Advice on how to collect for stolen GPS
 

We recently returned from a trip to Europe. Our GPS was stolen out of our locked car in an IBIS Hotel in Aachen, Germany. We reported the loss to the hotel mgr. and made a police report before leaving Aachen. Our insurance deductible was $800.00 so we paid Avis for the stolen property and wrote to the hotel to ask for them to reimburse the cost. They denied our claim. Any ideas on how to proceed to get the hotel to pay? The hotel garage was underground and supposed to be locked but when I questioned the manager she told me the lock had recently been broken and did not work. We had no way of knowing this.
Any advice is appreciated. Zap

As a general rule, the garage has no liablity. Just like inthe US.

Sorry!

So you think the hotel has no responsibility? It is a hotel garage...we paid them to park. Thanks for your input.

most of the time, printed on the back of your ticket, 'we assume no liability for your vehicle or anything stolen out of it'... in legalese.

Honestly, I think you have learned an expensive lesson. Don't ever leave anything of value in a locked car, no matter how secure you think it is...

If the hotel denied your claim, thier basis probably was the "no liablity" for the garage.
Paying to park doesn't change that. I don't expect you will get anything reimbursed.

GPS units are very popular with thieves because they are easy to walk away with, cost a decent amount of money and are very visible. I always remove mine from my car (even in the US) and hide the mount. I don't use the window mount, but a bean bag thing so there's no "ring" on the window as a tip off.

German law knows the term "grob fahrlässig" (gross negligence) which seems to apply here? Was the GPS visible or was it in the trunk? If it was not bulit in and visible you don't have a chance of getting any money back. A built in GPS/Radio otoh is usually insured. Mime is at no extra charge :-)

The GPS was built in. We requested a car with a GPS when we rented it. It was not visible, so I wasn't aware how to remove it when we parked the car at night. Zap

<i>insurance deductible was $800.00</i>. It looks like you are cooked.

How could a GPS be <i>not visible</i>? I thought that was the idea that you can see it.

<i>wasn't aware how to remove it when we parked the car at night.</i> Obviously someone else knew how to remove it, and how to get into the car without a key.

I agree - you chose an to have an insurance deductible of $800, thereby agreeing to pay for the first $800 of any insured loss.

It's a shame you were robbed. I think the liable party is the thief, not anybody else.

In that case, the Avis insurance may cover the damage. If it does, Avis cannot charge you for the whole amount. I'd call and ask. Chances of getting anything from the hotel are close to nil, imho

By "built in" you mean it was in the dashboard? Or was it somehow attached to the window or floorboard. Hertz in the US uses this system that attaches to the "floorboard" but I think that taking it out would be quite a production. (And for some lucky reason I have never had one of these taken!)

Spaarne, I think what we mean by "not visible" was "is it sitting in plain sight for the thief to see" My personal GPS, for example, is a Garmin Nuvi. It sits on the top of my dashboard when being used, but when not in use I take it out of the car (or right now it's hidden in the car in my drive) That makes it "not visible" the casual thief walking buy looking for "goodies" Same concept as with other valuables in the luggage.

I looked into renting a GPS from Auto Euorpe a few years ago and when I heard how much I would be out if it was lost, I bought my own! THey wanted $1200 and I think I paid $400 for what I got (and they have dropped some since then)

By built in I mean it was in the dashboard. It was not attached to the window or floorboard. You couldn't tell there was a GPS until you got in and turned the car on. There was an instruction book and some sort of cd in the glove box which I am sure the thief found and took.

They charged us $250 Euros.

Our GPS in the US is one which sits on top of the dashboard and when we are not using it we take it out of the car.

We never leave valuables in the car when we travel, i.e., the thief went ramsacked all of our luggage in the car and took no dirty clothes. We always take everything in the hotel with us. I just did not know how to take the GPS into the room.

Thank you for all your replies.

If it's integrated into the dashboard, you have a chance disputing the charge. How far you're responsable for thefts depends on the insurance you have bought. But in any case, they can't charge you more than their costs.

On the basis of the garage lock being broken and therefore not as advertised, I would push back on the hotel one more time if you haven't already done so.

Send them a formal registered letter requiring a signature of receipt, not an email. Probably not going to help but minimal effort for one last attempt.

Which credit card did you use to secure and pay for the rental. My situation happened in the US, and it was a removable GPS unit, but my Amex card had extended insurance. I had to fight with them for a bit, but they finally covered every cent.

Good luck!
H

Wow! Interesting that they chose to steal that considering those are not really "transportable" to another car UNLESS it's the same make/model with the unit?

I still think the hotel is going to say "too bad" But good luck!

Thanks again for info. We sent our first letter to the hotel in the form of a registered letter requiring a signature with all necessary information. We paid for the hotel and parking with a Visa Card.