CAEL – Consórcio de Automóveis Excelsior, Lda., (hereinafter designated as CAEL), rents to the Customer, signatory of the acceptance of this Contract, or to the entity to whom the rental charges will be invoiced to as per their instructions (hereinafter designated as Customer), the given vehicle (hereinafter designated as Vehicle), under the following conditions:
1 – The Customer will return the vehicle on the pre-set date, in the same condition of use as it was delivered, safeguarding respective natural wear and tear, to the same location of the start of the rental, unless another location has been pre-approved by CAEL.
2 – Under legal terms, the Customer authorises CAEL to withdraw the use of the Vehicle under the terms of the Contract, and also terminate it under the grounds of the non-compliance of the contractual terms by the Customer. The possible extension of the rental must be pre-approved and authorised by CAEL.
3 – The Vehicle cannot be used or driven under the following conditions:
a) By anyone who is not duly qualified with a drivers license which is valid in Portugal and who has had their drivers license for at least 2 years and is over the age of 23;
b) While the driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
c) For sports competitions;
d) To tow any other Vehicle or object;
e) With an excess number of passengers or weight;
f) To transport people or goods in exchange for any explicit or implicit compensation;
g) Outside of Mainland Portugal, without prior written authorisation and quotation from CAEL.
3.1 - The vehicle can driven by drivers with more than 23 years old and less than 75 years old that have a valid driver license with 2 or more years. Cael can authorize, by its free will, drivers with less than 23 years old and more than 75 years old until a maximum of 85 years old, by charging a fee denominated as "Young Driver fee" or "Senior Driver fee" according with the prices available at that moment. Cael reserves the right to update the fee prices whenever necessary without prior notice.
4 – The rented Vehicle cannot be sub-rented, except under the conditions provided for my law.
5 – The Customer will pay CAEL, when requested, all charges which correspond to the rental costs given in the Contract, and respective applicable taxes, as well as other values due to the non-compliance of the Contract or other responsibilities accepted by the Customer.
a) For reservations made at Cael´s website only VISA and MASTERCARD credit cards are accepted as well Paypal.
b) The following credit cards are accepted: VISA, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DINERS CLUB, DISCOVER and MASTER CARD for initial payments at the counter.
c) Only VISA, AMERICAN EXPRESS and MASTER CARD credit cards are accepted for initial deposits and/or franchises/excess as well for the acceptance of the complementary eletronic tolls service.
d) The reservation is paid at the time that you are submitting it. Reservations are only considered ”confirmed” after the payment.
e) For vehicle pick-up, is always mandatory the presentation of a credit card under the name of the main driver, where it will be blocked the amount corresponding to the vehicle franchise/excess, that will be released at the vehicle drop-off, if no accident or damage is noticed/reported (even if the customer has acquire the Exemption Franchise, credit card is always a mandatory document).
f) The presented credit card must have, at least, 3 months of validity, counting from the vehicle drop off date.
6 – The Customer is responsible and accountable for:
a) Fuel, garage, parking.
b) Fines, penalties, legal fees and other expenses which, although imposed by CAEL due to the use or driving of the Vehicle during the rental period, are the responsibility of the Customer;
c) Damage caused to the rented Vehicle due to improper or negligent use, whether by the Customer or Driver, as well as additional damages caused by the abandonment of the Vehicle;
d) Repair costs for damages caused by accidents in which the Vehicle is involved and which exceed the maximum liability mentioned in the Contract (excess). This responsibility covers all Vehicles involved in the accident even if not mentioned in the Contract;
e) The presentation of documents to the authorities is the exclusive responsibility of the Customer/Driver.
7 – At the beginning of the rental, the Customer has the following coverage:
a) Personal Assistance Insurance: at a cost of 5€ a day, the Customer may subscribe to personal assistance insurance up to a value of 15.000€ in the event of death or permanent disability and of 1.500€ for medical expenses, per passenger;
b) Collision Damage Waiver: In the event of an accident, the responsibility for damage caused to the rented vehicle may be reduced to the payment of the mandatory excess;
c) Coverage for Reduced Liability: The responsibility of the Customer to pay the mandatory excess may be reduced with the payment of the value provided in the table in force;
d) Theft Protection: The responsibility of the Customer for the total or partial theft of the Vehicle may be reduced to the payment of the mandatory excess.
8 – The Customer exempts CAEL, as its agents or employees, from any responsibility for the loss or damage to their own property or the property of others, which are left or transported in the Vehicle, received or saved by CAEL, at any time before, during or after the rental Contract.
9 – CAEL does not take responsibility for delays or damage caused by breakdowns or accidents while taking every precautions and best efforts to prevent such events.
10 – The Vehicle is covered by a Civil Liability insurance policy in the maximum value prescribed by law. In the event of an accident, the Customer is obliged to notify CAEL of the accident within a maximum of 24 hours and with the complete filling in of the “Accident Report” which must be sent to CAEL within a maximum of 5 days. The Customer and/or Driver is also obliged not to make any declarations stating that they are responsible for the accident.
11 – In order to pick-up the vehicle the following documents shall be physically presented: Driver’s license, identity card or passport and a valid credit card. If one of these documents is not valid or is not presented, the booking will be considered a "No-show" and the "No-show" fee will be charged. More information about “No-show” can be found on point 12 and sub-points.
12 – For all cancellations, an email must be sent, to rentacar@cael.pt requesting that same cancellation and stating the reservation number.
12.1. – All cancellations must be approved by CAEL. Approval of cancellation must be sent to the customer by e-mail. This is the one and only way a cancellation is canceled and only this way the customer may consider the reservation canceled. Cancellation must follow the conditions stated below.
a) When canceled more than 48 hours in advance, you will receive a refund of the amount paid, less the commission from the commercial services transaction (Paypal / others)
b) If the notification of cancellation occurs less than 48 hours notice, a No-show fee of € 50 + VAT will be charged, or payment of the full rental price if the amount is less. In case of reimbursement, this will be done with the deduction of the commission of the commercial transaction (PayPal/other).
12.2. – No show.
a) No Refund.
b) It is considered a no show if; the client did not inform in any way of its intent to cancel the reservation; the client did not pick up the car at the agreed upon time and date; the client could not produce the mandatory documentation in order to pick up the car; the client could not produce a valid credit card in the drivers name and with sufficient funds available for the security deposit (even if the customer has acquire the Exemption Franchise, credit card is always a mandatory document).
12.3. – CAEL reserves the right to refuse rental, if the customer does not show up on time, with all the mandatory documentation, a valid credit card in the drivers name, with sufficient funds for the security deposit as stated before in the above sections.
13 - Via verde service is mandatory and allows, through the use of an identifier provided by CAEL, to determine the value of tolls, on motorways or bridges that have a toll point .
13.1. - This service is accepted due to changes to the portuguese law 84-C/2022 from 9th december 2022.
13.2. - The refuse to accept this service will automatically cancel the reservation.
14 – When dealing with the rental of Commercial Vehicles, the Customer is aware that the Vehicle can only be driven by them, by members of their immediate family, or by whom they cohabit, or employees who are duly identified as such, as per the conditions provided for in point number 3.
15 – When using Commercial Vehicles, the Customer can only transport goods which they own or which are connected to their economic or professional activity.
16 – With Passenger Vehicles, the Customer is responsible if and when they transport goods.
17 – The Customer will be held liable for not returning documents related to the Vehicle, along with one or more accessories.
17.1. – In the case of Vehicle documents, the minimum penalty is 150€.
18– If the Customer wants to anticipate the rental Contract, they will not be exempt from the obligation to pay the full amount of the agreed upon price.
19 – In the event of a dispute between CAEL and the Customer, both will be subjected to and will accept the jurisdiction of the District Courts of Lisbon, with express waiver of any other.
