Rights regarding rental car damage

harpo14

I recently rented a car from Easirent for a 4 day break to Ireland. I had booked for a Mondeo sized car. What I got was a huge Volvo SUV. Initially I was happy to have the allegedly free upgrade. However they charged me £1500 for the deposit - apparently more because of the value of the vehicle. In spite of this I did not take out the extra covers etc that they try to push onto you, as I have never had an issue with any car I have ever rented.

So we went about our holiday. At some point during which I noticed a small vertical dent in the rear drivers side door. I do not know where this came from - it most certainly did not happen in my presence, and I cannot say for certain if it was there or not when I picked up the car - I don't think it was.

Anyway, today I returned the car, hoping of course they would not notice, but inevitably they did. The guy doing the inspection went on about how I should have taken out the extra insurance etc, and about the value of the car... I pointed out I didn't ask for this size car - it's what they gave me... He's recorded the damage and has said I won't get the full deposit back, but would not give any indication of how much they will charge me.

The dent is small - 1-2 inches at very most, fairly shallow, and there is NO damage to the paintwork.

My question is what are my rights and how can I protect myself? I fear that they can charge whatever they want... potentially keeping my full £1500. I have up to 10 days to find out what they deduct, but I want to know how do I know if they're taking the you-know-what , and what can I do if I suspect they are?

Any advice very much appreciated!

AndyMc.....

harpo14 wrote: »

I recently rented a car from Easirent for a 4 day break to Ireland. I had booked for a Mondeo sized car. What I got was a huge Volvo SUV. Initially I was happy to have the allegedly free upgrade. However they charged me £1500 for the deposit - apparently more because of the value of the vehicle. In spite of this I did not take out the extra covers etc that they try to push onto you, as I have never had an issue with any car I have ever rented.

So we went about our holiday. At some point during which I noticed a small vertical dent in the rear drivers side door. I do not know where this came from - it most certainly did not happen in my presence, and I cannot say for certain if it was there or not when I picked up the car - I don't think it was.

Anyway, today I returned the car, hoping of course they would not notice, but inevitably they did. The guy doing the inspection went on about how I should have taken out the extra insurance etc, and about the value of the car... I pointed out I didn't ask for this size car - it's what they gave me... He's recorded the damage and has said I won't get the full deposit back, but would not give any indication of how much they will charge me.

The dent is small - 1-2 inches at very most, fairly shallow, and there is NO damage to the paintwork.

My question is what are my rights and how can I protect myself? I fear that they can charge whatever they want... potentially keeping my full £1500. I have up to 10 days to find out what they deduct, but I want to know how do I know if they're taking the you-know-what , and what can I do if I suspect they are?

Any advice very much appreciated!

So you're liable for the damage and any loss of revenue if it's off they road should they decide to repair it.

harpo14

But again how do I know if they're taking the you know what, and what are my rights regarding this?

mattyprice4004

Someone probably opened their door hard into it - which happened while in your care, even if you didn’t see it.

If you didn’t see it until part way through the trip and they noticed it straight away, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it happened during your rental.

Your fault or not, it happened while you had the car - so you’ll need to pay.

bris

Whether you asked for the car or not you accepted it so you have no complaint about the size of the car.


The damage will need to be paid for, the pitfalls of car hire, insurance for this type of thing is always a good choice.

TonyMMM

Finding and overcharging for damage repair is now becoming a real moneyspinner for some hire companies - so much so that some give their staff monthly performance targets to "find" it.

CardinalWolsey

Unfortunately for you, you're liable for the damage. Where murky waters lie is that they will charge you for the repair regardless of whether or not the repair is carried out. More than likely they'll not bother repairing it and it will just go off to auction at a later date still carrying the dent.

If it is that minor though, when they do invoice for the damage, I would be countering that it could be repaired for less money, without taking the car out of hire, by the likes of ChipsAway or equivalent. However, you would need to check the T&C's you signed up for carefully.

Too late now, but for future reference, take out car hire excess insurance next time - but not through the car rental company. Search online, and take it out in advance. I've just had 8 days excess insurance for less then £20. Annual policies can work out great value as well if you rent regularly.