Have you been billed for Damage to a hire car that they claim you did? Read this LONG story

FrankFalcon

Hi all

I am writing this for the sole reason of helping out others.  I gain nothing from this other than to possibly save somebody a lot of stress AND money.

I recently had an accident that wasn't my fault.  The third parties insurer provided me with a Mercedes hire car from a giant UK car hire firm.

When the 2 teenage agents turned up with the car I went round the car and examined it thoroughly.  I found a couple of dents (about the size of a 5p) and told the agents.  Their answer was so uncaring and nonchalant "Yeah, we don't care if it's smaller than a golf ball".  I thought that was strange coming from the companies employees and I thought...I'm not buying that.  Therefore, I took out my phone and started videoing the car WHILST SPEAKING TO THE AGENTS, saying things like "Hey guys, there's another  dent here near the front wheel".  I went on and did this for 4 or 5 dents/scuffs/scrapes etc.  Then, before the agents left the pulled out an ipad and asked me to sign.  So, I just signed 'x' because they didn't seem bothered.  So, when the car went back, just before the agents collected it, again, I popped out my phone and started the video talking "Today is Tuesday 10th Feb and here is a video of the car before it goes back to the company" etc, etc..  I showed the mileage in the video too.  

I didn't expect to hear from the company again.  However...you know what's coming don't you?...
Yes, the day after, I received a call from the hire company telling me of some damage.  I said "OK, tell me of this damage, because I have a couple of videos here of when the car was dropped off.  Your agents actually watched me film it".  Guess what...I never heard from them again REGARDING THIS MATTER. 

The story here ends not my friends...

TWO WHOLE WEEKS after the car had gone back I noticed a charge on my credit card for nearly £200 with the car hire firms name listed.  Before I could ring the firm later that day I received a letter saying that when the car was returned they discovered a nail in the tyre and it had to be replaced at a cost of approx £200...and that's why we've deducted you £200.  To say I was angry is an understatement and I got on my keyboard and tapped away like a demented so and so.  I Emailed them and asked them:

1: Where is the proof of this damaged tyre?  Show me a picture of the damaged tyre!
2: Why have you taken 2 weeks to tell me about this?  Surely, this damage could of happened in the last 2 weeks, but if you say you discovered this damage on the return of the car why did you not tell me that day/the next day?
3: Could this tyre of not got in the tyre when your agents drove it back to the car hire pound?
4: Show me where I have signed an agreement for this (remember, I only signed X).

I then made a charge back claim on my credit card (and informed them).

I then wrote 'If you do not refund this money to me within 7 days, and it is not upheld by the credit card company, be prepared to meet me in court.  The laws of this land don't work on the principle 'I said you damaged my property but I can't say when you damaged it, I have no proof of the damage, and that's it"

Suffice to say, within 24 hours I received a letter from the car hire firm apologising for this misunderstanding, and crediting the money back to my card.  However, 7 days later, my card company contacted me to agree with/uphold my complaint and they also credited me the money back.  

So, the moral of this moneysaving story is...don't feel bad about recording (and talking on) a video of a hire car when you receive it and it goes back.  Certainly, don't just accept from them claims for damage that they cannot prove was done by you.

I hope I have helped somebody here.  Please comment if I have.

MyRealNameToo

Not sure why you have started another thread on the same subject? They will get merged together. 

Have to say my experiences are the opposite, twice minor damage has been caused to the hire car when it was in my control and neither time have I been billed for it in any way... first time was a direct hire and son in law opened the door into a post, second time was an indirect hire as my car was in for repairs and a third party hit the wing mirror whilst it was stationary. 

Have dropped a couple of hire cars off in central London out of hours with the instruction to park it on the Xth floor of a multi-story carpark and to post the keys in a box on that floor (two other firms are neighbouring and do the same), each time been nervous of what happens after I drop it off as the terms clearly state that I remain liable until their office opens +2 hours or when they've inspected the car, whichever happens first. Again thankfully other than a bad nights sleep have had no issues. 

Interest to know how you think a video walking around the car disproves that there was a nail in the wheel? I mean I imagine you didnt jack the car up and turn each wheel to show there was nothing embedded in them?

As to using an X rather than your usual signature, wouldnt have made any difference, there is no legal requirement for your signature to contain your name or anything close to your name. When illiteracy was much higher it was normal to say "sign your name or make your mark", these days most can managed to at least write their own name so less need to add the option of making your mark but its still valid if you do. The point of a signature is to show you acknowledge and agree to be bound by the terms. As you acknowledge it was you that made the mark then its as binding as if you had done your standard highly flourished signature. 

flaneurs_lobster

Sound advice - video the hire car.

Doesn't making an 'X' on an agreement mean the same as signing your name? 

If you didn't agree/sign the documentation does that mean that you were driving the hire car without insurance?

MyRealNameToo

flaneurs_lobster said:

Sound advice - video the hire car.

Doesn't making an 'X' on an agreement mean the same as signing your name? 

If you didn't agree/sign the documentation does that mean that you were driving the hire car without insurance?

Yes the X is the same as signing

As to the second point, it may be complex is probably the best answer. Certainly there wouldnt be an offence of driving without insurance because the car will still be insured as that the keepers legal responsibility and so the hire car company. 

A contract doesnt have to be signed to be legally binding. Would need to understand the exact circumstances of how someone got to drive away with a hire car without signing a hire agreement but most likely it will have deemed to be accepted on the grounds the OP paid for the service and made use of the service even if they hadn't made their mark. Alternatively it could in other scenarios be considered that the vehicle was taken without permission in which case the insurer would have a right of recovery from the OP for any payments it has to make, the hire car company potentially would have similar rights. All a bit of moot point as the OP ultimately did sign/make their mark. 

Vitor

Couple of points -

It would be better to sign normally but write “subject to inspection video” or similar beside the signature.
Tone of threat, usually it’s better phrased as “I will have no option but to pursue this through the Small Claims process”.

Grumpy_chap

Didn't we just have a thread about this very same thing from the same OP?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6637638/how-do-i-sue-car-rental-company-for-deducting-monies-from-my-card-for-alleged-damage/p1

In fact the OP seems to be starting several thread that are not really questions or directly affecting them - for example how their Niece's house-purchase fell through - which means the threads are of limited function with third-party hearsay comments.
Maybe the best thing the OP can do to assist third-parties if they desire the type of support the forum can offer would be to encourage the affected individuals to join themselves and post personally.  That will improve the quality of any comment provided.

TonyMMM

A friend of mine worked for one of the big hire companies until a couple of years ago - the office/branch had a monthly target for finding chargeable damage that they were expected to achieve.

I would never hire a vehicle without video recording every blemish however slight, on handover and return.