Help! Taken to debt collection after winning chargeback twice

unforeseen

Don't forget that their costs will also include the loss of income while the car is being repaired. 

eskbanker

blackberrycurrent said:

We hired a car from Green Motion two years ago in Edinburgh. When we returned the vehicle they found a chip in the windscreen that we were not responsible for.

You may not have caused it but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're not responsible for it ("Any change to the condition of the vehicle during the rental will be the responsibility of the customer.").

blackberrycurrent said:
we did not agree with the amount they were asking for so we asked them to send the vehicle to a certified garage so they can access the damage and issue an invoice. Indeed we explicitly wrote that requirement on the checkout form that we signed. They never sent the vehicle to repair and blindly asking for £900 for the repair.

blackberrycurrent said:

We were in a hurry and agreed on the spot that they will take the vehicle to a garage to access the damage and send us a bill for repair, which they never did, and instead charged the credit card for an unfair amount of replacing the entire windscreen.

Did they definitely agree to get a repair quote or was that just your request?  I'd have thought that most car hire companies would have bog-standard processes for all such repair and maintenance activities, rather than dealing with them on a case by case basis, as it would be administratively prohibitive to reinvent the wheel (no pun intended) each time....


Have you exhausted their complaints process yet?  Their Ts & Cs suggest several layers, including ADR with the BVRLA:

32. Complaints

As a franchised organisation your rental branch is owned and managed on a local level. This makes complaint resolution more direct if raised at a senior level within the branch.  Customers must contact the location specific customer service email, found in the location section of this website or through the ‘Help after your rental’ button on the ‘Contact Us’ page. Should you not receive a response in 5 days or are unable to reach a resolution with the branch, UK customer service will be happy to mediate. Please send copies of all correspondence with the branch and any other supporting documents to ics@cs.greenmotion.com

Any complaints should be made via email within 30 days of the return date. Complaints received after this period may not be considered. 

If customers have exhausted our internal customer service process without arriving at resolution, you will receive a deadlock letter providing you with contact details for  the BVRLA as the appropriate ADR licenced body.

born_again

FaceHead said:

Write to the debt collector and say you dispute the debt, and they should cease collection activities. There are plenty of templates online. 

If they want to take it to court, and they apply for £900 plus costs, no judge will accept that as the cost of a windscreen. If they come back and say the real cost of a windscreen is £200, and you did accept liability and don't have photos showing the chip pre-existing, then you should probably cough up, and remember to take photos next time. Letting them see you taking photos is a good move. 

I agree that car hire companies are cowboys who overcharge for damage, and you should fight the overcharging element (£200 Vs £900).

Depends on the car & charges for recalibrating any camera's that maybe fitted. 

blackberrycurrent

eskbanker said:

blackberrycurrent said:

We hired a car from Green Motion two years ago in Edinburgh. When we returned the vehicle they found a chip in the windscreen that we were not responsible for.

You may not have caused it but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're not responsible for it ("Any change to the condition of the vehicle during the rental will be the responsibility of the customer.").

blackberrycurrent said:
we did not agree with the amount they were asking for so we asked them to send the vehicle to a certified garage so they can access the damage and issue an invoice. Indeed we explicitly wrote that requirement on the checkout form that we signed. They never sent the vehicle to repair and blindly asking for £900 for the repair.

blackberrycurrent said:

We were in a hurry and agreed on the spot that they will take the vehicle to a garage to access the damage and send us a bill for repair, which they never did, and instead charged the credit card for an unfair amount of replacing the entire windscreen.

Did they definitely agree to get a repair quote or was that just your request?  I'd have thought that most car hire companies would have bog-standard processes for all such repair and maintenance activities, rather than dealing with them on a case by case basis, as it would be administratively prohibitive to reinvent the wheel (no pun intended) each time....


Have you exhausted their complaints process yet?  Their Ts & Cs suggest several layers, including ADR with the BVRLA:

32. Complaints

As a franchised organisation your rental branch is owned and managed on a local level. This makes complaint resolution more direct if raised at a senior level within the branch.  Customers must contact the location specific customer service email, found in the location section of this website or through the ‘Help after your rental’ button on the ‘Contact Us’ page. Should you not receive a response in 5 days or are unable to reach a resolution with the branch, UK customer service will be happy to mediate. Please send copies of all correspondence with the branch and any other supporting documents to ics@cs.greenmotion.com

Any complaints should be made via email within 30 days of the return date. Complaints received after this period may not be considered. 

If customers have exhausted our internal customer service process without arriving at resolution, you will receive a deadlock letter providing you with contact details for  the BVRLA as the appropriate ADR licenced body.

eskbanker said:

blackberrycurrent said:

We hired a car from Green Motion two years ago in Edinburgh. When we returned the vehicle they found a chip in the windscreen that we were not responsible for.

You may not have caused it but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're not responsible for it ("Any change to the condition of the vehicle during the rental will be the responsibility of the customer.").

blackberrycurrent said:
we did not agree with the amount they were asking for so we asked them to send the vehicle to a certified garage so they can access the damage and issue an invoice. Indeed we explicitly wrote that requirement on the checkout form that we signed. They never sent the vehicle to repair and blindly asking for £900 for the repair.

blackberrycurrent said:

We were in a hurry and agreed on the spot that they will take the vehicle to a garage to access the damage and send us a bill for repair, which they never did, and instead charged the credit card for an unfair amount of replacing the entire windscreen.

Did they definitely agree to get a repair quote or was that just your request?  I'd have thought that most car hire companies would have bog-standard processes for all such repair and maintenance activities, rather than dealing with them on a case by case basis, as it would be administratively prohibitive to reinvent the wheel (no pun intended) each time....


Have you exhausted their complaints process yet?  Their Ts & Cs suggest several layers, including ADR with the BVRLA:

32. Complaints

As a franchised organisation your rental branch is owned and managed on a local level. This makes complaint resolution more direct if raised at a senior level within the branch.  Customers must contact the location specific customer service email, found in the location section of this website or through the ‘Help after your rental’ button on the ‘Contact Us’ page. Should you not receive a response in 5 days or are unable to reach a resolution with the branch, UK customer service will be happy to mediate. Please send copies of all correspondence with the branch and any other supporting documents to ics@cs.greenmotion.com

Any complaints should be made via email within 30 days of the return date. Complaints received after this period may not be considered. 

If customers have exhausted our internal customer service process without arriving at resolution, you will receive a deadlock letter providing you with contact details for  the BVRLA as the appropriate ADR licenced body.

Thanks for the detailed reply. There is no way to prove who caused the damage so I was not even trying to argue that in the chargeback request. Yes the manager agreed to get a repair quote and would only charge us AFTER the repair. As a matter of fact, I caught them lying in the documents they provided the bank with for the chargeback. They told our bank that they provided supporting documents as soon as they had a quotation from the certified garage, but the screenshot of the quotation showed a date 6 months before the hire date. I'm pretty sure they did not take the vehicle to repair and panicked when they had to explain to the bank.

No, I have only been dealing with their customer service and not yet complained to the BVRLA, maybe I should now.

[Deleted User]

You do realise that people are talking about CCJs etc which is premature. 

The debt collector can't do much other than write/call you unless they or the rental company actually take you to court - you can then choose to contest the claim or pay it. 

blackberrycurrent

Deleted User said:

You do realise that people are talking about CCJs etc which is premature. 

The debt collector can't do much other than write/call you unless they or the rental company actually take you to court - you can then choose to contest the claim or pay it. 

I see. It's my first time dealing with debt collection. Are you saying that the debt collector is unlikely take £900 to court if I refuse to cooperate?

m-holland

blackberrycurrent said:

Deleted User said:

You do realise that people are talking about CCJs etc which is premature. 

The debt collector can't do much other than write/call you unless they or the rental company actually take you to court - you can then choose to contest the claim or pay it. 

I see. It's my first time dealing with debt collection. Are you saying that the debt collector is unlikely take £900 to court if I refuse to cooperate?

A debt collector took me to court and successfully got a CCJ for a balance of £304

phillw

I would argue that a stone chip (which you should have taken a picture of) is general wear and tear anyway.

As long as you pay up if you lose in court then it won't affect your credit score. Their inability to provide an invoice will be an issue for them.

Get the debt collectors off your back and write to the car hire company, if you have free legal advice/representation from your car or home insurance then you may want to see what they suggest.

born_again

FaceHead said:

Write to the debt collector and say you dispute the debt, and they should cease collection activities. There are plenty of templates online. 

The problem with that is that the OP did a chargeback, so in effect any dispute with the hire co is long passed it's sell by date. 
This is what Hire co's do. I'm surprised they even contested it.
As a chargeback is over and above your consumer rights, and not using them 1st does not help getting a debt collector off your back.

pbartlett

the debt collector will add their fees to the debt.

if you don't pay, they can do nothing but it will most likely end up in court

you should attend and put your side of the story.

the judge will listen to everything and make a judgement.

if it is against you, then you will have to pay. you will be given time to pay, but if you don't pay you get a ccj and also bailiffs coming round siezing your goods etc. Again, extra charges.

if, on the other hand you win, you walk out free.