How do I sue car rental company for deducting monies from my Card for ALLEGED damage?

Aylesbury_Duck

FrankFalcon said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Was the parking charge a council or private one? If the former then the RK is responsible for paying it and no doubt your contract had a clause saying they could recover those costs from you. 

As for the tyre damage you need to send them a letter before action telling them that unless they provide you with proof that the damage occurred in you hire period then you will be taking court action to recover your costs.

If you don’t get a satisfactory response then you file a MCoL.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/money-claim-online-user-guide

Thank you so much for your advice.  With regard to the parking Ticket, we parked in a council Car Park and the machine was broken.  We took a video of the broken machine in case a ticket was issued in the future.  Indeed, the ticket was issued to the Car Hire Firm and they told me they were going to deduct the £60 from me.  I wrote back telling them not to do it because I was disputing it.  A few days later they sent me a poorly put together screen shot of the Ticket from NCP.  I could just about make out the ticket details and I disputed it with NCP showing evidence.  Either way, the car hire firm deducted the £60.

With regard to the tyre, the facts are as I have said.

Thanks again.

I don't think you'll get anywhere with the parking ticket.

As for the tyre, do as suggested above, insisting on evidence to suggest that the nail was picked up in your period of hire because the car wasn't used between you dropping it off and the nail being discovered.

Jenni_D

If NCP issued the ticket, are you sure it was a council car park?

How was the ticket issued? Something on the windscreen, or merely a postal notice to the RK (the hire company in this case)? If postal then the PCN must have been derived from an ANPR camera setup - council's are not allowed to use that method of enforcement for parking.

This is all sounding very much like a private invoice (Parking Charge Notice) rather than than a fine (Penalty Charge Notice) ... a pound to a penny that the hire company T&Cs don't properly cover them for paying and charging the hirer in respect of a parking invoice.

FrankFalcon

***MATTER RESOLVED***

Hi all

Firstly, thank you all for your comments.  Today, within 24 hours of me contacting the car hire company I have just received the following letter:

We are writing to you in connection to your recent damage claim, reference ******** THIS CLAIM

HAS BEEN CLOSED THEREFORE THERE IS NOTHING OWED BY YOURSELF AND A

REFUND HAS BEEN ISSUED- Thank you.

We can confirm that we are no longer pursuing the damage claim or repair amount from you for the

damage to our vehicle.

The reason I have posted this final post of this thread is because:

1: To thank the contributors to this post.
2: To let other people know that they don't have to accept situations like this should a Commercial Giant Company 'try it on'.

Seeing as the Car Hire company have been straight with the refund, I think it is fair that I do not mention them by name.  A quick look on Google tells me there are more than 5 huge UK car hirers.

Jenni_D

Have they also refunded/not taken the £60 parking charge?

FrankFalcon

Jenni_D said:

Have they also refunded/not taken the £60 parking charge?

I haven't yet received the money back to my card, so I can't say yet.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

born_again said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Years ago car rental company tried to charge me for damage (scratch) on a returned car, photos showed the car had been moved, once pointed out they dropped it. 

4 weeks is a long time to notify on something like this IMHO. 

@born_again OP mentions credit card, does Section 75 cover the extra charge as a separate thing or does it need to be linked to the payment for the car hire? 

Would OP get far with a chargeback? 

Sure the rental place could sue after a chargeback but then burden of proof would be upon rental company which makes OP’s life easier.

These days car hire co's do not seem to contest chargebacks. In my experience, but plenty customers call back asking what do we do we have got a debt co chasing for the money.
They just take the legal route to claim money back.

S75 is all down to the T/C & car hire co's have the likes of "Charges for parking covered" as I said above. 
Same with damage etc.
So no breach of contract &/or misrepresentation 🤷‍♀️

Thanks @born_again  

I see OP has got this resolved but in general I think the customer is better off with a chargeback and (maybe) being sued in a case like this.

If they'd reported the nail within say 48 hours it's a bit different but after 4 weeks the argument should be "anything could have happened in that time" and the car hire company, as the party making the claim, would need to show otherwise which is easier for the customer than proving they didn't get a nail in the tyre if making a claim rather than doing a chargeback.

FrankFalcon

Hey all.  Thank you for your help.  So, the car hire firm put the money back on my card and now today, the Credit Card company have upheld my claim and they have paid me back BOTH amounts.  As it stands, I am in profit!  Yes, I know that I will have to pay back soon, but I think a huge lesson has been learned here.

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?