Where do we stand on this......

chocolates

Hi everyone,not really sure if i have posted in the right forum but just after some advice please.
My dad hired a transit van over the weekend as he is moving house,my dad can't drive and so myself and one of his friends gave our drivers license details and we drove the van. Anyway basically the other guy got stuck round a tight corner and put a dent and a scratch in the van! I took it back to the garage later that day and was told that my dad had to pay £500 excess!!! She hadn't told us about this when we took out the van but it was in the small print in the agreement! I just burst into tears as my dad doesn't have a penny to his name at the moment and his house is in the process of being repossessed. I explained that we weren't aware of the excess and that my dad just doesn't have that kind of money. So she made me sign something that said we will pay £250 this week and £250 next,my dad was hoping to get some money off the driver that did it but he is refusing to pay anything towards it saying he was doing my Dad a favour! Anyway that's another story.....the woman in the garage also said if we don't pay she will take us to court . I myself am thinking this is the best option as i'm already on a dmp myself and my dad doesn't have a penny to his name. We've got to call the garage in the morning,what do you think?? Thanks in advance

shopaholic2

I'm no expert, but it looks like the contract was between the garage and your dad so he is responsible, and just because they didn't TELL him about the excess, the fact it's there on the contract means it is enforceable and the garage will just say "you should have read it before you agreed and signed".

Sorry
As for your dads "friend" yes i agree he was doing a favour, BUT he probably realises that legally he is untouchable as he didn't sign the contract, but "morally" it would be nice if he held his hands up and offered to at least pay half.

I'm not sure with it being yours and his driving licences that were handed over if the company can't make a claim against him, but i'm sure someone else will come along with advice on that score!

DarnIt_3

Unfortunately the onus is on the person who signed the contract, as they were the person accepting liability if anything happens.
Have you paid them anything yet? I would write and explain the issue you have DMP and repossession, off a payment of £50 a month until it is clear. As long as you have made an effort to pay back the company will stand little chance in court.



OH! And of course.......get yourself some better friends

chocolates

Hi thankyou both for replying! Yes he definitely needs better friends!
and yes you're right,dad is unfortunately responsible. We have £100 to give them,i will offer this to them this morning when they call and explain financial situation.
Thanks again

DarnIt_3

Make sure you put in writing what you spoke about on the telephone too and send it recorded delivery, should it ever go to court you will look like you have been amicable all the way through

crazyguy

We had an issue with a ford rental garage to and the van we were in was scraped down the side also and we were under the impression it would be covered via an insurance, its not the case and we had to pay up to have the repair carried out.

I think the best bet is to write to the actual garage and explain your financial situation and also put that they are welcome to take you to Court but it would be better off for both parties to agree a payment plan.

You wont be able to get out of paying this amount but a plan to pay over time is better than having to beg steel or borrow !

pelirocco

I am a bit confused , who was the named driver on the rental agreement? If you had your driving license details yet someone else drove , you werent insured anyway

chocolates

hi pelirocco, the named drivers were myself and my dads friend. My dad can't drive, but he paid for the van.
DarnIt- Thankyou i will be sending a letter today 1st class recorded!
crazyguy- Hi,yes they are saying it's covered by insurance but that the excess is £500 but you've actually got me thinking now! The garage said if they put the van through the insurance then they would write it off! So they are going to try get it repaired without going through insurance,so why do i have to pay excess? Surely they get a quote for repair and my dad pays that??

DS4215

You could try asking them to see the quote for repairs. If it is less than £500 then offer to pay it, but in installments....

chocolates

DS4215 wrote: »

You could try asking them to see the quote for repairs. If it is less than £500 then offer to pay it, but in installments....

Yes i could thankyou but then what if they deliberately get the parts more expensive to get more money out of us!!:(

pelirocco

chocolates wrote: »

hi pelirocco, the named drivers were myself and my dads friend. My dad can't drive, but he paid for the van.
DarnIt- Thankyou i will be sending a letter today 1st class recorded!
crazyguy- Hi,yes they are saying it's covered by insurance but that the excess is £500 but you've actually got me thinking now! The garage said if they put the van through the insurance then they would write it off! So they are going to try get it repaired without going through insurance,so why do i have to pay excess? Surely they get a quote for repair and my dad pays that??

Very odd they would write it off for a relatively small amount ? I would hope that being a hired vehicle it was pretty new. I would expect to only pay for the repair , however they would probably want to claim for the missed days hire while it was being repaired