Budget car hire scratch worth 818 EUROS!!

DP82

Hi Guys
I recently drove around Ireland with a group of friends. We hired a car from Budget and have since been slapped with a 818 EURO bill for a 3cm scratch we didnt even make.

Heres the long story:
The Dublin city office was very busy so we waited out the front while they retrieved the car. The car eventually pulled up out the front, the first thing we noticed was that it had not been cleaned. We got in and were about to drive away but decided to quickly look at the paint to make sure there were no scratches. The first thing we saw on the drivers door was a large scratch and dent. We immediately went back into the office and said there is a scratch on the door, to which the reply was “Really?, ok” so he took the form and marked a scratch on the car diagram. The rest of the car looked ok, however little did we know the bugs stuck on the front bumper were hiding another scratch.

When we returned the car to Dublin Airport the man checked it and said you have a scratch on the bumper. We could not even really see it but he said he had to note it. We disputed this fact and he made a call to the City office to see if they had the scratch on file. He was made aware that they do not keep any records of scratches on their cars and relayed that information to us. We asked for our refund stating that the car had marks prior to our rental that were unrecorded but he would not change his mind, he had to note the scratch. However, he told us to call the head office who can deal with matters like this.

They were not helpful at all.

After this point I had all but resigned myself to have to pay for the stupid mistake of not thoroughly checking the car before driving off. However, 2 weeks later and I receive an email showing a quote for the repair of the car at 818.66 EUROs!!

The "invoice" shows 140 Euro for a new lower spoiler, 165 Euros for paint & sundries and 390 euros for labour. Invoice is in quotations because it is definitely not an invoice but clearly states 'Estimate of repairs'.

The scratch in question was about 3cm long (yes tiny!) on the bumper. Now they are putting a new spoiler on!

Surely this is illegal?
Can anyone suggest what I can do now?

I have rang them numerous times and sent a formal letter but as they already have my money I think they are dismissing it all.

Thanks in advance.

rodenal

Did you use a credit card to pay? Ask for a copy of where you signed to say the car was damaged on return and check what is stated on this. Unsure if you can issue a S75 claim on something like this but it's worth investigating.

I know it doesnt help but they wont have repaired the scratch, even if they did then it's at worst a respray to the bumper at circa £150

DP82

Yes I used my CC, so i have rang them and told them I dispute the transaction. Not sure whether it will help though.

I also noticed the 'invoice for repair' is from a town near Galway which is nowhere near the Dublin office i dropped it off (read: other side of the whole country!!).

They are really taking me for a ride here, there has to be something I can do.

Help!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

i could have my whole car painted for that.

write a letter of dispute to the hire company, anything from here on in put in writing to them.

Flyboy152

What copies of documentation do you have. Did you write on the hire return that you are disputing the damage?

DP82

Yes, we spoke at length with the sales rep at the return office. He even made a few phone calls for us, unfortunately most people were away or unavailable. He gave us the name (Sheena Coleman) of the person to contact directly. However she has been very unhelpful.

On speaking to her (Sheena C) I was told that I would have to pay for the repairs as she had checked the ‘pre-existing damage records’ and there was no record of a scratch on the bumper. However, I replied 'if your company has pre existing damage records, how is that I was given a car with a scratch on the drivers side door without this being recorded? If I had not gone back into the office I would most likely be charged for this as well!'
Despite my protests (and I was quite nice to begin with) she processed the invoice and charged me the 818 Euros.

I have done a little research on the web today and seen that the 'invoice' comes from Flynn Bros Garage in Galway which is apparently owned by Budget. They have a nice little scam going on there.

vikingaero

If it were me I'd be asking for clear colour photos of the damage.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

you paid by CC so phone the CC co and get a refund to your card because your in a despute over it.

then write a politly worded letter to the hire co saying you despute the 818E's and would like them to provide DATED photo's of the damaged area, copies of the invoice on purchase and hand back.

list the reasons why you wont pay the 818.
start with the cleanliness of the vehicle. (ask them to provide proof of valet and wash), and that NO ONE except you spotted a dent and scratch on the door and had to return to the depot to get it noted.

then go onto the size of the scratch. (to wich you want validated proof of date it was taken not a digital camera photo that can have its date/time changed to take a photo also note the date of the estimate they got from the garage)

then go onto the parts the wish you to pay for. bumper splitter? c'mon!

vikingaero

I rented a car in Ireland once from Kerry Airport. When I got out to the car it looked like it had been through a hedge. Not one panel was undented or severely scratched. I returned to the terminal to inform the agent. He asked me if it was the purple Avensis and I said yes. So he took his biro and scribbled all over the car diagram and initialled it.

thescouselander

Unfortunately this is all too common with hire car companies - we get a lot of hire cars in work and they are always trying it on.

This is probably too late now but I would always recommend the follwing:

1) Never accept a dirty car as it will be hiding dents and scratches
2) Try to aviod taking the car in the hours of darkness
3) Quite often the damage sheet will be wrong - you can sometimes find the "real" damage sheet under the carpet in the boot (especially the case with Hertz) - take a photo of it with your phone
4) Become proficient at spotting dents - the method I use is to look at the refleaction in the paintwork while viewing each pannel at an angle - inperfections will distort the reflection noticably
5) Report every defect even down to the smallest stone chip.
6) If a car looks like it has been in a stock car race refuse it as it will be too difficult to document all the damage.

Not sure how you can get your money back though - the credit card company probably wont want to get involved. Maybe it would be worth investigating if Ireland has the equivelent of the Small Claims Court.

Flyboy152

thescouselander wrote: »

Unfortunately this is all too common with hire car companies - we get a lot of hire cars in work and they are always trying it on.

This is probably too late now but I would always recommend the follwing:

1) Never accept a dirty car as it will be hiding dents and scratches
2) Try to aviod taking the car in the hours of darkness
3) Quite often the damage sheet will be wrong - you can sometimes find the "real" damage sheet under the carpet in the boot (especially the case with Hertz) - take a photo of it with your phone
4) Become proficient at spotting dents - the method I use is to look at the refleaction in the paintwork while viewing each pannel at an angle - inperfections will distort the reflection noticably
5) Report every defect even down to the smallest stone chip.
6) If a car looks like it has been in a stock car race refuse it as it will be too difficult to document all the damage.

Not sure how you can get your money back though - the credit card company probably wont want to get involved. Maybe it would be worth investigating if Ireland has the equivelent of the Small Claims Court.

Under the CCA, they have duty to get involved.