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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To cancel holiday due to anxiety over driving

112 replies

anxious88 · 02/08/2020 16:35

I’ve done something incredibly stupid and am feeling terrible. I’m fully prepared to be told that I’m a total idiot but please try to be a bit kind.

I’m off on holiday in the UK tomorrow with DH. I collected a rental car earlier today and declined to take out the car hire company’s insurance, because I was planning to buy third party insurance with one of those online companies that are much more affordable. However, what I stupidly didn’t realise is that I had to purchase the insurance before collecting the car, which in hindsight of course makes complete sense.

I’m now feeling incredibly anxious about driving without additional insurance, because if I do have an accident or even just a scrape then I’ll be liable for up to £1,000 per incident in damages. The holiday is a 250 mile round trip and will involve leaving the car parked in a car park for some of the time, as well as a bit of driving while we’re there.

If we were to cancel the trip now, we would have to pay the full rental fee for the cottage we’ve hired as it’s less than 24 hours notice, and would also have to pay a £130 penalty refund fee if we cut the car hire booking short and took the vehicle back now.

I’ve told DH that I want to cancel because I’m too anxious to drive and he’s really upset, as we were really looking forward to getting away after lockdown. However he has said that if I really don’t feel up to driving then I can cancel if I want.

DH doesn’t drive, so there’s no option but for me to do all the driving. Our destination is hard to get to by train and we also have a new baby with all the additional stuff that requires, so a car is just far more convenient.

I know I’ve been a total idiot messing up such a basic detail like insurance and am feeling so nervous and panicky about driving without it. AIBU to take the car back now and cancel the trip, with all the fees that will incur?

Thanks for reading.

OP posts:
TokyoSushi · 02/08/2020 18:09

Oh OP! Is it really about the insurance or are you looking for a reason not to go?

sonjadog · 02/08/2020 18:10

Just phone them and ask. Most hire places are open outside of normal working hours too. Have you even checked if they are open on a Sunday?

Whenwillthisbeover · 02/08/2020 18:10

Massive overreaction. Seriously. You are insured already. If you really really want the extra excess insurance ring them. They will bite your hand off, they rely on this kind of anxiety.

CasaLuna · 02/08/2020 18:23

Don’t want to scare you OP but YANBU in my opinion. Before we owned a car we used to rent frequently (long term rentals, Car Club, and Drive Now for short trips). We were always really careful and often didn’t add the extra insurance. Stupid... as we found out.

One day a big truck coming fast the opposite direction kicked up something from the road and made a small chip in our windscreen, it cost us £1300. That was absolutely nothing to do with our driving or parking, it was a complete freak accident but still cost us big.

I’d either try to add insurance (I’m sure if you let them check the car over tomorrow they’ll be more than happy to add it) or possibly return the car, pay the small fee, and rebook. Or take the risk but, like we found out, you never have full control over what happens!

CheetasOnFajitas · 02/08/2020 18:30

@anxious88

Would paying £1000 (absolute worst case scenario) really be the end of the world? Why not try to put that worry into perspective and forget about it?

Well, it's £1,000 per incident I believe - so if you were unlucky enough to have two knocks that would be £2,000; three knocks £3,000!

First, most “Knocks” would not cost £1000. Second, the chances of a competent driver having one accident on a holiday of that length are extremely small- two or three separate incidents is vanishingly unlikely. To put it in perspective, I have been driving for 20 years and have only dented my car once, when I misjudged a reverse into a narrow driveway.

If you are THAT bad a driver then you’re right, you should not be driving...

Etinox · 02/08/2020 18:31

YOU CAN DO IT NOW!!!
Sorry for shouting. I suspect you really don't want to go on this trip. Flowers
You could sort it in minutes.

Original poster
anxious88 · 02/08/2020 18:48

@Etinox but if you read the T&Cs it says that the insurance must be purchased before the car is collected - so it would be invalid in my case!

OP posts:
Original poster
anxious88 · 02/08/2020 18:48

@Cheetahfajita thanks for making me feel a little calmer!

OP posts:
bouncydog · 02/08/2020 18:51

Quick thought - check if you have the insurance cover automatically with the card you paid the hire with. Some banks where you are charged a fee for your account include car hire damage insurance as part of the package.

UnprodigalDaughter · 02/08/2020 18:54

Fairly certain I've phoned and added on excess insurance after we had collected the van...

InTheWings · 02/08/2020 18:54

OP: you have had someone from the car hire business say that if you go in and show that the car has not had an accident you can then take out their insurance.

Very simple Smile

All will be well and you will have a lovely hol.

If you weren’t fit to drive your baby you were never fit to drive at all.

You can do it, it is an ordinary thing to do.

Have a wonderful holiday.

Why doesn't your husband drive

How is that useful or relevant at this stage and in this situation? Maybe he is visually impaired or on new epilepsy medication. Maybe he, like many other people, just never learned. They have no car so..., Anyway whatever the reason he won’t magically get a licence before the holiday and it wouldn’t sort the insurance issue.

CheetasOnFajitas · 02/08/2020 18:57

Glad I could help. Did you read my earlier post as well as the one about the likelihood of an accident?

Inthewings also has some good advice.

Why don’t you tell us all about your lovely holiday plans and what you are most looking forward to? You’ll be fine.

BikeRunSki · 02/08/2020 18:59

OP, sorry to be harsh, but 1001 people have told you that you are insured and can add the additional insurance now, including people in the industry. If you are not even prepared to make the phone call, I suspect you are 1 - looking for a reason not to drive and 2 - too anxious to drive anything.

Stay at home or get the train. Is that what you wanted this thread to tell you ?

Etinox · 02/08/2020 19:00

I'm out. You could sort this is seconds.
I suspect that you are not unreasonably anxious about this whole trip, but this sortable.

Original poster
anxious88 · 02/08/2020 19:00

If you are not even prepared to make the phone call

I’m prepared to make the phone call - but I’m not able to speak to anyone until tomorrow morning because they’re closed!

OP posts:
CheetasOnFajitas · 02/08/2020 19:04

OK but in the unlikely event they won’t let you add it, you should still go. It would be madness to cancel at this late stage. The way you described what you had done at the beginning of your thread “something incredibly stupid” etc was very dramatic when all you have done is decline expensive extra insurance just as thousands of car-hirers do every single day.

christinarossetti19 · 02/08/2020 19:07

Anxiety over travelling esp with a new baby in an unfamiliar car is completely understandable.

If you weren't worrying about this OP, it would be something else.

It does sound sortable when you can call tomorrow - it probably happens all the time.

Go and enjoy your holiday!

xolotltezcatlopoca · 02/08/2020 19:15

Stop worrying, I'm sure you can sort it out tomorrow. 250 miles round trip isn't that far. Slight delay in leaving won't matter much.

CheetasOnFajitas · 02/08/2020 19:26

And you talked about having to leave it in a car park as if that was some sort of crazy risk-taking. The vast majority of cars parked in car parks emerge completely unscathed, honestly Smile. It will all be fine.

User50000999788887876655 · 02/08/2020 19:42

Do you crash a lot? Why would you think you could have 3 knocks on one holiday!? You’ve got insurance, they will sell you add on Insurance why do you think they won’t?

VinylDetective · 02/08/2020 19:46

@User50000999788887876655

Do you crash a lot? Why would you think you could have 3 knocks on one holiday!? You’ve got insurance, they will sell you add on Insurance why do you think they won’t?
You don’t need to crash a lot for someone to hit your car in a car park and then drive away.
Splitsunrise · 02/08/2020 21:18

OP don’t worry Smile ring tomorrow and see what they can do, I’m sure this happens to others. Have a lovely holiday

Etinox · 03/08/2020 12:43

Hope you got it sorted @anxious88 and are having a super time. It does seem as though you are bearing all the family worry and actual work!

user1496146479 · 03/08/2020 14:05

Do car hire places close at weekends?

User50000999788887876655 · 03/08/2020 16:26

@VinylDetective yes but highly unlikely it will happen more than once (if at all) and she already has insurance it’s just the extra insurance...