One-Dollar FreezeAt the start I did not worry about the car. I worried about money. When I booked with QEEQ I saw a thing called One-Dollar Freeze. It said I only needed to pay 1 dollar first to lock the car. I felt relaxed right away. I am still a student in the UK and my daily budget is quite tight. Paying a big amount at one time is a lot of pressure.
Later I checked the details. The rest of the money would be charged before my rental started and there was no interest. I thought in my head that this was like saving the car for myself and getting more time to prepare the money. This felt very good for a student.
When I was about to fly to Treviso in Italy maybe around the evening of May 27 I suddenly remembered this. I opened my credit card bill and I saw they really only took 1 dollar before. I joked with my friend and said I already booked a car and I only spent one dollar. He thought I was lying.
A few days later close to my pick up time around May 29 my bank sent me a message. The rest of the rental payment was charged then. I felt calm at that moment. I was ready for it in my mind. I did not have that panic feeling when you see a big number suddenly disappear from your account.
When I landed in Treviso I arrived in the evening on May 30. I went to the NOLEGGIARE counter to get my Mitsubishi ASX. While I was in the line I thought about the whole booking process. I almost did not worry about the payment part. I spent more time thinking about routes and luggage. The staff only asked for my voucher and my credit card. My card limit was fine because the big charge did not happen very early. In the weeks before I could still use my card for normal stuff. I did not feel my card was locked by a big charge for a long time.
After the counter checked everything they gave me the keys. In my mind I was doing some math and I felt happy that I chose One-Dollar Freeze. If I had paid the full amount at the start my budget would be very tight for a while. This plan felt like I left some space to breathe.
When I returned the car in the evening around June 5 I drove back to Treviso and finished the drop off. As I walked out of the parking lot one thought came to my head. The most relaxed part of this whole booking was the money side. Because I only paid 1 dollar at the start I did not feel heavy stress during my trip planning. For someone like me who is still in school and has a strict budget this kind of payment plan feels very friendly.
Dedicated customer serviceI still remember sitting in my hotel room in Milan and looking at my bank app when the refund finally showed up. My body relaxed at once and I just stared at the screen for a while. I was really surprised because I could feel that the support team kept helping me with this problem and in the end I really got my money back.
A few weeks before that day I booked a car in Italy Milan through QEEQ. I went to pick up the car around the morning of April 26. The car was a Jeep Compass from Europcar with manual gear. At the counter the staff gave me a tablet and asked me to sign. He spoke fast English with a bit of Italian. I thought it was only the normal rental contract. He did not explain clearly about any extra service.
The whole rental was fine and the car was ok. I remember I returned the car in Milan around May 3. The staff checked the car and said it was fine. So I thought everything was finished. Some days after I went back home I checked my credit card bill and found one more charge of a bit more than thirty euro with code RSN. I had no idea what that was and I felt very confused.
My English is not very strong and it was a foreign car company so I felt a bit nervous. I decided to contact the platform support. I thought they might just give me a simple answer and stop there. But from the first reply I felt something different. They spoke in a calm and kind way and told me this might be a roadside assistance fee. They also tried to comfort me and said they would check the contract record with the car rental company.
Later they told me the rental company showed a contract with my signature and the roadside service written on it. They also sent a version with my sign and said the car company refused to refund. I was quite upset and also a little hurt. At the counter nobody really explained this fee to me. When I signed on the tablet I only thought I was confirming the basic rental. I had no idea about this extra item.
I wrote back several times. I explained my doubts and said I did not remember agreeing to this extra service. During that time I felt we were going back and forth again and again. What stood out to me was that the support replies were always detailed. It did not feel like some copy paste answer. They replied to each point I wrote. They used simple Chinese to explain why it was an electronic signature and why the paper contract also showed this service.
Later the car rental company refused the refund again. Normally the story would end there. But the support team contacted me again and said they could help me apply to their company for a friendly compensation so I could still get this money back. I almost did not believe it because the car company already said no. I did not expect the platform to use their own money to cover this.
After I confirmed a few times I agreed with this plan. During the next days they kept sending me updates. They asked me if I got any notice and if I had other questions. I could feel that one person was always watching this case for me. It was not like they disappear when I stay quiet. So even though I was still a bit worried I was not in panic.
When the refund finally went back to my payment account I thought about those messages I sent before when I was emotional and I felt a little sorry. From the moment I found the extra charge to all the checks of the contract and then the final compensation this whole thing was quite stressful for a foreign visitor like me who rented a car in Europe for the first time. Without this kind of follow up I think I would have given up and just taken it as a bad lesson.
After all this they also reminded me that when I go to the UK to rent a car in July I must check every fee clearly before I sign and if I see anything strange I should contact them at once. I feel that they did not only want to finish this one refund but also wanted to protect me in the future. As a traveler in another country this feeling of being looked after is very important to me and it makes me more confident to book through the same platform again.
Dedicated customer serviceWhen you travel alone and something goes wrong with a rental car who really has your back I booked my car through QEEQ in Milan and planned to pick it up around the morning of May 14 and return it in Naples a few days later. I did not think this booking would turn into a long story.
On the pick up day I arrived at the rental desk a bit after seven in the morning. I felt quite relaxed at first. The counter staff checked my booking and said there was no car in the group I booked. I just stood there and kept asking about my reservation and the time. After a while they said they could only give me a bigger hybrid car and I needed to pay an upgrade fee plus a one way drop fee. The total price was much higher than the amount on my original contract. I was alone at the counter and the only thing in my head was this question should I really pay this money
I called the customer service team right away. The person on the phone sounded calm. I explained what happened and sent photos of my contract and the new offer from the rental desk. I was quite nervous because the staff there kept pushing me to decide. I asked on the phone if I pay now will you help me get this upgrade fee back The person told me clearly that I could pay first and take the car and they would help me deal with the extra cost. So I finally used my card and signed the papers.
The problem stayed with me for many days. Later when I stopped to rest on the road I kept thinking of that morning at the counter and I worried that I would never see my money again. Every time I started to feel this way I sent another message to the team and asked about the progress. They always replied and told me what I needed next like more payment records or bank transaction screenshots and reminded me to check the amount and the dates. I could feel that someone was watching this case for me so I was not left alone to fight with the rental company.
Around May 24 after I returned the car in Naples I整理ed all the bills and screenshots again and sent everything to them. In the next days I saw part of the money come back to my card and I also got a message asking me for my bank account details in Canada so they could send the rest. I had to check my routing number a few times and the person kept going over each detail with me so the transfer would not go wrong.
When I finally saw the full refund arrive in my account I felt really relaxed. I thought back to the moment when the staff in the office said there was no car for me then asked me to pay more for an upgrade. If I had to argue with the rental company all by myself I think I would have given up. They kept following my case and kept telling me what to prepare and what step we were on so I never felt that I was fighting this problem alone.
AXA Full CoverageI want to start from the end. I opened my banking app and saw 1473.65 euros sitting there as a claim payment from the case. For a few seconds I just stared at the number. I used to worry I would need to pay all that by myself. That money came from the AXA Full Coverage I bought when I booked through QEEQ.
So what happened before that. At the end of April I went to Milan in Italy and I booked a BMW i4 with SIXT. It was automatic with four doors and five seats. My booking said I would pick up the car on April 21 in the evening around six. I arrived a bit later when the sky was already kind of dark. The car looked pretty new. In my head I told myself I must drive very carefully this time because it is an electric car. The staff at the rental counter talked a bit about the car. I also walked around the car and checked it. I did not see any big problem so I signed and drove away.
The return day was April 28 early in the morning. I got there a bit earlier than planned at around seven. The place was pretty empty. I parked the car and thought I would just give back the keys and leave. That was what I expected. But the staff member stayed in front of the car for a long time. He bent down and looked under the front bumper. Then he called another coworker to come. My heart dropped a little at that moment. I thought maybe something was wrong.
After a while he told me there was a light scratch on the plastic trim under the front bumper. He said it looked like new damage and it should be on me. My first reaction was confusion. Did I really cause that. I felt I was very careful when I drove. I did not hit anything very clear. But they showed me the mark on the paper and circled that area. The spot was very low and you can only see it when you squat down. I felt a bit stunned and I did not know how to argue. I just followed their steps. They took photos and asked me to sign some papers. The staff said a damage bill would be sent to me later.
A few days after I went back to my place I got an email about the damage cost. The bill said I needed to pay 1348.99 euros. When I saw that number I was really shocked. I quickly did the math in my head. In Canadian dollars it was more than two thousand. I started to ask myself questions. Should I just pay for it. Should I fight the rental company. Then I remembered I had bought AXA Full Coverage with my booking. So this is the moment when that extra service should help me right.
I opened my booking again and checked. Yes I really bought AXA Full Coverage. The description said it covers vehicle damage and some parts that normal rental insurance does not cover. When I read that I felt a bit less scared. So what could I do next. I knew I needed to collect all the things I had.
I had the damage invoice from the rental company. I had the rental contract. I also had the damage document they showed me. While I was putting everything together I kept thinking in my head. Are these things enough. Will the claim take a long time. Will they only pay a part of it. The amount was not small, so I was still quite nervous.
Then I contacted their customer service and told them the whole story. I asked if this case was covered by AXA Full Coverage. The person made me feel more calm and said I could provide the related documents and they would help me handle the claim with the insurance side. That gave me some relief. Even so I still kept thinking. Will the money really come back. Will there be some problem later.
Some time later I found something else. On one side they had an amount of 1348.99 euros in the damage bill. On the other side my bank showed a pending charge of 1473.65 euros for this case. I asked myself again what about this difference. Will anyone care about the real charge. I told the service team the exact amount I saw from my bank and I kept a screenshot. I hoped the insurance could pay based on what was really taken from my account.
They contacted the insurance again. After some time I got a message saying the insurance company agreed to pay 1473.65 euros to match my bank amount. When I saw that number I finally relaxed. It felt like buying AXA Full Coverage was really useful this time. It was not just some random coverage. It actually followed my true loss instead of just a lower number from the first invoice.
From the day I returned the car until the money arrived in my account I had a lot of small worries in my mind. Every time I thought about that tiny scratch under the bumper I asked myself what if I did not buy this coverage. I would probably sit in my room in Canada and stare at the bill for a long time. The most frustrating part was that I really tried to drive safe, but at the end they still said there was damage.
Now when I think back there are a few moments that stay in my head. The people at the rental counter were very formal and cold. For them a scratch is just a scratch and the cost is just the cost. There was almost no room to talk. Then there was the service team from the platform. They felt more like they were on my side. They helped check the real debit from my bank and did not just follow the first paper number. For me that made a big difference.
The day the claim payment showed in my account I looked at the 1473.65 euro line on my phone. In my mind I could see the morning in Milan again. I was standing in the cold air while the staff checked every corner of the car. That scene and this payment are now tied together in my memory. Because of that I do not feel so bad anymore when I think about this rental. AXA Full Coverage turned what could be a very painful bill into something I could handle.
AXA Full CoverageThinking back now I am really glad I chose AXA Full Coverage when I booked with QEEQ or this 780 euro thing would freak me out. Those days they kept giving me updates about the case. I just needed to prepare the files they asked for and then confirm the amount and the currency. Later I added my bank info and said I could receive euros. After that there was not much I had to do.
The story started like this. I picked up the car in Rome on May 24 in the afternoon from NOLEGGIARE. I booked a Peugeot 5008 type car with 7 seats and automatic gear. When I got the car it looked pretty new. I took some photos and then drove away. The first two days were fine. I did not know the roads well so I drove slowly and watched the stone blocks and walls on the side.
The problem came later when I tried to turn around on a narrow street in the city. The left front wheel side hit a stone on the road side. I heard a hard sound and my heart just dropped. I got out and saw scratches on the rim and a small part of the body near it. I felt a bit lost. I did not know if this was a big deal or not. I could only keep driving carefully and wait until return.
A few days later I went back to Rome to return the car around the same time in the afternoon. The counter staff checked the car very carefully. When he saw the damage he called me over and said this needed to be charged. He told me the number and when I heard 780 euros my whole body went stiff. It was way more than I could handle. My credit card limit was not that high and paying that much at once really hurt.
After I got back I checked my booking and made sure I did buy AXA Full Coverage. In that moment I felt so lucky I added it. I contacted their customer service and told them what happened. I put together all the papers from the rental desk and the photos and sent everything. Those days I was still worried inside. I was afraid if I made some mistake I would not get the payment.
Later they told me the amount was 780 euros and asked me to confirm the currency again. I said my bank could receive euros and gave them the details clearly. They also reminded me to double check because the insurance company needed that info. After some time they told me the insurance company asked them to pay first and I just needed to wait for the money. At that moment I finally relaxed. It felt like a big stone was taken off my chest.
One-Dollar FreezeThat day before our family trip to Milan I booked a car first through QEEQ and used this plan called One-Dollar Freeze. When I made the booking I only paid 1 dollar. I felt a lot more relaxed because we still had to pay for flights and hotel and this month was pretty heavy for our budget. I remember I was checking costs with my kids mom and when we saw it only charged 1 dollar we both laughed and said we could lock the car first and arrange other things later.
Then one or two days before picking up the car in Milan I checked my credit card bill and saw the rest of the rental fee was already charged automatically. The amount was the same as the price I saw before. There was no interest and no extra small fees. I did not need to do anything by myself and I did not need to block a big amount on my card at once so the pressure on my credit card was much lower.
When I arrived in Milan around the morning of May thirtieth at about ten I went to the NOLEGGIARE counter to get the Toyota Yaris. The staff just checked my info and said it was already paid. I felt very calm because the payment in two steps worked really well for me as a parent who has to plan family costs. My kid was next to me asking to get in the car and go. I just thought it was really nice that I only paid 1 dollar at the start and the booking was already safe.
