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Europcar £500 "damage surcharge"


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We had a hire car for three days last week, Monday 18th August until Thursday 21st August.

 

They delivered to our house, and picked up on Thursday 21st.

 

Today we get a letter claiming a "£500 damage surcharge" - and an admin fee.

 

The car was absolutely not damaged when their driver picked it up. I am also annoyed that they did not tell us for over a week.

 

What can we do?

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They usually check a car for damage when you return it, or in this case when they collected it and sign it off. Did they not do that in this case?

 

Whenever I've hired a car, they've always gone over every inch of the bodywork with me, on collection and return.

Please note that my posts are my opinion only and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice.
In fact, they're probably just waffling and can be quite safely and completely ignored as you wish.

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No, they did not sign it off, they just asked for the keys, said that the "fuel deposit" which I had to pay in cash would be returned as a cheque if the car was full, but it had to be checked at base, and then they left. As it was the RAC who were the actual hirers of the car I was not that worried, as I assumed that the paperwork would go to them?

 

However, I would expect them to point out any damage at the time, how do they know that their driver did not do the damage? And is a flat fee of £500 reasonable?

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Thier £500 charge will be in their terms & conditions somewhere I've no doubt. But I think you might have a case to say that if there was any damage to the vehicle when their driver came to collect it, then their driver would have noticed. Which would give you cause to believe that the damage to the vehicle has occurred between the time it left your possession and it being returned to them. Ask them to prove that the damage was on the car before their driver collected it and thereby prove that it was not their driver that caused that damage.

 

Be warned though, if they have any details of your credit card, they may try to charge the card. If they do, it might be an option to phone your bank and say that your card is damaged and ask for a new one (usually takes a couple of days to arrive), but that will mean that (possibly) the card number will be different (depends on which bank) and the CVC code will be different, meaning that they won't be able to charge the card as they'll have the wrong details.

Please note that my posts are my opinion only and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice.
In fact, they're probably just waffling and can be quite safely and completely ignored as you wish.

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if they've no photographic proof they are stuffed?

 

 

dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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if they use CPA changing the card does not work.

dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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if they use CPA changing the card does not work.

dx

Wouldn't that depend on the card issuer? I bank with Nat West (for example) and whenever I get a new card, it's a completely different CC number. I'm guessing that can't charge a card that no longer exists.

Please note that my posts are my opinion only and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice.
In fact, they're probably just waffling and can be quite safely and completely ignored as you wish.

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you have to be careful

usually on a credit card yes

on a debit card - no

 

 

its an old wives tail

 

 

dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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A CPA is tied to the bank account. NOT the card.

Any advice i give is my own and is based solely on personal experience. If in any doubt about a situation , please contact a certified legal representative or debt counsellor..

 

 

If my advice helps you, click the star icon at the bottom of my post and feel free to say thanks

:D

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They do not have a credit card, as we are not the hirer of the car, and they asked for the "fuel deposit" in cash.

 

I assume that asking them for photos actually taken on our drive would be reasonable?

 

 

Given that the hire was arranged by the RAC, would it be a good idea to complain to the RAC as well?

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If your debit card is issued under the Visa scheme, then you need to ring them direct.

 

Your Bank couldn't care less about you, after all, you are only a customer.

 

Sam

All of these are on behalf of a friend.. Cabot - [There's no CCA!]

CapQuest - [There's no CCA!]

Barclays - Zinc, [There's no CCA!]

Robinson Way - Written off!

NatWest - Written off!

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They do not have a credit card, as we are not the hirer of the car, and they asked for the "fuel deposit" in cash.

 

I assume that asking them for photos actually taken on our drive would be reasonable?

 

 

Given that the hire was arranged by the RAC, would it be a good idea to complain to the RAC as well?

 

Yes, you definitely need to get the RAC in on the act, (with all due respect) they'll have a lot more clout that you ever will with companies like these. I personally don't think that Europcar have a leg to stand on without proof that you caused the damage, which they could only get by checking the vehicle (with you) when it was delivered to, and collected (at the point of delivery & collection, not some time later to suit them).

 

You'll probably have a bit of a fight on your hands to get your fuel deposit back though, it certainly sounds like Europcar are going to want to play hardball. And, although it pains me to say it, it might be worth considering writing that off as a loss. Chasing after them via the court by way of a county court claim may result in a counter claim for the damage. And whilst I think you'd win, it might not be worth the trouble.

 

If however they decide to take you to the county court for the £500 "damage" then you counter claim for the fuel deposit plus any expenses incurred for defending their claim. And I still think you'd win as they'll have no proof that you caused any damage (which of course, you didn't).

Please note that my posts are my opinion only and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice.
In fact, they're probably just waffling and can be quite safely and completely ignored as you wish.

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