Abel: Car rental scam claims

[Mal]

Abel boss defends 'excellent product' | The Courier-Mail

A CAR rental business faces a string of complaints from customers alleging they were ripped off over disputed damage claims.

Abel Rent a Car customers, including several from overseas, said they were wrongly blamed for minor scratches, then slugged with "administration processing" fees on top of excess charges.

Former staff backed the claims, saying they were under pressure to slate responsibility for incidental wear and tear back to customers, for fear of having their own wages docked.

 

[JohnK]

Repairs on the car Mr Hagiwara rented were carried out by Accident Repair Centre, owned by Abel managing director Nathan Conn.

A small scratch resulted in $535 of work, an invoice shows.

Mr Hagiwara was charged $625 – a $275 excess charge and the $330 administration fees, contained in the fineprint of Abel rental agreements.

This looks very suspicious. At least the managing director has the name to go with the accusations.

This is what can happen when renting through a small car hire company and/or not reading the fine print. I find it hard to understand how they could justify $330 administration charges regardless of whether it is written in the contract or not.

And always ensure that you have adequate travel insurance to cover rental vehicle excess otherwise take the excess reduction from the car hire company.

 

[jayr]

I was a victim of this scam.

I rented a truck and they marked the condition report with existing damage in various places.

On return they told me that I had damaged the truck in a place that had a mark on the condition report. They said the condition report indicated "scratches" wheras the damage they charged for was a "dent".

They charged me the $330 excess (I had paid to reduce that from $3500) and a $330 "accident proccessing fee plus various other charges.

I have separate multi-trip annual travel insurance to cover this but am pursuing them through the Office of Fair Trading. I recommend that no-one uses Abel. I have never had this occur with Europcar, Avis, Hertz, Budget or anyone else I may have used before.

 

[Travel Guru]

You'll find East Coast Car Rentals was recently in the press for pulling the same scam on customers...charging the clients for damage that occured 3 rentals ago just to try it on.

Not all small car hire firms are bad though, Red Back Car Rentals on the Gold Coast is one of the most reputable in the country though on the whole I prefer using a larger company such as Europcar.

TG

 

[Arthur Hodgson]

I only ever use one of the majors, eg Hertz (#1 Gold), Avis (Preferred), Budget, Thrifty, Alamo, Dollar, etc, etc.

Never had a problem that couldn't be fixed quite easily, and I always take before and after digital photos of each vehicle I rent, for added security. I get a few funny looks, but hey...

There was one apparent scam I came across with Hertz in Stockport England that you might be interested in. The rental was one-way to another depot in the UK (no drop fee, using my corporate code, but with mileage charges after a set daily limit). I dropped the car off at my destination and asked for the invoice to be printed up. I was a bit taken aback at the cost of the rental, which was much higher than the agreed rate from the Hertz res system.

We spent quite a few minutes trying to find out why the invoice was different from the quoted amount, and eventually I noticed that the start mileage figure used for the calculation was much lower than actual. Thankfully I had a copy of the vehicle condition report (a very important document if you want to avoid getting ripped off) and this had the correct start mileage written on it. When this was entered into the Hertz computer, the invoice showed the amount I was expecting.

I'm not saying it definitely was a scam, but I do wonder. So if you're taking a rental that includes a separate charge for each km/mile driven, be especially careful that you note the actual start and end figures. Don't rely on the rental company getting it right!

 

[haroldgerb]

That's unbelievable..

Whenever I hire a car in Brisbane i always use Alpha car hire, haven't had a problem yet.

 

[Alan Pawley]

As a frequent user of Abel Car Hire Brisbane I have always found them to be courteous fair and at the very least honest with their dealings with me.
I had occasion to have a minor problem with a vehicle through no fault of theirs and upon alerting Abel Brisbane they immediatly offered me 50% off the next hire when ever I came back to Brisbane.
The fault was in fact something which neither the person handing me the keys or myself noticed, was the fact that the radio aerial was broken, I was not questioned or blamed and indeed was appologised to for the inconvenience and given the above mentioned discount.
Further to this on several occasions we have only driven the hire car for very short distances (under 200klm) in three days and for this they also rewarded me with 25% off at the subsequent rental.
In summary I would say that the flack they are copping is to my wayof thinking a little bit severe, but you know how it goes there are a lot of knockers and not many praisers in todays society.

 

[Travel Guru]

Was that a paid endorsement??

TG

 

[oz_mark]

In summary I would say that the flack they are copping is to my wayof thinking a little bit severe, but you know how it goes there are a lot of knockers and not many praisers in todays society.

All companies have their knockers and people that have had bad experiences (real or otherwise). In most cases these are basically random service failings. But when there is a string of simliar complaints about the same thing, then there does appear to be something wrong

 

[vt]

As a frequent user of Abel Car Hire Brisbane I have always found them to be courteous fair and at the very least honest with their dealings with me.
I had occasion to have a minor problem with a vehicle through no fault of theirs and upon alerting Abel Brisbane they immediatly offered me 50% off the next hire when ever I came back to Brisbane.
The fault was in fact something which neither the person handing me the keys or myself noticed, was the fact that the radio aerial was broken, I was not questioned or blamed and indeed was appologised to for the inconvenience and given the above mentioned discount.
Further to this on several occasions we have only driven the hire car for very short distances (under 200klm) in three days and for this they also rewarded me with 25% off at the subsequent rental.
In summary I would say that the flack they are copping is to my wayof thinking a little bit severe, but you know how it goes there are a lot of knockers and not many praisers in todays society.

Excuse me whilst I make my first post on a thread defending and endorsing a company that has a long line of complaints...:shock:

Who do you work for again?

 

[Alan Pawley]

Travel Guru,
Absolutely not!! I wrote that completely of my own free will with no endorsements.
Alan Pawley

 

[straitman]

Travel Guru,
Absolutely not!! I wrote that completely of my own free will with no endorsements.
Alan Pawley

Alan Pawley,

Welcome to AFF.

I'm sure if you look back at this thread and even through to a few other topics you'll see the people here are quite reasonable. If you also look back at your first post here looks to be an all in, wrap up of Abel Car Rentals.

People tend to be cynical as this type of thing occurs all to often and on these type of forums. If people work for a company (and I'm not suggesting you do) and actually post and come out and defend a company, admit their allegiance they can often do a huge amount of good to their cause.

Thanks for the post and let's see many more.

By the way we have used Abel, though not recently, and had absolutely no issues what so ever. I've personally had more issues with the so called major companies. :shock:

 

[candy5]

I have used Abel at least twice, the first time was awesome the branch Manager was Andrew at the time and he was awesome. However the first car we hired, we had a young man check it over before taking it. I was observing the way this guy was doing his 1 minute check on the car (if that) he then passed the defect form to me to sign. I told him to note the two chips in the windscreen. He was about to walk off again, but I stopped him again and to him to take note of the marks on the carpets and do an internal check. He didnt seem happy to note any existing defects. We had the car for that day - and the staff on returning the vehicle were excellent....I was so happy with this service that I passed the good news on to my corperate colleagues and decided to hire another vehicle through abel........BIG MISTAKE...I thought I was somehow in the wrong, but after reading these stories I know I wasnt. We were served by an un-experinced counter staff member, although she was very friendly. She didnt have a name badge (unprofessional) She went outside with my husband and myself and started chatting whilst she did her 30 sec-1min check!!!! I noticed a small chip in the windscreen as we pulled away from NUDGEE ABEL, I didnt think anything of it....I thought maybe their professional staff member would note this down....she didnt. Now I had booked this car from 7am to 11pm I received a call on my cell phone at 1857(pm) It was Abel - a female voice asking why the rental car was not returned at 1800. I told her that this car is due back at 11pm. The staff member then said "no dont worry just have the car until 0700 13 October 2008". I told her I cannot do this as my husband and I both work and dont have time to drop it off in the morning, the staff member seemed really pissed off. When we arrived at ABEL NUDGEE to return this car at 2200, we werent acknowledged by the two female staff members. They (staff members) just grabbed the keys and walked out to check. I didnt think anything of the small chip as we had such a great day!!.The two female staff members told my husband to fill out a accident form - as the chip was not on the defect form. Their so-called legal form! Once again no name badges - the ladies behind the counter were very rude. We were told to pay up $580.00 to pay for a chip in the windscreen. I was shocked. I told them it was already there, they have no proof AND received this pathetic reply " but you had the car last"...mmmm
They then went on to say they never give out cars with chips on windscreens. I told them about our first car, which meant if I didnt pull up the young man we would have been charged for that screen too.....after speaking with my colleagues and now reading this, it all makes sense. I spoke to their Branch Manager Todd - His only response was you signed the defect sheet and as for the first car you had it was the SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. When I also told him about the disgusting customer service he advised that was because we were abusive....we werent abusive we just couldnt understand the scam....soooo tricky. I also spoke to a friend who was an ex manager of Abel in Sydney today and she has informed me that they have always been dodgey (I should've done my homework properly on ABEL). AND TO TAKE IT FURTHER....I have already submitted a complaint to fair trading FOR THE FIRST TIME. I didnt want to go to this extent because some of Abels staff members were excellent - unfortunately we were had by two of the unrpofessional staff members. If anyone else has had the same experience please drop a line and let me know how you solved this problem....

 

[BAM1748]

Considering that renting through Thrifty, Hetrz, Avis and Budget is hardly any difference than Abel (just did a web check) why would anyone rent from shonk company like Abel, wonder what they do with all those credit card details they have.

Pay the extra few bucks in the knowledge that if you do damage the vehicle you don't pay an admin fee, either the excess or the damage which ever is less. But wait there is more, plus they actually listen to you if you have a problem and although the customer is not always right they are the whole point of the business.

 

[serfty]

G'day candy5, welcome to AFF.

I have had to deal with this sort of thing over the last years more times than should be the case. There is a process that I follow and the funds ALWAYS have been fully re-credited. They should never have been taken in the first place.

I fill out a statutory declaration stating the circumstance of the rental and that I was not responsible for the damage and sign in front of an accredited person.

Then I send it to the hire car company HEAD Office. Included is a covering letter stating the rental agreement number, date and other pertinent information. A photocopy of the agreement is good. I state that I object to the charge being made and require it to be reversed as I did not cause the damage.

The truth is, the onus is on the hire car company to prove you were responsible for the damage.

That's why they take first and advise later. The philosophy being that many will simply wear the cost rather than argue. Of course, if the customer does do this, he or she "obviously was responsible for the damage" and the company is vindicated.

The companies are simply "playing the odds"; if a customer does go to the trouble of sending a statuary declaration, it is very probable they were not responsible for the damage.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

G'day candy5, welcome to AFF.

That's why they take first and advise later. The philosophy being that many will simply wear the cost rather than argue. Of course, if the customer does do this, he or she "obviously was responsible for the damage" and the company is vindicated.

The companies are simply "playing the odds"; if a customer does go to the trouble of sending a statuary declaration, it is very probable they were not responsible for the damage.

While I have not had a car hire company experience such as the above...I have certainly had many occurances of companies "playing the odds" by initially either adding extra charges...or knocking back claims.

In every case to date a firm, but polite response back from myself not taking no for an answer, and stating my case, has seen things go my way....icluding on one occassion a $20,000+ car insurance claim where my wife had an accident and the companies initial response was that they were not liable.

 

[BrightBlueMoon]

I also spoke to a friend who was an ex manager of Abel in Sydney today and she has informed me that they have always been dodgey (I should've done my homework properly on ABEL). AND TO TAKE IT FURTHER....I have already submitted a complaint to fair trading FOR THE FIRST TIME. I didnt want to go to this extent because some of Abels staff members were excellent - unfortunately we were had by two of the unrpofessional staff members. If anyone else has had the same experience please drop a line and let me know how you solved this problem....

Hi all,

I have just received a claim for $4800 from Abel for a ding in the bumper bar that was there at my time of hiring. Interestingly, I also hired from Abel Nudgee. Sadly, I also didn't do my homework on this company, and now have the hassle of pursuing this.

Can anyone here advise me of the best course of action for disputing this claim? I have cancelled my credit card, so they are not able to charge me a thing at this stage. They have sent me a first letter from the Abel head office, and I am wondering now how I should proceed.

Has anyone had any luck with this, or are we unfortunate victims of this ongoing scam, and should I just pay up? Am concerned about also being slugged with legal fees if I stretch it out.

Cheers,

BBM

 

[yo yo ma]

Alan Pawley

...Thanks for the post and let's see many more.

They didn't eventuate...

 

[NM]

Hi all,

I have just received a claim for $4800 from Abel for a ding in the bumper bar that was there at my time of hiring. Interestingly, I also hired from Abel Nudgee. Sadly, I also didn't do my homework on this company, and now have the hassle of pursuing this.

Can anyone here advise me of the best course of action for disputing this claim? I have cancelled my credit card, so they are not able to charge me a thing at this stage. They have sent me a first letter from the Abel head office, and I am wondering now how I should proceed.

Has anyone had any luck with this, or are we unfortunate victims of this ongoing scam, and should I just pay up? Am concerned about also being slugged with legal fees if I stretch it out.

Cheers,

BBM

If the damage was not noted on the rental agreement or other paperwork before you commenced the rental, then you have to somehow prove the damage was not caused while you had the car. That is not going to be an easy thing to prove. If you signed the agreement accepting responsibility for any damage, and any damage already present at the start of the rental was not noted at the time, then its going to be an uphill battle to avoid paying the bill.

 

[albatross710]

If the damage was not noted on the rental agreement or other paperwork before you commenced the rental, then you have to somehow prove the damage was not caused while you had the car. That is not going to be an easy thing to prove. If you signed the agreement accepting responsibility for any damage, and any damage already present at the start of the rental was not noted at the time, then its going to be an uphill battle to avoid paying the bill.

I wonder if in front of a Minor Debt Claim magistrate Abel would be willing to provide copies of the previous 5 (or more) rental contracts on that vehicle. The contention being that one of the previous renters caused the damage and that it had been previously noted.