How to Tackle Fictitious Damage Charges Imposed by Car Rental Companies
Travels within the UAE has now become a whole lot easier thanks to the several rent a car companies present in the country. But there are certain companies who would try to scam you out for your money citing fictitious damages on your vehicle. Most companies that do so, do it in the name of repair costs for damages present on the vehicles. Most of the time, these damages may not have cause by but since you have no way of proving it, you end up paying the price. Rental companies are often misguided when they discover any new damages to the rented car that were not notified earlier. Reliable companies will send inquiries via email of the repair charges for record-keeping purposes. While you rent a car Abu Dhabi adhere to the following guidelines to avoid being framed for unfair damage costs and know when and how you can counter their claims.
Identifying the Damage
Most rental agencies make their drivers sign certain paperwork at the time of handing over the key. In these documents, one of the clauses is to pay for all charges incurred by the vehicle. Agencies monitor the condition of the vehicle using two sets of documents – check-in and check-out forms. A checklist of the damages currently presents on the vehicle is noted every time the vehicle is brought-in to their store. For any undocumented damages, the driver is legally bound to compensate for repair costs. So, inspect your vehicle before signing on the dotted line.
How to Fight Such Claims
There is an option to dispute in case you are sure that the damages reported are not your responsibility. However, to proceed with that successfully you must have evidence to support your view. Evidence can be in form of pictures that you clicked at the time of picking up the vehicle and also during drop-off time. Any picture that you might have captured to verify your claim especially through the mention of time and date will increase confidence in your innocence.
Repair Costs?
Most companies calculate these costs in two ways. Firstly, a superficial estimate that will be incurred in the repairs depending on the damage to the car shall be calculated. The second way to estimate the cost is by consulting a mechanic for fair estimation. Ask the rental company for the damage matrix and match the estimated costs with the repair bill sent out. If the prices are a match, it is not a problem. If the amount charged is higher than the estimate it’s unfair and you can file for dispute.
Step by Step Guideline
The first step is to collect your evidence (pictures and paperwork) and file an online complaint with the rental agency. Wait for the response from their customer service department as they gather information from the branch you used. In case the first step did not help in getting you any refund, make use of the chargeback provision with your credit card company. It will further investigate the legalities and return you the money if the company was unfair. If nothing works report to consumer rights organizations to deal with the matter.