Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage!

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 12 Jan 2023 11:15
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - JGH44

Hiya. Im not a car expert so have headed to people who are and joined this forum. I have a large and expensive problem. I bumped my hire car when on holiday in France last August and have just received a bill of nearly 3K euro. Also, it would appear that I messed up with my insurance and I am not covered. I am therefore wondering whether to challenge the bill and see if it can be reduced. Has anyone ever succeeded in doing this? I wanted to post pictures of the damage for assessment, but can't see how - I guess because Im a new member? Anyway, any advice really gratefully received!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 12 Jan 2023 11:49
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - skidpan

This topic needs to be in legal matters. Request Mods to move it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 12 Jan 2023 12:08
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - Xileno

Thread moved to the Legal forum. Sorry you have to link to photos held elsewhere, no-one can upload directly to the forum.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 12 Jan 2023 12:45
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - gordonbennet

It isn't just the damage that needs to be reimbursed its the lost rentals whilst the vehicle is off the road.

Did you not take the hire co's insurance, incl CDW? which might seem expensive at the time but..

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 13 Jan 2023 22:22
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - focussed

I live in France, but have never been in this situation.

I googled in French for "challenging a repair estimate from a hire car company"

"contester un devis de réparation auprès d'une société de location de voitures"

This website is Que Choisir an approximate equivalent to "Which" in the UK.

www.quechoisir.org/conseils-location-de-voiture-qu...n.

Some good advice in French on there, either use google translate on your computer or copy/paste onto a website called www.deepl.com/en/translator for a more accurate translation.

A tip for registering a challenge to their repair estimate - do not use email, the French are notorious for ignoring or denying they received emails. Write a registered letter translated into french using www.deepl.com - don't write in english, they will probably just ignore it.

And you need to use the correct formal french terms etc eg never use "tu" always use the formal "vous" eg.

www.thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2012/06/lett...l

Hope this helps.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 13 Jan 2023 23:14
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - Andrew-T

<< ... use the correct formal french terms etc eg never use "tu" always use the formal "vous" >>

I can't imagine any English speaker not fluent in French even thinking of using 'tu'. I lived for a month with a Parisian family when I was a teenager and it took me quite a while to come to terms with it. I suppose it might come more naturally to a Yorkshireman (tha and thee) ... :-)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 13 Jan 2023 23:53
Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! - focussed

<< ... use the correct formal french terms etc eg never use "tu" always use the formal "vous" >>

I can't imagine any English speaker not fluent in French even thinking of using 'tu'. I lived for a month with a Parisian family when I was a teenager and it took me quite a while to come to terms with it. I suppose it might come more naturally to a Yorkshireman (tha and thee) ... :-)

I'm advising someone who may be writing a formal letter to a company, if you write in the accepted formal way you are more likely to get attention.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance