Surprise! Your Visa Card Collision Damage Waiver protection doesn’t cover Zipcar

Have you heard the story about how it cost me $500 to get my brand new MacBook Pro shipped to me?  Well grab a bagel because I’ve got a story for you!

After missing the FedEx delivery man one day, I decided to head over to the closest pickup location to collect my new computer.  Having recently signed up for Zipcar, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to take my first ride.  That it was confusing and frustrating to get oriented and rolling should have been a red flag for bad things to come.

At the FedEx location, as I waited inside for my turn to collect my package, I heard a commotion behind me when someone had noticed that a car had hit the Zipcar.  I watched in frozen in horror as a mid-sized white sedan backed up and sped away after rear-ending the parked car.  I tried to run after the perpetrator, but it was too late.

The damages to the car?  Magically, they would come to almost exactly $500.  The amount that the customer is responsible for under the Zipcar legal agreement.

A nice little birdie told me that my credit card might cover the $500 so I immediately called them to investigate.  I spent one or two hours on the phone combined between the Zipcar and Visa.  Then I spent another couple hours putting together what can only be compared to a 10 page science report the likes of which I hadn’t put together since high school.  I sent my science report off to the Visa Corporation like a proud and nieve 18 year old.

Like the devastation that follows any rejection letter, this one too left a bitter taste in my mouth.  I’ll quote my favorite part:

“Zipcar Members entered into a “Vehicle sharing service subscription contract” with Zipcar and not a rental agreement.  Zipcar Member’s relationship as a member of Zipcar, entitled you the use of an automobile but did not constitute a “rental transaction” as required under the terms and conditions of the Visa Auto Rental CDW Program.”

How convient!

Moral of the story: if you use, Zipcar get the increased accident coverage from them to reduce your liability to $0.  Though, that might not be good enough either.  See poor Felix Salmon’s Zipcar insurance debacle for more details on how you could wind up with an even larger bill if you are found responsible for greater damages.

Needless to say I’m no longer a customer of Zipcar.  My first and only Zipcar experience has left me scared for life.  From now on, I’ll hire a stretch limousine instead.  In my case, it would have been hundreds of dollars cheaper, way classier, and quicker.