Streetcar car club (message to people who have or are thinking of using)

DannyC81

Hello All.

I am writing to see if anyone here has had any experience with damage to a car hired from Streetcar (or any other similar car club, like Zipcar).

My story is as follows:

I joined Streetcar a few months back. For people who do not know how it works, Streetcar have hundreds of cars parked in strategic places all over the city. Members can hire out these cars on a pay as you go basis for periods of an hour, day, week and so on. You book the car online or by phone for the period of time, use your membership card to swipe and unlock it and just return it to the same place at the end of your booking. The cars are parked in special bays, either on the street or in car parks etc.

Not being a car owner and having no parking at my flat, I joined Streetcar as there is one parked just a few minutes walk from where I live and it's been handy to use from time to time!

Anyway... part of the terms and conditions relate to any damage caused to the car. The idea is that when you get to the car at the beginning on your booking, you are supposed to check it for any damage. You then write down any damage in a special logbook which is kept in the glovebox. If the damage has already been reported in the logbook, then there's no need to do anything, however if the damage is 2new" and unreported, you are to contact Streetcar right away and make them aware. If the damage is new, then the responsibility falls to the previous hirer of the car.
About a month ago, I used the car to drive a short distance (just 4 mile round trip) to my parents house to water their garden whilst they were away on holiday. In accordance with the rules, I checked the car for damage before I set off. There was a large scratch over the passenger side rear wheel arch, but this had already been reported in the logbook and so I took no action. I went about my business and returned the car after about 45 minutes.

The next day, I received an email from Streetcar saying that the next person to use the car after me had reported new damage (specifically a dent to the roof and a dent in the bonnet). As I had the car last, they said that the responsibility would be mine, though before they charged my account (which the terms allow them to do to the tune of £500 - the excess on the included insurance) they would send a technician to inspect the damage.

I waited one month, not knowing if/when money would be removed from my account. I told them I was 110% sure that I did not cause any damage to the car whilst I had it and that it was either damaged by a third party or the person who hired it after me must have caused it and were trying to shift the blame. Either way, I had no concrete prrof, it was just my word against theirs.

Today, over 1 month after the first email, they have emailed me to inform me that they have concluded that the damage was vandalism and too minor to repair and that I will not incur any charges.

But this whole incident has made me wary of using them again. There can be hours or even days between bookings and most of the cars are in pubic areas so can incur damage in a variety of ways. It's perfectly possible for you to return a car only for someone to damage it 2 days later and you still end up having to foot the bill.

Before I was informed that they would be taking no further action, I took legal advice and they said that had I been charged, my only option would have been to go to court and try to win my case on the 'balance of probabilities' - in my case by stating that I had the car too short a time for the said damage to have occured. Luckily it didn't come to that.

I wonder if anyone else has had similar experience with car hire clubs? There seems to be a large hole in the contract whereby it is very difficult for you to get out of paying for damage you didn't cause. It caused a month of stress and worry for me and like I said, has made me very wary of using the service in the future.

DC

jb0349

I have experienced a very similar story to the above TWICE.

The first time I received an email saying that the next user had found damage with a car I had used. I was sent a picture of the damage which showed the car scraped on one side. I hadn't caused this damage.

Here's their email:

This e-mail follows your booking in Streetcar Wadim from our Docklands location. The member to use the car after you called us at the beginning of their booking on 19 August to report some damages. Following our assessment it has been confirmed as new damage that was previously unreported. On the basis that this damage was not reported by you at the start of your booking, preliminary responsibility has been attributed to your account.
The total cost to repair the damaged area of the vehicle for which you are responsible is £965. Please find a photograph of the damage and a detailed estimate of the repair attached. You will only be required to pay for costs up to your excess of £750.
The total charge of £750 will be put through on the card details we hold for you in four days' time.


There was no option for me to complain, Streetcar ASSUME that the damage is caused by you and there's nothing you can do about it.

Naturally I complained. After a very long email chain they finally agreed to back down (after agreeing to pay half the damage themselves and consulting an "expert" who said there was "no way" the damage was caused by anyone other than me). Please note that this took 3 WEEKS and a lot of stress to me.

How can there be no doubt that a scrape to the side of the car was caused by me? Especially when the car was left parked in a public car park for 5 days before the next user.

I have been reluctant to use Streetcar ever since but I bit the bullet and used them a couple of times over the last few weeks.

And guess what? It has happened again. This time there has been a dent to the drivers side door (no pictures this time). They are sending a technician to inspect the damage to determine how the damage was caused. So they have accused me of damage in 2 out of my last 3 bookings.

This seems to me to be a money making ploy by making you pay over the odds for "damage" to the car which you didn't cause or getting you to sign up and pay extra to reduce the excess of your insurance with them.


IN SUMMARY:

The Streetcar business model is flawed. They hold their customers responsible for damage without any basis for accusing them. Their customer service is appalling (they have promised to call me back on these matters and others and never have). My advice is avoid Streetcar at all costs. If you google for similar stories to mine and the one above there are many and even for Streetcar's sister company ZipCar in the US.

unholyangel

TBH i wouldnt be suprised if they start fitting cameras as its the only real way to determine who caused the damage. If it were operational only when the ignition was on, then they could attribute it to a driver. If it happened and no footage of it, then it was obv while the car was stationary/unused.

As said, currently there is nothing to stop the person after them damaging the car and saying it was there previously.

Enfieldian

What a ridiculous policy.

As stated above, a car sits in a car park for a week between my booking and the next one and I am held responsible for any damage caused during this period?

I would not touch this outfit with a bargepole.

OlliesDad

I suppose to cover yourself, you could always take several photographs before and after use to show the condition before and after use.

Also, in all fairness to the company they did decide in the OP that it was vandalism and took no further action.

Laz123

In all fairness I've used them for about two years with no problems, but my area is vandal-free. (touch wood).

scooter_chick

I'm a pretty satisfied customer of Streetcar, but I must admit that this is an issue that bothers me. Not had any problems, so far (touch wood), but I have asked them on a couple of occasions how exactly I'm supposed to thoroughly check over a car when it's pitch dark in the middle of winter. Never got a satisfactory answer!

Maybe I'll just stick to the scooter!

jamesbrownontheroad

New to Streetcar (thanks to a recent Groupon deal) and this thread rings true. As OlliesDad says, taking photos in one solution. What I would appreciate is some kind of web-based service to which I could email or upload camera-phone pics before and after my rental, so that they are independently time-stamped. That way if there is a dispute there could be a third-party to prove your images of the car are exactly as you left it.

It's an issue for me in Glasgow because the cars seem to get rented so rarely! There either aren't many users or people are put off my the disproportionate number of expensive BMWs to cheap VWs.

edgex

I assume they have a deal with the car parks, so they could fit their own cctv

richardw

So at the end of your hire you need to take pictures of the car to say that it was OK when you finished.

Blacksheep1979

Simple way to get around these charges is to cancel the card you've registered with them if they threaten to claim from it. Then it's up to them to take further action if they believe they'll win it...