Car Rental - Loss Report issue

[The_Nugget]

I picked up a rental car yesterday afternoon at about 4pm. I used it locally a little and then drove it this morning to a place 200miles away to drop it off as arranged by 12pm (their closing time).

The parcel shelf does not appear to have been in the car when I picked it up as it’s not in the car when I dropped it off. It’s not like I’ve had it a month and lost it...it simply wasn’t there (a fact I’m likely to regret not having noticed when I picked it up)

When I dropped it off, the person inspecting had a look round, said no damage, where’s the parcel shelf? I said it wasn’t in it when I collected it.
He said fine. There is nothing to sign. I asked him directions to the town centre and set off.

I then received, a couple of hours later (after their closing time) an email with a loss/damage report For the missing parcel shelf. It states “customer insists parcel shelf was not in vehicle, so refuses to sign damage report”

None of that happened. I stated it wasn’t there and the guy said fine, there is nothing to sign.

My questions:
What is likely to happen now?
I can’t get in touch with them until Monday as they are closed.
I had their excess damage reducer to £100.
They took a £200 CC deposit.
What is the best way to deal with this / has happened to you with similar?

I f***ing hate care rental companies!

[GC8]

Charge it back when they debit your card, then tell them to bks and take you to court. If they do, in a civil court, it is the person who is the most credible who wins.

Even if they win, then they will have lost overall, making this unlikely.

[Knoxville2410]

Wait until Monday and contact them? Reason might just be the closest one the employee could select?

[The_Nugget]

Knoxville2410 said:

Wait until Monday and contact them? Reason might just be the closest one the employee could select?

I mean, I’m going to but I imagine this goes into a corporate machine and getting any sense out of it might be hard.

[The_Nugget]

GC8 said:

Charge it back when they debit your card, then tell them to bks and take you to court. If they do, in a civil court, it is the person who is the most credible who wins.

Even if they win, then they will have lost overall, making this unlikely.

Right now I’m minded to do that but will see how it goes next week.

Has soured what was an exciting trip to hopefully pick up a new car.

[fatboy b]

I find it easier just to get independent hire car excess insurance these days loads cheaper and 100% piece of mind.

[The_Nugget]

fatboy b said:

I find it easier just to get independent hire car excess insurance these days loads cheaper and 100% piece of mind.

I’m not sure how this would help in this situation. They’d still try to charge me for the parcel shelf, and presumably just deduct from my Credit Card.

[GC8]

Make a note of everything now, whilst it is fresh in your mind. If you cant write it all out like a story then just jot down bits as they come to you and it will all come together.

[Ham_and_Jam]

Did you sign a vehicle condition report when you took the car at the beginning?

Did it have any reference to the parcel shelf or items missing?

Not sure what car it was but normally you would open the boot to remove a parcel shelf. As you had it for such a short time, did you open the boot?

Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Saturday 25th July 15:07

[The_Nugget]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Did you sign a vehicle condition report when you took the car at the beginning?

Did it have any reference to the parcel shelf or items missing?

I did. All it says is “Vehicle Condition: No Damage Documented”

[Cliftonite]

The_Nugget said:

fatboy b said:

I find it easier just to get independent hire car excess insurance these days loads cheaper and 100% piece of mind.

I’m not sure how this would help in this situation. They’d still try to charge me for the parcel shelf, and presumably just deduct from my Credit Card.

AIUI, you pay, you claim on your own hire car rental insurance , they reimburse you. They then fight any unfair / fraudulent charges on their own behalf. There are one or two rental companies they will not cover you for, though - rental firms that are noted charletains.

[The_Nugget]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Did you sign a vehicle condition report when you took the car at the beginning?

Did it have any reference to the parcel shelf or items missing?

Not sure what car it was but normally you would open the boot to remove a parcel shelf. As you had it for such a short time, did you open the boot?

Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Saturday 25th July 15:07

It was a Hyundai i30. Yes I opened the boot, put a shopping bag in it. Drove home, took shopping bag out. Didn’t register the missing shelf. Got in this morning drove 200 miles. Didn’t go in the boot. So unless someone really fancied a Hyundai i30 parcel shelf, then it wasn’t there!!

Car was spotless when I picked it up, my hope is it’s at the pick up and they were cleaning it and forgot to put it in and admit to it!
Based on the fibs on the report though, I’m not confident.
It’s not the kind of thing that you can mislay!

[The_Nugget]

In this case I won’t be claiming on anything, it’s not worth it. I’ll either pursue my money back if they charge my CC or consider small claims. I can’t imagine an i30 parcel shelf being that expensive but we will see!

[SuperNads]

What company was it? One of the dodgy cheap ones or an established big name?

[The_Nugget]

SuperNads said:

What company was it? One of the dodgy cheap ones or an established big name?

Established big name.

[Knoxville2410]

The_Nugget said:

I mean, I’m going to but I imagine this goes into a corporate machine and getting any sense out of it might be hard.

Fair point.

Talking from experience, there's no point getting stressed until you know for sure that they are disputing, it may go as smooth as you hope.

[The_Nugget]

So I went to the local branch to ask if they had the parcel shelf. They didn’t but assured me I wouldn’t be charged for it. They went off to look into it and there was already a report on the vehicle of it being missing prior. The local guys say I don’t need to do anything further about the email I received but I think I’ll send their email to the corporate report I received.

So hopefully will end well but we’ll see when my deposit is returned.

Now I need to decide if I want to pursue a complaint about the receiving branch and the find they told on the loss report. Or if I can’t be bothered!

[h0b0]

I have rented a lot of one way rentals over the years and it is surprising how often I get a nicer car with issues. One example was an X3 from Heathrow I picked up on a dark rainy night with my young kids in tow. Once outside the desk person told me "photograph everything on this car". Apparently, because it was dark I had 24 hours to take photos which they would consider evidence.

The car had a load of minor dings and a small chip in the windscreen. Heathrow knew it was being dropped off in Manchester and were off loading a car with problems. Even the fact the desk person came out in the rain was a give away to what was happening. But, I have been through it before so took the upgrade and took pictures.

Sure enough, when I got to Manchester, the check in guy knew what was happening and said his branch was a dumping ground.

[The_Nugget]

Funny that, the guy intimated a similar thing at the branch and said that they could be funny when cars were coming from out of area. Here was me thinking it was all one big company but thinking about it, they are probably franchises?

[donkmeister]

If they do charge it, you may need to stick to your guns and stand your ground.
I was overcharged by a company associated with cycles per second, and had around half a dozen emails to and fro before they realised their mistake (although they tried to frame it as a gesture of goodwill). Even directing them to their own paperwork for the rental and their T&C's was fruitless at first. Unbelievably stupid.