# Mallorca holidaymakers report pressure to buy extra insurance at an airport rental desk: what you can do

> On 19 October 2026, Mallorca Magazin published accounts from two renters at a rental desk at Palma airport who say they were pressured into buying extra insurance despite existing cover. One paid €282.38 for two add-on products and later got his original insurance refunded by the booking platform because he was double insured. Extra cover at the desk is normally optional, so if you are made to buy it you can ask for a refund in writing and contact your European Consumer Centre.

Updated: 2026-10-25 · Source: https://scratchfair.com/en/blog/mallorca-rental-desk-extra-insurance-pressure

You land in Palma, walk to the rental desk with a fully paid booking and full cover from the booking site, and hear that the car is unpaid and your insurance does not count. ==On 19 October 2026, Mallorca Magazin published two such accounts from renters at the same desk at Palma airport, who both say they were pressured into buying extra insurance they did not need.== The company did not respond to the paper's questions before publication. Here is what the renters describe, and what you can do if it happens to you.

## What the renters told Mallorca Magazin

The first case is an Austrian university lecturer who had booked and paid through an online broker, including the broker's top-level full cover. At the desk, he says, staff told him the car was unpaid and his insurance invalid, and would only hand over the keys if he bought additional cover there and then. He signed on a tablet, in his words under enormous pressure. €282.38 was charged to his credit card for two add-on insurance products, which he sees as double insurance.

He filed a chargeback with his bank and contacted the European Consumer Centre in Austria. On 15 October, the broker agreed in writing and refunded his original insurance, citing the double insurance that arose at the desk. The article notes that this alone does not prove the staff member acted deliberately.

The second account came from a reader collecting a car booked through an airline website on 9 October. She had cover through her credit card and planned to leave the €2,300 deposit instead. She says staff repeatedly pushed additional insurance, an amount of about €1,098 appeared on the payment terminal and then failed, and she was referred to her card company when she asked to cancel. She gave up on the car, and her husband booked with another company nearby, where the card worked and no extra cover was pushed.

Mallorca Magazin stressed that these are the customers' own accounts, which it could not check independently, and that selling extra insurance at the desk is not wrong in itself, as long as the costs and terms are clear.

## Is extra insurance at the desk optional?

Normally, yes. The Swedish Consumer Agency, Konsumentverket, answered a very similar question in June 2026: a renter had booked with a Spanish company online and was told at pick-up to add insurance costing several hundred euros. Its answer was that insurance is normally an optional extra when you rent a car, that the contract terms decide, and that if you were made to buy cover the terms did not require, you can ask for a refund of that cost. ECC Ireland gives similar advice: the insurance you need should be included in the price up front, and you should double-check any additional cover offered at the desk to see whether you need it.

What the desk can do is ask for a larger deposit when you decline its own cover. That is common, and it is the main reason a credit card limit matters. Our article on [extra insurance at the rental desk](https://scratchfair.com/en/knowledge/pick-up/extra-insurance-at-rental-desk) explains what the desk may and may not require.

## Why broker cover and desk cover are different things

Much of the confusion comes from the word "full". Cover bought from a broker or booking site is usually a separate excess insurance, as Which? explains: the rental company charges you for damage up to the excess, and you claim that amount back from the insurer afterwards. The desk's own product removes or lowers the excess with the rental company directly. Both can be called full cover, but only the second changes what the rental company itself can charge you.

The Austrian ECC advised in its summer 2026 press release to check that the insurance on your booking voucher matches what is in the rental contract, and to be careful not to be talked into unnecessary extras. Our guide on [claiming your excess back](https://scratchfair.com/en/knowledge/credit-card/claim-excess-back-from-insurance) shows how broker cover pays out.

## What to do if you are pushed into extra cover

At the desk, say clearly that you have your own cover and want to decline the extra insurance, and ask what deposit applies without it. Photograph the contract before you sign, especially the lines with extra products and their prices. If you sign anyway because you need the car, keep a copy and note what you were told.

Afterwards, write to the rental company, say what you told the desk, attach the contract and the receipt, and ask for a refund. If your booking platform also sold you cover, tell it as well; in the Mallorca case, that is where the first refund came from. Ask your card issuer whether a chargeback is possible, and do it quickly because issuers set deadlines. The [deadline calculator](https://scratchfair.com/en/tools/deadlines) helps you keep track, and the [sample letters](https://scratchfair.com/en/tools/letter-templates) give you a starting point.

If the company is in another EU country and does not move, your national European Consumer Centre can help for free. Booked through a broker? Read [who to complain to when you booked through a broker](https://scratchfair.com/en/knowledge/ecc-and-disputes/booked-through-broker-who-to-complain-to) first, because the answer depends on who sold you what.

## FAQ

**Can a rental desk make me buy its insurance?**

Insurance is normally an optional extra, the Swedish Consumer Agency says. If the company makes it a condition for handing over the car although your booking did not require it, you can ask for a refund of that cost in writing.

**I already had full cover from the booking site. Why did the desk say it was invalid?**

Cover sold by a booking platform is usually a separate policy that reimburses your excess afterwards, not the rental company's own waiver. The desk may still ask for a large deposit, but that does not make your policy invalid.

**What if I signed for the extra insurance on a tablet under pressure?**

Keep a copy or photo of what you signed and the payment receipt, then dispute the charge in writing with the rental company and ask your card issuer whether a chargeback is possible. The renter in the Mallorca report did both and also contacted ECC Austria.

**Who can help if the rental company does not reply?**

If the company is in another EU country, Iceland or Norway, your national European Consumer Centre can advise and, in some cases, mediate for free. The Swedish Consumer Agency also points to the ECRCS conciliation service for member companies.

## Sources

- [Mallorca Magazin: Mietwagen-Abzocke? Mallorca-Urlauber schießen gegen Anbieter am Flughafen (19 October 2026, German)](https://www.mallorcamagazin.com/nachrichten/tourismus/2026/10/19/158781/mietwagen-abzocke-mallorca-urlauber-schiessen-gegen-anbieter-flughafen.html)
- [Konsumentverket: Bokade hyrbil och tvingades köpa försäkring vid hämtning (updated 4 June 2026, Swedish)](https://www.konsumentverket.se/fragor-och-svar/3197091/bokade-hyrbil-och-tvingades-kopa-forsakring-vid-hamtning/)
- [EVZ Austria: Rental car tips, press release of 30 June 2026 (PDF, German)](https://vki.at/system/files/2026-06/2026-06-30_PA_EVZ_Mietwagen.pdf)
- [ECC Ireland: Car hire in Europe, help and advice (9 May 2025)](https://www.eccireland.ie/?p=2638)
- [Which?: Holidaymakers warned about car hire excess waivers (13 June 2024)](https://www.which.co.uk/policy-and-insight/article/which-warns-holidaymakers-to-avoid-rip-off-insurance-excess-waivers-offered-by-car-hire-firms-as-it-finds-them-charging-up-to-12-times-more-than-superior-alternatives-advIY9j0qYJ0)