How do you argue hire car damage..?
Discussion
What a bloody hassle! 
Hired a car this weekend... I returned it to the depot this morning, with as far as I could see no damage at all, and was told all was fine - I have no proof (as in a signed bit of paper) of this, but the bloke there told me i was ok to leave as the car was in order.
Six hours later as i am boarding the plane home, he rings to tell me "there is a dent in the roof..." and he's obviously searching for his $550 excess.
He is to call me back tomorrow so we can "discuss" it further, but i am somewhat p'd off. I can't just fly 3.5 hrs back across the country to view the "damage". I also feel it is a tad cheeky that they can call me up such a length of time later to report that there is damage... I didn't spot any this morning, he didn't spot any at return of car...
What are my chances of fighting it..? I have cancelled further transactions on the CC until i have spoken to the hire company again...
Thanks in advance ~PHIL
Hired a car this weekend... I returned it to the depot this morning, with as far as I could see no damage at all, and was told all was fine - I have no proof (as in a signed bit of paper) of this, but the bloke there told me i was ok to leave as the car was in order.
Six hours later as i am boarding the plane home, he rings to tell me "there is a dent in the roof..." and he's obviously searching for his $550 excess.
He is to call me back tomorrow so we can "discuss" it further, but i am somewhat p'd off. I can't just fly 3.5 hrs back across the country to view the "damage". I also feel it is a tad cheeky that they can call me up such a length of time later to report that there is damage... I didn't spot any this morning, he didn't spot any at return of car...
What are my chances of fighting it..? I have cancelled further transactions on the CC until i have spoken to the hire company again...
Thanks in advance ~PHIL
As far as i would be concerned they checked it when you dropped it off and said it was ok.They can not call 6 hours later and argue that there is damage to it.You have done the right thing to block any deductions from your card.If it were me i would say see you in court as i can not see them taking it that far or them winning.At the worst they may ban you as a future customer but is that a big deal if there so incompetent in the first place.
Edited by TPS on Monday 9th April 12:02
I don't think you will have to fight it at all. Refuse to pay the excess charge, and if the hire company want the money let them do the fighting.
You are in a strong position. The car has been checked on its return by a representitive of the company and declared fine. It's only six hours later, after any number of people could have come into contact with the car that the damage has been noticed.
You are in a strong position. The car has been checked on its return by a representitive of the company and declared fine. It's only six hours later, after any number of people could have come into contact with the car that the damage has been noticed.
Unfortunatly if you paid for it on your card you might find in the small print that they can take up to the excess from your card because you unknowingly signed it away, thats why they don't like you paying cash, the favorite one is "off road underneath damage", who the hell checks for that when they pick it up.
I hire from the same company in Cyprus and they tried it on once, I've hired 3 times this year so far and can't wait for the next time, I'm going to make the girl at the desk come out side while I go over the car with a fine tooth comb and take pictures from all angles, and as for a full tank of petrol, don't make me laugh I can usually squeeze about 4 ltrs in.
If they give you grief tell them you had to go to the petrol station because the back nearside tyre was under-inflated (it only had 10 pound in it)and who the hell checks their cars out,It might not work but it will take the wind out their sails.
I hire from the same company in Cyprus and they tried it on once, I've hired 3 times this year so far and can't wait for the next time, I'm going to make the girl at the desk come out side while I go over the car with a fine tooth comb and take pictures from all angles, and as for a full tank of petrol, don't make me laugh I can usually squeeze about 4 ltrs in.
If they give you grief tell them you had to go to the petrol station because the back nearside tyre was under-inflated (it only had 10 pound in it)and who the hell checks their cars out,It might not work but it will take the wind out their sails.
TPS said:
As far as i would be concerned they checked it when you dropped it off and said it was ok.They can not call 6 hours later and argue that there is damage to it.You have done the right thing to block any deductions from your card.If it were me i would say see you in court as i can not see them taking it that far or them winning.At the worst they may ban you as a future customer but is that a big deal if there so incompetent in the first place.
Edited by TPS on Monday 9th April 12:02
I agree with this.
They agreed there was no damage, its as simple as that. Was it a 'major' hire company or an independant?
My thoughts are how easy it would be to pull this off a few times a week with the knowledge that the driver was hundreds or thousands of miles away...
So far no call from them today (i'm not calling them) but i have asked that my girlfriend call the credit card people again just to make sure our request for the card to be put on hold for the time being was put through...
We'll see how we go... The though of this impending hassle ruined a really nice weekend break away, so i'm hoping it won't drag on too long.
We'll see how we go... The though of this impending hassle ruined a really nice weekend break away, so i'm hoping it won't drag on too long.streaky said:
Never, ever, leave a hire company without a document showing that they had checked the returned item (be it a car, a tool, an escort girl 
) and agreed there was no new damage - Streaky
) and agreed there was no new damage - StreakyI'm usually pretty meticulous, and you know how you double take as you walk away ("should i ask for that to be signed off on...?" ) - well this time i didn't...
Edited by Buffalo on Tuesday 10th April 09:14
Credit card blocks arent allowed are they ? I have tried this before and asked the credit card company to block any further payments to a company and they told me thats not allowed. The payment has to go out then I have to go to court to get it back. I tend to pay for stuf with Switch now as the banks are generally more accomodating than the credit card companies.
I sucessfully argued a similar case with Hertz in America. They tried to say that a stone chip was my fault, despite the fact that it had already been repaired when I picked the car up. It only took one phone call and a follow up letter which obviously sounded suitably terse in tone, including photos of the alleged damage, photos of the car the moring I picked it up with the damage, and a paragraph about how I have been trained to conduct daily examinations of vehicles for work. They left it at that.
Since then I've always ticked the damage excess waiver box, and was very glad of it when I reversed a Fiat Punto into some blokes Ford shiteheap in Italy! Handed the car back, pointed to the scratch on the bumper, the valet shrugs and looks at the damage waiver box and nothing more is said! Ace!
Since then I've always ticked the damage excess waiver box, and was very glad of it when I reversed a Fiat Punto into some blokes Ford shiteheap in Italy! Handed the car back, pointed to the scratch on the bumper, the valet shrugs and looks at the damage waiver box and nothing more is said! Ace!
Edited by WeirdNeville on Wednesday 11th April 09:26
Buffalo said:
What a bloody hassle! Hired a car this weekend... I returned it to the depot this morning, with as far as I could see no damage at all, and was told all was fine - I have no proof (as in a signed bit of paper) of this, but the bloke there told me i was ok to leave as the car was in order.
What are my chances of fighting it..? I have cancelled further transactions on the CC until i have spoken to the hire company again...
Hired a car this weekend... I returned it to the depot this morning, with as far as I could see no damage at all, and was told all was fine - I have no proof (as in a signed bit of paper) of this, but the bloke there told me i was ok to leave as the car was in order. What are my chances of fighting it..? I have cancelled further transactions on the CC until i have spoken to the hire company again...
Only had this once and so I now ALWAYS insist on the FINAL invoice before leaving the car-hire desk, signed by the desk chappie endorsed as NO DAMAGE, NO FURTHER CHARGES... as I almost always use pre-paid vouchers... end of problems. Mind you, you have to be VERY persistant with some of them.....especially the girlies with the red badges...
Not good news - aparently the hire cover insurance does not include damage to the roof... i have now seen the damage and can't believe i missed it to be honest... it is a large dent.
The amount for the repairs amounts to four AUS$ figures which they are trying to reimburse via my CC. I am in talks to a solicitor.
What an arse.
The amount for the repairs amounts to four AUS$ figures which they are trying to reimburse via my CC. I am in talks to a solicitor.
What an arse.
This is why I prefer a slightly battered hire car to one that's brand-new, especially in Europe - I've had a fair number and I'm always terrified by the immaculate ones.
In the US you just mark any damage on the document when you collect the car - I always cover it in circles and lines hardly leaving space for any additional damage!
When you return the car though (at least in the US) there's usually no return paperwork, you just leave the car and a guy scans the cars barcode and you walk away.
In the US you just mark any damage on the document when you collect the car - I always cover it in circles and lines hardly leaving space for any additional damage!
When you return the car though (at least in the US) there's usually no return paperwork, you just leave the car and a guy scans the cars barcode and you walk away.
I had a car recently from one of the big NATIONALs, I insisted on checking the "new" vehicle and picked up major items of damage to the vehicle that were not on the check sheet. (One of the guys delivering the car agreed the damage looking from the drivers seat of the car behind, it was that noticeable!) These dents & scrapes were all logged on the sheet before I signed for it and I was sure they'd have tried to charge me if I hadn't.
Imagine my surprise some weeks later to discover the £250 "fine" on my CC statement, this prompted an irate call from me to said hire company telling them what I thought, they dug out the paper work and agreed it was an error. two weeks later and no refund their excuse was "they were trying to identify who had actually casued the damage" swiftly told it wasn't me so a refund required immediately. Have now got my money back and am awaiting a response to a rather strong e-mail suggesting it was all a deliberate ploy to raise additional funds.
to the OP, My CC dispute line advised that once I had raised the query with the supplier they gave 30 days for them to sort things out before getting involved, UNLESS I'd gone to CC disputes first. (lesson learned for next time)
Andy
Imagine my surprise some weeks later to discover the £250 "fine" on my CC statement, this prompted an irate call from me to said hire company telling them what I thought, they dug out the paper work and agreed it was an error. two weeks later and no refund their excuse was "they were trying to identify who had actually casued the damage" swiftly told it wasn't me so a refund required immediately. Have now got my money back and am awaiting a response to a rather strong e-mail suggesting it was all a deliberate ploy to raise additional funds.
to the OP, My CC dispute line advised that once I had raised the query with the supplier they gave 30 days for them to sort things out before getting involved, UNLESS I'd gone to CC disputes first. (lesson learned for next time)
Andy
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