Out of hours car hire return in Italy and no confirmation received

[coffeerevelsrule]

I hired a car in Italy for a week and dropped it off as planned on Sunday morning. The office was closed but we had instructions on how to access a locked car--park and leave the key in a drop-box, which we did. There were no issues with the car and we took photos of it before leaving it.

I have not received a confirmation email or anything since, other than an automated one asking me for a review, which other than this issue I would be happy to provide. They took a 700 Euro deposit from me but I have no record of it on either of my credit cards (can't remember which one I gave them) - so I'm not out of pocket. When we collected the car I was given some paperwork and receipt etc and the man said it would also be emailed but it never was.

I'm a bit concerned that at some point they are going to say there's an issue with the car that I need to pay for. Has anyone had similar or is this fine? Never dropped off a car out of hours before.

Can't you just contact them and ask for confirmation that it was all OK?

The probably just took pre authorisation on your card. I think you are probably worrying unnecessarily, if there was a problem they would've been in touch quickly enough.

I had awful hassle in similar circs. Horrendous traffic due to a fallen tree on the motorway meant we got to the airport only just in time to throw the keys at the (global) rental company desk and run to departures. About a week later I got an invoice for €1500 for damage to the car. Of course I queried it, and they took about a week to send photos. I had luckily taken a full video of the car at pick up and could prove the damage was already there when it was collected (from a different site). It was torture because all comms were in Italian and it took days for them to respond to every message I sent. I ended up having to get my credit card company involved who refunded the lot and then went after the company on my behalf.

If you have photos showing the car’s condition when you returned it and followed the company’s after-hours instructions, I wouldn’t worry too much yet. Some rental companies take a little time to inspect the car and close the rental. Keep your photos, drop-off instructions, receipt/paperwork, and booking details until the deposit is fully released. If you still receive no confirmation after a few business days, contact the rental company directly and ask them to confirm the return in writing.

It’s proving the condition at the start and end of the rental that is crucial.