Budget car hire scratch worth 818 EUROS!!

thescouselander

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Under the CCA, they have duty to get involved.

Yes, but only if there has been a clear breach of contract. In this case it is the OP's word against Budget's so it's not so clear cut. The card company also has the duty to pay the Hire car company so they will be stuck in the middle.

Of course it's always worth contacting the credit card company to see what they say but I dont expect them to be that helpful.

Flyboy152

thescouselander wrote: »

Yes, but only if there has been a clear breach of contract. In this case it is the OP's word against Budget's so it's not so clear cut. The card company also has the duty to pay the Hire car company so they will be stuck in the middle.

Of course it's always worth contacting the credit card company to see what they say but I dont expect them to be that helpful.

The credit card provider will refund the money, investigate and if they find in favour of the hire company they will re-debit the money.

thescouselander

Flyboy152 wrote: »

The credit card provider will refund the money, investigate and if they find in favour of the hire company they will re-debit the money.

The credit card company will certainly investigate but it could be inconclusive if there is insufficient evidence. AFAIK the CC company doesn't have to issue a refund until the investigation is complete - I believe there are time limits to this though.

DP82

Thanks for all the advice guys. I have contacted my CC company and they said they will look into it. I have sent Budget a formal letter both through email and paper.

I guess all I can do now is wait.

DP82

Hi Guys
Just an update for those that care, I received a response to my formal letter stating:
I refer to the attached letter, to which I have escalated to management. On viewing the damage to the vehicle, management have concluded that the damage to the front is quiet evident and could not be covered by flies that may have adhered to the vehicle.
On collection you were provided with a damage report form, to which no damage was noted. As indicated by you, you inspected the vehicle and noted a scratched to the right hand side front door, which was then subsequently marked by the employee on the damage report form. Had you not gone back into the office to advice of this mark and this was then established on return, our existing damage records, held here at head office, would have established that the damage was old and the excess deposit would have been credited. However our records do not show any previous damage sustained to the front of the vehicle by an earlier renter and as you declined the zero liability cover you are therefore liable for the damage costs incurred

Its a blatant lie when they say they had existing damage records at head office, because the guy at reception rang there asking for them and they told him they had none.

Its also pretty annoying because I have a photo of the car with the bumper covered in dead bugs and you cannot tell if there is a scratch or not. As I said I was prepared to pay the costs of a touch up on the scratch, but making me pay 800 Euros is criminal in my opinion. I'm not sure there is anything else I can do besides take it to court, something I dont have the time or money to do now.

I wont be renting with Budget ever again and will be telling everyone I know to stay away from them. Scam artists.

Flyboy152

DP82 wrote: »

Hi Guys
Just an update for those that care, I received a response to my formal letter stating:
I refer to the attached letter, to which I have escalated to management. On viewing the damage to the vehicle, management have concluded that the damage to the front is quiet evident and could not be covered by flies that may have adhered to the vehicle.
On collection you were provided with a damage report form, to which no damage was noted. As indicated by you, you inspected the vehicle and noted a scratched to the right hand side front door, which was then subsequently marked by the employee on the damage report form. Had you not gone back into the office to advice of this mark and this was then established on return, our existing damage records, held here at head office, would have established that the damage was old and the excess deposit would have been credited. However our records do not show any previous damage sustained to the front of the vehicle by an earlier renter and as you declined the zero liability cover you are therefore liable for the damage costs incurred

Its a blatant lie when they say they had existing damage records at head office, because the guy at reception rang there asking for them and they told him they had none.

Its also pretty annoying because I have a photo of the car with the bumper covered in dead bugs and you cannot tell if there is a scratch or not. As I said I was prepared to pay the costs of a touch up on the scratch, but making me pay 800 Euros is criminal in my opinion. I'm not sure there is anything else I can do besides take it to court, something I dont have the time or money to do now.

I wont be renting with Budget ever again and will be telling everyone I know to stay away from them. Scam artists.

Don't pay the money would be the first step I would have thought. If they have charged your card, get the money back off your provider.

vikingaero

DP82 wrote: »

I wont be renting with Budget ever again and will be telling everyone I know to stay away from them. Scam artists.

Maybe you should rent from Budget again? You know, new car, pay to reduce excess, foot slips off clutch in Budget car park and takes out a number of other Budget cars..... :eek::D

[that was a joke btw for those with a SOH failure]

bad_experience

! Hi DP82,

please let us know how your story ended!
A very similar thing happened to me with the exact same company in Ireland. I am still in the process of discussing with them - but will post the whole story soon if they don't manage to solve the problem in a fair way.

Thanks in advance for letting us know!