Car rental driver is on right road again
WHAT should have been a happy holiday car hire turned into a disturbing, long-running dispute between a rental firm and its customer who found himself dogged by atrocious delays and fending off a debt collector’s ferocious demand.
Scott Allen stood his ground for 18 months over what he claims was unfair treatment until the matter reached crisis point last month and he asked Crusader for help.
His £360 hire from Sixt car rental was for a nine-day trip with a friend in England during May last year.
Four days into the break they noticed a windscreen crack coming from a chip beneath a wiper which made the vehicle undriveable.
“I spent hours trying to report it,” Scott recalls. “But a replacement only happened four days later. That delay spoilt our holiday.” Scott hadn’t taken out excess damage waiver insurance, which covers parts often excluded in hire policies, so was liable for the damage cost, something he absolutely accepted.
But they hadn’t had full use of the car. “I wanted that to be offset in the rental charge,” he explained.
That request was rejected and Scott was sent between Sixt departments. All then went quiet, he claims, until a year later when he got another warning about his outstanding debt.
More inconclusive negotiations followed by a final payment reminder and then a shocking £712 debt collector’s payment demand. This came from a firm in Germany where Sixt is headquartered and it also asked Scott for many personal details about his employment status which Crusader thought he would be most unwise to supply.
“I’ve never disputed I had to settle the damage bill only that the final charge should be fair,” he protested.
After we put his side to Sixt’s HQ and our concerns about the debt demand, the company responded very quickly and has refunded Scott’s full rental charge.
It explained: “We are very sorry for what happened in this case and have reviewed proceedings internally in much detail. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication [he] didn’t receive a reply.”
“I’m so relieved, the pressure just got worse,” Scott responded. “I feared for my credit record and without Crusader I would still have been fighting a huge bill.”