Vince Green Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 My son has just returned from a holiday in Southern France. They hired a car through the same website they booked the villa. He's only 22 so not terribly streetwise. The car was a "good price" but not new and a bit ropey. Still it didn't ring any alarm bells. When he took the car back on Saturday the charged him £800 for damage like scuffed wheels and a few old marks on the bodywork that were not down to him. Classic rip off, be careful is the message, when he got back home he checked them out and there are hundreds of reviews say avoid at all costs, its a scam, rip off etc You can't stop them because they have already taken a swipe of your card so the charge just gets pushed through. He's going to talk to visa tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Sorry Vince but this happens all the time and your son has learned a valuable lesson. We take photo's all round the vehicles we hire and notify the company before we accept any damage above a certain size, we also take out the full waiver package to avoid such charges. Some firms operate like the one your son used, reading reviews and shopping around is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Tell him to cancel his card ASAP and get them to decline any charges straight away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 happens in the uk as well................my company (i worked for).....went with a premier hire car company......and when the cars went back in they were scanned and mapped with a laser...............you wouldnt beeelieve what they tried to bill us for...........they were charging us for spraying finishing polishing scratches that werent visible with the naked eye... also they tied to charge us for whole rear panels of the back end of the new volvo estates...that they said were ruckled...we contacted volvo and they sent a laser map printout of the rear of the car straight from the factory.......which only a laser could see........... shisters............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 26 minutes ago, ditchman said: happens in the uk as well................my company (i worked for).....went with a premier hire car company......and when the cars went back in they were scanned and mapped with a laser...............you wouldnt beeelieve what they tried to bill us for...........they were charging us for spraying finishing polishing scratches that werent visible with the naked eye... also they tied to charge us for whole rear panels of the back end of the new volvo estates...that they said were ruckled...we contacted volvo and they sent a laser map printout of the rear of the car straight from the factory.......which only a laser could see........... shisters............... I hired a car in Yarmouth to go to my daughters wedding in Kent , the chap came out with a drawing of the car ( sides , front and rear ) , we walked around and any marks he put down on the drawing , When I came back we both looked around the motor and it was fine , he allowed me 300 miles for the trip and over that was about 15p a mile , when he looked I had done about 30 odd over and he said there was no extra charge , excellent service and I would certainly recommend . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 8 minutes ago, marsh man said: I hired a car in Yarmouth to go to my daughters wedding in Kent , the chap came out with a drawing of the car ( sides , front and rear ) , we walked around and any marks he put down on the drawing , When I came back we both looked around the motor and it was fine , he allowed me 300 miles for the trip and over that was about 15p a mile , when he looked I had done about 30 odd over and he said there was no extra charge , excellent service and I would certainly recommend . some of the hire companies...usually the smaller ones are top banana.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 1 minute ago, ditchman said: some of the hire companies...usually the smaller ones are top banana.. This was one of the smaller ones , they are opposite Pertwee and Back over at Gapton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 I used to liaise with one of the UKs biggest. The amount of times we were charged for damage that wasn’t caused by us was unbelievable - sometimes cars would be dropped off and people (cleaners) pressured into accepting them then despite not moving there was damage not noted on the docket. I was part of the final shots across the bow when we presented the same bill (for differing amounts) for the same damage - the record was 12 times for the same bumper corner scuff and they were asked to explain how on each occasion it was ‘repaired’ then damaged exactly the same - to include the uv pen mark drawn around the scuff and the date added to the previous ones. It was put down to a branch admin error!!!! i am a right stickler if I hire a car or van personally now - I get a damage waiver policy via a third party and legal cover in the event of a dispute. I take the guy out photograph the number plate , original sheet the proceed to photograph each panel and wheel then inside. At the end I get them to add the damage they ‘missed’ then say casually the legal department of the liability company requires it to build up a database incase of any issues on return. Usually it’s not even checked I also pay on a slush fund card that has no overdraft and just enough transferred in to pay for the car. I hate them with a passion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted July 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 I have heard similar stories when people have returned lease cars at the end of the term and get charged for non existent damage or inflated charges for minor wear and tear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam triple Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 We’ve hired cars in Spain and always has the rep c9me around the car with us noting defects with us taking photos ,never accept anything they say without them present and evidence to back it up , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 Before taking any hire car always, either take loads of photos or video, before taking out of the car park, and make sure the company see you do it. Its all about covering your posterior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) I have used EconomyCar rentals numerous times on our hunting/fishing trips to Slovenia. They have always been spot on price wise and also giving a full check around the car prior to our leaving and a duplicate of all the marks etc found as we jointly checked the car out. I did have one minor bump whilst there a couple of years ago and on calling them they said to return the car straight away and a replacement would be waiting, which it was. There was no extra charge as I had paid just a relatively small amount extra to cover this eventuality. Certainly at Llubljana airport their staff were 100% and very helpful/friendly. Edited July 30, 2019 by Walker570 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 I had a rental for a couple of days this week, I picked it up on Sunday. Its nearly new and done less than 2000 miles and had no damage reported on my paperwork. A good walk around I found one alloy had a scuff and paintwork scratches on the bonnet and rear quarter. I took a photo of everything then went back in the office and dragged the man around pointing everything out and getting it added to the paperwork. It was a full to full rental from an airport and the fuel gauge was also one mark off fuel, this i also pointed out and photographed and agreed it would be returned the same. I had the bill and damage report through yesterday within an hour of returning it by email, I was amazed that they had not charged me any extras at all, which I was surprised as I normal expect them to try it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted July 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 A lot of stuff on the internet about these scams, many of the rip offs are more subtle. Things like putting through charges several days later for things like missing floor mats, missing tyre inflators or jacks that are hard to dispute. Broken door locks is a very common one, how would you know? Everybody uses the key fob to open the door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodeer Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Vince Green said: A lot of stuff on the internet about these scams, many of the rip offs are more subtle. Things like putting through charges several days later for things like missing floor mats, missing tyre inflators or jacks that are hard to dispute. Broken door locks is a very common one, how would you know? Everybody uses the key fob to open the door This is the most common one as majority of companies put through any added expenses a few days later. Hard to argue when your long way away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 Simple. Put them up on the many web pages etc available and don't use them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 We had a car included with our Villa (jet2) OK car hire in Menorca, they wanted a deposit of 1400e, and 104e for fuel. I left the car and took a taxi to the villa. I hired a car from Vals cars in Binibecca, 105e for 5 days and he just took the keys back and asked if same level of fuel was in car, 100e deposit given straight back without even looking at the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 6 hours ago, Davyo said: We had a car included with our Villa (jet2) OK car hire in Menorca, they wanted a deposit of 1400e, and 104e for fuel. I left the car and took a taxi to the villa. I hired a car from Vals cars in Binibecca, 105e for 5 days and he just took the keys back and asked if same level of fuel was in car, 100e deposit given straight back without even looking at the car. well he done you out of 4 euros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strimmer_13 Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 I've worked for a franchise of hertz, I've seen the good the bad and the very ugly sides of hiring cars out. As said take loads of photos, cover your ***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 On 31/07/2019 at 23:08, strimmer_13 said: I've worked for a franchise of hertz, I've seen the good the bad and the very ugly sides of hiring cars out. As said take loads of photos, cover your ***. What are the best ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 27 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said: What are the best ones? Lloyd, SIXT are very competitive as they are relatively new to the market. We use Enterprise at work and I used them for the Airshow Photography Trip I have just been on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 51 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Lloyd, SIXT are very competitive as they are relatively new to the market. We use Enterprise at work and I used them for the Airshow Photography Trip I have just been on. No I wanted to know what his best stories were from working there 😂😂 from both sides of the desk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strimmer_13 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 On 02/08/2019 at 12:53, Lloyd90 said: What are the best ones? For private car hire - Enterprise out of the big names Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted August 5, 2019 Report Share Posted August 5, 2019 We hire cars on a regular basis unless its spotless when we pick it up we take a video on our phone and walk around it zooming in on any damage. Once one of the companies tried charging us for some damage that was already there, pulled the phone out and they quickly backed down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted August 5, 2019 Report Share Posted August 5, 2019 9 hours ago, ferguson_tom said: We hire cars on a regular basis unless its spotless when we pick it up we take a video on our phone and walk around it zooming in on any damage. Once one of the companies tried charging us for some damage that was already there, pulled the phone out and they quickly backed down. +1 thats what everyone should do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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