1car1 Car and Van Hire

After hiring a car with this company last December (07) and being accused of causing additional damage to the vehicle on its return I was stunned to be charged £500 excess and told if there was any money left following the repair it would be refunded to me.

After months of letters to 1Car1, their regulator The BVRLA, the office of fair trading etc etc I was able to get sight of the Invoice fpr the repair of the vehicle only to find that I hd been charged for every minor repair to the vehicle in addition to the one which I was accused of causing. I have no doubt that I was not the only customr to have been charged this £500 excess, but was informed that no refund was due as the bill for the repairs was in excess of £500.

After a further round of e-mail 1CAR1 have refunded some of the excess, but this has not been pro-rated to the repair. The fight goes on....

Below is an extract from muy initial letter of complaint:-
Sir
I am writing to you, in the first instance, to express my total dissatisfaction with the service provided under this rental agreement whereby a catalogue of errors has culminated in alleged additional vehicle damage and a potential charge of £500. I have briefly outlined below the points which have led me to feel the need to write this note and will be happy expand on any area if required:-

Booking:
Following the initial telephone booking the e-mail confirmation (Ref: ******) was sent with the incorrect price £164.97 rather than £99.00.

During the conversation I specifically asked if complete collision damage waiver insurance was included and was assured that this was the case, no mention was made of any insurance excess

Collection
When I arrived to collect the car at 8.00am it was not ready and needed to be cleaned.
The computer system was down which compounded the delay.
The car was not from the group which I had requested
The fuel tank was empty.
Following a quick wash with a pressure hose a quick check was made of the vehicle in the dark and I was asked to sign for the damage.

I was not requested to inspect the car in detail in the day light.
I completed the paperwork in the office and was informed there would be a charge if I removed the 1car1 sticker - no mention was made of the £500 excess

Hire
The handbrake warning light came on intermittently - I pointed this out during the return inspection where upon the guy said 'Oh yea I know its been like that for ages'

Return
I left work early to return the car, on the Tuesday evening as there was no where to leave the keys after the garage had closed.

It was dark and the vehicle was parked outside, I accompanied the vehicle inspector who checked a mark on the door and then went immediately to the bumper and started clean away the dirt and press the plastic claiming he had found additional damage. As he pressed the bumper with some force a faint crack in the paint emerged, where upon he called over his colleague who confirmed this as additional damage. He then proceeded to explain to me how it must have happened and told me a new bumper would be required, quite remarkable knowledge for someone in his position. The remainder of return inspection was glossed over and I was asked to complete a form detailing how the damage occurred and only then was it explained that I was liable for up to £500 excess. As I had no prior knowledge of this additional damage I was unable to complete the form.

I have no knowledge of any incident of the kind described or any other incident occurring during the rental period.

In summary:-
At no time was I informed about the £500 excess, despite asking about the insurance cover from the outset.
I do not believe the damage occurred during this rental period.
I was not instructed to carry out a detailed inspection of the vehicle in the daylight.

I have attached to this note a picture of the alleged damage that I failed to see at any time during the hire period, but you inspector was able to spot immediately in the dark