Damaged hire van - some help please?!
Discussion
Ok...
So I've been a numpty and managed to put a nice gouge down the hirevan I've rented.. Didn't pay for a minimised excess so I am going to lose the 250 deposit - fine. But there is a section in the t&c about paying up to 750 (presumably if it was a proper bump or if costs more than 250 to fix)
In my view the damage could be sorted for 2-300 quid but I am wondering whether a) they bother to fix it as smaller damage already there has not been attended to, also can I refute/stop them taking more money out of my account until they have proof in the form of quotes or an invoice to substantiate say a 750 bill for repairs?
Hope someone can give me a steer, I've had a horrendous month of bad luck and am not looking forward to returning the thing in the morning! I thought I would mention small claims court, complaint and CAB if they try to take me to the cleaners without any evidence to justify the costs.?
Cheers
So I've been a numpty and managed to put a nice gouge down the hirevan I've rented.. Didn't pay for a minimised excess so I am going to lose the 250 deposit - fine. But there is a section in the t&c about paying up to 750 (presumably if it was a proper bump or if costs more than 250 to fix)
In my view the damage could be sorted for 2-300 quid but I am wondering whether a) they bother to fix it as smaller damage already there has not been attended to, also can I refute/stop them taking more money out of my account until they have proof in the form of quotes or an invoice to substantiate say a 750 bill for repairs?
Hope someone can give me a steer, I've had a horrendous month of bad luck and am not looking forward to returning the thing in the morning! I thought I would mention small claims court, complaint and CAB if they try to take me to the cleaners without any evidence to justify the costs.?
Cheers
I've done exactly the same thing - put a deep scrape down the sliding door and side panel. Luckily I'd paid the £10 extra so the excess was only £100, but without it the cost would have been £500. This was with a national company. Unfortunately, it's in the T's and C's of the rental agreement so I think you might be stuffed. I don't think threatening them with legal action after you've damaged their van and signed a contract agreeing to pay the first £750 of any claim is really going to help.
IANAL though so best of luck
IANAL though so best of luck
My advice is come clean to start with and admit to it, lying opens a whole world of s
t, hopefully you get a fair person when you take it back who will look at all the other damage and not sting you to hard. My mates dad is an idiot, he backed a hire car into a post and scuffed the bumper badly. I arranged for him to have the car repaired at my house early in the morning which he did,the repair looked perfect (£300)and had to be back in the evening, i told him to wash the car but he didn't listen and took it back dirty except the bumper. Five minutes after the car was driven back to the hire place he was relived of his £800 excess and asked not to come back. The bloke who washed the car saw the repair straight away as no car is driven to the south of france and back and has a clean rear end but a filthy front.
t, hopefully you get a fair person when you take it back who will look at all the other damage and not sting you to hard. My mates dad is an idiot, he backed a hire car into a post and scuffed the bumper badly. I arranged for him to have the car repaired at my house early in the morning which he did,the repair looked perfect (£300)and had to be back in the evening, i told him to wash the car but he didn't listen and took it back dirty except the bumper. Five minutes after the car was driven back to the hire place he was relived of his £800 excess and asked not to come back. The bloke who washed the car saw the repair straight away as no car is driven to the south of france and back and has a clean rear end but a filthy front.There was post on here a few months ago about a chap that damaged a hire car and was billed for the work but it was never done,i think they noticed it when the car was rehired to them with the damage still there. Maybe take a few pics of it and ask where it'll go to be repaired so you can check its been done.
They went over it very carefully before giving me the keys, you're right I will come clean straight off. As it won't go unmissed.
Just unsure whether they are at their will to help themselves to a further 500 of my debit card without prior notice/evidence. Thanks again guys, best not to be under any illusions.
Just unsure whether they are at their will to help themselves to a further 500 of my debit card without prior notice/evidence. Thanks again guys, best not to be under any illusions.
gtidriver said:
There was post on here a few months ago about a chap that damaged a hire car and was billed for the work but it was never done,i think they noticed it when the car was rehired to them with the damage still there. Maybe take a few pics of it and ask where it'll go to be repaired so you can check its been done.
A mate of mine used to work for a big rental place and said a lot of the cosmetic repairs only got done once the vehicle had finished it's life with the rental company. The t's and c's aren't just jotted down and I bet there is something in there which says "you can't" if you ask to inspect it.OP - You'll be kicking yourself right now, but it happens so don't beat yourself up about it. I did mine after helping the inlaws move house - I had done about 8 journeys from old house to new house and had finished. I got home, and rather than leave the van on the lane, I decided to reverse onto the drive so the van would be safe - this is the point I managed to scrape the van down my gate posts....
If it helps to cheer you up, about 20 odd years ago I had a Saturday job in a builders merchant. The boss had just bought a brand new Ford P100 (Californian edition) and I had just passed my driving test. A chap comes in Saturday morning and orders a load of fence panels so I offer to deliver them that afternoon. Boss was a bit wary, but I assured him I'd be very careful. I get to the chaps house with a pickup full of panels and he lives in one of these houses with about 40' of grass in between his house and the road. Feeling lazy, I decide to reverse over the grass and just unload. I can't get the pickup up the kerb at first, so I take a big run-up in reverse, bounce up the kerb, rip the rear mudflaps off, s
t myself, stamp on the brakes a bit too hard and slide along the grass straight into the customers newly set fence posts. Luckily I only knocked one over, but in doing so smashed a back light and put a big crease down the rear panel. I never got to drive the P100 ever again
Had bad is the damage? Any photos?
Proper bodywork costs good money. You'll be surprised how much a little work costs.
The rental company will also want to be reimbursed for the time the car is off the road. Maybe that's why the excess is so high.
If the damage isn't so bad, maybe see if a local smart repair company can do a job that will be good enough?
Proper bodywork costs good money. You'll be surprised how much a little work costs.
The rental company will also want to be reimbursed for the time the car is off the road. Maybe that's why the excess is so high.
If the damage isn't so bad, maybe see if a local smart repair company can do a job that will be good enough?
spitty71 said:
Again thanks, will see how it goes.
As an after thought, I paid the hire + 250 on a debit card using chip and pin. - they have no means to take any more money from my account without my input i imagine.
You signed a contract. They can pursue you in the small claims courts.As an after thought, I paid the hire + 250 on a debit card using chip and pin. - they have no means to take any more money from my account without my input i imagine.
It's all down to what YOU SIGNED FOR IN THE HIRE AGREEMENT not what we tell you on the internet. You could get a rough quote from a local approved bodyshop to give you a foundation on which to base your reasoned conversation that you will need to have with the hire co. Remember they have done nothing wrong only hired you a van which you bashed.
good luck let us know how you get on.
You could post your question on ask Honest John site too
good luck let us know how you get on.
You could post your question on ask Honest John site too
They wanted 500 extra there and then which I politely declined, they've advised it needs to go to their bodyshopn for estimate/repair and will be in touch in due course..
Struggling to upload a pic but it's a 1 metre gouge over a sprinter rear wheel arch/front of it.
Struggling to upload a pic but it's a 1 metre gouge over a sprinter rear wheel arch/front of it.
Edited by spitty71 on Friday 22 August 09:28
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