Auto Europe car rental- Beware!
 

I recently rented a car from Auto Europe in Florence, Italy for one day on November 1. I did get all the necessary insurance. Returned the car the next day. The agent looked at the car and said eveything was fine. Three weeks later I get a registered letter form them saying they are charging my credit card 600 Euros for damage, damage to the license plate of all things! I have put in a dispute with my CC company and called Auto Eur. customer service. They are going to investigate this scam.
Beware!!

Here we go again - there are about 10 or so of these same posts each year.

You did not rent a car FROM Auto Europe - you rented THROUGH Auto Europe. You probably rented a car FROM Avis, Hertz, EuropCar, etc. It was not AutoEurope that charged your CC - it was Hertz, Avis, EuropCar, or whoever you had the contract with. Contact customer service at AutoEurope by phone, and let them be your advocate to resolve this matter - you will probably get nowhere with your CC company (my wife works for Visa). It may take a few follow-ups on your part with Auto Europe to make sure they keep your claim 'active" until they get the supportive info from Avis, Hertz, etc. I have had similar problems with EuropCar & Hertz messing up on paperwork and charging me CDW, tank of gas, etc - but Auto Europe has always resolved things in my favor.

Your CDW with AutoEurope should cover the damamges, whether there were any or not.

I don't understand the registered letter part - I did not know that a registered letter to the US (if that's where you are from), could be initiated from Italy. I might be missing something here. Auto Europe does not charge anything in Euros.

Are you sure you are not confusing Auto Europe with EuropCar???

Stu Dudley

Did you rent from Auto Europe, or Auto Europa? The former is a US based agency that arranges rentals through Avis, Europcar, and others at excellent, negotiated rates. The latter is also know as SicilyByCar and is an Italian car rental agency.

I would be surprised if it was AutoEurope, as you don't actually pick up the car from them, but rather bring their pre-paid voucher to the rental car co.

It was definatly Auto Europe. They did charge in Euros. The letter did come registered from Italy.
I do not have the letter with me now I will post some info later. Thanks

Auto Europe is located in Protland, Maine - that's their only office.

Your letter probably came from the rental company (Hertz, Avis, etc). Which rental company office did your Auto Europe voucher instruct you to go to???

Stu Dudley

After you go home and get the letter, post the accurate info. I'd have done that <u>before</u> posting that AutoEurope scammed you . . . . . .

Based on post on October 17th...&quot;I am renting in Florence for one day through Avis. It was the best price. Now I am a little woried. I am hoping my credit card will carry the insurance needed&quot;...unless he changed the supplier after this post it was Avis.

Do not &quot;hope&quot; your credit card will cover damage to a rental...read the fine print, then call the company to find out exactly what the coverage is. I'll be very surprised if your company covers you in Italy, as most of the rental agencies require you to purchase insurance when you pick up the car in that country.

It is unfortunate that such posts continue to appear. Stu said it all. More holes than Swiss cheese...
You did not get a letter from AutoEurope from Italy.
If you did indeed &quot;get all the necessary insurance&quot; why are you worried?
I am anxious to read your reply when you get the facts.

OK - did you rent w/ Avis &quot;through&quot; AutoEurope - or did you rent &quot;through&quot; Avis?

If AutoEurope was involved - I'd assumem you got the CDW. If you are relying on your credit card - I'm pretty sure you are SOL. Visa/MC don't cover car insurance in Italy, Ireland and few other countries.

We need a LOT more information since the bits and pieces don't add up.

By guess is:
1. The OP rented a car from Avis through Auto Europe.
2. He didn't take nil-deductible coverage through Auto Europe, but just relied on Avis' CDW, which has a deductible of 600 euro.
3. When he returned the car, the staff receiving gave their OK. But on closer examination afterwards, they detected a damage and 600 euro deductible was charged to his credit card.

What the OP should do is to contact AE by phone (toll-free) and ask them to investigate. If there was a damage to license plate, ask Avis to produce a receipt for repair. If it's less than 600 euro, ask them to refund the difference.

I don't think Auto Europe will even offer you a car in Italy without their CDW. They will in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, &amp; other countries that do not require insurance.

Stu Dudley

I've rented through AutoEurope many times and have always been amazed at the high quality of their customer service. Most companies could learn a lot from these people relating to how to properly treat customers.

1) I have never received a &quot;letter&quot; from them in the mail. I have always received an email.

2) As stated above, they are located in the States and act as a broker for many companies.

3) AutoEurope would not be charging anything extra as they do not physically rent cars. The agency may. That said, did you receive a release from the actual rental company? If so, then it has to show damage. If not, then sorry.

4) You always have the option to purchase additional insurance. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, you are required to physically decline additional coverage in Italy.

5) There is a company called AutoEuropa which does get slammed alot and is not in any way connected with AutoEurope.

dave

We rented through Auto Europe in Italy last year and they did indeed force the extra insurance on us, as its a requirement in Italy. We have a CC with added insurance to cover CDW but in certain countries, Italy being one of them, CDW is mandatory and is included in the rate of the rental.

As mentioned above, Auto Europe is basically just a middle man, so you didn't actually rent an Auto Europe vehicle, you rented an Avis, Hertz, etc. vehicle through Auto Europe.

I have always been very impressed by AE's customer service. If you have any questions or doubts, call them. They should be able to offer you some advice or tell you where to go next.

Good luck,
Tracy

I had a quote and voucher from AutoEurope this past summer. The rental was through Avis.

The quote included mandatory CDW with a deductible (I forget the amount). I was invited to purchase super CDW at additional cost. The super-CDW lowers your deductible to $0 liability, but is not mandatory. Basic CDW is in Italy as others have mentioned.

In the end I switched to Thrifty - they had an internet special and AutoEurope would not match the quote (claiming the car was a different class vehicle).

Mike writes:
&gt; I recently rented a car from Auto Europe in Florence, Italy for one day on November 1.

I didn't know that AE would rent a car for less than 3 days.

&gt;I did get all the necessary insurance.

AE offers zero deductible. Did you get that?

Hi J,

&gt;I switched to Thrifty - they had an internet special and AutoEurope would not match the quote (claiming the car was a different class vehicle).

Hmmmmm, I wonder if it is remotely possible that it was?

What were the 2 cars?

((I))

According to their (AE) website, you can rent a car for one day in Florence.

In my own experience, if damage is claimed by the vendor, AutoEurope is not much help. We were pretty much on our own when EuropCar charged us for damage to the clutch last year in France. And we had to pay!

Sorry, but what has happend to me and everyone else on thsi thread when WE/THEY rented through AutoEurope is irrelevant.

What IS relevant IMO is this statement from the OP: &quot;The agent looked at the car and said eveything was fine.&quot;

IF that agent didn't say it IN WRITING you are toast, Mike.

Actually, the European headquaters of AutoEurope is:

AutoEurope Deutschland GmbH
Landsberger Strasse 155
80687 M&uuml;nchen
GERMANY

That's the place that has handled all of my customer service issues in France.

I think the point of many replies here is that Auto Europe is not the culprit. Anyone reading Mike's heading or original post would think Auto Europe is running a scam - which I doubt.

If Auto Europe is just an innocent bystander, then I think Mike should post some sort of apology to AE (new thread). If Auto Europe jumps in &amp; resloves the problem for Mike, then an &quot;atta-boy&quot; for AE would be appropriate, IMO.

BTW, I rent about 3 cars per year in Europe. When I return the cars, only about 25% of the offices have even inspected the car for damages. Usually I just hand the office clerk the papers, make sure they document that the car was returned full of gas (they take my word for it), and that was it. In France where most of my rentals occur, they only immediatly process the paperwork at the return office IF I also rented the car from that same office. If I rented it from a different office, they mail the return papers to the originating office. Also, I have noticed an increae of paperwork &quot;errors&quot; in the last few years.

Stu Dudley

&gt;According to their (AE) website, you can rent a car for one day in Florence. &lt;

So, you can.

Thanks, ek.

I don't get all of this.... AutoEruope (based in the US) covers all of the insurance. We have never been asked if we wanted enhanced CDW. We brought back a dented car and told them at the desk. The agent said, &quot;Don't worry, you're completely covered.&quot;

The original poster mentioned he rented a car from AutoEurope in Florence.....unless he made the reservation before, he couldn't have rented from AutoEurope. He said he did get all the necessary insurance. AutoEurope already comes with theft, fire, CDW, etc, ect. You don't have to purchase more.

The OP said he would post more info when he had a chance to look at the letter again. I personally think we should just wait til he does (or doesn't ;) ) so we know what really happened.

I forgot to mention that when we called AutoEurope to tell them we had dented the car, they told us we had to deal with the rental company. Even though they cover you with all of the insurance, they purchase it through the rental company at a greatly discounted price. We never paid a penny for the dent and that was a year ago.

Ira: Just so you know for next time, you can rent a car from Auto Europe for less than 3 days in most locations. We have done it several times in different countries...

Now, back to the subject at hand....

Here are all the facts.
I rented through AutoEurope before I left the U.S. I was told to pick up the car in Florence at the Auto Europa office in downtown Florence.
The registered letter I recieved three weeks later was from a broker called ASC broker- Sicily by Car. I did have the CDW ins. I made sure of that. It was included in the quote I recieved. The letter stated that &quot;the charges were due to damages occurred to the not insured parts of the rented vehicle&quot;. The box for vehicle plates was checked.

Ok, Got it. Good luck with your claim and let us know how it turns out so if it happens to us we know what to do.

I know everyone says to take pictures of the car when they ok it. I have to say....I never do and I guess we should.

I like that...&quot;oh, you wanted the licence plate insured? I'm sorry, that's XXX euro more&quot;. What nerve

I used AutoEurope last week to rent a car in Florida (provided through Dollar), and the license plate was so twisted I thought it would fall off the car.

Auto Europe contracting with Auto Europa is a new one on me.

I would call Auto Europe Customer Service and tell them your story. You may be getting scammed by Auto Europa, and I'm sure Auto Europe would be interested to hear about it. I would also write a letter to Customer Service and document the facts (no embellishments) and tell the CS person you will FAX it to him/her as a follow up. I had a similar problem this year, and a FAX seemed to break the &quot;logjam&quot;.

Licence plates for 600E??? - wow - I would like to see that plate.

Stu Dudley

I did call Auto Europe in there U.S. office yesterday and they are going to investigate it. The agent I spoke to sounded amazed when I told him the letter said the damage was to the licence plate.
When I get an update I will post. Thanks

Call Auto Europe late next week to see if there is any &quot;news&quot; from Auto Europa. I would still FAX them an &quot;information&quot; document. My communication floundered a bit with them this year until I sent a FAX after one of my subsequent follow-up calls. On two occasions, Auto Europe did not receive any supportive info from the rental agency (Auto Europa in your case), so they refunded the money to me themselves.

Stu Dudley

The information on Auto Europa's website states:

CAR PROTECTION PLUS INCLUDES :
- total elimination of the damage penalty ;
- total elimination of the theft penalty ;
- accessory services include :
- exempts the customer of the payment of the cost to reinstatement of: windshield, glasses in general, tyres, parts beneath the vehicle, roof ;

CAR PROTECTION PLUS does NOT include:
- Loss and/or damages and/or theft of the car papers. In such cases, client will be charged for a supplement of 200,00 + 20% VAT;
- Loss and/or damages and/or theft of the car keys. In such cases, client will be charged for a supplement of 200,00 + 20% VAT;
- Loss and/or damages and/or theft of the registration plates (or even just one of them). In such cases, client will be charged for a supplement of 360,00 + 20% VAT.
-
- It is NEVER possible to eliminate the responsibility regarding damages to tapestry and interiors, to mechanical parts caused by negligence and /or carelessness of the driver.

- damages to the vehicle for violation of the Traffic Regulation Code.

According to this info even if you did damage them or they were stolen, the charge should be 360,00 Euros plus VAT...this information should also be in your rental contract. It seems to me like they are gouging you in excess of their written policy.

I've always had very good customer service with Auto Europe and I'm sure if they can help you solve the issue with Auto Europa they will do their best. They are however only a broker or middleman.

Good luck...I hope it gets resolved.

A slight update. After having two conversations with C.S. rep a couple of weeks ago I recieved an email from Auto Europe asking for copies of what I recieved from Auto- Europa. this is the email I recieved.

Your fax was received, and thanks for sending this to me. I will advise you as soon as the matter has been settled, and I deeply regret any inconvenience

..good news Mike.. As a suggestion, I am really quite neurotic about looking at any car I rent with a fine tooth comb when I pick it up. I make sure any little dings are noted by the agency. When I return, I insist on another walk around with the agency so no surprises...I even once took a picture of a rather odd scratch that had 2 components..and sure enough I had it on the camera when the agency walked around with me.

I am not as easily convinced about this whole thing.... and meanwhile we have a post that keeps popping up entitled &quot;Auto Europe car rental- Beware!&quot;
Has the OP admitted to:
the fact that the culprit is not Auto Europe? that if the letter came from Italy it was Sicily By Car (aka Auto Europa!!!)
A broker named ASC ??? more probably a reference to premium location drop-off (airport) and that broker paid it... that is usually what ASC means
that AutoEurope is fulfilling their obligation... they are investigating and apologized for the agency and said they have never heard of such a thing

...meanwhile the title of the post lives on

Travel Bunny: We also take pictures of before and after. Sometimes there isn't (as in Palermo airport) an agent in the lot where you drop the car off. So it is very important never to delete the before and after pictures for a very long time.

As I mentioned before, we rented through Auto Europe in Sicily and had an Avis car. We didn't buy the extra insurance. We told the agent inside the airport that we had a dent. He said it was ok because we were completely covered. That was over an year ago and I haven't heard another word. We have kept the pictures.

I agree with robjame.

mike, you should ask the editors to remove this thread because the title is clearly an unfair and misleading attack on Auto Europe.

Jim

I agree with deleting this post because AutoEurope is an excellent company. The original poster mentions that they are trying to take care of it. If you search AutoEurope on this site you will see the vast majority of people swear by them. I wouldn't rent from anyone else.

Well, when this problem first occured I did not realize Auto Europe was just the broker. I was so angry to get a bill for over 900.00 dollars for something I did not do. I just new that is the company I made the reervation with. When this matter is resolved I will HAPPILY praise Auto Europe.