I recieved a notice a couple of weeks back that a car I rented from Avis 6 months ago at Heathrow airport was damaged by having placed the wrong fuel in the car. I of course deny that I did this but have no way of proving otherwise six months later. Also, don’t they have safeguards on the nozzels from preventing people from doing this?
If I don’t pay what they claim to be the cost of fixing the car ($340) what happens? Can they put a black mark on my credit? Get a judgement agaisnt me? Stop me from renting from Avis worldwide? Attempt to collect next time I rent from Avis in the US? Have me arrested once I return to the UK? Deny me entry into the UK?
I’ve never been an international fugitive from justice before, WWJBD? (What would Jason Bourne do?)
They do, but it’s just based on size, so it’s possible to put the smaller one (unleaded petrol) in the filler tube of the larger one (diesel).
So if they’re claiming you put diesel in a petrol car, it might help to point out that this just isn’t really possible (it is if you try hard, for example, using a fuel can or some such)
I think either way, such a mistake would be quite noticeable in terms of engine function (or cessation thereof) within a short driving distance though.
There’s also a possibility that you already paid some sort of insurance premium or damage waiver that covers such a calamity - in my experience (not of Avis, mind), car rental firms are not above trying to charge you multiple times for the same thing.
I wonder why they just wouldn’t bill your credit card? Hertz in Germany did that to me last year for my two camera speed tickets that I earned while there.
What I’d be asking is how they do claim to know six months later that the damage was done while you were renting the car, instead of someone else a week or a month later?
They claim that the problem was found later the day I returned it when they took it to the wash bay. Then had to send it out to be fixed. Then had to wait to be invoiced by the company that did the repair. Then had to review the claim and tack on thier own charges. And then mail it to me just after the first of the year. This took six months?
What ticks me off is that my company tells us not to take the rental car insurance because the company is covered under its own policy for business travel. Avis is telling me that this would have been covered under thier insurance had I purchased it. Now my company is being flip about ponying up the insurance help.:mad:
Avis didn’t do that with the two tickets I got in Germany last June (speeding and red light violation), must be different rental car company policies. And no, I didn’t expect my company to pay for those.
Something doesn’t seem right about the bill Avis sent you. As Mangetout pointed out, you can’t put diesel in a gasoline tank without going to a lot of trouble, and the opposite mistake is likely to cost a lot more than $320. Here’s Cecil on the subject: Can I use diesel fuel instead of regular gas? - The Straight Dope
I may have found an out, it appears that I used my new AMerican Express card for the first time on this rental and that they cover rental car insurance. I’ll wait and see if they try to weasle out of it, but there is some hope.
Still, the questions in the original OP still intrigue me and I’d like to se them addressed.
I had a similar problem with a rental car in Belize. I received a notice by e-mail several days after I returned to Panama that they had found a dent that they blamed on me (they passed the car on inspection when I returned it), and informed me that they were billing my credit card.
I just disputed it with my credit card company, since I had no assurance it had not happened between the time I returned it and they took it to the shop. They took it off my bill. I have rented from the same car company again elsewhere without repercussions.
If you don’t believe that you were responsible for the damage, write to them and tell them so. Tell them if they bill you for it, you will dispute it with your credit card company. If they do so, follow through.
Best I can tell from the reciept Avis sent me was that it was a Vauxhall Vectra SRI XP CDTI (150). The info from the repair shop just states “wrong fuel” and makes no mention of what the fuel should have been.
Also, I didn’t keep or turn in the fuel reciept since the fill up cost less than $25.
If you were on a business trip, your company really should be taking care of this. If they’re being flip about it, as you put it, you might point out that the time you’re spending during the workday to deal with this is affecting your productivity. Presumably the corporate travel office, insurance office or legal staff can resolve this far more quickly and cleanly so you can get back to work.
