stut

Wonder if anyone has any experience with this.

I had a van (UK usage - goods vehicle) hired from Hertz at LTN 5-6 weeks ago, to help move house do IKEA runs, etc, etc. Unfortunately, part-way through, I was involved in an accident. The accident was caused by a 3rd party (badly secured ladder on top of a pickup at 70mph - certainly had the adrenaline flowing) who drove off without exchanging details after learning how much damage he'd caused. As a result, the police are involved, as it's a "fail to stop". The van had its windscreen caved in and some significant dents in the pillars, so was undriveable.

I didn't buy CDW protection from Hertz, as I have annual cover (that will cover this) so I'm waiting for the damage statement to see how much I need to claim for. However, this is not forthcoming. Customer service are currently overwhelmed and won't take calls to chase existing cases. It took 2 weeks of chains of calls and messages to get the insurance documentation for the police 'producer', and I'm getting nowhere with this.

Does anyone have any experience of how this works and how long it takes? This is only the second time I've ever been involved in an accident, and the first in a hire car!

stut

Ha! Talk about timing. I've just had an email from solicitors working on Hertz's behalf, who are attempting to recover the CDW excess costs, on my behalf, from the third party. ^

azepine00

Should i take a video of every hotel room as well in case a property decides to charge me for some alledged damage a few months down the road?

There is a disturbing rise in reports documenting random extortion for alleged damage by rental car agencies - someone needs to slap them with meaningful fines for such business practices...

miadeals

Often1

You are presuming that the reports are true.

Bear in mind that the renter is responsible for all damage to the vehicle during the period of the rental. Doesn't matter who caused it. Many of the reports are from people who are certain that they did not hit anything or have any form of an accident. But, that does not mean that someone else did not hit their car while it was parked or that some damage went unnoticed.

Bottom line is that this is no different than your own POV. If there is a dent, you pay to have it fixed. If insurance covers it, all the better. If someone else caused the damage and you can get them or their insurance to pay, all the better. But, in the end, it is yours.

You, as a savvy consumer don't have to do anything. But, the failure to do so can have consequences and having the proof to back things up can make all the difference.

Joonydell

i definitely agree with miadeals. all it takes is max 1 minute, and it saves you the hell of dealing with a crook when you return. ive had so many instances in the past where they accused me of damaging the car upon return, and all it took was that 1 min video to shut them up.

miadeals

jim32190

miadeals

Joonydell

is that a ford F-150? ive never seen one of those in their fleet before.

wxman22

Exactly. This is at best extortion. i wonder how many of those dubious claim letters they send for the same damage?

I have heard that this is even more of a problem with franchise locations versus corporate owned locations.

ab2013

I left a rental car in a parking lot, and when I returned, I found a note from someone saying that they accidentally bumped into my rear left bumper w/ a phone number, name, and their license plate information and offered to provide insurance if I call them back. I then took a couple pictures of the damage - the area has a couple of scrape marks and the bumper is cracked open a bit. I do not have a car or auto insurance but do have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card without purchasing LDW and I'm due to return the car tomorrow. I've rented with the HLE location very frequently over the past couple of years so I do know the agents there pretty well but the biggest issue that I've had was that I returned a car with a gas tank that wasn't full and the agents let me off the hook for that one. I also did have an issue with a Hertz rental in Portland 3 years ago where I ran over something and ended up with a flat tire, installed the emergency tire, and swapped the car at PDX but Hertz never billed me for it. Not sure I'll be as lucky this time around, so I'm a bit worried. The car is probably due to exit the fleet because it's at 38K miles - not sure if that plays a role.

Should I let the rental agent know about the damage when I drop off the car? I'll definitely file a claim with Chase if Hertz bills me directly for the damages - not too sure about the person at fault because I haven't even called him yet.

Thanks!

xeron72

You're not at fault in the accident so don't bother filing a claim with Chase. Report the accident to the HLE and put down the insurance information from the other person on the vehicle incident report. I would suggest reaching out to the person- at least they were nice enough to leave you a note. Also, make a copy of the note and keep it somewhere safe. There's no reason to try to hide this from Hertz, you're not at fault and everything should be paid for by the other person's insurance

AutoSlash

We'd agree with @xeron72 but before you write off your Chase coverage completely, we'd suggest contacting the other party's insurance company to confirm that they plan to pay for the damage and also confirm the same with Hertz. If for any reason the other party's insurance pushes back, you may be on the hook for the damage, and there is a time window in which you have to report it to Chase, and if you miss that deadline, they can refuse to cover it, so best to be 100% certain of everything before forfeiting your rights to a claim. Keep in mind that you can always report it to Chase and then not take advantage of it if the other party's insurance pays up.

guv1976

I would immediately file a claim with Chase, and give them the other party's information -- including a copy of the note that was left. Let Chase's insurer deal with the other insurer.