disputing damage charges over hire car

can anyone tell me a regulatory authority i can contact to dispute the damage charge over a hire car?

i opted not to take insurance when hiring a car at the weekend. i returned it with slight (imo) damage to the rear passenger-side door. a small piece at the end of the plastic strip used to protect the body-work was shorn off and beyond that there were small scratches to the paintwork (nissan note). they charged 1,100 euros. i cant accept that this is a fair charge for the damage.

what should i do? any advice much appreciated

I can't advise you what to do, but i can tell you that I have just got similar damage repaired for €200 at carcraft.

If you declined the optional insurance essentially the hire firm can charge what they like (damage repair plus loss of income from car).

In hindsight, you are probably kicking yourself over not taking out the extra insurance, I always think this is worth it, as it would happen when you least want it to!

The garage is probably getting their quote from a garage they either contain or deal with, and I doubt there is anything you can do. Call their head office to dispute it, but they will probably say the same thing, that you should have taken out the waiver insurance.

Any chance of an answer from anyone other than stake-holders in the establishment? Whether I participate in the whole happy insurance game is not the point.

I'm only after what is fair, reasonable and right. One of the staff at the car hire firm told me that the replacement part cost 42 euros... the rest is 'labour' apparently. In the recent past I've had a blown engine repaired for less than half what this is costing. I'm not interested in responses explaining to me, and in effect justifying, how it has come to this. This is a scam. There must be something that can be done? Ombudsman?

Yes, that price is absolutely excessive. Perhaps your local Garda station could refer you to the people you need? If €1100 for a bit of paint is not a crime, then what is?!

You could try using an independent loss adjuster or independent panel beater , to give you , your own valuation of this damage to ensure it is'nt a rip-off.Tell the hire firm you are sending someone over and also take photos of damage .

Other than that , you need to contact a solicitor in my opinion.

Maybe these guys can help :

http://www.claims.ie/index.php

What does it say in your agreement? Have they charged your credit card?

If they've charged your card then you can ask to see the authorisation, if none exists you cannot be charged.. however one will exist and that is your hire agreement, hence the need to read it.

Does it say that they can charge for damages, obviously yes.. but who decides how much the damage is worth?.. can they choose any repairer?, even if the repairer is five times more expensive than another?

Your only avenue of complaint in my view is that the car hire company paid way over the odds for the repair, that they weren't prudent at all in their choice of repairer.. however this can probably only be challenged in the courts, which would be likely be very hard and expensive.

The 1,100 may not only be for repairs, it may also be for lost use of the car while being repaired...


This is always a problem.. everyone knows that insurance companies pay way over the odds for repairs, and the insured can do nothing... it should be that the insurance companies demand better prices from garages due to the volume of work supplied.. as would be normal in any other industry.

delahug said:

Any chance of an answer from anyone other than stake-holders in the establishment?

Click to expand...

Can you point me to where you found out that posters are stake holders in every car hire firm around please?

I wish I knew where you got that gem of information.

I used to work for a car hire company. The normal procedure is to take all the excess due, in your case the 1,100, then cost the work and get it done and refund the difference. Since you didn't take the insurance they really have you

Quote:
Originally Posted by delahug http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=878673#post878673
Any chance of an answer from anyone other than stake-holders in the establishment?

Can you point me to where you found out that posters are stake holders in every car hire firm around please?

I wish I knew where you got that gem of information.

Click to expand...

Is it simply cases that you’re not getting the answer you want to hear op? It seems to me people are stating the obvious- if you don't have insurance your leaving yourself open to the very situation your in that doesn’t mean that they work in the industry that you feel is trying to screw you over.

I feel a lot of sympathy for the Op.
1100 is a lot of money.
Nobody who is posting here has seen the damage, but we all know bodyshop car repairs are very expensive...

I got a quote of 800 euros to remove a few very innocuous hardly noticeable dents from a Renault body shop.. When I tried to bargain them down, they wouldn't move on price. They let me go, they wouldnt even do it for a 100 less. They need to charge a certain amount per hour for labour to survive as a business.

The people who rented the car to you are entitled to have the car repaired to a professional standard.
Professional body shop jobs are very expensive.
You may need to take it on the chin.