Smoking in hire car - fine

arkpallete

Hi all, my first post so not sure what to do.

My story as brief as I can make it. Hired a car in February of this year from a small independent. Was on M1 and in a dead stop in roadworks, at nigh in stormy wet weather,I wanted a cigarette and wondered if it was allowed, so I looked around the car, no sticker, I retrieved the pink/yellow triplicate hire agreement, nothing about smoking.So I stuck my head out of the window and had started smoking it when a gust of wind blew the end into the car.Then the traffic started moving, and I could smell burning.I couldn't pull on to the hard shoulder as there wasn't one.So I didn't know where the fire was.Eventually I ascertained to my horror the hot 'end' had burned a one pence piece hole in the fabric of the seat between my thighs.
Car back to hirer, and I fessed up immediately ref the damage. " have you been smoking in the car?" durrrh. I could have lied and said I was outside the car and the end blew in, but I was knackered and didn't. " that's illegal!" she exclaimed. I was shocked. "it's smoking in a public place". I was tired and guilt ridden at this stage so bought the story.She wanted £350 excess for the damage as the car was on secondary lease from Peugot, and she said they would get hammered.My card had reached it's OD limit when she tried for £350. It worked however for £200. I was in front of a que of disgruntled car hirers tutting and looking at their watches , and felt like I was being charged at a custody desk by the police, so I just transferred the money. I thought I'd broken the law and I was knackered. The woman said she'd invoice me.
Several calls over the next few weeks and the cover hadn't arrived, blah blah. I said I'd seen one on Ebay for £45.It was only a tiny 108 with a detachable seat cover, not fitted leather in a Bentley. Eventually the story I got was that the quote had come in....and it would be"just over £200" I see. "and the covers still on back order.
I let it slide for a bit.Rang again several times and been fobbed off.No invoice.
I have scoured the internet and found nowhere where it says smoking in a hire car is illegal. I think I did the best I could do at the time and checked for a sticker/ the hire agreement. Where is my invoice? Was the work done? Did the car go back to Peugot and get fixed as part of 'wear and tear' and the local hire branch trousered my £200? What are my rights? Please no boring moral anti smoking comments ref 'stop whinging you smoked in someones car'. I've just said it for you.Only constructive comments please.


thankyou

Joe_Horner

your rights are that you caused damage to their property and were liable to put it right. That's nothing to do with whether or not smoking in a hire car is illegal.

You mention loose seat covers but you also say it burnt a "one pence piece" hole in the fabric. Even assuming there were loose covers over the standard upholstery, it wouldn't produce a hole even close to that size without damaging the base upholstery as well.

Which means that putting the damage caused right would involve re-upholstering the seat, not just fitting some £45 ebay special seat cover.

To summarise, £200-odd sounds pretty cheap for putting right the damage you caused and the legality of smoking in the car is neither here nor there.

force_ten

you smoked in a hire car and caused damage to the seat and you paid the £350 excess in line with the terms and conditions of the contract that you signed

you should have also been charged a valet charge for cleaning the car after you smoked in it

a valeting Charge (up to £85) it is necessary to return the Vehicle to the same condition it was in before the start of the Rental Period (including for smoking in the Vehicle).

standard hire car t&c,s, kids get choccy all over seats, you go walking the moors and then get in the car with muddy boots and cover the carpets in mud or you smoke in a hire car then you may be charged extra for making the car fit to go out on the next hire

arkpallete

Thanks Joe Horner and force ten,The foam was unharmed as I put the hot coal out just in time.There was a slight orange foulage but the seat cover would have hidden that.However, the lack of invoice doesn't inspire me to believe the job cost that much. I didn't smoke in the car, I had my bonce out the window. But the devil's advocates will no doubt ask that if i was wearing 20 foot long pointy shoes whilst smoking inside a pub, whilst the toes were on the pavement outside, could I claim I was not smoking inside?
It's all imaterial, from the aggregate of opinion so far,I have 100% forget about it at best, and you got off lightly at worst. I withdraw my query.

Fat_Walt

arkpallete wrote: »

Thanks Joe Horner and force ten,The foam was unharmed as I put the hot coal out just in time.There was a slight orange foulage but the seat cover would have hidden that.However, the lack of invoice doesn't inspire me to believe the job cost that much. I didn't smoke in the car, I had my bonce out the window. But the devil's advocates will no doubt ask that if i was wearing 20 foot long pointy shoes whilst smoking inside a pub, whilst the toes were on the pavement outside, could I claim I was not smoking inside?
It's all imaterial, from the aggregate of opinion so far,I have 100% forget about it at best, and you got off lightly at worst. I withdraw my query.

So if you didn't who was driving?

waamo

It looks like smoking in a hire car isn't fine.

takman

arkpallete wrote: »

Thanks Joe Horner and force ten,The foam was unharmed as I put the hot coal out just in time.There was a slight orange foulage but the seat cover would have hidden that.However, the lack of invoice doesn't inspire me to believe the job cost that much. I didn't smoke in the car, I had my bonce out the window. But the devil's advocates will no doubt ask that if i was wearing 20 foot long pointy shoes whilst smoking inside a pub, whilst the toes were on the pavement outside, could I claim I was not smoking inside?
It's all imaterial, from the aggregate of opinion so far,I have 100% forget about it at best, and you got off lightly at worst. I withdraw my query.

That's the problem with drug addicts that they will make any excuse and do anything they can to get their fix.
I really can't believe that your happy knowing that you need to take drugs from a little white stick every few hours otherwise you get withdrawal symptoms!.

rs65

I assumed that a hire car would be considered a place of work under the smoking laws. It has to be driven by the hirers staff in the course of their work.

20aday

From Hertz:

We aim to provide a safe, clean fleet for all our customers and employees. As part of this aim, since 1st May 2013 all Hertz cars and vans have been classified as strictly non-smoking areas.

If we find evidence of smoking in one of our cars or vans, we may charge a cleaning fee of £50.


Specifically:

What if the vehicle I get doesn’t have a No Smoking sticker in it?
It makes no difference if it has a sticker or not. All Hertz vehicles are now non-smoking areas.

I'd imagine it's the same for any hire car company within the U.K. and Ireland.

force_ten

I am surprised that they even bothered sourcing and fitting a cover at all i would have thought for convenience they would replace the seat

but as for cost they will say loss of hire and taking the car to and from the garage for repair all have to be added to the cost of seat cover and cost of repair

you will probably find that the rental company make little if any money from the cost of daily hire and they make their money on extras and charging for damage and repairs

Hintza

arkpallete wrote: »

So I stuck my head out of the window and had started smoking it when a gust of wind blew the end into the car.

I smoked for over 30 years and gust of wind has never blown the end of my cigarette.

I think you had win with £200 so I would just keep quiet if I were you.