C-Urchin
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Posts: 234
Registered: 12-17-2008
Location: La Paz
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How to deal with Europcar crooks in La Paz
I come to visit La Paz Mexico frequently. I usually rent a car to get around from any of the American Rental Companies located at the airport. This
time I saw a bargain on Orbitz for Europcar. I made the booking.
Picked up the car at the airport, went over the car with the attendant and a check list of damages, as I pointed out the multitude of dings and
scratches I assumed the guy was writing them all down too...
After 3 days I decided to return the car because the cigarette lighter quit working, I need it for my GPS. They exchanged the car but tried to collect
money for "damages" to the car. They reffered to a rusty old ding on the fender...Deep rust in 3 days??? and a microscopic little scratch on the
windshield UNDER the wiperblade!!! I did not even use the wipers! I argued and finally the manager said OK, no problem. I took a multitude of
pictures of the new car and had them mark 84 dings and scratches (they want to play that game...). I kept a copy.
When I left and returned the car at the airport, I was informed that I had to pay for damages. The fender and a door!!! On the old car!
They also FORGED MY SIGNATURE to add extra insurance coverage that I had declined. I use American Express and they cover collision and all the extra
stuff.
Results: $184 extra in insurance and $200 extra in "damages" to the original car. You have no choice but to pay or they send the authorities on you
before you get to the plane, I have heard horror stories. But I am no dummy...
This is what you do in this case: Write this on your credit card receipt where they ask you to sign; THESE ARE FRAUDULENT CHARGES AND I AM SIGNING
THIS AGAINST MY WILL. Write the amount if the fraud is a partial amount of the entire bill. Then sign.
When the charges appear on your bill, call the credit card company (American Express is great for these kind of things) and tell them what happened.
Above all, DO NOT RENT FROM EUROPCAR, they are crooks.
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woody with a view
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Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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i won't.
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BigWooo
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Posts: 579
Registered: 1-2-2007
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We've had the same "damages" scam pulled on us by "American" rental companies also. It's actually pretty common, not in La Paz, but other areas. I
started taking digital pictures of every side of the car, tires and spare before we take possession. The first picture is always of the car with the
agency building in the background and the agent standing next to it.
Ever since, I've only had one guy try to get me for damages. When I pulled out the camera and showed the pictures, that put an end to it... well
almost. I mentioned to take a picture of the spare because after I showed him the pictures of the existing scratches, he'd tried to get me by saying
the spare tire was different and we must have had a flat Fortunately one
of the pictures had part of the spare with the lettering
I think the best way to avoid scams is to avoid renting at airports if possible. Find a hotel that has a rental agency attached. Take their shuttle
from the airport to the hotel, spend a night and rent there. We've yet to experience a scam with a hotel based rental agency.
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shari
Select Nomad
     
Posts: 13049
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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We went through the same scam at the Loreto rental car agency in town...Eurocar...never never again. Good thing we bought the extra insurance that
covered all the bogus dings as there was no time to diddle around over this...had to catch a flight.
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Alan
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1628
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
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You would think that it isn't brain surgery. I just returned from a great trip to La Paz. Caught some nice tuna and dorado with David Jone's
Fisherman Fleet, had an excellent dinner and said hi to Jesse at Tres Virgenne's new location and Hurricane Rick made a sharp right turn and missed us
completely.
Yet as you walked around town it really seems like a ghost town compared to just three years ago. Many businesses are shut down, most of the large
projects are just plodding along with only minimal crews still working, graffitti is on the increase everywhere. Yet the local police are still
targeting rental cars for mordida and the rental car companies are claiming bogus damages. One would think they would be concentrating on making it
more friendly for tourists and investors but they seem to just be getting worse.
Like shari I always purchase full coverage so I have no hassles but that brings the price of the garbage cars they offer to over $80/day. Even with
the low fares from Volaris I have to really limit my trips because car rentals are so high and when down there I really limit my trips to town because
of hassles with the cops when I drive a rental car.
On the bright side though it was much easier to find parking
In Memory of E-57
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Von
Senior Nomad
 
Posts: 961
Registered: 10-1-2006
Location: Poway-Rosarito
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Mood: getting ready!
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mmm that really sucks! Im glad you guys post this eventually this catches up to these crooks! Thanks for sharing....
READY SET.....................
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
    
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It's amazing how different they treat rentals in this world. The rental revenue raising trick described here, has been part of Baja since I can
remember.
I rented a vehicle in Europe (Spain) for a month and upon flying out of Madrid, we were instructed to put the car in the lot designated for rentals,
deposit the keys in a slotted box, and Voila, that was it. Nobody even looked at the car. In fact, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Just got on the
plane and left.
[Edited on 10-26-2009 by vandenberg]
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Loretana
Senior Nomad
 
Posts: 825
Registered: 5-19-2006
Location: Oregon/Loreto
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Also, be sure that you get the copy after the impression is taken of your credit card.
At the Mexico City Airport location a few years ago, the American Express Platinum Card copy/impression from our Avis rental car deal was "lost" and
the agent told us the minute he found it, it would be destroyed. He took another impression from our credit card, and calculated our bill. We thought
that since we were dealing with AVIS, all was well.
About four months later, two first class round trip tickets to Madrid on Aeromexico were charged to our credit card. Yikes!! The tickets cost over
$9000.00. Luckily, when I called American Express, and told them who the culprits were, all charges were reversed. And this happened in good
economic times.
Now, the second we charge something on our credit card in Mexico, we get a call from American Express customer service, asking us to verify it.
That's a good thing.
"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration."
-Nikola Tesla
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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They Must Be More Laid-Back In Europe
Quote: | Originally posted by vandenberg
It's amazing how different they treat rentals in this world. The rental revenue raising trick described here, has been part of Baja since I can
remember.
I rented a vehicle in Europe (Spain) for a month and upon flying out of Madrid, we were instructed to put the car in the lot designated for rentals,
deposit the keys in a slotted box, and Voila, that was it. Nobody even looked at the car. In fact, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Just got on the
plane and left.
[Edited on 10-26-2009 by vandenberg] |
We noticed the same last time we returned a car in Frankfurt, Germany. Just park the car and go. And actually, I had caused a bit of a boo boo on one
of the car panels when trying to pull into a tight space, when a support pillar in the garage must have jumped out at me. Never received any further
charges.
And it is incredible how BCS rental rates have skyrocketed. Guess they figure if you can afford to fly there and stay there, you can afford premium
rental rates.
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Heather
Nomad

Posts: 370
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: National City, CA
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We rented from Europcar last summer in Cabo and had no problems. My girls (6,9, and 15), went around with the guy marking all the dings and made sure
he got every last one...high and low! Drove the car all over Cabo, Pescadero, Todos Santos, and La Paz for about 10 days. We returned it dirty and
dusty, with a full tank of gas and no problems!
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BMG
Super Nomad
  
Posts: 1776
Registered: 6-10-2007
Location: La Paz / Bahia Asunci�n / Away from home
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Quote: | Originally posted by C-Urchin
I usually rent a car to get around from any of the American Rental Companies located at the airport. |
As for renting from an 'American Rental Company', here is a quote I received in an email from Alamo Car Rentals in regards to a complaint about the La
Paz franchise.
Quote: |
Each of our overseas locations are franchise owned and purchase the right to use the Alamo name only.
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Or, in other words, they can do whatever they want.
I think the world is run by C- students.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
    
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Perhaps Not The Craziest Baja Rental Story, But
For over two decades, when we've flown to Cabo, we have rented from Avis. For many of those years, the staff was there year in and year out and were a
friendly, helpful group. I suppose, I can chalk it up to my wasted youth, but in all those years I never purchased the CDW coverage, feeling that it
practically doubled the cost of the rental. And for all those years, we never had an incident.
About five years ago, we decided to take a couple of friends with us, as well as our daughter and her husband. We flew down with our friends, while
the daughter took a later flight on a different airline to take advantage of frequent flyer miles.
Our friends made their own arrangements, although they were on our flight. My buddy informed me that he found the best rental deal at Advantage Rent a
Car. Since we were traveling together, I decided to book there, too. Upon arrival, we took the van to their off-site office. There was one clerk
behind the counter, AND a time share shill, who made a valiant effort to sell my buddy on breakfast. Anyway, my friends completed their paperwork
first and we decided that my wife would go with them to check in, while I would finish up my paperwork and go back to the sirport to pick up the kids.
While I was completing my paperwork, the time share guy took great exception to my refusal of the CDW waiver, warning me how dangerous it was around
town. I politely told him that I had been coming down for many years and never encountered any problems. I finished up, drove back to the airport and
waited for about 40 minutes inside the terminal before the kids arrived. As we were headed out to the parking lot, I spied the same time share guy
standing near the terminal door. When we got to the car, for some unknown reason, my son-in-law asked me if I knew that the oval Nissan medallion was
missing from the front of the hood. Hmmm. Of course, I had no proof, but I would bet an awful lot on it having been pried out by the timeshare guy who
undoubtedly followed me back to the airport, having heard that it was my next destination.
The good news is that my friend rented the exact same Nissan model, and purchased CDW. When it came time to return the cars, we just swapped-out the
medallion from his car and popped it into mine before driving back to Advantage. We got some weird looks at the Advantage lot, but nothing was said,
and we were on our way. No extra charge. I kinda wonder if pilfering of those medallions was regular practice. And I kinda wonder what sort of
outrageous charge they would claim.
While I drive down most of the time these days, when I do fly, I go back to Avis.
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slimshady
Nomad

Posts: 291
Registered: 9-3-2008
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I rented from Budget at SJD airport and noticed that the price of the insurance as well as daily rental when up at the same time as the Peso went to
13 pesos a dollar. Rather than than bring down their prices they figured they could charge more.
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Dianamo
Nomad

Posts: 182
Registered: 12-27-2005
Location: SF Bay Area, CA when not in El Cardonal
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Mood: ...still in Baja
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I experienced the same problem with EuropCar in Loreto. I will never rent from them again.
We have had okay luck with Thrifty at SJD, but I am not recommending anyone.
From now on we will take photos of the prior damage when renting a vehicle, it is a good idea even in the States as this economy is causing a lot of
desperate tactics. The suggestion of "forced to signing under duress...." is a good idea also!
Minds are like parachutes...they only function when open!
\"The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.\" - Plato
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Lee
Ultra Nomad
   
Posts: 3597
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
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Everybody? If you rent a car, bring your CAMERA!
Saw friend's digital cam this weekend. Narrower than a pack of cigarettes, weighing about the same. 10 Pixels.
Consider the time taking pictures of scratches, dents, rust and everything else wrong with the car you are renting, asking the attendent to write
everything down. In the alternative, when I rent a car, I ask for a new one. I've sent back 3 cars getting to the right one.
Asserting yourself up front lowers the possibility of having to assert yourself when you turn the car in. They know you're in a hurry to catch a
flight and they have the advantage.
A horror-type story I know personally happened in San Francisco to an acquaintance. A window was broken on his airport rental car, he argued with
the rental car people (don't know the company), guess the argument was a stand off, and he walked away. He was arrested by airport police at the
gate. He missed his flight to Maui.
The idea mentioned of signing ''in protest of fraudulent charges'' is an excellent idea and should also be done.
I believe a camera is great insurance.
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