Enterprise - Huge damage bill

Quentin

Before you were given the keys didn't you have to show them the drivers licences?

(When they say they mirror your cover they are referring to the excesses your own policy covers)

Jumblebumble

Tom373 wrote: »

Hi All,


I recently had a car from Enterprise. It was due to a no fault (on my part) accident where my car was written off and my insurance co referred me to Enterprise's 'No Fault team'. They failed to properly mimic my existing policy (as I was told would be the case) and didn't add my wife to the additional drivers. I did sign a hire agreement, but was rushed by the person serving me and wasn't asked about additional drivers nor was I ever offered a copy of the T&Cs to look at.


My wife had a scrape on the rear wing and rear door, where the panels were dented a bit. I was totally honest and told them exactly what happened. They've now said I was in breach of contract because my wife was driving and isn't listed and have come back to me with a £4.5k invoice - That's like 25% of the cars value!


My grudge with paying this is:
- They initially told me it was my insurance policy that would cover me. Ive requested the recorded phone calls - Had to threaten complaining to the Information Commissioners Office before they did comply!

- Later they said it is actually just mimicking my policy - but its not even doing that, otherwise my wife would be included.
- Since reading the T&Cs paragraph (they still have not sent me a full copy despite asking several times) it states '...charge you the fair market value of the vehicle repair.' How could a repair at an official Merc dealer be considered as a fair market value?


Enterprise's Damage Claim Dept also seem to have a tactic of sending threatening emails late in the evening, so once reading them it makes it difficult to sleep properly with all this whirring around your head!



Can anyone offer any advice?
Should I go to court, representing myself as can't afford a solicitor, with Enterprise?
Would anyone be able to give me a quote based on a full Audatex report or decipher it for me?


Thanks in advance,
An extremely worried Tom.

Who exactly said Enterprise would mirror your policy including named drivers and what did they actually say?
Who do you think is responsible for making sure Enterprise knew exactly what your existing policy covered?
You are I am sorry to say stuffed as you contracted a hire agreement and insurance for you alone.
Your insurers will probably wash their hands on the basis that this is Enterprises fault and Enterprise will I imagine in turn blame you for signing for a single driver
It is a very harsh lesson but never understimate how stupid suppliers can be.
JumbleBumble

AdrianC

Whose responsibility it was, and who dropped the ball is almost academic.


The responsibility for checking that they are insured and legal is always the driver's. Nobody else's.

Arklight

I used to work somewhere where we used Enterprise and they were brilliant for business contract customers. But I've avoided them for any other kind of use because their insurance cover is so weird.

It's wasn't even an additional option when I looked at them in the US. You have to arrange it yourself.

Tom373

Thanks for the replies!


Adrian c - I didn't say anything about wether the bodyshop was 'appropriate' or not, just that they had stated 'fair market value for the repair of the vehicle'. I still don't understand how a top end repair is fair market? I didn't choose the car they gave me, they did. It was a 18 plate Merc A-class, which was replacing the use of a 53 plate Audi A4 worth £2000 tops!


Jumblebumble - The 'no fault team' at Enterprise told me that it was my existing policy that would be covering me. I have requested the recorded phone calls to gain proof of this.


It seems like I'm stuck with paying the demands of Enterprise, but maybe I have some form of claim against them for mismanagement of the details. They definitely would have had details of my policy so they could claim against the person who initially wrote my car off!


I know it is/was ultimately my responsibility to have checked the drivers listed, but they shouldn't have misled me.

AdrianC

Tom373 wrote: »

I didn't say anything about wether the bodyshop was 'appropriate' or not, just that they had stated 'fair market value for the repair of the vehicle'. I still don't understand how a top end repair is fair market?

It's a fair market value for the appropriate job.

I didn't choose the car they gave me, they did. It was a 18 plate Merc A-class, which was replacing the use of a 53 plate Audi A4 worth £2000 tops!

Is an A-class Merc an appropriate replacement for an Audi A4? Many people would say it's a class down, and a C-class would be appropriate.

Yes, that ignores age. But you can't rent a 16yo car.

Tom373

AdrianC wrote: »

It's a fair market value for the appropriate job.
I still don't get the point your making. Im interpreting 'fair market' as an average of how much the repair would cost if you were to take a cross section of prices on the open market for the job to make the car as it was prior to the accident.

Also, Im picking out parts of the report - They are charging me for the new replacement of an entire alloy wheel, where there were two extremely small scuff marks that could have been easily repaired.
There's making as good as prior to an accident and then there's extortion...

Tom373

Also, Im sorry... I dont know how to include quotes from previous posts....

Arklight

As above, your issue and efforts should be with your insurance company, not with Enterprise. What they want to invoice is irrelevant, they should be invoicing your insurer. Have you tried just passing the invoice on to them?

AdrianC

Tom373 wrote: »

AdrianC wrote: »

It's a fair market value for the appropriate job.

I still don't get the point your making. Im interpreting 'fair market' as an average of how much the repair would cost if you were to take a cross section of prices on the open market for the job to make the car as it was prior to the accident.

That's because you're (deliberately, I suspect) forgetting that using Bodgit & Scarper's backstreet bodyshop is not an appropriate repair for a near-new Merc that's probably ultimately currently owned by MercUK and will soon be sat on a Merc dealer's forecourt as an approved used car. Hence, whatever Bodgit & Scarper would charge for their finest quick-spread-of-glenn-miller-and-rattlecan-blowover is irrelevant.

Also, Im picking out parts of the report - They are charging me for the new replacement of an entire alloy wheel, where there were two extremely small scuff marks that could have been easily repaired.
There's making as good as prior to an accident and then there's extortion..

Perhaps, perhaps not. If it's a polished rim, then machining the scuff to remove the damaged metal and take back to an undamaged surface will leave a thinner, weakened section.

Either way, it's quite simply not your car to decide what is or is not an appropriate repair. You are being charged a fair market rate for the repair deemed appropriate. Whether it's you paying or the insurer paying does not affect the work being done.

To quote a previous post, use the quote button at the bottom of the post you're replying to - the orange speechbubble.