Challenging a damage claim from a car hire company.

Chomeur

I hired a car which had a lot of minor damage on it beforehand and which was marked on the rental form. On returning it there was no-one around from the hire company so I took photos of the car. The hire company then sent me an email from a noreply address with a photo of a scratch which is very faint and not visible in my photo. I can post the photos if anyone is interested. The hire company charged €150 to my credit card. They do not respond to emails and nor does the online agent I booked through.

It's disgraceful that they charge this money and then refuse to enter into any discussions. I'm going to challenge the payment with my credit card company but am not that confident. In any case it's a hassle.

What can I do to prevent this next time I hire a car? I feel that I need to take detailed photos of the car, maybe 100 of them, both before and after, to be able to prove that any damage wasn't caused by me. It seriously puts me off hiring cars in the future.

OK, I suppose checking the reviews of the car rental company is one thing https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/interrent.com

eDicky

Did Interrent issue an invoice for the charge to your card?

If not, and if they don't provide one when further requested, you can state this to your card provider and ask for a chargeback.

If they do provide an invoice, present it to your separate CDW excess insurance provider, if you have such, with your claim.