Excessive charges for Green Motion hire car
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I'm looking for any recommendations or advice on a situation my sister is having with Green Motion car hire.
She hired what was meant to be a Ford Fiesta this morning for a trip away for a couple of days but there was some issue and she was upgraded to a Mercedes C-class. As she set off though the car was showing a tyre pressure warning which she tried to contact the hire car company about but got no response. Unfortunately she's not very experienced with cars and carried on, the tyre warning continued so she stopped and found the tyre was very low, she tried top it up but it was leaking air too quickly.
She phoned the hire company and eventually got a response, they organised Mercedes breakdown to come out to the car and they said the tyre couldn't be saved and used the sealant kit so she could get home.
When she returned to the car hire place they wanted to charge her £800 to replace the tyre and sealant kit as well as the full cost of the rental she hadn't been able to use. At that point I thought she'd be best to take the car to a tyre garage herself, get the tyre replaced and also get the tyre company to assess what had caused the puncture but by the time I got a hold of her, she'd left the car with them. The recovery mechanic had checked the tyre but said he couldn't see any sign of damage by her to the alloy or the tyre.
She's not agreed to pay anything and a manager is supposedly going to call her back but I'm expecting them to hit her for the charges anyway. I've looked up reviews of this company and they don't have a good reputation, this behaviour seems quite normal for them. It seems she didn't book directly through them so I'm trying to find out how she actually booked the car.
I'm wondering what her options are, if they do take payment then i assume she'd have to go through their complaints procedure and then if she gets nowhere try going through her credit card company?
Thanks,
John
She hired what was meant to be a Ford Fiesta this morning for a trip away for a couple of days but there was some issue and she was upgraded to a Mercedes C-class. As she set off though the car was showing a tyre pressure warning which she tried to contact the hire car company about but got no response. Unfortunately she's not very experienced with cars and carried on, the tyre warning continued so she stopped and found the tyre was very low, she tried top it up but it was leaking air too quickly.
She phoned the hire company and eventually got a response, they organised Mercedes breakdown to come out to the car and they said the tyre couldn't be saved and used the sealant kit so she could get home.
When she returned to the car hire place they wanted to charge her £800 to replace the tyre and sealant kit as well as the full cost of the rental she hadn't been able to use. At that point I thought she'd be best to take the car to a tyre garage herself, get the tyre replaced and also get the tyre company to assess what had caused the puncture but by the time I got a hold of her, she'd left the car with them. The recovery mechanic had checked the tyre but said he couldn't see any sign of damage by her to the alloy or the tyre.
She's not agreed to pay anything and a manager is supposedly going to call her back but I'm expecting them to hit her for the charges anyway. I've looked up reviews of this company and they don't have a good reputation, this behaviour seems quite normal for them. It seems she didn't book directly through them so I'm trying to find out how she actually booked the car.
I'm wondering what her options are, if they do take payment then i assume she'd have to go through their complaints procedure and then if she gets nowhere try going through her credit card company?
Thanks,
John
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Comments
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I know someone who has a car with tyre pressure sensors and only comes with a sealant in case of a flat tyre. The dealer warned him if he ever used the sealant it would get him home but it would wreck the sensor so never to use it.
As to what she has been charged you need to read the T7Cs.IT Consultant in the utilities industry specialising in the retail electricity market.
4 Credit Card and 1 Loan PPI claims settled for £26k, 1 rejected (Opus).0 -
You're not the first here to have problems with Green Motion.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=57897300 -
You're not the first here to have problems with Green Motion.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5789730
From reading around sadly this doesn't seem unusual behaviour for them, unfortunately my sister had booked through a rental app which I assume functions as a broker so didn't know who she'd actually get the car from.
I had read that thread originally but hadn't clicked it was the same company, will have another read through thanks.
John0 -
She didn't just turn around and go back to the person who'd just handed her the keys?
Unfortunately not, she's not been driving long and doesn't have a lot of experience driving cars. Although she hires on a reasonably regular basis she's never had any issues with them and she didn't think to turn straight back when the tyre pressure light didn't go out. She has learnt this lesson the hard way now.
John0 -
Driving on an underinflated tyre will quickly wreck it. She was given all the information that it was underinflated, but choose not to use it.
If she'd flagged it when she collected the car, then the tyre may have been repairable, it may not have been - but it would not have been her problem.
Now, it's definitely not repairable - and she cannot show that it isn't her problem. She has signed out the car agreeing all four tyres are good, and handed it back with a wrecked tyre and an empty sealant kit.
She returned the car to the rental company earlier than she'd booked, rather than replace the tyre and continue with the rental? Such was her choice. She'd need to read their published Ts and Cs to find out what their policy is regarding the unused, but booked, rental period.0 -
Driving on an underinflated tyre will quickly wreck it. She was given all the information that it was underinflated, but choose not to use it.
If she'd flagged it when she collected the car, then the tyre may have been repairable, it may not have been - but it would not have been her problem.
Now, it's definitely not repairable - and she cannot show that it isn't her problem. She has signed out the car agreeing all four tyres are good, and handed it back with a wrecked tyre and an empty sealant kit.
The tyre had an existing defect and it appears the rental company had inflated it just before she left, the recovery person who checked the tyre couldn't see any sign she'd damaged the tyre and the damage must have been there already.
From reading around the company seems well known for this sort of behaviour.She returned the car to the rental company earlier than she'd booked, rather than replace the tyre and continue with the rental? Such was her choice. She'd need to read their published Ts and Cs to find out what their policy is regarding the unused, but booked, rental period.
No, she returned the car because it had a damaged tyre and she was told to take it back not at all because she decided not to use the car any further. The hire company did not provide an alternative car.
John0 -
The tyre had an existing defect and it appears the rental company had inflated it just before she left, the recovery person who checked the tyre couldn't see any sign she'd damaged the tyre and the damage must have been there already.
From reading around the company seems well known for this sort of behaviour.
No, she returned the car because it had a damaged tyre and she was told to take it back not at all because she decided not to use the car any further. The hire company did not provide an alternative car.
John
You have proof that the company inflated the tyre before she left to 'hide' an issue?
How exactly would the recovery agent be able to tell that she had not damaged the tyre? Think about this - for it not to hold air, there must be an issue somewhere - how would he know if she had caused it or not? The damage could be on the inside sidewall - did he get the tyre off to inspect it? Did he put the wheel in a large tub of water and see air escaping?
She should have turned around and gone back to them when the warning came on but she chose not too.
You are using previous bad reviews with GM to bolster your 'case' against them, simply put, your daughter is at fault, inexperienced or not. We need to teach out kids to take some responsibility for their actions or inactions rather than pushing the blame on someone else.
You maybe better off at Mumsnet if your looking for sympathy.0 -
You have proof that the company inflated the tyre before she left to 'hide' an issue?
How exactly would the recovery agent be able to tell that she had not damaged the tyre? Think about this - for it not to hold air, there must be an issue somewhere - how would he know if she had caused it or not? The damage could be on the inside sidewall - did he get the tyre off to inspect it? Did he put the wheel in a large tub of water and see air escaping?
She had contacted the company just after she drove off regarding the error on the dashboard.You are using previous bad reviews with GM to bolster your 'case' against them, simply put, your daughter is at fault, inexperienced or not. We need to teach out kids to take some responsibility for their actions or inactions rather than pushing the blame on someone else.
You maybe better off at Mumsnet if your looking for sympathy.
My daughter? Perhaps you should actually read the post because you're missing most of the crucial details, I wasn't looking for sympathy and perhaps if you'd actually read the post before desperately jumping into berating myself and my sister you wouldn't have wasted time on such a useless reply.
Yes, she should have driven straight back instead of only contacting the company but the car still had a fault when she hired it and even above all that, a replacement tyre and sealant kit costs £150, no £800+ as they are trying to charge her. The GM reviews do very much bolster her position as this company seems to do this on a regular basis, if they'd charged a reasonable price for the tyre and sealant she'd have likely just paid it but these charges are excessive even aside from the fact she's not responsible.
John0 -
a replacement tyre and sealant kit costs £150, no £800+ as they are trying to charge her.
John
Yep, around £100-120 for a tyre + £20-30 for replacement sealant.
Have they broken down the £800 they are attempting to charge?Always try to be at least half the person your dog thinks you are!0
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