Europcar debt - poor practice

sara.mene · 22 May 2018 at 6:12PM

Last April I rented a car from Europcar (Manchester, UK) and was given a car with a few scratches. Dumb enough, I didn't take pictures of it and didn't make sure everything was noted down. I had to return the car in the night out of hours and I followed the instructions I was given (again I haven't taken any pictures). The next day I phoned Europcar and I have been told my practice was closed with only £6-7 charge for extra-mileage. There was no note related to damage or any accident damage report.
After 2 weeks, I received a letter from Europcar – at my old address, despite having given them my actual one when I picked up the car - saying that the car I returned presented 3 new damages, 2 scratches and a scuff in the bumper.
I have then opened a dispute since I hadn't been provided of any strong evidence of the damage, which I am still waiting for. The pictures Europcar’s sent me have no date attached to it. To my knowledge, they could have been taken at any time before/after my rental period. In addition, one of the scratches was already present at the time of the pick-up and listed in the rental agreement, which was removed from the claim after my first complaint.
This deliberate unprofessional behaviour has persisted when I tried to solve this issue via email, together with my solicitor. In fact, Europcar has never answered to my/his emails, which clearly shows Europcar’s unreliability.
I have also requested all my personal data under the UK Data Protection Act, which I have never been given, hence Europcar's failure to adhere to the DPA as well.

To add on to Europcar’s unclear practice, the first damage report claimed the ridiculous amount of £493.62. After asking to clarify this, I received a second report, where the amount magically dropped to £322.02. However, in the summary, an arbitrary figure of £142 appears under the voice “material cost/paint”, which was listed as £0 in the dedicated section of the report. Despite phone calls and emails, this inconsistency has not been solved yet.
I have sent my last email to Europcar on 15/11/2017 and only last night (6 months after) I have been contacted, not by Europcar, but by a Debt Recovery Department of a firm in Stratford, who apparently is now in charge of bugging me until I pay this “debt”.
After putting the account on hold with the Debt Department, I called Europcar this morning and they said we need to reach financial settlement, hence I have to pay. No need to say that in this moment I feel totally fooled by Europcar.
Does anybody have an idea of who I should contact to solve this entire mess, cancel this unfair debt and fill in a formal complaint?
If not, despite the fact I don’t owe a penny to them, what happens if I now pay Europcar? Will I still receive emails and post from the Debt Recovery Department of this firm?
Is there anyone here that had similar issues with Europcar?

sourcrates · 22 May 2018 at 8:15PM

Hi,

Unfortunately you now appear to be at an impasse, they say one thing, you say another.

Basically if they took you to court, they would have to provide credible evidence that you were responsible for the damage, from what you have said, it appears all they can produce are generic pictures that could of been taken at any time, not exactly credible evidence then.

My suggestion would be to write to them, cc a copy to the tame debt collector as well, tell them you refute their claims about the damage, they have not provided credible proof you caused the damage, and you will not be paying.

Then invite them to either take you to court to deal with it once and for all, or to remove all your details from there systems and never contact you again about this matter.

National_Debtline · 23 May 2018 at 1:31PM

Hi sara.mene and welcome to MSE,

I would suggest asking Europcar for a copy of their complaints procedure and specifically who you escalate a complaint to. Europcar appear to have given you their final answer on the situation (in that they believe you owe for the repairs), and as you are unhappy with this, it needs to be escalated and hopefully this may avoid court action and more costs. You could also try and speak to the Citizen's Advice Consumer Service on 0345 404 05 06.

Write to the debt collector and explain the matter is in dispute and ask them to put it on hold (which they should do). Don't worry about a debt collector - they are not bailiffs and have no right of entry or repossession.

Laura
@natdebtline

sara.mene · 24 May 2018 at 6:20PM

Hi,

Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

Two days ago I sent an email to Europcar saying that I am not willing to pay as they haven't provided any credible evidence. Their answer was that they wouldn't open the dispute anymore, they won't stop legal action against me and that from now on I have to deal with their legal partners. I have then contacted the debt department of the firm and said I will pay only if they provide me with evidence - didn't feel like mentioning court, as I don't have the legal knowledge to be absolutely sure I would win a case like that.
After that, the debt department has sent me an automated email saying they would contact their clients and get back to me, but still no answer. Should I call them and put pressure or just leave it until they get back to me?

Regarding further escalation, I am not sure what you mean, Laura. During the last year I have been put through so many people inside Europcar that I wouldn't know who to contact anymore. Should I call Europcar again and ask for a specific department?

sourcrates · 24 May 2018 at 7:19PM

Hi sara,

You need to stay off the phone to these people now, everything you do should be in writing only as you are in dispute with them, and need a paper trail as proof, in case you need it.

They are registered in France, there is an email address I have found if you dispute a damage bill :

3. Claims

If you wish to contest your damage invoice, you can send a claim to our Customer Relations department ecicustomerservice@europcar.com.
You may also file a claim with the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) (http://www.ecrcs.eu/).

Dont know if you have seen this, but maybe you should send them your dispute ?

As I said before, it may come down to contesting their claim in court, and letting a judge decide, but try the email above first.

Mark. · 26 May 2018 at 9:05PM

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi sara,

You need to stay off the phone to these people now, everything you do should be in writing only as you are in dispute with them, and need a paper trail as proof, in case you need it.

They are registered in France, there is an email address I have found if you dispute a damage bill :

3. Claims

If you wish to contest your damage invoice, you can send a claim to our Customer Relations department ecicustomerservice@europcar.com.
You may also file a claim with the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) ).

Dont know if you have seen this, but maybe you should send them your dispute ?

As I said before, it may come down to contesting their claim in court, and letting a judge decide, but try the email above first.

Hey Sara. Don’t waste your time with either of the above. The email provided is not where you want to email it’s for European rentals only, and the ECRCS is not the ombudsman you want either, the correct one is the BVRLA.

Europcar are actually the most stringent with damage procedures, and head office will refund a charge “willy nilly” if there’s even a whiff of damage not being able to stand in court additionally a branch is fined £5,000 and staff can loose commission if a damage charge is refunded so staff don’t “con” people because it really isn’t worth their time.

Ok it’s fair enough that damage was duplicated, it can happen from time to time - Human error. The reason the damage would have dropped is the return agent would have input into the system what the damage is and it returns a generic charge to cover all and more of the damage in case it’s worse than thought. That’s where a damage assessor comes into play, they give an accurate figure and refund where appropriate - Note, they can’t charge more than initially processed into the computer.

If they’re not caring for your complaints it probably because they have sufficient evidence to suggest you caused or you were in charge of the vehicle when a third party caused the damage.

The problem is, You need to provide Europcar (and any other car rental company) evidence that you did NOT cause the damage or it was preexisting. As you’d have signed their rental agreement at the bottom right to confirm you were aware of preexisting damage and anything not noted on the agreement at the end of term would be your responsibility.

The pictures that they use are taken from a Sony camera which electronically holds the date and time on the computer so they can provide this if you ask. They also upload these documents to a system called Atraxia where the pictures from damage recorded on that date must be uploaded before midnight for damage assessors to see otherwise the charge is refunded and closed. Europcar then have 4 weeks from the date the images were approved to contact you about the damage.

As long as they have your signature next to that, then you don’t have a leg to stand on I’m afraid

Even the BVRLA wouldn’t be interested, if they see the signed contract then they will just tell you there is nothing they can do.

Mark. · 26 May 2018 at 9:12PM

I should also have pointed out that I was a damage assessor for Europcar so I know the process like the back of my hand. If you have any questions though, fire them my way and I will give you an accurate answer.

Zadzad · 26 May 2018 at 9:28PM

Mark, hope this is not seen to be hijacking but I picked up a europcar yesterday. The 1st car offered had 9 separate areas of damage and I was not happy. Now my suspicion is every area of damage they would have charged the previous hire excesses and yet not repaired the car. They then offered a 2nd car which was clear of damage on the sheet but had a couple of stone chips and when I pointed them out to the chap in car park he said they record stone chips. It was stansted so busy, and hired for me but wished they had chosen enterprise. They have a grid card.

Zadzad · 26 May 2018 at 9:30PM

Don!!!8217;t record stone chips

Mark. · 26 May 2018 at 9:35PM

Zadzad wrote: »

Mark, hope this is not seen to be hijacking but I picked up a europcar yesterday. The 1st car offered had 9 separate areas of damage and I was not happy. Now my suspicion is every area of damage they would have charged the previous hire excesses and yet not repaired the car. They then offered a 2nd car which was clear of damage on the sheet but had a couple of stone chips and when I pointed them out to the chap in car park he said they record stone chips. It was stansted so busy, and hired for me but wished they had chosen enterprise. They have a grid card.

Cosmetic damage is only repaired at the end of the hire, they would loose too much money with the car being immobilised every time a small scratch had to be repaired as they only lease the cars for a very short amount of time. Usually 2 to 6 months.

That’s correct, every car rental company in the UK big or small have to adhere to the BVRLA Fair Wear and Tear policy - They are not allowed to make their own policy relating to damage.

For example Small chips and scratches less than half an inch are acceptable damages under the fair wear and tear and wouldn’t be charged for.

Europcar debt - poor practice

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