My spouse and I fly at the very least twice a yr to Orlando, Florida. We all the time e-book a rent automobile and by no means have any issues.
However in April, once we went to select it up from Greenback automobile rental, the agent refused to allow us to take the car except we paid an extra waiver of $738 (£581) for six weeks.
Though I instructed him now we have our personal standalone cowl — and confirmed him the coverage quantity — he wouldn’t settle for it. Drained after two flights and 18 hours of journey, I felt I had no possibility however to pay up. I used to be livid. I complained later however to no avail. Are you able to assist?
J.A., East Lothian
What are you able to do if a rent automobile agent insists on charging you for additional insurance coverage? Sally Hamilton explains
Sally Hamilton replies: Your story of automobile rent desk woe made me groan. The onerous promoting to exhausted travellers is a menace that ought to be stopped however sadly is prone to proceed so long as holidaymakers rent vehicles.
For years, many travellers have been browbeaten into believing that they needed to pay for one thing referred to as ‘tremendous collision injury waiver’ on the desk.
Whereas hire-car contracts include a sure degree of insurance coverage, this additional coverage is designed to cowl the bits this does not embody — primarily the surplus charged on any declare, which is often £1,000-£2,000.
It could additionally cowl exclusions, equivalent to the price of a burst tyre or windscreen injury.
However it’s not obligatory to take it out. Prospects can determine both to take any monetary hit themselves, if required, when it comes to paying the surplus, or, as you probably did, buy a standalone coverage, which is miles cheaper.
As an illustration, your annual world coverage from iCarhireinsurance price you £133 — 4 occasions cheaper than the Greenback coverage that solely lined the interval of your journey.
If there’s an incident the place restore payments come up, the driving force merely pays the rent agency the agreed extra after which claims the prices again from their coverage later.
Whether or not self-insuring or taking out a standalone plan, drivers will nonetheless have the worth of the surplus ring-fenced on their bank card by the rent agency through the rental interval, some or all of which it can preserve if a rechargeable incident arises.
You had been nicely inside your rights to reject the rent agency’s high-pressure gross sales techniques however felt you had no means out because the agent would not allow you to take the automobile. You and your spouse are in your 70s and also you say she suffers badly from arthritis, so after the lengthy flight you had been each drained and she or he was in extreme ache so wished to get to your vacation spot rapidly.
You took up a grievance with Greenback in your return from Orlando however bought nowhere. It hid behind the actual fact you had signed for the extra cowl.
So I took over the wheel and requested Greenback to analyze what had gone incorrect and to reimburse you. Inside two days the rent agency did a whole about flip and refunded you the total $738.
Greenback apologised to you straight ‘for any misunderstanding’. A spokesman for Hertz, which owns Greenback, tells me: ‘Buyer satisfaction is our prime precedence, and we remorse this buyer’s expertise. Whereas workers are skilled to supply details about our value-added companies, our car safety plans are optionally available.
‘We’ve apologised, issued a refund and can reinforce our insurance policies with workers to make sure clear communication to clients.’
My Dyson Airwrap by no means labored – why will not it assist?
My daughter bought a Dyson Airwrap hairdryer for me final November, and it has by no means labored. I’ve contacted Dyson on quite a few events with out resolving the matter. I’m so pissed off. It has promised to ship a returns label nevertheless it by no means arrives. Please are you able to assist?
M.M., Glasgow
Sally Hamilton replies: You had been delighted to obtain such a beneficiant reward out of your daughter however had been mightily upset that the £479.99 hairdryer by no means labored correctly.
You used it solely thrice, as it could shut off after a few minutes, and every time you needed to wait about quarter-hour for it to restart. You had been pressured to revert to your previous hairdryer. The Dyson Airwrap was clearly defective.
Beneath the Client Rights Act, purchases should be ‘of passable high quality, as described or match for function’ and if they are not, the client can request a refund, alternative or restore relying on how a lot time has elapsed because it was purchased.
If an issue emerges inside 30 days of buy, patrons can ask for a full refund. You didn’t realise the hairdryer had a difficulty till after that since you hadn’t opened the current (bought in November) till Christmas and did not begin utilizing it till a few weeks later.
The regulation permits clients six months to return defective items except the retailer can show the merchandise was not faulty when it was purchased. It’s permitted one alternative to restore or exchange the product, but when that doesn’t work out the client can request their a reimbursement.
You went to nice lengths to indicate Dyson that the hairdryer wasn’t working, together with displaying an agent through a video name in March that it turned off and couldn’t be restarted. She instructed you she would organize for it to be collected, however no one got here.
After contacting Dyson twice extra earlier than the top of March, and being assured a courier would gather it, nonetheless nobody confirmed up.
In April, you phoned once more and had been promised a returns label by electronic mail so you may put up the hairdryer. You got a 25pc money-off voucher to express regret however the label by no means arrived and extra empty guarantees adopted.
Anybody shopping for a hairdryer costing within the area of £500 ought to count on a totally functioning machine and first-class customer support.
I requested Dyson to place issues proper. I’m happy to say that this time its response was faultless and inside days you obtained a full refund. A spokesman apologised and says: ‘We’ve been in contact with M.M. and have resolved the difficulty.’
SCAM WATCH
Households ought to beware rip-off emails claiming recipients have gained a Bosch drill package, Motion Fraud warns.
Tricksters impersonating ironmongery shop Screwfix write that recipients can declare the drill package without cost.
However hyperlinks within the emails result in a survey on a dodgy web site which asks you to fill in your private and monetary data.
Motion Fraud has obtained 616 experiences of the rip-off in simply two weeks.
Don’t click on on the hyperlinks within the electronic mail. Ahead it to report@phishing.gov.uk as an alternative.
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