Car Hire Firm Claim We Damaged Vehicle

BungleGirl

Hi

I have no idea which board this should be on so please feel free to move it to somewhere more appropriate.

I hired a mini-bus from a small local car hire firm for one day. We picked it up on Friday evening and were told that when we returned on Saturday evening to leave it on the road as the compound would be locked.

We returned it at about 8pm on Saturday in exactly the same condition that it was in when we picked it up.

We got a call at 8.30 this morning that there was damage to the wheel arch and that we would have to pay a £200 excess!!! My boyfriend said that nothing had happened to it whilst it was in our care -but went to the office to talk to them. On their paperwork it says that the mini-bus was transfered to the compound on Saturday, that it was damaged and that the damage could not have happened outside on the road.

We KNOW that the mini-bus was still out on the road on Sunday evening as my boyfriend rehearses round the corner and saw that there were about 5 hire vehicles outside including the mini-bus.

It seems to me that the damage happened after we had returned it and before they moved it into the compound (approx. 36 hours I think) and they are trying to con us into paying for it.

Does anyone know how we stand on this? We have told them that we know that the mini-bus wasn't moved to the compound on the Saturday. The manager was supposed to call us today but he didn't. Should we seek legal advice on this? Is it down to us to prove thatit wasn't damaged while we had it or down to them to prove that it was?

When I booked it I they wouldn't take my credit card over the phone I had to go down and put in my PIN - does that make it unlikely that they will be able to take any more money from my card without my permission (I paid the hire charge and a £100 deposit).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

khizman

Never "return" a hire car by dropping the keys through the letter box and leaving it outside kind of affair, this is never a good idea, always return the car to somebody and leave witha recipt saying the car has been returned in good condition!

BungleGirl

Well I've learnt my lesson! Lets hope that others read this and as a result don't make the same mistake...

jockettuk

boyfriend over the last few yrs has had to rent vans etc because of him moving house moving stuff from my house etc.. he always takes a disposable camera with him and takes pics of all the sides of the van before taking it .. oh even gets the bloke selling to stand beside the van to show who dealt with him.. and on return takes pics when signing it off.. he doesnt get the films developed unless there is a query so ok he wastes a few pounds on a cheepie camera better than hundreds in a dispute.

BungleGirl

Hi,

My boyfriend went down yesterday after they called in the morning. There is damage there, but boyfriend thinks someone has done a three point turn in the road and reversed into it. It is on the wheel arch and it would have been imossible to do it by driving into something.

Just phoned a solicitor for free advice and they seem to think that we should stand our ground.

The guy yesterday said that his manager (who claims to have moved the minibus inside the compound on Sat night when we know that he didn't) will call us - this was yesterday morning and we haven't heard from him. I wonder if they are not so confident now they know that they were lying about when it was moved.

Don't know whether to ring them and find out what is going on or just wait for them to contact us. They still have £100 deposit I paid when booking.

jockettuk

think you can kiss your deposit goodbye, and be grateful it wasnt £500 as some charge.

Trinimaya

I used to work for a national car hire company and my first thoughts on this scenario would be the company waived their claim for damage as they instructed you to leave it on the road as they were closed.

It is a case of your word against theirs and I would be adamant for you to stick to your guns also, as you can not be responsible once the keys have been deposited back to the hire company. If they do not provide a safe return facility then it is the chance they have to take with people returning cars out of hours. In this case where i worked if nobody was available for you to return your vehicle you were asked to return the vehicle as soon as the office was open. This then took the onus off the car hire company for any damage sustained out of hours to vehicles. Go back to the car hire company and point this out along with your advice from your solicitor, ask for the return of your deposit as your part of the contract was honoured and vehicle returned in the same condition. Good luck

chi-chi

I think you should stand your ground. If they ask you to leave the vehicle on a public road then they run the risk of it being damaged. In this case it was damaged and they are trying to offload the costs onto you. If the car was dented on the side, it's obvious something drove into it whilst it was parked. You should push to get your deposit back. Suggest to them that perhaps the small claims court could resolve matters. You never know, it might just work. I certainly would at least try to get the deposit back.
Good luck

wonka

What was the outcome of this??

rayed

I would stand your ground on this one. It is up to the hire company to prove that you caused the damage, not for you to prove you did not. If neccesary use Moneyclaim online to sue for your £100 deposit, it will only cost you £30 in fees which you will also recover if successful.

It is down to the hire company not having a suitable system for returning vehicles.

I had something similar happen to me when I left my car at a main dealer for a service, I left it on the road at the request of the receptionist as their yard was full, no inspection was carried out on my car at that time. When I returned it had suffered damage, the dealer then produced a check list that was completed when the car was brought into thier workshop and showing that the damage had already occurred.

After several letters they offered to repair it at half price, I declined and issued a summons in the small claims court at which point they paid for the repair plus all costs.

I have used the small claims several times and always find that the judge is on the side of the underdog.

BungleGirl

Hi all,

Thanks for all of your input on this. The manager of the car hire company was very sure of himself and claimed that the damage could not have happened outside as the vehicle was parked outside with the steering wheel on full lock (ie wheels pointing outwards) however we can't work out how we could have parked it like that because it as how the parking bays are layed out you would just drive into it.

Keep leaving messages for the manager who never calls back! I know that we should try to get deposit back through moneyclaim but at the moment there are so many other things going on we just want it to end. We have decided that we will just let them keep the deposit but if they try to get us to pay the other £100 (tomake it up to the excess on the insurance) then we will fight them.

I know that letting them keep the money is not very moneysaving but sometimes you just can't face the fight.

Thank you all once again for your advice!

PS Rayed - we basically told them that we would just lose the deposit - after reading your post I really wish we had stuck to our guns and used the small claims court - it's good to know that you had success with them and if I ever think I may need to use them in the future (I hope not!) you have given me more confidence!