Tripcover’s Slide Deck for Startup Chile Demo Jan 14
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Category Archives: Car rental excess insurance
Car hire problems put drivers on collision course with rental firms
Questionable fuel charges, mysterious traffic violations, disputed dents – beware the add-ons that can cost a packet
Beware the pitfalls when you opt to hire a car.
In August I returned a car hired through Europcar and subsequently found I had been charged €77.75. It explained the sum was for refuelling the vehicle and some damage which it could not specify. I had photographed the petrol gauge on returning it since I’ve had trouble with wrongly levied fuel charges before. Also, there was definitely no damage. I complained to Europcar and was repeatedly promised a response, which has never come. PF, London
• We hired a car from Europcar in Italy in June and received a statement of account a couple of weeks after returning it advising that there was nothing owing.
Subsequently I discovered that Europcar had debited €92 from my card. I had no idea why and after numerous calls and emails to which I received no response, I was told I must have committed two traffic violations and Europcar had therefore charged me €45 for each of these. I pointed out that two fines of €45 only makes €90 but could not get to the bottom of this difference.
I have no idea whether or not I did commit the alleged traffic violations, since I’ve heard nothing from the Italian authorities, and am concerned that Europcar appears able to just debit my account without even notifiying me three months after I have rented the car. CE, London
• I rented a car from Avis/Budget in London. We returned the car on a Sunday night and as there was no attendant, I called the next day to make sure that everything was OK.
I was told that there was a small dent in the rear bumper and a broken reflector. I asked him how much the repair would cost, and he told me that his systems were down but that he’d call me the next day to let me know.
However, that night, there was a charge of £520 on my credit card from Avis/Budget. That seems rather steep for a small dent in a plastic bumper. I called to inquire about the claim, and was told that it wasn’t filed. Ditto the following day. This time the customer service agent told me that complaints/inquiries were only considered by email. So, I emailed a formal inquiry asking them to provide me with a claim, a copy of their repair pricing policies, and a repair estimate (that justifies the extent and the cost of the repairs). No one has ever got back to me. MM, London
These are not the first cases of car rental companies helping themselves to little extras without warning or explanation, usually when vehicles are returned out of hours and culpability for any damage can’t be thrashed out on the spot.
In PF’s case, Europcar insists that the tank was not full and that there were scratches on the bumper. You dispute this. However, because of the months it has taken the company to respond to your complaint it has decided to refund you.
You, CE, should have been informed of the charge to your card by letter, according to Europcar’s protocols. However, under Italian law the company says it is obliged to pass on a hirer’s address to the police in the event of a traffic offence, but is not privy to the details of the contravention.
Europcar awards itself a generous €48 per offence for the paperwork required by the relevant authorities (despite failing to send any paperwork to you).
As this column has exposed before, Italian law allows authorities up to 360 days to issue fines to foreign drivers who contravene parking regulations, so it could be a long while yet before you discover what you’re supposed to have done wrong.
Now over to Avis, which apologises for the fact that you, MM, were not contacted about the repair costs, but stands by its large charge for the damage since you did not take out additional insurance.
The terms and conditions of the rental agreement, like most other hire companies, specify that extra charges will be removed from customers’ accounts in the event of damage. If you are returning a car out of hours when no one is around it is a good idea to photograph the vehicle in detail in case such disputes arise, otherwise it’s a question of your word against theirs. And they are the ones with your bank details.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
Piece by Peace – Tripcover’s Cultural Values
At Tripcover we are replacing the following values in our culture.
We would like to change and grow “piece by peace”
1….instead of deadlines, we use Milestones
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2….instead of rules, we use Guidelines
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3….instead of plans, we use Predictions
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4….instead of expectations, we use Explanations
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5….instead of promises, we use Agreements
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6….instead of venting, we use Responsible Complaints
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7….instead of facts, we use Stories
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Six Ways To Save $$$ On Your Xmas Rental Car
- Book Early: Firstly, save by booking your rental car two months ago, sorry 🙂 If you leave it any longer you will get really stuck, so book ASAP. At least you will know this for next holiday season.
- Use comparison sites: like VroomVroomVroom.com.au , http://www.discovery-carhire.com.au/ and www.Oodles.com.au and you are bound to get the best rates.
- Off Airport Rentals: Don’t get the rental at the airport as there are airport loading fees and generally the rates are more expensive.
- City Versus Suburbs: Check out the rates suburb by suburb as you can sometimes get better deals outside the city centre locations.
- Standalone Car Rental Excess: Don’t take up the car rental companies’ offer to reduce your deductibles or excess liability, more commonly called CDW (collision Damage Waiver) This can nearly double your rental. Use standalone car rental excess reduction sites like tripcover.com.au . Their cover starts at around $9 per day and reduces down to around $5 per day over 15 days and covers ALL incidences including windscreens, single vehicle accidents, overhead damage etc. Use your AU or NZ Frequent Flyer number for a further 10%.
- Discount Codes. Look out for discount codes like this one: 47684365 This will give you a 15% discount with Europcar, for example:
With Code:
Without code:
TripAdvisor Review on Tripcover Customer Claim
TripAdvisor Post from Barry R on Tripcover Claim Process:
“I took out a nil excess policy with them for a seven day Hertz car hire. Hertz say I scratched their car which if I did was damage on damage, but then they hold all the cards.”
“Hertz froze $2,000 dollars on my credit card for 10 days till they decided the damage was $755. I claimed on line with Tripcover giving all the required documentation. With no other communication In a little over 10 days they credited direct to my bank account less a claim processing fee my $755.00”
“Tripcover worked for me, the only down side was carrying the $2,000 for ten days and then the $755 for another 10 days. I would use them again.”
Car Rental Companies Return Process
From one of our customers “Amy”:
- A quick email to advise that Eurocar has (rightly) come to a decision that I am not liable for the damage found in the car that was returned for servicing (and swapped for another vehicle) on 4th Oct . They have agreed that due process in having the customer to sign off on the condition of the car, prior to leaving the station upon pick-up, had not been followed.
- Our Reply
Good to hear Amy and it clarifies the check-out and claims process more for me now. It makes excellent sense for all car rental to try to stick to that simple process for all customers, ie if the customer signs off at the desk then they are clear and should NEVER hear from that company or car again. I have cc’d our accounts manager my reply and I think I will add your example onto the tripcover blog, without disclosing your name of course.Thanks again amy for the follow up info, and sorry that renting a car can sometimes be a pain.
Car Rental Excess Insurance About to be Radically Disrupted
Tripcover International is about to radically disrupt the car rental market with their latest excess insurance policy.
Launching in 2012, the startup’s first policy was a derivative of a travel insurance policy but, like existing travel insurance plans, there was limitations on what was covered and what was not. Their latest policy release, underwritten by Allianz, now covers ALL excess fees for ANY car rental damage including single vehicle accidents (SVA), windscreens, tyres, lights, undercarriage & overhead damage.
Now car rental customers can rent a car from any car rental company in Australia and internationally and know that they are completely covered for all the excess component of their rental. – The “excess” is the first $3000 or so, that the customer is required to pay in the event of an accident. The car rental companies offer to reduce this excess at the rental desk but at around $25 to $35 which is almost as much as the customer is paying for the rental. Tripcover’s rates start from $9.30 and reduce as the number of rental days increase.
Tripcover was the first standalone car rental excess insurance site in Australia and use their Australian and New Zealand mobile sites, websites and apps to allow rental customers to bypass the car rental companies’ expensive rates and purchase the car rental excess, even as they are picking up their rental, which is pretty cool.
Tripcover Receives Startup Chile Grant to Expand Operations
Startup Chile Grant 2013
A rental car excess insurance start-up and a downloadable keyboard replacement app for smartphones have been accepted into international accelerator program Start-up Chile.
The two Australian companies are part of the program’s eighth cohort of 85 start-ups that were selected from over 1,500 applications.
Tripcover chief executive Desmond Sherlock, who co-founded the business with brother Steve, told StartupSmart that they must have been selected because they’re disruptive.
“We are very unsexy, we’re just selling car rental excess cover,” Sherlock says.
“But we’re disrupting the industry. The car rental insurance companies are very unhappy with what we’re doing because we’re undercutting them by heaps, and they’re really annoyed about that.”
The funding will enable the Sherlocks to rapidly scale by launching an office in Chile to focus on the Latin American market and developing their API (code that integrates their offering within other businesses websites and offerings).
“We’ve been doing it for nearly two years, and we haven’t got any funding and we don’t do much marketing. But we’re selling 400 policies a month, and it’s doubling every two months so it’s starting to take off,” Sherlock says. “I haven’t been paying myself much and haven’t really been pushing, but now we’ve got a grant behind us we can start really going for it.”
Sherlock adds that their track record and previous start-up experiences have shaped their approach to their latest project.
“We’re approaching this as low key and practical, whereas before we had a start-up and we tried sexy, and built a bit of buzz and got a lot of funding, but it burned out,” he says.
Start-up Chile is a Chilean government initiative, with the 85 start-ups to receive access to mentoring networks, office space, a one-year visa to develop their project in the intensive accelerator process in Chile and US$40,000 of equity-free seed capital.
Tripcover’s Stand Up Pitch
The day before the TravelTECH13 Startup Pitch Competition.
I Just knocked off another 25 practice pitches tonight and I think I am starting to nail it.
I have been practicing with 6 minutes but we can have up to 7 so I should go alright for time.
I hope I don’t slip up and say:
“Hi my name is des sherlock and this is Tripcover’s stand up pitch!”
Desmond Sherlock To Pitch at TravelTECH13
There’s a great program at Travel TECH and plenty of excellent speakers. Hope to see you there.
Des Sherlock has been in the online travel space for over 10 years which included co-founding the car rental comparison site Oodles.com with his brother Steve.
The experienced gained through previous ventures has been used to start their latest venture, Tripcover International.
Tripcover’s mission is to disrupt the near monopoly that the car rental giants such as Avis and Hertz have with selling rental excess insurance.
Using various distribution channels including web, smart phone and API’s. Tripcover is gaining traction in the market by scratching an itch that rental customers have had for years i.e. low cost excess insurance.
Des also enjoys philosophizing, so don’t get him started on relationships and dispute resolution or he may chew your ear off.
His personal blog is RethinkPerfect.com…more>