Section 75 and Car Rental

MacMcKenna

Rented a car from a rental company in Mallorca. The car I got was not that booked but a so called similar car. The car was not road worthy in so far as there was a knocking sound whilst driving and the tyres were worn below the tread at the front. The queue to complain at the airport was huge and the helpers in the terminal supposedly did not speak enough English. The mileage was incorrect by 300 km or it could be they registered an 5 instead of a 8 by mistake. I tried ringing the number the car company gave me to be greeted by someone who seemingly could not speak English or German. Anyway, my holiday was ruined as the company would not change the car on site but wanted me to drive it 80 km to the airport, or pay for roadside assistance to collect it. The fact is that the car was not that what I requested or fit to rent. So as not to be hit with a huge fine I was more or less left to my own devices and had to return the car at the end of the rental to the airport. My wife would not travel in the car and went by coach supplied by the travel company. It was driven only to my holiday destination as I would have been late for a dialysis session.
My question is, as the car was not roadworthy can I claim on section 75.

jonesMUFCforever

You still decided to take it and drive it though?
Did you book through a UK or Spanish company?

Any compensation will depend on Spanish laws if you bought direct from them.
What exactly are you wanting to claim for - your hire costs refunded or loss of enjoyment from not able to use it as you intended?

MacMcKenna

UK Company. Needed to get to the dialysis session or would have been late and possibly not got a session that day. The airport terminal complaints queue was huge and one couple were told that if they did not want their car that it could be deemed as a cancellation. Bit of a catch 22 don't you think. Took loads of pictures of all the damage to the car with over 50000 rental miles on board. It was a shed. I wrote to the UK company 2 times and was told to call the hire company. No answer given over the weekend and then no English spoken. Next told to get the car collected by roadside assistance. So I was going to have to do the running around. Then they wrote back saying take it and exchange it at the airport. My holiday was already ruined by not being able to use the car then I should waste another half day driving to Palma? I just took it back at the end and then they still diddled me out of .25 of a tank of fuel. I want the rental fee back. asI did not get what I purchased and what I did get was not of an acceptable standard. I have photographic evidence of the car damage at collection.

IAmWales

When you book a car rental you book a car type, not a specific car.

You say the car was not roadworthy, but then you drove it 80km (the reason for doing so is irrelevant). Therefore it clearly was roadworthy, albeit with some faults.

Contact the CC provider and submit a s 75 claim, but be aware they may well raise the above points.

Geoff1963

you drove it 80km . . . Therefore it clearly was roadworthy

I think "roadworthy" means more than "it was capable of being driven 80km".

We should think about, "of merchantable quality" ; or "safe". Last I heard ( a while ago ), Spain has no MOT.

eskbanker

When you say you booked through a UK company, was this the same company as the actual car hire provider? Section 75 won't apply if you booked through an intermediary such as Expedia, Holiday Autos, etc, and then had the car physically provided by a different company.

Also, if/when raising a s75 claim, make sure you differentiate between what's actually relevant and all the background noise (similar car, vehicle mileage, not speaking English, fuel level issue, etc)! Bear in mind that you're trying to hold the card company legally responsible for a breach of contract, rather than going through a complaints process (have you already done this via the hire company?).

[Deleted User]

babyishcare wrote: »

We often encounter some common misunderstandings when assessing these cases. The first is the belief among some lenders that consumers can only claim against them after they have first sued the provider of the goods or services. In fact, no such requirement exists and consumers can choose which party to claim against.

Reported for post building via generic cut and paste.

Good effort though.

GeoffSpar8

Which car hire company was this?

Magicjack

I believe rule 75 is as follows. If you paid the hire company directly and it was £100 or more, and you paid by credit card, then yes you should be covered. If it was less than £100 then you can claim directly from the card company under a different scheme. At this moment in time I cannot recall what it called but I will try and check it out and get back to you tomorrow. If it helps, it is usually done through banks.

Magicjack

Further to my message from yesterday, if you use your credit card for items or services under £100 or your bank card for any amount, write to the c.c. or bank using the term 'chargeback' with full details and you could get your money back.

eskbanker

OP hasn't been around for three weeks so is perhaps unlikely to be monitoring this thread for the more recent updates!

Anyone wishing to know about Section 75 and how it differs from the separate chargeback schemes run by Visa and MasterCard would be best advised to read the comprehensive articles on this site at
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback