Hi,

I rented a car from Enterprise Rent-a-car. When I returned it there was a small scratch, just a little bigger than their wear and tear vs damage assessment template allows for:

https://ibin.co/3WJPCUlUuaeK.jpg

They want to charge me the full 850 euros excess for this. It looks like the sort of thing that could be fixed for around 50 to 100 euros, with a localized touch up. Clearly I am being ripped off.

It is entirely possible the scratch was already there. It was a long day and I did not have any lunch by the time I got off the ferry and waited for the French to finish their lunch and re-open their rental office. I may easily have missed it. I did ask them to send me the last 5 return slips so I can check the same scratch has not already been billed for... but they did not respond at all to my polite email to the accidents email address they gave me.

What can I do?

What do your T&Cs say regarding the Excess/Damage, and also Jurisdiction (i.e. is this a French contract governed by French law)?

Their UK T&Cs say:

If the vehicle is damaged you must pay, the Fair Market value for repairs, admin fees, loss of revenue (your daily rate of hire), an amount for diminution in value & any towing/recovery/storage fees.

And goes on to say:

If you have the Damage Waiver you'll not be liable for damage, save for paying the excess.

What do your T&Cs say regarding the Excess/Damage, and also Jurisdiction (i.e. is this a French contract governed by French law)?

 

Their UK T&Cs say:

 

If the vehicle is damaged you must pay, the Fair Market value for repairs, admin fees, loss of revenue (your daily rate of hire), an amount for diminution in value & any towing/recovery/storage fees.

 

And goes on to say:

 

If you have the Damage Waiver you'll not be liable for damage, save for paying the excess.

Yes, a french contract under french law.

My French is not that good, but I am pretty sure it says the same thing. I did not take the damage waiver as it was 20 euros per day and it was a 10 day rental; seemed a bit much. It would seem they are trying to automatically charge me the full 850 excess, rather than a fair market value for the repair.

I think I will phone customer service to begin with and see if they can get me a fairer quote. There were other anomalies with the rental, specifically they charged me for 3 child seats when I only had 1. Customer service did already sort that out for me and I got a refund for 2 of them. However, it does say something about Enterprise's operation in Cherbourg - they are out for everything they can get.

Also I had booked the thing online there was no mention of having to leave an additional deposit upon collection, but I had to hand over another 250 euros on the day. So far this rental has cost me 350 for the ten days, 250 deposit not returned, and now a demand for another 600, making a total of 1100 to hire a horrible Citroen that I did not like at all.

My first and last experience of Enterprise rent-a-rip-off. I would highly recommend avoiding their operation in Cherbourg at least.

I am just wondering what happens if I refuse to pay? Ultimately it goes to a court in France, I am not likely to attend a hearing there, so I will lose. Would it then be marked against me as a CCJ or something along those lines?

no

pers i'd put them to strict proof to prove it was not there upon hire.

don't go blindly paying them.

did you pay by debit card?

Yes,

I asked for last 5 out/return slips to check the scratch was not already there.

No response.

Won't be blindly paying them.

I paid by debit card,

I cancelled that card as soon as they emailed me about it, so no more payments can be taken on that card.

Canceling the card is a myth

If they have set up a CPA

Ring your bank and ensure a continuous payment arrangement is not active in their name

Didn't know that. I will check, thanks.

Whether the scratch was you or someone else is for you to argue with them.

But the cost of 850 Euros is about right.

Loss of hire for 1-2 days

Cost of transporting vehicle

Rub down and preparing the WHOLE panel for spraying.

Etc etc

Yeah right.

I had the clutch replaced on my car, engine oil seals replaced, engine steam cleaned, and timing belt done, all for about the same amount of money.

In fact I have done a lot of car work myself including rebuilding an engine, replacing a gear box, and so on, so I know an awful lot about cars.

A minor scratch like that does not require a whole panel respray, a good body work restorer could do a localized touch up in a few hours and you would never notice it.

Also, they don't repair them for minor damage like that.

They write the cost off against loss of the final sale value of the vehicle once it reaches the end of its life with the rental company.

So no cost to transport vehicle or 1-2 days lost earning.

There has been a lot about this in the news recently, so we are all aware of how they operate.

It matters not how much the actual cost of the repairs is - in the UK at least - since Coles v Heatherton it is well established that vehicle damage is a claim for diminution in value - general damages (i.e. the loss in value of the vehicle) and not special damages (a repair invoice).

It's all a bit inconsequential until you know what the repairs cost and whether they are more or less than the excess. When you know that you'll be in a better position to know how to tackle this.

If they have set up a CPA

quick general Q re cpa.

can a co. 'charge' for cancelling (opt out) cpa (eg when it has been auto applied re auto ins. renewal) for eg under their policy 'terms' re change in policy/payment details fee.

thanks.

insurance policies don't use CPA afaik ford

insurance policies don't use CPA afaik ford

this one (esure) does apparently.

auto re if an online app'n.

Are we going off topic here, guys?

HB

Are we going off topic here, guys?

 

HB

was just asking, as i noted it re looking up cpa.

delete my posts there then.

Crikey, I used Enterprise just before Christmas and highly recommend them, this was in the UK, they did push me to take out the excess cover but I said no thanks.

As regards the scrape, I have had a close look and at least 80-90% is a lacquer scratch and five mins with some compound paste and a damp cloth would make it almost disappear and fall within their golf ball damage.

I would email their customer service dept direct and state that you could remove the largest part of said scrape with compounding paste and for a company with such fantastic customer service reputation you feel let down and taken advantage off.

Apart, from that I believe they have you over the proverbial barrel.

You could start a discussion thread, Ford.

HB

You could start a discussion thread, Ford.

 

HB

no, it's ok

was just asking., to know ooi after looking into cpa.

can take my posts out then.