Renters urged to check car for damage

All those who rent cars have long been encouraged by industry specialists and consumer advocates to have their hired vehicle duly checked for damage before driving off from the car hire outlet. If they return their car and damage is found-even if it was not caused by the last client-the rental firm is within its rights to charge the customer. Despite this risk, most rental customers are still more likely to drive away from the outlet in a hurry and not check the state of their vehicle.

Even more clients fail to realize just how crucially important it is to ask the car hire agent to inspect the vehicle upon returning it, in order to ensure that they are not billed for any damage. David Scott, a London resident, fell into this very trap, when according to a BBC report, he returned his car rental at an airport in Italy, but was shocked to find out that he had been billed £336 for alleged damage to the windshield, well after his return to Britain. Auto Europa had reportedly failed to notify Scott that his bank account had been directly debited for the amount.

Scott was interviewed briefly by BBC’s Radio 4, where he argued that rental clients are often at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to these policies, and that the “cards are stacked against them.” The BBC radio program, Money Box, then aired a special segment on similar instances, with more than two dozen listeners calling in to tell of their nearly identical experiences. Yet in all these cases, an inspection before driving off with the car and a quick check after returning it on the part of the agent would have spared the client a lot of trouble.