Hire Van Damage Help!!

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EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

They should have had insurance for everything except whatever excess you agreed to; I can't believe they can leave the hirer on the hook for so much. Tell them you'll pay the excess and not a penny more and see what they do.

While £10K seems ridiculous to replace and paint a roof, they likely can't insure a hire van against things that probably will happen- I bet whacking the roof of an unfamiliar hired van on a low entrance that the hirer has driven a car though without noticing is about the single most common incident, which is why there is a specific clause in the hire agreement about having to pay for it.

photome

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

They should have had insurance for everything except whatever excess you agreed to; I can't believe they can leave the hirer on the hook for so much. Tell them you'll pay the excess and not a penny more and see what they do.

OP I see you thanked this post, it may not be the best advice though

EdGasketTheSecond

A clause in a policy does not make it enforceable if it is deemed to be unfair or unreasonable. One could argue that leaving a hirer with unlimited potential losses is unfair / unreasonable and therefore the clause does not apply.


Also the roof could be repaired for a lot less than £10K which is a rediculous amount; it might not look pretty but it could be done cheaply if all concerned took a reasonable attitude. Of course to restore the van to 'as new' condition probably will cost £10K but it would be a waste of money.

custardy

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

A clause in a policy does not make it enforceable if it is deemed to be unfair or unreasonable. One could argue that leaving a hirer with unlimited potential losses is unfair / unreasonable and therefore the clause does not apply.


Also the roof could be repaired for a lot less than £10K which is a rediculous amount; it might not look pretty but it could be done cheaply if all concerned took a reasonable attitude. Of course to restore the van to 'as new' condition probably will cost £10K but it would be a waste of money.

Would you be happy for your nearly new van to be repaired like that?
Also considering the loss on resale value.

consumers_revenge

Probably cheaper to find where the van is and drop a match :-)

No repair required and you wouldnt need to pay the 10K

On a serious note though. I presume you banged the vehicle on the way in rather than the way out of where you live? Did you actually manage to move anything?

Megan94

My skepticism is that it will cost nowhere near 10k to fix the van. Granted I have no real knowledge of these things however there is no electrics in the roof, it is bolted on to the top of the van to make it higher, there's no brake light etc there, its all in the doors. I fully expect them to fix it to a 'like new' state, they are charging people for these.

I did manage to move, I put duck tap over the tear to ensure I didn't cause anymore damage - from water etc and I was told upon dropping it off that the damage was minor.

Thanks for all the responses, at the end of the day I don't have 10K to shell out and I think its somewhat unreasonable to be asked to pay this. But I will have to wait and see!

marlot

A bit of a left field idea: Is there any chance of buying the van off them instead? You could do a cheaper (and less pretty) repair and sell it on?

Lorian

custardy wrote: »

States below that hirer is liable for the full repair costs.


image upload

It really doesn't say that. It says the excess waiver won't pay out. It states on their site the fixed excess is £1K in my opinion.
We really need to see the detail of the hire agreement.

Also the OP needs to bear in mind their costs in these situation would include loss of revenue from the van all the time its sat not being used waiting for and undergoing repair.

Megan94

marlot wrote: »

A bit of a left field idea: Is there any chance of buying the van off them instead? You could do a cheaper (and less pretty) repair and sell it on?

Oh I'm not sure, the van (Vauxhall Movano) seems to be about 28k for a new one online?! Granted its damaged but its still new, so I don't think that would be a goer?

Megan94

Lorian wrote: »

It really doesn't say that. It says the excess waiver won't pay out. It states on their site the fixed excess is £1K

This was also what I read into it! I do think 1k is reasonable, I am, after all, completely at fault. But surely they are insured? If I damaged my own car, my insurance would pay out...