Stolen rental van - being charged for damages

newhomeowner18

Hi all, I hope someone can help give a bit of advice on this

We hired a van for moving into our first home in November last year, loaded it with our beds and some other furniture. The following day I looked outside and realized it wasn't there!!!!

We tried calling immediately to report the van as stolen, however the "24 hour" number advised that we should call back on Monday (it was Sunday).

Our Neighbour opposite had CCTV footage of the van being broken into at 4am on the Saturday (2 minutes to gain entry and a further 3 minutes to drive off) this was reported to the police and we received a crime number

My partner went to report the theft on Monday, when he explained what had happened the lady at reception did not seem surprised AT ALL - even said 'oh yeah we had another one go this weekend'
We were informed that our deposit would be held until more information was obtained

A month later the police contacted us and explained that the van had been recovered. We did not hear anything further from the company and our deposit was returned to us

Two months down the line we received an email demanding £1,600 towards damages caused by the thieves

I am not sure where we stand here, I have received a breakdown of the supposed damages - however, how can I be sure that just they are actual damages? There is no hard evidence

If anyone has any knowledge on this it would be MUCH appreciated

Thanks all!