EUREKYS TOPS 125 ARTICLES

EUREKYS HAS TOPPED 125 ARTICLES ON

Political, Social and Cultural Affairs

In Britain and The World Today

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CAR HIRE IN SPAIN - BEWARE

CAR HIRE IN SPAIN - CUSTOMERS BEWARE !

Most of the car hire companies at Malaga Airport such as Firefly, Gold Car, Record booked through Holiday Autos have found a new way of ripping you off.

In the past, you would have CDW - Collision Damage Waiver included in the price of the rental. Today, CDW is still included BUT here is the problem - you have an Excess Payment of 1,000 Euros built into the contract.
The Car Rental staff are now very well trained to emphasise that unless you take out their insurance for the duration of the rental, You are liable to pay for very scratch or damage to the car up to 1,000 Euros. They will have taken an imprint of your Credit Card, so you are at their mercy. They really try to frighten you and put you under pressure when you are tired after a long journey.

My wife and I have taken out our own Insurance policy in the UK for travel throughout Europe which will pay for any excess charges. The Annual cost if about £50. It costs slightly more for annual Worldwide coverage.
The rental company staff, recently Firefly, will warn you that you are still at risk because they do not think your insurance company will pay up in the event of damage or an accident. Once again, they put pressure on you to buy their excess waiver insurance.

So, what does their insurance cost ? A whopping 18 Euros Plus per day of rental. For a 15 day rental, that will cost you about 270 Euros plus. A massive profit for the car rental companies.

I think that this is outrageous. Can anyone do something about this ?

There is worse to come. We had to return the Firefly car to Malaga Airport at 5.30am. We were told to drop the keys and a copy of the rental agreement into a box, which we did. There was no damage to the car. I took photos of the car and the full tank of petrol.the time and Bay 75 Firefly. A wise precaution.
However, when we failed to take up their insurance, the sales assistant pointed out that if there was any damage to the car AFTER we had returned the car early morning.....we were liable to pay for any damage up to an excess of - you have guessed it - 1,000 Euros.
So, a Firefly employee could damage the car when moving it and we would have to pay. Once again, outrageous.

So, BEWARE if you book via Holiday Autos and Firefly, Gold Car, Record and others. Extra insurance costs could be as much as 400% more than the car rental .......if you fall for the sales pressure when you sign up for the rental.

My brother once hired from Record. As he went up the ramp to leave the car park, smoke came out of the engine. There was no oil ! Record argued that he had to pay because he had taken possession of the car. Beware, do we have to check for oil now ?

One final price of advice.... the lighting is poor in the car park at Malaga Airport when you collect your car early morning or late evening. Make sure that you check for damage. Does the petrol cap work ?  Are the locks damaged ? What about scratches on the roof ?
I suggest you take a torch with you. On out latest trip to Malaga Airport, we found a number of scratches that were not recorded.

Just in case you think excessive insurance is all you need to worry about, here is another cheeky policy.
Firefly and others now want you to bring the car back with a full tank of petrol. If you do not bring it back full you might find that you  have a surcharge of 50 Euros or maybe at least a charge of
25 Euros as a service charge for them having to fill the car up to full.

Maybe, taxis are the better option after all ! Or, the train.

Whatever you do next time ....BEWARE. They want your money !





       

PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE MEDIA

MEDIA BIAS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP OF THE USA

I have to agree with new President Trump of the USA that the Media seem to be biased against him and often twist the news.....Fake News he calls it.

The other evening I watched his 77 minute speech to the Press at The White House. I thought it was a brilliant speech in which he listed some of the positive  actions he had taken since election to honour the promises he had made to the American people.
These included a list of proposed Billion Dollar investments by a number of CEOs of American Car Manufacturers in cities in the USA. Wonderful news for American workers.
In the TV News on CNN and SKY, these investments were not mentioned at all. They concentrated on other issues mainly doubts about Trump Policies like Immigration Controls.
President Trump announced the renewal of the Canadian USA pipeline project which will create thousands of jobs and increase demand for USA Steel. A great Project.
The Media gave this low coverage or preferred to concentrate on environmental issues instead.
The Trump Policies to deal with the 11 Million Illegal Immigrants are presented as an attack on the freedom of all Immigrants.
How dare Illegal Immigrants think that they can enter the USA as they wish without any vetting or permission.
Trump wants to get rid of the drug barons, criminals and felons. I agree entirely. We have the same problem in the UK.

Also during this week I heard Vice President Pence deliver a very reassuring speech at NATO. He gave a forceful reassurance that President Trump and he wanted to assure NATO that the USA fully support them.
The SKY news report included the following comments.....
Did Vice President Pence really talk on behalf of President Trump ?
Did they really mean what they say ? Incredible ! How many times do they want the USA have to repeat this. The Media called the speech a Charm Offensive, a suggestion that American words of support was just that...A Charm Offensive.

Everything The President says, the Media are looking for something critical to say about him. It issuch a pity ! Give the man and his Administration a chance.
The Media say the He had has declared War on the Media. No, he only wants them to be fair and factual in their reporting.

The Media claim that the White House is in chaos. What rubbish.

Remember this Media.....President Trump is doing what he promised the American Electorate he would do. He is keeping his promises. Unusual for Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

President Trump's  wish to liaise directly with President Putin is a good thing. If the two leaders can forge a good understanding and avoid confrontation this is a good thing. If they can speed up the defeat of ISiS and radical Islamist terrorists, this is a good thing.
However, on many occasions this effort to talk to Russia is often presented by some of the Media as a weakness and a danger to peace.

I think that Trump  will prove to be a great President. What stamina and dedication he has shown so far. He has reassured Israel. He has forged a good relationship with Canada, Japan and the UK. He has even pleased China with his One China Policy affirmation. He has reassured Europe. He has reassured the American People. He wants peace with Russia from a position of strength.
He is standing up to the leaches and hangers on. He will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. He will help destroy Isis all over the free world. He is committed to trade deals with the UK.
Yes, he must deal with unfair trading deals across the World.
Not a bad performance for a few weeks in the job.

What more do you want ? Please Media......give more balance in your reporting, particularly SKY, CNN and BBC.

Trump is a man who is used to making big decisions. He is not afraid to trust and act on his own judgement. He is a Doer not a career Politician.

THE EU FEES FOR BREXIT EXIT

THE EU RIPOFF FEE TO THE UK FOR LEAVING

So, the threats and demands from the EU have started.

Some EU officials claim that the UK would have to pay into the EU
Budget some 60 Billions Euros as a condition of leaving the EU.
University Professors think it might be lower, around 40 Billions Euros.
TV Commentators think the UK through negotiations would only need to pay 30 Billions of Euros.
Who do you believe ?

I think the the UK should leave the EU no later than 1 April 2019.
This is how I think the argument should go from a UK perspective.
The UK should honour its commitments up to the 1 April 2019.
After that date, the UK should pay into the EU Budget - Nothing !
The EU will demand payments for commitments to EU officials Pension schemes. No way !
The UK should demand its % share of all EU Assets -  Buildings, Cash in the Bank, Investments, Loans to Member states. That should result in Billions of Euros rebate for the UK. After all, the UK has paid a share of these Liquid Assets and Fixed sets.

The EU hierarchy will not like this. What is the legal position ?
If a business is closed down or shareholders withdraw their shareholding, the Law will pronounce that this is legal for the shareholders to receive their share of the net assets.

The eternal Auditors have not signed off the EU Accounts for some 15 years or more.
The UK should refuse to pay any Leaving fee unless they are presented with Recent Audited Accounts.

The UK should insist that the Principle of Transferability of Pension Funds should apply to all the UK MEPs.

I have confidence in the UK Negotiating Team. If agreement cannot be reached, what Court of Justice will judge ? The European Court of Justice ?  I hope not !

The EU might also claim that since the UK agreed to the various EU Treaties, the UK must honour its commitments and pay up !
The answer is that the UK has lived up to its commitments WHILST it remained a Member of the Club. After it has left the Club, it does not have any more financial commitments.

If you had paid £1,000 to join your local Golf Club, what would you say if they said - You will have to pay £5,000 Leaving Fee. I think that I know what you would say to them ...?***!!!! *** ?

Perhaps the UK Negotiators will be a little more Polite !