Car hire - damage claim that I didn't do! HELP!

devasue

When my car broke down last month while it was still under warranty and I took up the offer of free car hire while it was fixed.

It was late at night by the time it was declared my car (an Audi A4) would take some days to fix and Audi organised a taxi to take me to the nearest open car hire place - National at Heathrow.

It was dark, cold and raining like the clappers. I picked up a car and noticed it had several prangs, scratches and dents. There was no one outside to speak to (it really was pitch black and cold), but I went round the car and all the marks did seem to be noted on the hire sheet.

When I left the National car park, I had to go through a barrier and give my sheet to a man in a booth. I told him one of the 'prangs' on the car was quite a bad one. He looked at the sheet (he couldn't see the prang from his booth) and said ' don't worry about it, it's marked on'. So I left to go home - by now I'd spent most of about six hours outside in the cold while the RAC tried to fix my car, before taking it to a garage that closed down a few weeks before. Even the taxi was delayed because it was also sent to the same garage that shut down weeks before! I really just wanted to get home, and have never had problems hiring cars before.

My Audi was finally fixed just before 6pm on a Friday night. I collected it from the garage and left the hire car there, as instructed by Audi. When I said I was worried I wouldn't be there to see the hire car person pick it up, I was told not to worry. In any event, the garage was closing soon for the night. So I left the Audi garage with the keys.

Two weeks later - and my credit card bill has come, and I've been charged £95 for damage to the hire car. It took me 19 minutes on hold to National before I finally got through to them to find out more, and they say there's a scratch and a dent on the car that wasn't on the original sheet. :mad:

Now I know I did absolutely nothing whatsoever to that car, and this has really shocked me. I only drove 38 miles in it (not the point I know, but it was barely used). National are investigating my claim and say they will respond within five working days. But they are implying it could have happened at the Audi garage. The Audi garage are sounding very helpful and have asked to see the National paperwork when it comes in.

Has this happened to anyone else? I've hired cars on several previous occasions and have never had any problem like this whatsoever. It seems so unfair. Any advice, please? Thanks in advance.

Anihilator

Who hired the car ultimately? You or Audi, If Audi hired it they are liable for the damage to National and unless they can prove it happened in your posession they cant go for the costs from you.

If you hired the car ultimately it was foolish to return the car without getting it signed off hence you are on sticky ground.

devasue

Anihilator wrote: »

Who hired the car ultimately? You or Audi, If Audi hired it they are liable for the damage to National and unless they can prove it happened in your posession they cant go for the costs from you.

If you hired the car ultimately it was foolish to return the car without getting it signed off hence you are on sticky ground.

I hired it, as I signed for it. But Audi paid for the hire.

It was hard to know what else to do about returning the vehicle. My own car wasn't ready until 6pm on a Friday night when the Audi garage closed at 7pm. The hire depot was about an hour's drive away to Heathrow Airport through rush hour traffic. I'd then not have been able to get back to my own car before the Audi garage closed, and I was already one day over the hire allowance (which Audi have covered) until they fixed my car.

As it was 6pm on a Friday night, the Heathrow depot was the only National depot open at that time. There was a much closer one, but it shut at 6pm. The Audi chap said it was fine to leave it at the Audi garage - there was nothing to worry about, he said. National picked up the car the following morning in the end.

Looking back, I should have asked the taxi just to drive me back the 9 miles home instead of the same sort of distance to Heathrow to hire a car. But I was worried my car wouldn't be fixed for the weekend, when I really needed it. Had I known my car would be ready on the Friday, I'd never have dreamt of having a hire car. It took me about 2 hrs to get to and from Heathrow and I only used the car to drive less than 40 miles before I gave it back!

Anyway, National have now got in touch and sent me the document stating where the car was damaged. What they haven't sent so far is the original document showing all the marks already on the car when I picked it up. I've asked for that.

devasue

I finally got my money back - after a great deal of effort! The car hire company investigated, came back to me, and insisted the damage was new. As a last resort, I drove to the Heathrow branch where I hired the car to argue my case.

It was a great deal of effort to get there, but it paid off. The car had since been sold, so wasn't there for me to check. But the assistant on the counter worked out that one indecipherable sentence on the return sheet said I'd caused a 'medium scratch on the rear bumper'. The original hire sheet said it had a 'small scratch on the rear bumper'. She made the point that these could be the same. Until then, I'd not been able to make out the handwriting. She couldn't do a refund, but I stayed my ground and we rang customer services from there. She told them she thought the allegedly new scratch was there all along and that was enough for them. A second item of damage I was also supposed to have caused, was then also wiped off. The whole thing came to an end a few days ago when my credit card was finally refunded. :T

But it was a 2.5hr return trip to Heathrow to argue my case and had I not done that, I don't think I would have got my money back. I will make sure I am actually present to return a hire car in future.