SW
Sheraine W

1 reviews | Active since Jan 2023

09 Jan 2023, 12:31

Shocking treatment from BLUU car rental

We rented a car from BLUU in May-June 2021. We took two vehicles back because they were faulty. The third vehicle's thermometer indicator came on as we were passing CT International Airport. We handed the car in at the depot and got a fourth car which we returned immediately after reaching our destination in Herm****. We heard from BLUU that the third vehicle was in an accident that cause a water hose to burst and resulted in the engine overheating. They accused us of not disclosing that we had an accident which damaged the vehicle. Furthermore they waived the comprehensive insurance that we have taken out on the rental as according to them we tried to hide the fact that we had an accident. We did not have an accident at all and take exception to this false accusation. We were two women in the car, driving in pouring rain on the N2 bounded by informal settlements where we did not feel safe to stop. We engaged a private assessor who found that there was an impact to the undercarriage of the car (ie not visible during a routine walk around the car check) and that there is clear evidence of scouring of the hose by the fan over a period of time. BLUU's staff accusatory tone and bullying tactics from then on escalated as they dismissed this report and would not listen to us. They continually threatened legal action after which we also engaged a lawyer. Unfortunately they would not budge. We referred the matter to the National Consumer Commission, who referred us to the Dept of Tourism's complaints department who referred us to the Car Rental Ombudsman. The matter is now there however, when requesting a copy of the comprehensive insurance policy, none has been forthcoming. It transpires that BIDVEST is the insurer of BLUU car hire (sister companies) and essentially self insure. In the meantime, BLUU has terminated their lawyer's services and has handed over the matter to a debt collector who constantly hounds us. They have also blacklisted the designated driver while the matter is still in process. We will never trust BLUU's service again and dissuade anyone else from doing business with them.

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