Fleeced by a car hire company...any advice?

5tandy

Can anyone help me?

I recently hired a car and it was vandalised outside my property; nothing major - someone just punched the wing mirror off (nice). As it was still attached by springs there were a few minor scratches (and I mean minor) on the door, but other than that, it was fine. I took it back to the car hire firm, got a replacement and the nice receptionist took £50 deposit for replacing the wing mirror, saying that she doubted whether it would come to more than that and she'd let me know in due course. A few weeks have past and I've just received the invoice through the post for (wait for it) £650.80:eek:. "Coincidentally", the excess is £700 exactly. There is NO WAY on God's green earth that the damage to the car matches to the invoice and breakdown of work provided by the garage and the fact that the work done to the car is up to the excess tells me that I'm being fleeced.

I feel very foolish as I didn't take any photos of the car before I handed it back and I used a debit card to pay. I would have usually taken an excess waiver, but it wasn't available to me as the car was a replacement through my insurance while my own car was in the garage having some work done.

Has anybody out there had any similar experiences or is familiar with the ins and outs?

purplejac

i would ask for a breakdown of the invoice i think you will find they will tell you they had to respray the door and possibly the wing to match the colour, prob a bit of scratch remover cream and a buff would have done the trick though its a shame you didnt take the pics.
I would certainly contact your insurance company they might cover it if your fully comp and insured to drive any other vehicle.
Hope this helps

verityboo

What make & model of car?

I presume that the mirror was broken so could not just be clipped back on? Some cars have heated adjustable mirrors with built-in downlighters and indictors. They do cost a fortune to replace plus the new mirror housing would need to be sprayed if body coloured. With the damage to the paintwork on the door, I could easily see them being able to make up an invoice for £700 to fully repair the damage.

fluffnutter

My replacement wing mirror was quoted at £420. Plus a respray of the adjacent panels. It's probably a genuine quote. Yikes!

5tandy

Thanks for your input, people. It's much appreciated. As Jimmy Cricket would say...there's more (apologies if you weren't around in the 80s). The receptionist told me she would contact me before the work was done to give me an idea of the price and if I'd like to take it elsewhere to be repaired. She never did. The car was a Toyota Aygo. The wing mirror had completely come off and the plastic had snapped, but it wasn't heated or anything, so it would have been a case of replacing the wing mirror unit - which seems simple, really (and costs £150). I know these things cost more than you might expect, but the respray was beyond excessive - nothing that some T-cut wouldn't have sorted out. I phoned the company and they agree that there appears to be more work done than was suggested at the time and they are "looking into it".

And all because some twerp thought it'd be funny to knock off a wing mirror!:mad:

Alright, whinge over. I think this might have to be put down to a very expensive lesson...

pinkshoes

As they said they'd contact you before the work was done, and give you the chance to get another quote from elsewhere, then I would reject their quote, and tell them you would like to get your own quote for the work to be done.

I certainly wouldn't just accept their quote, as it does seem rather excessive if the damage was so minor. I would expect £400 maximum including labour.

Before agreeing to pay ANYTHING, ask for a copy of the bill showing the complete breakdown of the quote.

5tandy

It's too late. The work has already been done. It's not a quote, it's an invoice!:(

pinkshoes

5tandy wrote: »

It's too late. The work has already been done. It's not a quote, it's an invoice!:(

And?? I was aware it was an invoice, not a quote btw... It doesn't mean you have to accept it if they informed you you'd have a chance to get your own quote and then didn't!!

Demand full break down and dispute every penny!

Alias_Omega

I always thought that your insurance would of been transferred onto the hire car.

Contact your insurance company, and see what they say.

happylife

I had the same thing happen to me but the wing mirror was not stolen but scratched on the paintwork by someone who clipped it..

So for the scratches and work I was charged £550... The Excess was around £600 so came pretty close.

I asked about the work invoice and this was produced from the main car dealer, so they get it done by the most expensive..

I would do the same so I can't really argue.

Expensive Lesson learnt whenever I hire a car I now ensure and demand it has ZERO excess cover... even if I have to pay a bit more...

It's just not worth it,,,

but yes definitely worth checking out with your insurers,,,

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Is the hire company a member of any trade association or similiar, if so consider raising the issue with them (after you have written to complain to the company directly). Sounds a complicated one and without seeing your T&C's difficult to advise. Consider calling Consumer Direct for advice.

Good luck.