12 June, 2016

Enterprise vs me vs Glynvale Hotel (part one)

On Saturday June 4th at 10:00 I picked up an AMG Mercedes E220D from the Wakefield branch of Enterprise car hire.

At 16:00 I parked it a the Glynvale Hotel at Skegness, where my partner (Jenny Phillips.) and I were staying for bed and breakfast. Free car parking and WiFi were provided.

On Sunday June 5th at 09:45 another guest and I were looking at the damage to the bonnet of the Mercedes caused by a piece of the Glynvale Hotel no longer being attached to the hotel.

I had an instant negative emotion, which I am struggling to shift. I moved the car to allow another guest to leave and my partner went back into the hotel to report the incident.

Jenny, my partner, came back out of the hotel informing me that I had parked there at my own risk. The initial negative emotion became stronger.

Sue and Norman, who run the hotel, have now made an error of judgement. They should have come out, inspected the car and the shattered remains of the piece of their hotel that fell off, apologised and asked for the bill for damages to be sent to them. At this point, they haven't accepted liability but have accepted that they need to critically think about what has happened and what needs to happen next.

They didn't.

Monday at 08:45, I returned the now damaged Mercedes back to Enterprise in Wakefield. More than one hour before I had to, giving them one hour of my time to inspect the car and make decisions. I apologised for the inconvenience I would cause by returning a damaged car. Unfortunately, the Manager, was no different to Sue and Norman at the hotel. He was apologetic but he would be taking all £1,400 of the deposit I paid and it was up to me to make a claim against the Hotel owners.

The Hotel owners and the Manager of Enterprise both act only in their own pursuit of profit. Neither care about what ought to be done or justice. For whatever reason, this is now my problem.

I mentioned justice. This private problem between the Glyvale Hotel and Enterprise is now mine and I must write letters and document everything I do. I will add to it as time goes by and this saga continues. Eventually, it is resolved or a claim through the small claims courts will be initiated. What was a private matter that could easily have been resolved by civilised human beings, is then settled at the public's expense.

Is this what society now is? Sue and Norman have no interest in any damage caused by falling pieces of masonry from their hotel onto their guests cars parked in their car park. Enterprise have no policy of assisting their customers in third party claims. All expenses are immediately passed onto whoever is the easiest to Bill. Ultimately, the tax payer pays for all infrastructure costs for settling this dispute.

The cost of all this is more than financial. It costs us our happiness. I am unhappy at both Enterprise and Sue and Norman. Shaun, the Enterprise Manager will be under pressure to get a premium car available for hire as soon as possible. Sue and Norman will be unhappy when I Bill them £1,400.

What should have happened is that Enterprise send a bill and covering letter to Glynvale and Sue and Norman respond in a civilised manner. Either negotiate the bill down or turn it over to their insurance provider who will.

Details of the car hire, damage charge and hotel follow.

CONFIRMED

Thank you for your reservation.
Your reservation number is 1809714557.

Pick-Up Details

Location
Wakefield
Date & Time
Saturday, June 04, 2016 @ 10:00 AM
Address
165-169 Dewsbury Road
Wakefield, WEST YORKSHIRE WF2 9BQ 
Phone
01924-375000
Hours
Saturday: 09:00 - 13:00



Return Details

Location
Wakefield
Date & Time
Monday, June 06, 2016 @ 10:00 AM
Address
165-169 Dewsbury Road
Wakefield, WEST YORKSHIRE WF2 9BQ 
Phone
01924-375000
Hours
Monday: 08:00 - 18:00

Renter Details

Name
DAVID WATKINSON

Pricing Details

Vehicle Class
Small Premium
Mercedes C Class or similar


Rates
Vehicle

TIME & DISTANCE
2 DAILY @ £45.00
£90.00
Extras

Unlimited Mileage
Included
Damage Waiver
Included
Taxes & Fees

VALUE ADDED TAX (20.0%)
Included


Estimated Total£90.00
ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR (YORKSHIRE) VAT #641634450, 165-169 DEWSBURY ROAD, WAKEFIELD,  WF2 9BQ 0192 437 5000
RENTAL AGREEMENTREF#
1335764MHXPW
RENTER
WATKINSON, DAVID
DATE & TIME OUT
04/06/2016 09:53
DATE & TIME IN
06/06/2016 08:40
BILLING CYCLE
24-HOUR
VEH #1 2016 MERC E 4S21
VIN# WDD2120012B315688
LIC# KY65CWG
MILES DRIVEN268
BILL TO ACCOUNT
RETAIL UK WEB PRE PAY
ATTN: UNKNOWN
RIVERSDALE ROAD
EDINBURGH, . EH125QY
CLAIM INFO
2512309068
INSURED: 4885
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Charge DescriptionDateQuantityPerRateTotal
TIME & DISTANCE04/06 - 06/062DAY£37.50£75.00
REFUELING CHARGE04/06 - 06/06£0.00
Subtotal:£75.00
Miscellaneous Charges/Ref funds
DAMAGE REIMBURSEMENT/DEDUCTIBLE£1,400.00
Taxes & Surcharges
VALUE ADDED TAX04/06 - 06/0620%£15.00
Total Charges:£1,490.00
Bill-To / Deposits
RETAIL UK WEB PRE PAY
TIME & DISTANCE04/06 - 06/062DAY
VALUE ADDED TAX04/06 - 06/061PERCENT20%
Subtotal:-£90.00
DEPOSITS-£1,400.00
Total Amount Due£0.00
PAYMENT INFORMATION
AMOUNT PAIDTYPECREDIT CARD NUMBER
£1,400.00Visaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This is not a VAT Invoice
DUPLICATE



Glynvale Hotel
Susan and Norman Wood
101 Drummond Road
Skegness
PE25 3EH

Sue and Norman we both pleasant and personable. The Hotel was clean and the food acceptable. I wouldn't park there. I advise some basic personal protective clothing of steel toe capped boots, hard hat and goggles. 
Not suitable for children.

Critical Thought time.
Enterprise is a global company. As it grows, at some point it will become too big to fail. Like the banks. This means it is systemically important and as such more important than all the tax payers. Enterprise, is now big which means that it is more important than me. It can increase damage waivers to whatever it likes as it has no real competition. Actual car owners pay two or three hundred pounds excess fees, not £1,400. Without critical thought by the masses, these numbers continue to grow.

Enterprise are now big enough that they can force the courts into taking on the cost of dispute resolution. The bill for all this goes to the tax payer. The court will eventually decide who pays. They have already decided that it won't be Enterprise, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this. I cannot be the first Enterprise customer to ever find himself in this situation. No, either myself or Sue and Norman will be billed. Their insurance company will follow the path of maximising profit and not pay. The courts are already on their side.

Obviously, a great many people will disagree with a least some of what I have written. However, my key point is this. The courts are bigger than me. Enterprise is bigger than me. However, me and all you are paying for all this as either customers or tax payers. Enterprise should serve us. The courts should serve us. The banks should serve us. The government should serve us. We pay for all this and they do not serve us.

The entire world is the exact opposite of what we are told it is. 

I have filled in Enterprises online email form asking for clarification and 

support as follows;

I returned the car with some superficial damage. Part of the hotel I was 

staying at fell off and impacted upon your car.

I now need all relevant documentation emailed or posted out to me, as well as a covering letter. This documentation will be required for me to forward copies to the hoteliers and eventually, perhaps, to a small claims court. You should be in a far better position than me to know what documents I will need. An important one will be an Engineers report of the damage. Sending an 
automated notice that £1,400 has been taken from my credit card without a covering letter is an appalling level of customer service. 

I have already verbally asked that the Manager of your Wakefield branch send 
bill out to the hoteliers.

Your customer service, when hiring is exemplary. I expect no less now.


I expect a full answer, in a format that is acceptable by the judicial system.



Please make an effort to behave appropriately.

The automated response, so far, is:-


YOUR QUESTION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED


Thank you for your email! We will review your correspondence and reply appropriately as quickly as we are able.


Whatever, no doubt they will send me a copy of the following as they have no fears of the judicial system finding fault with their pursuit of profit.


Your rental agreement will include the following protection products:
Damage Waiver
Damage waiver is included in the price of the rental, subject to the terms and conditions of the rental agreement. Damage waiver reduces the amount you are responsible for in the event of damage to and or theft of the vehicle. The excess amounts applicable with damage waiver are- all cars – 1000.00 GBP- MINI MPVs, MPVs and commercial vehicles - 1150.00 GBP all premiums and 4x4s equals 1400.00 GBP.

No doubt, more will follow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sue and Norman should have reimbursed you. Did you keep the bit of their hotel? I would return it to Norman at 100mph into his head.

David Watkinson said...

Physically speaking, neither Sue or Norman are a threat.

Norman believes the 'owners park at their own risk' sign has magical properties.

He is in for a surprise.

I would have liked to explain the situation to him but I doubt he would have understood. I was quite emotional and might have resorted to demonstrating my physical superiority.

To be fair, Enterprise have annoyed me more. No doubt the courts and whichever agency regulates car hire will truly boil my piss.

The world is truly bizarre. Norman may well reimburse me once he has attempted some critical thought or got some better legal advice than what Ray down the pub said.

I hope Norman's sign does have magical properties. I will have a t shirt printed saying 'Once annoyed or aroused I am no longer legally accountable for my actions.'

Anyway, I have emailed Sue and Norman a link to my blog. Perhaps they will start critically thinking and realise that Enterprise are simply taking a thousand pounds off them because they can, using me as unpaid labour and unpaid lender.

You take care

Anonymous said...

But surely, as a business, Sue & Norm have building insurance (or some other form of insurance which covers such damage)?

David Watkinson said...

The trouble with insurance is that making a claim gives the insurance provider an excuse to up the premium.

Sue & Norm appear to be simply ignoring the situation. What would have been a £200 bill is now £1400. Should it go to court I will be adding £600 or so, bumping it up to £2000.

Norms belief in his 'guests park here at their own risk' sign is genuinely touching.

frst said...

You mentioned the car sustained superficial damage to the bonnet. Was the engine underneath damaged? If not, would it have been cheaper to replace the bonnet at a car repair shop before returning it to the leasing company?

David Watkinson said...

Hi frst, I had no reason to believe Enterprise were going to charge me £1400 for a £100 repair. I could have had it repaired in skegness. However, that would have felt dishonest and that is not my style.

I paid for it on my visa card. After contacting visa and explaining the situation they are withholding payment until the dispute is settled.

Finally, the hotel is only liable if I can prove negligence. Which will be difficult as they are ignoring me.

The law and justice are not the same.

I must admit, visa are being very helpful. Which was a surprise. Just emailing visa the details now.

frst said...

You could have called up the leasing company first or ask your friends for advice before returning the car. As it stands now it is not worth anybody's time and effort going to court for such a small sum of money. I agree that the hotel managers are misguided into thinking that the sign absolved them of any responsibilities and could have offered a non-cash alternative to compensate your loss as most managers are allowed to do that, but your angry appearance at that moment may have frightened them into defensive mode so they could not think straight. I'm very sure they would not brush the victim off if spalling concrete hit someone's head.

You may or may not know this: vehicle leasing companies don't care if their car was damaged when out on rent as long as the car is returned in the same condition as it was before it was rented out (a car repair shop taught me this). Rather than being dishonest, you can think of it as being responsible for the leased item.

A few years ago, I was still new to driving and rented a large commercial vehicle. I got into accident once damaging the front, knocked over a parked motorcycle while reversing once and shattered the rear windscreen twice. On all 3 occasions, I had the vehicle repaired on my own cost and the leasing company didn't say anything when I returned it. They probably can't tell if the rear windscreen is new or not! I'm a safe and cautious driver now, but I now find driving a mundane chore and would rather have an AI controlled car driving me.

ManNotNumber said...

Your comment that enterprise will eventually become "too big to fail" is ridiculous and undermines your credibility as a critical thinker. car rental companies do not run the system the way that banks do. When you took the agreement out you knew the excess was £1400. I suggest you read some Mises. Caveat Emptor.

David Watkinson said...

Perhaps. Multinational companies, banks and governments are one and the same. Critical thinking is an individual thing and not something I wish to be graded upon. I knew the excess to be £1400. £100 should be sufficient to bring the car back to how it was.

Visa have put the £1400 into dispute. I am interested in what happens next. No doubt some sort of legal letter from Enterprise threatening me with a visit from four thugs, two dogs and a piece of court issued paper. It wasn't enough last time.

Anyway, believe or believe not. Whatever happens, if I am able, I will post about it.

frst said...

"...undermines your credibility as a critical thinker" -> We all make mistakes don't we? Give him a break, at least he is making an effort to not be like the rest of the sheeple.

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