'Car hire firm charged me more than ￡2,000 for tiny scratches I didn't cause'

Our experts solve your travel conundrums. Here Gill Charlton helps a reader win a battle with a car hire firm over a colossal bill for four tiny scratches.

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Sandeep Sandhu writes

In June I hired a car from Green Motion at Gatwick Airport which I had booked through Holiday Autos. The VW Polo cost ￡69.70 for the 10-day rental. The low rate included all the usual insurances though the mileage limit was only 95 miles a day. In addition to this I would have to pay 25p a mile. That was fine by me, as I was only using the car to visit relatives. 

When I returned the car, the rental agent started examining it microscopically. He came up with four new “scratches” which in my view were marks that any car would have from, say, wiping it with a cloth containing some dust particles. They were all very fine single scratches. As I had only driven up the motorway and along London streets, this “damage” could not have been done during my rental.

I had not purchased Green Motion’s expensive top-up insurance, so I was liable for the damage excess of ￡1,205 which had been authorised against my credit card. The agent said the repair cost would be ￡974. I contested this but got nowhere. As I had a flight to catch back to India with my family, I had to pay and move on.

I feel I have been roundly cheated and wonder what I can do now?

Gill Charlton replies

Green Motion’s charge matrix for a scratch is ￡194.40 for one under four inches and ￡390 for a larger one. This appears unreasonably expensive, especially as it covers any scratch, however slight.

When Mr Sandhu contacted me on June 27, I had just received a communication from Holiday Autos to say that it had decided to remove Green Motion UK’s franchises from its search results “in reaction to a spike in customer complaints in UK locations”.

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The firm’s spokeswoman said it would be working with Green Motion UK to “align its level of service” with that it expects its customers to experience.

This robust action by Holiday Autos is to be applauded. Such a stance by an online car rental agent worried about its own reputation is just what the car rental industry needs to improve standards. 

It is high time that agents started refusing to deal with franchises which think they can get away with charging ridiculous amounts for hairline scratches that may well be pre-existing and simply not spotted by the renter on pickup.

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I recently hired a car from Avis at Shannon Airport which had fine scratches on every single panel. The condition report noted only two pre-existing marks. I added another dozen and wrote “multiple fine scratches on every panel” which the checkout agent signed without a murmur.

I took Mr Sandhu’s case to Holiday Autos as an example of Green Motion’s unfair interpretation of what constitutes new damage. Holiday Autos asked Green Motion’s head office for a review.

In its response, Green Motion claims that the damage to Mr Sandhu’s vehicle was not pre-existing and that “the charges levied were fair and valid”. However, its spokesman says that “the supporting documentation covering the inspection of the vehicle on its return was inadequately completed by a new rental agent”.

As a gesture of goodwill, Green Motion Gatwick has now given Mr Sandhu a full refund.