Car Hire CCJ - Ridiculous

reallyconfusednow

Hi All

I'm new here so please forgive me if this is in the wrong place i tried to find one, i'm in a little bit of a tizzy right now but really need some advice. Earlier this year my mother turned 60, for her birthday I decided i'd get a quote to hire a lamborghini from Friday-Monday to take her to her surprise party. I enquired with a local supercar hire company based in Northern England, and they responded with a cost for the period i had enquired for which was £2,200 to hire the car, and £2,500 security deposit on a card. I notified them I would come back to them when i was ready. I was asked to send a copy of my driving licence for them to send to their insurance company to confirm i could indeed hire the car, which i did, from that moment of enquiry i wasnt left alone, constantly being bombarded with emails telling me if i didnt pay and book soon i'd lose the car to someone else. I repeatedly told them i'd come back to them once I had decided and if the car was booked by someone else so be it. After 4 or 5 emails back to them telling them i just wanted a quote, i heard nothing more.

Moving forward 3 months, i get a county court letter from a company based in London for a claim of over £3,000 and entitled with my name followed by FRAUD. Basically, the company i had asked for a quote based locally, had an arrangement with a car hire company in london, in that they were "sub hiring" cars, essentially they had a business relationship with this london based company, and after my enquiry had then taken it upon themselves to go and collect the car from london and drive it up north, even though i'd never said i actually wanted to go ahead.

The county court letter states that i owe the company over £3,000 because i asked to hire the car and they in "good will" sent the car up north ready for hire which meant noone else was able to hire it. Now, here are the issues i have.

1. I asked for a quote, nothing more.
2. Never at any point have i signed, viewed, or agreed to any documentation.
3. I have copies of emails repeatedly telling them i will come back to them.
4. The company i contacted basically took it upon themselves to collect the car from London from their business associates simply assuming or hoping i would go ahead with the hire.
5. The company who are attempting to enter a CCJ against me, i have absolutely ZERO idea who they are, never heard of them, that's because the company i actually contacted has a relationship with them, when i enquired for a quote i assumed i would be hiring from the local company, never at any time was i told they didnt actually have the car in question.
6. I fail to understand how they are attemping to sue me for over £3,000 for "fraud" - i'm sure the definition of fraud is obtaining goods, cash, services, etc - i've never had a single thing off this company.

I replied to all the court papers explaining the above in it's entirety, and apparently now there will be a hearing in 2 months time.

I really need my mind putting at ease on this. I really am absolutely furious. If you ring a travel agents and ask for a price on a holiday then say thanks ill come back to you, should you then expect to be liable for the quote in question? If you go into any store for that matter and enquire on a price, then leave without purchasing, are you in the wrong?

I'm really terrified at this point that i'm going to be left with a £3k + bill for simply asking how much something would cost and being naive enough to send scans of my driving licence on the pretence of "pre-approving the insurance".

If anyone can help or advise i'd really appreciate it.

It should be noted that, on the weekend i had enquired about hiring this lamborghini, the actual car in question was seen being driven around the local area for a full 3 days by many people (obviously it stands out) - it's my belief that the local company basically used me as an excuse to get hold of the car from london for the weekend, for free, to utilise. It should also be noted that regardless of my responses to the court, regarding the local company i originally enquired with, these keep being ignored and apparently the claim is between myself and a third party based in London that i've never even heard of, let alone contacted!

I'm sorry again if this is in the wrong place, i really just need my mind putting at ease.

Regards

tacpot12

I think you will be absolutely fine. It is up to the company to prove you asked them to supply the vehicle and they won't be able to. You need to package up all the communications you had so that it tells the story and makes the point that at no point did you agree to hire the vehicle.

They are the professionals, so the court should expect them to exhibit a greater level of care when arranging car hire. They sound like complete idiots.

One for Judge Rinder to hear.

fatbelly

They'll probably have a different slant on the story but in a county court things are decided 'on the balance of probabilities'

Let us know how you get on.

POPPYOSCAR

You must really love your mum!!

glentoran99

tacpot12 wrote: »

I think you will be absolutely fine. It is up to the company to prove you asked them to supply the vehicle and they won't be able to. You need to package up all the communications you had so that it tells the story and makes the point that at no point did you agree to hire the vehicle.

They are the professionals, so the court should expect them to exhibit a greater level of care when arranging car hire. They sound like complete idiots.

One for Judge Rinder to hear.

Hes booked up for the next while on Strictly

prowla

Did you pay the security deposit?

MyLastFiver

I've had some dealings with supercar hire businesses. They are notoriously run by flakes and chancers; dumb, immature young men with a lockup somewhere who like playing with flash cars.

If your side of the story is completely accurate, and you didn't sign a hire agreement, then the judge will throw it out.

sourcrates

I wouldn't worry too much about it, as long as you tell the truth.


The supercar company probably lied to the London company in order to get the car.
Or it may be a scam they run between themselves on a regular basis, don't be surprised if they contact you to settle out of court, if they do, keep a record of what they say, your response should be to politely refuse, or ignore them.

Although giving them your driving licence details may of been a mistake, as long as no agreement was signed, you should be ok.

Something defiantly fishy going on here.

Helvetica_Van_Buren

If events unfolded as you describe, then you have nothing to worry about.

There was never a commercial agreement in place. Tell the truth, show your evidence and the case should be found in your favour quite promptly.

stuart30

hmmm unless the company signed op signature...sounds like a dodgy scam,wouldnt be surprised.

Voyager2002

Check which court issued the papers, and unless you fancy a day out ask for the hearing to be transferred to your local court. That will reduce your expenses and increase theirs.