Please help with car hire repairs being wrongly charged!

O

orion113

New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Hi all!!

I have a little problem with a car hire company.

In July we rented a 4x4 vehicle. Halfway through our trip we heard a loud noise coming from the engine. We immediately stopped the vehicle and phoned the car hire company. They told us to keep driving to the nearest city, which we did. However the car didn't make it that far as it broke down completely. Now apparently, having continued to drive the car made things worse. Now the company is charging us for the repairs as they consider that driving the vehicle although we could clearly hear the noise in the engine was "negligent", although they were the ones who told us to drive to the nearest city. Is this legal? How may we prove that our attitude was anything but negligent?

Thanks a lot for your help!
 
Do you have a record of the phone call, and who you spoke to you and at what time?

as well as possibly a recording of the conversation (even if its from the hire company) which told you to keep driving.
 
I locked up my engine listening to an insurance idiot advice I keep driving with a bust oil sump:mad:. A few years ago. A R2000 job ended up being R30, 000+.
 
Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me!

Unfortunately I do not have a recording of the conversation, however I know the name of the person I spoke with, and roughly at what time (we actually spoke many times that day...). I relayed this to the hire company, who followed up with that person. I'm guessing that he didn't deny telling us to drive because their reply was : "Irrelevant of what "***" told you, as he was not there to know what is wrong with the vehicle." So basically they're saying we should have stopped driving, even if they told us to continue, as they did not know what was wrong with the vehicle (but we should have right....), so it's our fault.

I'm pretty sure we're not liable for the repairs but I just don't know how to get leverage so that they reimburse me (because they just charged my credit card without permission or prior notice).

Thanks again for you help!
 
R13...sorry to here about your story, these situations really suck!
 
I agree! They did send a pick-up vehicle of course...once the damage was worse and the engine broke down for good. My main problem is how to go about it. We have already exchanged e-mails where I state all of this but they just keep accusing us of negligence? What are my options? Obviously they're not just going to change their mind for honesty's sake. They have already charged the money so I need something that will oblige them to pay me back.
 
About R2 400...they say that we should consider ourselves "lucky" as the total repairs cost R19 000 and they only charged us for the repairs of the damage caused by the further running of the engine although the noise was present. That's just not a valid argument.
 
Sounds like smaller car hire place?
 
orion113 said:
Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me!

Unfortunately I do not have a recording of the conversation, however I know the name of the person I spoke with, and roughly at what time (we actually spoke many times that day...). I relayed this to the hire company, who followed up with that person. I'm guessing that he didn't deny telling us to drive because their reply was : "Irrelevant of what "***" told you, as he was not there to know what is wrong with the vehicle." So basically they're saying we should have stopped driving, even if they told us to continue, as they did not know what was wrong with the vehicle (but we should have right....), so it's our fault.

I'm pretty sure we're not liable for the repairs but I just don't know how to get leverage so that they reimburse me (because they just charged my credit card without permission or prior notice).

Thanks again for you help!
Click to expand...

The calls should be recorded, I would ask for them or get a lawyer to ask for them.

Get hold of the credit card company and dispute the charges to get them reversed.
 
I would suggest you report them to HELLO PETER,trust me they will give you answers then and will be forced to get the recording
 
Hey,

Well I contacted my bank and contested the charge on the basis of fraud (they're not allowed to charge my credit card without my prior authorization). I should be reimbursed by the card insurance, but that still doesn't justify the charge. I'm pretty sure that most companies to this sort of thing because they know that most people will have insurances, although, some don't and that's just being ripped off.

Now I'm just faced with the dilemma : should i leave it at that, or still put some pressure on the company because it's just not right? I've heard about helloPeter but don't really know what's involved in the process, is it worth it?

Thanks all for your advice!
 
orion113 said:
Hey,

Well I contacted my bank and contested the charge on the basis of fraud (they're not allowed to charge my credit card without my prior authorization). I should be reimbursed by the card insurance, but that still doesn't justify the charge. I'm pretty sure that most companies to this sort of thing because they know that most people will have insurances, although, some don't and that's just being ripped off.

Glad to hear it worked out fine for you. You could try and complain to higher level of the company depending how big they are, maybe there's some one in the company who is not corrupt, external pressure would be sending a lawyers letter, but don't actually start any other legal process, depending how knowledgeable they are they may get nervous. But even that would be costly.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X