Europcar is taking their claim to court

[nachocpol]

Hi folks,

Last December I rented a car with Europcar. While it was parked at the gym, the driver door was bumped twice. During drop off, I noticed them about the damage and they told me they would send me an invoice after they inspected it. After some time, I received the invoice which was for a dent >= 15 cm, which adds up to £1122, this value was taken from their damage matrix. Now, the damage done was minimal, the small dents didn't chip the paint and should be an easy fix. Checking bodywork shops this can go from around £60-£150. I think you see my frustration here when they are asking such amount.

I reached to their damage claims email arguing that this was an outrageous amount and they should review it with a 3rt party or show me a repair invoice. We of course didn“t reach an agreement so that ended there.

At this point, I have moved out of the UK (back to Spain for work) and I'm getting letters from their lawyers informing they want to see payment proposals before the end of the month or they will take this to the country court money claims.

I'm not sure what are my options, clearly, they are beyond the point of negotiating and they are shielded behind the terms I signed.

- Can I ignore this?
- Can I just pay them whatever I feel like and be done with it?
- Other options?

Anyways, sorry about the long post.
Thanks again.
Nacho.

[des8]

I would be asking them to justify the charge of £1122
If the dent is not repaired they are only entitled as damages to the amount the vehicle's sale value has been diminished by the dent
If the dent is actually repaired they would be entitled to claim the cost of the repair, but that wouldn't necessarily be the cost as shown in their damage matrix
Try telling them you want to obtain another quote from your own panel repairer to repair the damage you caused, and this must be before they proceed with any repair as you disagree with their estimate.

Others might have other advice

[nachocpol]

I would be asking them to justify the charge of £1122
If the dent is not repaired they are only entitled as damages to the amount the vehicle's sale value has been diminished by the dent
If the dent is actually repaired they would be entitled to claim the cost of the repair, but that wouldn't necessarily be the cost as shown in their damage matrix
Try telling them you want to obtain another quote from your own panel repairer to repair the damage you caused, and this must be before they proceed with any repair as you disagree with their estimate.

Others might have other advice

Thanks, will give that a try, but I feel like they are beyond any negotiations and this point...

"If the dent is not repaired they are only entitled as damages to the amount the vehicle's sale value has been diminished by the dent"

Are there any legal bases supporting this? I'm guessing they could still argue that the value has been diminished by the full amount (1122).