'Mystery hire car scratches cost me £1,400'

Gabrielle King writes

I recently used Europcar to hire a car from the Swiss side of Geneva Airport. When we returned the car there was a scratch on the rear passenger door. Because the scratch wasn’t shown on the vehicle condition report we were liable for the cost of repairing it. I accepted this. I hadn’t taken out any insurance to cover the damage excess, which was CHF3,750 (£3,000).

A few weeks later I received an invoice for CHF1,740 (£1,400). The paperwork appeared to say I was being charged for scratches on two doors. When I queried this with Europcar I was told it was “one and the same damage to both side doors”. The accompanying photograph circles a long scuff that looks more like dirt below the silver trim on the doors.

This was not the deep scratch discussed. I have photographs of this damage – a dent of about four inches positioned higher on the rear door.

Europcar remains unwilling to refund me for this damage. As the car was rented in Switzerland I am unable to take my complaint to the European Car Rental Conciliation Service. Do I have any other options?

Gill Charlton, consumer correspondent, replies

The Incident Report filled in and signed by Mrs King and the Europcar agent on returning the vehicle clearly says: “Rear door. Right side. Scratch”. Both her own photograph and Europcar’s show this scratch as well as a mark along the sill below the two doors. Whether this lower trace was dirt or a scuff mark is immaterial to Mrs King’s argument for a refund.

The car was signed out with no existing damage so Europcar has to accept the signed statement by its employee that there was only one door and one scratch involved. That is all it can charge for.

I asked Europcar to review the charges. It continues to insist that the time-stamped pictures taken after the rental finished show damage across two doors. However, it accepts this was not correctly noted on the document Mrs King signed. It has now agreed to refund the charge of CHF827 (£660) for the damage to the second door.

This illustrates just how difficult it can be to win an argument over damage with a car rental company. If the agent claims there is new damage, insist on a properly itemised Incident Report and take your own photos.