Accidental Van Rental Damage

PRT7

hi

i accidentally caused some damage to a rental van from Enterprise. When i returned the van i explained what had happened and was told i would have to pay the full excess of £1750 as i hadn't taken out the £25 offer to reduce excess to £250. 

i have since been sent an invoice from them for nearly £13,000 which they are demanding payment for. I will never have that kind of money. i was hoping someone could recommend a solicitor or offer any advice on the best way to challenge this...please?

thanks

flashg67

So you took their insurance, paid the excess, but they still want more - have you asked them what £13k is for - that's a heck of a lot of damage. Do you have legal cover on your home insurance to see if the can advise?

Reddleman79

Surely you're only liable for the £1750 excess, as it's their insurance which should pay for the damage. They couldn't have let you drive the van away uninsured.

user1977

What was "some damage" if the bill is £13k? As above, what do they mean by "excess" if they're actually asking you to pay the whole lot?

DullGreyGuy

What damage did you do? How did you do it?

Does the accompanying letter say they expect you to pay the £13k or are you assuming that rather than it being for your records and to substantiate why you have to pay the full excess.

angrycrow

I suspect some of the £13,000 is lost rental revenue whilst repairs were completed. The enterprise terms do allow for recovery of these costs although the copy of the enterprise terms I have seen restrict this to 30 days. This would put the loss at £433 a day, I don't think Enterprise have any vans in that price range. 

They also include a diminution clause in the terms that any reduction in vehicle value due to repair can be invoiced. Motor engineers will normally try to argue diminution between 5% and 15% of market value at the time of repair. This could account for some of the £13000. They would need to produce an engineer's report to support such a loss and it is relatively easy to challenge.

I would suggest asking for a breakdown of the charges with supporting evidence and proof repairs have been completed and when they were completed.

Herzlos

Did you pay the £1750 excess?

What do they say the £13,000 is for?
What van was it?

What damage did you cause?

£13,000 is a huge figure, given you can buy new vans for less than double that.

Grumpy_chap

Herzlos said:

£13,000 is a huge figure, given you can buy new vans for less than half of that.

Really?
A quick look online shows the Berlingo van is from £19k.
So, a big hire firm will get fleet discounts and I am not sure how the VAT is treated, but that does not get to under £7k

diystarter7

PRT7 said:

hi

i accidentally caused some damage to a rental van from Enterprise. When i returned the van i explained what had happened and was told i would have to pay the full excess of £1750 as i hadn't taken out the £25 offer to reduce excess to £250. 

i have since been sent an invoice from them for nearly £13,000 which they are demanding payment for. I will never have that kind of money. i was hoping someone could recommend a solicitor or offer any advice on the best way to challenge this...please?

thanks

Hi OP
I read your thread and though I've not rented a van for yonks - the 1750 etc was scary for excess so i investigated
I find it odd that the DW was not included,
What is the difference bewtween DW that comes inc in some case = see link for full details and the excess? I'm confused
===================================

From Enterpise site re DAMAGE Waiver

age Waiver	Included with reservation	Details	Included
Damage Waiver (DW) reduces the liability of the renter in the event of damage to or theft of the vehicle. If DW is not included in the reservation, the renter has full liability for the vehicle. DW is available for purchase. If included in the reservation, the excess amount is 1500 GBP for all Cars and SUVs of the categories Mini, Economy, Compact, Intermediate and Standard. All other vehicles have an excess of 1750 GBP.  Excess will be charged every time a vehicle is damaged, lost or stolen. Before purchasing DW it is advised to determine, if a personal coverage is adequate to cover damage, theft, loss of revenue, administration fees, diminishment of value, and any towing, storage or impound fees. If DW is declined, the renter will be required to pay these charges and seek compensation through their carrier of personal coverage. DW is not insurance. View Exclusions https://www.enterprise.co.uk/en/reserve.html#extras

Herzlos

Grumpy_chap said:

Herzlos said:

£13,000 is a huge figure, given you can buy new vans for less than half of that.

Really?
A quick look online shows the Berlingo van is from £19k.
So, a big hire firm will get fleet discounts and I am not sure how the VAT is treated, but that does not get to under £7k

Sorry, I meant that £13,000 is more than half of the cost of new vans, like a Berlingo. I've updated the post.

So I can't see how you could do £13k damage to a £19k van without pretty much destroying it.

PRT7

their saying i broke their T&C's as i drove it into a height restricted area and damaged the roof, so they've written off the vehicle. there also saying it was negligent and as such the Damage Waiver (DW) doesnt apply and the van is not insured so i have to pay the full cost. There was no details of the height of the van anywhere in the vehicle nor in the rental agreement.

They advised on the phone that any accidental damage is not covered and i should have this covered under my own insurance...which i clearly dont. i dont think anyone has fully comp cover included on van rentals when insuring their own car. 

it was a large ford van V320.

their report is a joke really, states the car can be repaired within 151 hours (yet they've still claimed it as 'Total Loss'), i had a friend of a friend whos worked in repairs for years look at this and he advised it would take about 60 hours to repair...these companies obviously go to the extremes. 

I would be interested to know if there are any court judgments with enterprise for this kind of thing but i cant see any details of cases online...

ideally need to find a solicitor to have a look i think...if anyone can recommend any that would be appreciated.