Car rental company deduct €1,250 for 'damage'

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My father-in-law rented a car when he was visiting us from a car rental company in Dublin Airport. Went home and they released the €1,300 hold on his credit card. Then 8 days later they deducted €1,250 damages saying there was substantial damage to the car.

There wasn't - the car was perfect handed back, saw it myself. But we are awaiting the paperwork to see what exactly they are claiming.

What is our move here? Solicitor's Letter?

He lives in Russia so I'd guess I need to somehow get the right to pursue the claim on his behalf. Anyone any idea how this would be done?

In general, anyone who has any advice from past experience with car rental companys; I would highly appreciate it.

As I haven't mentioned the name of the company, its probably safe enough to say that I suspect this is something they do with overseas customers who are unlikely to be able to follow through on claims for the money back.

smodgley

why not name the company?

dudara

Don't name the company if there is any potential legal action. It could damage your case.

I'd wait and see what paperwork they send through. They should provide documentation to support the charge to the car.

Did you FIL inspect the car before and after the rental with an agent, and sign the return form?

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

dudara wrote: »

Don't name the company if there is any potential legal action. It could damage your case.

I'd wait and see what paperwork they send through. They should provide documentation to support the charge to the car.

Did you FIL inspect the car before and after the rental with an agent, and sign the return form?

Not going to name them, of course.

It was 10pm when we picked up the car and we noticed the few scratches the next morning that we didn't ring in to say they were already there. But even if they unfairly charge him for these, there was nothing that come close to €1,250 worth of damage. It was literally just a few scratches.

jor el

Can he prove there was no damage, did he take pictures on returning it? Either that or was there an inspection on returning the car, or was it just left in a parking lot.

I'm not a fan of the way they handle the returns sometimes, when you just leave the car in a car park and drop the keys to a desk in the airport, where no one has actually seen you leave the car back. It's ripe for abuse of the customer if someone hits the car in the car park (which I've actually seen happen). Always take photographic evidence of the car in the returns car park.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

jor el wrote: »

Can he prove there was no damage, did he take pictures on returning it? Either that or was there an inspection on returning the car, or was it just left in a parking lot.

I'm not a fan of the way they handle the returns sometimes, when you just leave the car in a car park and drop the keys to a desk in the airport, where no one has actually seen you leave the car back. It's ripe for abuse of the customer if someone hits the car in the car park (which I've actually seen happen). Always take photographic evidence of the car in the returns car park.

Was my first time involved in rental, so wasn't expecting it to be that dodgy. Suppose the issue is what do we do now given that no photos were taken?!

smodgley

was there a damage report with the car showing where the scratches were when you picked the car up,plus the car company will have photographs of any damage they say that was done to the car during your father in laws rental,i agree 1300 is a hell of alot for a few scrathes,

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

smodgley wrote: »

was there a damage report with the car showing where the scratches were when you picked the car up,plus the car company will have photographs of any damage they say that was done to the car during your father in laws rental,i agree 1300 is a hell of alot for a few scrathes,

They just gave us the car and sent us on our way tbh. ah suppose I'll wait for the accident report to arrive (currently winging its way very slowly to St. Petersburg!) and then move forward from that.

PCPhoto

normally they inspect the vehicle before and after the vehicle is returned - I suspect that this is the case and its possibly an admin error.

your father should ask them why the alleged damage was not pointed out to him at time of return inspection - Does your father still have the documentation given to him on rental - which shows any damage/scratches prior to hire!

my advice is wait for them to give you proof of what they claim - otherwise wait a week or so and inform them you are passing the matter to a solicitor and they will be charged for your legal fees and the stress of being accused of causing over €1K damages to a vehicle.

to be honest it could just be a mistake on their behalf (wrong person charged) but being accused of causing damage is a fairly serious accusation for them to make and try to claim money.... so either way I would be very annoyed with them and would make sure at the end of the situation that you will not be using them in the future and will not be recommending them to any friends/family.

mik_da_man

I used to work for a car rental company and your father in law could be in a tough suitation.

When you rent a car you should always check for any damage. and always get full insurance.
You should get a damage report card with the car and any damage on it should be noted, if it's not marked on the form it needs to be notified to the rental co before you drive out of the yard.
When you noticed the damage the next day you should have immediatley told the rental co.

Techinally he is liable for the damage if he accepted the car and it left the rental co without notifying the damage to them. They can calim the damage happened after he left and tbh he can't prove otherwise.

Also rental companies charge a premium for repairing damage, 2 or3 scratched panels could mount up to 1300 easily enough.

How was the return dealt with? was it just a drop-off or did someone do a quick inspection and sign it as returned?

ch750536

I've been looking to fight a case like this against the rental companies but I have been very lucky... On the 2 occasions where they charged me the first I owned up to (I did damage the car & notified them) the second they just tried to pull a fast one.
It was a rental at heathrow and I recorded me handing the keys back, them saying they dont have time to inspect the vehicle and I took a load of photos before & after. About a week later £850 was taken off my card.
I kept quiet and awaited the damage report & then called to contest it. I told them they declined to examine the car so it is their issue, they disagreed. I then sent a registered mail stating I did not believe these charges were lawful & sent a copy to mastercard.
They replied with a 'fu' letter. I then sent another letter stating I had recorded the return of the vehicle and had 23 pictures of it when it was returned. I also sent a copy to mastercard. They responded with a phone call apologising for the mix up and they refunded the card.
So my experience is that some rental companies will try to pull a fast one, always cover yourself.

Eleganza

mik_da_man wrote: »

I used to work for a car rental company and your father in law could be in a tough suitation.

When you rent a car you should always check for any damage. and always get full insurance.
You should get a damage report card with the car and any damage on it should be noted, if it's not marked on the form it needs to be notified to the rental co before you drive out of the yard.
When you noticed the damage the next day you should have immediatley told the rental co.

Techinally he is liable for the damage if he accepted the car and it left the rental co without notifying the damage to them. They can calim the damage happened after he left and tbh he can't prove otherwise.

Also rental companies charge a premium for repairing damage, 2 or3 scratched panels could mount up to 1300 easily enough.

How was the return dealt with? was it just a drop-off or did someone do a quick inspection and sign it as returned?

Hard to do that when most of the rental cars in Dublin Airport are carrying significant amounts of damage already.
Budget Car Rental and Murrays Car rental were\are renting out 08 cars with over 100k km on them and damage everywhere.
Enterprise car rental are renting out '10 reg Pandas with significant amounts of damage on them.
Murrays have now gone in to liquidation and I'm trying to get back 78 euro from my credit card company that they deducted for a tank of petrol even though I left it back filled to the brim.
Car Rental in Ireland is a very unprofessionel business.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

mightybashful

Eleganza wrote: »

Hard to do that when most of the rental cars in Dublin Airport are carrying significant amounts of damage already.
Budget Car Rental and Murrays Car rental were\are renting out 08 cars with over 100k km on them and damage everywhere.
Enterprise car rental are renting out '10 reg Pandas with significant amounts of damage on them.
Murrays have now gone in to liquidation and I'm trying to get back 78 euro from my credit card company that they deducted for a tank of petrol even though I left it back filled to the brim.
Car Rental in Ireland is a very unprofessionel business.

All rentals cars carry significant damages. It's the way dopes treat other peoples' property. It's like leaving an unmade bed in a hotel rom you've checked out of. You know it'll be someone else's problem.

Did you sign for pre-paid fuel by any chance when you rented your car? In this case you should have returned your car with an empty fuel tank.

Del2005

Eleganza wrote: »

Hard to do that when most of the rental cars in Dublin Airport are carrying significant amounts of damage already.

That's the reason why you need to spend a decent amount of time checking the car out before you leave the yard. All marks and dents get signed on the way out and then you're OK on the way back. Also check the tyres for damage and too make sure their legal, it's not the hire companies fault if you get pulled with illegal tyres.

If you don't check for damage when picking the car up you're just making it easy for the hire company to make more money off you.

Stinicker

Ireland has the most corrupt car rental companies in the world, they rip everyone off with fee's about 3 to 5 times the EU Average and rent out absolute junk quality vehicles usually cheapo asian cars like Daewoo or Kia.

Over the last few years my family relations would come home from the states for 3 weeks or a month each summer and each time they almost always ended up paying well over €1k (€1,900 in one case) from different thieving companies. My sister bought a new car in 2005 and her old toyota was not worth that much so we put it in the garage and kept it running and in good nick, I then got it NCT'd, taxed for 3 months and we put its ownership in my american aunts name and we got it insured in her name for her for €280 as she kept her Irish driving licence valid despite living in the states for nearly 30 years.

Anyway long story short she had a months car use for less than €500 saving almost €1.5k compared to the rip-off car companies at Shannon. Mastercard for provide rental insurance for their US Customers worldwide but Ireland, Israel and Nigeria are the only countries not covered due to the amount of fraud within the car rental business and high number of claims.

listermint

Stinicker wrote: »

Ireland has the most corrupt car rental companies in the world, they rip everyone off with fee's about 3 to 5 times the EU Average and rent out absolute junk quality vehicles usually cheapo asian cars like Daewoo or Kia.

Over the last few years my family relations would come home from the states for 3 weeks or a month each summer and each time they almost always ended up paying well over €1k (€1,900 in one case) from different thieving companies. My sister bought a new car in 2005 and her old toyota was not worth that much so we put it in the garage and kept it running and in good nick, I then got it NCT'd, taxed for 3 months and we put its ownership in my american aunts name and we got it insured in her name for her for €280 as she kept her Irish driving licence valid despite living in the states for nearly 30 years.

Anyway long story short she had a months car use for less than €500 saving almost €1.5k compared to the rip-off car companies at Shannon. Mastercard for provide rental insurance for their US Customers worldwide but Ireland, Israel and Nigeria are the only countries not covered due to the amount of fraud within the car rental business and high number of claims.

Or is it because Ireland and Israel are heavily used destinations for American clients and the tend to damage cars alot.

Its quite simple to be fair, Check the car over before signing it off. Make a note of all areas of damage (take pictures if necessary) and hand back the form signed with the areas of damage marked so that both parties are aware of where the damage is before setting off.

If people werent in such a hurry to sign / jump in the car and set off it could be avoided. I dont buy that fraud is rampant here your putting 1+1 together and getting 5.

DanWall

You could dispute the payment with the credit card company, the amount wasn't as much but it worked for me, they stopped extra payment when I produced documents. That is why you cannot hire a car without a credit card.
Also when you pick the car up check for chips in the windscreen, they will do you for that also.

trishasaffron

listermint wrote: »

Or is it because Ireland and Israel are heavily used destinations for American clients and the tend to damage cars alot.

Its quite simple to be fair, Check the car over before signing it off. Make a note of all areas of damage (take pictures if necessary) and hand back the form signed with the areas of damage marked so that both parties are aware of where the damage is before setting off.

If people werent in such a hurry to sign / jump in the car and set off it could be avoided. I dont buy that fraud is rampant here your putting 1+1 together and getting 5.

This advice takes no account of practical circumstances of many rentals. I rent 7/8 times a year and at least half of those it is pitch dark in the car park and impossible to check for damage.

Having said that I rent from the same company mostly in France and in 30 or so rentals have never had a problem - fingers crossed!

Del2005

Stinicker wrote: »

Ireland has the most corrupt car rental companies in the world, they rip everyone off with fee's about 3 to 5 times the EU Average and rent out absolute junk quality vehicles usually cheapo asian cars like Daewoo or Kia.

A quick search will show that we aren't any worst for car hire scams then any other country.

Last time I was in the US, with work, we got a load of cars. The only ones which lasted the rental where Asian cars. Any of the Euro or US cars where horrible and had to be brought back.

Stinicker wrote: »

Over the last few years my family relations would come home from the states for 3 weeks or a month each summer and each time they almost always ended up paying well over €1k (€1,900 in one case) from different thieving companies. My sister bought a new car in 2005 and her old toyota was not worth that much so we put it in the garage and kept it running and in good nick, I then got it NCT'd, taxed for 3 months and we put its ownership in my american aunts name and we got it insured in her name for her for €280 as she kept her Irish driving licence valid despite living in the states for nearly 30 years.

Perhaps if they are all charging the same it could be something other than thieving. We have high insurance for normal drivers so insurance for a rental will be crazy.

trishasaffron wrote: »

This advice takes no account of practical circumstances of many rentals. I rent 7/8 times a year and at least half of those it is pitch dark in the car park and impossible to check for damage.
!

There's usually always a light at the kiosk where they check the car out, otherwise you need to be inventive. Better to spend an extra 10 minutes driving around the car hire place than getting a big bill a few weeks later.

listermint

trishasaffron wrote: »

This advice takes no account of practical circumstances of many rentals. I rent 7/8 times a year and at least half of those it is pitch dark in the car park and impossible to check for damage.

Having said that I rent from the same company mostly in France and in 30 or so rentals have never had a problem - fingers crossed!

its never 'impossible' to check for damage. You can make it your mission to have a good look around the car or else sign off for someone elses mistakes. up to you. I know what i do whenever im renting.

DanWall

Europcar in Ireland made a claim on a very small insignificant chip in the windscreen when I returned the car, I did not know it was there, fortunately I took out full insurance cover when I hired the car.
Try driving around Ireland without getting a few stones thrown up.

Paulw

DanWall wrote: »

Try driving around Ireland without getting a few stones thrown up.

I must be just lucky so, driving around Ireland for years and never having had a stone chip my window. :rolleyes:

Any time I've ever rented a car, I've always made time to check the car when getting it, and even highlighting small scratches, and then insisting that the car is checked when I bring it back. A few mins of checks saves a hell of a lot of potential hassle later.

3DataModem

mightybashful wrote: »

It's like leaving an unmade bed in a hotel rom you've checked out of. You know it'll be someone else's problem.

You're kidding, right? You know the beds are stripped and new sheets put on between guests?

3DataModem

An alternative to the full insurance is to get an annual excess insurance policy from a third-party. WAAAAAY cheaper than paying for full cover...

keithclancy

Stinicker wrote: »

Ireland has the most corrupt car rental companies in the world, they rip everyone off with fee's about 3 to 5 times the EU Average and rent out absolute junk quality vehicles usually cheapo asian cars like Daewoo or Kia.

Over the last few years my family relations would come home from the states for 3 weeks or a month each summer and each time they almost always ended up paying well over €1k (€1,900 in one case) from different thieving companies. My sister bought a new car in 2005 and her old toyota was not worth that much so we put it in the garage and kept it running and in good nick, I then got it NCT'd, taxed for 3 months and we put its ownership in my american aunts name and we got it insured in her name for her for €280 as she kept her Irish driving licence valid despite living in the states for nearly 30 years.

Anyway long story short she had a months car use for less than €500 saving almost €1.5k compared to the rip-off car companies at Shannon. Mastercard for provide rental insurance for their US Customers worldwide but Ireland, Israel and Nigeria are the only countries not covered due to the amount of fraud within the car rental business and high number of claims.

I completely disagree with you, I live in the Netherlands, work in Germany and travel on a regular basis.

Ireland is very very cheap for car rental, think i've probably rented around 20-25 cars in the last 3 years in different countries, you can get a car for 65 euros for 4 days in Dublin, whereas the same rental in Eindhoven could cost you 3 times that, same goes for Charleoi, Dusseldorf Weeze, Dusseldorf INT.

I've never had a bad experience in Ireland, the closest to one was when the Rental Company were saying I had to return the Car empty, which I wasn't happy with and they finally negated on the issue.

For car hire excess cover I used to get the excess option with Autoeurope, but now I have a yearly travel insurance with Delta Lloyd that also covers car hire excess, Policy costs 76 euros a year.

Back in Ireland for 7 days at the end of this month and car rental is costing me 90 euros with Pickup from Dublin airport, no extra pickup fee, that is fantastic value for money.

e.g.

www.autoeurope.ie
Pick-Up Details:
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin Airport
26 Nov 2011 @ 12:00
Drop-Off Details:
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin Airport
3 Dec 2011 @ 12:00


Opel Corsa 2 dr or similar
Mini · Manual

89.32 EUR Inclusive
discounted rate of the day!
original rate: 116.00 EUR

VS

Pick-Up Details:
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Eindoven Airport
25 Nov 2011 @ 14:00
Drop-Off Details:
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Eindoven Airport
2 Dec 2011 @ 14:00

Opel Corsa or similar
Economy · Manual · A/C

183.74 EUR Inclusive
discounted rate of the day!
original rate: 247.00 EUR

VS

Pick-Up Details:
Dusseldorf, Germany
Dusseldorf Airport
25 Nov 2011 @ 14:00
Drop-Off Details:
Dusseldorf, Germany
Dusseldorf Airport
2 Dec 2011 @ 14:00

VW Polo 2 dr or similar
Economy · Manual · A/C

155.67 EUR Inclusive
discounted rate of the day!
original rate: 208.00 EUR


I don't know what this 'asian junk' your talking about is, the cars i've gotten are always fine, once got a Ford Fiesta in Cork Airport that was overheating so dropped it back to Europcar and immediately got a replacement.

Stinicker

Try renting an Automatic in Ireland and be prepared to get the vaseline out, the vast majority of American tourists to Ireland have to rent an automatic and they get totally ripped off. Ok whilst renting an Auto is more expensive than a manual the gulf in prices between the two in this country compared to many others is quite alot.

Around 95% of North American tourists rent Auto's and they get totally shafted. I myself rent an Auto while abroad also as I drive one here and having rented in Germany and Australia I found the prices to be quite low compared to the rental companies here. I rented a compact model in Germany expecting a Golf, Ford Fiesta or Similar, and I got a BMW 1 series, I'd have gotten as C'eed here most likely, in Australia I rented a Camry and Jetta and both cars were what I expecting even having a choice of colours with the Camry.

I have rented with Sixt, Europcar and Hertz and never had a problem with any of them, I did photograph all cars before hand myself as I was well aware of the crap the Irish rent companies were up to, never had any problems, and only the Jetta had a loose door hinge, which I pointed out at Brisbane Airport to tell them fix it after dropping off the car. Never had any excess charges or any nonsense from any of them.

keithclancy

Stinicker wrote: »

Try renting an Automatic in Ireland and be prepared to get the vaseline out, the vast majority of American tourists to Ireland have to rent an automatic and they get totally ripped off. Ok whilst renting an Auto is more expensive than a manual the gulf in prices between the two in this country compared to many others is quite alot.

Around 95% of North American tourists rent Auto's and they get totally shafted. I myself rent an Auto while abroad also as I drive one here and having rented in Germany and Australia I found the prices to be quite low compared to the rental companies here. I rented a compact model in Germany expecting a Golf, Ford Fiesta or Similar, and I got a BMW 1 series, I'd have gotten as C'eed here most likely, in Australia I rented a Camry and Jetta and both cars were what I expecting even having a choice of colours with the Camry.

I have rented with Sixt, Europcar and Hertz and never had a problem with any of them, I did photograph all cars before hand myself as I was well aware of the crap the Irish rent companies were up to, never had any problems, and only the Jetta had a loose door hinge, which I pointed out at Brisbane Airport to tell them fix it after dropping off the car. Never had any excess charges or any nonsense from any of them.

I take whatever is the cheapest, sometimes i'm offered an Auto, or a Diesel and I can accept it or not at no extra charge.

If your stuck needing something specific then you will pay a premium on it, simple as, in Europe we drive Manual Transmission cars, the Rental Companies don't stock a large amount of small engined auto box cars, and auto box cars cost more (3k difference in Price on the Ford Fiesta)

Of course an Auto will cost more to rent, they cost more to buy, some Premium Brand (BMW/Mercedes) cars only come in Auto, with Manual being the exception.

Ireland is miles cheaper than Germany/The Netherlands for Renting Cars, end of, even the fuel is cheaper in Ireland. Another thing to take into account is the Kilometer allowance, you'll end up paying for every kilometer over the amount included with the car, i've never seen that in Ireland.

E.G. 4 day Rental with Sixt in the Netherlands you get 600km's included, after this its 14 cent / Kilometer extra. A round trip to Frankfurt to me and that allowance is running around 20 euros extra on top of my Rental Fee.

No way man, Ireland is well cheaper I always rent when I go back to Visit and have never paid more then 15 euros a day !

Icepick

1, chargeback. The charge was without his authotization and they confirmed they were happy with the car by releasing the hold on the 1,300.

2, Wasn't there a smaller excess anyway?

slave1

I had €350 charged to my card after leaving my car back in a public airport car park in Tenerife, it was fine when I left it and they said there was damage above the rear wheel somewhere.
I (all via email) said I left it as I found it and asked them when they picked the car up and was told say, Wedesday at 4PM, I left the car off on Tuesday at 10AM so told them I could not be held responsible for damaged caused during their delay to pick the car-up, they ceded and refunded the charges.
Do agree with all the recommendations on photos, we've all got cameras on holidays or our phones, only takes a few minutes....
Not sure about full insurance though, that costs an arm an a leg, I always decline at the counter for this.

bullmccabe2010

My friend used to work for Enterprise car rental on the Longmile road. He told me that it was common practice for the guys working there to intentionally miss scratches when checking the car before it went out for rental. The scratch would then be brought to the customers attention when the car was returned and they would be charged at least €150 per mark. Most customers don't do a thorough check of the car when it's first rented and trust the employees of Enterprise to notice any damage when doing the pre check.

It's also common practice to wash the car before renting it out as it's a lot harder to spot scrapes when the bodywork is wet. And they tend to have a field day when it's raining as it's harder to see the marks and people always rush the inspection to get out of the rain.

The over-charging for repairs is where Enterprise make most of their money. Although you are charged for the repair, it's never actually repaired. They sell the car with all the damage it has acquired over it's rental period, but by that stage they can easily have made back half the price of the car by charging stupid amounts of money for each little mark it has incurred over it's rental lifetime.

In short, the car rental companies are corrupt as hell and you're advised to spend time checking everything before you get it and don't be afraid to waste their time when they try to rush you through the initial inspection. The damage business is how the Enterprise employees climb their promotional ladder!