Unavailable Rental Advice

AdrianC

StarshipUK wrote: »

When I arrived (early afternoon just after 1PM)

So not an unreasonable time for a small business to be closed temporarily...

...before phoning their number where they answered ... (and said they) would be back in 30-40 minutes...
...
...I told them to cancel and hired a van immediately from a different larger company...

Ah! Now THAT makes a very big difference compared to what you originally told us, doesn't it?

Sorry, but you're on the hook for this.

StarshipUK

I did state from the start: "when I went to collect it there was no one there so I was unable to collect it, so I quickly booked and rented one elsewhere." I would understand if they had notified me beforehand or they had to leave in a emergency but they did not or how operating like this is acceptable.

I also made a phone call to the company name that showed on my credit card. They informed me that they are no longer part of their group (since 2006) due to bankruptcy and should not be using their trademark for payments. The larger group are a part of BVRLA and where I rented it from does not appear to be.. I also feel I have somewhat been mislead into renting from the larger company (which has a number of franchises) as a result. They are going to send me a letter stating they should not be trading under their trademark. I am not sure if that changes things?

AdrianC

StarshipUK wrote: »

I did state from the start: "when I went to collect it there was no one there so I was unable to collect it, so I quickly booked and rented one elsewhere."

Yes, you did. And that turned out not to be the whole story. You forgot to tell us that you spoke to them, found out it'd be half an hour, so asked them to cancel.

I also made a phone call to the company name that showed on my credit card. They informed me that they are no longer part of their group (since 2006) due to bankruptcy and should not be using their trademark for payments. The larger group are a part of BVRLA and where I rented it from does not appear to be.. I also feel I have somewhat been mislead into renting from the larger company (which has a number of franchises) as a result. They are going to send me a letter stating they should not be trading under their trademark. I am not sure if that changes things?

Not for you, no.

StarshipUK

No, I did not ask them to cancel. They asked me if I wanted to cancel and I told them yes, I want to cancel. They did not say they would still charge me for the rental as a result.

Fat_Walt

StarshipUK wrote: »

No, I did not ask them to cancel. They asked me if I wanted to cancel and I told them yes, I want to cancel. They did not say they would still charge me for the rental as a result.

Same thing really as none of you can prove what was said.

AdrianC

StarshipUK wrote: »

No, I did not ask them to cancel. They asked me if I wanted to cancel and I told them yes, I want to cancel.

OK, so we're now on the third version of the story - and it's a he-said-she-said, and it's in direct contradiction to the terms of your booking.

Looks like you've got a straight choice here. Pay now or let them take it to court. If it goes to court, I don't fancy your chances, tbh, especially given how flexible your story seems to be.

StarshipUK

look mate, I can see your trying to help but your to one putting words in my mouth. I quite clearly stated I told them and not that I asked them. If them asking me makes a difference its things like this I need to know.

Herzlos

What time did you book the pick-up for originally, and do you have any proof of that?

If you requested a 1pm pick-up and they missed it by 30 minutes, then you may have a point. If you were meant to pick it up after 2, and they would have had it ready for you, then you'd be struggling, especially if they can prove they went to some expense delivering it for you.

dannyrst

When you signed for the rental, you agreed to their terms and conditions. Their terms and conditions state you can't cancel. You told them/asked to cancel and didn't pay the cost of the rental.

Looks fairly open and shut to me, but I'm not a judge.

AdrianC

StarshipUK wrote: »

look mate, I can see your trying to help but your to one putting words in my mouth. I quite clearly stated I told them and not that I asked them. If them asking me makes a difference its things like this I need to know.

The difference between you telling them and you asking them is an irrelevant one of your expectations as to their response.
The difference between them asking you (post 15) and you telling them (post 10) is one of who broached the cancellation.

Not that it makes much difference, really, since the terms and conditions you booked under specify no cancellation, and they're saying no variation to those terms was agreed. If it had been, then they would not have charged you in the first place, and would not be pursuing you for the money taken back by your card company.

The question that will be used in court to decide the case is whether your assertion is more reliable than theirs. If there's a detail difference over whether they said "20min" or "30-40min" delay before they would be back and the van would be available, then the question becomes one of whether they would realistically offer a cancellation over such a short delay.