Car Hire penalty charge, help?

stringer_bell

so this is a post for my dad.. he booked a holiday to scotland, and a car, and a flight

he put his flight number on car form, and they arrived at 6pm.. he was informed he was a " no show " as the car was supposed to be picked up at 10am, with a 5 hour grace period

So they charged him the £360 for the week that he was supposed to pay, and of course they rented out the car to someone else so he had no car, unless of course he hired another one at another £360, which he was told they only have available the day after, so they had to stay in a hotel local

I'm struggling with this, is this right? How can they penalty charge him for a week when he was a few hours late? They lost no business as they rented out car to someone else. what can he do?

TW1234

Just part of the car rental operation.
Research CMA Competition & Markets Authority Short term Car Rental in EU.

Your difficulty will lie in having signed up to a contract that contains such an unreasonable term combined with the fact that a charge has been authorised to be taken from a credit card. This places the driver in the situation of having to retrieve the cost by proving some defect in the process. (Unfair and unexpected terms springs to mind within consumer rights regulations.)
The first line would be to request a charge back from the credit card company, but the reasons must be based on law and not just a rant about unjust behaviour. Done properly, that will place the rental company in the weaker position of then having to try to collect the amount from the driver.

Are you "up" for the fight and willing to do the research, as it will not be possible to have this done for you by a professional, because the amount involved prevents you claiming for their fees.

powerful_Rogue

Sounds like they mitigated their losses so your father should received a large chunk of that back, maybe minus any "reasonable" admin costs.

susancs

I would agree that the company mitigated their losses by hiring out the car, so they cannot double charge. They will have minimal losses in the form of any extra admin costs. I would email the Head Office pointing this out and asking for a refund. If it is not forth coming google a letter before action template, draft one and send it with proof of postage.

unholyangel

TW1234 wrote: »

The first line would be to request a charge back from the credit card company, but the reasons must be based on law and not just a rant about unjust behaviour. Done properly, that will place the rental company in the weaker position of then having to try to collect the amount from the driver.

I think you've said chargeback when you mean section 75. Chargebacks can only be done for specified reasons set out by visa/mastercard themselves, even if you have a right in law to it. While a section 75 claim means that if you have a claim (in law) against the retailer, you have the same claim against the credit company.

stringer_bell

TW1234 wrote: »

Just part of the car rental operation.
Research CMA Competition & Markets Authority Short term Car Rental in EU.

Your difficulty will lie in having signed up to a contract that contains such an unreasonable term combined with the fact that a charge has been authorised to be taken from a credit card. This places the driver in the situation of having to retrieve the cost by proving some defect in the process. (Unfair and unexpected terms springs to mind within consumer rights regulations.)
The first line would be to request a charge back from the credit card company, but the reasons must be based on law and not just a rant about unjust behaviour. Done properly, that will place the rental company in the weaker position of then having to try to collect the amount from the driver.

Are you "up" for the fight and willing to do the research, as it will not be possible to have this done for you by a professional, because the amount involved prevents you claiming for their fees.

It was a debit card I'm afraid

MothballsWallet

stringer_bell wrote: »

It was a debit card I'm afraid

Some form of chargeback? Would it be worth the OP's dad speaking to his bank about this in the first instance?

stringer_bell

MothballsWallet wrote: »

Some form of chargeback? Would it be worth the OP's dad speaking to his bank about this in the first instance?

I have sent an email to head office stating that they basically lost nothing from this and made twice the money from one booking, and to show me where in T&C's that they charge for full week in event of a no show

MothballsWallet

stringer_bell wrote: »

I have sent an email to head office stating that they basically lost nothing from this and made twice the money from one booking, and to show me where in T&C's that they charge for full week in event of a no show

Okay - did you send it on behalf of your dad?

Since the contract is between him and the car hire company, they can refuse to communicate with you unless it's made clear he's giving permission.

stringer_bell

MothballsWallet wrote: »

Okay - did you send it on behalf of your dad?

Since the contract is between him and the car hire company, they can refuse to communicate with you unless it's made clear he's giving permission.

yeah I logged into the easirent area and submitted it as him

susancs

stringer_bell wrote: »

yeah I logged into the easirent area and submitted it as him

If you google the company your father used it seems they have an awful lot of really bad reviews on Tripadvisor for excessive charges and poor customer service. If you put the company name+CEO email in google search you get an email address. I would get your father to email the CEO direct (or do it in his name if he consents).