Van hire damage & refund for repair overpayment

ste_be

Hi All

A few weeks ago (27th May) I drove a van for a friend moving house. They paid for the rental and I was on the rental as the hirer. Unfortunately, I accidentally reversed into a low-hanging roof, thus denting the top of the left door.

I couldn't pin the staff member that I dealt with down to a specific amount for repair charges "head office need to decide". I agreed to pay £300 for the damage (on credit card), with the stipulation that if the repair costs less then they would refund the difference (which I made sure I got in writing). I have not yet heard back from them about this.

I now need to decide what to do. I think it seems likely that they will not contact me and keep the full £300. I did the damage so I'm not going to ask my friend to pay anything towards it, so that is not an issue here. The issue is, I need to decide if I should try to reclaim any of that £300.

I don't have a photo of the damage unfortunately, but I don't imagine that it would be hugely expensive to repair (say an hour's labour max to take it apart to bend it out again? I had limited success in pushing some of it out but not all.) But if they did have to replace the entire door, it might cost more. Note that small print I've just read states that I would have to pay for loss of revenue for the time it would be unavailable for repair.

As some friends have suggested, as the damage is cosmetic (no paintwork damaged, door still opens fine) its entirely possible that they'll just take the money and not do a repair.

I was considering calling them up and challenging them to provide a repair receipt and repay the difference, and if they refused, to attempt to get my card company to refund the entirety of the £300 (as they did not provide a promised "service").

If they weren't planning on repairing it, I would possibly consider accepting a fair charge for loss-of-value of the vehicle.

So, MSE guys, what's your thoughts? Stick with the £300? Attempt to reclaim, with the risk that if the repair legitimately cost more, that I might have to pay it?

Thanks for your time.

shaun_from_Africa

I certainly wouldn't just stick with letting them keep the £300 without giving a reasonable explanation of where the money went.
If they refuse to give you a breakdown of the money, you may be able to get this by submitting a "subject action request".
http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/personal_information

This isn't guaranteed to have the information that you need, but there is a possibility that it would.

A credit card claim might work seeing as you have written proof that you have not received the invoice/receipt and the only way to find out for sure is to contact your card issuer.

rustyboy21

The situation you are in is difficult as far as I see it. You have paid £300 for the possible repair, but have no pictures of the damage and although your friends say it is just a knock out of the panel and no paintwork issue, how do they know that? Once you start knocking the panel out, the paint can fail, so needs respraying. Then you have the added factor of the days off the road to fix it.


From experience, van rental places, don't keep them spot on perfect, they will normally just keep them running with any damage on them and just mark the damage on the following rental agreements. At the end of its life, they will do them up and resell them. In the meantime pocketing any damage excess payments as they are found.


The issue you may have, is that by asking them how much it cost to repair, may make them put it in for repair and the £300 you have paid, then comes £800, through loss of rental/respray/new panel etc. Where as if you keep quiet about it, you will obviously be some money down, but not required to pay more than you have paid already.


It is something you need to think about. Posters on here can give you as much legal spegal as you want and supply you with the action you should take, but at the end of the day, if you open that 'can of worms' you may be worse off at the end. If it was me, I would chalk it up to experience and hire a van elsewhere in future, so it doesn't get brought up again.

shaun_from_Africa

The OP states that they have it in writing saying that if the repair is less they will get a refund, but they make no mention of anything stating that they will have to pay more if required.
If it was agreed that the £300 would be the maximum payable, they they should try and get a cost breakdown, but if this wasn't stated, then I agree that they should let things lie.

mattyprice4004

What about the time the van is off the road? Do you expect them to pay for that themselves?

rustyboy21

Agree with you Shaun, but you normally find that somewhere in the T&C's of the agreement that they have the right to charge you for damage done to one of their vehicles. Hopefully the OP rented from one of the small independent companies, so they are usually a little more lenient.


Just to put it in perspective, I have a lease vehicle, which is due for replacement soon. I asked the dealer yesterday how much it would cost me, not the company to touch up the front and back bumpers of the car, as they have a few scuffs on them. I was quoted £800 ! there is only about 8 small scuffs on them. Now I have to weigh up, whether to pay the £800, get someone else to do it for me, or just act innocent and see if they pick up on them all, after I have tried to disguise them, but it could work out a lot more if they do find them. Last car I had was £600 for a new drivers seat, as I had 1 very small burn hole on it.

shaun_from_Africa

But was the van off the road at any time?
It may have been and if it was then this should accounted for in the breakdown of the £300, but the van may still be driving around with the dented door.

The OP made a payment to cover repair costs with an agreement of a partial refund if there was anything left over so IMO, it's not unreasonable get a breakdown of where the money went.

I think it all really depends on what exactly was agreed between the OP and the rental company and what their receipt states.
Without knowing this for sure, it's all guesswork from all of us.

Jakg

AFAIK with rental vehicles the damage is usually repaired when they are de-fleeted unless it's serious. What if it got written off tomorrow, and who's going to pay for a replacement vehicle in the meantime?

Hintza

I think for any ding these days £300 is not a million miles away (it's £200 for a small scratch on a lease car).

plumfin

I work for a rental company, so I can probably advise a little...

The key point with any excess/liability is how much is the maximum you are liable for. You paid £300 as compensation, in my opinion, at the end of the rental, as I understand it, with the rental company trading the risk of not being able to collect any difference between that amount and the final amount of the repair (if they carry this out). Have I got it right that they didn't take an initial deposit, but that you paid £300 for damage on return? Check your agreement, it should be clearly marked what the excess or liability is in the case of damage to your vehicle.

With regard to recompense, I would advise any of my sites to always reimburse the renter, should the costs be less than the excess or monies held. It is good customer service and is the right way to morally handle business. However, I imagine the agreement doesn't legally stipulate this and just says you are responsible for the excess. If you do have it in writing as to the guaranteed refund of monies less than the £300, this is unusual and in your favour. However, have they also agreed to indemnify you if the damage is £500, for instance, and agree to retain the £300 as the max?

Rental companies don't have to fix damage, as has been pointed out. An excess is charged as compensation, and as such is charged to off set any charges for repair or hit in the van's residual value at the end of its life. My rental sites sometimes fix damage, sometimes don't, especially if the van is close to being sold.

Either way, you are entitled, in my view, to some form of quote showing the anticipated repair/residual hit amount. However, as Hintza says, £300 doesn't cover much these days unless it is a ding that can be pulled out. I have seen many vehicles with dings that the renter says their mate can fix for £25, that actually cost upwards of £250 because of panels needing repainting, replacement of livery, colour matching etc.

Loss of use is a contentious point - we charge insurance companies but I rarely see us charge a renter directly unless they choose to keep the vehicle on rent while they fix it themselves. I am normally loathe to do this, again, because of the "mate can do it on the cheap" problem. Vans are easier than cars because of the normally matt solid colours, but still a common problem.

My advise is to contact the rental company, ask for a breakdown of the cost, but check your agreement first to ensure your maximum excess in the event of damage to the vehicle. If that says £300, you are in a strong position. If it says £750, as ours might, be a little careful and keep that guarantee to hand. Without seeing the agreement, my instinct is that £300 is about right, but ask for the estimate and let us know.

Hope this helps
Plum

ste_be

Thanks for your various responses which are very helpful.

The invoice I have states "£300 taken for damage to N/S/R door. If repair is less the difference will be refunded." There's nothing that appears to limit my total costs, though I was informed at the time something like the repair "probably wouldn't cost more than £300". I don't know therefore whether that's a standard charge or simply an arbitrary figure that he chose.

I paid no deposit on hire and and the excess I appear to have agreed to is £1000. It looks like it would indeed be a risk if I tried to push it that I could be charged more, as it appears that I have no guarantee that it wouldn't.

It does sound like possibly the best option then is just to leave it alone, as the risk of increased charge seems to outweigh the potential refund I could receive.