Damage to rental van...

frag420

Good evening!

***Firstly just to say UI am based in the UK but hoping someone can advise as I don't think the law around this is UK specific***

Last week I returned a rental van to the depot at 4pm as agreed in the rental agreement. I gave them the keys and I was told that as there was nobody available to inspect the van and that they will get in touch if there are any issues and I am free to leave. As I always do I leave and jump in an uber to go to work. Today I got a missed call from them, I listened to the voicemail and they tell me there is damage to the van to which they have taken a further £300 from my account. I called them to dispute this as there was no damage when I left it back. They did not send the email Re damage until 8.30pm on the day of the rental, four and a half hours after returning it (only saw it today after their call). They say I am responsible for the van until an inspection is completed.

So my questions are...

Once I give back the keys surely the van is no longer my responsibility? They claim its my responsibility until the inspection is done, can't see anything about that in the contract.

The agreement was that it was to be left back by 4pm, this I did by hading the keys to the lady at the desk to which she said there was nobody avail t inspect and they will get in touch if any issues. . Surely they should have had someone on hand to inspect knowing that I was returning the van. I even called them in advice to let them know I may be a bit late due to traffic however I was on time.

They said they inspected the van within minutes of me leaving but did not give me the opportunity to inspect with them as they claim I had left however they also said I had left the office and it was within 30 secs of me leaving that they inspected the van. Surely they should have called me to inspect with them as I did when I rented the van from them and as I do with all other rental companies when returning a vehicle!?

On the post rental check form there is a dent on the opposite side of the van and in the exact same spot as the damage on the other side that they claim I caused. On the post rental inspection the initial dent is now gone (must have vanished while I had the vehicle) and a new one is there but on the opposite side to which they say I am liable.

I rented from them In Aug too, from looking at the docs they sent at the time I can see there are several bits of "damage" from Aug that are still on the van (same van, checked the reg) yet they have not been fixed so no doubt they have taken money from others for those faults, surely they need to actually fix the damage they are charging for?

Lastly I booked the van using my personal account to which they charged the initial fee yet they took the £300 from my business account (they had these details on file from previous deposit for a rental, can they do this?)

Any help greatly appreciated!

Lenar3556

Good practice is to take lots of photos when collecting the thing and when you have dropped it back.

Is there perhaps a rather simple explanation that the alleged damage was always there but was recorded on the wrong vehicle side on the paperwork?

There is no particular obligation on them to repair damage that they have charged for. They can simply take the position that they have recovered compensation for loss of vehicle value which will be realised when the van is sold and that is it.

Taking payment from a card/account which existed on their system from a previous rental may be an issue - have you authorised transactions from this source? You could certainly raise this with them as a separate matter to the damage.

asdfg22

Firstly was the fact that they did not inspect the vehicle in your presence on the phone or email? if its in an email i expect you ok?

What you need to do is apply for a chargeback from your credit card provider, i expect they have broke the terms of contract by taking the funds from wrong card. Also contact the other credit card supplier and make them aware of what happened, you also have the option of cancelling the original card used. I wouldn't even bother engaging with them as the credit card company should sort this one. They will have to produce evidence of car going oujt and car return, the damage from previous rental may ne useful if it can confirm damage in same area.

I expect you have a good chance of recovering your funds.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058273154/damage-to-rental-van

Car rental in UK, 2 days dropped it back and as I waited something prompted me to walk around and video the car body. When they dealt with me they said there was damage to paint on the door. I went out and sure enough there was a 2 inch scrape. I showed them the video I had taken without the scrape, said I'd be happy for the police to come out and the issue evaporated. All my deposit was returned to the cc. Then I made a complaint to the Office of fair Trading.

Rental vehicle outfits are sharks. Photo/video/witnesses and if necessary threaten to call the police.