Car/Van Hire Nightmare
Discussion
So, my Grandad passed away a while ago and during the recent house clearance I hired a van from a well known place as I wanted to give his 60-year old, much loved workbench, pride of place in my garage.
To be fair, the hire of the van was great, you can do it by the hour and collect from your local B&Q so all very convenient. Unfortunately, I appear to have found the flaw in their system.
Access to the van is granted via a keypad on the windscreen, simply type in the PIN code that they text you 5 mins before your rental starts and then off you go. (NOTE - the ignition key is permanently fixed to the dashboard by a chain). I returned the van to the B&Q car park later that day, locked it up using my PIN code and left.
To cut a very long story short, I've now been charged £300 because the person who entered the van on Sunday morning says the key was not there and the van hire company have therefore charged my card.
One of their suggestions is that I left the vehicle unsecured. The van company have a record of the van entering the car park at 2.19pm, the ignition being switched off at 2.20pm and then me locking the vehicle at 2.21pm, so this is rubbish.
I was the last person to use the van so I can understand why they would point the finger at me, but I know that when I left that van secured the key was still on the metal chain attached to the dashboard.
They have then let someone else into the van on Sunday morning, who claims that the key was not there. Has this person stolen the key? I don't know, all I know is that I did not take that bloody key.
What on earth can I do? I've tried complaining but am just getting 'we find no reason to refund you'. Do I really need to go to the police? Would they be even able to do anything?
To be fair, the hire of the van was great, you can do it by the hour and collect from your local B&Q so all very convenient. Unfortunately, I appear to have found the flaw in their system.
Access to the van is granted via a keypad on the windscreen, simply type in the PIN code that they text you 5 mins before your rental starts and then off you go. (NOTE - the ignition key is permanently fixed to the dashboard by a chain). I returned the van to the B&Q car park later that day, locked it up using my PIN code and left.
To cut a very long story short, I've now been charged £300 because the person who entered the van on Sunday morning says the key was not there and the van hire company have therefore charged my card.
One of their suggestions is that I left the vehicle unsecured. The van company have a record of the van entering the car park at 2.19pm, the ignition being switched off at 2.20pm and then me locking the vehicle at 2.21pm, so this is rubbish.
I was the last person to use the van so I can understand why they would point the finger at me, but I know that when I left that van secured the key was still on the metal chain attached to the dashboard.
They have then let someone else into the van on Sunday morning, who claims that the key was not there. Has this person stolen the key? I don't know, all I know is that I did not take that bloody key.
What on earth can I do? I've tried complaining but am just getting 'we find no reason to refund you'. Do I really need to go to the police? Would they be even able to do anything?
Absent any witness who was with you that can confirm your story I think you're going to struggle.
Do you know if there was any sign of forced entry to the van between your leaving it & the new hirer getting to it?
Does the company's records show if the vehicle was entered between those times - i.e an entry without damage - as they appear to have a record of your leaving & locking it.
Is it possible someone saw the keys & tried to steal the van but when it wouldn't start took the key out of spite?
Is there CCTV that would show any activity involving the van where you left it?
I take it the person who was due to pick it up was unable to use it?
Do you know if there was any sign of forced entry to the van between your leaving it & the new hirer getting to it?
Does the company's records show if the vehicle was entered between those times - i.e an entry without damage - as they appear to have a record of your leaving & locking it.
Is it possible someone saw the keys & tried to steal the van but when it wouldn't start took the key out of spite?
Is there CCTV that would show any activity involving the van where you left it?
I take it the person who was due to pick it up was unable to use it?
Hertz are full members of the BVRLA, so you can use their conciliation service - http://www.bvrla.co.uk/advice/guidance/using-bvrla...
Although as above, if you paid by credit card, apply for a reversal and then argue it later.
Although as above, if you paid by credit card, apply for a reversal and then argue it later.
Guybrush said:
I would go to the police. It seems like a scam and at least your doing this shows to the hire company you mean what you say. They may look on you more 'sympathetically' if it's obvious you're not going to back down.
Be interesting to see if it would be possible to get a crime number for the stolen key. I would guess it would be a struggle as the Police will say it's a civil matter, or it's not the OPs vehicle, but if the OP has been charged then he has suffered a loss.
I'd be minded to think this is the hire companies problem though - it's their choice not to have anyone to check the vehicle on return. What happens about damage with multiple hirers?
Hi all, thanks for the replies.
I've now emailed their general manager so will see what comes of that.
Santander have said that I can claw the money back on my credit card, but am holding off on this for the moment as don't want Hertz then passing to a debt collection agency etc.
Their own T&C's state that once I have locked the van, my rental is finished, but the flaw in their operation is that there is no human to check the van over at the end of my rental. What if damage is done to the vehicle hours after I have parked it back in the B&Q car park. This damage would not be discovered until the next customer arrived (possibly days later) but I would still be automatically charged and then have to prove my innocence, which may be virtually impossible.
To me, if Hertz decide to provide a rental service like this, with no human interaction, then they must be aware that they have removed this control element which therefore carries greater risks.
I genuinelly wonder how many more customers have been stung like this and been found guilty and charged for something they did not do. The £300 I've charged is not an insignificant amount of money, but it really isn't the point, I absolutely will not be found automatically guilty for something I did not do.
I've now emailed their general manager so will see what comes of that.
Santander have said that I can claw the money back on my credit card, but am holding off on this for the moment as don't want Hertz then passing to a debt collection agency etc.
Their own T&C's state that once I have locked the van, my rental is finished, but the flaw in their operation is that there is no human to check the van over at the end of my rental. What if damage is done to the vehicle hours after I have parked it back in the B&Q car park. This damage would not be discovered until the next customer arrived (possibly days later) but I would still be automatically charged and then have to prove my innocence, which may be virtually impossible.
To me, if Hertz decide to provide a rental service like this, with no human interaction, then they must be aware that they have removed this control element which therefore carries greater risks.
I genuinelly wonder how many more customers have been stung like this and been found guilty and charged for something they did not do. The £300 I've charged is not an insignificant amount of money, but it really isn't the point, I absolutely will not be found automatically guilty for something I did not do.
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