DriveAway have prepared this summary as a guide to the key inclusions, exclusions, requirements and other terms and conditions which may apply when renting from Europcar in New Zealand. Customers will be required to accept Europcar New Zealand car hire rental terms when collecting their vehicle. Last updated: 20 December 2017.
1.1 This Contract (Rental Contract) You have entered into with Europcar comprises the rental document for the hire of the Vehicle (Rental Agreement) and these terms and conditions of rental (Terms and Conditions). When We refer to the Rental Contract We mean both the Rental Agreement and the Terms and Conditions.
1.2 The date of the Rental Contract is the date that is shown in the Rental Agreement.
1.3 Please read the Rental Contract carefully. If there is anything that You do not understand please ask at the Rental Station before signing the Rental Contract, as Your signature is Your acknowledgement that You have read and understood the Rental Contract in its entirety and that You are bound by it.
1.4 There are words and phrases used in the Rental Contract that have a particular meaning that You need to be familiar with.
Accident means an unintended and unforeseen collision between the Vehicle and any other object, including another vehicle, that results in Damage or Third Party Loss.
Administration Fee means the fee charged by Us for the administrative costs associated with Your rental.
Authorised Driver means any driver approved and recorded by Us, either on the Rental Agreement or by prior written agreement.
Claims Administration Fee means the fee charged for handling Your claim and for making arrangements for repairs, towing and other administrative tasks associated with Damage or Third Party Loss. The fee ranges from $50 plus GST for a single vehicle accident to $200 plus GST where there is also Third Party Loss.
Commercial Vehicle means a Vehicle that is a van, utility, truck or bus that is constructed and used for the carriage of goods or property or for the transport of more than 12 persons including the driver.
Customer Own Insurance means that You have a Corporate Services Agreement with Us under which Your Rental Contract provides no cover for Damage or Third Party Loss arising from the use of the Vehicle.
Damage means:
Damage Cover Products means products You may purchase at the Start of Rental at extra cost to reduce Your DLF liability.
Damage Liability Fee (DLF) means the amount shown in the Rental Agreement You must pay Us in the event of Damage, theft of the Vehicle or Third Party Loss, subject to these Terms and Conditions. The amount payable includes the Claims Administration Fee and is subject to GST.
Debit Card means Debit MasterCard or Visa Debit Card.
Europcar means BVJV Limited GST Number 80-610-270 trading as Europcar New Zealand or where applicable an independent Europcar franchisee or affiliate.
Final Inspection means the inspection carried out after We have taken possession of and fully examined and cleaned the Vehicle at the end of the Rental Period.
Loss of Use means the fee calculated at the daily rate shown in the Rental Agreement being Our loss because the Vehicle needs repair and We are waiting for the repairs to be completed or it is a write-off or has been stolen and We are waiting for it to be replaced.
Off Road means any area that is not a gazetted road nor a sealed road nor an Unsealed Road and includes but is not limited to unformed roads, fire trails, tracks, river and tidal crossings, creek beds, beaches, streams, dams, rivers, flood waters, sand, deserts, rocks, fields and paddocks.
Overhead Damage means:
Premium Location Surcharge (PLS) means the extra amount payable when a Vehicle is hired from a Rental Station located at an airport or some city or suburban locations. The rate is shown in the Rental Agreement and is subject to GST.
Rental Charges means all rental and associated charges plus GST or other taxes and levies required by law all shown in the Rental Agreement.
Rental Station means the branch or rental location from which You hired the Vehicle.
Rental Period means the period shown in the Rental Agreement or as extended by Us.
Serious Breach means a breach of any of clauses 6.3, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7, or 8.10 that causes Damage, theft of the Vehicle or Third Party Loss.
Snow Cover means the additional cover that allows the Vehicle to be driven within a Snow Area.
Snow Area means any area where snow or ice has formed on the ground or any area where it is indicated, recommended or required that snow chains are to be fitted to the Vehicle.
Start of Rental means the date and time that the rental commences at the Rental Station shown in the Rental Agreement.
Third Party Loss means any loss or damage to third party property, including other motor vehicles, and any third party claim for loss of income or consequential loss.
Underbody Damage means any damage to the Vehicle including the drive train, chassis, steering, suspension, brakes, exhaust, floor pan and fuel systems that is caused by or directly results from contact between the underside of the Vehicle and any part of the road way or any object or obstruction including kerbs, gutters, speed or road humps, barriers or wheel stops.
Unsealed Road means a road that has been formed and constructed but is not sealed with a hard material such as tar, bitumen or concrete.
Unsealed Road Cover means the additional cover that allows some classes of Vehicle to be used on an Unsealed Road provided that the road is gazetted and graded and maintained by a local, state, territory or government body, authority or council but it never allows the use of the Vehicle Off Road.
Vehicle means the vehicle described in the Rental Agreement and includes its parts, components, accessories, keys, keyless start or remote control device, audio equipment and tools or any vehicle substituted by Us pursuant to the Rental Contract.
Vehicle Registration Recovery Fee (VRRF) means the daily amount payable to Us to recover Our costs of registering and licensing the Vehicle as a rental Vehicle.
We, Us, Our means Europcar or one of its franchisees or affiliates as shown in the Rental Agreement.
You, Your means the person, firm, company or organisation renting the Vehicle or any Authorised Driver shown in the Rental Agreement.
Your Europcar Account means Your credit card, Europcar charge account or Debit Card nominated at the Start of Rental for the debiting of charges under the Rental Contract.
2.1 Your rental of the Vehicle from Us is for the Rental Period and at the rate shown in the Rental Agreement.
2.2 The Vehicle must be returned to the Rental Station on the date and by the time shown in the Rental Agreement. If You return the Vehicle earlier than the date shown in the Rental Agreement the daily rate payable will be adjusted to reflect the daily rates that apply for shorter rentals.
2.3 We understand that circumstances change and that You may require the Vehicle for longer than the Rental Period. If so, You must notify Us at least 2 hours prior to the expiration of the Rental Period.
2.4 If We have agreed to an extension of the Rental Period and Your extended Rental Period is longer than 30 days, You must take the Vehicle to Your nearest Europcar Rental Station on day 29 and every 30 days thereafter to pay Your additional Rental Charges for the extended Rental Period unless You have Our prior written agreement varying these conditions.
2.5 If You fail to notify Us at least 2 hours before the expiration of the Rental Period that You require an extension, We may:
2.6 A ‘No Show’ fee may apply if You fail to notify Us of Your intended cancellation prior to the date and time of the commencement of Your reservation.
3.1 At the Start of Rental You must provide Your credit card or Debit Card which We may pre-authorise to pay Your total estimated Rental Charges plus a deposit, as security. Payment by Debit Card is not acceptable on all Vehicles or at all Rental Stations and You should check with the Rental Station that Your proposed means of payment is acceptable to Us before signing the Rental Contract.
3.2 When collecting the Vehicle the primary cardholder must be present.
3.3 At the end of the Rental Period You must pay Us:
3.4 If You extend the Rental Period from that shown in the Rental Agreement Your entitlement to free rental kilometres may change and You will be charged for extra kilometres if You exceed the free kilometres applicable to Your Rental Period and Vehicle model.
3.5 The Vehicle is supplied with a full tank of fuel. If You do not take the “prepaid fuel” option and return the Vehicle without a full tank of fuel a refuelling charge will apply. You must also pay for any fuel used for the delivery and collection service.
3.6 All amounts payable under the Rental Contract are subject to subsequent verification and adjustment and details of any adjustments will be provided to You as soon as practicable. If a refund is due to You it will be credited to Your Europcar Account. If any amount is due to Us You authorise Us to charge Your Europcar Account with that amount, including an amount up to the DLF and any amounts payable under clauses 4.1, 6.1 to 6.4 (inclusive). These charges may be made at any time during or after the end of the Rental Period.
3.7 If currency conversion is required for payment of amounts due to Us under the Rental Contract, We will apply the commercial exchange rate valid at the time We credit or debit Your Europcar Account.
3.8 If You fail to pay Us any amount due under the Rental Contract You must also:
4.1 You are liable for and must pay all infringement fees and any court fees or costs imposed for an infringement offence:(a) where approved vehicle surveillance equipment has detected:
(b) arising from parking the Vehicle on any portion of a road in breach of any bylaw of a road controlling authority or Part 6 of the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004; or
(c) arising from a contravention of section 20(1) of the Freedom of Camping Act 2011 involving the use of the Vehicle, whether You were driving the Vehicle or not.
4.2 If We receive an infringement notice for an infringement offence from an enforcement or regulatory authority We will send You a copy of that notice or of any reminder notice as soon as practicable. You have the right to:
4.3 If We receive a reminder notice for an infringement offence We may debit Your Europcar Account for the amount of the infringement fee and We may charge an administration fee if We do.
4.4 We may also supply Your details to any regulatory or enforcement authority upon its request and an administration fee applies if We do or if We have notified You of the receipt of an infringement notice from any such authority. If We have paid any amount for which You are liable under clause 4.1 You will also be charged that amount together with an administration fee.
5.1 If there is Damage, theft of the Vehicle or Third Party Loss for each separate Accident or theft You must pay up to the DLF shown in the Rental Agreement unless Your Rental Contract is for Customer Own Insurance.
5.2 You may make Your own insurance arrangements but if We are not satisfied that Your insurance cover is comparable to the cover We offer We may refuse to hire the Vehicle to You. If You make Your own insurance arrangements You accept that You are liable for and must pay in full for:
5.3 Subject to clause 6, Your DLF liability is reduced if You have purchased a Damage Cover Product.
5.4 You will not have to pay the DLF shown in the Rental Agreement for a claim if acting reasonably We agree that You were not at fault and:
5.5 If the DLF is payable under clauses 4.1 and 4.2:
5.6 We will refund:
5.7 In making a refund We may take into account all reasonable administrative, collection agency and legal costs incurred in connection with the recovery of the Damage cost or rejection or defence of a claim for Third Party Loss.
6.1 You have no cover if there is a Serious Breach of the Rental Contract even if Damage Cover Products have been purchased and the DLF has been paid.
6.2 You have no cover for Damage to the Vehicle’s windscreen, headlights, wheels or tyres unless You have purchased Go Zen.
6.3 Even if You purchase one of Our Damage Cover Products and You pay the DLF You have no cover, for:
6.4 There is also no cover for:
6.1 If You have a Corporate Services Agreement with Us that provides for Customer Own Insurance and if Your Rental Agreement records that Your Rental Contract is for Customer Own Insurance:
8.1 In this section, We set out the responsibilities You have to Us when You hire one of Our Vehicles.
8.2 The Vehicle must only be driven by You. We may also approve additional Authorised Drivers and an extra charge will apply for each driver.
8.3 You must:
8.4 You must also:
8.5 During the Rental Period You must:
8.6 During the Rental Period You must also:
8.7 You must never:
8.8 You must not:
8.9 You and any passengers must not smoke in the Vehicle. Additional cleaning charges will apply if there is a breach of this condition.
8.10 Parts of New Zealand are not suitable for access by rental vehicles. To prevent Damage to the Vehicle and for Your own personal safety We strictly enforce conditions that restrict Your use of the Vehicle and unless We have given Our prior written consent, You must never take the Vehicle:
9.1 When You make a reservation with Us We will provide a Vehicle that is in a safe and roadworthy condition displaying a valid and current Certificate of Fitness.
9.2 If the Vehicle breaks down during the Rental Period because of Our negligence We will recover and repair the Vehicle as soon as possible. If the Vehicle cannot be repaired, We will use Our best endeavours to provide a replacement Vehicle of an equivalent size and standard to the previous Vehicle for the remainder of the Rental Period.
9.3 If it is not possible to conduct an inspection of the Vehicle with You at the end of the Rental Period We will use Our best endeavours to confirm the condition of the Vehicle with You within 4 working hours of the Final Inspection.
9.4 Subject to the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 We are only responsible for any direct loss that You suffer as a result of Our breach of the Rental Contract. Unless We have breached the specific requirements of these Acts We are not responsible for missed flights, disrupted travel or holiday plans, loss of enjoyment or opportunity, indirect or consequential loss.
10.1 Free roadside assistance is provided for inherent mechanical faults in the Vehicle but fees and charges apply for all other faults or driver induced errors. Generally, these fees and charges range from $45 plus GST to $600 plus GST and apply to faults and driver induced errors such as:
10.2 Roadside Assistance Cover may be purchased to provide cover for:
10.3 Roadside Assistance Cover does not apply and there is no cover:
10.4 Acting reasonably, We reserve the right not to replace the Vehicle if it is involved in a major Accident or there has been major Damage or You have committed a Serious Breach of the Rental Contract.
10.5 If:
10.6 You must not let anyone work on the Vehicle or arrange or undertake any repairs to the Vehicle or towing or salvage of it unless We have given You Our prior authority. You must keep and produce to Us the original tax invoices and receipts for any repairs, towing or salvage and You will be reimbursed only if these expenses have been authorised by Us. Any entitlement to reimbursement is subject to there being no Serious Breach of the Rental Contract.
10.7 You must immediately report any Accident or theft of the Vehicle to Us in writing and complete all documentation that We require and forward any third party correspondence or court documents to Us within 7 days of receipt.
10.8 If You have an Accident in which:
10.9 If the Vehicle is stolen a report must be made to the police immediately the theft is discovered.
10.10 If You have an Accident You must also:
11.1 At the end of the Rental Period, in addition to Your obligations under clause 3.3, You must return the Vehicle to Us:
11.2 We allow a grace period of 30 minutes for the return of the Vehicle but if it is returned to Us more than 30 minutes after the time set for its return in the Rental Agreement You will be charged one full day’s extra rental.
11.3 If the Rental Contract has not been extended by Us and the Vehicle is returned to Us more than 24 hours after the time set for its return in the Rental Agreement:
11.4 If You return the Vehicle to a rental station other than that shown in the Rental Agreement, or when the Rental Station is closed, or any place other than a Europcar Rental Station:
11.5 If a bond has been prepaid to Us it is fully refundable to You provided that at the end of the Rental Period:
We reserve the right to retain all or part of a bond if there is a breach of any of these conditions.
12.1 We may terminate the Rental Contract and take immediate possession of the Vehicle if You commit:
12.2 If the Rental Contract is terminated by Us pursuant to clause 11.1:
13.1 The laws of New Zealand govern the Rental Contract.
13.2 You have consumer rights conferred by the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and neither this clause nor any other provision of the Rental Contract excludes, restricts or modifies any implied terms or rights You may have under those Acts or any other consumer legislation.
14.1 If You believe there has been an error in Your account or if You have any complaint, Our staff at the Rental Station will help You in every way they can to rectify the error or resolve the complaint. If they are unable to assist You or if Your concerns are not resolved to Your satisfaction You may refer the matter to Our internal dispute resolution (IDR) process.
14.2 Upon receipt of Your referral to IDR Our IDR officer will acknowledge receipt of Your referral and will investigate the matter and try to reach a satisfactory outcome.
14.3 We will advise You of the final outcome of Your IDR referral within 45 days of receipt of that referral and We will use Our best endeavours to do so within 21 days thereof.
14.4 Referrals to Our IDR process can be to any of the following:
15.1 The terms of Our Privacy Policy (available at www.europcar.co.nz) form part of these terms and conditions. Our Privacy Policy sets out how We collect, use, store and disclose Your personal information.
15.2 If We do not collect Personal Information from You, We will not be able to rent You a Vehicle and if any of the Personal Information You provide is incomplete or inaccurate, the quality of Our services may be compromised.
15.3 By entering into the Rental Contract with Us and by providing Us with personal information, You represent to Us and We proceed on the basis that You have read and agree to the terms of Our Privacy Policy.
15.4 Your personal information contained within the Rental Contract may be disclosed to other relevant operators for the purpose of promoting safe driving in New Zealand.
15.5 We may use GPS tracking or other electronic tools (GPS Device) to enable the geographical location of the Vehicle to be tracked or located. By hiring a Europcar Vehicle You expressly consent to Us using a GPS Device on the Vehicle during the Rental Period and collecting, using and retaining information from the GPS Device. Further information is available in Our Privacy Policy.
15.6 If You default in the payment of any moneys owed to Us under clause 3.3, You authorise Us to provide information of that default to a credit reporting body and to obtain an up to date consumer credit report on You. Personal information may be used and disclosed by the credit reporting body in accordance with the Privacy Act to create or maintain a credit information file containing information about You, including defaults in excess of 60 days and the debt owed to Us.
16.1 If You are the holder of a corporate account with Us or if Your Corporate Services Agreement with Us provides for Customer Own Insurance, these Terms and Conditions must be read in conjunction with Your signed Agreement.
16.2 If You are a Privilege Loyalty Program member these Terms and Conditions must be read in conjunction with the Privilege Program Specific Terms.
16.3 In the event of any inconsistencies or ambiguity between the terms of Your corporate account, Your Corporate Services Agreement, Your Customer Own Insurance agreement or Your Privilege Loyalty Program, these Terms and Conditions will prevail.
Effective 1 November 2016
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