Rental damage-check ‘grace period’

My wife and I made plans to spend four weeks in the UK in September ’07 in order to attend college reunions at Cambridge University. Since our ports of call were widespread, we decided to rent a car. My online research showed that our best deal was with Europcar, especially since they offered a discount for prepaying the total cost.

We arrived at Manchester airport about an inevitable hour late to find that the Europcar office in Terminal 2 was closed. Phone calls finally produced a vehicle to shuttle us 45 minutes later to Terminal 1, where we were dropped at the door, not at the desk, which was deep in the terminal.

When we eventually arrived at the desk, we were dealt with by a young lady who obviously had never handled a prepaid reservation before and needed to make several phone calls to find out what to do.

Another 45 minutes later, she dispatched us to Level 11 to collect a car. There we found a Europcar “hut” at which the only employee visible was sitting on the fender of the car. It was very dark in this area and the car was parked very close to the curb. The employee assured me that the car was “fine,” and I signed the acceptance sheet.

The car performed well during the next four weeks and did not use a great deal of the $8-a-gallon petrol.

Returning the car on Oct. 1, we followed the signs for rental car return at Terminal 2 of Manchester Airport and were directed to a large rooftop lot. There were no signs for any Europcar slots nor any employees visible.

Since check-in time was approaching, I left the car in a vacant slot and proceeded to the ground floor to the Europcar office. The young lady there assured me that the car was fine where it was and that all was in order. No inspection was offered or performed.

As a result, I was taken aback to receive on Oct. 25 a letter from Europcar dated Oct. 11 informing me that there were several areas of scratches on the left side of the car (the side hidden at the curb on pickup) and that they were proposing to charge me £80 (about $160) for these.

Since there had been no inspection, the space for a signature on the Europcar form which agrees that it is a true record of condition is blank. This would seem, to me, to invalidate the claims, and since we did not have any contact with any damaging object during this rental, I am disputing the charges on my American Express account, as the “damage” was either previously there or not obvious.

Fortunately, in using my American Express card for the rental, I automatically received the primary insurance at no charge. After fighting this as a dispute and being unable to obtain any credit from Europcar, AmEx suggested I pass it on to their insurance department.

A claim is now in motion to settle this account (AmEx sends a notice every 30 days as to their progress). Until then, I am not being asked by AmEx to pay the Europcar charge or the finance charge on the amount. I commend American Express for their support.

The main point is one must take extreme care in dealing with car rental firms and demand inspections and verifications before accepting a vehicle.

CHRISTOPHER HARTLEY

Ormond Beach, FL

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Europcar and received the following reply.

Firstly, please pass on our apologies to Mr. Hartley for the fact that he feels he has received poor service from Europcar on this occasion.

I was sorry to learn that Mr. Hartley felt dissatisfied with the service he received at Manchester Airport. Due to the logistical complexities of running a rental station at some of our airports, it is often necessary to shuttle customers between terminals, and occasionally the car park can be some distance away from our in-terminal rental desks.

However, this does not excuse the delay Mr. Hartley endured at the rental counter itself, and please rest assured that, via our internal reporting system, the Area Manager for Manchester will be made aware of Mr. Hartley’s understandable dissatisfaction with this process.

With regards to the damage on the vehicle, please may I respectfully refer you to the check-out/check-in report that Mr. Hartley included within his documentation. It is clear that the vehicle was checked over before release, as the fuel levels, tire treads and pressures have been measured. Please note that there is no mention of any preexisting damage.

We acknowledge that it can be difficult for customers to check vehicles over in car parks, and we therefore allow them a grace period within which they can notify us of preexisting damage after they have had a chance to fully check the vehicle over at their own leisure. Please note that we have no record of Mr. Hartley making any contact with us regarding preexisting damage during his 4-week hire.

There is no accusation that the damage on the vehicle was caused by Mr. Hartley; however, the information available would suggest that it occurred whilst the vehicle was on rent to him, and in the absence of any third-party details from whom we can make a claim, the responsibility for the vehicle lies with the renter.

I trust I have addressed the issues raised, and if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

STUART TROLLEY, Customer Services International Manager, Europcar UK Limited, James House, 55 Welford Road, Leicester LE2 7AR, U.K.

ITN asked Mr. Trolley to elaborate on the “grace period.” He answered, “I can confirm that the grace period begins immediately after the customer has taken the vehicle.

“In any case, we would envisage that a customer would have the opportunity to inspect the vehicle they have taken, in daylight, within 12 hours of receiving the vehicle. Please note that Mr. Hartley picked this vehicle up at 11:54 a.m. on a September’s day, which, in this instance, meant we would have expected any notification of preexisting damage to have occurred by at least the end of that particular day.”