Please help - Drivalia said car had been damaged

sovsov1357

Hi,

My wife has just got back from a trip to Pisa, hiring a car with Drivalia who has terrible reviews. I am kicking myself because before she went I asked her about excess insurance such as super CDW, and she said she had bought all the insurance to fully cover her. She naively only had CDW. 

She returned the car this morning at 9am, I damaged, and had a car hire worker sign her paperwork to say okay, she has this paperwork.

Drivalia then sent an email saying there were “scratches” to the tyres two hours after she dropped the car off. I believe this to be a scam. 

Worrying they have a large pending pre authorised deposit, which I am concerned will not be returned. What would people suggest we do? I’m thinking chargeback is the only way to deal with this…my wife didn’t take any before/after photos but she does have the car hire return paperwork which is marked “ok” on it. Do you think the credit card company would accept this for chargeback?

Many thanks for your help and time!

Lavendyr

I think all car hire companies have bad reviews for much the same reason. I was stung despite taking all the photos I could think of, but luckily I did take out excess insurance.

So first question. Have they sent photos of the alleged damage? If not, request them, time and date stamped so that they can evidence the damage was present when your wife dropped off the car.

Secondly - they can't take the whole deposit. They should send you an invoice setting out the cost. If the deposit is anything like mine was (€2600 I believe!) then there is no justifiable reason to charge that sort of amount. Before they charge anything, they should advise you of the proposed charge. 

I believe that deposits must be secured by credit card and if this is what your wife has done, and if they take more than a pre-agreed amount, then she could claim on s75. 

It is a hard lesson though, unfortunately, and as I say not limited to any specific companies. If you look at the big companies on Trustpilot they will have similar comments. It's horribly sharp practice. Buying excess hire car insurance (separately, not at the point of collection or even as part of the car hire agreement online) is invaluable. I spent £48 and saved £300 in so doing. 

alanrowell

Formerly known as easirent. 

Mr.Generous

Never going to be tyres, they surely said wheels?

mikelj99

Old post i know, but I have just left a new one re Drivalia. They are operating a scam whereby they are withdrawing money from customers cards months after the hire has terminated. I had to cancel the card I used for the hire and initiate a chargeback in the end - 5 months after returning the car. 

 The other scam - which I actually watched them pull twice - was telling customers that the car they’d booked was no longer available and they would need to upgrade or risk losing the hire altogether. Given that these were holidaymakers you can guess the outcome…absolutely disgusting.