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Section 75 and Car Rental

2 Posts
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.
My question is, as the car was not roadworthy can I claim on section 75.
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Replies
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?
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.
We should think about, "of merchantable quality" ; or "safe". Last I heard ( a while ago ), Spain has no MOT.
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?).
Reported for post building via generic cut and paste.
Good effort though.
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