Vehicle Hire, extra charges after return, no invoice

Trainerman

Just a cautionary tale and warning about vehicle hire. I hired a van locally (Welshpool, Powys) and returned it after hours, as pre agreed with the supplier. A couple of days later, I found an extra charge added to my credit card. During the ensuing 'phone conversation, I was told that they had the right to do this, and without pre advising or invoicing me. So they retain card details, and in theory could dream up another charge next week and do it again.

I pointed out that there was nothing on the contract that said this. Indeed, had I had to fight further this would have been one base of my claim. In my case they said I had exceeded mileage, but as I carefully photographed everything before and after, I was able to prove this wrong and get my money back (without even a hint of apology ....Trustpilot here I come ).

So my advice is to be aware that companies retain details and you need to check/photograph everything before and after and keep an eye on card balances.

In the wider context ..... is this legal? Anybody have more in depth knowledge?

Herzlos

Keeping your card details for follow up charges is legal, because you'll have agreed to some fees for stuff like damage.

Them quietly charging you for something that turns out to be false is definitely not legal and probably happens to a lot of customers. You can always talk to the police and citizens advice about the fraud but the van hire people will probably claim it was just an admin error and that you've already been refunded.

ontheroad1970

You would have to prove intent to defraud for the police to take notice. That would be quite difficult unless you are aware of it happening before and have other people willing to come forward.

Sandtree

Trainerman said:

Just a cautionary tale and warning about vehicle hire. I hired a van locally (Welshpool, Powys) and returned it after hours, as pre agreed with the supplier. A couple of days later, I found an extra charge added to my credit card. During the ensuing 'phone conversation, I was told that they had the right to do this, and without pre advising or invoicing me. So they retain card details, and in theory could dream up another charge next week and do it again.

I pointed out that there was nothing on the contract that said this. Indeed, had I had to fight further this would have been one base of my claim. In my case they said I had exceeded mileage, but as I carefully photographed everything before and after, I was able to prove this wrong and get my money back (without even a hint of apology ....Trustpilot here I come ).

So my advice is to be aware that companies retain details and you need to check/photograph everything before and after and keep an eye on card balances.

In the wider context ..... is this legal? Anybody have more in depth knowledge?

Invoicing is never a legal requirement with the exception of B2B transactions where both parties are VAT registered and the buyer requests it.  Invoice are practical etc and most companies are happy to do so but its never a requirement.

You would clearly need to read all the paperwork you signed but without fail every hire agreement I've had includes clauses about the right to retain your card details for the purposes of billing post hire extras (eg excess on damage, fuel if short, extra hire if late return etc). I'd be highly surprised if any hire company didnt have such clauses but then 99% of people sign without reading.

Its probably little surprise that most bill first and discuss after... there are many unscrupulous people out there who'll cancel a card etc to try and avoid paying what they owe etc. 

Even if they dont give you a bill up front they should advise you exactly what the charges are and you can discuss if you dont agree with them. I'm personally not comfortable with out of hours drop offs because there is the period between you pushing the keys in the letterbox and them inspecting it for damage where anything could happen to it (unfortunately there are times when its necessary and thankfully never had a problem).

Trainerman

Thank you to all for your contributions. @Sandtree, it sounds as if you might be from 'the other side of the fence' and I can see the sense in much that you say.  I still stand by my feeling that if an extra charge is to be levied then the should be notification. Even IF the charge is genuine and valid, it leaves a very nasty taste when someone takes money without any advice. It seems underhand and is certainly wide open to abuse.

I do see though that unscrupulous hirers can also be guilty of unfair actions.