‘Not my fault,’ the catchphrase of holiday rental drivers

CRASHING, denting, or scratching a hire car can result in high excess payments, but almost a quarter of holiday drivers who do say the damage wasn’t their fault.

Specialist car hire insurance firm iCarhireinsurance has analysed more than 7,000 claims processed between 1 January 2014 and 30 September 2015, with the data revealing that 23 per cent of those pranging a hire care while on holiday said it wasn’t their fault.

In fact, three quarters of the deniers said the damage was done while the car was parked, a familiar story here in Spain. Other excuses included vandalism and theft, while others assert that the damage was already there when they collected the vehicle.

Finally, a whopping 2 per cent blamed collision with an animal, including deer, dogs, wild boar, and even a kangaroo.