Can a vehicle hire shop charge my card without my permission, signature or pin?

OrkneyStar

fluffnutter wrote: »

I don't think you can do that. The 16 digit number won't appear in full on a receipt from a chip and pin machine. It will be XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-1234. This sounds really dodgy quite frankly. If the OP didn't give the full number (and possibly the security code as well) then this transaction theoretically shouldn't have been possible.

I am not so sure, when I worked in a supermarket a while back, the whole number was not on the customer copy of receipt but was on the store copy.

zppp

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I am not so sure, when I worked in a supermarket a while back, the whole number was not on the customer copy of receipt but was on the store copy.

Agreed, the retailer has a copy of the PAN number. Shops buy software to block out 12 of the 16 digits on the customer receipt, to prevent the receipt and card details getting into the wrong hands.

Takoda

hackeron wrote: »

I rented out a motorcycle for a week and returned it to the hire shop and paid off the balance due - they inspected the motorcycle, said everything is OK and gave me the signed £500 insurance excess clause to tear up.

Today, 3 days later, I just received a customer copy and a hand written note saying, charge of £161 for cluch lever and h/k unit and "damage to hire motorcycle - unreported!!".

The customer copy receipt says: "keyed - customer not present - signature verified" and it appears my card was charged this amount!

Now I didn't inspect the motorcycle and it is possible there was a scuff or two when I was parking it through a narrow gate but the charge seems excessive and is this even legal for them to do after accepting the bike and giving me the insurance clause to tear up?

Also, can they really charge my card like this without informing me or getting neither my permission or keyed pin number?

All this seems dodgy to me.

Why didn't you inspect the vehicle before you handed it back?

I should imagine it IS legal for them to charge afterwards. I mean you could hand back a bike that has a fault which is not obvious until the bike is started. So they might not identify it til you've left in which case they'd need to charge your card.

Someone will tell me if I'm wrong.

Cappuccino

WhiteHorse wrote: »

They inspected the machine on its return and were apparently satisfied. A wrecked clutch lever is something that would be obvious on even a casual inspection.

They would appear to be trying it on. Take it up with them directly and also report them to the card company.

As well as their being satisfied at the time you returned the vehicle, they must also surely provide reasonable proof that you damaged the clutch through improper use - and not just from the wear + tear/mileage of their vehicle.

I would certainly query this with them, tell them that you were told they were satisfied when you handed them the vehicle back, why did they not raise this with you at the time? How can they prove that THEY didn't damage it after you left it with them?

I would point blank refuse to pay any "damage" from any hire vehicle (I only hire cars I don't ride motorbikes) after I had taken it back, unless they could categorically prove it was me and not someone else afterwards who had done it.

See what they say, if they won't give you a satisfactory outcome then raise a dispute with your credit card company for the amount.

IMO bottom line is, if they are going to charge you this then they must provide proof that it is YOU who has done this through improper use. If it is through just wear + tear + age of the vehicle then you shouldn't have to pay. If it happened after you returned the vehicle you shouldn't have to pay.

Cappuccino

Takoda wrote: »

Why didn't you inspect the vehicle before you handed it back?

I should imagine it IS legal for them to charge afterwards. I mean you could hand back a bike that has a fault which is not obvious until the bike is started. So they might not identify it til you've left in which case they'd need to charge your card.

Someone will tell me if I'm wrong.

I believe will still live in a society where people are innocent until proven guilty. If they are saying the customer damaged the vehicle prior to handing it back, and the customer is saying that he handed it back in a satisfactory condition, then the onus is on the company to PROVE that the customer is wrong. When he handed the vehicle back they confirmed it was in a satisfactory condition, which doesn't bode well for their proving after the fact that it wasn't.

IMO there are 2 possibilities:
a) They did not complete satisfactory checks when the vehicle was returned = their fault
b) One of their guys did this after the vehicle was returned and they are trying to pin the blame on the customer = their fault

Either way, I would fight this as far as I could. Certainly dispute it on these grounds with the credit card company.

BaldacchinoR

The answer to the above is almost certainly 'YES'. Read the hire agreement. It will probably say words to the effect that you are authorising them to make any further ("reasonable" - I hope it includes that word!) charges under the terms of the agreement. That means they do not need any further authority from you. If you don't like that arrangement then don't hire anything!

I agree with Cappuccino comments - as the damage was not identified at the time the item was handed back to the hire company, they cannot come back against you later. That damage could have been done anytime thereafter - that's your defence. They should have identified the damage at the time of handing it back. They have no reasonable claim against you. Also, you can claim against the credit card company - it appears it was a credit and not a debit card - if the hire company persists. See MSE's article about section 75 of the relevant Consumer Credit Act - if an item costs over £100, you can claim against the credit card company instead of the hire company. If you end up going to the small claims court, then claim against both as joint defendants. Chances are a credit card company might well pay up straight away, if you threaten to take them to court. If fact, you should tell both you intend to take them to court before you do it - the court would expect that.

Cappuccino is on the ball in identifying that they don't have a bike to stand on!