Hired Van - Mystery Damage

[beat_the_bankers]

Hoping someone can please help with this. My stepdad hired a van to help my brother move house, and had to pay a £100 deposit.

 

He used the van, it was then collected by hire company and taken back to their depot. He then had a phone call telling him there was damage that he had failed to inform them of, and not only are they keeping his deposit they want £205 + VAT.

 

He is absolutely adamant that he did not damage the van. Surely it should have been checked when it was collected, who's to say it wasn't their driver on the way back to the depot??

 

Can someone please advise what he should do, he's refusing to pay the £205 but wants his deposit back, £100 is a lot of money.

 

Thank you

[tiaposy]

I would say that unless the van was checked when it was collected and the damage pointed out to your stepdad at the time, then they haven;t got a let to stand on.

I work in a garage so have seen it with customer vehicle's and hire vehicle's alike. If we didn't point out the damage to the customer at the time, he would tell us to go whistle!

Good luck

[Conniff]

Hi btb

First course is to visit the hire company yourself and see what (if any) damage they are accusing you of. Take a camera with you to record the damage.

Ask them for the name and address or telephone number of the driver who collected the van. They will probably refuse quoting data protection.

 

You should then write to them (recorded) asking who their insurance company is and for a copy of the statement from the driver that the damage (if any) was on there when he picked up the van.

 

This may be sufficient for them to return your deposit and withdraw their demand.

[buzby]

It is also worth checking the form he signed outlining the damage already on the vehicle when he collected it. Did he go round and verify all the marked dings were there? This is often a problem when coalescing a vehicle, you need to verify what they know about and if it is shown on the renter's initial damage list.

[beat_the_bankers]

Ok thanks everyone, will pass the advice on to my stepdad and let you know how he gets on. Thinking down the line, if my stepdad was to threaten court action to reclaim his deposit, I'm assuming the burden of proof lies with them??

[buzby]

Yes - but they could prove this easily by showing the 'Ding' report prior he signed at collection, and the same report provided at return. That's why it is better to negotiate in the hope he can convince them the ding pre-existed. To support his case, he could ask for sight of the previous ding reports for the vehicle to prove their accuracy (as a ding could have been on a previous hire form but NOT on the one he had, making it look 'new'.

[beat_the_bankers]

I don't think they did any sort of checks when it was collected, and then the alleged damage suddenly appeared back at the depot. So surely they can't prove it was there when my stepdad handed the keys back to the driver? He is absolutely sure he didn't hit the van, and to cause £200+ damage I think you'd realise you'd done it!!

[buzby]

No they wouldn't - it was your stepdad's responsibility to check the vehicle before driving off to ensure the hire company had accurately recorded all blemishes - if you don't, you run the risk of being responsible for someone else's damage.

 

It is IMPERATIVE that when hiring any vehicle you receive a pre-existing damage report, or walk round with the rep as the report it marked up.

 

As for the cost, £200 would cover a minor dent and a paint respray of the panel of the hired vehicle. You also have to pay for the time it is out of service at the workshop so the fee isn't untypical.

[beat_the_bankers]

Buzby, the van was checked when first given to my stepdad, he did walk round and check it with the rep. The damage they are now claiming has appeared was not there. But the van was not checked when collected from my stepdad.

 

So are you saying it is for my stepdad to prove it wasn't him rather than the hire company prove it was him that caused the damage?

 

I wasn't saying the cost was expensive, I know it's a standard panel repair, just from the way they've described it he would have realised he'd hit it, which he swears blind he didn't.

[Bookworm]

if my stepdad was to threaten court action to reclaim his deposit, I'm assuming the burden of proof lies with them??

 

No. The burden of proof lies with claimant, not defendant.

 

However, if the driver didn't do a check and point out the damage on collection, signed for by your stepdad, the "there is damage, therefore you did it" defence is unlikely to be sufficient, as there'll be a window of time where the van was no longer with your stepdad and anythign could have happened. In court, the judge will have to decide on balance of probabilities whether it is more likely that your stepdad damaged the van, the driver collected, and damage was noticed on return to depot, or whether the damage was sustained after the van had left your stepdad's.

 

The T&Cs should help indicating whether there is a standard procedure for checking vehicles in and out, and your stepdad will need to double-check that to see whether that procedure has ben adhered to.

[beat_the_bankers]

Ok thanks Bookie, so threatening legal action is only to be used as a last resort - it could go either way if it's on balance of probabilities!

 

I'll have a look through the T&Cs.

[Conniff]

Don't threaten anything until you have been and seen the damage for yourself.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It is the hire company's responsibility to check for damage that may have been caused upon collection from the hirer. Just as they check for the amount of fuel left in the tank which they can charge for if it isn't full.

 

Where has £205 come from? Seems a bit quick to come to this amount when it appears they collected the van and then phoned, I assume, straight away.

 

The excess alone would be at least £500, I know as I have hired plenty of vans of all sizes.

 

The driver of the hire company should have inspected the vehicle, signed the form, and then got the hirer to sign the form too, pointing out any damage or none.

 

Demand your deposit back.