Hire van and damage when returned

kitscot

Hi!

I hired a van from a Scottish based company, Euro Hire Drive on Friday and returned it on Saturday. When they inspected it they found a horseshoe shaped mark where some of the paint work had been removed.
As I had paid a £100 deposit they said they would have to get an estimate of how much it would cost to repair and then of course how much of my deposit would be returned to me. They said they would get the estimate yesterday, monday 19th; but didn't. They then promised to get the estimate done today, tuesday 20th; but now been told that is not going to happen. Of course , all the while they have my £100 deposit.
Is there a legal requirement where they have to get an estimate within a certain time period and/or a return of my deposit?

Regards

Kit

forgotmyname

I presume they have rented the van out again & will wait for a day when its not in use.

I doubt you will get anything back. Even a minor paint job could cost hundreds.

keith1950

Hi, was the damage there when you collected the van, if not then you are responsible for repair cost. If it was there before , then you should have noted it on the paoerwork before taking the van. !!

BLT_2

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, was the damage there when you collected the van, if not then you are responsible for repair cost. If it was there before , then you should have noted it on the paoerwork before taking the van. !!

And today on University Challenge we have Keith - specialist subject - the Bleeding Obvious :rotfl:

keith1950

As usual the OP doesnt give the full facts so someone tries to help and then some t***pot comes along with clever remarks. I thought the forum was about trying to assist people with problems ,not insult. Thanks anyway ,it just shows what sort of intellect you have.

dug123

Hi, I used to hire vans quite frequently and on a couple of occasions I have returned the van and they have found the odd mark that was not on the paperwork which we had used to check the vehicle before I took it. The problem is that hire vans tend to get lots of small marks and it can take all day to document them (especially if you collect it when it is raining, UK most days!!).
On the occasions they have pulled me I have immediately gone to the office and asked the ladies to pull all the reports for that particular vehicle and then I have found the marks itemised on previous paperwork and they have always accepted it.
Sadly I had to do this because I am not as perfect as Keith obviously is.

kitscot

If the mark was there before then I didn't notice it. I did ask to see the previous two hire forms showing damage and the damage was not there.
However, my main point is not liability but how long are they allowed to keep me waiting while they come up with an estimate and how long can they hold to my deposit. Surely, their must be a requirement on the hirer to do these two things within a reasonable amount of time.
The van was rehired on the monday even though they promised to take the van to the their local garage they use, (which is literally two minutes away), on that day. They then promised to do the same thing on tuesday but yet again it was rehired even though there were other vans in their yard.
I know they are messing me about as I have caught them out in various lies and because of this I wouldn't put it past them to 'doctor' the previous forms.
I have been very patient but it is ridiculous that they are allowed to hold on to my deposit indefinitely.

BLT_2

keith1950 wrote: »

As usual the OP doesnt give the full facts so someone tries to help and then some t***pot comes along with clever remarks. I thought the forum was about trying to assist people with problems ,not insult. Thanks anyway ,it just shows what sort of intellect you have.

Oh the irony

kitscot

keith1950 wrote: »

As usual the OP doesnt give the full facts so someone tries to help and then some t***pot comes along with clever remarks. I thought the forum was about trying to assist people with problems ,not insult. Thanks anyway ,it just shows what sort of intellect you have.

The 'full facts' are all there to know exactly what the problem is. If the mark had been there then obviously I would have pointed out this fact to the hire company. But seeing as I mentioned in my post that I was willing for them to get an estimate then it should have been obvious that the mark wasn't there as I and no one else would allow a company to charge them for a mark that wasn't their fault and was shown on the appropriate form detailing all dents, marks etc.

BLT_2

kitscot wrote: »

The 'full facts' are all there to know exactly what the problem is. If the mark had been there then obviously I would have pointed out this fact to the hire company. But seeing as I mentioned in my post that I was willing for them to get an estimate then it should have been obvious that the mark wasn't there as I and no one else would allow a company to charge them for a mark that wasn't their fault and was shown on the appropriate form detailing all dents, marks etc.

Thank you thank you thank you :-) My somewhat cap in hand response to Keith1950 was based on the fact that you were asking for advice on legal requirements and deposits, an issue you would not have raised if you had not been content that you had ticked all the right boxes, and his response was telling you that you have to check hire cars when you take them out, hence my comment on 'the bleeding obvious'.

Unfortunately my somewhat blunt humour fell flat this time. I would have apologised to Keith but as he clearly believes me to be at**spot, I won't bother on this occasion :rotfl:

vaio

kitscot wrote: »

If the mark was there before then I didn't notice it. I did ask to see the previous two hire forms showing damage and the damage was not there.
However, my main point is not liability but how long are they allowed to keep me waiting while they come up with an estimate and how long can they hold to my deposit. Surely, their must be a requirement on the hirer to do these two things within a reasonable amount of time.
The van was rehired on the monday even though they promised to take the van to the their local garage they use, (which is literally two minutes away), on that day. They then promised to do the same thing on tuesday but yet again it was rehired even though there were other vans in their yard.
I know they are messing me about as I have caught them out in various lies and because of this I wouldn't put it past them to 'doctor' the previous forms.
I have been very patient but it is ridiculous that they are allowed to hold on to my deposit indefinitely.

At the risk of adding more blindingly obvious comments…..

Hire companies don’t like having vans standing round I suppose the question is are you willing to pay the lost hire fees so they can take it for an repair quote when you want?

Moving forwards…… they can include lost hire fees (whilst the repair is being done, going to be at least a day, could easily be two) in their bill to you, add in the fact that you don’t get much damage repaired for £100 and too be honest I’d write the deposit off, keep my head down and hope it gets forgotten lest they come chasing you for an extra £££

.