Credit Card chargeback but pursued by debt collectors

canary_boy

Hi. Help if you can please.
I hired a car from Hertz in Spain. I returned the car full of petrol (I have a photo of the gauge). I was charged £53 on my credit card a few days later for a fuel charge as apparently I had not produced a receipt for the fuel.
I challenged this with my CC company who paid me a chargeback. Hertz did not challenge the CC company. Six months later I am receiving emails from eos.solutions (debt recovery I think) for money on Hertzs behalf.
How do I stand legally. Should they not be chasing the CC company?
Genuine advice required as I am finding this very stressful.

Okell

See what others advise.

The problem with chargebacks is that they are not a "legal" remedy - they are simply a "service" that card providers observe.  If the trader believes that they are legally entitled to the amount they can still pursue you in court.  The fact they did not challenge the chargeback is irrelevant.

The good news is that i presume the contract with Hertz is governed by spanish law?  If so, I'm not sure that they can pursue it in the UK

Aylesbury_Duck

canary_boy said:

Hi. Help if you can please.
I hired a car from Hertz in Spain. I returned the car full of petrol (I have a photo of the gauge). I was charged £53 on my credit card a few days later for a fuel charge as apparently I had not produced a receipt for the fuel.
I challenged this with my CC company who paid me a chargeback. Hertz did not challenge the CC company. Six months later I am receiving emails from eos.solutions (debt recovery I think) for money on Hertzs behalf.
How do I stand legally. Should they not be chasing the CC company?
Genuine advice required as I am finding this very stressful.

As I understand it, Hertz can disagree with the chargeback and that’s what they’re doing now.  If providing a receipt for the fuel was the evidence they required and was a contractual condition of the hire, then you appear liable for the fuel charge.

It's not a section 75 claim, where the card company is jointly liable.  The card company didn’t “pay you a chargeback”, they reversed the payment and Hertz clearly don’t agree that was justified. The debt is yours.

Aylesbury_Duck

Okell said:

See what others advise.

The problem with chargebacks is that they are not a "legal" remedy - they are simply a "service" that card providers observe.  If the trader believes that they are legally entitled to the amount they can still pursue you in court.  The fact they did not challenge the chargeback is irrelevant.

The good news is that i presume the contract with Hertz is governed by spanish law?  If so, I'm not sure that they can pursue it in the UK

Might it cause problems for OP if they want to use Hertz again?  Or travel to Spain again?

Grumpy_chap

canary_boy said:

Hi. Help if you can please.
I hired a car from Hertz in Spain. I returned the car full of petrol (I have a photo of the gauge). I was charged £53 on my credit card a few days later for a fuel charge as apparently I had not produced a receipt for the fuel.
I challenged this with my CC company who paid me a chargeback. Hertz did not challenge the CC company. Six months later I am receiving emails from eos.solutions (debt recovery I think) for money on Hertzs behalf.
How do I stand legally. Should they not be chasing the CC company?
Genuine advice required as I am finding this very stressful.

What communication did you have with Hertz prior to requesting the chargeback?
A chargeback is the CC equivalent of stopping the cheque.
If you simply requested the chargeback but without communication with Hertz, then Hertz will quite likely see this as you simply not paying.

HillStreetBlues

canary_boy said:

Hi. Help if you can please.
I hired a car from Hertz in Spain. I returned the car full of petrol (I have a photo of the gauge). I was charged £53 on my credit card a few days later for a fuel charge as apparently I had not produced a receipt for the fuel.
I challenged this with my CC company who paid me a chargeback. Hertz did not challenge the CC company. Six months later I am receiving emails from eos.solutions (debt recovery I think) for money on Hertzs behalf.
How do I stand legally. Should they not be chasing the CC company?
Genuine advice required as I am finding this very stressful.

Did you return while open or was it out of hours?

Okell

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Okell said:

See what others advise.

The problem with chargebacks is that they are not a "legal" remedy - they are simply a "service" that card providers observe.  If the trader believes that they are legally entitled to the amount they can still pursue you in court.  The fact they did not challenge the chargeback is irrelevant.

The good news is that i presume the contract with Hertz is governed by spanish law?  If so, I'm not sure that they can pursue it in the UK

Might it cause problems for OP if they want to use Hertz again?  Or travel to Spain again?

Who'd want to do either?

Once is enough surely?    


[Edit:  On a serious note  -  I suspect the OP will want to steer well clear of Hertz in future - unless they pay up.  I doubt spanish border control check whether visitors owe money to Hertz or have any spanish equivalents of CCJs against them, but who knows.  I agree that if the OP should have provided a receipt but didn't, then it might be simpler just to pay up]

On-the-coast

I’ve rented dozens of times from hertz, some privately, mostly corporate.  

Don’t think I’ve ever shown a receipt.  A few times I’ve had one ready in case asked - but what does a receipt prove?    That you put some fuel in car - but unless you include every receipt, and drove at exactly the average fuel economy your tank could still be half empty.     The fuel gauge / est range remaining is the important thing imo. 

HillStreetBlues

†††††

Okell said:

[Edit:  On a serious note  -  I suspect the OP will want to steer well clear of Hertz in future - unless they pay up.  I doubt spanish border control check whether visitors owe money to Hertz or have any spanish equivalents of CCJs against them, but who knows.  I agree that if the OP should have provided a receipt but didn't, then it might be simpler just to pay up]

born_again

canary_boy said:

Hi. Help if you can please.
I hired a car from Hertz in Spain. I returned the car full of petrol (I have a photo of the gauge). I was charged £53 on my credit card a few days later for a fuel charge as apparently I had not produced a receipt for the fuel.
I challenged this with my CC company who paid me a chargeback. Hertz did not challenge the CC company. Six months later I am receiving emails from eos.solutions (debt recovery I think) for money on Hertzs behalf.
How do I stand legally. Should they not be chasing the CC company?
Genuine advice required as I am finding this very stressful.

Standard practise by Car Hire Co's. They do not have to challenge the chargeback. 

Legally they think you owe them money. If they take it court you will have to try & defend it with your picture.

Sadly you should have used this group to dispute

https://www.ecrcs.com/

As they provide a binding agreement.