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Car Hire issues - trying to get refund on unfair charge
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trubmij
Posts: 16 Forumite


In February/March this year I visited Australia for a month touring Victoria, NSW and Queensland. In Queensland I wanted to hire a car for about 10-days to go north of Brisbane with a car collection and drop-off at Brisbane airport.
I did some research and selected a car from a well-known brand. I thought that the company was UK based but subsequently I think it may be based in the EU (in Ireland).
I have withheld the names of the UK/EU based company and the Australian company from this posting.
On their website under the link “About us” the last point in the introduction to themselves it says:-
• No hidden fees, no dodgy Ts&Cs.
In the section “Why choose us?” in “About us” in the list of points are included:-
• Important extras are included in the price – collision damage waiver, insurance, theft protection, unlimited mileage and breakdown cover all come as standard.
• One of the biggest car hire brokers in the world – meaning you get to compare the best choice of cars and the most competitive prices.
I selected a car from them and the pick-up was from an Australia company from their Brisbane Airport depot.
I got a confirmation from the UK/EU company and the booking confirmation voucher said that Third party liability protection was included with the booking. I paid a deposit by credit card to the UK/EU company, with the balance payable on picking up the car to the Australian car hire company. This was also by (a different) UK credit card.
I took out a separate Car Hire Excess Insurance which did not include Third-Party claims as this was, so I thought, included with the car hire.
All went well but I had a minor accident with another car. The damage to my hire car was minimal, to say the least, but there was some damage to the other car. We exchanged details and we went on our way.
When I returned the car, I told the company all the details of the accident and they inspected the hire car and said there was no damage to it, but I had to pay a 3,300 Australian dollar charge pending the closing of the case which would take up to 8 weeks to resolve.
I told the Car Excess Insurance company of the accident and have registered a claim. However, I have not submitted the full details as I believe that I should not be liable for the Third-party claim as it is covered in the original contract. Therefore, I am following this up with the car hire companies at this stage.
It is now almost 16 weeks since the accident and I am still waiting for a resolution. I have contacted the UK/EU based company. In one of the email replies I have received from them says:-
“As xxxxxr is an introductory service, we are unable to investigate damage charges with our car rental partners directly
I would recommend that you contact the car rental supplier. please find the supplier's contact details below for your convenience:”
The main issue is that the Australian company are now saying the charge was for repairs to damage caused to their car and not to repairs the damages to the other driver's car. However, I had a note on the paperwork made when I returned the car that there was no damage to their hire car. I am currently pursuing this with the Australian car hire company.
Please can a anyone tell me of the UK/EU company has any contractual liability or that my actual car hire contract is with the Australian company and how I can resolve this issue.
At this stage I don’t want to engage a solicitor in view of the potential costs incurred recovering 3,300 AUD which is about £1,750 GBP.
Could I make a case for a claim through the Small Claims Court on my own account? However, if the car hire firm is based in the EU but I am based in the UK and bought the service here, have I to go through European small claims procedure?
I don’t know if the fact that I paid the initial booking deposit and the balance both on UK Credit Cards. Is there any help from that quarter?
Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated please.
Thanks!
I did some research and selected a car from a well-known brand. I thought that the company was UK based but subsequently I think it may be based in the EU (in Ireland).
I have withheld the names of the UK/EU based company and the Australian company from this posting.
On their website under the link “About us” the last point in the introduction to themselves it says:-
In the section “Why choose us?” in “About us” in the list of points are included:-
I selected a car from them and the pick-up was from an Australia company from their Brisbane Airport depot.
I got a confirmation from the UK/EU company and the booking confirmation voucher said that Third party liability protection was included with the booking. I paid a deposit by credit card to the UK/EU company, with the balance payable on picking up the car to the Australian car hire company. This was also by (a different) UK credit card.
I took out a separate Car Hire Excess Insurance which did not include Third-Party claims as this was, so I thought, included with the car hire.
All went well but I had a minor accident with another car. The damage to my hire car was minimal, to say the least, but there was some damage to the other car. We exchanged details and we went on our way.
When I returned the car, I told the company all the details of the accident and they inspected the hire car and said there was no damage to it, but I had to pay a 3,300 Australian dollar charge pending the closing of the case which would take up to 8 weeks to resolve.
I told the Car Excess Insurance company of the accident and have registered a claim. However, I have not submitted the full details as I believe that I should not be liable for the Third-party claim as it is covered in the original contract. Therefore, I am following this up with the car hire companies at this stage.
It is now almost 16 weeks since the accident and I am still waiting for a resolution. I have contacted the UK/EU based company. In one of the email replies I have received from them says:-
The main issue is that the Australian company are now saying the charge was for repairs to damage caused to their car and not to repairs the damages to the other driver's car. However, I had a note on the paperwork made when I returned the car that there was no damage to their hire car. I am currently pursuing this with the Australian car hire company.
Please can a anyone tell me of the UK/EU company has any contractual liability or that my actual car hire contract is with the Australian company and how I can resolve this issue.
At this stage I don’t want to engage a solicitor in view of the potential costs incurred recovering 3,300 AUD which is about £1,750 GBP.
Could I make a case for a claim through the Small Claims Court on my own account? However, if the car hire firm is based in the EU but I am based in the UK and bought the service here, have I to go through European small claims procedure?
I don’t know if the fact that I paid the initial booking deposit and the balance both on UK Credit Cards. Is there any help from that quarter?
Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated please.
Thanks!
0
Comments
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more knowledgeable people than me will reply ,looks to me like you used a broker, but the contract will be with the australian car hire company, with that in mind you may have to use an australian court if you take it to court
not sure why you cant name the broker or the car hire company0 -
Why don't you either chargeback on your card or let the car hire excess company deal with this as you have laid off the risk to them both and this is their problem and not yours.
You may be prejudicing their action by getting involved for no reason and it is highly undesirable to have two people doing one person's job
I would not be surprised if you are breaching your contract with them by breaking their Ts and Cs0 -
If you have excess insurance why are you bothering? Just send them the bill and they will reimburse you.0
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With the information OP has given, it is easy to identify the broker!0
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In principle you have a contract with both the broker and the car hire company.0
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