Hi Andrea!
They rented from Amigoe - We live in the arashi beach area not far from Ocean 105. Very safe neighborhood as far as I thought for car theft. The neighbors owed their house (from holland) and came down from time to time and had always gotten their car from Amigoe. But the boyfriend rented the car w/ his EU Amex card. They were here for about 2 weeks -four days before leaving at night their car was stolen. They talked to the agency who informed them they didn't have (and it turns out offer) theft insurance. They wanted to be reimbursed the entire amount for the car. The police came (hours after they reported it) and weren't too interested in the case.
They ended up going to an attorney on the island - who had listed the fact they didn't include theft insurance in their contract or even mention who was liable. He had a list of cases where the renter was not liable - but it would still have to go to court. In the meantime, the agency calls and says they found the car in the countryside, did not call the police and had the car towed back to their shop. They went to their shop and a small side window was broken (supposed to be the break in point) and the car was stripped. They also noticed they had many of the things that were stripped from their car in the shop for 'extra' parts.
Least to say this really killed their vacation. On the last day - Amigoe offered to settle for 10,000 AFLs. Their attorney told them it would easily cost that much to take it to court and they might not win and would have to fly in. So he settled.
What my opinion is? Well I don't like to give opinions but since
you asked i'll tell you.
1. It was an inside deal. I'm also convinced that other agencies might do this too - a little extra cash on the side.
2. Avoid renting Yaris. They are in abundance here and there is a blackmarket for parts. If you have to get one - get in a color - any ugly one would be best.
3. Check your credit card coverage before leaving. Seems Amex does not cover this while many Visa/MC do. But it still could spoil your vacation if this happens gettng police reports, estimates and documentation for your cc company.
4. Police don't seem to care much about this - even tho this is a small island and you can't "drive" it off the island
5. There are some good companies to rent from but would get a statement from them in writing about what they cover in plain english.
6. Because of inflation and the cost of living rising - crime against vacationers is on the rise. I think they take advantage of the situation. I had spend a lot of time in St. Croix - crime there was crazy because if they found the person who did it - you had to show up in court because they use the US law and have the right to "face your accuser". Here I think the general thinking is people are here on vacation and just want the situation "over" and won't fight it like if someone lived here and had the time.
7. As someone living here - I am getting more and more concerned about crime - have heard about 2 break-ins - one a rental one a residence in the last month or two. This is unheard of and even tho this could happen anywhere. One of the reasons I moved here was because I felt safe. Not sure what I feel anymore and don't see anything in any newspapers about Aruba acknowledging this problem or trying to do something about it.
At least I know people on the island - but really feel for vacationers because they are just "lost" on the process here and pay hard earned $$ for the one part of the year when they can relax.
Whew..... Hope that covers it!!! Looking forward to chatting with you all!
