AXA Full CoverageI booked this car on QEEQ for a business trip and I really thought it would just be a simple rental. Nothing special. I arrived in Alice Springs in the middle of March and went to the Avis counter in the late afternoon around the fourteenth to pick up the car. They gave me a Toyota Corolla hatchback, automatic, four doors. It looked quite new and clean. When I booked it I chose AXA Full Coverage, because I travel for work a lot and I felt better if I had full cover. I did not expect I would really need it. The first couple of days were fine. I drove to see clients in the day and parked the car near my accommodation at night. There were not many street lights and sometimes there was strong wind and dust. On the morning of the accident, the sky was just getting bright. I walked to the car with my laptop bag, thinking about my meetings. When I got close, I felt something was wrong. The front bumper looked strange. I walked around the car and my heart just dropped. There were clear impact marks on the front and back. There were scratches on the side. Near the wheel I could see some broken pieces. It looked like another car or something had hit it and then left. I remember just standing there for a few seconds, totally stunned. My first thought was that this would cost a lot of money. My head was full of numbers. I kept thinking this car is not cheap and if I had to pay everything myself I would be in real trouble. I forced myself to calm down. I took my phone out and started to take photos. I took close photos of each damaged area and also a few wider ones with the plate and the surroundings. Then I contacted Avis. Driving the damaged car to them was a very strange feeling. Inside the car it was very quiet and I held the steering wheel very tight. At the counter I explained what I found. Staff went out to check the car. Their faces were serious when they came back. They told me they needed to make an assessment and that the fee could be high and I had to wait for the amount. I was already ready in my head for a scary number. When they finally told me the damage amount, I almost could not believe my ears. It was 5831.77 AUD and they said this was the excess that they charged. They also said the damage was very serious. In that moment I was really thankful that I had bought AXA Full Coverage. Without it this money would hit me very hard. For a business traveler like me this is not some small cost I can just forget. After that my days were full of two things. My work and this claim. I spent my breaks sorting all the photos of the damage. I took clear photos of the papers from Avis. I was also checking with them if I could pay with my husband’s credit card and then have the refund go to his bank account. I did not want to make any mistake with who pays and who gets the money back. My phone and email were always in my hand. Every time I had a free second I refreshed my inbox to see if there was a new message. I sent in all the documents I had and thought it was almost done. Then I was told that some detailed damage papers were still missing. At that time it felt like the car was still under inspection or repair and the full repair report was not there yet. On my side I could only keep asking Avis and wait for more documents. Later I got an email that said the repair was finished but the real situation was that the car was declared a total loss. So the final charge stayed as that 5831.77 AUD. Reading the words total loss gave me a strange feeling. I could imagine the car in a workshop, opened up and taken apart, and it made me feel a bit cold inside. Once the rental company had confirmed the amount and their final decision, all I could really feel myself doing was waiting. I remember the customer service explained to me that the amount was not small and they had to check my evidence and the charge from the rental company. Every day I went to my meetings and at the same time I kept thinking about this bill. I kept doing the math in my head. If the claim failed, I would have to accept this big loss. At night when I came back to my room I would sit on the bed with my laptop and think about how the car was totally fine when I picked it up and now it was written off. It felt a bit unfair and also just tiring. During those days I opened my inbox many times. When I saw a new email from them I opened it right away. I could feel that they were also waiting for answers from Avis and checking details. From my side it felt like the case was moving forward but not very fast. I kept reminding myself to be patient and give it a bit more time. Then one day I finally got the email that changed everything for me. It said my claim was approved and they would pay according to the confirmed amount. I read it twice to make sure I was not imagining it. They showed the numbers and I saw that from the 5831.77 AUD charged by the rental company they would pay out 3840.76 AUD under the policy. I felt a big weight lift off my shoulders. In that moment I really understood what this insurance meant. Looking back at the whole story, it started with a normal pick up in Alice Springs around mid March, then that morning when I found the damage, then hearing that the car was a total loss, then all the photos and papers I had to send, and finally the approval. For me this was not just some small rental story. It was a lesson about risk and protection. If I had tried to save money and skipped the extra cover, I would still be worrying about that bill now. Even though there were times when I was nervous and wished everything could move a bit faster, the most important thing is that the claim was settled and most of the cost was taken care of. Now when people ask me if they should add insurance when they rent a car, the first picture in my mind is that damaged Corolla in Alice Springs and that number 5831.77 written on the paper. That is when I remember the extra box I ticked for AXA Full Coverage and how it stopped that heavy stone from landing on me.
AXA Full CoverageIs AXA Full Coverage really useful when something happens during a rental? After this trip I feel the answer is yes. On January 22nd 2026 around noon I picked up a Toyota Yaris from Thrifty in Canberra for a business trip. I just wanted a small car to move between cities. I did not think at all that I would need any insurance.
So what went wrong? On the way toward Sydney the car got scratched at a parking lot. The side of the car and a bit of the wheel area were damaged. At the return counter the staff checked the car. They stayed calm but they gave me a bill for a bit more than two thousand AUD. I felt tight in my chest when I saw the number. I started to convert it to JPY in my head and it was a lot for me.
Did the insurance help me? I first paid the rental company as they asked. Then I started to prepare the claim. I took all the photos and documents and sent them. Contract pictures damage photos payment bill I put everything together. I was busy with my work so I was afraid this would be very hard. The support team talked very clearly so I just followed what they asked and sent each file.
How did they handle the claim money? Later they told me the insurance side approved about two thousand one hundred AUD. They also told me how much this was in JPY. For me JPY is easier to understand and to compare with my credit card bill. When they asked which currency I prefer I said I want to receive it in JPY first.
Did I really get my money back? After I confirmed the currency they said they would send my choice to the insurance company. A bit later the support team told me the claim was successful. They said they would pay me first and then deal with the claim on their side. When I heard that I felt a big relief. The stress from the rental company bill became much smaller.
As a business traveler I worry most about time and extra costs. This accident was not fun but the whole thing stayed under control. If I had not booked with QEEQ and not added AXA Full Coverage this damage would be a serious money problem for me and not just a small trouble during my trip.
Dedicated customer service"Why is my bond still not back" I kept saying this in my head after I flew back to New Zealand. I booked the car on QEEQ. Around early March I think on the 7th in the morning I picked up a Mitsubishi ASX from Thrifty in Sydney. It was automatic. For an overseas visitor like me it was easy to drive. Around the end of March maybe on the 31st at noon I returned the car in Sydney. Everything looked normal. There was only one extra charge for the child seat. The rest was just like the contract. I thought the bond would be released very fast. But after some time my bank still showed nothing. At first I felt a bit scared. I was worried that I did not understand the bill. So I contacted the customer support and told them my bond still looked unpaid. They let me explain the whole story. They asked when I picked up and dropped off the car. They also asked me to send a screenshot of the card charge so they could check with the rental desk. I was a bit annoyed and also nervous because of the money and my English. But the talking went okay. They could understand me and I could follow them. Later they told me they had already asked Thrifty about the bond. During this period I was very stressed. Two hundred Australian dollars is not a small thing for a student. After a while they came back and said the rental company replied that the bond was 200 AUD and it was only a pre authorization. They said it was already released after the booking ended. They told me the bank might show it a bit slow and asked me to check my account carefully to see if there was any real charge. If I found a real charge I should send them the bank bill so they could check again. When I heard this I felt much more calm. I did not feel left alone. I felt someone was following the problem for me. Later they updated me again and said the rental company confirmed everything was processed. I checked my bank record one more time and saw there was no real charge for the bond. It was just held for some days. When I think of the whole thing the main feeling is this. At the start I was really uneasy and afraid that no one would help me with a problem in a foreign country. Because there was one person from customer service always talking with me and checking with the rental desk I slowly felt safe. The bond did not show up as free in my account very fast and I do hope next time it can be quicker but during this problem I really felt that I was taken care of and not just worrying by myself.
AXA Full CoverageWhen I think about it now I was really nervous but also kind of lucky at the same time. Nervous about what. About the moment the Mazda CX 5 I rented in Launceston got damaged. Lucky about what. That I had AXA Full Coverage. I booked the car through QEEQ. I arrived in Launceston around March 3 in the afternoon and went to pick up the car on March 5 around three in the afternoon. The rental company was ACE Rental Cars. The counter was small and a cold wind came in from the door so the air felt a bit chilly. When I got the keys I already had a small thought in my head. What if something happens to the car. But I also told myself I should be fine and I was not that unlucky. In the end something still happened. A few days later I parked on a road outside the city. I was moving the car in a narrow spot and the side of the car scraped against something. It did not look super serious but you know that feeling. You just think this is bad and this might cost a lot of money. My first reaction was to take many photos. While I was taking them I kept asking myself in my head. Will I need to pay a big amount. Will the insurance really pay for this. When I drove the car back the ACE staff checked the car very carefully. Their faces were calm but in my mind I was already doing money math. When I returned the car they said it needed repair. I nodded but inside I had no idea how much it would be. Back in my room I opened the email from when I booked the car and I read the part that showed AXA Full Coverage again and again. It felt like I was checking if I really had this protection. I contacted their support and told them the car had some damage and asked if I could claim it. They told me to keep the photos and the bills. Those days I kept waiting for updates. Sometimes at night when the wind was strong I lay on the bed using my phone and that small scratch on the side of the car would suddenly pop into my head. Then I would feel a bit upset with myself for not being more careful. After a few days the rental company sent me the repair bill and some files. I looked at all the repair items. The amount was not small and for someone young like me the pressure felt real. I put everything together and sent it to them one by one. Then I started a new round of questions in my head. Will they reject it. Will they ask for more papers. Later they contacted me again and said they needed me to confirm the currency and the damage photos. I answered honestly and wrote the currency clearly and sent the photos again. During that time it felt like I was doing homework and I was scared to miss any step. The town after the rain was quiet but my heart was not calm. After that I got a message from them saying the insurance side had approved the claim. When I read that line I just stared at the screen and one question came to my mind. Did they really cover all of it. I read it again and saw that this damage would be paid back to me. At that moment all the stress before did not feel so scary anymore. For me the biggest feeling from this whole thing was relief. I was really glad that I chose full coverage at the start. Without AXA Full Coverage I might need to save money for a long time just to pay for that small scrape. Even though I had to prepare files confirm the currency and send photos the result felt worth it. When I think about that Mazda CX 5 now and the windy days in Launceston and the yellow light at the rental counter I also remember this insurance claim. Young drivers make small mistakes sometimes. This time I felt like I was caught by a safety net and that feeling was very real. It also makes me want to choose this kind of protection again next time because feeling safe like this is very important.
Dedicated customer serviceWhen I dropped the car back in Griffith that day I was already pretty relaxed. My kid was next to me asking for snacks and I watched him while I thought about the small problem we had with the car. I suddenly felt kind of glad that I booked through QEEQ in the first place. It was an early morning in May when I went to the Griffith branch to pick up the car. On the paper it said Toyota RAV4 or similar so in my head I already saw that car and I thought a bigger car would be nice for me and my kid. Then the staff handed me the keys and said it was a Mitsubishi ASX. I froze for a second and felt a bit annoyed. To me it looked clearly smaller than a RAV4. As a parent traveling with a kid I care a lot about space and power so I told the counter staff that I did not really accept this. I felt it was like a downgrade. They told me again and again that it was the same group and called it a compact SUV. I still felt something was wrong especially because I remembered I booked the RAV4 group and I did not want to feel like they just pushed any car on me. My kid was already bored at the counter and I did not want to argue for too long so I took the car and left but the whole drive I did not feel good. I was thinking about it all the time and I did not enjoy driving it. When we got back to where we stayed and my kid fell asleep I contacted their customer team and explained everything. I also talked about the car group info I saw online. My English is not perfect so I tried to use simple words because I was afraid they would not understand me. What surprised me was the person who took my case stayed very calm and did not push me to just accept it. It felt like they were really trying to find out what happened. First they checked if I picked up the car on time and then asked me to send a photo of my contract. They said they would ask the rental company about the exact group. In the next days while I was walking around with my kid I checked my phone from time to time. They sent me updates about what they found out. They told me the rental company said the ASX was group S and that if I was really unhappy I could go to the branch and see if there was any car to change to. The branch staff had said this too but when it came from them it felt different. It felt like someone was standing on my side and helping me talk to the rental company. During the whole thing they did not throw a lot of big words at me. They did not hide behind long terms. They tried to explain the group differences in a simple way. They also told me honestly that they still needed to confirm where the fuel RAV4 stands in the system and which group was higher. That part was still a bit confusing for me but I could feel they were really checking and not just brushing me off. When I said I hoped to get a partial refund I did not expect much. Big companies and big platforms are usually very hard about this and just say the car is same group so no money. The person told me they would help me send in an appeal and their voice was steady. They told me not to worry too much and to just tell the truth about what happened. Later when they contacted me again they explained the progress and let me know the case was still moving. It was not like they disappeared. As a parent traveling with a child I am scared of problems that just drag on and then nobody cares and I have to give up. This time what stayed in my mind was that from the moment I said I was unhappy with the car to the point they checked info with the rental company and helped with the appeal there was always someone following my case. Even when they had to wait for answers from the branch they updated me whenever they could and told me what I could do next. Because of this I could still take my kid around and I did not feel so stressed. To be honest I still do not fully understand all the group rules for these cars. But what I can feel is that I was not alone arguing with the rental counter. They made the problem easier for me and as a normal parent I felt looked after instead of ignored. For me that feeling is more important than just getting a car that looks bigger.
Dedicated customer serviceI kind of want to complain first because I booked a hybrid car through QEEQ but in the end it was their support that saved this whole thing for me. Now it feels fine but at that time I was pretty annoyed.
I arrived alone at Gold Coast airport and went to the counter to pick up the car around the morning of April 17. I booked a hybrid Toyota RAV4. I was already thinking that I could save some fuel money. The counter staff looked at my booking and just told me that there was no hybrid car and they could only give me a petrol one.
I was a bit shocked. I asked if the price would be different and if this meant they were kind of downgrading my booking. The staff only said the price was the same and did not look like he really cared. I was traveling by myself and did not want to argue there for a long time so I took the car and left but I felt strange driving a petrol car when I paid for a hybrid.
Later I contacted their customer support and told the whole story. I even joked that I felt downgraded. The person kept checking all the details and asked me when I picked up the car and what model I got. It felt like someone was really watching this for me and not just giving me random answers.
In the next few days I got messages from them saying they were still talking to the rental company and that some refund was already on the way and they were still checking if the difference was fair. It sounded a bit complex to me but I could feel that the same person stayed on my case and turned all the progress into simple words for me.
At the end they told me the rental company gave back some money first and then they added more on top for me because I got a petrol car instead of a hybrid. I felt a big relief. All the time I spent explaining was not wasted.
For me the counter staff felt like they were saying there was no car and I just had to accept it. Their support felt more like someone on my side. They helped me say what I could not say well and helped me get back the money I should not lose. As a solo traveler that feeling of someone following up and not forgetting you is actually very important.
