350,000 ISK charge from blue car rental in Iceland for wind damage

Jamesdeer001

Hi

I was wondering if I could possibly get any advice please...

We rented a car from Keflavik airport for one week using blue car rental. The collection and drop off process was through a drop off box due to the time of day of arrival at the airport.

We've been charged 350,000 ISK on our credit card, which is around £2000 for "wind damage to passenger side front door, dent". We got this report after we'd left because the drop off was through a drop off box at 5.30am. This is a charge we weren't expecting.

On the report they sent us there is a photo of the "damage" and in all honesty, I can't see any damage, but please judge for yourself...



We paid for 

"Insurances: CDW, GP, Liability waiver medium/large, SCDW, TP" 

And the rental agreement says at the bottom:

CDW/SCDW, GP AND TP INSURANCES are included in the Rental Price as well as all mandatory vehicle insurances, including liability insurance and accident insurance for the driver and the owner. Third part liability is equivalent to the amount stipulated by Icelandic law at each time. This also applies to the amount of individual driver liability.

• If for some reason, the renter causes damages to a third-party vehicle, without causing damages to the rented vehicle, the third-party liability is a total of ISK 35.000.

• With CDW/SCDW the renter is insured against disbursement of the driver liability in excess of ISK 90.000 for 2WD and ISK 120.000 for 4WD and larger passenger vehicles.

o The following damages are however always the renter´s responsibility and not covered by CDW or SCDW

 Negligence

 Damages caused by driving into waters and rivers and when driving off-road.

 Damage to tires, windshield, top and underside of the vehicle.

 Damage caused by the wind blowing up the door.

 Damage caused by sand and ash storm (only applies if the renter has not opted for the SAAP / Liability Waiver).

• GP covers damages to windshield, headlights, front bumper, mirrors and the hood of the vehicles when gravel or rocks gets thrown at the vehicle by passing vehicles or oncoming traffic. The deductible amount for damaged / cracked windshield is ISK 20.000.

SAND AND ASH PROTECTION (SAAP) covers damage due to sand and ash storms which damage the paint, windows, lights and plastic parts of the vehicle. By purchasing SAAP the deductible amount in case of sand and ash damaged is lowered to ISK 90.000.

LIABILTY WAIVER reduces the deductible amount for any damage covered by the above mentioned insurances to ZERO.

Excluded are any damages not covered by these insurances as stated in Article 29 and 32 of this Rental Agreement.

So as far as I can see, they're saying that we're liable due to "wind blowing up the door" and we're having to pay their full insurance liability.

While we were in Iceland last week, there were two very stormy/windy days and we didn't use the car those days. The rest of the days were a lot calmer. The door was operated by an adult with full care and attention due to the knowledge of what wind can do in Iceland. I didn't take any photos of the car before hand or as it was returned, partly because it had snow on it and partly because it was 5.30am (of course I wish I had).

We've called and they asked us to email them so we're about to email them challenging this claim but I was wondering if there was and advice etc on how to proceed please?

Thanks in advance

Westin

Looks like possibly a vertical 'crumple' dent running down from beneath the wing mirror.  Not even sure it looks like something has blown into it (like a luggage cart). It must of been quite a forceful wind.  

  
If that is the damage it will be difficult to pull/pop out as it appears close to the door seam.  It might necessitate a new door.

From the image if that appears to be your car then it might be difficult to defend.  No harm in trying to negotiate I guess.  I feel for you as that is a sizable charge for something outside of your control.

I know this does not help now but, if no one around to check over the car from the car rental firm,  I would always recommend taking photos of all sides and angles of the exterior plus at least one of the interior showing mileage/fuel level when returning. 

Sandtree

Jamesdeer001 said:

On the report they sent us there is a photo of the "damage" and in all honesty, I can't see any damage, but please judge for yourself...

The damage is fairly clear and as noted above, not one that's easy to repair.

Do you recall that damage being there when you collected the vehicle? Does your collection have any photos of the vehicle?

Ultimately there is always risk in not having proper handovers of the vehicle and so there looks to be little chance of disputing your liability for the damage... there may be an argument over how the damage was caused and therefore what your bill should be but the fact that negligence is listed as an exception is fairly damn broad.

Jamesdeer001

Sandtree said:

Jamesdeer001 said:

On the report they sent us there is a photo of the "damage" and in all honesty, I can't see any damage, but please judge for yourself...

The damage is fairly clear and as noted above, not one that's easy to repair.

Do you recall that damage being there when you collected the vehicle? Does your collection have any photos of the vehicle?

Ultimately there is always risk in not having proper handovers of the vehicle and so there looks to be little chance of disputing your liability for the damage... there may be an argument over how the damage was caused and therefore what your bill should be but the fact that negligence is listed as an exception is fairly damn broad.

Where are you seeing damage on the door? I can see the reflection of the sun but genuinely can't see any damage

Jamesdeer001

The report has the damage specifically to the door and I genuinely can't see anything 

Sandtree

Jamesdeer001 said:

The report has the damage specifically to the door and I genuinely can't see anything 

Westin has circled it for you,  there is a clear vertical crease/indentation on the front door just before the end of the door. 

Thrugelmir

Jamesdeer001 said:

Sandtree said:

Jamesdeer001 said:

On the report they sent us there is a photo of the "damage" and in all honesty, I can't see any damage, but please judge for yourself...

The damage is fairly clear and as noted above, not one that's easy to repair.

Do you recall that damage being there when you collected the vehicle? Does your collection have any photos of the vehicle?

Ultimately there is always risk in not having proper handovers of the vehicle and so there looks to be little chance of disputing your liability for the damage... there may be an argument over how the damage was caused and therefore what your bill should be but the fact that negligence is listed as an exception is fairly damn broad.

Where are you seeing damage on the door? I can see the reflection of the sun but genuinely can't see any damage

Visible crease in the door panel. 

Jamesdeer001

Hi

I've zoomed into the picture they sent us and I'm only seeing reflections etc not any door damage or creasing but maybe I'm missing something obvious?

This is the only photo they sent us so no proof at this stage that this is our car etc and I don't have anything from my side. 

Thrugelmir

I'm sure the rental company will happily provide a copy of the repair bill in due course to evidence the fact it was the car you rented. 

Sandtree

Jamesdeer001 said:

Hi

I've zoomed into the picture they sent us and I'm only seeing reflections etc not any door damage or creasing but maybe I'm missing something obvious?

This is the only photo they sent us so no proof at this stage that this is our car etc and I don't have anything from my side. 

That's not a reflection, its a dent

Jamesdeer001

Sandtree said:

Jamesdeer001 said:

Hi

I've zoomed into the picture they sent us and I'm only seeing reflections etc not any door damage or creasing but maybe I'm missing something obvious?

This is the only photo they sent us so no proof at this stage that this is our car etc and I don't have anything from my side. 

That's not a reflection, its a dent

I see, does this look like something that could be caused by wind? If this is a dent I'm struggling to see why the insurance doesn't cover it