AutoEurope zero deductible waiver...not really?

This sort of shenanigan is why I rely on the insurance provided by my Chase/United cc in Italy and on my AMEX Premium rental car insurance elsewhere. I've had experiences with making claims on both, and everything was handled promptly and hassle-free.

The issue of rental car insurance is a murky one. For example; some policies offered exclude damage to windows and tires. Until I read the details, I would never have imagined there could be such an exclusion. It also provides fertile ground for shady practices, such as zero not really meaning nothing.
Sorry to hear of how you were stung, but thanks for alerting the rest of us.

Which car rental company was your contract with? They are the nit-picking parasites. AutoEurope is just a broker albeit one with a good reputation. You'll also find the AE zero excess doesn't cover damage that occurs in a 'parking facility'!

You probably would have seen any Pisa ZTL entrances, they are pretty well signed.

60 euro admin fee still beats 1000 or 2000 euro deductible.

See if you can have that reimbursed by the credit card.

If it's the rental company that charged you, you can have AutoEurope work on your behalf to get the money back. I've done that a couple times when I've contested charges the rental company added to the bill. If it's AutoEurope--that's another story.

You're complaining about a 60 euro admin fee? Be grateful that you had zero deductible - and that you didn't rely on credit card insurance that could have denied the claim, as it did mine. I would have been thrilled to only pay 60 euro.

It was EuropCar. I know 60 is better than a 1000 but zero should mean zero and 60 euros to 'open a form' is ridiculous!

Are you sure the charge wasn't the drop off charge. Autoeurope clearly states that there may be a drop off charge if returning a car to another location.

***One Way Car Rental Information

Rental car suppliers sometimes have restrictions or additional fees for rentals picked up and dropped off in different locations, to be paid locally. The estimated fee will be displayed once a car is selected.***

The fact that it's "to be paid locally" would say to me that this is what the fee was for, not for paperwork due to damages.

Donna

AutoEurope has a Europecar representative at a desk in their office in Maine. I suggest you call them and tell them exactly what you've told us. I bet you'll get this resolved.

Hi travelcrazy. I applaud you for checking into this. It's easy to go through life ignoring stuff like this. But I'm glad at least some people take the time to look into this type of thing. If you find out the fee is legit, you will feel better. If not, you are doing other travelers a big favor by sending a message to the car rental company that slipping in unannounced 'miscellaneous fees' is not OK and will not be tolerated. Thanks!

We just rented a car with zero deductible insurance in Roma (Termini) and returned it in Bolzano. We also didn't inspect the car thoroughly and thought that scratches found later would be charged to us. When we returned the car, we found all were listed and that we also had over-looked the itemized. I had been told by AutoEurope that if damages were found, an administrative fee of approximately $40 would be charged later when the claim was filed.

In the end, I think AutoEurope and EuropeCar were, overall, very professional and thorough. I'll admit to a slight bias as they didn't charge us for an extra day even though we were 35 minutes overdue.

As an aside, we rented this car in large part because of Roberto's experiences and recommendation. I think he's right on the money on this one.

If you read your paperwork from Autoeurope properly it will clearly show that the rental company can charge an administrative fee for damage even where you have zero deductible. I have checked my paperwork from two previous hires through Autoeurope and it states the exact amount of the fee. You have nothing to complain about.

Thank you for the replies. When we get back to the US I will phone AutoEurope to see if anything can be done. I know I should have checked more carefully.

Hertz in contrast, was wonderful when we picked up a car in Firenze. I asked about the 60,50 excluded charge in the paperwork and was told that with Hertz- zero means zero.. That the 60.50 was just AutoEurope standard form language. So I guess it depends on what company is booked via AutoEurope. I haven't returned yet to Hertz so I can't fully compare. But they definetly seemed more 'above board' regarding the contract. Fingers crossed. :-)

We rented from Avis in June/July and got their second highest coverage (everything except tires and personal belongings) and had no issues when returning the van, even with damage to one side (got hit while visiting Val D'Orcia). The attendant just looked at our paperwork and said we were fine because we had the high coverage. I guess it depends on the company and their policies. It's good to know that there is this fee with Autoeurope.

Donna

Bob, the OP said that the fee was in the contract. That doesn't exactly make it an "unannounced miscellaneous fee".

This isn't exactly on topic, but we've gotten in the habit of walking around the car when we pick it up, taking pictures of all sides and particularly of any existing damage. It only takes a couple of minutes.

Just returned last night - the 60.50 Euro fee somehow turned into a $130 charge! I will be calling AutoEurope this morning. I never received an invoice from EuropCar - they claimed they couldn't print it and it would be emailed to me.

Just be aware that the additional fee may be for a traffic infraction. This is also agreed upon when signing the contract. Have them email you a copy of the ticket and pay it promptly so you don't incur any further fees.

Donna

Thanks, it's not for a traffic infraction. With the way I insisted my husband drive, it is highly unlikely we will incur a valid traffic infraction. I had read too many stories on this site.

They charged me 75 Euro for the admin fee and an additional 22 Euro for VAT in addition to the valid road taxes. I called AutoEurope and they have opened a case. Worst case scenario is they reduce the admin fee to 61 Euro all in as stated on the contract. Best is the admin fee goes away entirely. They said it can take 30-45 Business days for the supplier to review this claim....wowza.

Hertz charge was for the minimal road tax only. I will be renting with Hertz from now on whenever possible. It was still through AutoEurope as well.

I hate to break the news but summer 2014 there was a rash of threads on this site warning others about their problems with Hertz in Italy. :(
Luckily for you AutoEurope is in the middle. These people would call Hertz USA and be told it was a separate company, so they ended up trying to deal with Hertz in Italy on their own.

The AutoEurope lease I had was zero deductible and it paid off. I had an unfortunate encounter with another vehicle on a very small road in Tuscany. His driver side mirror hit mine and both got smashed. When I returned the car they just noted it on a form and that was it. Didn't cost me a penny.

Not even the administration fee? What company did you rent with?

Zero fees when I returned the car,turned in the keys, signed off on the lease, 5 minutes and I was done. ...that was it. Booked my long time lease from AutoEurope.com six months before my trip. They had a brand new Peugeot 308 ready for me at Malpensa.

Jim is right that on a LEASE there is zero deductible and no admin fee. However, there is an admin fee if it is a rental, even with zero deductible.