Bike hire has become increasingly popular over the past few years, with almost every UK city rolling out a bike rental scheme of some sort.
However, one of the largest suppliers of bike hire, Lime, has this week come under fire, hitting headlines and sparking up debate.
According to The Guardian, customers of Lime are being exposed to unlawful damage costs when hiring through them, with their insurance policies and procedures a lot less clear than other bike/scooter hire providers.
This came to light after a Telegraph Money reader shared his experience with Lime, currently facing a huge fine for crashing into a stationary car. Denting the vehicle’s door, the rider expected to be covered by Lime’s insurance policy, but was not.
After notifying the firm of the crash he was involved in, a Lime employee told him: “We unfortunately do not have insurance to cover your incident”.
Then, the bike hire company transferred any liability from Lime to the rider, leaving him with a £350 bill to settle.
Seeing his story shared across social media, it appears this is not the first time a rider has been stung by the grey areas of bike hire and insurance cover. Where some providers offer insurance as an added extra, some rides are covered by their home insurance. However, this is largely unknown.
A spokesman of cycling charity, Cycling UK, said:
“We always recommend people take out insurance, including liability for accidents. It is something we firmly believe.”
What are your thoughts? Should all bike rental schemes come with full instance cover to protect riders against such eventualities? Leave your comments with us.
Alternatively, if you are looking for bike hire deals with reputable companies in your local area, conduct a search on Anything For Hire today!
