Following my recent experiences hiring a van from SuperU, I would ascertain what is included in the assistance package before proceeding with any hire / rental.
The van I hired to drive from Limoges area to the haute Pyrenees broke down 3 hours in to the trip due to an attempted theft of the catalytic converter the previous night. We "used" our €500 taxi allowance getting to our destination and were asked for a further €135 to be paid by "yourself direct to the taxi firm", who had been instructed by the assistance. Took over 4 hours to find a taxi firm willing to do the trip with my wife and dog.
No replacement vans with tail lift were available. So we lost 2 days trying to find one ourselves.
The assistance eventually agreed to pay for the rental of a van from a local intermarche although we had to pay for the hire and claim it back from the assistance via a pre arranged reference code, along with the receipt. Guess what, still waiting !
After we drove 4 hours North to rendezvous with the broken down van, transfer the load to the replacement van, take it back South and unload it, we thought we had over one a very traumatic few days.
That was when we were told that we had now used up all our assistance allocation and no form of transport ( car hire, train, bus etc) would be paid for, and in essence we were stuck in the haute Pyrenees, with no transport to get us back to Limoges and our own vehicle.
What should have been a three day trip had now taken 7 days.
Super U have subsequently refunded the original van hire and insurance costs as a gesture of good will. We have to date had no refund of the hire costs of the replacement van. We have had to stand the return costs from the haute Pyrenees.
My advice to anyone thinking of hiring or renting, read the small print. You normally get what you pay for. In our case, less than we paid for!
