AIBU to call police regarding airport car rental scam

Compare them to the photos you took when you returned it. Please say you did take photos?

Yes, but you'll have to pay the hire company first then claim back the cost from the insurer who may refuse.

At least with the extra insurance you have nothing to pay.

Can you raise a dispute via your cc company?

It's not as simple as that, but I understand your point.

Just to mention the car hire cover option's also available as an add-on with many travel insurance policies ... and, as a PP said, for vastly less than hire companies charge

OP wouldn't anyway...

If the hire firm want to pursue her, it's they who need to take OP to court.

They will ask what proof the car hire company have - the car hire company can't supply reasonable proof, end of case.

OP rented this vehicle in Ireland so she won't be able to take it to small claims court - not in the UK at least.

No legal obligation, no.

But lets imagine its gone to small claims court.

Judge: Mr Car Hire Company, do you have proof that the damage in these photos is in fact damage to the car the OP hired, say via photos showing the registration number or unedited video showing the registration number.

Car Hire Company: No we do not.

Judge: So this could in fact be any red car of x model/make - of which you have 16.

Car Hire Company: Yes.

Judge: As you cannot prove the damage is to the car the OP hired, and we find the claim that the OP damaged every panel on the vehicle beyond the realms of probability, you have no claim. Piss off.

The car hire company is making the claim against the OP. Whilst it would be beneficial to the OP if they can prove without doubt that on return, the car was not damaged, it is the claimants responsibility to prove their case. If they cannot do so, well.. standing on no legs innit!

You've also got to watch out if they don't reduce the excess to zero. There's no point having it reduced to a few hundred because most damage charges are under that amount anyway.

No!! That in itself is a massive scam which massively inflates the cost of hire cars. Use something like Insurance4carhirehire - my last annual policy (couple of years ago) was about £70 for 2 of us. Likely a lot cheaper than what the scammers charge.

Unless it's in the contract that they'll supply video evidence, they won't have an obligation to do this. It's also too late to record the condition of the vehicle because it'll likely be on rent or even at another rental station entirely.

It's also very likely that they won't have got the vehicle fixed. The damage charge will be to cover the cost of the devaluation, not repairs. They'll just mark this up as pre-existing damage and send it off on rent again. Cosmetic damage doesn't generally get repaired on rental vehicles.

What hire company was it?

Probably not - but if they want to prove the car is the same vehicle the OP hired, and is damaged, it's on them to supply this.

Reasonably, you'd expect them to have done this before getting the car fixed, so if they haven't it suggests the OP is correct and it is a scam.

I'm not sure they're going to be able to get you video evidence. That vehicle could be anywhere right now.

This is why you always pay the extra for the full insurance.

Yale video and pictures upon collection and DO NOT accept the rental unless EVERY bit of damage is listed on the paperwork prior to signing for the car. Also video the entire handover process.

Sounds like a common issue - cheeky feckers!

I would be stating that the car was not damaged whilst rented by you, I would then suggest that any damage must have happened between the hours of 9am, when you dropped the car off, and when they actually got round to examining the it, and ask for both video evidence of the damage and photos showing the car registration, along with any CCTV of the car park from when you dropped the car off and when they emailed you. You could also ask for the mileage if you know what it was when you dropped it off, if it's different then someone else has driven it and could have caused damage.

Unless they have video of the car park and the car from all angles, they can't prove that the damage wasn't caused whilst on their car park, any more than you can prove you didn't damage it without a date and time stamped video as evidence. Your word against theirs in that case. I would make it very clear you will be seeking legal advice and any further communication from them will be sent to your solicitor.

Isn't it perfectly possible that, after you left the car in the carpark (presumably at an airport?) and before their office opened, that someone damaged the car, whether by scratching/keying it or whatever?

With "multiple scratches on car - front, back, sides" which is what they claimed, @Oceanically?

That's a hell of a lot of damage to happen in the short time it would have taken before they "noticed"

I think you're misdiagnosing it as a 'scam', too. Isn't it perfectly possible that, after you left the car in the carpark (presumably at an airport?) and before their office opened, that someone damaged the car, whether by scratching/keying it or whatever? This is why you take detailed photos of the car as you leave it, so that you have proof it was in good condition when it left your hands.

Do what Thronglet said. It's not a police matter.

Had same issue in Ireland with Hertz. I cancelled the card i'd paid on. Anyway it went on for 18 months them demanding money. We ended up settling and paying a couple of hundred quid as we tried everything but the way they set it all up was extremely clever and we would have had to take them to court to disprove it. I was heavily pregnant and couldnt cope with the stress so we settled :(

I suspect it's either some overzealous car rental agent who has gone around recording scratches that aren't deep enough to get a fingernail in. Or they've got the wrong vehicle on the rental agreement so they don't have the correct pre-existing damage report.