Hertz Minor Damage Dilemma - no CDW
 

Just like to get some advice from experienced drivers as I have never been in this situation before. Last weekend I hired a car in Majorca, Spain and on the way back to the airport I was involved in a very minor collision with a van.

About 20 mins from the airport I was rather tired and struggled to keep my eyes open (I had a very late night the previous night and woke up far too early). The next thing I know I heard a loud scrape and opened my eyes in a jolt. I had clipped the rear bumper of the van in the offside lane. Hardly any damage to the van, however, my front offside alloys were scratched and blackened and there was a little scratch to the offside bumper below the door mirror, which was knocked back but didn't sustain any damage.

When I picked up the car I declined the CDW to reduce the excess (750€) to zero. I used my Amex which Hertz put a 150€ hold on it instead of a much higher amount than if I hadn't used Amex. I didn't use my Amex Platinum, which would have fully covered the excess, as it had expired so I didn't have 3rd party cover.

I can now see that Hertz has charged me the 150€ and in addition 207€ for the damage. Is this correct? I thought the 150€ was just a pre-authorisation. Also is there any further charges they can impose if the driver claims? Thanks for any advice.

Did the Amex card which you did use on this rental not have free CDW coverage? Some do, some don't.

As to the damages to the other vehicle or injuries to the other driver, don't rentals in Spain automatically include third-party liability coverage?

You should expect to be charged for the cost of repairing the vehicle plus its loss of use as a rental during the time it is being repaired.

Did they tell you the damage was €207 for sure? Or might it have been €357? You should get receipts/invoices/estimates/bills/something so that you don't get surprised with additional charges down the road...

I've received no bills as yet. My Amex which I used does not have excess insurance cover. I used it only for the free 4hr coverage for the 2nd day.

You should be relieved that you only have a few hundred Euros of expense, and that your recklessness didn't kill anyone.

Even if your card covers the damage, Hertz can still charge you since the contract is between you and Hertz. From there you would seek to be reimbursed from the credit card company.

I'm not following your description of the damage. In UK English (and you've put London on your profile), the bumpers are the plastic components at the very front and rear. How can you have scraped a bumper under the door mirror?
As for damage to the vehicle you hit. Surely that's covered by hertz insurance? I thought the CDW refers to damage on the hertz vehicle.

Hertz can charge up to €750 for the damage based on cost to repair. If it has charged €150 + €207 , then I would expect that that is the end of the matter though

The exception would be that if you had breached rental conditions, you could be liable for total costs

Sorry, the front panel, not the bumper where the right indicator is, that's what I mean. Thanks for all the helpful responses.

Thanks, I hope so too.

Seeing as you are located in the U.K., the Amex insurance might work similar to Dutch Amex Platinum insurance. In my insurance papers it states you can use ANY Amex to pay for the rental/travel. And your Platinum rental insurance should still be valid. I confirmed this with AMEX lifestyle desk last year, when I had a travel insurance claim. Your best bet is to first look at your AMEX platinum insurance papers, and call AMEX. You might be surprised that it is covered. Worth a try in my opinion.

The Yes, I will look into this. I did do a search online regarding my credit card's insurance cover and came to the conclusion that it only covers Personal Accident when travelling on public transport and that private hire vehicles were excluded. Anyhow I will contact Amex and enquire about the cover related to my card. Thank you.

I really need to reapply for the Amex Platinum card again. Letting it lapse has cost me dear.