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My family and I visited Scotland from the US for a short stay in May, 2025. While on holiday, we rented a car from Green Motion Edinburgh Waverly for a 48 hour period. Prior to the rental, we took what we thought was a comprehensive video of the rental car to protect ourselves as we usually do in these cases. Upon return of the rental, Green Motion began the vehicle inspection by "zeroing in" on a specific spot on the windshield unbeknownst to us. We did not cause any damage to the vehicle during the rental period. They cited a tiny glass chip as damage we were responsible for under the contract. Unfortunately, our video was unable to prove our point due to a dimly lit garage and poor video quality . We took several pictures of the alleged damage and even a picture with a Green Motion Employee measuring the glass damage as less than 3mm. Green Motion had provided a specific document claiming any glass damage less than 3mm would be considered a repair and any more than 3mm would be a windshield replacement. We asked to speak with a manager to sort out the discrepancy, but we were waived off and told if we did not sign the rental back in, we would be charged with additional fees, etc. We capitualted under the pressure of tight travel arrangements, only to receive a charge of over $940 GDP for a complete windshield replacement. We disputed the charge with our credit card company and successfully won the chargeback issue with Green Motion. We thought the unfortunate situation to be resolved, only to notified by Jackson CRS of a debt claim by Green Motion and our issue being sent to collections. We have vehemently disputed the debt as a fraudulent scam and an invalid debt. We have asked for proof of the windshield damage that resulted in full replacement, a copy of any and all documents, as well as the rental car VIN and a copy of the repair bill and or estimate. Jackson CRS continues to send letters claiming that our non-payment will result in court action and damage to our credit rating. Green Motion has not provided any proof of the damage nor any evidence of the $940 GDP charge, plus interest and fees totalling over $1200 GDP currently. Subsequently, we have discovered an article from the Guardian documenting Green Motions unscrupulous business practices as well as many other victims in online review sites. We are seeking any and all advice prior to hiring a solicitor and potentially a countersuit for fraud and damages against Green Motion. Please advise!
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Assuming you are back in the US I would ignore Jackson CRS completely.
In the UK debt collectors have (in spite of all their bluster and legalese) no power at all!
The only action they can take is to write letters, and sometimes use scary big red font.
From Jackson CRS's website I note they are only paid if they successfully obtain payment of an alleged debt .... so they try very hard
If anyone is going to initiate court action, it is going to be Green Motion, but that is most unlikely because....
1)If they did initiate a court claim it would cost them money in solicitors fees which are not recoverable for small claims
2) if they won how would they enforce the debt in the US? They would need to relitigate in your state's courts .... can't see that happening, nor can I see how it could affect your credit record
I wouldn't waste money instructing a solicitor, and what damages could you claim anyway as so far it hasn't cost you anything
Hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts
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I agree with Des8.
I doubt that they've provided any meaningful / photographic evidence (with dates) of the windscreen before the car was
hired out to you. You'd have to wonder if the car had been in that condition for some time, i.e. it's a 'minor' issue, we can still hire it out etc.
If in the very unlikely event the matter went to Court, you could ask for the car's history i.e. the previous times it was hired out, the return
reports etc. See how willing the firm is in providing that information.
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Thank you both for your very quick responses to my post. Your expertise has been greatly appreciated during this stressful time.
I wanted to give the latest update to this ongoing epic saga. Jackson CRS has just contacted us in reply to our latest "Prove It" letter where we are demanding some sort of physical evidence of the windshield damage, including repair shop estimates, photographs, damage reports, etc. We have spoken directly with our credit card company who has confirmed during the chargeback dispute that they requested the same documentation and Green Motion refused to produce anything other than a letter disregarding the credit card company's demand and insisting we were still responsible for the damage.
Later, when we pressed Jackson CRS for proof of the damage to the windshield that required a full replacement to the tune of over $940 GDP, Green Motion now claims that once the car went to the repair shop for the glass repair, the damage then developed into a large crack, thus necessitating the need for a full replacement. Again, this claim has no evidence or proof as requested.
Jackson CRS latest missive now appologises for their clients lack of response to our requested documentation, but included a "Letter Before Action" as per the company policy detailing our need to pay by the middle of February or risk court action. However, the debt snowball amount has seemingly been halted and no further fees have accrued to date.
This leads to my next question for the thread. As indicated in the first response to my post, debt collectors have no power other than veiled threats. Should we wait until we receive something from the courts or just continue to disregard until the debt might be sold to a US based company? This then would allow us to utilize US debt laws to fight back from a consumer prospective. We know that there is no physical proof of any damage as requested. Do we need to consider a solicitor should the case have court action in an effort to defend ourselves?
Thank you all again for your assistance and knowledge with UK legal structure and procedures.Comment
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They are acting as debt collectors always do .
First send a series of letters demanding payment.
If they receive no response the matter is returned to their principals
If they receive a response (any response) they redouble their efforts. without responding to requests for proof
They hope to frighten their victims into paying
I would ignore and just wait to see what they might actually do besides writing threatening letters
I doubt a debt buyer could be found for this "debt" in the UK , let alone in the US
If (and it is a big "if" viewing the jurisdictional rules) they should initiate a court claim you could defend it yourself with your defence being on paper.
Obviously it is better to have a representative in court, but honestly the solicitor's costs (not recoverable) would cost more than if you lost
Just ignore them until proper court papers arrive (which almost certainly will not happen1)Comment
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DES8 Thank you for all of your input and advice!!! Will keep this post updated, especially if things get higgelty-piggelty!Comment
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