In the EU it is probably not allowed and won't happen but I would pay any amount to take them to court over this. Car rental companies are shite, especially the big chains, but they will have to relent when confronted with consumer rules. And rightly so: was told to pay many fines over non valid damages, paid 0.
EuropCar tried to hit my brother with a $275 charge for a missing parcel shelf from a hatchback he had rented, which, to his knowledge, had never _had_ a parcel shelf.
They insisted, but could provide no proof, that it did, and told him to prove that it didn't, but obviously he hadn't thought to document _missing, optional pieces he didn't know were equipped in a car he didn't own_.
It's a complete scam: they hit everyone for the missing parcel shelf and see who's stupid enough to pay up. He obviously didn't and told them to pound sand.
That being said, I just rented from Enterprise in Zurich and the car was < 300 km brand new, I was renter #2. Sure enough, the X3 had a parcel shelf, and you better believe I documented its presence upon its return.
>>In the EU it is probably not allowed and won't happen but I would pay any amount to take them to court over this.
I'm from EU and I don't see why this wouldn't be allowed? They have proof of what the wheel looked like when the car was rented out and they have proof of what it looked like when it was returned - if it's clearly damaged then why would they not be able to charge you for it?
A common way they operate in Europe is that they’ll leave their offices at airports unattended when they’re supposed to be open, forcing you to use the key drop. They then say in the fine print that customer submitted videos and photos aren’t accepted, so even if you film the car when you drop it off, you’re liable for any damage that occurs after you return it.
Worst I had was they ripped the door off a rental on a lamppost, and even though I had a video (one take) of the car being in good condition, their office being closed, and the clock behind their counter, they threatened me with court unless I paid them €2,000.
But I mean that's exactly why the device in the article exists, no? The office can be unmanned, the machine just automatically takes pictures from every angle on pick up and drop off, no humans necessary. Then you don't even need to take your own pictures. So in that sense it's a good thing?
