Mechanic drove rental car and got fine

fiesta30

Looking for advice. Recently I was in a car accident (not my fault) and my insurance provided a rental car through Enterprise. I was told to drop my car and keeps off (still driveable) with Enterprise and collect the rental and then when mine was fixed to drop the rental off at the auto repair centre and collect my car. So that’s what I did. 

My rental, for example, was from the 1st to the 7th but I returned it on the 4th to the auto centre who were then supposed to take it to Enterprise. Anyhow, weeks later, I’ve been sent bills from enterprise - admin fees for dealing with a toll fine. And they have said that my details have been passed to the relevant council for them to retrieve toll charges plus fines additional to the toll as it won’t have been paid on time. The issue is, the traffic violations occurred AFTER I returned the vehicle but within my lease time - the car was still in my name but not in my possession. When I checked with my bank, Enterprise have taken the fees from my bank.  Now I’m awaiting the fines from the council.

I didn’t commit the offences and have proof that I’d returned the vehicle. Where do I stand? 

Thank you 

LunaStar15

First and foremost, you are not liable for an offence you didn't commit! However, I'm afraid it sounds like you may have to get solicitor's advice, at the very least regarding recouping the money taken from you by Enterprise (not sure if you'd have to persue them or the mechanic for it). I presume you already called Enterprise and they weren't helpful? If not, might be worth trying, on the off chance.

As for the Council fines, I'd suggest also calling the Council's legal department and explaining the situation. You never know, they may be more helpful than you'd expect. If not, and they do fine you even after you've explained the situation to them, you can refuse to pay and allow  the matter to go to court, where a magistrates judge would rule on it. You could represent yourself in court, but you're always better with a legal representative. Either way, the situation would be explained to the court, and with your proof you'd already returned the car, there's no way the court would find you liable.

But hopefully it won't come to that, with all the hassle and stress of court (even if it would be an open and shut case in your favour). The very best of luck, sounds like a horrible situation!

AdrianC

Pass the penalty on to the bodyshop who had the car at the time.

missile

Do you have legal representation included with your insurance policy?

prowla

Do you have the details of when you dropped off the rental car back at the repair shop (in accordance with their instructions)?

Presumably the paperwork and any excess payment would have a timestamp.