I've been charged £400 for a £20 car part [LBC Legal Hour]

[@TrFjAcOr]

Always get damage cover independently when hiring a car, costs peanuts and saves you. I've been stung twice in Spain and the independent insurance I got paid out each time. It's not worth doing it without them especially when abroad. Try calling a Spanish rental company that only has Spanish speaking customer service teams, insurance is your only hope.

[@guystevens5429]

Learnt the hard way that you must ALWAYS take pictures and video of every inch of a hire ca. The slightest damage will cost you hundreds and there is no way to prove you didn't cause it unless you have photos or before and have noted it on the pre-hire inspection report.

[@googleuser8740]

Wonder how common is it to get stitched up on fake damage

[@DC_18]

Happening to me right now, I hired a van for work as a courier, worked for a few months, returned the van in perfect condition. 8 months later I'm being chased by debt collection agency for damage to the totaling £5k!!! Trying to argue I know nothing about this, and I've heard nothing from the company I rented the van from, asked for proof of debt and evidence but I get nothing and still being chased. I'm livid, disgusted and a wreck, I don't know what to do at this point 😢

[@saluterm]

@@DC_18call Daniel

[@tomsixsix]

Happened to me but fortunately I had pictures.

[@simonharris4873]

​@@DC_18I know radio station you could call for advice

[@keirbourne5323]

I used to work for a van hire company, we used to tell every customer that they had damaged the van and charged them £250. Most people challenged it, and if they did, we withdrew it, but a good 25%+ of people would just pay it after we sent them fake pictures and threatening messages.

[@paulthomas8262]

What I wonder with some car hires, is whether they actual carry out the work on minor things or are they pocketing money. I had the same thing in Italy, where I did manage to get remove one claim due to video evidence, but minor scratches on a plastic hub cap were added, which didn;t show up on video. I suspect they never replaced the hub cap, and just marked for future. I asked them to provide evidence that would carry out the work, they did actually say yes, but I kind of knew they wouldn't bother. Some of the more seemly good value companies they get money one way or another.

[@matthewhudson7390]

What the caller can do and I note the barrister doesn’t bother to mention is to demand evidence of repair (ie repair invoice). The rental company probs won’t actually get the repair done and if they don’t supply the invoice 3 - 6 months after the return then the caller can recover the excess.

[@simonharris4873]

They most likely charge everyone who hits that car and doesn't notice the damage for the same repair.

[@Drenwickification]

Wouldn’t the rental company have to prove that they lost money by having the car out of service for a day or two? I.e. show their fleet was at full capacity at the time it was repaired? Just seems unfair for these companies to be able to rip off people in such ridiculous ways like this

[@stco2426]

Also, I don't see how they can add their loss of rental income to somone else's bill.

[@fabioq6916]

​​@stco2426 the same way anyone can claim loss of earnings I imagine. Nothing to do with "someone else's bill". If a customer outs a car out of action for a day to repair it, why should they not charge?

[@CarlsTechShed]

A car hire company at Stansted Airport claimed I returned the car with only half a tank of fuel. They backed down when I emailed them a copy of the report I was given when I returned the car which showed it had a full tank of fuel. A lot of these companies will try it on, hoping you'll just agree, don't have the evidence or don't have the time to fight them.

[@Rapscallion2009]

Some people joke that car hire places don't hire out cars, they sell risibly overpriced fuel and repairs. I always go "the full Spielberg" on rental vehicles.

[@tomsixsix]

Sixt tried to screw me over after I returned a Mini, told me I had chipped a fog light. Lo-and-behold my pictures showed it was chipped beforehand. They withdrew their claim shortly after.

[@Greenpoloboy3]

Last Saturdays show not available on global player??

[@PigeonPlucker]

I was given a company hire car for a year (long story, but it helped all concerned avoid benefit in kind). - Coming towards the end of the term I was aware of two aspects of damage I had caused. I gave an alloy a slight kerb and I'd scraped the undertray a little due to an unpleasantly banked driveway. I found someone to repair the alloy for £50 because I knew for a fact the hire firm would want to hit me for a new one (probably £300-500). I got hit £50 for the undertray which I happily accepted on the chin as I thought it was a reasonable price for something, on their part, I think they acknowledge would likely fall into 'fair wear' if challenged. TLDR - If you have a hire car and know you've caused damage, pay to repair it yourself prior to returning the car.

[@simonharris4873]

Daniel should have asked if they informed him of the damage after he left. In that case, they can't prove he was the one who damaged the car. They may have done it themselves.

[@Aga4ga]

All the points made are fair, but how do you know that it actually gets repaired or even if this same damage is used against multiple customers renting that car?

[@historex54tamiya]

These have to be fake calls, in my opinion. Or are these people stupid?

[@ProDemocracy01]

Much better channel thank those Tiktok lawyers 🎉

[@PotterSpurn1]

The cost of repair doesn't seem reasonable to me at all. Why would the car be out of commission to repair a part of a wing mirror which doesn't reduce driving safety or increase the likelihood that the wing mirror will become inoperable when rented out? They could just photograph it for the next customer and still rent it out on the understanding it was vehicle inspected pre-existing damage, which is possibly what happened with this customer too - only they didn't admit it and instead waited for the opportunity to blame him for it on his return so they could rip him off. I would negotiate a reasoanble price and if they refuse, I would not pay anymore and let them sue on the understanding that they will get stinking reviews if they do. That should shake them up a bit and settle out of court giving most of his money back. The lost business revenue from bad reviews will do far more damage than repair the damage at a reasonable cost.

[@edwardbyard6540]

Whenever renting a car, especially abroad, pay on a credit card and then FREEZE THE CARD IN YOUR BANKING APP. Refunds can be made to a frozen card, but credit transactions cannot. Refuse to pay, but more than anything - take photos of absolutely everything and ensure you are seen by the staff doing it. NEVER just get in and drive away. Photos of everything inside and out , and even a narrated video will help, pointing out all the defects. Car hire firms are scammers, pure and simple.

[@smogtastic]

Not all credit card companies offer this, and it's only for new spends, like these transactions and subscriptions still go through, same with if you cancel the card, subscriptions and pre-auths still go through as they get the card details from Mastercard/Visa

[@googleuser8740]

@@edwardbyard6540 wont work as they preauth charges when taking the card. If the preauth doesn't go through they reject the card and ask for another

[@alansouthall8221]

enterprise cars were very good with me with a scratch. techically it was big enough for the full charge. but the manage made every effort and t cut the scratch with no charge .. couldnt fault them