One-Dollar FreezeThe car door closed and my kids were already fighting for the window seats in the back. I sat in the driver seat and watched the evening lights of Milan turn on one by one. In that moment I felt really glad that I booked the car on QEEQ. When I first tried to book the car my budget was very tight. Before a family trip there are so many things to pay. Flight tickets, hotels, visas and daily costs. All of them pushed my credit card to the limit and I was counting money every day. I wanted a bigger car in Italy like a BMW X5 so my kids could sit more comfortable and the trunk could hold our bags. But this kind of car is not cheap and I was scared to pay the full amount at once. I worried that my card limit would be too low. Then I saw something on the page called One-Dollar Freeze. The name caught my eye. I read the simple note and understood that I could pay only 1 dollar first to lock the car and the rest of the money would be taken automatically before the rental started. I thought this is like giving me some time to breathe. So I chose this payment way. That night I paid the 1 dollar and when the booking success message popped up I checked the payment again. It really only took that small amount. I felt a big part of my pressure go away. My kid asked me if the car was booked. I said yes and told them it was a big car so they could stretch their legs. In the next days I focused on other parts of the trip. I confirmed flights and hotels step by step. Because I did not need to pay the full rental fee right away I did not panic so much and I did not rush to gather all the money at once. A while later about two days before our trip to Italy I saw my credit card reminder. It showed that the rest of the rental fee was taken automatically and the number was the same as I saw before. There was no extra charge. I felt this slower payment way was really good for a parent like me who has many big expenses before traveling with kids. When we landed in Milan I was no longer worried about the rental payment. It was already done before and I only needed to go to the car rental counter. On the way I kept thinking that if I had to pay the whole amount at the start I would have been worried about my card limit all the time and I would keep doing math with all other costs. My mood would not be so relaxed. This time it felt different. At home in the weeks before the trip I used just 1 dollar to lock the car first and then had time to prepare the rest of the money. When the time came the system took it automatically. I almost did not need to think about it and the pressure on my credit card was much lighter. For someone traveling with kids feeling relaxed is very important. This One-Dollar Freeze way felt like a simple and useful little idea that made this car booking very easy for me.
Dedicated customer serviceI booked the car on QEEQ because I wanted to drive around Venice with my kid for a few days. Around the afternoon of February 13, I picked up the car at the airport counter. I was pushing our luggage, holding my kid with the other hand, and my head was kind of blank. The staff at the counter spoke very fast and gave me a lot of papers to sign. I just remember flipping pages and signing. I only wanted to get the car and leave so my kid would not get too noisy there. When we finally got on the car, I was actually pretty happy. The car was big enough and my kid sat in the back seat and kept looking out of the window. He kept asking to go see the water city. Those days we drove around small towns near Venice. My kid talked all the time and asked many questions, and my focus was always on the road and on him. I did not think at all that there would be trouble later. On February 27 in the evening, I returned the car. Everything seemed fine. I parked the car, the staff checked the outside of the car and said it was okay. Then I left with my kid to catch our ride back to the hotel. When we were finally in the hotel room, I had time to look at my phone. I saw a very big charge on my credit card bill. My body went tight at once. I checked it online and found it was for extra services and fees. I did not remember that I agreed to these. I felt very nervous and I still had to take care of my kid so my stress was very high. My English is not very strong, so I had to read bills and calm my kid at the same time. That night I almost did not sleep. My head kept thinking about why the money was charged like this. Later I reached out to their customer service and told them what happened to me step by step. I sent screenshots of the bill. At that time I was holding my sleepy kid who was crying, and I was walking around and typing. My feelings were a mess, but the person who talked with me stayed very calm and kind. They listened to me carefully. My story was not very clear and I jumped around, but they did not rush me. They asked me to slowly remember the details. In the next days they kept giving me updates. Every time there was news they explained it again in simple words that I could understand. They told me which step we were at. I did not understand some special terms but I could get the main idea. I could really feel that someone was looking after my case in a personal way. It was not just one cold email and then silence. Because I have to take care of my kid, many things break my time during the day. Sometimes I replied late. They were still patient and just waited for my message, then kept helping me talk with the rental company. It felt like there was a person on my side. They helped me sort my questions and turn them into words that the other side could understand. I could not see many details of the process, but I knew someone was watching my case closely. For a parent traveling with a child like me, with energy all over the place, this kind of one to one follow up from dedicated customer service is actually more important than only the final result. During that very stressful and uncertain time I did not feel alone facing the bill. There was someone there who stayed patient and tried to put everything in order with me.
Dedicated customer serviceI booked the car through QEEQ and I used it in Rome in early March. I remember I picked up the car around noon on the third and returned it a few days later in Rome. The trip itself was pretty smooth. When I gave the car back it was a bit dirty and I already thought they might charge a cleaning fee, but the amount felt higher than I expected.
When I got home and checked the bill I felt worried and also a bit angry. I knew it was my fault that the car was dirty, but I did not really understand if all the fees were fair or not. My English is not perfect and I was scared that I would not explain my side well and just lose money for nothing.
I contacted their customer service and one person followed my case from the start. For me this was very important. I did not need to repeat my story every time. The staff member remembered my situation and even reminded me what we talked about in the last email. At first I felt nervous. After a while I felt like someone was standing next to me and watching the case for me, so I felt more calm.
They helped me go through each fee one by one and checked which charges were normal from the rental company and which parts we could try to claim back. I was very confused about how the insurance worked, especially if the cleaning fee could be claimed. They told me step by step what documents I needed to give and pointed out when I filled something wrong so I could fix it. I replied a bit slowly a few times and they did not push me in a rude way. They just kept following up and it felt like they were really trying to help me solve the problem.
While I was waiting for the result I felt quite anxious. I was afraid that in the end I would get nothing back. The customer service kept giving me updates and told me which step we were at and around when I might get an answer. Getting these updates helped me stop overthinking all the time. When the cleaning fee part was finally paid back to me I felt a big relief. I also felt that all the time I spent sending emails and documents was worth it.
For me the special thing this time was that one person kept following my case instead of just sending me some cold template emails and leaving me alone. At the beginning I was really annoyed because of the extra costs, but because of this one to one follow up I have a good feeling about them and I did not feel like I was fighting against a machine by myself.
Price Drop Protector"Why do I suddenly have more travel money" This was the first thought in my head when I saw the refund notice. I was checking tips for Catania in Sicily and my phone buzzed. It showed that I got 7.6 EUR back. I froze for a second and checked my booking a few times. My pick up time was still in the afternoon on May 11 around four. Return was still on May 15 same time. The car was still the small Toyota Aygo. Nothing changed.
Then I remembered that when I booked on QEEQ I chose Price Drop Protector. To be honest when I clicked it I did not care much. I just thought it was not expensive and one more protection is fine. Then I closed the page. I was in my dorm in Germany at that time. It was cloudy outside. I was counting my cost for Sicily and thinking if I should wait to see if the price would go down.
I did nothing after that. They watched the price for me. When the price dropped they made a new cheaper booking for me and sent the price difference back to my card. I checked the old and new email. The rental company was still Easy Car Hire. The car group was the same. Time and place were the same. Only the total price was lower. It felt like I suddenly earned a free coffee by the sea.
For me as a solo student traveler with a small budget this kind of saving feels pretty nice. I did not talk to customer service and I did not argue with anyone. I just booked a car like normal and some time later I found out I spent less money. My mind felt more relaxed. In that moment I was glad I clicked that extra service.
AXA Full Coverage“Why is there one more charge?” I stared at my credit card record on my phone and felt really confused. I booked my car in Rome through QEEQ. I picked up a Wheego Peugeot 208 around noon on March 6 at the airport in Rome. The car was easy to drive and I felt pretty good.
On the return day it was also around noon. I parked the car, gave back the key, and rushed to my next transport. I did not think too much. A few days later I checked my bill. Besides the fees I already knew, there was an extra 29 euro cleaning fee. I have to admit the car was a bit dirty. There was some mud on the floor mats and a little trash that I did not clean. But when I saw the amount I still felt upset and a bit scared. I was not sure if they charged me too much.
I do not speak Italian and I came from Japan. I am not very familiar with the local rental rules. I kept thinking about how the car looked when I returned it and wondered if I was just too careless.
Then I remembered I had bought AXA Full Coverage when I made the booking. At that time I only thought one more protection would make me feel safe. I did not expect I would really use it later. I contacted the customer service team and explained the situation in English. I told them about the 29 euro cleaning fee and also my pick up and drop off time and place. They sounded calm and told me not to worry too much. They said this kind of fee could be claimed through the insurance.
They asked me to prepare some things. For example a screenshot of the charge record and some basic information. I searched my email and my bank app for a long time and sent them everything I could find. I did not take any photos when I returned the car so I felt nervous. I was afraid the insurance company would reject my claim because of that. During those days I kept thinking about it. I thought “maybe I messed up again” and “I should have taken more photos”.
Later they contacted me again and asked me to confirm the amount. They said the correct claim amount should be 29 euro. I checked my bill carefully and saw that the extra insurance and the traffic deposit were charged in other records. This one was really just the cleaning fee. After I confirmed it I could only wait for the result. They said the claim would take some time but I still checked my email almost every day because I did not want to miss any news.
After some time the customer service team told me the insurance company had agreed to pay me back the 29 euro and they also confirmed the final amount that would go into my bank account. When I saw that email I felt much more relaxed. I thought at first that I would never get this money back. It was a surprise that I really got it. I felt a bit happy and felt that buying this insurance really saved me this time.
When I look back at the whole thing the rental counter staff were quite strict and I still feel bad about the extra insurance part. But for the cleaning fee part the insurance side was willing to pay me and I felt at least someone was standing on my side. For a person like me who rented a car alone in Europe for the first time and does not speak the language well this feeling of being taken care of is very important.
Now when I check my bill the cleaning fee is basically covered by AXA Full Coverage and the total cost of the rental is back to what I first planned. The process was a bit tiring and I also learned to take more photos and read the terms more carefully. But in my heart I am really thankful that they helped me finish this claim and I did not have to fight with the rental company all by myself.
Dedicated customer serviceDid you ever look at your bill and think where did this money come from? I was in my hotel room checking my phone when I saw an extra charge and then I started to feel that my two day booking was a bit messed up. I booked the car with QEEQ in Bari in Italy with Europcar and it was a Peugeot 208 with manual gear.
I need to tell the story from the back. First I saw the extra charge on my credit card. I remembered that I made two bookings one after another. I did not return the car in the middle. I just told the counter staff that I wanted to use the car for one more day. Then I started to think about the second prepaid booking. I kept asking myself what happens to that money. When I sent a message to the support team my mind was a bit messy and I was afraid that people would just push the problem to each other.
The support person talked to me in a calm way and first checked my real pick up and drop off time. I said that I got the car in Bari airport around the evening of March 20 and I was supposed to return it around one p.m. the next day but at the counter I asked to keep the car for one more day. The staff there said it was okay to extend. I did not think too much and just said yes. Later I found that the second prepaid booking was not used but the money was already taken from my card.
I asked them if this prepaid money was just gone. The person on the line explained things to me with patience and helped me see which was the extension and which was the prepaid part. I sent a photo of the paper from the rental desk. It showed one extra rental day and some fuel. I felt a bit nervous and told them that I also sent an email to the rental company and I asked if they could help me follow it too. They agreed very fast and said they would keep an eye on this case.
In the next days I did not need to tell the whole story again each time. Every time I sent a new message they already knew what I was talking about which charge and which booking. The money problem was not fixed right away but I felt that someone was always checking it for me and I was not left alone. For a traveler from another country this feeling of being taken care of is very important to me.
