Warning - Avis Grenoble

A snowHead

@Dave of the Marmottes, If it was just a numbers game I would be much more likely to be caught out than most others. Over the last 15 years or so I have probably hired a car about 25 - 30 times/year for business (I used to travel to Europe for business pretty much every week) and maybe 5 - 10 times/year for personal use. I have NEVER had a problem. I have been charged, twice, for dinged alloys, both of them were our fault and paid by insurance after excess deduction. I feel lucky given all the comments here, but also am somewhat sceptical that this is a widespread problem. Or that hire companies are generally in the game of making stuff up. More likely it is a case of a very low incidence of fraudulent practice combined with people not being aware of damage caused when they had the car (e.g. scratches can happen when you leave it in a car park).

PS - I am not that careful about checking the car on pick-up or drop-off. I never take any pictures or videos. So that is not the reason either.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@nevis1003, I think you have to accept there is a lot of reporting bias in reviews and comments on the internet especially. Who would leave a review for a car hire that went smoothly with no additional charges? It is generally only those who have negative experiences that make the effort. And frankly just because someone says they did not cause the damage, or it did not happen while they had the car, does not mean that is true. I am sure it happens a lot the other way were people KNOW they caused the damage and don't declare it to the hire company.

My conclusion is clearly it happens sometimes. By default it must be very rare - if you take my experience the odds must be less than 400 in 1. Which means it is not systemic. I will continue to hire without giving it a second thought.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Of course there is reporting bias I could list many more hassle free returns of vehicles than I could the iffy ones but it would be quite boring. But it does happen and e.g. if I hadn't spotted the retrospective charge raised on my credit card statement I'd be none the wiser given that I highly doubt they would have actually written to me and it is possible for some people for a charge of under £200 to slip by without them noticing.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@zikomo, I imagine many people wouldn't be quite so annoyed if they received their car in mint condition at the airport.

Being charged exorbitant fees for works that never get completed is pretty dishonest in my opinion.

You'll need to Register first of course.

I already agreed that it must happen. I just think it is very rare. In fact I know it is very rare based on my own experience. I do take out excess insurance to cover any damage I cause, which would also cover anything the car hire company falsely claimed. I am sure the insurer will query actual proof and costs, that's their core business!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

I think it's profiteering by European agencies doing their best to fleece what they perceive to be one-off tourist rentals - i.e. little chance of regular repeat business so they don't care if you never come back.

In contrast, the last time I rented at Birmingham airport through Alamo/Enterprise, I pointed out minor damage on most panels and wheels on the car that was not recorded on the sheet only to be told, "Don't worry about any of that stuff, we don't care about minor damage anymore and won't charge you for it. All cars go through the same reconditioning process at de-fleet so it doesn't matter."

I was hugely sceptical but sure enough, when I returned the car, they did only a very cursory inspection, signed it off and sent me on my way. I was very pleasantly surprised by the entire experience and would most certainly use them again.

There is also the other side of the equation: renters who try to hide damage they know they caused. Judging by the reaction of the desk staff when I mentioned that I'd scraped the tyre of a car whilst filling up with fuel before returning the car, my guess is that this is also very common. The staff were amazed that I volunteered the info, and very happy (the guy admitted he would probably have missed the damage on inspection, then got into trouble when it was noticed because the tyre had a gouge on the sidewall). Sorting out the issue was quick and easy, and done without angst or stress. They simply pulled up the kwikfit (or equivalent) website, found a suitable - and cheap - tyre and ordered it, and I paid. Sure, I could have stayed quiet (and likely not had to pay) but then would I be any better than the rental agency foisting extra damage onto me?

To some extent, I think we reap what we sow with car rental.

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@Ozboy, If you think that insurance companies do not try and limit what you pay out, I don't think you understand how they work. It is easy for them to make a simple demand for proof that the damage was caused and what the actual cost of fixing it was. They have a right to do so as they have accepted liability for those costs.

It is also interesting that independent excess insurance costs so little, £40 or so for annual cover/ A clear indication that the issue is very limited in nature.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

It’s an indication that it’s not successful that often because most people challenge it. But they certainly try it on. Their latest scam is false mileage charges if you are unfortunate enough not to have hired a car with no mileage limit.
At the moment there are horrendous stories about Sixt, who I have just done a chargeback on for inventing an alleged traffic violation and so the admin cost for supplying my details. They were unable to supply a copy when challenged so they were charged back. These sort of scams plus excess mileage scams are not covered by any insurance you might have

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Warning - Avis Grenoble

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