kelliebellie

HELP!!!

I have a lovely car booked on the British AutoEurope site, but I decided to see what Andy at Gemut could do with the no CDW. Well, he asks for my confirmation number and this is what he writes back:

"I have verified the rate in the Auto Europe UK system. I spoke w/ AE USA's manager and he says the UK reseravtions are for UK citizens only and that you will not be able to pick-up the car without presenting a UK passport.

Sorry for the bad news.

Please let me know how you wish to proceed.

Kindest Regards,

Andy B."

Am I screwed? It was sooo much cheaper on the British site. And now the paranoid part of me thinks they've put a note in my reservation. Should I cancel and rebook it? Or is Andy bluffing?

annhig

Hi, kelliebellie,

this looks like a bluff to me. In uk law, they have a contract with you - can't see what your nationality has to do with it. After all, if you were already in the UK and wanted to book a car, they wouldn't say you had to book through the US then, would they?

and your driving licence would normally be required upon hiring which would show your nationality, anyway.

Why don't you phone A/E USA and ask them direct?

There may be US ops who have had experiences with this - have you tried searching the forum for this topic? - I've got a feeling it's come up before.

good luck!

regards, ann

kerouac

It's not even a bluff -- it's just ignorance. Managers often make up rules when they don't know what to say. Anybody who has ever worked in an office knows this.

kelliebellie

I am thinking of calling them. I don't know. There was a whole thread on this saying how it was fine and no one has had any trouble with it. But now I have someone saying the manager says I will have trouble. Who can I believe?

I'm thinking of booking a backup reservation that doesn't require a credit card to hold it. Just in case.

annhig

hi again, kb [love the name, by the way]

I just googled autoeurope and went through the two sites, and found they want to know your nationality. so I went through the booking process, 1st as a brit, then as if i were from US. The only diffference I found was that as the latter they quoted in US$, not £. but the cost was about the same, using 2$ to the £.

What are they gonig to do when you turn up, refuse your business? I don't think so!

hopefully someone with experience with this will join in, to put your mind at rest.

regards, ann

kerouac

Just read the endless "terms and conditions" -- I'm sure that you will find nothing that forbids people of certain nationalities from renting cars, as long as they have a credit card.

Nonconformist

On the face of it I can't see any justification they could have for charging you more as an overseas citizen, and I think it would be worth writing to the company asking what the legal justification is for this.

The only possible thing I can think of is that the insurance costs (or risks of defaulting payment) might be higher with non-British residents, although even then the citizenship seems irrlevant.

highflyer

We're Brits living in the US. We've booked cars more cheaply on UK sites sometimes and have been quoted rates in GBP. We always use a UK based credit card for these transactions and have been told this is necessary in the past but have not been asked for our passports.

rs899

I would be very surprised if you were stopped at the rental counter. Why would they even bother to look at what currency was on the voucher?

That said, please check into your insurance options. Read my experience on the "Yet another CDW " thread today

kelliebellie

Thanks all. I will definitly read that CDW post when I have a few extra brain minutes to dedicate to it!

We have some extra AMEX insurance that costs $25 per rental and adds all sorts of insurance extras.

I checked the Kemwel site and still pretty pricey.

sheila

I just went through the thing. You are asked at the outset to indicate your country of residence, and you are asked to switch if it's not the UK. They claim this is so they can get you accurate quotes, also, in your own currency.

Remember these guys are brokers. If there ARE Ts and Cs from the hire companies which make costs/premia vary, you may have a problem with the rental agreement when you get to the pick up point.

Were it me, I'd phone them

kelliebellie

Well Andy wrote back. He is offering me this deal. My costs on AutoEurope Britain were around $450 including CDW.

"3/29 - 4/8 MAD

Compact(VW Golf or similar) // 4 door // AUTO // air
Avis $861.42

Rate includes VAT, liability insurance, fire insurance and unlimited mileage. CDW and theft are optional. Most customers use a credit card which covers CDW and theft at no-cost.

We guarantee the lowest rates. If you find a better deal, call us and we will beat it (upon confirmation)."


I just talked the US AutoEurope and he said the the UK site is intended for UK people and I MAY have a problem booking through there. But he also said if I was sent a voucher then it is all set because I wouldn't have been sent a voucher unless it was all okay. And I was sent a voucher.

Sooo...I think I will keep my UK AutoEurope voucher, see how that goes, and have a back up non-paid plan. Of course if they don't let me use my voucher, can I get my money back from AutoEurope? Oh how confusing...

Millie64

could the difference in price be that it is an automatic car? Not driving a standard shift car in Europe doubles the price frequently.

kelliebellie

No, these were all automatics.

Well, I rebooked on the AutoEurope British site using my AMEX. If I get a voucher from them I am going with it. It asks you straight up your country of residence and billing address country and allows you to put in US. So I have lied to them in no way, shape, or form.

kelliebellie

Oh, and if you don't cancel with AutoEurope 24 hours in advance you lose 3 days of rental charges. So if I get there and they won't let me use the voucher, it should only cost me 3/10 of $450, which is, let me see, $135. I don't want to lose that, but it is worth it to try.

kelliebellie

Well I got my voucher and a nice e-mail from Marco at the European desk. Should I ask him about being from the US or should I let sleeping dogs lie?

rs899

If you are going to go through with it, I would keep quiet. BUT, check your insurance. You are responsible for some portion of CDW. See if you can live with that. And read your credit card terms to see if they pick up the difference (check my recent experience). You may have problems here. Let us know how it works out.

kerouac

AutoEurope will give you no grief. I have used them for the last two years for at least 30 rentals. They also sent me refunds when I was downgraded, and corrected stupid mistakes that I made myself.

Millie64

I have also had great experience with Auto Europe for over 20 years. We use our AmEX and have had several accidents (Even though my husband is British and grew up driving on "the wrong side of the road" he still has had some fender benders backing up. AmEx has always paid up. But check your credit card..

annhig

Hi again, Kb,

AS i understand it, you have now booked on the UK site, using the US resident option.

how could this not be valid? how could it not apply to you? the web-site makes it quite clear that this option is for non-UK residents, ie YOU!

the andys of this world are just preying on the fears of travellers - and it obviously works, to judge by the angst he's caused you.

Good luck with your trip,

regards, ann