SIXT Rental. False Damage Charges

[ParelJ]

Good Morning, I rented a car from Sixt in London in May of this year. After return, there were no attendants and I left the car in their return lot. They emailed saying there is a small scratch on the hood that needs to be paid for. I denied the damage, I didn't cause any damage, I sent them the form completed with my explanation. Now they have been harassing me and sent a letter from a debt collector in Florida to pay them 1200 pounds for the damage. I am sure this damage was not caused while I had possession. It's a very small scratch according to them that went into the primer. I couldn't see it and they claim it was not there. I live in the middle East, and from the US. They are now emailing me thru a debt collector from Florida. I don’t have a problem to pay for something I caused, but this is not the case. Can they legally come against me in US.

[R0b]

Hello,

SIXT have a reputation for doing this and typically it doesn't go anywhere. If you contracted for the hire of the car in London and not from Middel East or US, then your contract is likely to be governed by English law and although they could sue you in the US or Middle East, it would be very costly of them to do that and have them instruct an expert on English law.

I don't know what the laws are around harassment in the US or the Middle East but you may want to consider that as an option and write back to both the debt collector and SIXT directly, just make sure to keep all correspondence in writing.