Mexico Cancun car dealer forced me to buy extra insurance

M

martingale

New Member
Jurisdiction
Mexico
we booked our cancun trip rental car from expedia and also bought the insurance that expedia recommended. upon arrival in cancun airport, the car dealership ( Europcar ) staff forced me to purchase their over priced insurance by saying they don't recognize the insurance we purchased.
we ended up having to pay extra money for their insurance else we couldn't leave with the car.
upon coming back, we dispute with our credit card company but the credit card company said they can't rule in our favor due to invoice provided my me and merchant matches.

what are my measure to deal with such fraud? can I sue the europcar company from US and ask credit card company to reverse the charge?
thanks
 
martingale said:
we booked our cancun trip rental car from expedia and also bought the insurance that expedia recommended. upon arrival in cancun airport, the car dealership ( Europcar ) staff forced me to purchase their over priced insurance by saying they don't recognize the insurance we purchased.
we ended up having to pay extra money for their insurance else we couldn't leave with the car.
upon coming back, we dispute with our credit card company but the credit card company said they can't rule in our favor due to invoice provided my me and merchant matches.

what are my measure to deal with such fraud? can I sue the europcar company from US and ask credit card company to reverse the charge?
thanks
Click to expand...
A United State court wouldn't have jurisdiction over a Mexican transaction that took place in Mexico.
Did you speak to someone (Manager) at Expedia regarding this? Did you ask if you could be refunded the insurance cost for the policy you purchased through them?
 
martingale said:
upon arrival in cancun airport, the car dealership ( Europcar ) staff forced me to purchase their over priced insurance by saying they don't recognize the insurance we purchased.
Click to expand...

That's right.

Anybody going to Mexico should know that any US auto insurance is not recognized in Mexico and one has to buy Mexican insurance.

That has been well publicized..

the need for mexico car insurance at DuckDuckGo

martingale said:
what are my measure to deal with such fraud? can I sue the europcar company from US and ask credit card company to reverse the charge?
Click to expand...

No fraud.

Your CC company was correct in denying the chargeback.

You have nowhere to go with this.

Though you might try Just Blue's suggestion.
 
Your only recourse here is against the online travel agency that sold you the worthless policy. You should be able to a get refund for what you paid for that.
 
Tax Counsel said:
Your only recourse here is against the online travel agency that sold you the worthless policy. You should be able to a get refund for what you paid for that.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. It's not a worthless policy. A policy written in the US that provides coverage while driving in Mexico will pay claims that are incurred in Mexico.

It's the Mexican government that requires Mexican policies and puts people in jail for not having one. There's no reason that Mexico can't (or won't) accept insurance issued in the US other than the greedy desire for a lucrative local revenue stream. Being a third world cliche (sarcasm) doesn't invalidate the US insurance.

iu
 
This is one of a dozen reasons why I'll never visit Mexico.

Dirty, little, profitable secret explained:

In 2020 All Cars are Required to Have Mexican Insurance in Mexico
Under Mexican Federal Law – as of 2020 all cars must carry at least Liability Insurance from a Mexican domiciled insurance carrier.

Mexican Car Insurance Liability Law
According to the Mexican Federal "Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransportes Federal" and in particular, Section 63 bis and 63 ter the law requires that anyone operating on Mexican roads carry a minimum of MXN 100,000 pesos for third party liability plus MXN 50,000 in property damage for a total combined limit of MXN 150,000 pesos. ($100,000 pesos for third-party liability, and $50,000 pesos of property damage). As of 2021, that equates to about US $7,500 total.

Law requires that when you drive into Mexico with a foreign vehicle (License Plates in the United States or Canada) that you carry at minimum 3rd party liability insurance. If you do not have insurance, you can be fined. If you do not have Mexican Car Insurance and have an accident, you can be detained. Yes, that means time in a Mexican Jail, until the justice system in Mexico clears you. This clearance in Mexico means arrange on your own payments or reparations to a third party.

Why do we sell a minimum of $150,000 when the law only requires $7,500?

Mexican Insurance and the Labor Law
Since the labor law went into effect in 2012, the 3rd party liability limit increased from about $20,000US to more than $100,000US (in today's dollars) for a death benefit. In other words, if you cause an accident in Mexico as a tourist, which results in the death of a Mexican citizen you are liable for AT LEAST $110,000 to the victim's family. The law does not require you to carry this much, but we want you to be protected. As an American citizen, you make approximately 20x as much as a Mexican citizen does, even at minimum wage.

Fine for Ignoring the Law
The fine for ignoring the law (without an accident) is about $150US. You might mistake this for a bribe, but in this case, if you do not have insurance, they can and likely will ticket you for this amount.




Mexican Insurance Liability Law


How To Buy Mexican Auto Insurance When Going South Of The Border

Is Mexican Insurance Required by Law to Drive in Mexico?[/color]
 
justblue said:
A United State court wouldn't have jurisdiction over a Mexican transaction that took place in Mexico.
Did you speak to someone (Manager) at Expedia regarding this? Did you ask if you could be refunded the insurance cost for the policy you purchased through them?
Click to expand...
Expedia did refund me for the policy I purchased with them.
and I did feed back to expedia for the europcar's bait fraud. they only said they will investigate, and so far 2 weeks has passed without any updated.
I only left a 1 star review on expedia and europcar in google. nothing else can be done so far. bad.
 
You got your money back for the policy. Good. Forget about the rest of it. They aren't going to "investigate" anything.

Next time you go to Mexico, you'll know better.
 
martingale said:
Expedia did refund me for the policy I purchased with them.
and I did feed back to expedia for the europcar's bait fraud. they only said they will investigate, and so far 2 weeks has passed without any updated.
I only left a 1 star review on expedia and europcar in google. nothing else can be done so far. bad.
Click to expand...
I'm curious...How much did the Mexican policy cost in USD?
 
adjusterjack said:
Revenge on the US for stealing Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, California, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
Click to expand...

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo authorized the payment of 15 million dollars which was about 380 million dollars in today's money to Mexico for parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado as well as most of present day California, New Mexico and Arizona.

Nothing was paid for Texas since the US took the position that Texas had won its Independence from Mexico years earlier.

The Gadsden Purchase was also a separate purchase of lands touching the American Southwest.

At that time in history it was considered to have been a waste of money by many who had not bought into the concept of Manifest Destiny.

The US was in the position to offer Mexico a take it or leave it deal.

Failure to accept the deal could have resulted in even further death and destruction and the total assimilation of Mexico into the United States.

Mexico took the money and ran with it.

I wasn't alive at the time.

That said, I've never had any hankering to visit Mexico.

My wife and I have taken several cruises that stopped in various Mexican cities.

Neither of us had any reason to disembark the ship to spend time in Mexico.

That said, others are free to do as they wish.

Bear in mind, there are many countries on this planet best avoided, because there are civilized nations worth visiting.
 
I'm not seeing the problem here. The OP was required to have Mexican auto insurance and bought the Mexican auto insurance. Expedia refunded the amount the OP paid to Expedia for the insurance. The OP got what s/he paid for.

What am I missing?
 
Zigner said:
I'm not seeing the problem here. The OP was required to have Mexican auto insurance and bought the Mexican auto insurance. Expedia refunded the amount the OP paid to Expedia for the insurance. The OP got what s/he paid for.

What am I missing?
Click to expand...

I've not read the contract between the OP and Expedia. Nor do I know exactly what representations the insurer made. But if the insurer told the OP the policy it was selling was good in Mexico but failed to mention that Mexico required the OP to buy insurance from a Mexican insurer then Expedia may also owe the difference between the premium on its insurance and the Mexican insurance. Whether that's enough to make much effort over is another matter.
 
Zigner said:
I'm not seeing the problem here. The OP was required to have Mexican auto insurance and bought the Mexican auto insurance. Expedia refunded the amount the OP paid to Expedia for the insurance. The OP got what s/he paid for.

What am I missing?
Click to expand...

Prior to post #7 we didn't know about the refund.
 

Share this page

Get a free case review from a lawyer
Back
Top