Rented a Fiat Tip for 10 days. The car was fine but on day 7, thieves broke into the car while parked in a busy grocery store parking lot in broad daylight. Our electronics were stolen. Not that unusual on the Spanish Mediterranean--except that nothing was forced or broken. Clearly the thieves were able to unlock the doors as if they owned the vehicle.
When we reported the theft to the Centauro agency, their first question was: is the car damaged? Since it was not, the agent could not care less. The rest of the conversation consisted of declining the company's responsibility and insinuating that it was ours. The agent called the thieves "professionals" and vowed to "take your word for it" that the vehicle was locked. However, her tone was disturbing and suggested that (1) we were naïve tourists and (2) we did not know how to lock a car. Although we had taken €5/day insurance on the vehicle, we could not make any claim on our loss. The agent sent us away with a customer service email (!) address.
I cannot help but be puzzled at the fact that the agency considers it normal that someone else should be able to walk into its locked cars. Is this company closing its eyes (or worse) on the criminals that gain entry to its cars? At the very least, this company lacks a basic sense of responsibility. The agent's indifference and disdain were barely disguised by her courtesy. But I have to give it to them: it was all done in impeccable English. read more
