car hire advice

[melly]

Chaps

We have booked for May next year with a Virgin Flydrive. Sadly, I let the missus book it and she has (IMO) been roped into an un-necessary insurance on the car. The car comes with basic insurance for free however she went for platinum. Now, sparing all the guff the only difference that we are interested in is that it comes with car seats...but at 400 - 500 quid they are expensive seats!!! Anyhow here comes a few questions.

1 What are the rules regarding car seats. We have 4 kids, they will be 1, 4, 7 and 10 at the time. Do they all need one, can the older ones go with just a booster seat that we can bring ourselves.

2 Assuming we need car seats can we just drive off and then buy them from Wallmart (almost certainly cheaper than 400 - 500 quid or will the car hire company not let us

3 Assuming they wont let us, can we get them / hire them from the car hire place or are they just as dear as the insurance anyway


Cheers all for any replies

 

[orangetiggs]

the platinum insurance only covers baby car seats up to the age of 1 so you will have to pay locally for the others, there is an option on there when you book online to say you want them

 

[T16GEM]

hi

there have been various threads on car seats recently-

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2440889&highlight=car+seats

This one has a link to Florida Law on children's car seat regulations
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2419411&highlight=car+seats

I think as long as your kids (from the 4 year old up) are within the right height and weight ranges for a booster then that will be ok for you to take your own. I would just take a seat for your one year old. We always take our own seats for our two and it's just a case of asking them to the oversize baggage and they get sent through there.

Hope this helps
Gems

 

[maznorm]

the platinum insurance only covers baby car seats up to the age of 1 so you will have to pay locally for the others, there is an option on there when you book online to say you want them

Ooh, I wasn't aware of this. Can someone tell me if this is definitely the case and where it explains this in documentation?

My reasons for justifying the cost of Virgin are becoming few and far between.

 

[melly]

My reasons for justifying the cost of Virgin are becoming few and far between.

Absolutely.

my single justification now is the last day DTD check in which gets me an extra day in one of the parks. That to me is still worth a few hundred cost difference though!!!

 

[2Tiggies]

Can you not change the insurance? I don't know when you booked but is there no "cooling off period"? Just wondering if you may be able to get some of your money back this way.

 

[melly]

Can you not change the insurance? I don't know when you booked but is there no "cooling off period"? Just wondering if you may be able to get some of your money back this way.

done it yesterday, after a bit of an argument. Had to pay an admin fee which (insert expletive) me off because IMO they werent up front with my missus with the details. (TBH she should have been a bit more inquisative about it)

 

[2Tiggies]

done it yesterday, after a bit of an argument. Had to pay an admin fee which (insert expletive) me off because IMO they werent up front with my missus with the details. (TBH she should have been a bit more inquisative about it)

She may have been better asking more questions but then, they are the service provider and are obligated to explain the terms of any product they sell, especially when doing a hard-sell to get the customer to upgrade. I am glad you got sorted, but I agree - their conduct is more than just a tad unethical. I would probably dispute it if I felt it was worth the hassle. For some reason disputes seem to be my theme this year Brand new one last night: my mobile broadband provider suggests that I was "roaming abroad" last night - just for 5 minutes (and 5MB of usage) at the same time as I was incurring my UK usage sitting in my very own home

Anyway, I still think there should be a cooling off period. Whatever is happening to customer service these days?!

 

[Elise79]

You have got adequate insurance haven't you? I am not being funny but you really need more than the basic free part.

Here is the info of car insurance from VH website:

Every flydrive holiday benefits from our Basic Liability Insurance. However, complete peace of mind is priceless, which is why we recommend you upgrade to our Fully Inclusive Package or, if you want to make sure you’ve got every angle covered, our Platinum Package EXCLUSIVE to Virgin Holidays. This takes care of absolutely ALL charges in advance, includes all additional drivers, FREE baby seats and a FREE tank of fuel.

Virgin Holidays' Fully Inclusive Package

This includes 3rd Party Liability Cover $1 million, LDW and UMP, plus all State Taxes, Airport Fees, Handling Fees and includes CFCs and HSFs

Virgin Holidays' Exclusive Platinum Package

This allows you to pay absolutely ALL charges in advance. It includes 3rd Party Liability Cover $1 million, LDW and UMP, plus all State Taxes, Airport Fees, Handling Fees, All Additional Drivers, a Full tank of Petrol and includes CFCs and HSFs. In addition to these, EXCLUSIVELY to Virgin it also includes Drivers Under 25 and FREE baby seats. If you require these additional extras then this is definitely the package for you.

You really need the Fully Inclusive package.

 

[melly]

You have got adequate insurance haven't you? I am not being funny but you really need more than the basic free part.

Here is the info of car insurance from VH website:


You really need the Fully Inclusive package.

Ok then. You have just made a statement that i NEED the fully inclusive one. For you to be able to say that you must know what each of those parts of insurance policy means. If you dont mind, could you briefly explain each and why it is important I have it.

(Their entire sell point for the one above the fully inclusive was 1) You get a second driver .....we only have 1 driver so thats irrelevant 2) You (and I quote) NEED this insurance for your car seats) - Not the best sales pitch for a product that costs 400 to 500 quid especially when we dont even get all the car seats we need for our party.

 

[maznorm]

Ok then. You have just made a statement that i NEED the fully inclusive one. For you to be able to say that you must know what each of those parts of insurance policy means. If you dont mind, could you briefly explain each and why it is important I have it.

(Their entire sell point for the one above the fully inclusive was 1) You get a second driver .....we only have 1 driver so thats irrelevant 2) You (and I quote) NEED this insurance for your car seats) - Not the best sales pitch for a product that costs 400 to 500 quid especially when we dont even get all the car seats we need for our party.

I think you are getting confused between Fully Inclusive and Platinum. The one you are talking about above is the Platinum insurance. I think byou should read and research a little more about these insurance policies before you decide that you do not need them.

I'm not trying to be difficult with you but it seems as thought you don't fully understand what you need and what you are getting. You definitely do need insurance. I have seen so many people try to save themselves money on these things and then end up having to pay out big bucks when collecting their hire cars. Please be very careful if you are considering not even having the insurances offered by Virgin. You will be required to pay for insurance at the car hire place. Getting it through Virgin just means that you are paying for it before you get there.

 

[Elise79]

Ok then. You have just made a statement that i NEED the fully inclusive one. For you to be able to say that you must know what each of those parts of insurance policy means. If you dont mind, could you briefly explain each and why it is important I have it.

(Their entire sell point for the one above the fully inclusive was 1) You get a second driver .....we only have 1 driver so thats irrelevant 2) You (and I quote) NEED this insurance for your car seats) - Not the best sales pitch for a product that costs 400 to 500 quid especially when we dont even get all the car seats we need for our party.

Maybe you should have done some research about what you are getting and what you would need for the country you are going to. Anyway here is a quick breakdown of what they include:

LDW - Loss Damage Waiver - This covers you for damage to the car or loss (theft) of the car

UMP stands for Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Protection and is included in our rates. This covers you in the event an uninsured motorist causes damage to your vehicle.

CFC is Customer Facility Charge. This is a charge for using the airport location to pick up your rental car it is charge by the airport to the rental company who then pass it on.

HSF stands for Homeland Security Fee and is a charge made usually at airport locations and contributes to the costs involved with airport security and border control.

The important bits are the third party cover, LDW & UMP. I am not sure they would let you take the car without it and it will be more expensive to do once you get there.

 

[melly]

I think you are getting confused between Fully Inclusive and Platinum. The one you are talking about above is the Platinum insurance. I think byou should read and research a little more about these insurance policies before you decide that you do not need them.

I'm not trying to be difficult with you but it seems as thought you don't fully understand what you need and what you are getting. You definitely do need insurance. I have seen so many people try to save themselves money on these things and then end up having to pay out big bucks when collecting their hire cars. Please be very careful if you are considering not even having the insurances offered by Virgin. You will be required to pay for insurance at the car hire place. Getting it through Virgin just means that you are paying for it before you get there.

Maybe you should have done some research about what you are getting and what you would need for the country you are going to. Anyway here is a quick breakdown of what they include:

LDW - Loss Damage Waiver - This covers you for damage to the car or loss (theft) of the car

UMP stands for Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Protection and is included in our rates. This covers you in the event an uninsured motorist causes damage to your vehicle.

CFC is Customer Facility Charge. This is a charge for using the airport location to pick up your rental car it is charge by the airport to the rental company who then pass it on.

HSF stands for Homeland Security Fee and is a charge made usually at airport locations and contributes to the costs involved with airport security and border control.

The important bits are the third party cover, LDW & UMP. I am not sure they would let you take the car without it and it will be more expensive to do once you get there.

Cheers chaps, much appreciated.

Looks like the platinum was overkill but we need the fully inclusive cover. Once again, thanks.

BTW, I did try to do the research (after the missus had already booked it sadly) but it was just more confusing. On here you have people who will have experienced it and be able to put it into nice simple English...like "Just get it"

 

[2Tiggies]

Cheers chaps, much appreciated.

Looks like the platinum was overkill but we need the fully inclusive cover. Once again, thanks.

BTW, I did try to do the research (after the missus had already booked it sadly) but it was just more confusing. On here you have people who will have experienced it and be able to put it into nice simple English...like "Just get it"

At least now you have one more box checked - one less thing to have to worry about. Itinerary planning is much more fun anyway!

 

[melly]

Just got back off the phone and Ive ended up with the platinum again

I'll tell you what though, Virgin is going downhill rapidly because the call centre is rediculous. After getting back to where I started with the platinum, they then tried to tell me that my 14 day flydrive only has a car for 7 days because I havent paid for the other 7. it turns out that they are wrong....shocker.

On the plus side, Ive improved my understanding of the Indian version of the English language.

 

[2Tiggies]

Just got back off the phone and Ive ended up with the platinum again

I'll tell you what though, Virgin is going downhill rapidly because the call centre is rediculous. After getting back to where I started with the platinum, they then tried to tell me that my 14 day flydrive only has a car for 7 days because I havent paid for the other 7. it turns out that they are wrong....shocker.

On the plus side, Ive improved my understanding of the Indian version of the English language.

Communication problems with VH led me to the decision not to book with them a couple of years ago. That being said, I must point out that VA and VH are completely different in that respect with VA, from my experience, being outstanding when it comes to customer relations.

 

[Rascal1003]

Just to add my experiences, I found that the "free car rental" option that Virgin include with their packages actually ends up being quite expenxsive for the very reason you have had issues!
The cost of the required insurance on top of the holiday is actually more expensive than independant car rental; For example, I normally book with Dollar at Orlando International and their rates are fully inclusive, the only extras you might choose to add are additional drivers or tank of fuel.
I would normally ignore, disregard the car option on VH and select "own arrangements" - then go and book the car independantly (either direct with Dollar or using Netflights.com).

 

[melly]

Just to add my experiences, I found that the "free car rental" option that Virgin include with their packages actually ends up being quite expenxsive for the very reason you have had issues!
The cost of the required insurance on top of the holiday is actually more expensive than independant car rental; For example, I normally book with Dollar at Orlando International and their rates are fully inclusive, the only extras you might choose to add are additional drivers or tank of fuel.
I would normally ignore, disregard the car option on VH and select "own arrangements" - then go and book the car independantly (either direct with Dollar or using Netflights.com).

Cheers.

Obviously no use now but will know for next time!!!