Expedia / Alamo car hire nightmare

[Shelling]

Just wanted to share our recent completely nightmarish car hire experience with Expedia UK & Alamo UK & USA. We recently spent 18 days in Fort Myers driving a car that we were unsure was insured, despite having bought & paid for all the usual & the higher level insurance cover from Expedia when we ordered the car in the UK prior to our trip. When we got to the hire desk at the airport, Alamo USA refused to honour the insurances we had bought – they said it wasn’t showing on their (computer) system and wouldn’t budge, despite being shown the Expedia contract that clearly listed them. Our Alamo contract that we carried with us whilst driving around clearly stated ‘no insurance’ – I hate to think of the legal mess that we would have had to deal with had we had a problem.

We phoned & emailed Expedia & Alamo every day from Florida, but they didn’t sort this out in all the time we were there. In fact we only got Expedia’s full explanation almost a month after we got back. They claim that the problem was an internal one between Expedia UK, who are 100% clear that we did have insurance, and Alamo USA who were 100% clear that we didn't have any insurance through them - with involvement from Alamo UK who are piggy-in-the-middle of this relationship.

What's the result? We have a paltry £75 of Expedia vouchers for our trouble, with the usual accompanying statement that they deny any liability. Expedia have washed their hands of the whole situation - it seems not to have been their problem that they acted as the broker in this situation and we (their client) didn’t get what we paid for. There is a potential court case in the offing & a complaint has gone in to the insurance regulator. We contend that it is Expedia’s problem, and have legal opinion that this is the case.

Obviously we will NEVER hire through Expedia again. But we have a broader concern given what we know now about why the problem happened. It could potentially happen with any car hired through a broker - which is what I would guess most of us & our guests do every time we hire in the US. We don't hire directly from Alamo, National etc because they charge hugely more.

Any thoughts / solutions welcome. We’re off again in November and have hired a car through another broker - we have our fingers & toes very firmly crossed.

[ellie]

I am sorry to hear about your experience, Sheila. I would have been horrified at having to even consider driving in Florida in a car which we thought was uninsured - the consequences could have been dire for you. I am not sure I would have had your 'bottle' to drive round Florida in a car which you believed was uninsured! We have always ensured that we are fully covered - and believe me, there are companies who tell you that you are fully covered, when you are not!

I certainly have a suggestion for you! Next time book your car through uscarhire.co.uk. Click on the link at the top of the page which says Florida Car Hire and you won't do better. My advice would also be to cancel your car hire now (if you are able to do so!). If you hire a car from uscarhire.co.uk you can cancel and obtain a refund until close to your departure date, and you only have to pay a £25 deposit for bookings more than 8 weeks away. I hope your broker has organised such a good deal for you as I would walk away from your present car hire.

I am afraid it is not sufficient to have your fingers and toes firmly crossed - should you drive a car again with potentially no insurance you would be in a very serious situation - and next time you might not be so lucky, through no fault of your own - after all, an accident can happen when you least expect it, no matter how carefully YOU drive. You really need to sort this out asap.

Roger, who runs this service, offers exceptional customer service and we cannot speak too highly of Roulla in the office, who has always been so efficient. We use them 4 times a year, and have done so for many years, and have always been 100% satisfied. They are now able to offer services (free) which will speed up your pick-up in Florida, such as the Alamo kiosks, so you won't experience the horrific mess you did last time.

We hired 2 cars on our recent visit (got home on Sunday) and couldn't be happier with either the prices or the service we received.

All insurances to the highest level are included, and there is nothing to pay when you get there - except for gas is you go for the silver option.

[Clare R]

As Ellie has pointed out - use USCarHire and you will KNOW that you have sufficient insurance. Your situation sounds a nightmare and I hope you update the forum once the situation has gone through the legal process.

Have only used Expedia for flight tickets and have never had a problem with the company but it just goes to show how in this world of computers things do still get bunged up.

[roger]

I'm really sorry to hear of your problems- that must have been a nightmare for you.

Personally, had that been me, I would have paid for the insurances on collection of the car, even though you had already paid them in advance with Expedia. Then you would not have had the worry of whether you were insured or not, and not had the risk of being uninsured. Then on return I would have taken it up with Expedia for a refund of the insurances you had effectively paid twice.

Which insurances were Alamo saying were not included? I do know that personal insurance is never included as standard (whether booked direct or with an agent). If Alamo were referring to this, then they were right.

Both myself and Roulla personally know senior staff at Alamo both in the US and the UK. Had you booked through us, and this problem arisen (which I very much doubt it would!) then you could have contacted us and we would have had this sorted for you very quickly without you having to spend a lot of time during your vacation trying to sort it yourself.

Both our Silver and Gold package most certainly come with insurances for the car (theft and damage) and 3rd party damage and injury, and full cover if you are involved in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver (regardless of whose fault it was).

Some companies (possibly including Expedia) do offer car rental with less (or no) insurance and there is a chance they might have booked your car with Alamo with the wrong insurance package. That cannot happen with us as our contracts with Alamo do not include an option without the insurance. I expect if Expedia had booked you on the wrong insurance package then the voucher would look correct but on the Alamo system it would show as the 'no insurance' option. That being the case, Alamo would be 100% accurate in saying you had not purchased the insurances.

Again I stress that personal insurance is never included but should not be needed if you have travel insurance.

[chris c]

Personally, had that been me, I would have paid for the insurances on collection of the car, even though you had already paid them in advance with Expedia. Then you would not have had the worry of whether you were insured or not, and not had the risk of being uninsured. Then on return I would have taken it up with Expedia for a refund of the insurances you had effectively paid twice.

I wholeheartedly agree! I would never take the risk of driving uninsured - in any country!

[ellie]

As you can see, Sheila, Roger has responded very rapidly to your posting. That shows the level of customer service he offers.

I cannot imagine being able to hire a car from any company which would be able to communicate so quickly with you - most of the time they are happy to take your money and run! They simply don't want to know, as you have found out with Expedia.

Hope you manage to cancel your car hire for November and can then book a car which will give you total peace of mind.

Good luck!

[eagleydo]

This is the exact reasons I always hire from here. Any problem Roger always helps and I never have any concerns about the insurance, I feel secure.

[Lyn]

I agree with all the above, would never use anyone other than usacarhire, they have given me super service every time I have used them.

[freddiehollie]

Quote :- they have given me super service every time I have used them.

Hear, Hear. We have had a number of cars from Roger now, with the next 3 already booked. Never had a problem and will continue to sing their praises [clap][clap][clap]

[jcargill]

Our own experience of Alamo this year :

": In January this year we had a scary transmission failure in one of your cars in very busy traffic. You gave us a token $70 voucher as compensation for the scare and loss of a whole afternoon of our vacation. We then rented from you at Tampa airport last month. As Amex Platinum card holders we have cover for CDW, insurance, etc and carry evidence of this. Your rental assistant gave us the hardest sell I have ever experienced and claimed that we did not have proper cover causing us some serious concern. She only relented when we offered to call Amex. I cannot believe that this cover was not known to your agent and can only assume that this was a ploy to scam tired overseas visitors. This does not do your company any favours and I note quite a bit of online comment on our Florida Vacation Home Owners forum (we have two Florida vacation rental homes ourselves) about this kind of thing. I don't know if this is due to pressure on agents or coming from their own initiative but it has left us less than happy and unlikely to use you again."

We await their response...

/ Jim