Car hire dispute

bentwheel

Early this month I hired a car for one week and during the second day of hire I accidentally drove into a pot hole and bent the rim of the front nearside steel wheel; The plastic trim cover was marked as well. The following 5 days of hire were without incident.

As a result the hire company have debited my credit card account with two sums totalling £543.47 and it is this that I am disputing. I think that the amount is too great for the damage occurred.

I admit to damaging the wheel but I do not want to pay their charges without viewing a copy of an invoice detailing the repair/replacement to the damaged wheel/trim.

Where do I stand in law and am I being unreasonable?

InsideInsurance

Have you asked them to provide a breakdown of the costs?

vikingaero

Could be reasonable depending on the car:

Steel rim £100-£150
Tyre up to £150
Labour £?
Loss of rental income £?

Retrogamer

If the impact from the pothole was significant enough to damage the wheel then it's possible that it damaged one or more of the steering / suspension components as well.

Or might have need the wheel alligment re-set back up

harrys_dad

Maybe try to claim for the damage yourself http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim

bentwheel

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Have you asked them to provide a breakdown of the costs?

I asked them by phone on Monday morning and was told that when they find the relevant paper-work, they will get back to me.

I will give them until Friday morning before contacting them again.

bentwheel

vikingaero wrote: »

Could be reasonable depending on the car:

Steel rim £100-£150
Tyre up to £150
Labour £?
Loss of rental income £?

On handover, I was shown damage done by a previous hirer and no doubt, the next hirer will be shown the damage done by me.

I do not really want to pay-out £500 + to a company without any real idea of the breakdown of costs,

knightstyle

If you hire a car take out independent excess insurance, annual policy is cheap and should cover this.

neilmcl

bentwheel wrote: »

On handover, I was shown damage done by a previous hirer and no doubt, the next hirer will be shown the damage done by me.

I hardly think the next "hirer" is going to be given a car with a bent wheel.

Quentin

bentwheel wrote: »

I do not really want to pay-out £500 + to a company without any real idea of the breakdown of costs,

You look to have already paid as your cc has been charged. Nevertheless you should insist they provide the breakdown of the costs.

When you are responsible for the damage done you are liable for all the associated costs , not just the repair bill.

This can include the cost of hiring a replacement vehicle whilst the car is off the road being repaired, or loss of income, plus costs and time in transporting the car to and from the repairer etc.

vikingaero

neilmcl wrote: »

I hardly think the next "hirer" is going to be given a car with a bent wheel.

Agree with this. If there is a scratch on the car then it is more than likely that it won't be repaired for the next rental but the car will be devalued and a charge of some sort is justified.