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Crunch credit
I write to echo your advice regarding hire car scams when taking a car in for an insurance claim. I have recently been involved totally innocently with one of these claims companies for a repair that was booked for about three days in total. They strung the claim out for 8 full days, using every delaying tactic they could think of. The point is the client does not see any documentation, everything is done on the phone. The first time a document is seen is when the client signs for the hire car with little or no time to read the documents involved. You also get a cancellation agreement, which when you read carefully means that you have to have the hire car until your vehicle is repaired. This effectively is open ended. If you car is driveable, insist on the claims company engineer seeing the vehicle before any car hire takes place. My advice to anyone offered a Hire Car is to ask to see all the hire car and cancellation documentation before taking out the cover. Someone, somewhere is being totally ripped off by these claims companies in your name. Don't get involved. I wish I hadn't.
Asked on 22 May 2010 by P.T., Hull
Answered by
Honest John
You mean credit hire. Yes. Huge scam and the credit hire companies have got important legal judgements in their favour to carry on scamming. But some have pushed it too far and are now under investigation for contravention of the Data Protection Act by illegally accessing crash victims details at the CUE. All such cases should be reported to the claims regulators: www.www.cueuk.org; www.ico.gov.uk; www.claimsregulation.gov.uk
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