budget car hire took £625 for no reason??

deano72_2

was checking my bank statements noticed that budget had taken £625.00 out of my account with out any reason,,,i hired car in austria,when i took it back it was dirty so they had quick look said ok but could not sign it off till they had washed it to check for scratches..so far as i know the car was returned as i found it,the only thing i can think of is they mite of found something after it was washed,,if they did they havent told me,just withdrew £625 for other reason,,,tried to call there customer care but closed for wkend.has anyone had simular exsperiance...

matthewn.green

Shouldn't have handed the car back without their signature agreeing on the condition. Unfortunately, you've left yourself wide open.

Crabman

If they refused to inspect at the time, it'd have been best to write on the receipt "staff declined to inspect vehicle".

It would be interesting to contact them and ask how they can prove any alleged damage was caused by you when they declined to inspect it in your presence.

Have a look at the following threads on similar issues:

Car hire 'damage' - should I pay up?
Charged for car hire damage that we didn't make
Charged £280 excess for car hire!
Scratch on returned hire car

lauren_1

Until its inspected and signed off you are still technically hiring the car, BUT how did they withdraw the money? Credit card, debit card or from your bank account?

deano72_2

when i handed it back the guy went down stairs to inspect it, he came back up said appears all ok but canot sign it off as it was dirty,but if there was £625 worth (which 99.9% there was not)it should shown up even if it was dirty!!
i think they must of got the £ out from when i had to give £500 deposit from my debit card when i picked it up..
foned the uk customer care today,but said it could take up to 10 days to see why as they have to liase with there branch in austria..

MarkyMarkD

It doesn't have to have been £625 worth. If there is any amount of damage, many hire companies will take the full excess and only refund any difference once the repair has been completed. The (valid) basis for this is that you can't always see the full damage until parts have been removed, for example.

Wig

deano72 wrote: »

he came back up said appears all ok but canot sign it off as it was dirty,..

As soon as I heard this it would ring alarm bells, it sounds like a line from a hire company who take every opportunity to rip a customer off.

As they are in Austria I don't fancy your chances of getting your money back. If you are going to hire a car you should try to pretend you don't have a credit/debit card, because they can charge you afterwards. And you should take photos of the car and get every minor scratch recorded on the hire out sheet.

I won't ever hire another vehicle in my life if I can at all help it. They are too greedy these days.

Hintza

Wig wrote: »

I won't ever hire another vehicle in my life if I can at all help it. They are too greedy these days.

You can still get good deals but you must be on your gaurd.

I hired a Corsa for a couple of days and the sheet said there was no damage, fortunately the guy who dropped me off was still there and by the time I had finished inspecting it we had noted damage on every panel (except the roof and I was miffed I hadn't found anything on that).

The reason I was being so meticulous was there was an eldely gentleman who was getting hammered for a chip on the windscreen which he was adamant was there when he had hired it.

On the other hand if you hire in Italy they are all bashed and scraped and they don't really seem to bother too much.

deano72_2

welli did fone them in austria,they tried telling me there was scratches to lhs rear door & a scrape on rear rhs wheel arch,if it was a scrape im sure a blind man would of spotted that when i returned it.i know this is total tosh so had a row with her,,asked to see all the hire records since i dropped it off,even said they can delete all customer details ect ,she said cant send this as its confidential,(whats confidential about that?)i also asked to see a full garage report..she said well i can send you fotos,well tbh that dont prove anything,them fotos could been taken anytime or it even mite be a different car for all i know..im thinking of getting a solictor on it but not sure if im just throwing my money away..normally im v laid back about these things,but they are blatantly taking the pi55 & i didnt know this sort of thing is common,,think sometimes im to trusting,but think this is a valuable lesson lernt either way.