Car rental fraud justice

[nycyorkiegirls]

Hello,

I was visiting the island on the last week of August! I rented Moke for 24 hours from Cool rentals- in which the Moke had us stranded at the beach( the moke gears were slipping and gratefully this didn’t happen in the middle of the road as we could’ve been in an accident ) and they came and replaced with a mini-Cooper.

I only had a few hours left in the rental agreement and drove the car for 5 miles. I took pictures and video of the car when I dropped it off at the airport since i was warned about the scams they are running.

Last night I was looking at my credit card transactions, and I noticed that there was an extra charge for 295 from the company. I contacted them right away and this morning they provided me with an invoice which was dated as of yesterday when I inquired and sent some photo of a scratch on the trim that wasn’t even in the video as i didn’t do it!!!

I have heard of these car rentals running these scams as most people do not notice the extra charge, and they take advantage of Tourist.

I have called the police department, and even though I had learned French growing up, perhaps it’s not the greatest but I tried, but they pretended they had no idea what I was talking about and did not want to talk to me. No one else spoke English there.

Besides , writing a bad review and hoping my credit card will pick this up since I was unable to use my Amex which has the best protection, does anyone have any advice on how there could be justice?

They sent me a video just today showing the car before, with the exception that I cannot see the time date stamp on their video. Also, the scratch that was on the car could be on any car.

 

[elgreaux]

Contact the Tourist Office, they all speak English there, and should be concerned about this kind of thing.

Comité du Tourisme
10, rue de France
Gustavia
97133 Saint Barthélemy

Du lundi au vendredi de 8h30 à 17h
Le samedi matin de 8h30 à midi
Fermé le dimanche

direction@saintbarth-tourisme.com

Téléphone 0590 27 87 27

www.Saintbarth-tourisme.com
instagram Stbarthtourisme
Facebook Saint Barth Tourisme

 

[le_reve]

Not that this makes you feel any better, but this happens everywhere. I am currently fighting with Hertz with a similar claim in Idaho for $4,000 for something we did NOT do. We have been fighting this for over a year. I have no extra advice for you, except what Ellen suggested. Sorry, misread that you used AMEX. Edited to say that you should check with your CC company, many of them will help out.

 

[cassidain]

Dispute the charge with your CC company. That will usually produce a credit (temporary or permanent) and an investigation of the facts of the case.
I’ve given up on CC car rental insurance and buy a stand alone policy.

 

[nycyorkiegirls]

Not that this makes you feel any better, but this happens everywhere. I am currently fighting with Hertz with a similar claim in Idaho for $4,000 for something we did NOT do. We have been fighting this for over a year. I have no extra advice for you, except what Ellen suggested. I would definitely think that AMEX will help you out.

I’m so sorry you’re going through this! Unfortunately, they did not take American Express probably for this reason. I took this up with my visa company immediately and speed at the charge, however, I know the car company can go back denying it.

It’s so frustrating when you know, you did not do something and you are being targeted with fraud.

 

[nycyorkiegirls]

Dispute the charge with your CC company. That will usually produce a credit (temporary or permanent) and an investigation of the facts of the case.
I’ve given up on CC car rental insurance and buy a stand alone policy.

That makes sense!

I had even paid for additional insurance with cool rental for 25€ so all the more reason why I am very confused about the charge, especially since I did pay for their insurance, which obviously meant nothing.

They did not take American Express, which is not shocking an obvious why not!!

 

[nycyorkiegirls]

Contact the Tourist Office, they all speak English there, and should be concerned about this kind of thing.

Comité du Tourisme
10, rue de France
Gustavia
97133 Saint Barthélemy

Du lundi au vendredi de 8h30 à 17h
Le samedi matin de 8h30 à midi
Fermé le dimanche

direction@saintbarth-tourisme.com

Téléphone 0590 27 87 27
www.Saintbarth-tourisme.com
instagram Stbarthtourisme
Facebook Saint Barth Tourisme

Thank you so much for this information!

I contacted the tourism board and she was extremely upset to hear that this company is taking advantage of tourists. Especially since I never even rented this mini Cooper, and this was the car that was brought to me in the two hours I have left on my rental after the Moke had us stranded at the grand cul de sac.

We are just grateful that we were at the beach and not around other cars when the Moke won’t go into drive and had us stuck in neutral. Had we been on a hill this would of been a complete disaster

 

[Popeyeskid]

We had a similar problem with another rental car company a few years ago. Ironically, my credit card was compromised the day we flew home. A new credit card was mailed to me due to the compromise and I never again heard from said rental car company about the made up damage. That was the catalyst that sent me to rent from Gumbs. I've never been sorry that I did.

 

[cassidain]

speaking of Gumbs, Odile's car insurance is the same company I get the stand-alone rental policy from: Allianz Global
i like the symmetry.

 

[andynap]

Another vote for Gumbs.

 

[dadto6]

Vote from us as well

 

[jamiem4]

speaking of Gumbs, Odile's car insurance is the same company I get the stand-alone rental policy from: Allianz Global
i like the symmetry.

speaking of Gumbs, Odile's car insurance is the same company I get the stand-alone rental policy from: Allianz Global
i like the symmetry.

I love Gumbs. Allianz is our insurance company for the villa and vehicles… sometimes we rent a car for fun here ~ to take a break from the Defender (which is not the most comfortable ride when we have friends visiting… getting in and out can be challenging). Gumbs is the only company we have ever rented from and just love them. They even keep the keys for us sometimes if we park at the airport for a quick trip. I couldn’t say enough wonderful words for Gumbs and I sincerely hope the deceitful practices are dealt with here. It’s such a small island and there are some wonderful honest businesses here… and there are some awful ones.

 

[Aipotu]

I love Gumbs. Allianz is our insurance company for the villa and vehicles… sometimes we rent a car for fun here ~ to take a break from the Defender (which is not the most comfortable ride when we have friends visiting… getting in and out can be challenging). Gumbs is the only company we have ever rented from and just love them. They even keep the keys for us sometimes if we park at the airport for a quick trip. I couldn’t say enough wonderful words for Gumbs and I sincerely hope the deceitful practices are dealt with here. It’s such a small island and there are some wonderful honest businesses here… and there are some awful ones.

Gumbs is the best!

 

[KevinS]

A thought on buying insurance from a local agency: Check the deductible. Some are huge.

I use a card which has Primary coverage. I pay cash for minor dings.

 

[Amery]

Agree completely on Gumbs. Love Odile.
We had an unfortunate experience with nice ending a few years ago. We were parked at Saline and while on the beach someone backed into our car. Minor but noticeable damage. Apparently the honest driver tried to find us on the beach. When we went to leave, we found a note on our car, explaining what had happened with a cell phone number. A nice family parked near us confirmed they had in fact seen a woman looking for the owners of our car. We called Odile and explained, also called the woman to thank her and asked her to work directly with Odile. That night the same family was sitting next to us at Tamarin!
Sorry to hear of these incidents of dishonesty from rental companies. As Kevin said, the few minor dings here and there we have taken care of in cash.

 

[LuckyKid2]

We are also in the loyal Gumbs/Odile fan club. A few years ago while visiting at a certain Marigot villa, a stone was sent through the back of our Jimny. We were able to drive it home and the next day drop it off with Odile. We were handed a set of keys to another one, very few questions asked, and always a smile. Thankfully the insurance covered it.

 

[cassidain]

Thankfully the insurance covered it.

LK2, mind sharing the details of the insurance ?

 

[LuckyKid]

We put it on my Chase Visa. M-a-n-y emails (and faxes) later payment was made direct to Gumbs (who were extra patient.)

 

[cec1]

We are also in the loyal Gumbs/Odile fan club. A few years ago while visiting at a certain Marigot villa, a stone was sent through the back of our Jimny. We were able to drive it home and the next day drop it off with Odile. We were handed a set of keys to another one, very few questions asked, and always a smile. Thankfully the insurance covered it.

 

[bobrosen]

Yup! I agree about Gumbs. Odile is the only person we've gotten our cars from on SBH for at least the last 15-20 years and she's always treated us well and fairly. She's gone above and beyond on a couple of occasions. And the one time we produced a couple of dings (that's the editorial "we" - it was ME!) she was more than fair with her charge, which we handled in cash. Bob