car rental - think i have been 'ripped off '

Dave101t

also, stone chips are 'wear and tear'.

EycplUK

When i hire a car these days i always take a full set of photos , with that days paper showing , takes about 5 mins and lets the hire company know your on the ball ! any aggro on return about scuffs etc out comes the camera with a quick replay showing relevant parts of car !
Sounds a bit OTT but it saves you money so why not ?

Premier_2

benny123 wrote: »

i have recently hired car with avis car rentals
when i took car back, the attendant , who was the most obnoxious jobswoth, said he saw a 'chip' on bumper, when i looked, i initially could not see anything but with my glasses and a very close inspection,i saw a chip the size of a full stop so less than 1mm, he said the bumper would need replacing !! so the cost to me was over £200
i presumed the cost of car rental would have included insurance for this but he told me that i had opted out of an additional cost for collision insurance ( news to me ! ) but i had signed the paperwork so i agree i should have read the small print but at the same time i feel this should have been explained to me as an option.
Because i had a flight to catch, i had no choice but to pay with credit card but on reflection, i feel i have been robbed .
Incidentally another customer at the car park could not see the mark either and was so concerned on my behalf that he went back to rental desk to cancel his car for fear the same could happen to him as he had not been asked about additional insurance either so i can't help thinking it is a regular scam
so what to do now ? could i cancel payment to them i made via credit card or contact customer service, i gather from trip advisor that it is hard to make a complaint about car rental problems
any suggestions or similar experiences ?
thank you

As others said, I would expect an odd stone chip to be considered fair wear & tear on a hire vehicle.

Even if they don't, then a stone chip does not require a new bumper
(A new bumper is only required in the case of collision as, despite the bumper shell often recovering to shape, the energy absorbing rigid foam behind is permanently deformed)
I wouldn't expect a stone chip to cost more than about £50 to professionally repair. If you don't have a photo of the 'damage', presumably the return sheet refers to a 'stone chip'.
Any more than £50 and tell them you will see them in court.
Make sure they provide a third party receipt for any damage they claim against you, else also tell them you'll see them in court.

My guess is, with the stance that you are already getting your suit cleaned & pressed in anticipation, then the whole issue will magically disappear completely