business related.  Hired auto coverage is a zero additional cost added coverage under my business owners liability insurance.

I don't have an issue with having my personal auto insurance policy in place as primary coverage when I'm operating a vehicle for personal use within the US.  I have the insurance policy to provide coverage when I'm operating a vehicle for personal use in the US. I don't see the logic in paying more money so that the insurance policy doesn't come into play for the very reasons why I purchased it.


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## Stricky (Mar 13, 2009)

I can only speak for State Farm but their policy is good in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico only. The coverage you have on your vehicle will carry over to a non-owned vehicle. That is, if you have coverage for the vehicle(comprehensive and collision in my state) it will transfer to the rental car. If you have an older car or a car not financed and you have removed comprehensive and collision you will not have that on your rental car. 

Now to add a new twist, rental companies have started a new trick to get you to purchase their insurance. If you have an accident in their vehicle they are starting to charge for the loss of rental. This (obviously) is not a coverage you would find on your own insurance but it is covered under their optional insurance. There have been a few horror stories in the press about people getting charged for 3 week or more of rental plus administrative costs. It still seems rare and I still reject the rental companies insurance here in the States.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 13, 2009)

Stricky said:


> Now to add a new twist, rental companies have started a new trick to get you to purchase their insurance. If you have an accident in their vehicle they are starting to charge for the loss of rental. This (obviously) is not a coverage you would find on your own insurance but it is covered under their optional insurance. There have been a few horror stories in the press about people getting charged for 3 week or more of rental plus administrative costs. It still seems rare and I still reject the rental companies insurance here in the States.



Loss of use coverage is included in the credit coverage provided by your credit card.  As noted above, credit card coverage is available only if you decline all the rental company coverages.


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