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(c) Elliott Publishing.

CDW Scare Scam
Cheap Charlie · July 28, 1999

Last weekend, my brother rented a car from Dollar Rent a Car at Dulles Airport outside of Washington, D.C. It was a fine car and the rate was good as well. But the counter personnel began to browbeat my brother insisting that he needed the additional insurance.

He called me. I told the agent, "No. I don't want any insurance." His response was, "I hope you know what you are doing. Your credit card doesn't have liability coverage."

I just shook my head and said, "No."

This isn't the only time this has happened. I know for a fact that it seems to be normal car rental procedure to bully customers into taking additional insurance, even when they don't need it. Either they are using a credit card with collision damage waiver built in, or they have their own personal insurance.

It has happened to my mother, my girlfriend and now my brother. Luckily I was there this time to put a stop to it.

Let's go over the basics. If you have an automobile with collision damage insurance, you normally do not need to purchase additional insurance from the car rental company. If you are renting with a Gold Visa, Gold MasterCard, American Express or Diners Club, you do not need to pay for additional insurance here in the United States.

Here in the good old U.S.A., the only people who really need to pay for collision damage waiver when renting cars are those with no collision insurance on their personal car and no credit card with collision damage waiver included. Unless you are in those categories, just say, "No!"

If you have any questions, take the time to call the 800 number on the back of your credit card. Each credit card company will verify that you have coverage. This may be important if you are renting an "exotic" car or a van, since different credit card companies have different rule when it comes to these cars.

Finally, after you have signed your contract and declined all insurance, make sure to take a careful look at your car to make sure that there is no damage to the automobile before you leave the lot. Once you go out the gate, you are responsible.

When you feel yourself being bullied, say, "No! No! No!" If you have any questions, call the 800 number on the back of the credit card to get some answers and when you get home give your insurance company a call so they can clarify their policy to you regarding rental cars.

Have a great vacation. And don't get stuck paying for what you don't really need.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at cheapch@aol.com or access his Web site.