Disputing a claim

Give the company a clear deadline in your objection, often 14 days. If it does not answer, send one short reminder with a final deadline. Then use the next route: your card issuer for a chargeback, the European Consumer Centre for a company in another EU country, Iceland or Norway, or the ECRCS for participating brands. Keep proof of every message you send.

Your strongest evidence is dated photos and video from pick-up and return, the signed pick-up and return forms, your contract and your payment records. Put them in date order and refer to them in a short written objection. Then ask the company for its own evidence: inspection photos, the inspection time, the repair invoice and a breakdown of fees.

Do not ignore a letter from a debt collector, but do not pay a disputed amount just to make it stop. Reply in writing to the collector and the rental company that you dispute the claim, attach your earlier objection and ask for the evidence. A private collector is not a court: it cannot force payment on its own, and extra collection costs depend on national law.

The GDPR gives you the right to ask a company for a copy of the personal data it holds about you and information about how it uses it. The company must answer within one month, which it can extend by two months where necessary, and the first copy is free. In a damage dispute, an access request can bring out inspection records, notes and correspondence linked to your rental.

Object in writing as soon as possible. Say that you disagree, explain why, attach your own photos and documents, and ask the company to prove that the damage happened during your rental. Give a clear deadline, ask them to stop collection meanwhile, and say that you will go to the European Consumer Centre if they do not respond.