Damages Deposit

comeandgo

You can certainly ask but the company do not have to repair anything.  Have you checked on Trust pilot  or anything on internet about the company possibly trying it on regarding damage?

Manxman_in_exile

Sparkle123 said:

Do you think I am completely out of order requesting a copy of the quote/invoice for work required? I'd like to keep it for my records as a reminder to educate myself better. 

Of course you should ask for details of what they are charging you for!

I agree with @tightauldgit:

tightauldgit said:

I don't think it's up to you to prove you didn't damage it. if they want to charge you for damage then it's up to them to show that it was you who caused it. The fact they inspected it and didn't see any damage should be pretty good evidence that you didn't damage it if it came to it...

Go back to your bank and dispute the charge.  I'm not sure if it would be a chargeback or not

If you can't get the money back from the bank, then for £500 you should be suing them.  What evidence have you got that they inspected it when you returned it and they were happy with its condition?  The whole point of a damage "deposit" is that they hold onto it until they are satisfied it isn't required.  If it wasn't required, why did it end up back in your account?

born_again

Sparkle123 said:

The agreement was that any damages would be deducted from the deposit. This was also advised in the email received when they notified of the damage they'd "found". But that isn't the process they followed as they inspected the vehicle and then the deposit was back in my account. 

The validity of the damage is another matter entirely but for just now my concern was that is seems they have actually stored my bank details and then used them to process this additional payment.

As far as I'm concerned their process was to hold a deposit and refund when they were satisfied with vehicle return. From my point of view the fact thaty deposit was returned would suggest that they were satisfied.

Any further debit card payment should have been part of a separate transaction agreed between the two parties. I don't think a card payment, whether the damages were due or not, should have been taken without my authorisation. Over the phone I authorised a £950 payment for deposit. At no point did I agree to a separate card transaction of over £500.

It's very frustrating and I don't know whether I have the right be annoyed or not! 

Any hire agreement will have a clause that allows them to take payment for damage. So your card details are kept on file in the background. Same as a hotel has the right to take payments for damage when you have a rock & roll moment in a room after you have left & settled the bill.
Can be as simple as the pre auth they never took, is called on & the amount taken.

Certainly with car hire, you are allowed to request your own quote from another company.

I bet when they said "We do not keep your card details" what they meant is we do not write them down & keep them. Not that they hold them on a secure system as required as per T/C.

Sparkle123

comeandgo said:

You can certainly ask but the company do not have to repair anything.  Have you checked on Trust pilot  or anything on internet about the company possibly trying it on regarding damage?

Well they are charging me for replacement of an item and fitting of it so they should have a quote at least. 

Sparkle123

All reviews online are positive. When we were in the van and talking to local people we certainly didn't they to have a positive impression of the company. There was a lot of distasteful looks and tutting going on. 

I guess I also feel bad as it's not a large company and I don't want to cause tj hassle but at the same time, I don't want to be ripped off because I feel sorry for someone! 

Sparkle123

born_again said:

Sparkle123 said:

The agreement was that any damages would be deducted from the deposit. This was also advised in the email received when they notified of the damage they'd "found". But that isn't the process they followed as they inspected the vehicle and then the deposit was back in my account. 

The validity of the damage is another matter entirely but for just now my concern was that is seems they have actually stored my bank details and then used them to process this additional payment.

As far as I'm concerned their process was to hold a deposit and refund when they were satisfied with vehicle return. From my point of view the fact thaty deposit was returned would suggest that they were satisfied.

Any further debit card payment should have been part of a separate transaction agreed between the two parties. I don't think a card payment, whether the damages were due or not, should have been taken without my authorisation. Over the phone I authorised a £950 payment for deposit. At no point did I agree to a separate card transaction of over £500.

It's very frustrating and I don't know whether I have the right be annoyed or not! 

Any hire agreement will have a clause that allows them to take payment for damage. So your card details are kept on file in the background. Same as a hotel has the right to take payments for damage when you have a rock & roll moment in a room after you have left & settled the bill.
Can be as simple as the pre auth they never took, is called on & the amount taken.

Certainly with car hire, you are allowed to request your own quote from another company.

I bet when they said "We do not keep your card details" what they meant is we do not write them down & keep them. Not that they hold them on a secure system as required as per T/C.

Yep, I was totally fine with the deposit being taken. 

What has annoyed me is that their T&C advise deposit will be returned once vehicle inspected in return. When the walk round was done and the deposit money returned to my account I assumed that was the process ended. I didn't not think, no see written down anywhere, that they could return the deposit and then take a debit card payment a week later using bank card details they said they didn't keep. 

sheramber

Did they return the deposit or did it drop off and appear back in your account  because it had not been claimed it?

Some pending amounts are returned automatically after 7 days.

Alderbank

I'm sorry that this experience spoilt your holiday in Scotland.

Below is taken from the T&Cs of Bunk Campers just as a typical example of a motorhome hire company here in Edinburgh:

The security deposit is fully refundable within 28 days of return of the vehicle provided there are no outstanding claims or the following conditions:

(a) This security deposit will be used to fund any loss or damage whatsoever to equipment, fixtures, fittings,

windows, cleaning fees, tyres or negligent damage to the vehicle.

(b) The security deposit will be used to fund any cleaning fees. A nominated valeting fee of up to £200/€200 will

be charged against the deposit if the vehicle is not returned with the interior in a clean condition.

An additional fee of £200/€200 will be charged against the deposit if the toilet and waste tank are not emptied and cleaned prior to the return of the vehicle.

An additional fee of £500/€500 will be charged if it is found that smoking has been permitted in the vehicle.

An additional £200/€200 will be charged if an unauthorised pet has been carried in the vehicle.

The hirer irrevocably authorises Bunk Campers to deduct from the security deposit any amounts due to Bunk Campers arising out of this agreement.

A £45/€45 administration fee will be applied in addition to any costs to be deducted from the security deposit.

So a crafty fag in the van plus a different kind of 'deposit' could cost almost £750 including 'admin fee' even though the vehicle's appearance is unmarked.

powerful_Rogue

Sparkle123 said:

comeandgo said:

You can certainly ask but the company do not have to repair anything.  Have you checked on Trust pilot  or anything on internet about the company possibly trying it on regarding damage?

Well they are charging me for replacement of an item and fitting of it so they should have a quote at least. 

The company don't have to repair anything. They can however still charge for the cost of the part and fitting.

Alderbank

Might be different with motorhomes but hire companies do not always bother to fix bodywork or trim damage on hire cars and vans. The vehicle just goes to auction 'as is', perhaps a little sooner than was planned.
The hirer is billed on a sliding scale for loss of value.