part 2
"Shortly after the discovery of what had taken place I called the Police Department in Kralendijk and explained in detail as to what had taken place. I was advised that it would be approximately one hour before an officer could come to the scene. We also contacted Mous, who is one of the managers for Sun Rentals and he came to the residence at once. We were later advised that it would be after 4:00 pm before a police officer would be at the residence. Other than Mous of Sun Rentals it was as though what we had been subjected to was of no great importance to anyone except us. It was decided that Mous would take us to the Police Department in order for us to file our report and to A B Rentals to replace the vehicles that were stolen. After giving a detailed report of the incident to the police we were given copies of the auto theft reports and these were taken and presented to the A B Car Rental representative. Both vehicles were replaced without comments or advice from the car rental representative. All of this took until approximately 1:00 pm. When one of my friends, Kim and I got back to the residence we found that his wife and one of the other ladies in the group had rode the rented bicycles up to the supermarket while we were at the Police Station. While at the supermarket they ran into Simone (Sun Rentals employee) and told her of the incident that had occurred. To my surprise Simone told them they there had been several incidents like this in the past and that it was believed the burglars, when entering rooms where people were sleeping, were using some kind of spray that would put them into a sedated state and actually keep them from waking up. If in fact Sun Rentals had knowledge of such incidents and according to one of their employees it is obvious they did, they were in no doubt liable to inform us of such incidents while renting one of their properties. Being the house was remotely located, their failure to inform us as to take extra precautions against such a possible incident in our opinion makes them as culpable as well. I know that Sun Rentals could not have predicted that such an incident would in fact happen but I do firmly believe they knew there was a possibility, no matter how small, that it could happen.
I do have to say that Mous went out of his way to try and lessen the stress that this incident put on all of us. I also understand that his attempt to lessen this stress was about business. No one, especially a company wants this type of publicity to have a negative impact on his or her livelihood and business therefore it is imperative that every means possible is taken in order to calm the matter with as little reverberation as possible. For the $4200.00 that we spent on renting the house for a week I firmly believe that Sun Rentals came up short in meeting their obligation in providing us a safe and secure house in which to reside while on vacation and also in failing to inform us of such previous incidents. If they had done so I am sure we would have agreed to rent something in a more populated and dense area.
Later that day Mous came by and advised us that one of the vehicles had been found wrecked somewhere on the island but the other vehicle had not yet been found. Let me add here that after going to the police to make our report we had no more contact with any police officer in reference to our case�.no follow up contact�.nothing. I found that quite disturbing and appalling. The following day Kim and I went A B Car Rental in order to see what kind of damage had been done to the truck that had been found. We were told that the car was at a local garage called Bocca�s at that time. When the manager of the garage was told that we were the ones from which the truck had been stolen he made the comment, �Yeah, A B Rental called and said they needed an estimate of damage right away for you did not have full coverage on the vehicle.� Needless to say, from this statement, I immediately saw the handwriting on the wall. It was obvious that A B Rentals expected us to pay for damages caused to a vehicle by someone who had stolen keys from inside a locked house and then taken from behind locked gates. You have no idea how this enraged all of us involved. What business was it of the garage employee to have information regarding our contract and coverage with A B Car Rental? In going over the rental agreement I would like to point out two specific parts of the contract. The first part refers to the front and bottom of the contract where there is a space which declares, �I do not take C.D.W. and declare herewith to be personally liable for any damage and objects missing and to compensate for them before leaving Bonaire�. Below this declaration there is a space for the renter�s name and signature. Neither I nor my friend who rented the other vehicle had been asked to sign this declaration because we had procured C.D.W. My point here is�why have a separate area acknowledging refusing to take a specific coverage and agreeing to pay for all damages if the coverage we did take and signed for did not cover the same loss as described in the refusal declaration. The second part I point out is on the reverse side of the contract and is noted as Section 3 and Section 5 in Article 4. Section 3 states, �Burglary and theft damage are not insured.� Section 5 states, �The franchise as mentioned in section 3 is only not due, if an official police report of the accident causing the damages can be submitted to A.B. Carrental N.V., from which report it can reasonably be concluded that the damages were not intentionally caused by the renter or caused by gross negligence of the renter and the damage can be recouped out of the opponent�. A B Car Rental had been provided with such a police report and they knew first hand that this situation was not due to any fault or gross negligence of ours. However, it is apparent that they must have little faith in their own police department and their ability to apprehend the thieves in order that they may be able to recoup their losses from the opponent. Having dealt with the police earlier I can understand why they would have very little faith in them in solving the case. I conclude that is was just easier for them to come after us instead.
That same day I called Mous of Sun Rentals and asked him to come to the house so all of us could meet with him and express our concerns about this particular matter. We explained to him that we suspected that A B Rentals was going to try and bill us for the vehicles when we went to turn in the replacement vehicles on the 15th. I told him that if he thought this may be a possibility to please tell us so I could plan on what steps to take next. I explained to him that we weren�t going to pay for any vehicles that had been stolen or damaged by someone else and our fear was that when we refused such payment to A B Rentals they may take steps to have us held in the country by immigration or the police. More than once I told him that if he thought there was any remote possibility that this may happen then I needed to start making some calls to the United States in preparation for some type intervention by government officials of my own country if needed. I also told that I would, at the same time, request an appointment with the Governor of Bonaire. Mous assured me that he did not think this would take place. I can tell you now that he was correct in only part of his answer.
Our flight out of Bonaire was at 3:10 pm on July 15th. We had checked our baggage earlier that morning and then went to have lunch. We arrived at A B Car Rentals which is located just across the parking lot from the airport at approximately 1:45 pm and turned the replacement vehicles in. After one of their employees did a check of the vehicles for damage and gas I was presented a bill for the first truck I had rented and had been stolen but not yet recovered in the amount of approximately $5500.00. Terry, who had rented the other vehicle that had been stolen and wrecked was given a bill which included an estimate sheet from Bocca�s Garage in the amount of approximately $8500.00. I then told the cashier that we were not going to pay for either vehicle and she needed to give us the amount that we owed for the rental and insurance that was originally figured as our cost for the vehicles. She made no reply but picked up the telephone, made a call and then handed the phone to me. On the line was a male who identified himself as the manager of A B Car Rentals. Hearing him at sometimes was difficult for the fact that I was standing outside the business there was noise from the airport and passing traffic.
One of the first things he told me was that we needed to pay for the damage to the vehicle that had been wrecked and also for the damage to the other vehicle. I asked him how could he say that the vehicle I had rented had been damaged when it had not even been recovered at this point. The only reply he had at this time was had he known that we were leaving Bonaire today he would have come to the airport office to try and settle the matter with us in person. The first problem with this statement is that the contract we signed on both the stolen vehicles and the replacement vehicles had a turn in date of July 15th. He knew we would be there that day. Second, when we took a copy of the stolen vehicle reports to A B Car Rentals on Sunday July 11th the reports had both our names on them along with where we were staying, being the same location from where the vehicle were stolen. If he had wanted to try and settle this with us why did his business wait until one hour until we were to leave the country to do so. To put us under undue pressure, that�s why. He had four days prior to Thursday to contact us if he had wanted to but he did not. I told him explicitly several times that we were not going pay for vehicles whose keys had been taken from inside a locked house and then stolen from behind locked gates. This conversation went back and forth for approximately 45 minutes even though I kept telling him that we had to catch our flight at 3:10 pm. I finally cut him off and stated that I was going to give the phone back to his employee and he needed to tell her to let us know what we owed for the initial rental and insurance fees so we could pay it. I also let him know that the last thing he needed to do was to make a call and have us held in the country because of the situation. He advised that he would not do that but I can assure you because of what had taken place and the way we had been treated up to this point none of us felt safe from that possibility until we were actually on the plane and leaving Bonaire. We did pay A B Rental a total of $224.00 which covered the rental and insurance fees we had initially agreed to before leaving for the airport terminal.
Two years ago I visited Bonaire for the first time and was absolutely taken back with the island. I could not wait to return as could my friends who had also come there two years ago. For some it was their first trip to Bonaire and all have made it clear that they never wish to return. We now have a different impression of the island and not just because of the thugs that broke into our residence and stole our property and money but also because of the way we were treated in general regarding all the circumstance surrounding this incident. Failure of Sun Rentals to give us warning in reference to previous incident like ours, the uncaring concern and lack of investigation and follow up by the police department and last but not least, the tactics used by A B Rentals in trying to force us into paying for something that was totally out of our control. Before leaving Bonaire I had given the manager of A B Car Rentals my e-mail address and as of today I have no had no contact with them. They still have a hold on my debit / check card in the amount of $572.00 which I firmly believe they are obligated to immediately void and release. Myself and the group of people that I traveled with put approximately $14000.00 into the economy of Bonaire in eight days. Nobody seems to care about that along with the fact that we also had personal effects and $3000.00 in cash taken from us. Nobody has offered to replace our losses but only feel as though we should replace theirs. I think not. We were guests in the country but I doubt we will ever be again. I believe that any one considering traveling to Bonaire in the future should know that what happened to us could very well happen to them. "
