Well OK there's probably some small print in my car-hire contract to allow it...but the ****ers have taken £255.50 out me VISA without so much as a "Dear Sir, please bend over..." communication...
Well I'm going to query it with VISA and Europcar will get my WRATH 
Are you really an illegitimate ? 
They did this to me two years ago, I will never deal with them again.
Ohh I thought this was going to be a TDF spoiler!
It will be for damage done. ( alledgedly) Did you check it over before and after an sign the form?
Why do you think they take a swipe of your credit card ?? For fun ??
I checked the car pretty well, only found a tiny mark (that would polish out) on the DS rear light cluster afterwards.
There was some confusion initially as they gave me the paperwork for the wrong car, but I've kept the form I was given and had a witness (my big sister, who can be mean as **** ), so they'd best get ready for a fight.
This happened to me three weeks ago! It's supposed to be explained to you when you initially collect the car. I tried explaining this to the petrol station when I couldn't pay for my fuel at the local petrol station... 
No such letter needed, it's all in the contract.
When you signed the car out, you checked it over thoroughly, right?
When you handed the car back, you gave it to a human to get it signed all clear?
Otherwise, teeth-sucking time, I'm afraid...
Thought so
Yes.
No, it was shut.
Otherwise...I think you mean it's small claims summons time and they can provide evidence as to the damage?
Vehicle hire places are crap.
Burnt Tree were fun to deal with when we last hired a van. Merc Sprinter with digital fuel gauge like a battery indicator on a phone. Brimmed tank before returning as per contract, but couldn't get last bar on fuel gauge to light up.
Returned van telling them this, was told we'd get hit for a fuel surcharge regardless, as it wasn't full.
Took keys back off desk. Drove van back down road to petrol station, filled up to brim again with 24p of fuel. Gauge still reading 1 bar short.
Rang them and said I wasn't starting engine and using any fuel again until they accepted it was full, and that fuel gauge must be faulty. If they didn't believe me they needed to come and look for themselves. "Okay, bring it back, we believe you".
Upon return they tried saying because we'd used the tail lift a lot we'd used more fuel, and as it wasn't full we were going to get hit by surcharge. After failing to get them to understand that fuel usage was not the issue, I pulled out fuel receipt for 24p plus mobile phone photos - 1 of brimmed filler neck, two pulled back far enough to see van + registration plate.
Only then did they shut up.
Never dealt with such an unpleasant company. Horrible.
jeez al - somebody has to pay tommy voeckler's wages you know
(maybe you could get a podium apearance in return ?)
you should have had it checked on return. As you have no proof of condition on return your case is weak
TJ - similarly they cannot argue the toss either.
Al - get Visa to sort it out. Say it is unauthorised and that will sort you some time to get it dealt with.
Going well in Le Tour though aren't they.
TandemJeremy - Member
you should have had it checked on return. As you have no proof of condition on return your case is weak
You thnk they come in at 6pm to do that just for me?
Proof...neither have they got any, we both have evidence though.
Don't matter al. All they have to show is a defect that is not on the orginal thing you signed. You is stuffed.
When we hire a car, we just cough up the extra to have that waived, yeah sure it costs more initially, but in the event of anything happening it sure as hell costs less.
It still works out cheaper for us to do it that way than own a car.
Yup - I always pay for full insurance - off the net if not available from the car hirer, never hand the car back without getting it checked and signed for.
TandemJeremy - Member
Don't matter al. All they have to show is a defect that is not on the orginal thing you signed. You is stuffed.
Really? I can't go to court on it?
Was this in Spain by any chance ? I have lost count of the number of times a rental company has tried to get me to sign for a car with damage not logged on the paperwork. They just wait from some poor sucker to not check properly.
One company even told me a diesel car was petrol once, wrote it on the paper and everything - I make them sign and date that now, they think I'm a mad crazy lady but I don't care.
Try to get the cc company to cancel the payment, good luck with that tho if you signed one of the old-fashioned imprint things.
You de lawyer
Have you asked them what the charge is for?
Whenever I hire a car or van now, I take plenty of pictures, and then a few more (especially of the corners) before leaving the hire place. I then take plenty more before handing the keys back in. Takes about five minutes, and if they can see you doing this, it tends to put 'em off pulling a fast one.
The "full insurance" thing isn't really that great. You've just insured yourself against the damage waiver. So they claim 255 quid of you, then you have to claim it off the people you used to insure the excess damage thing with.
This adds in another company to argue with!
Used Enterprise loads of times, even returned a brand new Zafira full of mud in the boot after a wet welsh MTB holiday, assumed I'd get stung for a valet at least, nothing. Seem to be a safe bet, price is relatively competitive and they do the whole pick up drop off thing.
They are now looking into it.
Well it's put me in a fighting mood which is a good thing!
I know it's no consolation but i'll share a story of revenge...
A certain Hire company tried to get in excess of three grand out on me when I returned a brand new Honda Civic I had broken a little. I drove it to an uplift at bringwood down the, at the time rather rough fire road, in the manner of a rally car and with the 'you can do whatever the hell you like to a hire car' attitude (much younger and slightly stupider).
Anyway turns out I aired it a little in to a large hole and destroyed most of the front near side suspension and cracked the top mount etc. Proper fooked.
Limped it home, cleaned and polished the rest of the car and made it as shiny as possible and returned it to said hire place and parked it in the darkest corner of the underground car park with damaged corner next to the wall, went in at about 5 to 9 on monday morning when I knew they would be flat out busy. Guy took one look at it from the office and saw the nice shininess and sign it off as being returned as it left without a second thought.
Two days later phone call
Them - ' What the hell did you do to this Civic, there's about three grand of damage to this vehicle you hired, you'll have to pay for that'
Me - 'Strange I have a document signed by your staff to say it was returned in the condition it left'
Them - 'yes but you'll have to pay for it'
Me 'I have a document signed by your staff to say it was returned in the condition it left, I'll see you in court if you want?'
Them - 'Um'
Me - 'Is that all?'
Them - Silence...
Never heard anything again and have subsequently used same hire firm without issue.
I vaguely remember a similar incident a few years ago with National - they put through £250 as deposit when I took the car, then they return it when you take it back, or so they say, it's to make sure there is room on your credit card if they do need to claim. Sounded a bit illegal to me !
OHH, that's not a very hippy-ish thing to do is it?
I know it's no consolation but i'll share a story of revenge...
Well, it's probably no consolation to al but it gives everyone else a possibly useful insight into how dishonest you are.
Pfft the number of times they have tried to stiff me for money it's the least they deserve. If they had pulled me up on it I would have claimed off the insurance. Their oversight their problem. Im not going to go out of my way to hand them 3k if they don't do there job properly.
Just as I wouldn't take a car back and say 'incidentally there's a tiny nick here that may have been here before but because its so small you need an electron microscope to see it, but im sure you won't have noticed previously and it wasn't on the original hand out sheet so will you please try and charge me for a full respray of the whole car'. Which is pretty much what they tried to do to me before.
I hire a van occasionally from a local garage. Very laid back, no deposit, hardly any paperwork, no proof of identity required (other than driving licence and no form to fill in stating what marks are on the van before it leaves the garage.
First time I rented from them I started looking round the van for damage and the owner said "it's got a few little marks, don't worry about what happens unless it's a big bump"
Won't use anybody else now!
I hire cars quite a lot, practice relating to damage has become a bit more relaxed recently, I never take out the additional insurance and nearly always hand it back when the place is closed...
The only company I wouldn't got with because of their shitey practices is Sixt.
Oh for the ideal world where everyone is honest and trust is not mis-placed. There'd be no stories like Al's and OHH's...
Enterprise recently tried to do me for half a tank of fuel (it was half full when given to me). I hate car rental companies. Given a choice, I'd rather take a bus.
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