Car hire damage charge

imperio

Hi,

I frequently hire cars as I don't own one, and have annual car hire excess insurance. I recently hired a car from Thrifty, and returned it with a small scratch. They charged me £255 for this damage, which I paid on the understanding that they would provide me with a garage receipt that I could send to my insurers.

This receipt has not materialised, and Thrifty have now told me that in fact the damage has not been repaired, and will not be for some time. They claim that this is standard procedure (they cannot run as a car rental company if they are continually putting cars into a garage). They claim the £255 cost is arrived at by a standard algorithm (they know how much things cost).

My insurers say this is not standard practice however, and are asking for a breakdown of costs in the £255.

Does anyone have any insight into this? Are Thrifty charging me for work they have no intention of getting done? How can I claim off my insurers in this situation?

Thanks in advance for any input.

custardy

imperio wrote: »

Hi,

I frequently hire cars as I don't own one, and have annual car hire excess insurance. I recently hired a car from Thrifty, and returned it with a small scratch. They charged me £255 for this damage, which I paid on the understanding that they would provide me with a garage receipt that I could send to my insurers.

This receipt has not materialised, and Thrifty have now told me that in fact the damage has not been repaired, and will not be for some time. They claim that this is standard procedure (they cannot run as a car rental company if they are continually putting cars into a garage). They claim the £255 cost is arrived at by a standard algorithm (they know how much things cost).

My insurers say this is not standard practice however, and are asking for a breakdown of costs in the £255.

Does anyone have any insight into this? Are Thrifty charging me for work they have no intention of getting done? How can I claim off my insurers in this situation?

Thanks in advance for any input.

It is standard practice fo some
If its small damage. they simply don't repair it and leave it till they get rid of the car
then they decide whether to repair the car or auction as is(usually as is)
Cant really advise on the situation though. akward one with your insurance scenario

benjus

How did you pay them? If it was by credit card, I would be inclined to dispute the transaction with the card issuer on the basis that they have failed to provide proper justification for the charge. At the same time I would write to Thrifty explaining that you are happy to pay their charge if they provide you with the required documentation to make an insurance claim. Put everything in writing - don't phone them.

That's just my view, and I'm not an expert in these matters.

BobQ

On the one hand I would agree with you that applying some kind of repair algorithim and doing it later or not seems iffy. But in reality its probably what you would do with your own car if you had a minor scratch - do it when convenient or wait till there more things to be done. An alternative might be to charge you for a day's hire on the day of repair on the basis that the car cannot be hired to anyone else. You would probably moan about that too!

In fact its what many landlords do on rental property if say there is some damage to a worktop that does not justify replacing the worktop of itself they might agree a nominal sum towards the cost of replacement in the future.

baggagecarhire

I agree that having a Car Hire business need to have a quality machines to ensure the costumer's satisfaction. Also for the costumer it is there responsibility to take care. Owner and costumer must have an agreement if something happen the costumer must handle all the expenses.

imperio

Thanks for the responses.

I am quite happy to pay to have the damage repaired - I just want some sort of receipt to verify that the sum I paid is what the repair cost.

BobQ - I would be also very happy to have a day's rental charged for the day of repair, assuming I get a receipt. I have insurance to cover this, but the car hire firm are preventing me from claiming on it. I'm not moaning about paying for the damage!

I'll certainly write rather than phone - it seems bizarre that in principle they could charge me any sum they like. If they don't even publish their algorithm for working out damage costs, how can I possibly know if I'm paying the appropriate amount?

Incidentally Enterprise Care Hire, who I usually use, seem to have a policy that if a scratch or mark fits inside a circle of diameter about 2 inches, they ignore it. That is certainly what I'd do if it was my own car!

Cheers.

forgotmyname

Maybe take them to the small claims for obtaning money under false pretences?
They charged you the cost for fixing the scrathch which you are covered for.
But they dont get it fixed leaving you out of pocket.

Got to be something in that surely? ITs not a charge for damaging the vehicle or reducing its value. But for repairs to damage you caused.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Most rental cars when defleeted will go through a refurb workshops or a mobile fleet specialist will come out, some requiring only a little 'smart' work and some requiring more involved repairs, they can't really give you a price for this scratch, as it will be fixed at the same time as all the other little nicks before going to auction.

Though from my time having knowledge of how the rental game works i can tell you the cost of refurb to the rental co's cars at end of lease is staggeringly cheap, trade prices and all that.

That doesn't help you i'm afraid, your insurer should have come up against this many times, its not exactly a one off, as usual the policy holder is between a rock and a hard place, both businesses wanting to not pay out and maximise profit.

xoleeb

it doesnt matter if they get the work done at all..you have damaged the car - the value of that damage is what ever they have asked for - if they choose not to repair the car thats upto them.....the value of their car will drop because of the dink and your fee will off set that...you cannot insist what they do with the damages you pay them....

imperio

xoleeb wrote: »

it doesnt matter if they get the work done at all..you have damaged the car - the value of that damage is what ever they have asked for - if they choose not to repair the car thats upto them.....the value of their car will drop because of the dink and your fee will off set that...you cannot insist what they do with the damages you pay them....

Again, I'm happy to pay to rectify the damage (from their own terms and conditions "You will have to pay our reasonable costs for bringing the vehicle back to the condition stated in the pre-rental inspection report."), but I don't believe they are entitled to pick a number without any justification.

The implication of your interpretation is a) that a maximum excess on their insurance might as well be a minimum as well, and b) that separate excess insurance is worthless, as it is not possible to claim.

xoleeb

imperio wrote: »

Again, I'm happy to pay to rectify the damage (from their own terms and conditions "You will have to pay our reasonable costs for bringing the vehicle back to the condition stated in the pre-rental inspection report."), but I don't believe they are entitled to pick a number without any justification.

The implication of your interpretation is a) that a maximum excess on their insurance might as well be a minimum as well, and b) that separate excess insurance is worthless, as it is not possible to claim.

no they should agree a figure with you....as for your 3rd party insurance they have no responsibility to conform with that at all - thats your choice to use it and you need to check the terms and conditions before you commence rental...likewise if you had bumped me in the street and we agreed a figure to repair it rather than go through the insurance - i would happily take your money but if i didnt want to get the work done then that would be my right...