CAR RENT ABROAD - A TRAGEDY IN 10 ACTS

Are you considering renting a car abroad? Then you better not drive any damage, unless you have perseverance. It doesn't matter if you caused a collision yourself or if you are hit by someone else through no fault of your own. It will cost you a lot of time and calling credit, but otherwise it will cost you € 1500,- deductible. Here is the incredible account of what happened to me. It's quite a long tragedy in 10 acts, but with plenty of breaks. Do you have a minute?

ROLE DISTRIBUTION (International Cast):

These are, except my wife Inge and myself, the following main roles in the weeping game:

1.   DoYouSpain, a kind of broker or intermediary, with whom you can select and order a car on the website. They do not have cars themselves, but work with many car rental companies throughout Europe. DoYouSpain is based in Spain.

2.   DriveOn Holidays, the actual car rental company, located at Faro airport, Portugal. They receive the order from DoYouSpain. The head office is located near Lisbon. They also have a damage repair company.

3.   Zurich Insurance PLC, a global insurance company, with a division specialized in car insurance, based in the United Kingdom. Some sister companies are Crawford, Halo, and more.

4.   Peter C., an Englishman living in Portugal, who is not very careful when reversing.

5.   Covid-19 as a possible supporting role, later in the play.

6.   Visa Card, who declined supporting roles.

1st ACT: At home behind the PC., June 1, 2019

On June 1, 2019, I ordered a rental car, a Renault Captur, via the DoYouSpain website, for the period from November 30, 2019 to January 9, 2020. That is 6 weeks, which we hoped to spend in Portugal around Christmas.

It was the umpteenth time I did business with DoYouSpain. Previously, I had already rented cars through them in Porto, Seville, Faro and Valencia, and I had been more than satisfied. But my rides were without any damage then. A characteristic of DoYouSpain (henceforth: DYS) is that the prices are very low, especially outside the high season, and that appeals to the Dutchman. At DYS there is the possibility to buy the own-risk deductible (€ 1500) at a considerably lower rate than if you would do this at the car rental company itself (in this case DriveOn Holidays). Then the surrender amount can be 2.5 times higher at your own risk.

So I decided to buy the deductible from DYS, and I immediately had to pay DYS € 171.03, and received a "Platinum" insurance certificate on behalf of Zurich insurance. When collecting the car at DriveOn Holidays, Faro (DOH) I would have to tolerate a reservation on my credit card of € 1500, but in case of damage I would be able to claim it back via DYS. I would also pay a rent of € 299.60, plus rent of toll box, etc. collecting the car.

The attentive spectator will have seen that the rent, including surrender deductible, amounted to € 470.63 for the period. from 6 weeks. That can be called cheap. Pay for the gas yourself, but you have unlimited kilometers! Everything was settled and confirmed in no time, and then it was still a few months waiting for the 2nd Company. The lead actor shut down his PC with satisfaction.

2nd ACT: Faro, Portugal, DriveOn Holidays garage, November 30, 2019

After a successful flight, we arrived at Faro Airport and walked to the place where the DriveOn Holidays (henceforth DOH) van would pick us up. It took longer than average, but after some time the van appeared, and we, along with some other travelers, were driven to the DOH rental company office, a 3 minute ride. The DOH garage is located in an industrial area close to the airport. I presented the voucher and, as agreed, had to pay the additional rental amount. With the credit card, as well as the provision on my card for the 1500 euro surrender deductible.

Unfortunately, DOH's equipment refused service. My card was not accepted. Since I had to pay the € 1500 on my credit card, I could not pay in any other way than with my card. There we were lost, my wife and I, in the middle of a Portuguese industrial district, without a car, with 4 suitcases and without a card to pay DOH. A good start to the holiday! DOH suggested to debit the deductible with my debit card, so I did not have to reserve the 1500 euros, but I found the amount too high, and I had already paid that to DYS. And this Dutchman does not pay double. Because they wanted me to believe that it was my card that caused the issue, I called the ICS Visa Card in the Netherlands seven times for advice, but they said that my card was fine and that they could not do anything for me. What to do??? I wanted to test my card elsewhere, but where? The driver of the DOH van offered to drive to a nearby gas station, where I could test my card. No sooner said than done, and at the gas station I bought a euro bag of sweets, paid without a problem with my credit card, and was driven back to the DOH garage, where Inge still kept an eye on the suitcases. I handed out the candies to the entire staff and said they had the fault. So I tried the card again, and sure enough !, the device took my card, and I was able to fulfill my obligations and we got a white Captur, which took us to our final destination on the Eastern Algarve, Monte Gordo, not far from the border with Spain. The card-issue had delayed us anyway, and we had called Tony, our apartment's landlord, and warned that we would be a little late, which was no problem for him. He was also somewhat delayed himself.

Monte Gordo was reached unscathed, and after we settled in we finally got to enjoy the peace.

 3rd ACT: Vila Real de Santo Antonio, the car park of the Lidl super, December 20, 2019

We had driven "our" Captur to VRSA to do some shopping. In the parking lot of Lidl I saw a parking space, and I slowly and carefully drove forward between 2 already parked cars into the parking space, but before I could do that we heard and felt a blow. A small blue car had driven backwards from our opposite parking space against our voiture. The blue car was quickly driven back into its old parking space before I could get out to take the damage. A man emerged from the blue car, who said he was called Peter C., he was an Englishman and he lived in Portugal. I searched in the car papers for an International (!) Collision form, but there was none with the car papers. Peter C. didn't have one with him either.

Peter C. was already getting ready to drive away, with a face expressing “no problems”, because his wife was waiting for him somewhere, and he had to get away quickly. I said I wanted to write down some of his details, such as driver's license number, insurance, etc. I only had a paper napkin on which I had to write everything, but I managed. ( LEARNING: Always check if there is such a form in the car when renting a car ) He had a damaged taillight, my damage was a horrified corner screen, some paint damage and deformed plastic rear bumper. There had been no witnesses to the accident. PC left for his wife, and we walked into Lidl for much needed groceries. The damage turned out to be such that we could still drive without problems, which we did.

 4th ACT: Faro, the garage of DriveOn Holidays, December 24, 2019.

Because we wanted to avoid delays in returning our Captur so that we did not have  to carry out a lot of formalities the 9th ofJanuary that could endanger our return flight, we decided we drive to DOH today to have the damage recorded.

It turned out to be a good move, because all in all it took an hour or two. The damage was recorded, forms were filled in, the napkin with the PC data was handed over and I told DOH that there was no collision form in the car. They immediately went to verify that, and to their own surprise, they admitted that it was not in the car. But the most important: the € 1500, - were exchanged from my bank account. But no worries, I thought, I will have that back from DYS on my Platinum certificate, right? Not true, but I didn't know that then ...

We were given another Captur, gold coloured this time, (I liked the white one better) and we drove to the center of Faro to have lunch there.

5th  ACT: At home, behind the PC and on the phone from January 10, 2020.

On January 10, I called DriveOn Holidays headquarters and after giving my reservation number to the lady who answered the phone, I asked if there was any progress with my case. It was almost three weeks after the accident, so I thought my question was legitimate.

How could I know that I would ask that question dozens more times. However, I did not receive an answer to my question, but was told to submit the question by email, which made me suspect that I was not talking to DOH, but to a call center. Well, then just send an email. The next day I received a message that my - rightful - question had been received, and that the matter was still with the insurance parties. It had their highest attention. I then sent an email every week, and called the day after. I asked emails for the damage report and the repair invoice. I needed these documents to present to DYS, I had always told them. Every week.

And then the world fell under the spell of Covid-19, and the Portuguese went into lock-down, and the people of DOH started running their jobs from home. To my boredom, with varying emotions, I asked the same questions over and over again and requested the necessary documentation. I have recorded all the calls on my mobile phone and my phone bill was raised with several tens of euros. In the beginning the answer was that the insurance had not made a decision, yet, then they waited for the acceptance of the liability of the counterparty, and again and again they were even more waiting for the acceptance. A great sense of powerlessness came over me, and thoughts of lawsuits came to mind, but the cost of a lawyer would soon exceed the claim amount, so I had to forget about it. After a few months, the reporting changed. The counterparty, PC, said we were both at fault, then DOH claimed that the counterparty rejected the debt, and later that the counterparty had not been involved in a collision at all. I had no witnesses, and no claim form that had PC's signature on it, but I noted how if PC hadn't been there I could have gotten his driver's license number and insurance policy number. I regularly said that I was not at all interested in the question of guilt, but that I wanted to receive the documents that were so important to me, and that I held them responsible for the absence of the international claim form in the rental car.

It was now mid-June (yes, as long as it takes the5th act of the tragedy) when I finally was told that the damage repair costs were € 1131,-, and that the difference between the € 1500, - would be refunded on my credit card . You understand that I was in a cheer, but I had cheered too soon. A week later I received an email from DOH stating that it was not possible to deposit the € 368 on my Visa card, because it seemed that my card had not been validated. But the day before I paid with same card in a restaurant! In the meantime I uttered some Portuguese swear words, it could also have been Russian (I cannot make a distinction), and then passed on my IBAN number. I also asked for the necessary documents again. And finally, on June 25, the money was in my account. But yes, that was only part of the amount withheld. Most of it I had to drag in from the depths of DYS. And then finally, at the end of June, the mail from DOH arrived with the documentation that I wanted so much. The Portuguese were still working from home, but I doubt Corona was the cause of this vicious slowness. But why it all took so long is still a mystery to me. I suppose they hoped that I would rest my claims. However, the5th act, which had lasted nearly six months, could be ended!

But we had not reached the summum, yet… That would have been too easy. Thesixth act would cause even more delay, unfortunately there was no escaping from it.

 6th ACT: At home, behind the PC and on the phone from July 1, 2020

Today is July 1. It has been exactly 13 months ago today that I ordered that damnd car from DYS. Now 13, also internationally, is seen as an bad luck number. But, let's face the future with good hope, and try to turn the 13 into 14. That is also possible.

The Platinum Certificate included an email address where I had to send the documents in order to file a claim. I had enclosed all necessary documents, copies of a rental certificate, rental confirmation, insurance certificate, bank statements, etc. as PDF in the mail, and asked for confirmation of receipt. But that confirmation did not come. There was also a Zurich UK (the insurance company) website on the certificate, but when I wanted to visit it, I was shown that this website no longer existed. Then I called the Dutch Zurich telephone number stated on the certificate. There I got connected! Only, the lady on the other side told me that I called Allianz, also an insurance company, but the wrong number. They have not been doing business with DoYouSpain since January 2019. Damn it! DYS had provided me with false information.

Heavily agitated I called the Spanish phone number of DYS. I got an answering tape, and I was asked to wait, I was automatically been put in a queue and every 20 seconds I was told “we will be with you shortly” But that shortly became fifteen minutes (Bingo, with the mobile phone costs to Spain) then I just hung up. I called the number several times, on different days and times, but each time after 15 minutes I had to disconnect to avoid going bankrupt. I topped up my calling credit twice, but I couldn't get through. For days I called desperately with no result, and then I was fed up. And the6th act crashed, so I abandonned it.

 7th ACT: At home, behind the PC and on the phone from July 6.

I decided to find the correct Zurich UK email address, found it and sent all the documentation there, asking for a receipt. Which I didn't get,but July 7 I got a message from a person called Marvin, from Crawford, one of Zurich's associates. If I would be so kind to send my phone number, he would call me to work with the claim.

I sent my phone number, then heard nothing. I called to the number in his mail, but got no connection. I sent him an email and asked if something was wrong. He wrote back to me that because of Corona he also worked from home and that he was unable to call abroad from there. I emailed him if we could settle the matter by email, but I've never heard from Marvin again. Brexit. I will focus on the Netherlands. That also went slightly different than I could imagine. Fortunately a lot more positive.

 8th ACT: At home, behind the PC and on the phone from 7 July.

I called Zurich Insurance Netherlands in The Hague, I got a good listening Rose on the phone, and I told my story. She was amazed at my long unsuccessful quest and agreed that things hadn't gone as they should. She asked me to send her an email so that she could inform me about the results of her investigation. She told me that she would investigate within her organization, in order to find out whom I should contact about my claim. Probably England, but I would soon learn that. The next day I received an email from her, and she said that I would be emailed by Crawford in Dutch. They would help me further. Once again, she apologized and trusted that everything would work out fine. Rose, a woman to my heart! I thanked her very much for her involvement. I started to see light shimmering at the horizon again. Did I mention Rose was a woman to my heart?

 9th ACT: At home, behind the PC and on the phone. June 8 and 9, 2020.

I received 2 emails, one from Bruno, manager of Zuerich Benelux / Crawford, located in Vilvoorde, Belgium, and one from Simon, developer at the same branch. Bruno wanted to investigate how the reporting / approach was organized within his organization, so I provided him with all the information that could help him. Simon asked for my phone number, which I gave him, and a moment later he called me. I explained everything to him, and he asked me to send him all the documents pertaining to my claim, then he would report it to Crawford UK and see to it that everything went well. Simon, a man after my heart! I sent him everything with a smile, when I began to see what positive news the future had in store for me. My mood had improved for the better, that’s for sure..

The next day Simon emailed me that everything had been forwarded to UK, and that I had to be patient for 5 to 10 working days, then the money would be in my account. And whether I would not call him about the state of affairs in the meantime. Only if I hadn't heard or seen anything after 10 working days, did he ask me to call him. What struck me about the people of Zurich Benelux and NL was that they did not seem to be bothered by Covid-19. And yet they worked from home, they told me.

 10th ACT: At home on the couch and in the garden. 17 and 18 July 2020

Friday 17th July 2020, two hundred and ten days after the accident. It turned out to be a memorable day, and this is why: I looked surprised at my phone, got up from the couch and walked over to Inge. I kissed her full mouth and showed her what surprised me so much. The full claim amount was deposited into my account. The € 1131 were credited to my bank account! It seemed that the numbers were dancing brighter than other numbers on my screen, which of course was not the case. I sighed: It is all accomplished. I sent Rose and Simon from Zurich BNL and NL both thanks again. As it turned out, their energetic involvement had accelerated my findings for justice and brought it to a favorable outcome.

You have to drink on that! I have invited Ton and Mary and Theo and Cock, all notorious Portugal going people, on Saturday, and we have, because the weather was nice, sprayed this good ending  in the garden with many colours of wine.

All's well that ends well? Not really, because when I think of DoYouSpain and DriveOn Holidays, I have to drink a lot of wine to get the bad taste out of my mouth.

 EVALUATION: Not possible; too many question marks.

What comes up again and again is: Why did it have to take 210 days? The only thing I can think of is that the hoped that I would give up. But the did not know Johnny. Now they do.

EPILOGUE: It is precisely the setbacks that make life so fascinating.