Dispute with car rental company

meduk1

Hi,

I rented a car for 2 weeks from a major UK rental agency for use in the USA. I paid upfront for the rental but upon returning the car had a bill for an additional £600 which I'm disputing at the moment.

What probably complicates my rental was that I had to return the original vehicle after a few days as it was faulty. The return staff believed it had an alignment issue as it would shake from side to side when going at motorway speed.

I sent a complaint email to their customer services a month ago and have followed with chasers both in email and over the phone but have not had any luck. The only formal response I've received from them is an email stating they believe the charges are correct and that I had not selected unlimited mileage.

Given that this has now been a month without a satisfactory answer I'm not sure where next to take it. The next logical step could be the small claims court but I wanted some opinions on the strength of my claim given that some of the fault (on mileage) lies with me.

The major parts of the bill that I'm disputing are:

1 – Additional Mileage Charge

I created the rental quote on-line which stated that it was unlimited mileage. I have a company discount code which I then applied which reduced the price slightly. After some investigation with the website it also appears that applying a discount code also changes the rental from unlimited mileage to be zero miles – something which I didn't spot at the time and certainly wouldn't have continued with if I had known as the additional mileage cost would far outweigh any savings of having the company discount.

Whilst I appreciate that this was my mistake for not spotting at the time I’d hope there is something that can be done to reverse this charge and turn it back into an unlimited mileage quote? It was not obvious on the site that applying a discount would actually remove the original unlimited mileage feature of the quote. Also given that I had to return my original car as it was faulty this meant I had to drive to two different rental locations (the first location did not have any available vehicles) which added additional mileage.

2 – Additional Fuel Charge

When I returned the original car due to a fault it was only half full. The car that I then picked up was also only half full (I believe the car I was given was still being prepared as it was in the returns area directly outside the office rather than in the departures area, and still had cleaning materials present on the inside).

When I returned the second car at the end of my trip it was full. I filled up the car about 10 minutes before getting to the airport, this transaction was paid in cash (as I was getting rid of my remaining dollars) and I don’t have a receipt.

The statement I received when handing back my vehicle states ‘Fuel Reading: Full’, so I presume that the fuel charge relates to the faulty vehicle that I returned, however the vehicle I picked up was also only half full and I had to fill it up within about an hour after picking it up – I have a credit card statement which shows this.

Given that I returned the vehicles with the same amount of fuel there should be no additional fuel charges. Also given that my original vehicle was faulty and I had to drive out of my way to two rental locations to return it using extra fuel I expect these charges to be dropped.

3 – Additional Insurance Charges

There are additional insurance charges on by bill. I haven’t requested or selected any additional insurance and no one made me aware when picking the vehicle up that any additional insurance was being added. I checked that I had the right level of insurance before taking out the agreement, and even took up my own separate excess insurance so I don’t expect any additional insurance charges

4 – Any Further Charges

I'm not sure if there are additional charges on my bill or if these are just taxes on the above issues? Either way I am not expecting any additional charges.

meduk1

The last email I sent them asked for my complaint to be escalated due to lack of communication and for a response within the next 5 working days. That will be up this coming Wednesday.

andycris3107

Hi,
there are a few points that you should take into consideration, most important of which is whether you rented through an agency or directly through the rental company. It sounds like you went directly through the company since you were able to add a discount or corporate code.

Regarding the insurance: this is a hot topic at the moment as some of the biggest names out there are in hot water for adding unsolicited insurance fees to rentals. In some cases people are signing for additional insurance without realising, in other cases it has been added without the hirers knowledge. if you have the original rental document it should indicate whether you were offered and have accepted (usually by form or a signature or initials) the additional insurance. If you don't have the original form you should request it and they ought to provide this. If you see that you have indeed signed for this optional insurance you may have to accept this charge however knowing full well the frustration that this may cause and the current distrust of the major rental firms I would contest this most strongly that the context of the extra insurance had not been explained to you.

Regarding the fuel: In almost every case you would not be expected to refuel a faulty vehicle. In fact you should be shouting a great deal louder about how they have inconvenienced you. In my experience most companies would swap the vehicle and actually compensate you for the inconvenience. I would point this out to them and have them review both the milage they have claimed in relation to the exchange and the fuel surcharge. I would also ask them to compensate you for the additional half tank you added to the second car upon return. As with anything though it does depend on the Terms and Conditions and any progress here would be a goodwill gesture and general good customer service.

As for the milage, as above it does depend on Terms & Conditions plus how evident the change in conditions was when you added the discount code. I know from experience that this can be very vague. You may have a valid position but they may not wish to be flexible as often 'discounts' or corporate offers are subsidised thorough the removal of features or stricter restrictions. It really comes down to how clear they have made this.

All said and done though there is a way to escalate this. Before going to small claims I would contact them by telephone one last time and then email them at the same time. I would indicate that you are seeking an acceptable response within x days or you will escalate the matter to the BVRLA

BVRLA is the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association and all big players are members. You can escalate any claim to them for mediation and their success rate is very high. While members are not obligated to adhere to their findings in practice they generally do. So if you get your facts straight and are very clear in how you present your case, your facts, and your evidence, it is here that I would turn before considering small claims. In some cases even mentioning BVRLA to the rental company will work wonders.

meduk1

Thanks for the detailed reply. A few specifics:

I rented directly through the company. Whilst this was for a rental is the USA I booked through the UK website and pre-paid in GBP. Would this still be covered by the BVRLA? They only deal with UK rentals, so I'm not sure if this is counted as one or not?

One of my issues is that I don't have any paperwork for this to confirm what additional charges are included. My paperwork bundle was taken off me when I exchanged the faulty car and I was only then issues a single piece of A4 printout with the new vehicle details.

My original complaint requested that they provide me a copy of these documents, which they inturn requested from their USA branch. I did receive a reply along the lines of 'please find your contract attached', but this was the PDF that simply contained a link to an internal company website that I obviously can't access. I raised this to them straight away but have still not received a reply.

The mileage is my biggest concern as it had the biggest associated cost. When the discount code is applied the headline price gets updated. When you then scroll down the screen there is a bullet pointed list of the key factors of the policy which is where the term changes from 'unlimied miles' to 'zero miles' which I didn't spot, and isn't obviously made clear as a change on the site.

Given that by pick up and drop off locations for the rental were 800 miles apart the company would have known that my discount would be outweighed by the mileage cost.

meduk1

Just spoke with the BVRLA and they've confirmed that they wouldn't cover rentals outside of the UK even if it was booked through a UK site so it looks like small claims court may be my only options here.