Action against Van hire firm - WWPHD?
Discussion
Hi all posting on behalf of a friend.
He rented a van from a national hire firm to drive from Bristol to Scotland, paid all of the waivers etc.
When he got out of the city (about 45 minutes in traffic) he noticed the passenger mirror was wobbling at speed and the glass appeared loose, just after this he got a "low brake fluid" warning on the dashboard. As he got to a service station the passenger mirror glass fell out and was hanging by the heated element. This all happened in about 10 minutes.
He stopped and managed to wedge the glass back in so it didn't fall out and called the branch who had just closed. He eventually got through to the helpline, who referred him to the AA, who would come out and inspect the car.
He went to lock the van and found that the engine wouldn't start and none of the electrics were responding. As the window was open, and he had all his belongings in the van he had to wait with the vehicle.
The AA gave him a 3 - 4 hour waiting time, but showed up after about an hour.
It took the AA 2 hours to finally track down the issue after much calling. According to them the brake fluid was very low, but they couldn't find an leaks and the mirror falling out had blown a number of fuses which caused the van not to start. My mate is not mechanical, so much of it went over his head, but they did assure him it was safe to drive, but said it was clear the van had not been maintained properly, as other fluids were all low.
My mate got to Scotland in the small hours of the morning with no further issues, just massively late and very tired.
He handed the van back he made a complaint to hire firm who said they would "process it". He then got a parking ticket for parking in the services for too long and then a "administration charge" from the hire company for processing the parking ticket, the hire company then debited his card for "damage to the mirror".
Clearly he is not a happy person and followed up the complaint request all charges to be refunded and also his hire charge as a minimum. The firm has not responded. He followed up this with a notification he would be taking legal advice.
A solicitor friend has advised him he should detail, in writing, the whole event and then give them 14 days to respond and then if so desired he could look to take legal action for them not fulfilling the contract, but he could go further and potentially cite endangerment as they car wasn't safe.
He is drafting his letter of events, but isn't really sure what direction to take. The solicitor said it is not totally their area.
I said I would ask the PH massive, so what would PH do?
He rented a van from a national hire firm to drive from Bristol to Scotland, paid all of the waivers etc.
When he got out of the city (about 45 minutes in traffic) he noticed the passenger mirror was wobbling at speed and the glass appeared loose, just after this he got a "low brake fluid" warning on the dashboard. As he got to a service station the passenger mirror glass fell out and was hanging by the heated element. This all happened in about 10 minutes.
He stopped and managed to wedge the glass back in so it didn't fall out and called the branch who had just closed. He eventually got through to the helpline, who referred him to the AA, who would come out and inspect the car.
He went to lock the van and found that the engine wouldn't start and none of the electrics were responding. As the window was open, and he had all his belongings in the van he had to wait with the vehicle.
The AA gave him a 3 - 4 hour waiting time, but showed up after about an hour.
It took the AA 2 hours to finally track down the issue after much calling. According to them the brake fluid was very low, but they couldn't find an leaks and the mirror falling out had blown a number of fuses which caused the van not to start. My mate is not mechanical, so much of it went over his head, but they did assure him it was safe to drive, but said it was clear the van had not been maintained properly, as other fluids were all low.
My mate got to Scotland in the small hours of the morning with no further issues, just massively late and very tired.
He handed the van back he made a complaint to hire firm who said they would "process it". He then got a parking ticket for parking in the services for too long and then a "administration charge" from the hire company for processing the parking ticket, the hire company then debited his card for "damage to the mirror".
Clearly he is not a happy person and followed up the complaint request all charges to be refunded and also his hire charge as a minimum. The firm has not responded. He followed up this with a notification he would be taking legal advice.
A solicitor friend has advised him he should detail, in writing, the whole event and then give them 14 days to respond and then if so desired he could look to take legal action for them not fulfilling the contract, but he could go further and potentially cite endangerment as they car wasn't safe.
He is drafting his letter of events, but isn't really sure what direction to take. The solicitor said it is not totally their area.
I said I would ask the PH massive, so what would PH do?
Wildfire said:
Hi all posting on behalf of a friend.
He rented a van from a national hire firm to drive from Bristol to Scotland, paid all of the waivers etc.
When he got out of the city (about 45 minutes in traffic) he noticed the passenger mirror was wobbling at speed and the glass appeared loose, just after this he got a "low brake fluid" warning on the dashboard. As he got to a service station the passenger mirror glass fell out and was hanging by the heated element. This all happened in about 10 minutes.
He stopped and managed to wedge the glass back in so it didn't fall out and called the branch who had just closed. He eventually got through to the helpline, who referred him to the AA, who would come out and inspect the car.
He went to lock the van and found that the engine wouldn't start and none of the electrics were responding. As the window was open, and he had all his belongings in the van he had to wait with the vehicle.
The AA gave him a 3 - 4 hour waiting time, but showed up after about an hour.
It took the AA 2 hours to finally track down the issue after much calling. According to them the brake fluid was very low, but they couldn't find an leaks and the mirror falling out had blown a number of fuses which caused the van not to start. My mate is not mechanical, so much of it went over his head, but they did assure him it was safe to drive, but said it was clear the van had not been maintained properly, as other fluids were all low.
My mate got to Scotland in the small hours of the morning with no further issues, just massively late and very tired.
He handed the van back he made a complaint to hire firm who said they would "process it". He then got a parking ticket for parking in the services for too long and then a "administration charge" from the hire company for processing the parking ticket, the hire company then debited his card for "damage to the mirror".
Clearly he is not a happy person and followed up the complaint request all charges to be refunded and also his hire charge as a minimum. The firm has not responded. He followed up this with a notification he would be taking legal advice.
A solicitor friend has advised him he should detail, in writing, the whole event and then give them 14 days to respond and then if so desired he could look to take legal action for them not fulfilling the contract, but he could go further and potentially cite endangerment as they car wasn't safe.
He is drafting his letter of events, but isn't really sure what direction to take. The solicitor said it is not totally their area.
I said I would ask the PH massive, so what would PH do?
Did he pay by credit card? Ask them to investigate failure of the contract?He rented a van from a national hire firm to drive from Bristol to Scotland, paid all of the waivers etc.
When he got out of the city (about 45 minutes in traffic) he noticed the passenger mirror was wobbling at speed and the glass appeared loose, just after this he got a "low brake fluid" warning on the dashboard. As he got to a service station the passenger mirror glass fell out and was hanging by the heated element. This all happened in about 10 minutes.
He stopped and managed to wedge the glass back in so it didn't fall out and called the branch who had just closed. He eventually got through to the helpline, who referred him to the AA, who would come out and inspect the car.
He went to lock the van and found that the engine wouldn't start and none of the electrics were responding. As the window was open, and he had all his belongings in the van he had to wait with the vehicle.
The AA gave him a 3 - 4 hour waiting time, but showed up after about an hour.
It took the AA 2 hours to finally track down the issue after much calling. According to them the brake fluid was very low, but they couldn't find an leaks and the mirror falling out had blown a number of fuses which caused the van not to start. My mate is not mechanical, so much of it went over his head, but they did assure him it was safe to drive, but said it was clear the van had not been maintained properly, as other fluids were all low.
My mate got to Scotland in the small hours of the morning with no further issues, just massively late and very tired.
He handed the van back he made a complaint to hire firm who said they would "process it". He then got a parking ticket for parking in the services for too long and then a "administration charge" from the hire company for processing the parking ticket, the hire company then debited his card for "damage to the mirror".
Clearly he is not a happy person and followed up the complaint request all charges to be refunded and also his hire charge as a minimum. The firm has not responded. He followed up this with a notification he would be taking legal advice.
A solicitor friend has advised him he should detail, in writing, the whole event and then give them 14 days to respond and then if so desired he could look to take legal action for them not fulfilling the contract, but he could go further and potentially cite endangerment as they car wasn't safe.
He is drafting his letter of events, but isn't really sure what direction to take. The solicitor said it is not totally their area.
I said I would ask the PH massive, so what would PH do?
I would consider small claims court, the firm will probably settle before it gets there.
Caddyshack said:
Did he pay by credit card? Ask them to investigate failure of the contract?
I would consider small claims court, the firm will probably settle before it gets there.
I think he did actually. I remember him saying that he had to get a credit card for the hire as he didn't have one. I would consider small claims court, the firm will probably settle before it gets there.
Cheers
I'm curious as to why he thinks he should have the rental fee refunded.
He rented a van that broke down, was repaired and got him to his destination, presumably carrying whatever he needed it to. There is probably something in rhe rental agreement about breakdowns and consequential losses and the rental company not being liable.
He rented a van that broke down, was repaired and got him to his destination, presumably carrying whatever he needed it to. There is probably something in rhe rental agreement about breakdowns and consequential losses and the rental company not being liable.
Wildfire said:
Just to add the parking ticket was for being in the services too long because the van had broken down. So had no way to move it.
Normally parking firms will waive / reverse PCNs on the production of a report from a breakdown company when a vehicle cannot safely move on.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff