Question about excess charge after damage

arturop

Hi,

Unfortunately I did some damage to a vehicle I recently rented. I have excess insurance claim, which is fine and I will make a claim.

The problem is that they charged me for the full excess amount, which I find like a lot based on the scratch I made to the vehicle. They have promised to look at it and get back to me in case they have to refund me, but I don't have any confidence.

My question would be, do they have the right to do this? How can I look into it?

Many thanks.

eDicky

arturop wrote: »

They have promised to look at it and get back to me in case they have to refund me, but I don't have any confidence.

Your lack of confidence is well placed, if you have the required documents don't wait too long before putting in your claim.

arturop

Thanks. I think I might have confused you with my initial question. It is the rental company who are charging me for the excess. My question is are they entitled to charge me for the total or they need to justify what is the actual expense? Also, the car was full of other damages, do they just pocket the money and never repair it? Is that fair?

eDicky

arturop wrote: »

Thanks. I think I might have confused you with my initial question. It is the rental company who are charging me for the excess. My question is are they entitled to charge me for the total or they need to justify what is the actual expense? Also, the car was full of other damages, do they just pocket the money and never repair it? Is that fair?

I think I understood your explanation, the hire firm have charged you for the full excess and now you need to claim that from your third party cover.

You don't mention the hire firm or location, but I am guessing that it may not be one of the majors, they are unlikely to actually repair the damage, and they just use this situation as an integral part of their revenue.

That's why I advise your not waiting too long for them revise the charge and refund anything.

arturop

Thanks for this. Do you happen to know what I can do if I ended up disagreeing with them or wanting to escalate things?

Many thanks

ic

Just make a claim on your excess insurance? No need to get in to an argument with the rental company over it.

NiftyDigits

In our case, i requested and received an invoice for the damage on the spot. The bumper was damaged, so went received an invoice for the replacement. Something like 745€. Submitted that with the claim and there was no issue.

eDicky

arturop wrote: »

My question is are they entitled to charge me for the total or they need to justify what is the actual expense?

in general the hire firm assesses the cost to be the full CDW excess amount, and if they were ever pushed to justify it they can include the projected loss of earnings while the car is out of use and other admin costs etc. I would assume that the insurance companies who offer separate excess cover have this situation built into their business model.

arturop wrote: »

Do you happen to know what I can do if I ended up disagreeing with them or wanting to escalate things?

'Watchdog' organisations are very scarce or non-existent for the car hire industry, whose general sense of integrity unfortunately does not match your own admirable expectations. Without knowing the actual company, location and excess figure involved it is hard to predict the chances of them giving you any further attention. But by all means give them a call, or consult your card provider about the possibility of a chargeback, and let us know how it goes.

NiftyDigits

eDicky wrote: »

in general the hire firm assesses the cost to be the full CDW excess amount, and if they were ever pushed to justify it they can include the projected loss of earnings while the car is out of use and other admin costs etc. I would assume that the insurance companies who offer separate excess cover have this situation built into their business model.
'Watchdog' organisations are very scarce or non-existent for the car hire industry, whose general sense of integrity unfortunately does not match your own admirable expectations. Without knowing the actual company, location and excess figure involved it is hard to predict the chances of them giving you any further attention. But by all means give them a call, or consult your card provider about the possibility of a chargeback, and let us know how it goes.

The company in question in my case was AVIS. The invoice was final. it can be done, but not everyone will insist on one on the spot. Clearly the OP did not.